Bushes Make Good Neighbors

My neighbor Henry is an extraordinary gardener and cultivator of the land.  As the only things in our yard that grow are perennials that thrive on benign neglect he constantly impresses us with his diligence & painstaking care of his garden.

Also impressive, is Henry's "walking the walk".  He takes the Biblical edict of giving away one's "first fruits" literally.  As such we have been the willing recipients of his largess, sampling the first zucchini or tomato in seasons past and just yesterday, these lovely raspberries. 

Henry is also the neighbor I call the "Silver Sleuth".  He takes great delight in digging antique silver out of junk shops, letting me re-sell it at the shop and donating the proceeds to charity.

That's Henry. A good man & a great example, in more ways than one.

Leaving the Nest

Spring is ripe with possibilities but THIS spring at the Stifel household has been rife with big turbulence, fraught discussions and very exciting decisions.
After much agonizing & trepidation, we made a family decision that my husband Bob would put in his notice and quit his day job. *GULP*.

The idea is that if he takes over the financial & operations end of the business it will leave me more free time to do pro-active sales and marketing to get the word out about Stifel & Capra.  Oh, and make my art, you remember? The reason I opened the store in the first place! 

The prayer is that we can achieve more family unity and life balance while working on ALL of our pet projects.  One of mine? Regular blogging.  Stay tuned!