Christmas is coming - fast

We all have a story. Where was I born? Where did I grow up? What skills do I have? Am I in good health? Where do I live now? Am I close with my family? How do I pay my bills? How did I end up here? Depending on your answers to these questions, and so many more, your story may be very different from mine. Today however, I choose to wonder about their story. Each face in this picture above represents a different story. On the third Friday of the month as we load up the back of the car with tables & an assortment of food items, we think of the faces we will see over the next few hours. Some of the folks in line will be talkative, some will not. Some may be loud, and some may not make a peep. Some of them may be alone, and some may be there with family. Some may have a pet with them in a backpack or stroller. But one thing is always true, they will be kind, and they will be thankful. A number of years ago my church youth group attended our first Street Soldiers night in Albany at Academy Park. Back then they set up at the park every Friday night. Folks from all around the area would bring a table or two and fill it up with items they had collected to share. There were tables full of food, toiletries and clothing and a long line of neighbors in need waiting to see what they could gather for the week ahead. Now fast forward to 2025, and this event is held just once a month. Now our neighbors bring a rolling cart and a few extra bags to gather up what they can for the whole month. They are still so very thankful. One table is handing out hotdogs, all cooked and ready to eat. Another table has bagged lunches, and another has pet food & hot meatball subs. A young girl has collected purses and tote bags and filled them up with haircare items and another has hot coffee. Our table usually has cans of Vienna sausages, Gatorade, pudding cups, chunky soup , canned chicken, breads, bagels, fruits, veggies and something sweet. For one night a month, for one hour, our stories all intersect. We do our best to help those in need, and they are thankful. We thank our Veterans for their service, and they smile. We make eye contact and give a heartfelt hello to each of our neighbors in line, and they are seen. We hand out all that we've brought and then we pack up ourselves and our tables and head for home. We know that in another 30 days we'll be back again to do it all once more. Doing what we can, when we can, with what our Lord has blessed us with, and we are thankful. Now this is something you all can do. You can pack up your car too and put up a table and head up to Academy Park on the 3rd Friday of the month! This is a grass roots group of volunteers who just show up when able. Some of them have been there every single night since Street Soldiers started & some just come when they can. Some of our members at church participate by buying the items we hand out, and you can do that too. If you want to be a part of this mission to those in need but can't make the trip to Albany, you are welcome to drop off some of the items highlighted above to help fill our table! Helping neighbors + meeting needs = Thankfulness all around!

2020, a year we could have never imagined would turn out this way. 2020, a year of loss and a year of hope. 2020, a year of pause & a year of working harder and longer hours that I've ever worked in my life. Curbside pick up at a gift shop - who would of ever thought it would come to this. Having four letter words hurled at me for asking someone to leave the shop when they were not allowed to be inside, who would have imagined. Asking time and time again for folks to pull their masks back up over their noses, never crossed our minds in 2019. Life is different now. Some of our favorite businesses are gone, and more will likely close. Some of our favorite family members and friends are gone and we didn't get to say a proper goodbye or hold their hand, or wipe away a tear. Putting my face in front of the tablet and being the goofball I am on a daily basis. camera rolling, to save my business, who would have ever thought. Things are different now, some good & some bad. I've had a blast reconnecting with the shop and my customers. I'm loving getting to know everyone and sharing my life. The woodchucks have not yet won the war of the garden, another good thing & I may not get to stop & smell the flowers, but I do get to see them, and that is good. We take the good with the bad. It is what it is and it will be what it will be. The only constant in life is that things are always changing, and change can be good. God has a plan in all of this and I am just along for the ride! Guide me Lord & keep me heading the right direction. Thanks to all of you who've come along for the ride, 2020 has been an interesting and unique experience so far, and it's only part way through! Rambling thoughts for a crazy rambling year! We pause we pivot, we pause, we pivot, we pause & we give thanks! Blessings & joy to you all! - Patti

October 1st of 2017 is the start of our 24th year here at the Cross Eyed Owl. Just where does the time go? Taking a look at all the awesome Cross Eyed Owl crew we realize that 3 of them were not even born back in 1993 when the Cross Eyed Owl began. Just where does the time go? Sara will be getting married next spring. Just where does the time go? Customers who used to come in with their mom's and grandma's to collect beanie babies all those years ago are married with children of their own now. Just where does the time go? One day at a time, 24 hours per day, every moment counts. We know our mom's were right to tell us that the older we get the faster the time flies by. It was New Year's Day, then the 4th of July and now it's almost time for Halloween and Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye. Just where does the time go? Remember the good from the past, enjoy today and dream for tomorrow because time flies by at the speed of light. Every moment you have is a chance to be a light in someonelse's day. Choose joy. Choose peace. Choose hope. Choose to make a difference and choose to do it now. Why? Because one day you will sit back an wonder......... Just where did all that time go?

This is the first Christmas in 16 years without my Miss Robin kitty. I haven't had the heart to change her page on the website yet. It's been 9 months since she passed away and I still miss her like crazy. I think perhaps Miss Gracie was trying to distract me by toppling the Christmas tree this year. She has taken Robin's place of following my around the house and telling me when it is time for bed. Miss Lulu keeps my attention too with her silly antics on a daily basis. We will make new memories this Christmas as we have done everyday since Robin passed. New routines, one day at a time & one memory at a time, and hopefully not one more broken ornament at a time. Christmas will be merry again, and Robin will always live on in my heart with all her siblings that passed before her. Meowy Christmas from the purr-balls!

Meet Miss Gracie. This adorable indoor kitty met her very first decorated artificial Christmas tree just over 48 hours ago. While I did manage to allow her a few days to get used to the tree before decorating it, I never realized the utter fascination she'd experience once it was fully decorated. Every single ornament just called to her! Each one looked more tempting than the next. The first day went well. Miss Gracie pulled a few ornaments off the tree, got a little attention & was a happy kitty. Today while I was at work she managed to carefully pull 7 ornaments off the tree, not a one broken. Then 11:30pm came & the tree came crashing down. Yes, there was a little yelling & yes there were some kitties hiding & yes there was broken glass. About 48 hours, give or take a few minutes. That's how long it took for Miss Gracie to bring the whole tree tumbling down to the floor, the hardwood floor. That was 90 minutes ago and she's still hiding in the closet. I'm sure she's still wondering what happened and where that odd screaming noise came from. When she ventures back out into the living room tomorrow I'm sure she'll wonder where the tree and all her 'toys' have gone. She won't understand that her mommy had to put the toys away and take the tree down since the stand was broken. She won't understand why her mommy is sad. She will just look up at me with that adorable face and purr. Gracie loves her mommy & her mommy loves her. And after all, it was a nice 48 hours of Christmas and since its been at least 5 years since I've put a tree up here at home, I'll take it! It was 48 hours more than I had last year. Now I can go to my favorite little shop and pick out a few new ornaments to replace the ones that broke & we'll be ready to try again!

23 years and counting, that's how long I've been a business owner. As a young child I never dreamed of owning my own business. Sure as a child growing up in Kinderhook I visited the treasure shop on a regular basis to peruse the penny candy jars, especially for the Swedish fish & red licorice. Which by the way I still like to snack on, none of that icky black licorice for me! But I do't remember ever thinking, ' When I grow up I want to have a shop just like this!' I was never really sure what I wanted to be when I grew up. To be married - yup, I wanted that. Children, yup I wanted them too. A house of my own & kitties in the yard - yup & yup! But my own business, no, that was not on the list. SO here we are all these years later & when we look back over the 'wish list', yes I am married & yes we have kitties but as for the rest of the list it is a big fat NOPE! We were never blessed with children, although i have oodles of church sons & daughters as the youth leader and all my work daughters too. After all I have helped put many of those work daughters through college in a round about way. And no home to call my own either, although I've had the privilege to live in some pretty cool places along the way all these years. While to some it may seem that I've missed out on some of life's best gifts, instead I tend to look at what I do have instead of what many may say is missing. I am surrounded daily by the best friends and family a girl could ask for. I get to cheerfully head off to work each day knowing we will be helping bring smiles to many faces that day. I love the people I work with and the people I work for! My customers are truly the BEST! I am allowed the time to serve my community, my church & my Lord on a daily basis and for that I and truly grateful. In life you don't always end up where you expect. In life you don't always get the fairy-tale ending. But in life you do end up where you are meant to be, sometimes it just looks very different than what you had planned. But you know what? Plans can change too, and that's a good thing!

Last summer days? Well it is already September 4th and supposedly the last unofficial day of summer has now come and gone for 2012. With the heat and humidity of today, I beg to differ, summer is still going strong where I am! I was looking for another bookmarked site tonight when I came across my long lost blog. To be more specific, lost since the first day I started it in February as a matter of fact! Just what I needed, one more distraction, as if I am not already spending too much time on Facebook & Pinterest! I do not claim to lead an exciting life, have the answers to all of life's mysteries, or even to have a grasp on basic spelling, punctuation or proper grammar these days. I do however find the time to observe to world around me and appreciate each moment of the day and all the blessings and challenges the Lord gifts me with every single day! As time allows, I jot down my musings on life here to share with anyone who cares to listen! This week has already been filled with the beauty of many monarchs, in the yard everywhere I went & even along the road in the car on the way to work; a majestic blue heron up on the tippy top of our giant willow tree by the pond, kitties stretched out napping on the deck and that 'adorable' buck who turned my flower gardens into his own personal salad bar. Yup, 225 acres of fields to eat off of & he decides my garden tastes the best. I suppose I'll consider it to be an honor. As you rush through your day, getting the kids on the bus and heading off to work yourself, take time to really see the world around you. Pause a moment to drink in the beauty and keep your eyes open, truly open, you never know what you might be missing along the way! May the Lord bless you this day and everyday so that you may be a blessing to those around you! - P

I have finally decided to take the plunge and restart my blog & add it to my site. The line above is truly a little white lie. I did actually attempt blogging 4 years ago, and since that lasted for 2 whole posts, it is clear that I don't really have any idea what I am doing. I have been called opinionated however, so I suppose it is time to put that gift to good use! Stay tuned & we'll see where this all goes! Blessings - P