Hi again Dudes n' Dudettes!

Guess who!

Uh... well, no.

It's me.

How soon we forget. :::sigh:::

I'm out of condition for a few days and I'm not even a memory. :( Where was I you sez? In a disaster area. (Really!) Power out for 4 days. Snow, cold, cut off from civilization, suffering, cold (did I already say that?), no phones and watching the cellar fill up with water. That was the bright point. It was something to do! No fish though. Probably a good thing. I don't have a boat.

Anyway, sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but... I'm baaaack! :)

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Ok, we are currently undergoing some major web site modifications. You may have noticed that our site has been a bit erratic lately. Please bear with us as we are working toward some major changes to make your shopping experience better!

We're just about done (but not quite) and we got ton's o' new kidz stuff. Why? Kids R people too! We are working on new calendars for 07. We have deep red t-shirts. Sheesh. Still working on some travel mugs and a bunch of other secret offerings. And don't forget to check our holiday/birthday section. Starting to add new items there as well. Especially for the dude in the red jacket. And pants. And hat. You know, the red dude. Don't forget we're always open for suggestions!
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You know, we say on our main page that we have nearly 5000 items. It's a lie. We blew by that a couple of months ago. I'm gonna have to fix that one of these days. Oh. Nevermind. I did.

(FACT: Old people repeat themselves.)

Did you know that makes us the biggest Masonic gift shop on the planet? And it's all thanks to you guys. (Oh... and gals too. I am always politcally inept!) Whoo hoo!

Ahem.

(regaining composure here)

(realizing here that I never had any to begin with)
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Need to use that coupon? If you like something but it's not enough to make that latest coupon work, why not pick up a button or sticker? It's like getting it for free!
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Ok, onward and upward! Well... maybe sideways.

Seems a lot of folks want custom stuff. Well that's fine. I have noooo problem with that. BUT!!! PLEASE contact us first before you order. As most of you know, Cafepress does our printing. If you order it on line, you won't get anything custom. They can't do it. All the graphics are copyrighted by us so if they changed anything, even adding a name, they'd be breaking the law.

Even if you order something and then contact us, it's a problem. Because if we modify or add something to a design, even a name, it becomes a different item. So the original order has to be canceled and you'd have to re-order the newly created custom design. Or you'll end up getting the one you DON'T want.

So, what happens when we create it? We send you a link to it so you can take a look and order it if you like it. Now, if it's just something that say's... Joe's mug or a Lodge name or something, we'll just put it in the custom area. If it's a full name, like Joe H. Lastname, we put it in a hidden area so no one can see it but you. Unless you want it to be seen. You just have to tell us it's ok.
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And while I'm at it, speaking of requests, maybe you can help me out here. I get some requests from folks from AOL. Sometimes they don't realize that they have their internet email shut off! (yes, AOL users can set their email so it refuses mail from anywhere except AOL). I can't get back to them. I have much sadness... they have much sadness.
So if you know someone on AOL, please let them know they should check their settings. I don't ignore anyone. As you all know, I get great pleasure from annoying people! You're getting this newsletter aren't you?
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Ok, affiiates listen up. Your sales have been steadily picking up month after month. That's really cool. I hope your profits are going to some really great fund raising projects and I'm really proud to help you guys n' gals out. With the holidays rapidly approaching, now's the time to really get rolling.

Yes it's not easy to affiliate without a web site. You can do it. Some of you are, but it's much easier with a web site. But don't forget, if you don't have one, we'll make you one. Like so...
http://gbp.net/yourlodge/

Again, free. Just send us what you want on it along with your pid number and voila. You'll have an instant web site. Well, mebbe not instant instant, but it'll be there! So you have no excuse to not make money for your Lodge. All you have to do is ask. No cost web site, no cost fund raising working 24/7 just for your Lodge (Or OES chapter)

Don't know what an affiliate program is? In a word... free money.

Hmm...

Two words.

I wracked my brain trying to get it into one but wrecked my brain trying. And here you thought I couldn't get worse.
(Me too) I now have a wrecked wracked brain. Or is that a wracked wreck... oh, nevermind.

Check out http://gbp.net/masonicshop/affilli.html
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I'm considering opening up another shop. Closing The Masonic Shop? Nope. Just adding another company that does more colored shirts than we handle now. Film at 11. Oh, wait.. this is old news. Ok, film at http://www.printfection.com/masons

Don't forget our wall art shop. (Hey, I'm busy!) Check it out. Not much there yet, but... c'mon, there's only one o' me! When you click on a pic you get a framed price (which you can modify with a billion choices) but you can order just the print and frame it yourself. You can get it printed on canvas or 9000 other things. Well, ok maybe not 9000.
http://garyoa1.imagekind.com/masonicart

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If you've never visited our "off the wall, non-Masonic section", check it out and hopefully get a few laughs. They're "on loan" from the Eclectically Incorrect shop. If you follow the link that's there to their shop, you'll find a bunch of other strange things! But a word of warning... some can be a tad "risque".
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Coupons, we got coupons!!!
Well, sometimes. If you don’t like the one currently on Cafepress (or maybe there isn't one at all) you can check this site out. Sometimes they have others not listed anywhere else.

http://www.cpcoupon.com/
or
http://cpcoupons.com/

If one doesn't work, the other should. (They are actually two different sites)
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I'm looking for stars! Want to be on the TMS (The Masonic Shop) web page?
As you know (yeah, sure you do), I'm going to start archiving the newsletters on the website. (Well, ok, one of these days) (When I get a round tuit) If you have one of our shirts (or whatever) and would like to be seen alllll over the world... send us a pic of you wearing it. Or using it (unless you're scrubbing the floor with it) or throw... uh... wait. I have to draw the line somewhere. WoW. This whole thing is like deja vu all over again.

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Links to other shops you may enjoy...
http://gbp.net/masonlinks/
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Don't forget to check out our wallpaper page. We still add to it once
in a while. (and we do take requests)

http://www.gbp.net/valleylodge/graphics/WP/
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Ok, I'm outta here. I'm going to sit in the cellar and watch the mold grow. In the meantime... Keep it square!

S&F

Gary

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http://www.gbp.net/masonicshop