Done, except for the pay!

This morning I was sitting at the table checking e-mails while Mark went to the VA for a fasting blood draw.  All the blinds were closed.  As I was sitting here I became aware that the chain link fence next to the RV was rattling, so I opened the blinds to see what was happening.  What was happening was that the fence company was taking the fence away.  I called our boss and he said he was aware of that and they would be bringing a trailer out this afternoon to pick up everything that belongs to Holiday Hills Christmas Trees.  Continue reading

A Dickens Christmas

It was Christmas Eve and Bob Cratchett sat huddled over a candle flame trying to warm his hands.  Scrooge heard his lack of work, counting money and writing figures, and told him to get back to work.  Bob said, “Please, Sir, may I take off a little early tonight?  It is Christmas Eve, after all.” Continue reading

They let me out of the cage!

We got slammed last weekend (Black Friday through Cyber Monday) to the point where I was wondering if I could do this.  At least half the trees we had set up disappeared.  We had a couple employees knocking them out as fast as they could, but unfortunately they were setting them up crooked.  Mark finally took over cutting and drilling and setting up trees, along with flocking.  There was no way he could catch up by himself. Continue reading

Lots and lots of Nobles!

Our first delivery on Wednesday was eighty three Nobles.  Wednesday we had three workers, one of whom was a very experienced person.  He quit the next day because we couldn’t pay him what he wanted.  Thursday we had three workers, one of whom was a young man with a lot of tattoos.  The next day he didn’t show up.  Friday we had three people.  One was a Christian man who doesn’t drive and doesn’t have his own phone.  He said he’d call this morning to see if we got our second delivery. Continue reading

A quickie!

Posts may be a little fewer and farther between until the first of the year.  We’ve been very busy.  Even when we’re done working and come in for the night, there’s still all the bookwork to be done.  The most experienced of our helpers quit after the first day because we couldn’t pay him what he wanted to earn.  We’ve hired more employees.  They seem to be very good workers, if not as skilled.  I’ve already sold my first tree, and we aren’t even officially open yet!

Under the bigtop

Yesterday two big trailers pulled up with all the equipment for setting up our lot.  Mike and Roger and the three amigos worked all day without any kind of a lunch break or dinner break.  I managed to get most of them to take some cans of pop, some jerky and a couple tangerines.  They were here till after dark and got all the basics in for us.  We take it from here. Continue reading

Long day

Mark’s class ended late last evening due to his final exam.  We didn’t actually make it to our lot in Kerrville until after 1:00am, and we didn’t pull inside the gate.  We didn’t hook up to electricity, we didn’t have any propane, and we didn’t have any water.  It was very cold last night. Continue reading

A day of training

Today Mark and I drove to the warehouse/office of Holiday Hills Christmas Trees for a day of training.  Today’s training was supposed to be just for first time lot operators, but there was a couple there who did this last year.  They came to support a couple of new recruits they brought in.  They were able to add some ideas from their experience, so it was a good thing to have them there. Continue reading