Busy, busy

Instead of enjoying the 3 day weekend, I worked on creating my crafts for the upcoming craft show on June 7th (though that was fun in itself)! Though I get mad at myself for waiting until the last minute, it also seems that once I'm under the gun, I get into the creative mode and get my stuff done! Though I do have a craftroom, I end up expanding it to the dining room table in order to have several workstations as I work on different projects at the same time. This weekend, I even had the picnic table in the backyard utilized! I think I ended up running to the craft store at least 3 times this weekend, not to mention the hardware store! My poor family has to find somewhere else to eat during my production time.

I did manage to squeeze in some time to plant some tomatoes and cucumbers, but I have alot to do in order of finish my vegetable and herb garden. The weeding and flower planting will have to wait another week or two. And, for the last 3 weeks (2 times a week), I've been attending a motorcycle safety class. This week will be the last class, thankfully. May has been a very busy month for me. Once I have my craft show, I will be able to slow down a bit and garden and work on my crafts at my leisure. The summers around here come and go quickly, so I want to be able to enjoy every minute outside that I can.

Here's to a wonderful summer! The above photo is a picture of our backyard pond in full bloom!

Squirrel!

Boy, I wish I could have gotten to my camera fast enough this morning! I was looking out the window into the backyard when I saw a squirrel. He was sitting on the beat up old garden swing (self standing with cushions). In his mouth, he had a rather large ball of what appeared to be cotton! Upon closer observation, I realized he was gathering the stuffing from the seat cushions! Luckily, the swing is on it's way to the dump soon because it is weather beaten and the cushions are tore up. The squirrel then crawled up to the top of the fence and scurried away to his nest. My daughter and I were joking how that squirrel family will have the "cushiest" nest around! I'll be curious to see how much stuffing the squirrel will take from that old swing. At least we are sort of recycling before the swing ends up in the dump!

**Update: The swing was acquired by our local "junk man" that goes around and goes through people's trash and then brings stuff to the recycling center for cash. So, we helped out our neighbors, both wild AND tame! LOL! 7/28/2009

Thought for the Day

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

-Dilbert created by Scott Adams

First Craft Show of the Year

I will be doing my first craft show of the year this next month. The last time I was in this particular show, I experienced bad weather for the first time! "There is a slight chance for rain or a thunderstorm this afternoon", it was predicted by the local weatherman. I didn't take it to heart because this is Wisconsin, for goodness sakes. If you worry about it too much, it doesn't happen. I brought the normal supplies for my craft shows (a tarp, bungee cords, etc.). Since we were on grass, I staked my shelter. It was a nice day. Many people were out and about. I was having pretty decent sales. I wasn't even thinking about the possibility of bad weather. Then, as the early afternoon came upon us, you could see dark clouds off in the distance. Rumblings of thunder could be heard, too. You could hear vendors and shoppers alike asking if they should stay or should they go. People were calling friends and families to have them check the weather reports. Some of the vendors started to pack up. Other's started to put up their shelter walls and cover up their products. I decided to tough it out, but I didn't bring my shelter walls. I did have my extra long tarp though. The vendor right next to me offered me the use of her clamps she had to secure my tarp around my shelter as a wall. Within minutes, the clouds were over us and a clap of thunder scared everyone. Then the rain poured! Luckily, it wasn't windy, but there was still enough of a breeze for the rain to fall at an angle and get inside the shelter. It rained so hard, it was flooding the park! As it was pouring, there were still vendors running to their vehicles with their stuff! They were soaked! Well, as fast as it came, it left, and the sun was shining again within a half hour after the storm moved out over Lake Michigan. All the remaining vendors took down their walls, dried off their stuff and were ready for business again. And the shoppers returned! It was an exciting day, to say the least. And I learned many lessons, too. The biggest lesson for me was, if the weatherman predicts a 1% chance of any kind of weather (rain, snow, wind, heat), I will consider it as a 100% chance and bring everything that I will need to get through it!

**If you happen to be in the area and find me and mention my Etsy shop or my blog, I will give you a $1.00 off discount for every $5.00 purchased!**

Good Old Summertime Art Fair

Held by the Friends of the Kenosha Art Association

Sunday, June 7, 2009 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Civic Center Park, rain or shine

Downtown Kenosha (56th Street & Sheridan Road)