Bad to worse...

A raccoon family found a way into my little coop fortress (It was safe for 3 years). Bandit is gone and all the baby chicks too. Not just hers but Brattys also. Bratty is wandering around lost without her little brood. I feel sickened and sad.

I got some traps from my Dad and plan to stop them DEAD in their tracks tonight.

Farm life can harden your heart.

Trying to shake the funk

This whole friendship fiasco has gotten me in a bit of a funk. Reading blogs helps, just not motivated to write much, forgive me please. I have been feeling so blah, I have taken a nap everyday since the Art Fair, twice on Sunday. Feeling not like myself.

Good news, I finished the mountain of laundry from our cabin trip and the week I was away.

I did some canning this morning.

I did a bit of sewing. That always helps.

I had bought some fabric panels last fall and finally brought one out to play with yesterday. (Picked veggies in the morn, then retreated from the heat to my cool basement)

The nice thing about the panels, the artwork is already there, no extra thought process. I just had to add the quilting.

Luckily I had enough thread color choices to make it work.

This bag is huge! Meant for traveling. It looks like a pillow could fit inside.

It can!

I used size 15 wooden knitting needles for the handles.

I need to make a few more new things for my show next weekend.

Quite a few skull bags sold at the last show, and I'm in need of a couple more llamas.

I'm off to the library with the kids.

The latest gossip from Michigan

A woman in her pajamas was spotted taking pictures of the wildflowers surrounding her mailbox, the neighbors had no comment.

Some delicious spuds were unearthed and consumed by a local family.

Weeds have taken over gardens everywhere...

...in spite of that the green beans are about a week away from feeding the masses.

Giant Dill is popping up everywhere. Luckily it is a harmless giant, its only goal is to make homemade pickles taste better.

The bees are doing what bees do best...

...while the cukes just hang around and watch.

The local garden security officer chased a couple of teenage rabbits off the premises before any real damage was done.

A local woman bought her kids a new playstation.

Not the kind you plug in but the kind you plug up.

We were informed she did not win the lotto but used some of her earnings from a recent business adventure to thank her family for all their help.

She then was seen napping in a hammock.

This reporter has the inside scoop on major celebrity news.

This Monday actress Drew Barrymore will begin filming her latest picture in our little town.

Other actors include Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis, Marcia Gay Harden, Zoe Bell and Kristen Wigg.

It is a roller derby movie and the only extras they needed were very old people or teenagers with lots of piercings and tattoos.

This reporter did not fit any of those requirements, drats!

In other news...

sugarcreekstuff was paid a very big honor.

I would like to thank Children in the Corn http://childreninthecorn.blogspot.com/ for this Awesome Site Award, coming from you sure means a lot!

I would like to pass this Award along to some other sites I love.

Twinnville at http://laughingorcaranch.blogspot.com/ , I love her funny take on all things chicken, goat, sheep, llama, cat, dog, guinea pig, desert and family.

Ceecee over at http://undertexasskies.blogspot.com/ who likes to take photos of all things creepie crawlie and thinks I'm funny.

Frugalmom at http://everydayhappeningsofafrugalmom.blogspot.com/ for her frugal blog and also because she loves my llama bags.

ga_farmwoman at http://georgiafarmwoman.blogspot.com/ , her young dreamers stories are a wonderful read.

And last but not least

Danni over at http://critterfarmgirl.blogspot.com/ , for whom I wouldn't have even been able to accept this award (literally) if it wasn't for her help and computer knowledge. Thank you for helping this gal with practically no computer skill on more than one occasion and for your friendship.

Well that pretty much sums up the news in this little corner of the world.

Better Things

Back to things around here that make me smile

Bratty and her brood.

Bratty has been an amazing mama. The thing I love is that she totally trusts me around her babies and not the other chickens as seen in the video.

The cukes are starting.

I see pickles in my future.

Art Fair News (with major editing)

First of all I didn't mean to worry anyone with my last post. I was exhausted and felt that the Art Fair kicked my tooshie.

Monday: I knew we were going to be on gravel and didn't want my bags ruined so hubbie and I ran to builders carpet to get me and my friend each a chunk of carpet, which turned out to be a great thing.

They were predicting the weather in the 90's so I ran to Fashion Bug to get some nicer tanks with the built in bras (my fave). I just feel so much cooler with bare shoulders. I ended up with 3 for $16 and change. Not bad.

I loaded everything in the monster truck and was ready to go.

Tuesday: The kids and I get there, set up the tent, racked everything and got the bleep out of there before it got crazy busy with other artists.

My friend got a late start, so I met her there at 10pm and helped her set up and were home by midnight.

We left the house Wednesday at 8:30. parked at the mall and caught the shuttle to avoid the huge parking fees. I love riding the bus, it feels so big city.

This is Wednesday, first day of the Art Fair, note the nice carpet.

It looked so nice (note the term looked)

It was a long, hot first day. Sales were slower than usual according to artists who'd been there before, and slower than I'd hoped but the people were very nice.

We closed up our tents, caught the shuttle and were home by 10:30.

I showered, hit the sheets and was asleep about 20 minutes when the phone rang.

It was Josh. I'm not sure what Joshs title is but he was the assistant of the coordinator so I knew it wasn't good that he was calling me. So I say "What happened to my tent?" It wasn't mine but my friends tent. Freaky storm blew in and trashed her tent and he told me it was bad. So I wake her, she thought I was kidding, we get there a bit after midnight other tents had toppled and her tent was trashed, broken metal. Luckily only one painting with glass broke and one other had a bit of water damage on the mat. Could have been worse. We dried off all the shrink wrapped paintings and stored them in the building we were using for potty and water breaks.

I tubed up all my things and lowered the tent since the weather was still an issue.

We were devastated and figured it's now 2am well figure out something in the morning.

So of course I couldn't sleep and needed to find a way to help my friend, I call my Mom at 6am, she has one of those quick shade tents, not great but what else can I do. I meet her halfway to her house, give thanks and smooches and head home. I pack lunches, get dressed, wake my friend and tell her all she has to do is shower and go, I have everything covered, she reluctantly agrees. I pack the little car and we head out to see what we can do.

I give her my tent, I take the smaller and less nice shade tent and just as we have the big stuff set up, in comes the Calvary. My Mom, Sister, her kids, my Step mom and my kids. They help hang bags, stack tissue packs and haul out watercolors. I am a lucky woman with a great family.

This is where I spent the rest of the fair, not as nice looking but my customers didn't seem to mind.

This is where the story becomes a giant blank spot due to personal things and respect to a 28 year friendship. Lets just say it got me down in the dumps a bit.

My fashion model earned her keep. Day three I put an apron on her and she sold 2 of them.

The last day was rainy/misty and I used the sides from the trashed tent. They didn't quite fit and looked kind of junky but kept me somewhat dry and got me through.

Quitting time was 6pm Saturday and my hubbie and kids showed up and made quick work of packing our stuff. Luckily it stopped raining for the hour it took to load up. YAY!

Total tally

I sold 31 bags (2 of those were llama bags, thanks Lisa)

2 sheet book bags, 9 tissue packs, 2 aprons, 1 art postcard and 1 pack of buttons.

No chick bags though, what is up with city gals?

Even though that was the most in sales of any show I've done, the booth fee was so high it took the first 2 days of sales to cover my costs.

Things I already knew

I have a great family

other artists are great people

I love my customers, not just because they purchased something but they made me feel so wonderful with their kind words and make me want to continue this path

Things I learned

Bigger isn't always better show wise. There were so many cheepie mass produced items for sale all over the city, it seemed more like a flea market than an Art Fair. Even thought I was invited back, I'm sticking to my smaller, more quality shows.

Giving help that wasn't asked for isn't always appreciated

If I drink tons of water and stand on my feet for 14 hours on 90 degree days, my ankles swell up like water baloons. So Gross.

I really missed my blog friends

Three weeks till the next show

Its a good thing I'm young ;-)

Ooohhh lookie what i got. I took a welding class a couple of years ago at our local college and they had a booth there and one of the instructors is this awsomely cool chick, well she gifted me with this dog food bowl stand. Ain't it cool!

What can I say...

Do you have those times when you think something is going to turn out one way and it turns out way different than you hoped?

I'm not quite ready to share all that happened this week but I found something on utube that sums it up quite well.

The Cat represents the Art Fair and the Dramatic Prairie Dog represents me.


http://www.livevideo.com/video/F793FFF784D2482282A3BA4A41270D52/cat-vs-dramatic-prairie-dog.aspx


I need to go unload my car.

I'm back! Sort of.

Every summer my dad and stepmom, our family, my sisters' family, my brothers' family, an aunt and uncle and their granddaughter, all converge on my dads cabin in the woods. Its located in northern Michigan, with pit stops it's about a 4 hour drive.

The kids rode up with grandma and grandpa on Wednesday to get an early start. I spent Wednesday getting my mini farm set for the long weekend. I fill huge water buckets, put out tons of grain and feed, then mow the yard and cram the grass into the outdoor runs. The runs are old swing set frames covered with chain link fencing, ugly but secure.

Thursday morning, we loaded the car. I picked everything in the garden, peas mostly, gathered every last egg and off we went.

Hubbie, the pup and I set off to the great north.

Passing lake Cadillac.

And a ski resort.

Somebody napped on the way up.

We finally made it.

Being up north is fun, we cook out on the campfire.

Go on nature walks.

There is a neat old tree with names carved in it.

Deer tracks every where.

Wildflowers galore. I have no idea what this is.

My siblings bring their campers but we usually bunk in the cabin with the Grandparents.

Luckily in the summer we don't need heat.

My brother builds a tepee and the kids take turns sleeping there.

Did the Indians use blue tarps?

On Friday we rafted the Pine river. Saturday we played at the lake.

Sorry no pics, I didn't want to risk the camera.

The morning view, one morning was deer and another a wild turkey.

Frog catching, horseshoes and laughter are the main activities.

Saturday the kids put on skits up on the porch and my brother makes a crawdad boil. Spicy hot onions, sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob and crayfish caught from the pond.

My dad who eats pickled pigs feet wont eat a crayfish. Go figure.

Sunday means time to go.

It was a tighter squeeze on the way home but the pup loved being squished between his kids.

I always get nervous on the way home, wondering if my chickens are well.

Everyone was fine.

I had tons of peas to pick and 19 eggs! Those girls were busy.

Bandit and her two week old brood were happy to be let out.

"Any news Bratty?"

Yep, she is a mom of three!

I love vacations but i also love coming home.

Today I have to pack for the show and get everything ready for my family to survive without me. Tomorrow I set up and the show starts Wednesday.

10 am to 9 pm Wednesday through Friday, 10 to 6 on Saturday. They get 500,000 people through in four days, that's half a million! Help!!

If you happen to be in Ann Arbor for the art fair, stop by and say hi. I'll be at the Kings Courtyard off of Liberty street. I'll be the crazy woman selling bags with my best friend selling watercolor paintings, having a blast! Positive thinking.

Do me a favor and don't blog about anything interesting while I'm away.

I'll let you know all about it when I get back. Squeezes!