Becoming an Entreprenuer (of Sorts)

I think I woke up yesterday before any wagon loads of day went by at all.  It was still dark and the house was still very quiet.  No dog nudging me; no husband clinging glasses around; no Today show on.  So why didn't I turn over and try to wait for the wagon loads to start their journey across the sky.

Well, it's because I have a lot on my mind.  I am preparing to try my hand (with a girlfriend) at having a booth at a flea market/antique mall.

Isn't that how Sam Walton started???  Sorta, kinda, maybe???


My friend and I had talked about doing this for the last few Tuesdays when we would get together for lunch and shopping.  (She likes to call our get-togethers "Tuesdays with Leta."  I don't know that we could write a book about that, not just because someone else has done so with "Morrie," but because we do very little constructive except to laugh and laugh.  I guess that's good though.)

Anyway,  my goal in having a booth is two-fold--one is to reduce the load of treasures I have stored in the attic and two is to sell some of my art that I have been doing for a good while.  I've come to realize that you can only give so many pieces of art that you create to friends and relatives for gifts.  I make more (because I love it) than I can give away.  So I hope some people will buy them.  I promise they will be my new best friends if they do!

Then my friend's hope was to empty some out of the storage rooms she is paying a monthly fee for.  Evidently, the storage rooms are very full with furniture, etc. that she can't use in her present residence.

Those are noble goals, right.  But it can't be denied either that we both just like going to antique malls.  For that matter, who doesn't?  (Never mind--I realize many are like one of my sisters.  She can breeze through a gigantic mall before I get through the first booth.)

But then that may be the reason I have so much in my attic.  As I think about it, there is most likely a direct correlation between the two.  Nevertheless, going "antiquing" is something else I enjoy doing.  Nothing is wrong with that, right?

Don't answer that--unless you agree with me.  (I have discovered that frequently a person wants others' opinion IF they agree with her or him.  Many times I, I mean she, will keep asking people until she finds one that does finally see the light and agrees!  Why others don't is beyond me.)

Well, I digress.  Back to the booth.  When we got the courage to sign up for a booth, we were told that there were 29 people ahead of us.  Oh well.  It dashed our dreams somewhat but we thought that would give us plenty of time to gather our valuable treasures.  We figured that maybe in a few months or years, we would be called. Even though I am quite aware of how "waiting lists" go, I was still surprised when we got a call last week only a week or two after being put on the infamous waiting list.

We were told we could come in and pick out the booth we wanted and after paying a deposit, we could start moving our stuff in even though the 1st wasn't until 3 days later.

Well, we decided on our booth (the smallest they had and the cheapest) and then it was the time of reckoning for me.

ALL that stuff living in the attic had to come downstairs.  ALL that stuff living in the attic had to be priced.  ALL that art stuff living in the guest house/art studio had to be brought in to go through.  ALL that stuff had to be loaded up in the car, unloaded in the booth and arranged in an inviting style.  And then ALL the stuff I decided not to take right now had to be stored (back in the attic???)  Why, oh why, do I have ALL that stuff???

With all the moving stuff, pricing stuff, bubble wrap and newspaper to protect the stuff, you can imagine the mess in the living room where I decided to work.  (Think, if you dare, yard sale.  Same kind of mess.)  It was in absolute disarray.  Even the poor dog was discombobulated.  He was unsure where it was safe to go.  As a matter of fact, I think my husband was too.  So that was what I had facing me in the early hours of this day.

The house hasn't yet fully recovered but there are things in the booth as you can see in photo.  I knew the booth was small but I am sure it shrunk.  It looks a little sparse now, but my friend hasn't put anything in yet.  I think she's worried that I've taken all the space.  In my opinion, it needs more treasures.  In fact, I added more today.  And, of course, there will be more tomorrow.
 
And then, hopefully, there will be less and less eventually, you think?  I really hope so.  I need to get rid of some of these things.


But while I was in the antique mall, I found this really cute....



Okay, I guess I'll wait for a few wagon loads of day to go by before I start adding to my attic collection.

Maybe.

A Really Special Birthday

I can't tell you how many loads of day this lovely friend of mine has seen.  But I can tell you she is special.  And she is having a birthday soon--today in fact!  Here is your birthday cake, Milly!  No calories--no mess!


Although I have known her for a long time, I really got to know what a wonderful person she is when we went to London together.  (Actually, her daughter--my friend Becky--went along too.  That's how I came to know her in the first place.)  

We had more fun exploring London and the countryside.  I can't tell you how hard it was for us "younguns" to keep up with her.  We got to London and didn't let jet lag stop us.  On to the Changing of the Guard we charged after throwing our suitcases in the charming little hotel with the Peter Pan windows.  We walked a million miles and we also "minded the gap" on many a subway without missing a beat early in the morning or late at night.

We even managed to take in a play the first night.  It was so thrilling to be in London at the theatre with my friends seeing "Oliver" performed.  Ahhh.  I love the thought of it even now.  However, I don't think I have ever told anyone this even after all these years, but I must admit I dozed a little during the play.  The time difference was catching up with me.  But I am sure Milly didn't sleep a wink.  She never wanted to miss a thing. (She probably knew I slept a bit but she kept it to herself!)

Being generous and kind with others, being encouraging, always smiling--that's Milly. 

When we returned from our wonderful trip, I decided that we had to continue our English adventure, so I invited Milly and her daughter to a tea in the garden in my backyard.  Eagerly, I met them at the front door and was tickled to see them gracefully walking up the drive in their hats, gloves, and I'm sure "sensible shoes!"  How English!  They may have even have given me the "royal wave."  It was so fun.  Come to find out the hat and gloves were Milly's ideas!  Fantastic! 

That's another reason I love and respect her so much.   She is willing to have fun and if you know me at all I love a good time!  Yet she doesn't have fun at others' expense.  She seems to know and understand what makes a person tick and she finds ways to encourage them.

One way Milly has always been so good in encouraging others is through her letter writing.  She has always had such a wonderful way with words.  She has sent many a letter of thanks or encouragement and concern to those needing to know that someone was thinking about them.  She wrote me a note once that I have kept ever since (about 12 years or so and I even know where it is today [surprisingly] and I treasure it). 


Reading those nice thoughts written so long ago still touches my heart.  (But that is just the kind of thing she does and has always done.)  I love having such wonderful experiences with her and be able to learn from her.  As I face each day for the rest of my life, I hope to exhibit some of the wonderful qualities she has of courage, patience, love, and devotion to others.  She is a beautiful person.






So I wish her a most wonderful birthday and hope that with every wagon load of day--tomorrow and everyday--she will be blessed.  She deserves it.   Happy Birthday, Milly--my sweet friend.