Back from the wilderness....

It seemed like I would never get back here to blog. I have been caught in the " wilderness" of planning, running, cleaning, organizing, cooking, creating, buying, peeling, labeling and lots of SEO optimizing on the web site-- all in hopes of being ready for the upcoming.. no dare I say the already present Holiday season 2010!!
Whew!
The last few years have been a wild ride for most of us. It seems as if the analogy of " Life is a roller coaster" tells the tale quite well, a few years of slogging up hill, pulling a heavy load, the monotony broken by unexpectedly being catapulted down hill, around sharp corners- screaming all the way.

I do see improvement though, Tim's business is picking up, (thank you God) and we are ahead of the game in packaging and gift supplies this year. It's a good thing too, as the orders are already starting.

As you may know we participate as a vendor in many of the CA & AZ Scottish Games through out the year. This year we added the Harvest Festivals to our schedule and we are grateful for the additional business.  Plus we have met some great folks who run them and who attend them.

So...... with any luck we will be able to go back East this year to see our family for Christmas! My Dad is 85 and his wife is ill. It is so hard to be so far away from family. We are so close to all of them, including my brothers and their families, we have such a wonderful time when we visit.
There are usually not quite enough beds at  Chris & Jennifer's house so we all end up sleeping everywhere, couches, pull outs, futons, blow ups and sleeping bags, not unlike the large litters of Labs that my Dad uses to raise. Usually there are anywhere from 11-18 people sleeping over Christmas night!
 So much laughter, love, good food and drink and amazingly never a harsh word is spoken. Everyone pitches in. We are so grateful to all be together, since we see each other so seldom. Some how SKYPE doesn't make a good substitute.

As McLaren's grows, we dream of the next bit of equipment that we can buy to increase our productivity (a cookie crank, please Santa) and plan to really figure out how to make the leap to wholesaling, with out losing quality.

Is wanting a cookie crank for Christmas the same as getting a vacuum cleaner or a mixer as your main gift from your husband?

JK

I know it's not, it's part of the dream of growing and building and planning for a better tomorrow. ;-)

Today we bartered at the Farmers market and got the sausage for our Thanksgiving stuffing! MM MM good! Tim does most of the Thanksgiving Day cooking, he cooks the turkey on the grill and it is amazing a browned 360 degrees.....

 I am so grateful that we are all together and well, that Gabi Loves UCSB, Ian  has hit his stride in School, Morgan is thriving and working hard and that my niece Lauren is staying with us. She got a job offer and gets the details this week. I am so proud of her. I know that she will do great things.

I am grateful and counting my blessings, then I have to label some jam, label some scone mix.. cook some dinner, do some laundry.............and so it goes
xxoo
A

Jam labels, Life lables and....

Well, well, after you make the jam you have to name it ( the Fun Part), print the labels, package it and then schlep it and then sell it!
 So our new wine jams are here, an excerpt from my most recent constant contact...
WINE JAMS ARE IN !! 

Come and sample our new favorites, just in time for the cool nights and hot parties...
amazing with cheese and as glazes and sauce bases for meats and fish.
Summer Solstice
Raspberry Merlot- sharp cheddar, red meats
Midnight Tryst
Cabernet  & Marion Berry- Baked Brie, red meats, Pork
Blushing Bride
Chardonnay & Strawberry -Sharp White Cheddar, Gorgonzola, Chicken, Fish
Young Lovers
Pino Grigio Peach- over cream cheese, Havarti, over ice cream and pound cake

So come on down and try some...
more on life lables later... gotta  put the labels on the jam....
xxoo
A