News from the North

OK. I'll get the bad news out of the way fast...WORST news; Juana's not coming. First reaction was tears. Second reaction was the same.

We (John and I) got up Thursday morning after 3 1/2 hours sleep and drove to Manistee to set up a show in a space no one had described beforehand. A difficult process at best. We sold $45 worth of merchandise, spent $20 on the pre-ordered sandwiches, used $21 worth of gas and were surprised to find we were expected to donate an item valued between $30-$100. I'd LOVE to say it was a wash but in truth it was more like a drowning. ALL the reasons we haven't done a show in five years came flooding back. Stupid as we are we actually began discussions on how to improve sales at future shows...early onset Alzheimers? John thinks I should sign up for the Holly Berry show in Frankfort Thanksgiving weekend. Every single time we've done a show I go in believing we'll make money. The outcome is ALWAYS the same, yet I keep believing.

Jess, Juana is planning a party to introduce Doug on October 25. She wants you and Tommy to come and hopes to invite your brother, Aunt Sue and Tom and George. Do you have Georgie's email address? I can email Juana the snail mail addresses just to be safe. Dad and I won't be able to come.

OK. The good news. I was saving this for last so that you'd remember it first! Of course, I didn't win any money at the juried show. But we went to the reception last night and they had a pretty nice booklet of the show info which we brought home.

Artists were invited to submit two pieces and several Northern Counties were included for this "Fourth All-Media Juried Art Competition." I submitted my two, perhaps just a little cocky that this was a rubby-dub show and everyone would be accepted. I was VERY surprised (and pleased) to read that 74 artists entered the competition, offering 139 works of art in a variety of media. Only 31 artists were selected and 39 pieces of art exhibited by those 31. One hundred pieces were rejected. I was shocked. I was only one of five artists included in the exhibition who had two pieces accepted.

This has given me the confidence to join the Art Center and begin teaching woodcarving classes again. I can't find any other viable work up here and I always made good money teaching. We decided last night to start classes with shorebirds. We can draw both men and women with that particular subject matter and hopefully I'll make enough money with the first class (which they can accomplish with just an exacto knife) to place that $500 wholesale order for carving tools to resell to students for more advanced classes.

I've got a big tile project to finish for the bar downstairs this week. I started this project in the Winter of 2005 and it'll be GREAT to see it completely finished (even if the bar isn't). Little house was shown for the very first time yesterday. Been on the market (THIS year) for the third year and since April 1. Haven't heard any feedback. I reran the numbers and decided that we can drop as far down as $55,000 and still survive...can't believe that price when the original price was lowered from $94,000 to our initial "sale" price of $84,900 just three years ago. Absolutely reeks of desperation, doesn't it?

Hummers have been gone for two days now. It's sad. We love those little guys. They'll be back in April '09. I'll leave the nectar out for a few days yet, but we have't seen any activity since Thursday.

Sorry to be far more newsy than funny. I haven't written for a while and thought you were probably JONESING for a categorical accounting of my life!

I'll turn 61 this coming Friday. Doesn't hurt a bit if John, Jess and Tommy are here to visit me.

Love to all of you. Ma