I get grumpy now every time I hear someone say that no, we aren’t in a recession, that everything’s fine. Why? Because I’m watching business after business shut down. I’m in a reasonably nice area by Annapolis. It’s a lot more “recession-proof” than some places. And yet, you can definitely see the effects. We walked into our long-time favorite dry cleaner’s business just before Christmas, only to find out that they’d been told that very morning that they were closing in just three days’ time and everyone was out of a job. The woman who told us this said this was the second time this had happened to her that year.

Later that day I noticed that the chocolate shop I’d always managed to barely restrain myself from delving into had vanished. The next day I saw two more empty spaces in the signage of a nearby shopping plaza. And those weren’t the last places I noticed.

Honestly, I’m thrilled we’ve gotten any sales at all at our new Etsy and Shop Handmade stores, given how steeply jewelry sales have dropped this holiday season (something like 25% overall, and it’ll be even harder for a new place like ours with no established customer base). I think it’s positively a miracle that we’ve gotten as many sales as we have. It might not be enough to call a real “income,” but in this climate I’m simply grateful that my husband has a steady job and I have a way to supplement that a bit.

So if you’ve got a steady job, spare a moment to be thankful for it today, and to hope that things get better for everyone who suddenly finds themselves struggling for work.

Anyway, several book reviews coming soon, as well as a cat update and similar bits of less depressing frippery!