Itty Bitty Hooves

Not Alone

When people think of opening their own business they often think of franchises and there is good reason for that. Franchises offer a proven track record, a proven method of operation, and a name has been built up to the point people know when they are, what they stand for, and have faith in. If you’re like me when you think of franchises you think of fast food and convienience stores but there are so many other options. Any area you have an interest in probably has a franchise based on that type of goods or services. If you love cars you can get an auto parts franchises, if you love sewing you can get an embroidery franchise. It doesn’t matter as much what type it is. What matters is that you already have a passion for the type of work you will be doing. Like any job if you love it you will put more into it. Any of the types of franchises will offer the same benefits for your business. Be sure to check into the success record and also make sure their method of doing business fits with your view of operation. Just because a company is successful doesn’t mean their way of doing things will work for you. That isn’t bad, it is just a different way of doing things. When you operate a franchise you are largely committed to doing things their way. That can pay off for you in a big way if you agree with their policies. Going it alone and opening your own shop has some advantages but it can be trecherous, scary, and lonely. Operating a franchise can get you the best of everything. You have your own store, but you are not alone.

Power UP

More like power down lately. Over the last 10 days we’ve lost power here about 4 times. Once for FOUR days, once for two days, and several intermitant ones that lasted between an hour and 6 hours. Last night was a 6 hour one. The night before was a 1 1/2 hour one. That time the power company was parked in our driveway looking for downed lines (none, it was down the road). I asked him why he was looking by us. If the power was out at the farm on our right, and the farm behind us (the line curves in that direction) then didn’t it make sense that the trouble was beyond those points? He looked at me, as serious as can be and said you would not believe the crazy things I’ve seen in the last two weeks. Yes I would. This insanity over power has never happened here before. Surely we’ve had power outages, but nothing like this, and so often. I ended up losing two of my fish tanks (well the fish in them, not the tanks). It could have been so much worse though. No pipes busted which was a major worry for me during the 4 day out when the temperatures were sub-zero. I guess it is a blessing that the water pump works on electricity so that there was no water in the lines during the drop in temperature at that time. We lost a lot of the food in the fridge, but everything is working again. We lost a lot of the fish I’ve had for years and even a few that were born right here in these tanks. That was sad. But at least the water didn’t freeze completely and bust the tanks. I went out and restocked my tanks again and they are full of life. The new fish are beautiful. It will be awhile before I don’t feel the loss of the ones I had, but I’m sure these new ones will become a part of my heart like they were quickly. Yes, you can get attached to fish.

Standing Room Only

In the master bedroom in our house it is almost impossible to find a good place to have a TV. There just is no good place to put one. I’d like a hanging tv stand. It would make good use of wall space and there is plenty of that. I miss having a TV in the bedroom. In the living room we have an entertainment center and in the family room the television is on a tv stand that is self contained. I even know some people who have televisions in their bathrooms but I think that I don’t need one in there. There are some rooms that do not need a TV. If you’re spending that much time in the bathroom you need a doctor not a TV.

The Power is ON!

Just called the house a little while ago and got THE ANSWERING MACHINE! That means the power is back on after 4 days. Wow. I do hope there was no significant damage. That is such a bad thing in sub-zero weather. I keep trying to not picture busted pipes, flooding water, and other frozen disasters. It’s a nice house even if it is in the middle of nowhere. It’s always nice to come home to. The funny part is you would expect a ton of snow with such a winter storm but there really wasn’t more than a dusting apparently. It was all freezing weather, hanging ice, and frozen water that did the damage everywhere.

April Showers, June Sun

My neice-in-law if that is the right way to say my hubby’s niece is going to be getting married next June. That’s such a great month to get married. We got the wedding invitations in the mail. They’re so pretty. I’m glad the wedding is local, unlike the one in palm springs last year his one family member had, that was a trip and a half. I like June weddings. The weather is beautiful and everyone can have a much nicer time. Even with an indoor wedding having to deal with weather is a pain. I know. On my wedding day it snowed, rained, and was blistering hot all in the same 24 hour period of time. It was April–enough said.

Are You Going to the Birds?

If you share your life with birds (or even one bird) you’ll love THE PERCH. It is one of the friendliest, liveliest bird forums on the net and very, very active. It covers all speices of pet birds, most primarily parrots and their relatives but there are forums for all birds. There are also forum areas for general discussion where you meet people from all over the world and talk about daily life and general aspects and a forum for other pets where we share our many animals that inhabit our lives. Come on over and see what all the fun is about when living with these active, friendly, loving, TALKATIVE winged creatures.

Franchise Opportunities

All of my work is done online and I like that. I never have to leave the house. I can travel anywhere I want if I desire and take my ‘work’ with me. Sometimes though I think of all the ripe opportunities for franchise openings there would be in that area of Illinois. Watseka is full of them but they are all the traditional ones. You can find all sorts of unique franchises out there that would be unique and make money because there is no competition out there even in small towns like there are for burger or gas stations. It’s really interesting and the nice thing about franchises is you are not starting out with no idea for how to work the business. There is a blueprint for success from the creators and many others who run similar businesses all over the country/world.

Switching Gears

I think I am having to refocus my direction. No more livestock for selling or showing, well maybe showing. No more actual livestock period though. Keeping the Illinois house will be more of a matter of recreation and relaxation. Maybe have a couple of nice easy going riding horses to have a little fun with. It would be a shame not to use that land at all, and that big huge barn that was just built a few years ago. Standing empty and unused isn’t good for it either, even if you put aside the waste of it. I’m already thinking of ways to restructure the fencing around the back of the barn to convert the grazing fields into a big riding arena. There will still be tons of grazing land even with that out of the picture and give us a nice place to ride. One thing I know for sure nothing kills the joy of owning animals than making them a business.

New Design New Style

I just bought new chairs and a lovely new hutch desk for my office at my home in Illinois. I kind of miss it. I may need to buy a bunch of office furniture for my new home but I can’t decide what style or type I want. I usually go for heavy, hardwood and dark stains but that won’t fit this place. It is very light and airy and open. Something more of a metal and white with a more open look than the heavy desks and hutches I usually go for. I don’t know if I’ll be comfortable at something like that though. There are so many styles to choose from and I still keep being drawn in by the traditional heavy woods and executive styles. I think my favorite type of executive chair will still work here. It’s a heavily padded, formed, swinging chair on casters that is comfy and ergonomic but it has enough verstile looks to go with just about any style of furniture. Now I just have to decide on the type of furniture.

Freeze Revisited

I found this picture online of the horrible conditions in Illinois.

Apparently south of where my house is Amerind has had as many as 35,000 customers without electricity as well so it’s not just Eastern Illini. This was a really bad storm in spite of the fact that it really didn’t have a lot of snow (at least in these areas) it was mostly ice and freezing cold. It would have been better if it had been a huge snowfall, that rarely does so much damage electrically. A few outtages here and there for a little bit of time. When I first moved to that house 15 years ago there was a huge snow storm in the spring that had the power out for one day–ONE DAY and that’s the worst it’s ever been. There has never been a time when the power was out longer than that before. The ice weighs down everything though. Tree limbs go down on power lines, powerlines themselves go down, transformers blow… apparently this is really huge and terrible.