So I suppose I am due for an update

As I mentioned someplace I spent both my anniversary and birthday weaving like crazy to get ready for my Spring Green Show. That is all. Puck and I decided to get each other season tickets for APT in Spring Green where our friend Michael is a milliner. He can get us a discount so we ended up getting three season tickets for the family.

Puck loaded up the van on those two days and assessed our water damage, most of which was mildew. Some of that was pretty bad and for a brief moment we could not locate one of the side panels. I finally found it tucked under some stuff in the wheelbarrow. All the side panels and the canopy though are in terrible shape. I have been using that tent for 14 years now and it is showing it's age.

I had planned on purchasing side panels after the show if I made any money, but they were so bad that I started searching online to see what they would cost. I finally ran across a site that was having a closeout sale. Of course they advertised that the sale was going to end at midnight that night. I have not gone back again to see if that was a scam. I was tired and frustrated with all the problems and Puck could tell. It turned out that buying a whole new tent complete with canopy and side panels was cheaper than just buying the individual replacement parts so he told me to just go for it. It was good of him to acknowledge my frustration. I do get positively inhuman when a show is coming up.

I ordered the tent and felt a great weight lifted.

Maddie and I went down to Spring Green on Friday to set up the display. This is the first year they have allowed us to do that and despite the extra gas it was much better than leaving two hours earlier in the morning and having to wrestle our way into our spot to set up. We got it done in record time and secured and weighted all the canopies. We walked down to Michael's house to fill some jugs with water to weight down the tent a little more and Maddie showed him some of the projects she was working on.

She is just getting into Steam Punk and had picked up a fantastic real beaver felt hat dumpster diving at the college theater. The crown was separated from the body of the hat though and she needed some advice on how to properly repair it. Michael had lots of good ideas. She also had some other things she had designed and wanted to know how to make.

We got our water, weighted down the tent and made plans to meet him in the morning when we finished setting up.

Next day was good. Got everything set up and business was brisk. It was my first day ever accepting credit cards and that was a harrowing adventure for me. You really need a lot of information when you are a small business owner who only has a Knucklebuster to rely on. Puck had gotten me an old one at one of the bike shops that was going out of business. Thank heavens my customers were patient. We had intermittent rain throughout the day, but people were still shopping and I had my best weekend ever. Yippee!!

Maddie's boyfriend came to see her at the show so they were off wandering for a while and by the time they got back I really needed to pee :) His folks came back a little early because of weather warnings and a little hail. The wind picked up so much that Maddie and I both had to hang onto the tent for dear life. I went over to the hardware store and bought some rope and zipties and tied the tent to the display.. The rugs are pretty heavy thank goodness. A couple potters had the wind catch their displays and crash them. When that happens at an art fair you can hear the sympathetic groans from every vendor in the place and there were almost 200 of us. Michael said he had heard that 15 vendors were unable to come because they had lost their stock to flood damage. We have been hard hit in the area.

Sunday was cool and a lot less windy. I had my best Sunday ever with steady customers all day. In total I sold 40 rugs and over a hundred wool balls. A very good show for me. Maddie and friend Michael and I packed up in record time and headed for home. Good to be done with that first show of the year

The next day the tent came in. Maddie and I set it up. I have been trying for years to figure out how to make an awning for my tent and lo and behold this one came with one. That was an excellent surprise. It also came with a clear plastic sleeve to put a banner into. That was another thing I have wanted to do for a long time. I am very happy so far with my new tent.

Spent a few days trying to get my credit card purchases entered, but after three days of talking to customer service people we finally got things straightened out and they went through. What a hassle!!

Wednesday I had a lunch appointment with some friends to celebrate my birthday. We all met at the Olive Garden and had a roaring good time. Several times the wait people commented on how much fun we were having. I did a little Goodwill shopping and bought some plastic bins with my birthday money from my Father in law .. I am slowly trying to get all my fabric and costumes in clear plastic bins so that I can keep better track of things. I figure I have another 6 years before that job is done.

The next item of business was cleaning. My step-mom and best friend Jan (she is only three months older than me) was coming for a visit and needed to sleep in Maddie's room.

Maddie has been doing steam shovel cleaning since school left out, but there was much yet to do. She ended up hauling four large trash bags full of garbage out of the room and we put 6 of those computer paper boxes of mementos and beanie babies up into the attic. There were also three or four large trash bags of miscellaneous things that went to the Outreach.

I took care of the downstairs and that was enough. Jan drove down on Friday and stayed until Sunday. Friday Maddie was singing with the Beloit Symphony orchestra for a fourth of July thing so Jan and I went down to that. The concert was good. Maddie was part of a small choir which only sang with a few numbers so she came out and sat with us for the rest of the concert. They ended with the 1812 overture and then the fireworks went off. It was very cool and a fabulous display. There were fireworks going off in other locations in Beloit too so we were sort of surrounded.

The park is right on the overflowing Rock river so there had been some question about whether it would be dry enough there, but it turned out beautiful.

Friday night Jan reminded us about the card game Hand and Foot, which we used to play with her and dad and all our friends way back when we lived in River Falls. She refreshed my memory of the game and we taught Maddie to play. That was so much fun.

Next day Puck was added to the mix around noon when all those people got up. I have always been the first one up to make the coffee and check my mail. Puck got a call from work that he was not needed so we played a marathon game of Hand and Foot. Puck won one game and I won another. Maddie left the game at 10:30 to go to bed and the three of us played until almost 2:00 am. It was a blast.

We all went to bed exhausted. Maddie had to work at 6:00 am so she was out of the house and coming back home just about when we were getting up. We visited for a little while and Jan left for Minneapolis a little after noon. Later in the day Maddie's boyfriend came over and I made him learn the card game. Maddie slaughtered us and I stupidly wanted a rematch later. She killed me twice more. I humbly and a little crabbily went to bed.

Whew... now I am back to weaving and felting for the rest of the summer. My last three shows are in August.