You Just Never Know

Arriving in Lake Wales at dawn, here's how it looked:

Yes, that's right--foggy, foggy, foggy. Leaving the house about thirty minutes before me, Bruce had the tent pretty much all set up before I got there. By the time everything was ready, the sun was streaming into the tent, with no trace of the earlier fog.

Both of us had an uneasy feeling because there were few people milling about once showtime rolled around. Well, we were right. As the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words;  as such, I'll save the whining, letting this photo taken Sunday afternoon speak for itself:

I managed to eek out some sales, however, they added up to less than half what I had last year. When I was telling Bruce about it Saturday night over dinner at home, he admitted to thinking I was exaggerating a bit. Being the sweet husband that he is, he decided to come down early Sunday afternoon to keep me company, regretting it soon thereafter. After about a half hour he was already bored! On occasion, if the show isn't much, the neighbors keep one amused. In this case, the artists on either side of me were Asian women who spoke broken English, if I may use that term. So much for that diversion.

I'll put this show to rest after I share this last little anecdote which seems to sum up the whole affair.

Woman: "Do you take checks?"

Gail: "Why, yes I do."

Woman: "This one is $5, isn't it?"

Gail: "No ma'am, that one is $10."

Woman: "Well, it says 5/25 right here!"

Gail: "That is the number of the print."

Woman: "Well now," as she puts it back in the rack.

Need I say more?

Both Saturday and Sunday night Bruce asked if I wanted to go out to eat, however, I declined both invitations because I wanted to do something productive when I got home. There is no real way to get comfortable at a show because if you put your chair in the back you can't see the folks. If you put it in the front they feel awkward. That is why I like to be busy, standing up, chatting, and of course, doing transactions. You will be happy to know that (or at least I hope you are), although it was hot, there was a breeze both days. More importantly, my hair held up great! I was a bit nervous as it is too short for a ponytail, however, the new slimmed down version was perfect.

Last evening was the last bridge class. Can you believe 12 weeks have passed since I first mentioned it? I've really enjoyed it, even though it's hard and I'm pretty terrible right now. Perry Poole, our instructor, allows you to re-take the class for free one time which several of the ladies did as I may have mentioned before. Everyone I met was so interesting! Here's a group picture from last night:

As you can see, we're all of a certain age. Judy, third from the left, is the former x-ray tech. She is 70! On the far right is Allison, the baby of our class, who is a second timer. She has been a great help on Thursday mornings, coaching me as to what I'm supposed to be doing. There is just so much to keep straight--counting your points, knowing how to bid, winning the tricks. Sounds pretty simple, but believe you me, there are intricacies that I never imagined in a card game! Then there is the matter of my poor memory......I can only hope this will help!

Yesterday morning we woke up to rain which we sorely needed. All day long the rain came down, giving all my new flowers and herbs a much needed soaking. The new tree was supposed to go in Friday, then Saturday, and now, I don't know when. Apparently, when Bruce got home after the show set up there was a message from Bill saying that our new tree had a gash in the side which caused Bill to reject it. I do so hope it's this week because rain is in the forecast for most days. The side yard continues to look dreadful. Seriously.

I must go scrounging in the kitchen now for something to eat for breakfast. Talk about bare cupboards....

P.S. Here's a neat little slideshow from the Times:
Estee Lauder