It's Almost Always the Little Things

 
Had a good sales day at the Shagway Arts Barn vendor event. But I want to tell you one little story. OK, two.

One of the other vendors, Chris, had seen me eyeing little drink cozies that she makes. We met a couple of years ago at Shagway, and have often participated together in work days out there, and sales events.

I don't like drinks in cans, and I don't need more stuff, but not only does the barn motif appeal to me, the colors and everything about it just strikes me as pleasing. Now, these are very reasonable, and I could certainly afford to buy one. I told her I was thinking about buying one to use as a pencil cup. I have been using an old tin can. Well, she gave it to me!



This is the epitome of the saying, "In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

And this inspired me to clean off my little chairside table top, above.

Chris makes lots of nice quality craft items for sale. Here is her booth from last month. She's on the left and her sister, Jan, on the right. Look her up at local craft and vendor events.



My other little story is from the booth on the other side of me. Dixie was lovin' up to her human mama, Amanda. Dixie also gave me plenty of doggie kisses and snuggles. She was a real sweetie.



These are nice reminders that although once in a while there is a big event that makes us joyful, it's usually just some little thing. This is what "My Quality Day" is all about.

Thanks, Christina and Dixie.

PS, and Ellen, because that little patterned towel I have on that table to catch drips or whatever, was a gift from her a couple of years ago.

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Miscellaneous Goodies

 
I spent all afternoon working on the trails at Shagway Arts Barn, and I did finish all the clearing and trimming. Big job. Here's one space before.



And the same space after I trimmed it. A lot of the vegetation there is nasty invasives like autumn olive. But at least I don't have to be careful about how I trim. Just hack away. I can only wish that careless pruning would kill this stuff. Shagway has about a mile of little loops that are open to hike- just a pleasant stroll.



Look what's happening in my little jugs! So far so good. When they begin to get some of the real leaves I'll thin them.



And Josh stopped by to bring me a little Mother's Day gift. These are interesting. Look closely. The petals are made of wood! Josh is doing really well at the present time. His health is pretty good and he has a job. Those are big plusses.


I wrote in the morning and did laundry, and worked on trails all afternoon. I'm bushed. Bed and a book are coming right up.

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Spring at Shagway

 
Today was another work day at Shagway Arts Barn. The barn is not going to have a regular arts store this season. Too much work, not enough volunteers, basically. But there will be live music, vendor events, and it's always available to rent. There are short, dog-friendly trails that can be walked any time.

We are cleaning, getting rid of a lot of display rack type "furniture," etc. I went out to work on the trails. Am going to make a little map for people to use.

The entrance was cheery with Glory of the Snow (Chinodoxa) blooming among the rocks.



How about a closer look? They are one of my favorites, with such a clear blue.



This pond is just down the road. Mr. & Mrs. Mallard seemed to be looking for a nest site.



And this is the first turtle of the year, and the first turtle rescue of the year. A painted turtle, too scared to take a peek. But s/he's now off the pavement. Kind of a little one. Nice to see it.



In other news: I worked on North Country Quest in the morning, and on the Shagway Trail Map when I got home. Not much else to report.

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Commence Level Five

 
First day of level five- Joan the Author! It came in with a whimper because I had to get up without enough sleep after last night. Now I feel like you-know-what, but I'm going to bed very early with the hopes of being able to operate at rocket speed tomorrow.

You saw the little notebook that I purchased over a year ago to replace the level four one. Today I ordered a new messenger bag. I won't have it right away. I had it shipped to Loretta's and I'll pick it up there on my trip because I'm leaving Monday. Yikes! That's why I need rocket speed tomorrow. Anyway, with careful shopping, I think I've got myself a really nice leather messenger bag for a very reasonable price. This is my retirement/birthday present to myself. I think it looks like it cost about twice what I paid. This is just the online picture.

It's smallish- but big enough to fit a clipboard. That was critical. And it will contain those pesky things that are too big and numerous to stuff in pockets, and tend to slither away when stacked on the clipboard.



Here's why I needed it. On the way out the door this morning, I was struggling to find a bag in which to put my little notebook, checkbook, clipboard, etc. I've totally finished off two book-backpacks at the most recent job. They were both already well-used when I put them into service at the paper, but between the dirt and rough handling at the Daily News, one is completely done- trash can level.

The other was already beyond looking good enough to look professional. It's still OK for some things. It was actually a good-quality backpack that I bought at the beginning of level four- grad school. But I've repaired it several times and replaced the main zipper once. It's great when filled with books, but is just an off-balance wad when filled with odd-sized things. And filthy. Not going to give me a professional look. And that's a look on which I need all the help I can get. My favorite small tote bag is also beyond hope for looking good. Needs repair, badly stained and beat up. Diagnosis- new bag time. One good enough to make me look and feel more like I know what I'm doing.

I had also purchased, in the middle of level four, a Duluth Trading Post Engineer's bag. I really liked that, and carried it a LOT, but the canvas gets dirty and some of the hardware wore out. I still store some things in it, but it's also beyond professional.

I'm hopeful this new purchase will stay cleaner. I carefully avoided any canvas or polyester exterior surfaces because we know what I can do to them. A little treatment of the leather on occasion should keep this looking good.

So where was I going this morning? Out to the Shagway Arts Barn to do paperwork for the current season and spend a couple hours with cleanup and organization. Enough people showed up that we really got things in pretty good shape.





It's ready for artists to start bringing their items in for display. I'll do that when I get home from this trip.

Now it's back to bed. Groan... but I am cheered by knowing that there won't be any more Saturdays like this!

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Arts Barn Impressions

 
I spent the afternoon getting in some hours at the Shagway Arts Barn. Each artist is supposed to volunteer a certain amount of time. It was a very quiet afternoon. I made one sale.

Part of that was because it was pretty cold, and I don't think a lot of people were out and about. It was also the last day the Barn was open for this season.

I spent most of the time writing or jogging around the building to try to keep warm.

Apparently just being around so much art makes me feel artsy. Here are some impressions taken today.















Over the summer, I sold 11 books and seven craft items there. I just don't seem to be able to make things that people want to buy. I need to remember to focus on writing! Speaking of...

Accountability Report:
I wrote two chapters in Dead Mule Swamp Druggist today! I would like to tell you I'm two chapters closer to the finish. However, I had thought that what I wrote today would fill only one chapter, so I'm really no closer to the end. I'm putting off that total commitment one more day. We'll see how productive I can be tomorrow. Unfortunately, I can't write all day. I have some other things to do, too.

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Smilin' In the Rain

 
Well, I'm not sure I was quite as happy as this wet spook, but the day turned out to be good in many ways.



The weather app said the rain would start in the evening, so I thought I'd get a little bit done on the trailer. A little bit is right! It started to rain right around noon, and I just barely got a tarp over the trailer before it began to pour.

Meanwhile, Nancy at the Shagway Arts Barn was looking for some extra help for the afternoon, so I decided I could get in a few of my volunteer hours (inside!).

Pumpkins in the rain.



Pins in the rain.



More smilin' in the rain.



Since it's supposed to pretty much rain all week, I'm thinking this will be one of the last fall color pictures, taken just before the rain.



And perhaps the most surprising color for October... blue. Morning glories in full glory, in the afternoon, in the rain.



And there you have my day, except for the accountability.

Accountability report:
Worked on the trailer a tiny bit.
Got volunteer hours in at Shagway.
Thanks to a quiet afternoon with hardly anything to distract me, Dead Mule Swamp Druggist is now done through Chapter 50. Word count: 66,500 to date.
I'm smilin' too.

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Hello, Autumn

 
Took a quick run out to the Shagway Arts Barn after work today. I love this tree that overhangs the driveway. Although the leaves are still green, something about this just says late summer.



The last wreath was delivered, and this is the end of things I'll take out there this year. I like how this one turned out, although I like the bright colors of the first one better.



The sky certainly looked autumnal. It has rained off and on all day (currently ON).



If you live in a tourist town, you can tell for sure when fall has arrived. The roads were deserted. There were lots of choices of spots in the parking lots. I didn't have to wait for a checkout at the grocery store. It's quiet.

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An Afternoon at Shagway

 
Spent the afternoon at Shagway Arts Barn, being a volunteer. It's a pretty easy "job." Make a few sales and talk to customers when they are there, help with setup and cleanup a little. Other than that... you can mostly chill, work on projects, whatever. I took Michelle's socks and got a few more rows done.The person in this picture is the other volunteer who was also there. She's an artist, and she used some of the time to do a couple of small pastel drawings.



Here she is just starting one.



One of the things we did was help set up the collection of fall items. The display was nicely begun; we just added a few things and tweaked it a little. Pretty appealing, I think. The Barn will be open until the end of October, Thursday - Sunday, noon to 7 pm. (Shagway Road, Ludington)



These log deer welcome you, but they would be happy to go home with you, too. These are cuter than many such deer because they have ears and tails. It gives them a lot of personality.



I stretched my legs on the short trails and caught this tree in a nice light.



There was some horsemint in a nice soft purple color. It varies from dusty pink to white to purple.



But the best part of the day for me was looking up from my knitting and discovering my friends Melody and Dennis standing there! It's been six years since I saw them! But there is some hope that we might get together this winter. Had to have a picture. The couple on the right is their daughter, Martha, and her husband, Austin.



All in all, a nice calm day.

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