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Bubbles ‘Twas the Nights Before Christmas

‘Twas the nights before Christmas
And all through the store
Not a creature was stirring;
The animal hijinks were no more.

Merchandise was dwindling
Going out the door front.
Happy customers exclaiming it was
The end of the hunt!

Each evening your Fish Friends are nestled
All snug in their beds.
While visions of gifts
ran through their heads.

With just a few days till Christmas
And presents all wrapped
I had just settled my fins down
For a sweet little nap.

When out on the sales floor
There arose such a clatter,
I looked down from my perch
To see what was the matter.

Over by a lake map,
There stood a young man
In a Branson ball cap.

He said in a panic (for his delay he felt bad).
“Please tell me I can get one of these for my dear Dad!”
Then he stumbled and fumbled, he was so ill at ease,
He then whipped out a list and started his pleas.

“Something for Grandma,
my Mom, and my Sis.”
“A little something for my brother
who I usually miss.”

Linda and Jenn knew our team could assist
and started to call out their names one by one
“Now Kim! Now Michelle!
Now Lauren and Kenzie!
On Rosemary!! On Rachel!!
Let’s get busy!

To the top of the displays, from the front to the back
Let’s do this and fill up all his sacks
With beautiful treasures and one of a kinds.
This young man had the perfect gifts in mind.

The girls wrapped each of his gifts with care
and gave him a fun experience to share.
The man was off with his gifts,and walked away with a smile
He thanked the girls for their wondrous Elf style.

“Best experience ever—I shall not forget
my Fish friends, I really must jet.”
He tipped his cap to the crew and me on the wall
He smiled once more.and said with a drawl,
“Merry, Merry Christmas to Y’all!”

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It’s Time to get Your Fall On!!!

Hello to my Fabulous Fish Friends! Summer is over and it seems like Mother Nature has hopped back on
her meds and is finally going to drop the temps a little for us here in Branson. It’s a pleasant 76 today
and I am thrilled mainly for my girls at the Fish because they don’t care for this HOT, HOT, HOT we’ve
had since June!


Speaking of Fall—have you begun or finished getting your spaces decorated? Linda and my Fish Family
here have decorated the front of the store and inside and I get my own BOOVILLE on October 1 st named
after me of course. I will have Jenn take some photos of BUBBLES BOOVILLE and get them on the
Facebook page!

Speaking of decorating, I have listened to Linda over the years, and she is a creative genius as we all
know. I thought on this blog will share some ideas for decorating for Fall with products we have at The
Fish—in my humble opinion, you can never have too many ideas.
Let’s start with Nora Fleming, I know many of you are familiar! Nora has provided us with some new
Witch Legs this year which is perfect with the Spooky House, Witches Hat, and Jack O’Lantern for
Halloween! The new legs also look adorable in that new purple Dainty Dish—Very Spooky! Also, have
you seen people decorating the bride and groom for Spooky Season? Cool!

Speaking of Jack—a guest showed me this little trick—Jack transitions right into Fall by just showing his
backside in your displays. Then decorate with the new Leaf, Pumpkin Spice, and so many others for Fall.
Which ones do you use?
I am sure you noticed The Pumpkin Patch in the store. Not only do we have the handmade quilted
pumpkins, we also have the beautiful Hot Skwash Pumpkins which are Fabulous too!
Hot Skwash decorative pumpkins are made in Oregon by trained women artisans and the owner,
Daria.   Each squash is one of a kind with unique colors, velvet “skin” and a real pumpkin stem
which is dried for over a year so it will last you forever.  If you were going to turn into a pumpkin
at midnight, you would want it to be one of these beauties!  They are also filled with crushed
walnut shells which give them some weight! The beautiful things go quickly year after year so
hurry and get you one or three today!
We also have the cutest burlap mini pumpkins which look great in a bowl or jar and come in a variety of
colors! So whether you are decorating your mantle, your foyer, your dining room table, the Fish has
some beautiful items for you! I could go on all day but I need to think more on my Halloween costume…
Bubbles out until next time!

Xoxo

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Fall is Coming!

Hello, my friends!  It’s already mid-August and the kids are headed back to school.  This means Fall is just around the corner! Speaking of Fall, the UPS guy, and our local artists are bringing in plenty of Fall goodies for us!  BUT from my perch on the wall, I am not sure where Linda thinks the girls are going to put it all.  Jenn finally came back from her 900-plus day vacation so I may have smacked her with my fins!  Linda did great at slashing prices, and I am talking DEEP, DEEP discounts (like the bottom of TRL) so maybe we can get out all the summer and start getting out the Fall Pumpkins, blankets, towels, and more!!!    Ok before the ladies GO LIVE at 4 PM I will let you know they did get a few items out—BUT there is so much more so PLEASE come buy this other stuff, so the girls don’t move me out in the hopes of finding more space.   Comment on the FB post under where Jenn links to the blog and tell me what your favorite thing about Fall is!   I’ll “swim” ya later my Fabulous Fish Friends.

Xoxo,

Bubbles

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Bubbles Blog—Lines from the Lake

August 2, 2022

Happy August!  What a beautiful month.  August is the last flicker of sun and heat before Fall arrives. 

Summer may be fading but we have enjoyed seeing so many of you this summer with your families and friends in the store!  Without fail when our friends come in, they mention how lovely the store smells. 

By the way here is a science lesson for you today…Did you know Fish smell?  Well, we certainly do!

So why does the store smell so good?  No Linda doesn’t make us fresh-made cookies in the back.  Sad deal.

We have so many great scent givers in the store!

Goat Soap from SW Missouri

Inis Products from Ireland

Finchberry Soap from Northern Florida

And my new favorite Scent Chips

Proudly Handcrafted in San Antonio, Texas, Scentchips have been handmade since 1979. The scent chip team takes great pride in crafting beautiful aromas that stand apart from the average melt. Scentchips are made using the finest ingredients and a carefully crafted soy wax blend. It’s like they are

making the world smell better… one chip at a time.

I love this family’s story which began modestly in a small garage. They truly are the best fragrances on the market. 

How much fun is the scent chip table at the store?  It’s so much fun to create a scent with all the wax melts.  If you recall in my first blog where I created my own scent “BUBBLES” (Bonus if you read this far.) Drop my “recipe” for Bubbles in the comments on the FB post where Jenn links this one and maybe I’ll take a cue from Linda and put you in a drawing for something fun!

The girls were a little jealous that I made my own blend, so I let them come up with some of their own…For the first time ever here are their recipes.

SUMMER GARDEN

  • Jasmine
  • Lily
  • Rain
  • Pacific

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW

  • Coconut
  • Pacific
  • Driftwood
  • Leather

FRUIT SALAD YUMMY YUMMY

  • Cherry
  • Blackberry
  • Melon
  • Strawberry

BLACKBERRY COBBLER WITH ORANGE ZEST

  • Pie Crust
  • Blackberry
  • Vanilla
  • Orange

SWISHER SWEET

  • Cherry
  • Driftwood
  • Rustic Cabin
  • Wood Bouquet

Impressive Ladies!  What scent would you create? 

The girls will be happy to assist! 

I’m going to go cool off for a bit in Lake Taneycomo. Until next time my Fabulous Fish Friends.

Xoxo,

Bubbles

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Beat the heat at our Branson store

Hello to my Fintastic Crystal Fish Friends! It’s Bubbles and hey let’s talk about this heat.

It is so flippin’ hot in Branson right now….BUT it is nice and cool in the lake and in the store.

So here is my FSA (Fish Service Announcement)

  • COOL OFF–Come to The Crystal Fish and enjoy their COLD A/C sit and stay a bit—the girls and I love to visit with you.
  • STAY HYDRATED–The girls here are super sweet and have plenty of ice cold water for you to enjoy while shopping.
  • ENJOY COLD TREATS—The Crystal Fish has Ice Cream and what’s better than a COLD sweet treat on a HOT, HOT day? They even have spoons—such sweet girls!

Is it hot where you live too and you can’t make it over to shop?

Shop our online store — it’s available 24/7.

Or our crew will be happy to Face-time you or send photos of what we have in the store. We love sending packages out with goodies from The Fish and shopping without leaving the comfort of your own home and A/C sounds magical.

The girls are here from 10A to 6P 7 days a week and will be happy to assist! 417-335-8236 I’m here too but I haven’t figured out how to answer the phone yet with Fins. It is certainly always fun at the Fish and I just get to look over everything from my perch and enjoy!

The girls had a FLOCK party last week and Linda was slinging some “Flocktails” that looked really yummy. Speaking of fun, the girls and I cannot wait to see you in the shop, talk to you on the phone, or see you on Facebook every week.

We simply adore our Fabulous Fish Friends! Take Care, Stay Cool!

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Bubbles Blog Lines from the Lake

Hello to the Crystal Fish Friends! If you know the Crystal Fish, then you must know of me. After all the store is kinda named after me LOL, I’m Bubbles and I think it’s about time that I let you know my side of the story—A Fish Tale, if you will, BTW I think I’m pretty funny.

My first blog post is dedicated to Miss Mary though. Let me tell you about Mary…

You knew her as Mary, Linda and Donna’s mom, she was Nanny to her granddaughter Amber, she was Nanster to Tim and Nanny to the rest of the team at TCFG. Her laughter, wit, fun and smile were unforgettable, her love for all things in the shop was apparent. She always thanked me for looking over things from my perch on the wall. But her love for all of you, our wonderful Fish Friends, was heartwarming, and those are memories we will keep forever in our hearts.

Mary had a sassy side, so I know where Linda gets it! Speaking of sassy…if you haven’t watched the Linda and Jenn Comedy Show on Fridays at 4 on Facebook be sure to tune in.

It’s a great time with a review of what “floated” in this week to the store, giveaways, and more! You don’t want to miss it!

Summer is here and the store is packed with so much goodness to please even the hardest FISH to buy for! Also as of May 14th, I have my own area in the store! Bubbles Bath and Body Boutique is now open! Not only do we have soaps & lotions galore, but we also have these new mist hand sanitizers that are FINTASTIC! Linda has also brought in Scent Chips, the original wax melts, which not only make the store smell lovely, but you can create your own box and customize the scent! I already made my own flavor:

  • MIMOSA (because BUBBLES)
  • PINK SUGAR (because I’m Sweet)
  • CHERRY (because Linda and Tim brought me to Life)

Come by and let the girls at TCFG help you create a scent for YOUR Own Custom Blend!!!

I’m hoping as summer is here, I will see more of you in the store! Please say Hi and I’ll shake my fin at you! Thank you for reading my new BLOG and come back soon for more Lines from the Lake!

xoxo,

Bubbles

Our Mary 

Mary Magdalene McLaughlin Lonchar

Mary Magdalene McLaughlin Lonchar, 88, of Branson, Missouri, died May 25, 2022. She was born Dec. 19, 1933, to Irene Borgetti and John Cudora McLaughlin in Danville, Pennsylvania.

Mary spent most of her life working in the retail industry. She was a buyer for Ramsey’s Department Stores in Joplin, Missouri and Pittsburg, Kansas, and a manager or consultant for several shops in Branson, including The Pottery Shop and The Crystal Fish.

Mary loved to travel and visited 49 states, Canada, Mexico, several Caribbean islands, England and Italy. Her favorite fictional character was Mickey Mouse and she went to Disneyland and Disney World several times to visit him. She enjoyed swimming, boating, ice skating and bowling. She was a talented seamstress and needleworker.

Mary grew up in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. She attended Catholic schools and graduated from St. Edward High School. She treasured her lifelong friendships from school and was the main organizer of the Class of 1951’s anniversary reunions. She formed enduring friendships through her jobs, volunteering as a Girl Scout leader, and while visiting family and friends in California, Pennsylvania and Canada.

She is survived by her daughters: Donna Lonchar of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Linda Lonchar Cherry and husband, Tim, of Branson; and her granddaughter, Amber Lonchar Cherry of Branson.