Recycling

Our economy has been in a down-turn for quite some time.

That is hardly news. But what is great news is that Alchin's Disposal, located on Grand River Avenue by Nicholson Road, has started up additional services. This is very forward thinking.

When many are pulling back and tightening up their belts to survive until the economy gets going again, this company has decided to take a chance on a new service.

Recycling.

I love it. We used to travel into Williamston, or Howell, or even to DeWitt sometimes to return bottles, cans, plastic, and papers. But now, we can recycle locally.

And the list is long and varied of what you can deposit at Alchin's. Click on the picture in this article to head to their website for more information.

So if you are a recycler, save time and gas by heading to this location. If you are not into recycling, consider it. As they say, every little bit helps. Just imagine if every household chose not to have their trash end of up landfills . . .

A round of applause, in my book, goes to Alchin's Disposal.

Beat the Drum

Beat the drum -- as in drumming up business in new and creative ways.

That was the overall theme for this month's early morning Fowlerville Business Association general meeting this last Tuesday at the Woodshire Place. Colleen Kilpatrick, the Marketing Coach of Colleen & Company, enthused the group with her own brand of ideas for innovating our businesses, staying in touch with clients, and figuring out what works best for each individual company when it comes to keeping present clients and finding new customers.

According to Colleen, there are 3 secrets to success in any economy, as taught by her mentor, Larry Betzler. And this includes not just a thriving economy but also during a down economy . . .

1) Discover and understand the needs of your client,

2) Clearly demonstrate how your product or service satisfies that need, and

3) Stay very closely connected to your client before, during, and long after the sale.

The information download was extensive and always thought-provoking, but one of the items that jumped out at me was to educate your client in exactly what you do. That may well be an area that needs to be explored more thoroughly, particularly with the service I provide.

Custom work.

Everything my company does is a custom job for a client -- whether it is a specific logo that I digitize to sew on any given number of items, or names on clothing, or numbers and names on the backs of jerseys, or personalized baby blankets and fleeces. As I've jokingly told people, "I have sewn everything from a car floormat to a jock strap."

So if you can dream up an idea, I can make it happen. (Oh, and don't ask about that jock strap -- let's just say it was very strange!)

In future articles, I hope to explore many of the businesses in and around Fowlerville to find out exactly what they do. Oh sure, The Decorating Center can sell you a chair, but did you know it can be designed to be exactly the chair you've always wanted? Or you know Sweet Sensations sells chocolate, but do you know why they are far superior to any other store-bought chocolate? And what about Maria's Dance, or Aleta's, or Bridget Gallagher's. So much more is offered than just products and services.

The list could go on and on.

But, for now, let's just say Colleen Kilpatrick has got me thinking of the future and all the wonderful things that lie ahead for me and my clients.

For more information about Colleen or to contact her, head to her website here, or call her at 248.685.9226.

Roofing

In December, 2008, we lost a large number of shingles from every plane of our rooflines. I recounted some of this on Meryl's Musings and you can read that post by clicking here.

Well, now we are into the fun stuff of having the roof re-shingled with what we hope to have last for 30 years. And Daniel A. Mayhew Builder, along with his crew, is doing the work.

And what a wonderful job they are doing.

Now this may start to sound like a commercial for Mayhews, but whatever praise I can heap onto them is well worth it. So far, I have not had to do a thing but spectate.

Unbeknownst to me, the shingles were delivered and the next day, the work began in earnest. Weather permitting, this project may only take a couple more days.

By mid-morning of the first day of work, the west side of the garage had been stripped and the re-shingling began. These guys rarely stopped, except maybe long enough to add a bit more fuel to the generator so they could keep working.

Not bad, though, being able to work under such a beautiful blue sky.

Work continued the second day, under that same clear sky, with Dan "supervising" the men -- or maybe more like bending their ears. They knew exactly what needed to be done.

Our house is a cape-cod style, with wonderful corners and roof slants and dormers to work around. But even that didn't seem to slow them down. Maybe it even makes it a bit interesting.

But, probably one of the coolest things of all is their attention to detail and clean-up. At the end of each day, I was impressed with everything being put away safely, someone sweeping the area for wayward nails, and having their equipment prepped and ready for the next day of work. To me, that is the sign of a company that cares about their employees and their work ethics as much as they care of the client's satisfaction.

If you are interested in reading about more about Mayhew's Services, click here and take time to browse around.

Reminder

The taxman cometh . . . are you ready?

If you haven't gotten an extension, be sure your taxes are in the mail by midnight tonight.

Hope this finds you getting a refund!

Writing Exercises

As the self-proclaimed editor of The Ville, this blog is something I do to enhance my writing (along with my work on Meryl's Musings) while I continue to slave away on my great romance novel.

To my goal of becoming a better writer, I'm always looking for that next class to take. But, as time is of the essence, as busy as my embroidery company keeps me, I have felt very fortunate to discover our Fowlerville Library, and the enthusiasm of the Cheryl and her staff.

One of her staff members, Emily, conducts a weekly writing group session (which by the way, these sessions will soon be ending for the spring, but hopefully another one will be scheduled this fall) and, each week, we are given a writing exercise. These have proven to be fun as well as helpful.

The first one was writing a list poem. Of course, we needed to find out what a list poem consisted of so the internet was put to good use. Well, it is a list, not necessarily rhyming, and is pretty much as long as you want to make it, but pretty much just one sentence. Our theme? Anything to do with warm weather. Here's my offering . . .

My hands
deep in
brown, black
warm soil;
nails encrusted
with grit,
knees tender
from kneeling,
shoulder muscles
straining,
spine tightening,
sun warming
my back,
peacefulness
descending
over me;
springtime
in my garden.

A free-form, mind-wandering exercise . . . whether it is good or bad, it is mine and it is how I feel when the warm weather hits.

Well . . .

The next week, Emily presented us with this picture. We were asked to study it, then describe what we saw or create a story from the objects shown.

My offering . . .

Hey, look . . .

Mom left me an apple. Julie wouldn't mind if I have a snack. I love apples.

Oh, and look . . .

Is that candy? I love M&Ms. I see green ones and blue ones, and, oh my favorite, red ones. I could have a bite of the apple and then an M&M. I wonder how that would taste?

If I reach just a little more, I could get one. Argh, they are too far away. Oh wait, I think . . . yes, there. I've got a piece of candy. Wait, two of them. Guess the apple will have to wait until mom gets home. But at least I could reach the candy.

I wonder if Julie likes M&Ms. I'll share with her . . .

"Julie? See what I found?"

Just like a kid to mistake something else for candy. How many times does that happen?

Well, onto this next week.

We have been given this picture, in black and white, and an exercise in how to show, don't tell. Show, don't tell merely means to describe something without actually giving away the word for it. Merely . . . hah! It is difficult, at best, but exactly what a wanna-be writer needs to work at constantly and try to perfect.

Next week, I'll post what I wrote. But in the meantime . . . try describing this picture and posting it as a comment. Try it, you might like it!

Working Together

The Fowlerville Business Association had its monthly general meeting this last Tuesday evening at the Woodshire Banquet Hall. And it was very interesting. In addition to being greeted with a wonderful smile and welcome by Becky Wilson, the administrator of FBA, the members had a chance to network and catch up with other business owners.

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But as a quick side note - thank you to the Woodshire for an awesome meal of thin-sliced pork with berry sauce, redskin mashed potatoes, corn, and tossed salad - always makes it worth showing up for the meeting!

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Anyhow, back to the meeting. After digging in for great food and stimulating conversation, the group was treated to two informational speeches; one given by John Morris (see picture of John and our FBA member Steve McDermaid) regarding the Fowlerville Family Fair, and the other given by Sandra Warner from the Fowlerville Farmers' Market.

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Both the Fair and the Market are changing and growing. The Fair changed its focus toward the family after fair season 2006, and those changes have now made this non-profit organization everything wonderful (and not in the red). You can head to www.fowlervillefamilyfair.com for additional information and scheduled events.

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The Farmers' Market is still growing and always trying new things. This year the Market will be held in the new parking lot to the west of the hardware store. It will begin in just a couple months, but even now plans are formulating for activities and attendees. For more information, check out http://www.fowlerville.org/FarmersMarket/tabid/6700/Default.aspx for hours of operation and schedule of events.

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And, no matter how you look at it, these two things are a sure sign of wonderful things to come for Fowlerville.

Changing Habits

My husband likes to cook and I enjoy being a sous chef to his creations -- in other words, I prepare the ingredients and he does his magic in putting them together. So that also means the end result is we enjoy eating at home, taking pleasure in the satisfaction of having a home-cooked meal.

But . . . once in a while, oh, it is just that easy to eat out.

Not eating out often is nothing new for us, but what about everyone else? Before our economy took a dive deeper than one of the wastewater retention ponds, how often did you eat a meal outside the home? Once a week? Three times a week? Almost every day?

Are you still eating out that often or have your habits changed? If they have changed, it becomes a slippery-slope for all the businesses around us. If we are not frequenting restaurants as often as we used to, they obviously are not as busy, and the wait staff and other employees suffer -- in hours and tips.

Then the slipping truly begins.

Restaurants may have to raise prices, the staff cannot turn around to go out and spend their money on other businesses, and so on.

Maybe many of us cannot afford to eat out as we did 6 months ago, a year ago; but don't give up on it completely. Just be a bit more selective. If you know you are going to be eating out, frequent the places most dear to your heart.

In a recent article by Buddy Moorehouse, published in www.livingstondaily.com on February 15, he glibly spoke about businesses that are or have suffered in this down economy. Following is just a portion of the article:

We see businesses come and go every year in Livingston County, but we've certainly seen a lot more of them going lately (thanks to the cruddy economy, no doubt). A lot of people are mourning the loss of Checkerboard Pizza and the Hamburg Food Center, to be sure.

Personally, I'm mourning a lot of my favorite spots that have closed down in recent months. Pettysville Junction (formerly Max's Mall) was a little general store in northern Unadilla Township, just around the corner from my house. It closed down a few months ago, and I miss it something fierce.

Sufficient Grounds, a wonderful coffee shop in downtown Howell, shut the doors about the same time. I spent many a lunchtime there enjoying a bagel sandwich and taking advantage of the wireless Internet access.

Heck, we even lost the Fowlerville Big Boy in recent months. Our family used to stop there all the time for breakfast after Saturday-morning gymnastics practice.

All these store and restaurant closings have got me feeling nostalgic for some of the other places of the past that I miss. It's a list that includes Uber's Drugs, the Pinckney Inn, Annie's Pot, the Little Professor Book Store, the Comic Pit, Pinckney Pharmacy, the D&C, Big Wheel (but not Ames) and the Honeydew Cafe. Going way back, you can add the Midget, the Canopy and the Old Howell House.

True, plenty of new and wonderful places have come to town and taken their place — where would we be without the Stillwater Grill, T.W. & Friends and the Fowlerville Wal-Mart? — but we lose something every time a longtime business shuts the doors for good. So humor us, please, while we observe a moment of silence for these two latest casualties.

Laughter sometimes is the best medicine, but this time around, I would like to offer up a different suggestion. Yes, our spending habits are changing and some businesses will suffer. But consider what I mentioned above.

Instead of completely giving up some of these simple pleasures, be selective. It is how we help each other.

Shop Valentine

Hey Valentine, tomorrow is the day you can let your sweetie know how much you appreciate him or her, how your heart is full of love everyday, and, at the same time, you can show that love by shopping downtown Fowlerville.

Head to Sweet Sensations for chocolates, or there's

Aleta's for flowers and gifts, but then

A gift certificate from Shear Image might be just the ticket, and

The Decorating Center has all sorts of ideas from a beautiful vase to new wallpaper, and don't forget

RGDesigns -- so many cool designs!

But how about something that might not normally come to mind? How about . . .

Save-On for a bottle of champagne, or

Fowlerville Hardware for all you would need for a fix-it project (you know, the one you've been putting off forever), or

Rosati's for breakfast-in-bed fixings, or

Take him or her out to breakfast at Olden Days (if you've been banned from the kitchen).

And this only scratches the surface of so many business downtown, not even going beyond the main four corners. Once you do that, the ideas are endless. So, get out there and be Fowlerville's own stimulus package by honoring your valentine.

Business As Usual

Fowlerville works.

It is as simple as that. And that is exactly what I would like to tout today and tomorrow.

Business owners are committed to the success of this area and they continue to show it. And, one of those ways is by being organized. Over 70 businesses and organizations in this area make up the Fowlerville Business Association (which you can investigate more about at www.fowlerville.biz).

If you are a member of this organization, you already know about how networking works at the monthly breakfast and once-a-month after hours activity.

It is invaluable.

In the context of a social situation, businesses are promoted and deals are made. But none of this would work if our companies did not have the support of you, the shopper. So, take a minute and check out Fowlerville Business Association's website listing of their members. You might just find what you are looking for.

Clubbing

As in heading to the Fowlerville Rotary Club.

Every once in a while, I would like to use this Blog as a forum to tout some of the wonderful things going on in Fowlerville. And one of those things is the local Rotary Club. You can check out what our club is involved with by clicking on www.clubrunner.ca/CPrg/home/homeA.asp?cid=1509.

In the meantime, have fun watching this video from one of our prized Rotarians.

Name Game

Something occurred to me recently that I pondered for a bit. Have you ever noticed how creative Fowlerville restaurant and bar owners are in naming their particular place of business? We don't have a Joe's Bar and Grill or a Smith's Restaurant.

We've got . . . Lucky's Pub and Da Shoe. At Lucky's, enjoy anything from pizza to grinders to a full buffet with your pint of ale, or head to Da Shoe for Thursday evening wings year-round or to play of a bit of horseshoes in the summer.

And, then there is Olden Days. Are you hungry for a breakfast that will stick with you all day? Or, are you looking for a bit of round-table conversation at the community table? Or, are your tastebuds doing a dance thinking about some melt-in-your-mouth prime rib?

Oh, and most recently, The Feed Bag. There are only 6 tables in the little building at the corner of Garden Lane and South Grand. But that just makes it more desirable to vie for one of those tables to enjoy their bag meals.

But, maybe the most original name is the Bloated Goat. When we first moved here, I was hesitant to step into a place with the word bloated in the description for their place of business. But if you are looking for a hamburger extra-ordinaire, step through the glass door where The Goat happily welcomes you.

Well, it was inevitable. My pondering then reached new heights.

About the time we arrived in Fowlerville, the Shady Lady was closing up. But what other restaurants and bars were there . . . and what were they called? Are these modern day restaurants a continuation of a tradition of interesting names, or is this a new phenomenon?

I would love to hear from those out in the Internet tubes. Your memories?