Jeanne-ology: Jar Week

Today is Thursday and Jeanne is finally back with her thoughts on the last few weeks, which should be interesting because it has been a busy month at PJP. Enjoy! Rebecca

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Hello Thursday Readers! It has been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. Rebecca says that it has been a month. I am not sure that is right, but it doesn't matter anyway. I just know that I am back tonight. (Rebecca editing to add: Spoiler alert - I’m right.)

I do know that PJP has been extremely busy last week and this week. I have been calling it jar week! So many jar orders. I don't think we have ever had so many jar orders for November. (Rebecca editing to add: The Discovery Channel should give us a reality show and call it Jar Week instead of Shark Week. Frankly, I feel less stressed about sharks than jars right right now.)

What has happened in my absence? I have been having teeth problems and unexpectedly had a tooth pulled! I have been in such pain and taking a lot of antibiotics. Two weeks ago, we had a lot of activity on our secret project that I wish I could mention, but I can't reveal right now. Needless to say, having a swollen jar and gum pain put me at a disadvantage trying to be all dolled up and smiling during our project. We will see how that pans out. Right now we have signed an agreement to be hush hush on the project. (Rebecca editing to add: She was SUPER grouchy by hour 10 of our special project. Best way to make Jeanne cranky? Have her hurry up and wait.)

Thanksgiving is approaching fast, orders have been rolling in, and our cut off date to order is the 16th of this month. Secretly, I wish we had cut orders earlier. I am overwhelmed with the number of pie orders. Our freezer space has already been maxed out, which reminds me of my argument with Rebecca when we moved to our current location. We need a walk in cooler! No ifs, and or buts about it. Last year we rented a freezer trailer at outrageous fees per day. The trailer was small and helped in some ways. This year we have a lead to rent a walk in cooler. Thank goodness! Stocking up on stamped out pie shells, jelly jars, quiches and pot pies require a walk in cooler. If PJP ever has a second location, a walk in cooler will be a priority! If not, I will not sign anything pertaining to a lease. Take note, Rebecca! (That’s a lot to unpack. The order number is stressing me out also, but basically EVERYTHING is stressing me out these days. Also, walk-in coolers are expensive…so you have to sell a lot of pies to buy one, so you need a lot of orders, and then that is stressful…so hello, vicious cycle.)

Some of our staff are college students.. That is a concern because should Mizzou close campus amid another lockdown, we will lose some of our staff. Ugh, please don't let this happen until after Thanksgiving. If the dorms close, I have been thinking of offering staff the use of our two guest rooms. Of course, they may decline when they realize that my husband and our dog don't like houseguests. I will need to convince my husband the need to sacrifice his privacy to help PJP meet order demands. I can persuade our dog with human food from the table and she would deal with the situation. (Rebecca editing to add: Is coercing your employees to stay in your guest rooms during a pandemic lockdown so we can make thousands of pies crossing a line? Asking for a friend.)