Hyper-Allergenic!

So. 

I made a profit from my booth at Gypsy Gatherings for the month of July. Yay me! I have begun working there every Monday in exchange for half-off the rent from now on. (Like the work is onerous. Ha. More like hanging out for six hours and greeting people as they come in.)

I am totally loving everyone there! Plus, I am in my studio almost every day making one thing after another. The new thing has been the continuation of my Sock Monster series, which began when I had my bricks and mortar store in Corydon, IN. The first was Abner, and then Brenda came along. I sold them both. Thanks, Judy! Then the store closed, yadda yadda. The latest are Charlene, a green hemp sock, and Doug (Beware of Doug!) who was one of my hand knit socks with holes. 

I am Charlene, and I am shy.

These babies give me an inordinate amount of joy in the making, and then there's the  fondling. 

Sweetie's job, which he was told would last through December, suddenly became precarious once "Corporate" saw the labor costs of keeping the plant running. Today, he took a job at Metso, some concrete type of place, about 25 miles from here. The pay is $1 more and hour, but that will be eaten up in gas. Even his current supervisor advised him to take the position. (Sweetie had earlier interviewed with them, then declined to take the job. They called him back two months later and here we are.)

Hope springs eternal that some company will buy the Tyson's facility. If so, Sweetie has been told he will be rehired. But that is just too uncertain for us. For anyone. Sigh.

And the heat. Awful. Yesterday was the worst, being 104º with a heat index of 120º. I felt ill Monday, and actually had a fever of 2 degrees above my normal. Seems like several people were also having flu-like symptoms that day. I am grateful to not have the summer flu, as I felt better the next day. We have forecast lows in the 60s in a few days, and I even opened a window tonight in the computer room. 

I'm really worried about the economy, and the house and senate are not playing nice or rational. No rant, or soapbox. But I am worried.

Heads or Tails?

When my friend Brenda first saw Trixie, she didn't know which was which. Here she is with the recently clipt LaVerne.

I love these girls so much.

We're Having a Heat Wave....

So. 

Life is being good, in spite of the terrific heat. I have had more visitors to my house this past week than in the last six months. The Gypsy Gang have come to visit and have taken me shopping, aka picking. 

There is a little town near here called Hawk Point, and it is only a bit bigger than Laconia. A mile or less from their 4-way stop sign is a large metal building, air-conditioned, called Unique Treasures. An antique and resale shop with over a hundred booths. In the words of Betty Bob, Who Knew? My friends drove me there, and at first I was a bit lost. I mean, I am not into the buying and reselling thing much. I don't really collect anything, do I? In the end, though, I found some real neat stuff, including two more older paint-by-numbers landscapes. I think the plan has evolved to cover an entire wall in the dining room with pbn. 

Otherwise, I am feeling friended and loved and liked and wanted. Yay me!

Here is some fun from The Muppets.

So.

I've had my booth at Gypsy Gatherings for just over two weeks, and I have made rent and gravy. Yay me. 

Leslie, the Head Gypsy, and I seem to be separated-at-birth twins, albeit with a 14 year age differential. (Helena Handbasket, I wish you were here!) She has a few issues - just like me. Also, she likes the quirky and the odd. We both love ugly lamps. As she says, somebody needs to love the ugly things in this world. 

Come the first of August, (and how in dog's name has half the year already slipt past?) I will work one day a week in lieu of rent, and I will move my booth closer to the central hub of activity. It will mean losing my window to the street, but I will gain a wall. This was Leslie's idea, which means she likes me enough and trusts me enough to handle the cash register and customers and all that. (It's not like I can't. I've had my own store.) I love the trust that I have engendered, without trying even. I feel good.

If I could get to Indiana, I could bring home several more items to sell - along with my patterns and pattern paper. I am really wanting to make more hippie clothes that sold so well in my old store. 

However, this past week, Sweetie had one job interview, and next Thursday, he has another one with a big food company in Columbia. His current job has been extended again, to last through December. We both wiped sweat from our brows after hearing that news. 

I'm hoping that I can make some sort of money with the Gypsy Gatherings, (like real money,) and I am happy to find a place that I can actually work at! Dog knows I cannot work at any sort of "real" job. 

And Leslie feels the same way about herself, in spite of an expensive education.

Parrots a la Paint by Number

This is a great paint-by-number I found at the store. The greens are perfect for the dining room. And? It's a big Paint-By-Number Painting! (I think it is 18" x 24".) And let's not even start about my new collection of Las Vegas kitsch. 

Millie and Trixie at play.

Trixie and Laverne, aka Gertie, are doing well. Laverne has come a long way from being the scared and skittish thing she was when I first got her, and Trixie is closing in on being 5 months old and is settling down just a bit. It is too hot to let them be outside, but they are both doing well in the office/mudroom. I have begun to let them have 24-hour roaming privileges, and that makes all of us happy. 

Mmmm, creamy!

How to make ricotta cheese at this link.

Safe and Natural!

I've seen something like these purses on Regretsy, but they are still useful, cute, and recycled plastic. I've sold every one that I placed at the store, along with regular tote bags from the same type feed bags.

There's a little pocket inside.

I like the chicken.

Step Right Up!

I have sold so much stuff at my "store"! I have already made my rent, and now am into the gravy part of sales. 

I have sold tote bags and purses made out of woven plastic feed bags, fancy aprons, pot holders, a skirt, several books and assorted knick knacks, and I have some people interested in my art quilts. I never thought this store was so busy, but they get a lot of traffic, and Gypsy Gathering is just now listed on the new Missouri state brochure of antique stores along I-70. I'm going to have to work harder! I am also beginning to pick up the odd alteration job here and there. 

Who knew? Who knew that that sudden impulse to check out "that store" a few weeks ago would energize my life?