Life

Now I can see why there isn't a manual on it. I can say it's never dull. Just when I was thinking I was at least on an even keel, here comes a boulder. I was diagnosed with Lyme's Disease and if that wasn't enough to wreck a day, my truck is back in the shop. I know it's getting old but I need it to hang in there for at least another year or two. Maxwell, my truck, is 20 years old with over 220,000 miles on him. Yes, I wanted to cry. And I had to spend money on a car rental so that I can get to work for money that is no longer mine. Ack!

So I got up, wiped away chunks of stone and dust, pulled my pants back up and kept moving. So last weekend I was a vendor at a doll show in Wilmington, Ohio. It was about 4.5 hours away, so my mother (who went with) said we should stay at the hotel. Fine. It wasn't my best show, or my worst and I did sell some things. What was really weird was that the hotel we stayed in was recently remodeled and the walls were like paper. Our neighbors were so loud and they had their TV on loud. So what did I do? I found a slasher movie on the ScyFy channel and turned up the volume. Childish, maybe but it was quite satisfying. The next morning, they started in at each other around 5 AM. Ugh! He was yelling at her about breakfast. What did she want? They have bacon and eggs. She yelled that she didn't want the bacon and eggs. He yelled that they have sausage and biscuits with gravy. She yelled back that she didn't want bacon and eggs. He yelled, no, what about sausage and biscuits with gravy. You would think they were on opposite ends of the hotel but they were in one room. I was about ready to yell, I'll take the bloody bacon and eggs. I got up. Geesh!

I was supposed to be up at the front of the show but got put into a back corner. When people came to my table, they commented on it and I told them that I was incorrigible, or I got sent to the principal's office, or that I was just the odd one. I was fine with it, I made them laugh, and I still sold some things being in the back.

There were so many cool things to see at the show. I really like dollhouses and room boxes. One day I will have one. These are by Judy Rankine and she even has tutorials on her Facebook page.

And there were some nice antique miniature dolls to go into a dollhouse. I was keen on those from the 1920s.

I love the stripe dress.

I even saw a real Izannah Walker doll. She was beautiful.

I got back home and unpacked everything. My inventory is way down. I sat and thought about if I wanted the Wilmington show to be my last for the year. I ask myself why, because there's another show coming up. Do it... do iiiitttt. So I contacted the organizer and asked if she had any tables left and she said yes. I'm doing the Doll & Teddy Bear show in Toledo, Oh. Lots closer and I can drive it in the same day. Why not? I make dolls, I want to get back into that circuit, and Christmas is coming up. So what, I have five weeks to get new dolls made. I can do it. This is my calling. Or at least one of them. Life is short, so take a chance. I don't know if I will get my Halloween costume done this year but that's okay. There's always next year.

Until next time.

Catching Up

Yes, catching up, yet again. For the past three weeks I've been running around like crazy. After a sudden heatwave, we now have fall temps and the leaves on the trees are starting to change color. My favorite time of year.

So I will start with three weeks ago when I went up north with my friend Kristi and her friend Abbie who is probably my new friend. We started out at Spicer's Cider Mill. Got cider, fresh donuts, apple pie, and wine. Did I mention that this was a ladies getaway? Yeah... Then we went to Ossineke and saw the roadside attraction Jurassic Jesus, the one who protects the dinosaur park.

That's me in the green. And the next pic is of a postcard from the dinosaur park. We also got fudge from Joann's Fudge. Actually, I got truffles.

We then went to a small waterfall and onto Posen. We took a nice walk on the property and got pizza at the town's party store.

The next day we went to Mackinac City. We visited Fort Michilimackinac.

And this poor guy waiting for visitors to come around so he could talk to them. In the back you can see the Mighty Mac aka Mackinac Bridge over the Straights of Mackinac.

There were several large gardens (at the end of their days) that had to feed everyone in the fort.

My new new friend I met. We talked about costumes and costume books.

We left there and I went to Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. It was around closing time and I was part of the last group to go up into the lighthouse. 51 narrow steps and an 11-rung, eight-foot ladder through a narrow hatchway. I did it, I went all the way to the tower. So glad there were only 3 of us. Really got a chance to talk to the guide.

The original Fresnel lens is on display in the light keepers area. I also got a quick look at the Shipwreck Museum. Very interesting and continued my talk with the same guide. He was pleased when I started talking about Michigan shipwrecks and U-boats of WWII. It's really nice to talk to people who love and appreciate history and they don't make you feel bad if you don't know everything they know. I wish I had time to buy him a beer and just talk. So if you're ever up north in the lower peninsula of Michigan, go see the fort and lighthouse. The Mighty Mac and the Straights of Mackinac. The best time is off season. No crowds. A little on the chilly side but still very cool. The last thing we did before heading south was to have pasties for dinner. Yum. Pass-tees. Until next time.