A Few Days After...

Good evening, folks! 11/11 already... Great numbers! I'm not certain why, but it's not unusual when I look at the clock that it reads 11:11... And this in conjunction with the date! Makes for good stories... Must portend something absolutely fabulous, I'm certain.

And it does, of course! We begin our "Bigger and Better" sale event this Thursday, November 13 through Saturday, November 15, 2008. Anytime during the sale, when you come by the shop and mention this email, we'll divulge all the juicy particulars. 'nuff said...I will say no more on the subject until I see your smiling faces at Sewing Arts this Thursday, Friday and Saturday! (Don't even ask...you know how I can be...)

Just so's you knows, here are our hours: Monday through Thursday, 10 AM - 6:30 PM, Friday and Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM. Do be aware that we will be closing at 1 PM on November 26th for the Thanksgiving holiday and reopening for our normal hours on the 28th. We will also be closing at 1 PM on December 24th and December 31st, reopening on December 26th and January 2, 2009 for our normal hours. (2009! Can you believe it?)

Also, with the holidays right upon us, it's not a bad idea to scurry in here for a tune up with your sewing machine (you have no idea how many "crash and burns" show up around the holidays around here...) So, before YOU crash and burn, a little preventive maintenance will serve you VERY well. Ted is in on Mondays and Fridays for service, and as long as you get it in sometime before the day he's here, he can typically get it back to you the next time he's in.

And, with the holidays right upon us, it's also not a bad idea for you to give us some indication what you might like for the holidays when your frantic family members start panicking trying to procure the perfect gift and want to know why we don't know what you want! We're quite apt and happy to pick things out for you, but if perchance you want a say in what shows up, perhaps a little hint our way will assist you in getting what YOU want...

And finally, my last email entry deserves some follow through. I truly didn't know what to expect once I hit the "send" button. It took me many weeks to draw up the courage to write. But as I said in that email, there are times when protocol is trumped by the need to speak, and as you well know, in my world, protocol is always trumped... :)

From the place in my heart where words lack the ability to adequately express my feelings, thank you for your overwhelming show of support. Truly and deeply. I will admit that Wednesday morning after the election found me divided between being a joyful part of an historic occasion in our country's history and at the same time as deeply devastated that the community of which I am a part was stripped of its right to marry. However, in my world in which you play no small part, I know now that  this divisive measure would never have come up as issue in the first place. And I am truly grateful.

I am grateful, too, that the community and its supporters across the country are galvanized, and I am certain that with the passage of a small bit of time, this will be behind us, and equal access under the law will resume its place in all of our lives.

Many of you have followed up with me about how you can help, and how you can procure further information about what's happenning in the community. Please feel free to contact me, and I'll do my best to let you know what I know about ways you can participate.

I was moved, too, by Keith Olbermann of MSNBC who delivered an incredibly eloquent and articulate about the passage of proposition 8 on his broadcast. The address is http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27650743/ .

'nuff said! Thank you all. I wish you and yours a lovely and beautiful day. Know that you've made me smile and warmed my heart.

xoxo Russell and the Sewing Arts Gang