An update long overdue

When the time between posts grows so long, it is hard to even know where to begin. So I will try to summarize activity in the past few months and go into more detail in a separate post.

Maddie. Sweet little Maddie. Maddie the golden/lab puppy we adopted rescued from PawMatch at the end of the summer, brought back from her death bed to a full recovery, is now in a home with a family and children and constant attention. She was sick for so long that once we were thrown into the new bakery frenzy, her miraculous recovery offered us no chance to give her the attention she needed. We still feel good about rescuing her and giving her another chance at life. She is missed. Her pee stain still darkens part of our carpet.

In August, we took over a cafe and there really is no short way to explain everything that has happened since then. Some key events to spark your interest until the next post: construction, getting screwed by the contractor, having to let go one of our employees, construction again, having to lose one of our best sellers on the menu, arrival of the oven, construction yet again, and a pretty bleak outlook on the new year for us and the bakery.

I will say that unless you have money -- loads of it -- or you have the backing of a monster chain of franchises, starting up a small, privately owned business is one of the most finanially and emotionally taxing events we've ever faced. In today's world, with greedy landlords, suit-happy lawyers, and fickle consumers, it is naive to truly believe you can successfully operate a small business based on a dream of doing so *unless* you or someone you know has deep pockets. It is a sad reality.

More in a bit.