“The RoseBouquet”

Despite my ill health hindrance, I have been working on my new business all through December. It seems that most stages took more time than I first expected. First I cleaned the three rooms I’m leasing, which I call the Sunshine Suite upstairs at Western Tract Mission’s building. Then I painted the rooms. WTM paid for the paint.

Through a gift I was able to rent a Dr. Rug steam cleaner and spent a whole Saturday cleaning the carpets. Well, I did the hallways too.

I wanted the rooms to have a touch of class, so I put up pretty wallpaper borders I had found cheap at the Sally Ann. I put them about eye-level when sitting at a computer, so there will be something pleasant to look at. Then it was time to look for furniture. The director of WTM offered me some spare stuff sitting in the basement. A huge monster desk was left behind in the smallest office, and the WTM director, Arnold, was happy to hear that I wouldn’t insist it be moved out. Nobody wants to “move” it. Another ministry was moving out of the building, and their director was willing to let me have some pieces of furniture.

However, I still wanted four computer desks, and office chairs, as I plan to take on students (whom I’m referring to as interns), and I didn’t want them to have to work on rough old desks. I had got my December support check before Christmas and I had deposited. On Boxing Day (the biggest shopping day of the year in Canada) I studied the flyers and did online research and discovered that I could get a really good deal on computer desks from WalMart. They have a brand new big-box store at the south end of Saskatoon. I had not been there yet, but I decided to go looking. Yes! I found four such desks for under $50 each. Anywhere else they were at least $70 or $100.

From there I went to drop in on an older couple who are my supporters from way back, and they had more used furniture they were happy to give me. On the internet I’d discovered someone advertising a 19″ monitor to give away. I went to pick that up next. By the end of the afternoon I had the car full!

I headed over to the WTM office building and lugged it all inside, and then all upstairs into my office suite.

The next few days I spent quietly at home, getting some paper work cleared up. On the Saturday I went shopping at another place where I could buy four secretarial chairs for a steal of a price. When you get such bargains you do have to exert some effort to make up the money saved. I took them up to my office, and spent the rest of the day assembling the chairs (not too hard), and the desks. There I still need someone to tighten the screws for me.

Next stage, get the paperwork finished and send out press releases and get ready for the public to show interest and come to fill out application forms. That’s my main effort phase this week.

I’m taking the rest of today off to spend it with friends, and at midnight, I’ve promised to go to the airport to pick up my dear friends and neighbours, Joe and Penny Homontowski. They went down to Maryland to visit their family, but had some adventures there too. Penny had a near heart attack, and was flown to a larger hospital in Baltimore for emergency surgery. She phoned me yesterday and sounds much, much better! We rejoice that it happened when and where it did.

Back in November when I first started working towards this new business, Azaleas Virtual Assistants, which is now registered and licensed - I sort of hoped I could start on January 2. Because of the delays I need to allow another week or two to recruit the training students I’ll be taking on. The idea is that they will help me with my internet work as part of their training, but I will also help them start a web business and guide them over their shoulders - like a hothouse for seedlings, or an incubator for baby chicks.

Since the business phone and internet connection can’t be done until the 10th, I may be jugging where I’m at. To do some things I’ll need to be home, but I also need to be at the office to set up the second hand computers I’ve rounded up, and to be there when potential students come for applications and interviews.

Hopefully the media will come interview me too, for some good publicity!

So what about this RoseBouquet? Well, I am probably going to be scrambling for the next few weeks to get everything done, but once I have some interns trained to do some basics, and once I can give them assignments at the beginning of the day, I hope to slip into my office and carry on with my own work - that only I can do. I may have to make up the difference in the evenings for a while, but once those interns become useful - look out! It will be like multiplying myself by about four!

Oh yes, I’ve taken some photos. I don’t expect to have enough time for a photo story today, but hopefully before too long.