This is an email I received from Martha Stewart’s company. If you can’t read it, you can click the picture to make it larger.

1. The email’s subject line portends serious problems ahead. Interruption of online access!

2. BUT…. we have some exciting news to share! Huh?

3. Martha Stewart is now posting for stock photography shots.

4. Oh, and by the way, Mother’s Day is coming up, but we’re taking all of our sites down for maintenance during this most crucial time of year, so don’t try to access your info on the sites. We know Mother’s Day is important and that we can be a huge resource to you as you prepare your brunch or set your table, but the sites must come down anyway. We’ll put them back up right after Mother’s Day. Sorry, that’s just how the IT maintenance schedule ball bounces.

The elements of this email all seemed just a bit incongruent, so I thought I’d share. I respect Martha Stewart and her business empire. This email just read very strangely, and the business decision to take the sites down over Mother’s Day seems like a mistake. Do you agree?