I'm Baa-aaaack (with lots to tell you :o)

The first of which is:  I've figured out the actual definition of R and R. It's Running and Ragged. I am so very sorry that I did not get my regular posts out last week and the week before; things got a bit whack-o around here (and what else is new, right?) Did you miss me? I missed you ;o) Remember me telling you awhile back about my friend Sandy renting a booth at an antique mall? (here). Well, we made plans for me to haul some of my crapola er, creations up there over spring break to put in her booth. I wanted to pour some more candles to take too, and had to round up what I could get my hands on from my inventory, which is scattered all over everywhere in the house (anyplace it would fit).

Quick interjection here: LookLookLook! Our little Finch family came back again this year. Not the best shot, but considering that they were tucked in an empty waste basket underneath a shelf I was proud to get any kind of photo. I got to watch their first flights again too; lots of excitement there. *grin* (next pic :o) Everything had to be tagged, jotted down (gotta have an inventory list don'tcha know), then carefully packed up. Not too daunting a task if you spread out over time. Well. I was starting to stress somewhat by the week of jury duty; I'd hoped for an early dismissal each day, and instead got longer hours (grr). Just to make things more interesting (because we all know how much Jen loves a challenge, ha ha) my parents are moving and one of the little germinators at school got me again. Welcome to insanity squared. Meh. I woke up Saturday morning with a stuffy head and icky cough and by Monday was sick as a dog and making a beeline for the doctor's office; fine way to kick off spring break, eh? Not. Since I was heading to Sandy's on Thursday, I was hoping to be lots better by then. Hope springs eternal...*sigh* 

I did manage to get most of it done in between tissues, sneezing fits, and frantic calls from my Mom; although I think I have several new gray hairs added to my collection. The only thing that really bothered me was having to ask Sandy if she would write up the inventory as I tagged everything; I couldn't get to it before Thursday. I wanted to be completely finished with everything beforehand, but I just couldn't pull it off. Of course she was happy to help, but I was disappointed that we wouldn't have any real play time (we wanted to go for a trail ride :o/ Maybe next time. *sigh* I could not believe how hard we worked! From the time I got there Thursday afternoon until almost 10 that night; then back at it by 4:30a.m. Friday. Had to pause for a good laugh at Shrek (the peacock) and company bright and early Friday morning, who came marching around the corner of the house to glare suspiciously at the stranger in the dining room (that would be me) before exploring the exciting mysteries of the garage. Took it through the screen, which is why it looks funny (the splotch on Shrek's head is a hole in the screen) but you can still see them.

We finally finished up late morning and made a beeline for the booth to see how much of it we could fit in there. Would you believe I had eight pages worth of inventory? Good gravy. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 items. And I didn't even take everything either - eek. Good thing, as we were really hoppin' to get it all done (well I had to get at least one terrible pun in for the bunny hop photo, didn't I? HA). Neat shot - another one of those hoppy accidents. Wow, two lousy puns for the price of one. *rolls eyes* Okay, I think I've gotten it out of my system now. Probably. Maybe. We'll see. Anyhoo...

Would you like to see the booth? Here we are...doesn't it look nice?

Remember the card rack? That heinous painting project was worth it after all, don't you think? I put the joy boxes on top, and if you look carefully you can just see the brightly colored foam squares I stuck on each card rack to keep them from sliding down/falling flat (plus it makes it look nice and cheerful).

I spray painted a couple of cookie sheets and we hung them on opposite sides of the display shelves to hold the magnets I made (lots cheaper than buying a white board :o) She named her booth "Simply Heavenly" - don't you love it? Except for the lotions, soaps and scrubs (1st and 2nd shelves on the left) most of the rest of it is what I took.

I've never tried to sell any framed photos before, just pictures on cards, so we'll see what happens. I really liked the way they turned out, but that doesn't mean anyone else will. I'll confess to a rather large case of nerves here; worrying that everything will just sit there. Forever... Oy.

I sure hope everything sells well for her (and me too *laugh*). She spent half the time sniffing her way through the candles and rhapsodizing over how wonderful they all smelled - even through the plastic wrap and cellophane ;o)

I didn't take any of my drawings this time; I'll probably take those the next trip. I guess that's all for now - I'll sign off with some photos of the new arrival at Sandy's the day we got there. Isn't she adorable?

This is not the best shot, but look how tiny she is! Smaller than the chicken; do you believe it? In Southernese, that's what's known as "Tee-Niney" :o)

Honey, I know just how you feel ;o)

Hugs everyone!