Sunny Day

It is a very sunny day today, as was yesterday. We loaded up some plants and a bit of jewelry and took off, along with Ariel. We stopped by the local feed store. The chickens I want won't be there until the 15^th, and they will be itty-bitty. That gives T-man plenty of time to build their coop and yard, though. It just means that Momma Hen here will have to keep a very close eye on them. Anyway, we had quite a few people stop by to look at the plants and everything else. Ariel drew a couple of pictures. We ended up selling a couple of bracelets and one of Ariel's drawings to a very nice man who was in the process of leaving Texas to go to New Orleans. I hope he does well there. Ariel actually came home and went swimming! It's still a bit too cool for mom, though!

So, today I'm getting things together for my class tomorrow night with the Georgetown Satellite group of the Austin Stitchers. I have no doubt that we will have a blast. And the ladies will be making their calorie free chocolate bracelet! What more could you ask for?

Tomorrow, once I'm finished with my class kits, I start typing my little fingers off. Then, joy oh joy, I get to start counting, weighing, packaging and pricing in preparation for the San Antonio Bead and Ornament Society's Spring Bazaar where I will be doing another trunk show. This time I will have even MORE items than I had in February at the Austin Stitchers' show. Have I mentioned how much I love doing the trunk shows? I am so glad Tracey suggested it. In fact, I'm glad she suggested a lot of things last year! And once I again I beg of you, if you have the replicating technology, please share it with me. I could use another me right now!

Natalie and my niece Brianna will be participating in the Kyle/Buda Relay for Life on May 2^nd. You can see their team page here and you can make donations online. If you check the picture of Natalie from Easter Sunday, you'll see she's wearing her team shirt. The girls started participating in Relay For Life six years ago when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mom just celebrated her fifth year after chemo and she is still cancer free. I also have several friends and relatives who are breast cancer survivors, uterine cancer survivors, skins cancer survivors, and the list goes on. This is a very, very worthy cause, so please consider donating. T-man, Ariel and I will be there, and I'm going to try to get my mother out there.

That's it for today, beadlings. I hope you have had a wonderful weekend. I hope I see some of you at the class Monday night, at Relay for Life, and at the bead bazaar May 3^rd and 4^th. In the meantime, itterasshai. Ki o tsukete!

Yesterday . . . .

We went to my parents' for Easter dinner. Ariel (yes, I put her name in and no, not the Little Mermaid -- go read Shakespeare) hunted eggs. There was a small problem finding some of the eggs. The Easter bunny came out to help.We think Ariel may have it figured out, but she's pleading innocence.

I got called the "Ninja Photographer" yesterday by my darling Natalie.For the life of me, I cannot figure out why.

I have decided to wait on the photos of the new items. They are starting to add up. I've got just a few days to finish up, then I must start typing instructions. I'm teaching a class next Monday night for the Georgetown Satellite group of the Austin Stitchers. The Georgetown group is so hospitable, I love visiting with them. And since I have just a few days, I must be off. I leave you with this photo of the wisteria that grows behind my mom's house. Just let me say that this year it's not nearly as full as it usually is! The tree it's growing in (mom's blooming cedar) is about 20 feet tall, just to give you an idea. The wisteria grows down the hill in the back and across a little fence off to the right. The main body of the plant is about the size of a car, and the trunk is a good five inches in diameter. I've managed to kill every cutting she has given me. Keep on stitchin' on, beadlings!

Hellooooooo!

Wow, I feel like I've been gone for ages. It must be blog withdrawal or something. I spent a lovely morning with the Beadalicious Beading Babes in South Austin. Much hilarity and jollility was had by all. These little Friday get-togethers have become more important since I realized at the bead retreat just how much of a hermit I have become!

So, I guess you want details of the Austin Stitchers' exhibit and show, huh? Just promise to read my details first, and then go read Margot Potter's details about her trip to Tucson for the shows there. I'm so jealous! I've wanted to go for years, and her stories will make mine seem piddly, but I digress.

Okie dokie, here we go. The very first thing I did was to herniate a disc in my lower back with the very first thing I picked up to load into the car. I have a very light-weight table that I use, and as I walked out the front door with it, the wind caught it. But I didn't let go, oh no, no, no! And then I stumbled, and that was all she wrote. So I called T-man. "Can you come help me load the car?" No, he was the only person in the office at that time. "Can you meet me over there?" Sure. Well, I tried to pick up a box and carry it to the car. Oh, duh! Yeah, yeah, I know. Now it's time for A to be home from school (it's getting later and later at this point), and as she comes in I tell her how she's going to load the car for me and then help Dad set up my booth. So, off we go, only to get stuck in traffic in between two wrecks, and what should have been a 30 minute drive has taken two hours. We got there with just enough time to set up before the deadline. Everything else that weekend was a piece of cake. There was lots of schmoozing, lots of selling, lots of ooohs and aaaaahs, Donna won a ribbon with my design so people have requested more kits, I got to see some old friends and made a couple of new friends, I got some nifty new tools, I had the most wonderful chocolate cake I've ever eaten, and what was really three days of hard work was very enjoyable. There were some amazing pieces in the exhibit, as always, and I really regret not having my camera there.

Can I tell you how much I enjoyed doing a trunk show? Oh my stars, it was such a blast to have all those other designs in the booth! And extremely low stress to boot! I loved it. I want to do it again. I've discussed it with my distributor and we will probably do the same thing come May, so stay tuned! I sold out of several kits, both mine and hers, and I sold out of a few patterns. We definitely came home a little lighter. By the way, this was my 10-year anniversary with the Austin Stitchery Guild, so it was even more special to do this particular show. They are still some of my favorite people when it comes to beady things.

Some of you who were there noticed that I did this show solo, which I have never done before. Well, I usually get my dear Joyce to help me, but since she has become Regional Director for the South Central Region of the Embroiders' Guild of America, she hasn't had a lot of spare time. (I wanted to make sure I got the entire title in there, Your Majesty!) I did get a chance to give her a little something, which is pictured below. The pattern was adapted from one of Suzanne Cooper's patterns, called India. When I saw the pattern, it just seemed to have Joyce stamped all over it. The one thing I neglected to do was take my camera so I could get a picture of Joyce wearing her new goodies. Damn. Joyce does a lot to promote me and my little venture. I can never properly repay for the things she does and I wanted to do something special for her.

So, there it is. That's about all that happened. I had a good time, as always. And I'm ready to do it again, after a few days of rest. I'll be back Monday morning, bright and early. Have a great weekend, and bead your little hearts out!

Vampires Suck

I saw the witch doctor and this is what he said. "One more test." Yep, one more blood test and if it doesn't show what he's looking for, then I must find another specialist for another part of the body. At least the phlebotomists at the clinic I go are good and fairly painless. *sigh* And if this test does show what he's looking for, it's easily fixed. Cross your fingers.

I need to take photos, and it's a perfect day for it. It's gorgeous outside and T-man is taking a day off, which he richly deserves. I do believe he's going to putter in his workshop or just veg in front of the telly. Then we're going to have Family Night with a bad sci-fi movie and card games while we make fun of the movie. So, a little work and a little play make for a much happier me. Tomorrow I need to type up some instructions and put together a few new kits for the show next weekend with the Austin Stithcers. This is the Nefertiti Earring. Coming soon to ears near you! I'm off, but then y'all knew that, didn't you?