Done and Dusted

Opening day is done and dusted!

I love being in that space so much. It makes me very happy.

We had a visitor before we even opened the doors this morning. Another business owner dropped by to have a sticky beak before anyone else got through the door, which was kind of uncomfortable because we were madly rushing around trying to tie up loose ends before we opened for business.

At the end of the day, I retraced our steps to count how many people actually came through our doors and we had 22 visitors in six hours.

Unfortunately, one of those visitors was The Little Mermaid, a resident of our town who lives on her boat on the river, but who has many serious problems ranging from drug abuse, alcoholism and mental health issues. She cried a lot and talked nineteen to the dozen about all of her current problems, emptying out her bags onto the floor of the shop and showing me all of her official papers and describing how difficult life is for her.

It was sad and I felt so bad for her. I hugged her before she left the shop and wished her well. She has tried so many different avenues and it seems that a lot of departments and officials have let her down and it's difficult to know how to help her.

I do know that she needs to be heard and I can listen. I also know that our shop is not the place for her to be during her episodes, so I have a plan for her future visits. (My Centrelink experience coming to the fore here!)

We certainly had some interesting characters through the door, including some locals whom I have never set eyes upon before today.

One elderly lady who had some crazy stories to tell and who wants to do both the photography course and the journalling course. I can't wait to hear some more about her life!

There were a few holiday makers who noticed our signs and came to investigate.

Lovely friends dropped in, some with their take away coffee, and some just to wish us luck.

So we had a slow but steady stream of people and in between we got a little bit of work done.

Even though our plan is to work 9 - 3, we didn't leave the shop until after 5pm.

I have a long 'to do' list for tomorrow that's for sure, and we'll be having the girls in for coffee in the morning.

It's 10pm and I need sleep.

Nite all.