Adriane Pope (Creative groomer extraordinare) is currenty in ICU with Covid-19. Prayers and donations needed. She is a great human being who cares about everyone. She fell ill after going to Angela Kumpe and Lori Graig to do a webinar. They are fine after isolation and testing but she is not.  Please help or pray in any way possible. Andrea Pope go Fund Me ..read more

  I have a habit of being able to predict the future. Seriously. Back in November I had a recurring series of panic attacks, and I could not figure out what I was predicting. I just knew something was going to happen. It was bad. I knew I could not continue to keep 7 people on staff (myself included). There was no reason for the panic attacks. There was no reason we could not continue to keep everyone employed. We were coming up on the busiest season of all and we were not at all slowing down. But something was gnawing at me and I could not let it go.  It was stressing me out and there were s ..read more

I want to say that at the time of this blog posting the following protocol is being used at my salon. This is subject to change with very short notice based on the local ordinance for sheltering in place being changed. I am NOT telling you to open, and I am not condemning you if you decide to open. I AM TELLING YOU that if your area has a shelter in place order in effect you need to clarify with your local, county or state governmental agency that issued the order to verify whether or not grooming is considered essential or allowed under exceptions.  The USA CDC requirements for SOCIAL DISTANC ..read more

SO, you are still open? Me too! I am really booked out and no one is missing an appointment. Fans of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy know that those two words are emblazoned in the Guides cover. It has become my motto for the last few months.  BUT we do owe it to our staff and clients to take preliminary precautions for their safety. not to mention ourselves. This virus, while usually mild like a bad comd or flu, can literally turn lungs into glass globules similar to the Sarcoidosis that I live with, so I am one of the people who has to worry about getting sick.  But. Don't Panic! Things w ..read more

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I admit.  I was worried.  I almost didn't order this mask. It's COTTON. Hair will stick.  And yet so far, this is my favorite mask I have tried.  It has ear straps that are adjustable with tiny rubber bands, a "chin cup", nose bridge adjustment and a filter pocket inside that holds 2.5micron active charcoal filters. Some hair sticks and I suggest washing them by hand or in an ultrasound machine, but it's nowhere near as bad as I expected.  I've been wearing this mask for 5 days, including shopping and gardening,  at doctor's offices and working. I changed the filter when breathing became mor ..read more

So, now you have your favorite mask. Or, not. But keeping whichever mask you choose clean, well, that's the topic of today's post. This is this inside filter of my RZ mask. It is an activate charcoal filter and it is, well, past it's best days.  Hair has worked it's way through the filter to my face. Time to replace it!! I also wash the outer covering separately from anything else in a fresh ultrasonic machine with laundry soap and air dry after rinsing.   When I take off whichever mask I am wearing I use a small force dryer to clean off any loose hairs, then put it directly into a plastic b ..read more

I am sitting in a hospital bed, awaiting a brochoscopy with biopsy to confirm a diagnosis of sarcoidosis and rule out lymphoma.  It's been years of fighting for answers. The last weeks I have gotten some. Now, learn from my experience.   Since I was diagnosed with Interstitial lung disease, believed to be related to sarcoidosis, I have been adamant about wearing a mask. I should have been wearing one all the time, but like most of us, I wasn't.  I started wearing them while drying dogs several years ago, but there is hair, dander, flea product residue and just dirt in general in all areas of t ..read more

Let this be a lesson to everyone who undercharges or undercuts themselves. Something funny happens when you have to downsize and start charging what you should in the first place. People get mad and start to call you unstable and insane. This woman has been rude to everyone in here but me. One time about 4 years ago one of my groomers groomed them while I was out of town and she took photos, sent them to me for analysis to keep her happy. She still complained that they were horrible. crooked, uneven, no one but me ever got them right. When I showed her the photos she said, "WHY did she take p ..read more