Bright Saturday

I was going to put up the big deal about Small Business Saturday, as opposed to the manipulation (and danger: pepper spraying to get at Xbox's?? what?) of Black Friday, until I realized that the 'official' Small Business Saturday is sponsored by American Express. It's like the 'health drinks' put out by Coca-Cola, or the green lawns advertised by Monsanto. Sometimes, I have great despair of the general public, being run by the marketing firms of America, which are run by the corporations of America, which are run by...well, you get it.

I missed seeing the actual parade, but a friend sent me an email of it. Thanks, Jerry.

What does that have to do with Culebra? Mostly, how glad I am that I live in a place where small businesses are THE businesses. Where the lure of glitter doesn't exist (unless you happen to be a hardware store junkie, which I semi-confess to being) You have to want to partake in the bigger better more mentality enough to get over to the big island - a true feat these days - and find it. Sure, that happens here; we've got plenty of shiny things brought back on the cargo ferry.

Like a person wanting a healthy diet, it's easier to stick to it if you aren't surrounded by junk food. So while it might be more expensive to live here on one level, it is easier on so many other levels, without being able to pop into a big box store, intent on one purchase and coming out with a full shopping cart of things added to a credit card bill. And that's a good thing, in my mind.

 Yesterday morning, while I was at my little table selling bread and hot sauce (thank you, strangers, who stopped to ask what I was selling), Mama and her boy were strolling up the road. I was happy to see them, but also ready to defend my bread, when a vehicle came along that scared them back down the road. Clippity clop, clippity clop went 8 hooves, dancing down to a safer place.

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This morning dawned beautifully again, the rising of the sun later and later as we draw near the Winter Solstice. Instead of a 5:30 wake up call, it was almost 7 when  CWIM began pulling down my cover, head butting my cheek to let me know I was being extremely lazy in taking care of her breakfast. Morning was indeed breaking and breaking fast.

"These sticks are starting to look awfully tasty. I'm starving!"

There is a large weather system that seems to be heading our way, from west to east. I remember wrong way Lenny, but am not expecting anything like that. Still, it's worth keeping an eye on, if only for the sake of laundry and hatches. We've just been getting short lived rain showers around here, while on the big island, some places have had days of rain. And while right now the sun is shining and the sky mostly blue, we are under a severe weather alert. Check it out (thanks for the head's up, Suzanne).

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the ballet upcoming December 10th. I went last year and it is really a nice production. Yes, ballet on Culebra! I'll try to remember to remind us all again, but it's a plan ahead sort of thing. Is your tutu back from the dry cleaners?

Have a small business Saturday, using cash! Do something serene.