March Already!

Soon after waking up I walked outside to see how cold it was, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but hundreds and hundreds of birds flying high in the air. Seriously, I kept thinking once there was a little break in the action that the migration was done, but I was wrong. Five full minutes of flying birds is a bunch! Amazing how nature works isn't it? Which reminds me of a wonderful documentary Winged Migration that if you've not seen, you should. Could this be a sign that cold weather will soon be a thing of the past for us here in way-too chilly Orlando?

At least the skies were blue on Sunday unlike gray and gloomy, not to mention rainy, Saturday. Because of the bad weather on Saturday I skipped the small market aside from delivering some note cards to the lovely woman from Illinois who sends notes out every day. Her family is lucky that she still writes as there is nothing quite like getting a card/note in the post.

Thus, I was able to complete the wall painting, however this picture doesn't really show the wall except for the tiniest bit in the corner. What it does show is how Bruce moved all the furniture on Friday night.

Just when I thought he would be taking a power nap prior to dinner, he got moving on the moving. It will definitely be a change having the doors shut, but my, how it opens up our options on furniture placement! I've not met with the designer again, but this gives us an idea how we might like a new configuration, and let me tell you, I love it!

Before our seating was mostly confined to what I'll call the cave. Cave, you ask? The middle of the room was too dark to ever really use it in the daytime aside from television watching, which as you well know, I do very little of. I suspect that's one reason the couches still look practically new after ten years--hardly ever used. It just feels so cozy like this, not to mention, lighter and brighter.

We are kind of back and forth on the flooring. Some folks have wood on the floor, we have it on the ceiling, so having both would probably be overkill. Once upon a time the carpet looked wonderful, however, yours truly dripped a trail of bacon grease from kitchen to sun room, which after several cleanings only looks worse. We looked at carpet, stymied by the choices. The designer suggested we use the same Mexican pavers we have in the sun room, which I thought was a terrific idea. Bruce, on the other hand, is not convinced. So...we are in a bit of a quandary. Knowing Bruce as you do, you know that he'd go along with whatever I want, but knowing me as you do, know that I'm not that kind of gal. It goes without saying--I'll keep you posted on this. (no pun intended!)

That wall was sure hard to paint what with all the nooks and crannies; I used almost 3/4 gallon on the one wall.

I finished the painting just in time to get myself cleaned up for another 50th birthday party. Here is Mr. Bruce and his workmate Jeff at the restaurant.Held in a Mexican restaurant, it was lots of fun, although the free flowing Margaritas were both a good and bad idea. :)

The market was bustling, sales pretty good. The day started chilly (as in the 40's), however, without a cloud in the sky, the sun warmed things up nicely. I sold 19 items, lots of them small, but I'm happy when people like what I do. A lovely woman visiting from Scotland purchased one of the manatee shots, as well as an alligator. Very exotic for their home I imagine. Whenever we see someone in shorts at the market during these chilly days we know they are visiting from the North. Such was the case with another nice couple from New York. Turns out the woman's mother, who was with them, was an old x-ray tech, having earned her license in 1954. We had a fine time talking shop. When Bruce arrived to help pack up he left me be for a bit because he said I had about eight people in the booth. It was only when I sat down to process the credit cards at home that I realized how tired I was. Good tired though.

Following the market, the produce vendors, Amy and Jonathan, brought their trailer to the house to pick up the entertainment center which we were delighted to give them. As you may recall they also have our old dining room furniture. Bruce is taking payment in the form of a piece of roasted corn on the cob each week they have them at the market. For now the television is sitting on a little stand Bruce made from laying the gigantic speakers on their side.

I can hardly imagine that it's March already. When I was writing papers for school they taught me to have a thesis, opening with a bang, supporting evidence, and then a conclusion. If I write "time flies", will it suffice? As in the bird thing?

It's So Nice To Have a Man Around the House

In keeping with my idea of posting photos with red, I present a dog, really still a puppy, that Baxter and I saw while walking. What a sweet face, don't you think?

On my way to Nordstrom last week I pulled off Orange Avenue to take this:

For weeks now our weather has been either rainy, super humid, or overcast. Now, thankfully that's not every day but way more than I'd like. When the temperature soared to 85 on Sunday, I was cursing the fact that I didn't wear something sleeveless to the market. That said, today visitors begin to arrive and except for Carol, the weather will be a vast improvement on what Matthew, Jonathan, and Alissa have been experiencing!

I wish I could adequately describe this lame skating set up at Lake Eola, but I can't--there are no words. It has to be seen to be believed.

I have so much to report today that I hardly know where to start!

Friday I barely remember what I did; I do remember that I wasn't feeling my best (probably because I overdid on Thursday), so no date night. Oh yeah, I worked on deleting photos, and moving market photos over to my external hard drive. I can't wait for the computer whizzes to sort out my computer while they are here. I discovered I only had 10% of memory left.

Saturday was Jen's bridal shower, and what a shower it was. Jen will soon be Maureen's daughter in law, a wonderful addition to the family she will be. The food, company, and festivities were so good.

After returning from the shower, I made some pesto dip and toasted french bread to take to Bruce's department party later in the evening. Another food-filled event! Around 10 I asked Bruce to take me home for two reasons. One, having the market the next day, and two, because my feet were KILLING me! These days I wear high heels infrequently, and boy could I feel it after six hours of standing in them.

Drama at the market on Sunday. A young couple, she is 16, he is 18, were in my booth chatting for a bit. She reminded me so much of my niece Amanda; very tall and willowy, with almost identical coloring. Anyway, it was a good thing we chatted so much, with me learning their names etc. because when it came time to complete the small transaction something completely unexpected happened. I'll try to describe it succinctly.

She hands me money.
I lay the print on the table, reaching for the money.
Her phone drops to the ground.
I bend down to retrieve it.
While down there, her jacket drops to the ground.
I pick it up too, joking that she's dropping everything.
I stand up and see that she is starting to jerk a bit.
This is not a good thing.
Fortunately, I have two chairs in my booth.
The boyfriend takes a hold of her, and I drag the chair over.
He begins to panic as her eyes dilate, and her heads falls back.
Shortly thereafter she goes out cold.
By now, people are beginning to notice something is amiss, although if you can imagine, there are still some people looking at things on my walls in the other corner of the booth.
I get ice from Larry and Dena, making a little ice pack for her neck.
I keep calling her name, tapping her face, and after what seems like forever, she comes to.
By now, 911 has been called, along with her mother.
They arrive, take her vitals, and talk to her mother. The ambulance arrives, but her mother doesn't want her taken anywhere, preferring to see her for herself first.
She arrives shortly thereafter, and her boyfriend walks her to the car, and that is that.

Yikes, the adventures that await me each week! A little later, one of my brother Pat's old friends from high school visits my booth. She said there were two Karen Nichols in their class, she was "little" KN. It's a small world out there my friends.

Finally, I'm getting to the title reference. We all know by now what a terrible year it has been for Maureen. Just when we got the computer crisis solved, something much dirtier occurred on Sunday morning involving her septic tank. I won't relate the gory details, however, I will tell you that my darling Bruce saved the day.

He is finally low on jobs at the moment, allowing him to take some much needed time off. He remade the bench that collapsed under my weight on Halloween, put up new lights out back, and in general is taking care of business around here. What a relief! Most of the year I muddle through, but there is no one quite like Bruce to take charge.
He is bathing Baxter as I type.

One final note: it's official. Bill began his new job with Chase last Thursday. After the market on Sunday we took him to the airport; he has nearly a week of training in New Jersey before they let him loose. Very exciting news.
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Listening to: Ryan Adams - So Alive
via FoxyTunes

September's Over

Last year September sales were my worst of the year, and to date, it looks like a repeat, or let's hope I'm not going into a tailspin! I barely eclipsed last September's sales, and today didn't do much to change that. Although I had enough lookers, I didn't have buyers. As well, we had rain. Rain is definitely part of the summer equation in Florida, however, surprisingly, Sundays have been really good in that regard this year. Not so today, with showers coming twice, the second one enough to call it a day around 2ish.

Normally when Bruce takes the extra time to put up our rain sides it doesn't rain. We joke that they are our insurance. Today I was grateful he had gone to the work because I had to put them all down to keep things dry. At one point I had about five people sequestered with me. After they ventured back out, I kept the sides down and began the process of taking everything down while keeping it off the ground. Fortunately Bruce came to my rescue to finish things up!

Bruce spent the day organizing his new cubicle. Darden is moving into a new spiffy office building(Darden Headquarters), and for the first time in nearly twenty years Bruce will not have an office with a door that closes. Now for some people that works just fine but it is not something Bruce is too excited about, at least for now. He explains that sometimes as a construction project manager he has to yell at people and he's not sure he will be able to follow the cubicle guidelines about keeping your voice down while on the phone. If you know Bruce, you know he'll adapt to whatever comes his way. Mostly he was sad to not have the wall space he was accustomed to. On our last trip to London he took some photographs that were really special and had them framed. Too big for his new space, they are hoping to find a new home in our hallway. Before Darden was spread throughout about ten buildings, now everyone is under the same roof. Furthermore, they are providing wonderful perks for the employees, including a 24 hour gym, dry cleaning, and a very attractive cafeteria. I've no doubt it won't take long for him to be thrilled with his new environment.

Every week I photograph the market for Dana who forwards the web album on to all kinds of city officials. One thing about Dana is that she hates birds, for reasons unclear to me. Lake Eola is filled with birds, including several types of swans. Just to be a little silly I usually end each album with a bird shot. Here's one from today:

 

We changed our location for the Saturday market and I think it might prove to be much better. I will however miss the easy bathroom and water foutain access! It was unbearably hot after noon and it wore me out. If you can imagine I went to bed at 7:30 last night and slept until 6:30 this morning! Thunder and lightening woke me up at some point. Bruce told me that we had a lot of rain and I just went and checked our rain gauge--3" between last night and today!

I'm real proud of Matthew right now--he ran a half marathon today; if I'm not mistaken it was his first one. When he agreed to do it to raise money for the stroke foundation he didn't realize that my mom's father died of a stroke. He raised 325 pounds! According to what he wrote, it wasn't necessarily fun, but crossing the finish line was quite the high.

Because we were home early, and neither Bruce nor I had eaten lunch, we had an early supper of quiche (from my friend Wafaa at the market)and a nice little salad. Bruce helped Bill yesterday with a leak problem he'd been having, digging a trench to drain the water. The hard labor in the miserable heat caught up with him so he's relaxing on the couch, and I'm going to read my book.

Hope you've had a lovely weekend.

Lots Happening

Not necessarily what I want, but time marches on as they say.

Since last we met:

1. My new operating system from Apple arrived with the end result I now have a serious back up plan for my photos. As well, I got a new version of iPhoto, iWorks, and iPages. Today I picked up a book by David Pogue, the technology writer for the Times called The Missing Manual, which explains iPhoto 09 in detail. I know there are shortcuts and features that I've never used so hopefully I'll learn a few tricks. As you know, this old dog can learn them.

2. We saw The Hangover, if you can imagine. The market was so slow on Saturday. I sat there for hours with no sales, sweating I might add (but not too bad), then twenty minutes before closing someone arrived and bought a print. Yeah--no shut out! Five minutes before packing it in for the day, another woman arrived and within about a minute she'd purchased a 16x20 print. It is funny like that, sometimes the people who stay the longest never buy and then there are others who once they see something they like they are ready to exchange money for prints. Anyway, I was feeling a bit discouraged and thought a stupid movie would be just the thing. Once it was underway Bruce leaned over and whispered, "I'm surprised you'd come see a movie like this." Me too. It was pretty funny in spurts and it did the trick, washing away my discouragement.

3. Before going to work on Saturday Bruce completed his little chore list I'd given him. I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to be married to such a handy man! He put in a new doorbell, changed the lighting strip under my kitchen cabinet, hung a rain gauge on the fence, sorted his jeans and shirts, taking the extras to the thrift store--I think that is it. The only shame is that his job is so demanding that he rarely has time to create new things which makes me sad because he is so talented.

4. Got rained out, big time, at Eola. I started out nicely, selling a canvas that I thought might never hang in someone's home, when sprinkles became giant raindrops, a precursor to torrential rain, booming thunder, and crashing lightening. The prints all stayed dry but the canvases got a bath. Fortunately they have a waterproof coating, which after a drying out in the living room, are just fine. It is not a fun experience that's for sure. Oh yes, I did have a first on Sunday--a woman mouthed the words, "I'll take these" all the while chatting on the phone.

5. Bruce did my monthly sales tally and although it was better than last July by a few hundred, it was sad. Brighter days are ahead I'm sure!

6. Did some Christmas shopping in July--a first. I think I'll do my best to spread it out over the next months, hopefully giving me plenty of time to think up nice things for my loved ones.

7. My body has not been as happy lately as well. The market yesterday exhausted me so much that I ended up climbing into bed around 7:30 with a book. When Bruce came to check on me, seeing my face, he said, "Oh no!" One look at me was enough for him to know things were not right. My feet are still going numb, my voice lowers about five registers and I just look haggard. As such, today has been pretty quiet around here. I left the house only to go to the library to get reading material, with a quick stop at Publix for orange juice. While there I found this lovely shade of gerbera daisy. I told you I was a daisy girl didn't I?

Weekend in May

When Briggs and Victoria arrived carrying a bottle of Plumpjack wine, I was almost embarrassed to tell them what was on the menu for the night, however, they seemed to be delighted with my plan. Plumpjack is a small winery in Napa Valley (Plumpjack) which I'd hoped we could visit on a trip there years ago. On our way to the airport, we tried to visit, alas, it was too early and we were leaving on a jet plane. It turns out Briggs got it on a visit there, making it a super special gift. We had a wonderful evening chatting, eating, and in Victoria's case, some crying. Her sister in Seattle is dying of breast cancer; the details are frightening. With any luck she'll be going out there this week to assist in her care.

Saturday I was up bright and early and off to the market. Fortunately I'd packed the car the day before making my wake up call not too early! The market is struggling to establish itself, a familiar theme with markets. Not only were the crowds thin, but the vendor count keeps going down. It is hard sticking with a new market if you need to earn a living. I am mighty lucky I don't have to pay our mortgage! It was hot, not nearly so much as last weekend, but hot enough that when I got home around 3 I was just plumb worn out. Bruce was working from home and was kind enough to unload the vehicle while I got an early supper together with the leftovers from the night before. By then there was a nice breeze and we ate on the patio.

Soon thereafter I laid down for a nap and didn't wake up until nearly 7:00 when the phone rang; it was Roger saying that my new prints were ready. Once again, Bruce came to the rescue, driving over there to pick them up. I finally came to and prepared them for Sunday. Ask me if I sold any of them? Only one.

While we were setting up Roger brought the new canvases which was a good thing because I only had a few to fill my walls. They were all new images, a big gamble when you are talking about potential sales. I could just keep showing the same images, but you know me--it just wouldn't work. Although I didn't sell many smaller prints, I did manage to sell two of the new canvases making me very happy. One, cattails from our camping trip, the other I took the same day as Street Art, of the evening sun on Lake Monroe in Sanford. The last one I'd never shown, but for some reason I must have been scanning through my outrageously huge photo library, and came across it, thinking it have potential. Apparently it does! Before Bruce leaves the market in the morning I always make a quick turn through the market getting photos before it gets busy. This usually includes a quick bathroom break before I'm on my own. Here's what I found in the public bathroom at the park. I'm extremely curious who would have left a bridal gown bag there on a Sunday morning at 10.

Today is Mr. Bruce's 56th birthday although we won't be able to celebrate properly because he left for Cleveland early, early this morning. His flight was at 6:15AM. While making the bed this morning I realized we've been together for 43 of his birthdays--pretty amazing huh? As we get older those birthdays become more and more precious, what with all the people we know whose health is a challenge. I will miss his sweet presence tonight.

Lastly a follow up on Angela--she's doing just fine now.

Sales!!!

 

I thought it might be time to show you the booth set up again. When we do the downtown market we leave the side wall off because it allows folks to easily see what we have, unlike when we do a full blown art show when the fourth wall is required. Speaking of which, I'd not applied to any shows for the spring, but suddenly last week they all fell into place. I'm going back to Deland at the end of March, Baldwin Park (they contacted me), and Windemere. I won't be re-doing two of the shows I did last spring for several reasons--one of which was poor visibility at Maitland, and too high an entrance fee at the Expo. The Expo is held at Lake Eola, same place as the market, and we'll most likely get the overflow crowd, so I might as well keep my great location. I had a young man sit in one of my chairs last week and ask me how was it I got 50 yard line seats. I told him I'd been through the struggles of the market, and now I was enjoying the successes. Anyone who comes this January will not recognize the market from last year.

The last two weeks have been crazy good for me. To put it into perspective--all last January I had $239 in sales. In the last two weeks I've had $1,300+ in sales!!! The first week was slow, but man have these last two weeks been good. That includes the Whole Foods market as well.

When I go to Whole Foods I do not take the tent or walls. Thus, I only have one small canvas on a table-top easel to get strollers attention. It will have to get busier for me to bring the whole set up. Furthermore, Bruce usually can't help on Saturdays, and looking at this set up, you can imagine I can't do it by myself. I'm in awe of those ladies who do put up this kind of thing without help, but I'm not one of them.

Everyone gets a laugh because Mr. Bruce hangs everything with a level as this photograph shows. I usually get them hung (crookedly) and he comes behind me, fixing things up. It does look nice and neat, doesn't it?

Last week I posted the orange dahlia to show you how different it looked from two different perspectives. I had Roger make the canvas with the sky background because I thought it might be good, and guess what? It was. It sold in two hours. The dilemma comes when you wonder if you should re-print, or move on, and be glad for the sale.

With that in mind, I spent yesterday going through my prints--removing those that have never sold. There comes a time when you just need to get rid of them. As well, I stripped a few canvases off their frames, and Mr. Roger will put something new on the frames that might just sell. I believe that the loss will be worth it in the long run. It is not like I don't have anything new to show now is it?

On Friday night we had Jane and Micheal over for dinner. I'd gotten a bunch of tangelos from the volunteer at the Polasek (remember him from last week?) and I decided to use them in the meal. As such here's the menu I served:

Pork tenderloins, seared, then baked in an orange/balsamic vinegar glaze
Creamy, dreamy polenta (fabulous recipe from a cookbook that Matt gave me)
Roasted green beans in lemon-infused olive oil (first time I tried this--yum!)
Sliced, cooked carrots in orange juice/zest, and maple syrup glaze with a dash of cayenne for kick
Gingerbread with real whipped cream and blueberries for dessert.
Is your mouth watering yet?

They left around 10 because it was past Miss Gail's bedtime, being a weekend worker and all. Really, you know I go to bed so early most every night. Anyway it was very fun and I think everyone enjoyed their meal. Before I went to Saturday's market I emptied the dishwasher, refilled it, and ran it again. It was nice to come home to a clean kitchen.

I wonder if I can turn the television on at the museum today to watch the inauguration. I've been thinking that with all the pomp and circumstance that it is if we are crowning a king instead of installing a new president. I'm sure it's always been this way but it doesn't seem all that different from other governments. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Speaking of which, with so few comments, is anyone reading this blog, or have I worn out my welcome?

Baby it's Cold Outside

Last week the news was the heat--today it is the cold. That's Florida November weather for you. The cold front came through on Saturday evening, lowering the temperatures by more than 20 degrees. Bruce left the house at 7:15 Sunday morning to begin the set up. He was dressed in shorts, flip flops, and a t-shirt with a denim shirt as a jacket. While loading the Element he decided that 45 degree weather required at least the addition of a sweater over the t. Trading his flip flops for tennis shoes, he took off early because Dana had requested that everyone be set up by 9:45 which we made by a few minutes. BTW--he endured much teasing from everyone about his shorts.

The mayor was scheduled to be at the market promptly at 10 to lend support for a Spinal Cord Injury fund raiser and Dana wanted to show it off. Up he waltzed to my booth first (because I've got a primo space at the entrance), eventually making his way to all 60 vendors to say hello. People gathered early to take part in the walk around the lake to support the charity. Promptly the market emptied, never really getting very busy all day. Remember that cold start? Later on the weather was gorgeous; a little crisp with glorious blue skies. I suspect the food and wine festival on the other side of the lake did nothing to help our cause! Nonetheless I did alright.

Driving a MINI Cooper is a lot of fun, but there are aspects of it which are not. We have many streets paved in brick which I'd learned to avoid because it was so bumpy in the baby car. I now feel as if I'm gliding down those streets in the new car. I'm really happy with my choice.

While I was plying my wares Mr. Bruce was hard at work in the back yard to spruce things up. He pressure washed the patio and put down to date 16 bags of mulch. The weather for the rehearsal dinner should be perfect for outdoor entertaining. He filled all the torches and put twinkly lights in a large palm. I couldn't wait to get home to see how things looked. At nightfall it looked lovely. I still need him to put the leaf in the table; I knew how to do it in the old table (not that I could do it because of the weight) however I've no idea how the new table works. It is stored under that table rather than under the bed!

The plans for the house decorations are coming along after a few shopping trips. I'm thinking Angela will help me tomorrow afternoon after I return from the museum.

Matt arrives on Wednesday! Happy day! Carol arrives on Thursday and Jonathan and Alissa get in on Friday night. Jonathan has a business trip to Boston this week, returning Friday in time to catch his flight to Orlando. I suspect these are going to be busy, busy days.

I'm still waiting for Roger to finish the gift. Once it is all hung I'll show it off.

The image today is from a small lake nearby aptly named Emerald Lake.