Clara's Coffee Shoppe (Part 7)

Clara's Coffee Shoppe has come together and is ready to open.




Here's a couple of exterior views.



Cash register in place. Glass display case ready for fresh doughnuts, bagels and assorted goodies.



Clara (to herself) : Now I just need to wait for my very first customer.



Several hours later;
Clara: Still no customers! I don't think I've forgotten anything. The Grand Opening Ad was is the "Pixie Times". I sure hope Ariel did not find another way the sabotage my new business.



Clara: I guess I'll just have to sit here and wait.

Clara's Coffee Shoppe (Part 6)

The "Addition" went really well.

The new room will be used for storage. It will also have a double sink and the refrigerator.



The new plans also required the installation of a skylight.



We have added an outside patio in the front of the building. There will be a couple of awning tables in this area.



The espresso machine, toaster oven and blender are in place. The interior table and chairs are ready for use. The cash register is on it's counter and bins in the show case, are ready for doughnuts, bagels and etc.



The table and chairs for the patio are due to arrive at any moment, at which time we need to have the "Grand Opening" sign ready. Clara's "dream" is soon to be a reality!

I'm moving the crew back to the light house project, which has made Taelyn very happy.

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I just got a call from a very excited Miss Pamplemouse. Clara informed me that the sign on the coffee shop can now read "Clara's Coffee Shoppe". again. Due to some strange happenings in the Tree House, her business well be located at a differant site. Ariels trademark ploy is only in effect at the Tree House. Clara is very happy that she can call her business by it's orginal name. We'll get the sign changed before the Grand Opening!

Clara's Coffee Shoppe (Part 5)

The whole crew had been busy on Taelyn's lighthouse, when I received a call from Miss Clara. She has found an investor! Clara asked me to met her, Miranda and the investor Mr. Takanori at the site of her business. Due to the Trade Mark problems, Clara's Coffee Shoppe will now be called the"Wolfs Head Hideout". Miranda came up with the name. When this whole thing came to a head, Miranda had been reading "Robin Hood", and discovered that the Sheriff of Nottingham had placed a bounty on the "Merry Men". That bounty was the same as the bounty on a wolves head, so the Sherwood Band was sometimes referred to as the "Wolf Heads".

When I arrived Clara was just meeting Mr. Takanori and his assistant, Cloris (she serves as Mr. T's translator).

Mr. Takanori was very impressed with Clara's description of her dream business. How she had visualized the layout of the coffee shoppe.

Miranda had explained to Mr. Takanori the difficulty that Clara was having with Ariel, and Clara's lack of financing. Cloris then explained that Mr. Takanori was very interested in backing Clara's dream. He felt however, that Clara needed to think on a large scale, and asked what additional things Clara would do if she had "unlimited" financial backing.

Miranda and Clara went inside and conferred. Clara of course was very excited. After the discussion, they had a further conference with Mr. T. He approved of the revised plans, but saw the need to enlarge the coffee shoppe.

An addition at the rear seemed to be the answer.

The meeting broke up, and I returned to the Lighthouse. Taelyn was not upset when I told him and the crew that we would be relocating to the Coffee Shoppe project.

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When I arrive the next morning there was a forklift unloading equipment.


A toaster oven,

an espresso machine,

refrigerator and misc. items.

I am not privy to what kind of a deal Clara has worked out with Mr. Takanori, but I am very glad to see that her dream will be realized.

Clara and Miranda presented me with modified plans, showing an addition to the rear of the structure. They had been pretty busy, as the plans were approved and had been added on to the existing building permit. Thing go pretty fast when the money reaches the right pockets.

The Lighthouse (Part 1)

Since Pixielated Builders had to suspend work on the coffee shop, the whole crew has been busy on Taelyn's lighthouse. The main walls are up. Tarin has just finished checking the exterior paint job.



Wallpaper has been hung on the walls of the first and second floors. The plan is for the first floor to be the dining, kitchen and living room.



Taelyn wants his bedroom on the second floor.



Once Taelyn decides what the third floor will be used for, we will paper and/or paint it, accordingly. There is a chance that the third floor may end up as an unfinished storage room. Taelyn has been involved in a variety of business ventures, and has acquired a lot of "stuff".

The entryway is about ready. It will need some tile on the lower walls and floor.


So far our biggest problem had been keeping Taelyn from getting underfoot. Luckily the Phist boys have some experience in such matters. He also still get some emergency response calls for his Fire Truck.

Speaking of Taelyn's fire truck, there is a rumour going around that Taelyn is being "paid" not to respond to fires in this area. The regular Fire Department and emergency response units give him a monthly fee to stay out of their way. That's where he got the money for the Lighthouse. I'll have to ask him about that.

Clara's Coffee Shoppe (Part 4)

Lefty called me and told me that Ariel had called him, insisting that he and Wright meet her at Clara's Coffee Shoppe, Immediately! Being good employees, Lefty had called to check with me. I agree to meet Wright and Lefty at Clara's. When I arrived the Phist Bros. were busy taking down the "Clara's Coffee Shoppe, Coming Soon" sign, while Ariel supervised.

I quizzed Ariel about what was going on, and by what authority she felt she could have the sign taken down.

"It's quite simple my dear Mr. Pender, I have Trademarked several words with the FAE Government. I have exclusive usage of these Trademarked words in the Tree House. Coffee, Shoppe (and all variations there of), and Clara's, are now owned by me! Any use without my written approval is a misdemeanor, punishable by severe fines and anything else I can come up with! Please continue with the sign removal."

Ariel had several legal looking documents to prove her point. Rumor had it that Ariel was very upset about not being able to force Clara into a business arrangement! I had no idea Miss Ixie would go this far. Who Trademarks an individuals name?

We had no choice but to take the sign down. Lefty and Wright were amazed when Ariel proceeded to stomp on the sign, as it lay on the ground.

Grinding her tiny little foot into it.

Once Ariel had departed, I tried to call Miss Clara. There was no answer, hope she is okay.

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When I arrived home, there was a message on my answering machine from Taelyn. He asked if I could come by and advice him about a construction project he was involved in.

Taelyn acquired a kit for a Light House and has been trying to assemble it on his own. Never a good idea! We moved the kit to my work area and are checking to see what can be done .

"It doesn't look like the picture on the box" complained Taelyn. A door-to-door lighthouse salesman had come by Taelyn's and talked him into purchasing the kit.

"Should I sue the salesman, for selling me a defective kit" asked Taelyn? After I checked the kit over, I told Taelyn that the kit looked like it was repairable. I've told Taelyn that the Phist boys and myself will be over tomorrow to help him build his new home.

The lighthouse will keep us busy while we are waiting to hear from Clara.

Clara's Coffee Shoppe (Part 3)

The Phist Bros and I have had a pretty good week. The counters have been built and are in place.

We built a special case for displaying Clara's doughnuts. We have also added two ceiling fans with lights.



There is also a smaller counter for the cash register, and another for cream and sugar dispensers.



All in all, I am quite pleased with the way this job is turning out. Clara said that she would be by soon and had some news for me, which she felt was better delivered in person.

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Miss Pamplemouse has come and gone. Our meeting was not what I had expected! According to Clara, Ariel is trying to take over the Coffee Shoppe. To keep Clara from getting the necessary capital to continue the project, Ariel has caused Clara to lose all of her cleaning jobs. Without any income, Clara has told me to stop working and lock the place up. She has no way of paying for any more work.

I really feel sorry for Miss Clara, if I could afford to continue without her financing, I would. It was really depressing to hear Miss C. talk about how she visualized the way the shoppe would have looked.

She had been looking forward to the time when the "Sorry We're Closed" sign would have been changed to "Yes We're Open".



Fresh doughnuts and bagels in the show case. The coffee urns lined up on the counter behind. Coffee cups stacked neatly beside the urns.



Spoons, stir sticks, cream and sugar already on their own counter.



I've sent Lefty and Wright home. There is nothing to do but make sure our tools are picked up and lock the place up. It is very sad when a dream comes to this sort of an end!

Clara's Coffee Shoppe (Part 2)

Work on the Coffee Shoppe has been somewhat sporadic. The problem is with the financing. Miss Clara makes her living by doing housekeeping for various residents of the "Tree House".
While she is very industrious, there is not an unlimited demand for her cleaning skills. She is putting every penny she can into the construction of her "dream".

Ariel stopped by a couple of days ago, and was impressed with the Coffee Shoppe. She mentioned stopping by and presenting a proposition to Clara, that might help with her finanical problems. She also had some suggestions, almost as if she had some control over this project. She seems very interested in the "Clara's Coffee Shoppe, Coming Soon" banner.

We have been making headway, never-the-less. There is a parquet floor in the dining area and tile part-way up the walls.

The food prep area is tiled. We have had to build some counters to "fit", and there a several more to build.Clara sent over a box of her home made doughnuts and coffee, with a note. The note said: "Do Not Take Any Instructions From Ariel. Miranda and I will be by to see you soon.Thank you, Clara Pamplemouse". If these were an example of her epicurean talent, she'll have a "GREAT" coffee shoppe business.