Taking the Leap

Yesterday I was out running some errands. Coffee (very important), food (again, important), post office (necessary), Goodwill (just for fun). I found a cool bread box at Goodwill for $4. How cool is that?! It has a roll-top drawer. I've always kind of thought it would be good to have one. Tidy up the clutter on the kitchen counter - half-eaten loaves of bread, rolls, slightly empty bags of chocolate, and so on. So, I took my nifty find and got in line to purchase it.

In front of me was a woman with a cart containing an interesting collection of items. Small shelving units, bits and pieces of crafty kinds of things. She gave me a big smile. Then she went to her register and I to mine. But afterward she stopped me to ask where I got my handbag and scarf. I told her that I made them. She asked if I sold them anywhere and I told her that I planned to, but haven't placed them anywhere yet. She was so excited. So pleasant. We talked for a bit standing near the exit.

Turns out she's an artist and makes jewelry and other things. She's back to school part-time studying art therapy. We talked a little bit about the jewelry she was wearing. About my bags, how they are made. Where I might sell them. She wanted to know how much they were so she could start saving up to buy one. And, she asked for my card. Well, I don't have any cards, but I gave her my number and email. And we agreed to reconnect.

I left the store on cloud nine. Someone, a complete stranger, wanted to purchase something I made. I sold some crochet-embellished gloves at Christmastime, but this was different. I was so excited, I called my sister, Cheryl, to share the news. Then I drove to the shop where I buy a lot of my yarn and showed them the bag, and told them my story. Asked their expertise on pricing. I've been talking with them about teaching a felted bag class, and that discussion was reborn. Perhaps in April.

Anyway, I'm a dreamer. I'm an idea person. But I have a hard time following through on things. Afraid of failure, I suppose. Not atypical. But I'm at that age where if you don't follow some of your dreams where will you be? Where will you have been someday?

So, I'm gathering some of my finished items. I'll put finishing touches on some not-quite-finished items, and get this ball rolling. Today I ordered business cards. So, next time, I'll be ready.

And if it doesn't work out? Oh, you can bet I'll be sad and disappointed. But I'll have lots of presents ready to go come next Christmas. And that wouldn't be so bad either.

How Time Does Fly

Happy New Year! My how time does fly. It's been forever since I posted last. My apologies for the blog dead zone. Things are busy, and I've been distracted by much.

The birds are doing well. We've added a couple more feathered children to our flock. Miss Mozilla and Miss Cookie. The little ladies joined the family in late October as a belated birthday gift to myself. I think the boys were glad for the female company. Miss Mozilla (in green and yellow) gets a lot of attention from the gentlemen. She's a bit older. Miss Cookie is still quite young (but bold and fearless), and has yet to charm the others. They like her, but they dote on Mozilla.

As evidenced in the photo above, all of the gang plays voyeur as Pumpkin works very hard to woo Mozilla. They all try, but it is to Pumpkin she is most receptive.

Google is doing well. Talking more these days. He likes to say "Hello" and "I love you". And we have whistlefests nearly every day. He is quite the character. I have a large coffee mug filled with brightly colored markers. He works very hard to remove them, one by one, from their place in the mug and drop them all over my desk and onto the floor. Such dedication.

Joe continues to feed the wild cats from the neighborhood. They can often be found sunning themselves on the cushions of a couple old patio chairs we left out over the winter. When the sun is high in the sky, they like to nap and preen themselves in comfort. Sometimes there will be three or more and they will bicker for a spot on the chairs.

I've discovered the art of crocheting. I made lots of scarves as Christmas gifts, but recently discovered a very cool yarn specialty shop in Brookfield www.riverboutiqueyarn.com, which is seeing a lot from my wallet these days. Every time I go there I become more inspired. I'm trying to make some new things. My next project will be to try and felt something from what I've crocheted. We'll see how that goes. I hope to post some images of some of my creations sometime soon.

Hope all you readers are doing well. I promise not to wait so long inbetween posts. There are stories to tell after all.