Braymere Custom Saddlery: Random

Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Dressing the chicken

Back in May, the company that employs me announced it had been sold to a liquidation company.

At first, it was really sad.

Then - for the next two and a half months - it was extremely busy and extremely chaotic.

But now?

It's mostly depressing.

Today, we went an entire hour without making a single sale. After sixty long minutes of busywork and doom scrolling, I looked over at Victoria and said, "I think it's time to dress the chicken."

At the same time we are going out of business, the store next to us - the store that moved into the space that used to be ours - is celebrating their grand opening.

We've been talking to the owners throughout their entire construction process, and as soon as the chicken arrived, I told them it needed a saddle. They probably thought I was kidding, but no. I always planned to make that happen. I was just waiting for a day like today.

Victoria and I walked over to their store with a pair of splint boots and a Dover cap in hand. We told them our plans, and suddenly there was just a little bit of panic.

The chicken isn't permanently to his base, please don't knock him over. Also, his head and neck pop off.

I laughed and said I'd tacked up my share of uncooperative horses, both big and small. I think I could handle one chicken.

The bridle was, in fact, a challenge.

But we were more than up to the task.

After we were done, the liquor store guys came out and took pictures of our handiwork. It was impressive, if I do say so myself.

And, you know... after we created this magnificent display, our foot traffic picked up, and we ended up having a decent day.

Sometimes you really just need to dress a chicken!

Friday, July 17, 2026

Back among the living

This sign - which was posted at James' old apartment complex - states that every summer has a story.

It's barely the second half of July, and already, this summer has had a lot of stories.

I've written about most of them, at least briefly, but one thing I have not mentioned is a low-level but persistent health issue that suddenly became a lot less ignorable earlier this week. One trip to urgent care and a lot of antibiotics later, I can mostly think again. Regular posting resumes today, hopefully.