So, I'm off on vacation tomorrow for three weeks! Any orders placed between now and September 20th will be filled the last week of September. Please have patience!
I haven't been to Europe since 1991, and I'm excited as all get out. We will be visiting Poland, Ireland, and London for a few days at then end. Arek is originally from Poland, but he and his family left when he was 8, stayed a year in Austria, where his sister was born, and then moved to Thunder Bay. Nothing happened to him there until he was 22 and he met me ;). Anyway, we are off to meet his family - he hasn't seen them since then, and I've never met them. We'll be staying with his grandparents at the old family farm for a few days, and then with his uncle in Warsaw. His mother and step-dad have been there visiting since the beginning of August, and will still be there when we arrive. This will be great, as not only will I get to visit with them as well, but they will be another set of translators for me! I bought myself a little Polish phrasebook, and am already having trouble pronouncing the words. Even with phonetic spellings, I'm ready to throw the book out the window. My mouth hurts from trying to get my tongue and lips around those syllables - there is absolutely no reason any word should have more than five consonants groupings! It will be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it. I have a certain degree of familiarity with England, as well as "romantic" European countries such as Spain and France, but I've never been to an Eastern European country. From what the guide book says, I will either fall in love with this crazy country, or be so dwunk on wodka that I von't effen notis, yes?
The thing I'm worried about is my lack of "caring" for the Polish cuisine. Arek's mother has tried to get me to like borsht and other such dill-fully delights, but I can't get my taste buds to embrace them. Why, oh, why, my lovely Poles, must you pickle everything? And food in Poland is so entwined with their hospitality, that I'm sure I'll be offending at least a dozen people by my polite refusal of the fourth helping of ponshki. I will let you know how much weight I gain while on vacation. Apparently, according to Arek's sister, the Pastry Truck goes by his grandparent's farm every morning! Pastries, now you're talking a language I can understand :)
Monday, August 30, 2004
Friday, August 20, 2004
the shows
So, the two craft shows I participated in this past weekend went grrrrrrreat! Ok, here's a run down, with both "business info' and 'personal info' since there are some that are interested in one, and some in the other, and I suppose some in both!
We drove down to Kingston after work on Friday, getting there around dinner time. We checked in at our lovely B&B that we went to in July, and then went and had a cheap but good meal at a local place. The Festival of the the Islands was on, and we went down to the harbour to take in the sights and sounds. A really good Beatles cover band was playing, so we watched them for a little bit, and then went back to the B&B.
This show started at 10:00am, and last time we didn't arrive until about 9am, and I was still setting up just after 10. This was not good, as a lot of people (probably the same breed of people that go garage sale-ing) like to get to the shows bright and early and buy the best stuff. So, I remembered this, and we got to the park at about 8:30. For those of you who know me, quite a feat indeed. Anyway, I must be a pro or something by now, as it only took about half an hour to set up. I had the same configuration of tables as last time (in the shape of a U). It seemed to work alright, but I felt it could be better. I looked at the booth from afar, and it just looked flat to me. I didn't bother changing it that day though. I had my first sale at 9:45 - some Sassy Kathys! How tickled was I?!! I tried to look all calm and business like, but when the person left the booth, there was some definite up and down airborne activity on the part of my body. My first sale to someone I totally didn't know! And I felt absolutely certain it wasn't someone that my mother had paid to attend the show to buy a few cards (thanks, for asking, though, B-I-L)! After one or two more sales, I was an old pro, and was selling like I did in the "good" ol' days at the mall. You may remember from my last show in July, I thought the stuff I was selling was too out of sync with the type of show it was. I made a few lanterns out of very natural papers, and those seemed to be a real draw for many people. I'll have pictures of them up in the shop soon. It seemed to help, too, that there were more people attending the craft show, probably because of the festival.
Anyway, the day went well, except for the "no-foam" latte we ordered that was just 4 plain shots of espresso in a cup. Needless to say we didn't need many coffee breaks after that!
After the show, we packed up (again: pros - it took us half an hour), and went and checked in at the place we were staying. Later, we went and checked out the park where the craft show would be the next day, and then went and ate at our favourite restaurant in Kingston. We just relaxed, kicked back, had a few 'tinis and wine, and enjoyed a lovely 4 hour meal. We then returned to our ultra-high class accommodations, and had a good sleep!
We woke up bright and early once again, packed up our gear, and got to the Women's Art Festival around 8:15. This show, too, started at 10am, but it was more "democratically" organized, shall we say, than the previous one. There were no reserved spots, you basically picked up your registration package, and then picked a spot on the grass and set up there! The organizers had set up lines behind which you could set up (making room for large aisles for people to wander around in) but other than that, it was a bit of a free for all! It was pretty fun though. As a first time participant, the entry fees were waived (they aren't that much to begin with), but you had to donate 20 percent of your earnings to the festival. The organizers would then give it to various local charities they had selected.
I changed my display on Sunday. Instead of a U-shape, and I had my two big tables (which are awesome, since the top folds as well as the legs, therefore fitting in my little station wagon) in the middle of the booth, to create an island. I then used the various-sized containers that I put my stuff in, as risers, under the cloth. This allowed for several different heights for various items. I had the lanterns on top, some books on the medium shelf, and then more books at table level. Pictures of the booth at the Sunday show are here. I think this set-up was MUCH better than the other one. It allowed people to come into the booth from any of the three facing sides, and for those people that are feeling like they don't want to go too far into the booth, for fear of being accosted by the owner, it allows a comfortable space, although people are certainly close enough to greet. I was SO tired by the end of Sunday (as you can tell by the picture), but it all went well.
All in all, I made way more money this past weekend than I did at the other show, learned some more things, and had a great time doing it all! One of the main things I learned was about pricing. I have always felt that the prices I gave to my items were extremely fair - for the cost of supplies, and the time I put into them. The thing is, I've now realized I must take into consideration what people will actually PAY for items. I am new at this, and I DO take a long time to make my items, as I haven't got the hang of all the short-cuts I could be taking. I can't expect people to pay me for 4 hours of work when things "should" be taking less time. They will eventually take less time, once I set up some jigs, or out-source some of the work (like basic paper-cutting), but for now, I'll have to realize I cannot charge so much for my items, as people won't buy them at the price they were at. SOOOOOO.... what I'm saying is that I've SLASHED my prices! It's like Christmas in August! It's an amazing deal! And all the other schmucky things that people say on tv. Anyway, yes, I've lowered my prices by various amounts, so check out the store to see if there is something you'd like to snap up!
On another note, I'd like to give a shout out to Kristi at Kriss Kross Designs for the two beautiful necklaces I bought and recently got in the mail from her, and to Alicia at Posie for the stunning handbag that arrived last week. I'm SO in love with all of it! I heart the Internet :)
We drove down to Kingston after work on Friday, getting there around dinner time. We checked in at our lovely B&B that we went to in July, and then went and had a cheap but good meal at a local place. The Festival of the the Islands was on, and we went down to the harbour to take in the sights and sounds. A really good Beatles cover band was playing, so we watched them for a little bit, and then went back to the B&B.
This show started at 10:00am, and last time we didn't arrive until about 9am, and I was still setting up just after 10. This was not good, as a lot of people (probably the same breed of people that go garage sale-ing) like to get to the shows bright and early and buy the best stuff. So, I remembered this, and we got to the park at about 8:30. For those of you who know me, quite a feat indeed. Anyway, I must be a pro or something by now, as it only took about half an hour to set up. I had the same configuration of tables as last time (in the shape of a U). It seemed to work alright, but I felt it could be better. I looked at the booth from afar, and it just looked flat to me. I didn't bother changing it that day though. I had my first sale at 9:45 - some Sassy Kathys! How tickled was I?!! I tried to look all calm and business like, but when the person left the booth, there was some definite up and down airborne activity on the part of my body. My first sale to someone I totally didn't know! And I felt absolutely certain it wasn't someone that my mother had paid to attend the show to buy a few cards (thanks, for asking, though, B-I-L)! After one or two more sales, I was an old pro, and was selling like I did in the "good" ol' days at the mall. You may remember from my last show in July, I thought the stuff I was selling was too out of sync with the type of show it was. I made a few lanterns out of very natural papers, and those seemed to be a real draw for many people. I'll have pictures of them up in the shop soon. It seemed to help, too, that there were more people attending the craft show, probably because of the festival.
Anyway, the day went well, except for the "no-foam" latte we ordered that was just 4 plain shots of espresso in a cup. Needless to say we didn't need many coffee breaks after that!
After the show, we packed up (again: pros - it took us half an hour), and went and checked in at the place we were staying. Later, we went and checked out the park where the craft show would be the next day, and then went and ate at our favourite restaurant in Kingston. We just relaxed, kicked back, had a few 'tinis and wine, and enjoyed a lovely 4 hour meal. We then returned to our ultra-high class accommodations, and had a good sleep!
We woke up bright and early once again, packed up our gear, and got to the Women's Art Festival around 8:15. This show, too, started at 10am, but it was more "democratically" organized, shall we say, than the previous one. There were no reserved spots, you basically picked up your registration package, and then picked a spot on the grass and set up there! The organizers had set up lines behind which you could set up (making room for large aisles for people to wander around in) but other than that, it was a bit of a free for all! It was pretty fun though. As a first time participant, the entry fees were waived (they aren't that much to begin with), but you had to donate 20 percent of your earnings to the festival. The organizers would then give it to various local charities they had selected.
I changed my display on Sunday. Instead of a U-shape, and I had my two big tables (which are awesome, since the top folds as well as the legs, therefore fitting in my little station wagon) in the middle of the booth, to create an island. I then used the various-sized containers that I put my stuff in, as risers, under the cloth. This allowed for several different heights for various items. I had the lanterns on top, some books on the medium shelf, and then more books at table level. Pictures of the booth at the Sunday show are here. I think this set-up was MUCH better than the other one. It allowed people to come into the booth from any of the three facing sides, and for those people that are feeling like they don't want to go too far into the booth, for fear of being accosted by the owner, it allows a comfortable space, although people are certainly close enough to greet. I was SO tired by the end of Sunday (as you can tell by the picture), but it all went well.
All in all, I made way more money this past weekend than I did at the other show, learned some more things, and had a great time doing it all! One of the main things I learned was about pricing. I have always felt that the prices I gave to my items were extremely fair - for the cost of supplies, and the time I put into them. The thing is, I've now realized I must take into consideration what people will actually PAY for items. I am new at this, and I DO take a long time to make my items, as I haven't got the hang of all the short-cuts I could be taking. I can't expect people to pay me for 4 hours of work when things "should" be taking less time. They will eventually take less time, once I set up some jigs, or out-source some of the work (like basic paper-cutting), but for now, I'll have to realize I cannot charge so much for my items, as people won't buy them at the price they were at. SOOOOOO.... what I'm saying is that I've SLASHED my prices! It's like Christmas in August! It's an amazing deal! And all the other schmucky things that people say on tv. Anyway, yes, I've lowered my prices by various amounts, so check out the store to see if there is something you'd like to snap up!
On another note, I'd like to give a shout out to Kristi at Kriss Kross Designs for the two beautiful necklaces I bought and recently got in the mail from her, and to Alicia at Posie for the stunning handbag that arrived last week. I'm SO in love with all of it! I heart the Internet :)
Friday, August 13, 2004
baby it's cold outside
The weather here in Ottawa this summer has been pretty miserable - lots of overcast skies, cooler temperatures. There have only been a few really lovely hot days. Most mornings it starts out overcast and then decides if it will get overcast and muggy or overcast and cool. It's only once in a while that the sun kicks the clouds in the nebulus and says "Get out!". So, even with all this weather, I've had a lovely meadowy garden this year, and I'm just ever so glad that these lovely ladies decided to show up.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
intense!
I went to a "healing intensive" workshop this weekend. What a weekend! We did lots of meditations of various kinds, did yoga outside at 7:30 every morning!, had a drumming circle with all sorts of different drums, I hooped a lot, and we had various healing sessions. It was wonderful. But at the same time it KICKED MY ASS. Along with the asses of the other participants. What a lot of energy we moved! I found out all sorts of interesting things about myself, and I'm sure everyone there did. We all released anger, disappointed, fear, and other bottled up emotions in various ways through our meditations and dynamic breathing exercises. We are each so powerful, and I often forget that.
Each one of us is unique and beautiful, and strong and gentle. I am all those things and more. It was beautiful to get to know myself and learn to like myself better! I was exhausted by the end of the weekend, and have been doing a lot of my "releasing" since Sunday night, so have been back and forth between the bathroom and bed! As gross as it all is, I know a lot of unneccessary crap is leaving me, and I'm making room for lighter and more lovier things. Basically, I know there's a light at the end of it all!
This has made things a little difficult re: my craft shows this weekend. I'm not finished making all the stuff I wanted to make, and I haven't started to put price tags on things either. Well, I've decided that's ok. I'm spending time with my boy, relaxing, and making a few things here and there, but I am NOT stressing out. I know that I can price things while at the show, and if I am making a few things while sitting behind the table, well perhaps it may even intrigue people to see how things are made, and come and chat. So, yes, a lesson in relaxation.
The other lesson I learned this weekend: not to take your loved ones for granted. My husband's second year of racing has been cut short because of a slightly damaged car.
Yes, he flipped it.
And walked away without a scratch. Unbelieveable. Crazy. No words, really. There was something wrong with the car as he began the race, and he tried to work on it to figure out what was wrong, but couldn't, and that, combined with a wide turn, ended up in a crash. He's been ever so busy this summer, and we were both looking for a way to find more time to spend together. What a universal wake up call! Be careful what you wish for! I always suspected he has got some kind of fantastic angels looking over his safety, and now I know for sure. He will either buy a new car this winter, or rebuild this one, but this time, a roll cage will be first on the list of purchases. Needless to say, we've been spending lots of time together, hugging and being in love.
Take the time to hug your lovely person. You never know what can happen in an instant.
Each one of us is unique and beautiful, and strong and gentle. I am all those things and more. It was beautiful to get to know myself and learn to like myself better! I was exhausted by the end of the weekend, and have been doing a lot of my "releasing" since Sunday night, so have been back and forth between the bathroom and bed! As gross as it all is, I know a lot of unneccessary crap is leaving me, and I'm making room for lighter and more lovier things. Basically, I know there's a light at the end of it all!
This has made things a little difficult re: my craft shows this weekend. I'm not finished making all the stuff I wanted to make, and I haven't started to put price tags on things either. Well, I've decided that's ok. I'm spending time with my boy, relaxing, and making a few things here and there, but I am NOT stressing out. I know that I can price things while at the show, and if I am making a few things while sitting behind the table, well perhaps it may even intrigue people to see how things are made, and come and chat. So, yes, a lesson in relaxation.
The other lesson I learned this weekend: not to take your loved ones for granted. My husband's second year of racing has been cut short because of a slightly damaged car.
Yes, he flipped it.
And walked away without a scratch. Unbelieveable. Crazy. No words, really. There was something wrong with the car as he began the race, and he tried to work on it to figure out what was wrong, but couldn't, and that, combined with a wide turn, ended up in a crash. He's been ever so busy this summer, and we were both looking for a way to find more time to spend together. What a universal wake up call! Be careful what you wish for! I always suspected he has got some kind of fantastic angels looking over his safety, and now I know for sure. He will either buy a new car this winter, or rebuild this one, but this time, a roll cage will be first on the list of purchases. Needless to say, we've been spending lots of time together, hugging and being in love.
Take the time to hug your lovely person. You never know what can happen in an instant.
Friday, August 06, 2004
august 6th - 4 years!
31 December 1995 - Ooh, a New Year's Eve party, cool! ooh boy, he's so cute! How YOU doing?
01 January 1996 - So, we're dating, right?
02 January 1996 - You're a drummer? In a band? COOL!
Summer 1996 - You love me? I love you too! *blush*
July 1997 - I'm moving to Ottawa to go back to school, wanna come?
September 1997 - Our first apartment! Can you get your friend to move out?!
September 1998 - Our second apartment! It's a house!
Spring 1999 - It's a Boy! Here puppie puppie!
July 1999 - So, you wanna get married? - Yeah. Really?! -Yeah. Cool!
August 06 2000 - It's official!
March 2002 - Our first house!
August 06 2004 - 4 years of marriage, and eight and a half years of togetherness! My how time flies.
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