Jan Interrupted or My Summer Mini-Disaster Saga (Continued)

( Warning: the following is a long, only tenuously 

style-tethered story, so feel free to skip down to the photos.)

If I were less aware of just how tiny my minuscule place is in the Grand Scheme of Things, I'd be tempted to think the universe was out to mess with me this last week. Of course we have to take responsibility for what happens to us in life on some level, always, but it is also true that stuff sometimes just happens.

We had been been preparing for what is always our very largest business weekend of the year, and organization is critical. It seems, though, that the Fates needed a good laugh and chose us to be the butt of their joke.

Last Wednesday, when I foolishly looked ahead and imagined smooth sailing after some previous weeks of choppy cosmic weather, the actual weather blew up an unusually violent summer storm that flooded our restaurant. We were in the Big City at the time, trying to make our grocery run, so there was no one there to manage the damage until that evening when Dan arrived to open for dinner. It wasn't very deep water, but it doesn't take much to be a huge pain in the tuchas and do some damage.

As they say on the evening news, "in separate but related incidents" the storm knocked out our WiFi router, which took our credit card machine with it. So on Thursday, I spent some long hours on the phone with a very patient tech-rep, me clambering up and down step ladders to get to the router and carry out her diagnostics. In spite of our heroic efforts, she finally determined that we needed a new router.

That meant an 80 mile round-trip to another Big City for me, and another session of ladder clambering on my return. Once the router fix was accomplished, the credit card machine refused to like the new router enough to hook up with it, so another evening's dinner hours came and went without the ability to accept credit cards. (Imagine a big scowling emoji here. )

And in a "separate but unrelated" incident" that took place while the above diagnostic efforts were going on, Dan's business PC decided to roll over and die a very permanent death. I know at this point you are wondering if I am not just making this all up, but no. I assure you I am not. I spent a lot of that evening setting up my ancient backup laptop to be ready for Dan's use, with hours spent updating essential programs needed to get it up to speed.

After Friday morning and last minute joint efforts with the tech-rep from the credit card machine manufacturer, the machine was successfully rebooted just in time for the onslaught of the lunch crowd on the first day of festival. (Imagine happy emoji face here.) 

 The local wine festival is lucrative but challenging for our little restaurant. It happens in a block-long park right out our front door, and is held on what are invariably the hottest days of summer. And the local wineries (bless them and keep them, really) serve free wine to all the freebie-seekers that converge on our little town that day. So, imagine hundreds of hot and sweaty people, many of whom are already three sheets to the wind from the free wine and are in a something-for-nothing frame of mind, converging on our little restaurant that has eleven tables, and is not set up to do fast food. Always a challenging effort, always a mixed blessing, but this year a surprising success because of our tiny but really good staff.

Seems like the Fates decided to back off and cut us a little slack. Yeayyyy.

However, I'm still behind on my bloggy stuff, so I thought you deserved to know why. I'm trying so hard to come see you all and reply to all your so much appreciated comments for the last couple of weeks here. I probably should just lay down and beg off, but I'm stubbornly persevering, because chatting with you all is my great joy and pleasure, and am really grateful for your patience and support.

Sunday brought a little rest and our customary afternoon run into town for groceries and a bite to eat.

This is What I Wore.

Just before we headed home, I stopped by TJ Maxx for a quick look-see. And almost as if the Fates were trying to make up for being nasty, I found this pair of BCBGeneration black, navy and cobalt suede d'Orsay pumps for next to nothing and in my size. As you see, they'll be perfect with this same dress the next time I wear it, and I see this shoe carrying me on into winter with other things. Excellent. I'm quite sure I deserve these shoes.

Almost like a sweet little cosmic apology for all the craziness, wasn't it?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I'm lucky to be able to link up with the ever-glamorous Plaid Mad Patti at Visible Monday

Come see what all the fuss is about!