A Craft Show and Some Junkin' with Two Christophers

This past weekend was a fun one. Busy. But fun. On A Whim had a display during Christmas Through Lowell. That was a lot of fun. Despite my son Christopher, who didn't necessarily want to be there. He did alright. But he was forced to play with 2 seven-year old girls. Not always a 5 year-old boy's cup of tea! lol. So, we had some rocky moments. But, all-in-all, things were good! We sold stuff and handed out a bunch of business cards. So glad we were able to participate in this really fun event! :) Another big thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out our stuff and to Jodi for letting us display our wares at her house!

Here a few pics of our display (with the wrong camera setting. So pardon them being so golden!)...

On Saturday, when Chris was really getting fed up with the two older girls (lol), he and I went to my boss's house. We were on a mission to get some barn wood from his neighbor who said I could take what I wanted from a smaller barn that had fallen down. Chris was excited to have a break from the craft show biz! So, off we went.

We got to my boss's house (whom I will refer to as my boss because he is also a Chris and this post could get way too confusing! ha ha!) and the 3 of us took a golf cart ride to the neighbor's barn. Not only was he getting a break from the girls, Chris was also getting a golf cart ride. I had one pleased little guy on my hands! :) When we got to the fallen barn, the neighbor came out to talk for a bit. He asked what I wanted the barn wood for. Next thing I know, he's telling us to check out the inside of a different barn and take whatever we want from there. Wow! That's about all I could think when my boss and I peeked in there. Pack-Rat Heaven! Junker's Paradise! Oodles and oodles of vintage things for the taking. Someone's years of packing things away had just become my good fortune! Yay for me! :)

Now, I did say this was an old barn. And one absolutely full of junk. So, with my fear of spiders (which is putting it mildy), I could not really venture into the barn myself. My boss, who knows about said fears, went right in there and starting pulling stuff out. I was a little afraid for him to be honest. Who knows what size of spider was lurking in there. I may have mentioned that there was probably the Mother of All Spiders living in there. But he was not deterred. I even dutifully took things from him as he handed them out the barn door. What choice did I have, after all? I needed this stuff! Spiders and all. :) My Chris was a big help, too. He took the little things and we started making a regular junk pile! 

We managed to pick up some barn wood, too. That was, after all, why we were there in the first place. But I have to admit, I got slightly distracted by all the other goodies we found. lol. When we got done pickin', Chris (my boss) gave Chris (my son) some cookies (which made for an even happier little boy!) and we were on our way back to the craft show biz! My boss even made a special delivery for me so we could get it all home. And, let's just be honest, I am so totally going back for more the first chance I get!!

Here are a few pics of the junk once we got it back to my garage. 

I certainly hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did! And I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving too! :)

friends, fun & fair....{thankful thursday: the pre-fair edition}

The Kent County Youth Fair is only a few days away. Hard to believe for those of us behind the scenes. But true nonetheless. It will be here before we know it. Ready or not! But, I'm sure everything will be ready just as it needs to be, thanks to the group of devoted people who put their hearts and souls into this effort. A lot of volunteers and employees work hard to bring fair week together. And I'm thankful for all of them today. But I'm especially thankful for a handful of people who put in a lot of extra hours, not just directly prior to fair, but long before everything has come together. Their legwork insures that everything will, indeed, come together. They are a special bunch. And I want them to know they are appreciated.

Not only am I thankful that they work so hard. I'm thankful, too, for their passion. They enjoy the work they do to ensure a succesful fair because they enjoy the outcome. They honestly believe that the Fair is a great resource for teaching kids responsibility and leadership, character and integrity. And it's because of this passion that they deal with the inevitable snares and hiccups and headaches that usually accomodate any event. With so much to do and prepare for, there is never a dull moment!

Which leads me to the next reason I'm so thankful for this group of people... with them, there really never is a dull moment! And I mean that in the best way possible. :)  Even when we're in the middle of a puzzle (ie: what happened to these ropes and now what are we going to use to rope off the parking lot? lol) or in the midst of a small crisis, these people are just FUN!. Sometimes things get a little harried and people get slightly freaked out for a few moments. But, all in all, these people are genuinely amusing to be around! They make fair week and all of the prep leading up to it a complete and total blast. And I love them for it. I'm so glad to be able to call them my friends. :)

Being surrounded by enjoyable people is a definite plus in any situation. But being surrounded by them during a hectic time is a MUST! There's enough humor among this group of people that, even if one of us gets temporarily negative, or just gets so plain tired that we can hardly function anymore, you end up being back in a good mood in no time. All it takes is some off-the-wall comment and you're smiling and giggling again. These people are positive, and they're just downright comical, so we have a great time, even while we're working our butts off! :) If that's not something to be thankful for, I don't know what is!

Fair begins next Monday, on the 6th. This crazy bunch of people (who love the fair with all their hearts) will be there, possibly acting a little insane, most likely laughing about something ridiculous. But we'll be there and, gosh darn it, we'll be having fun! And so will you when you visit the Kent County Youth Fair. Check out the full schedule of events at www.kcfg.org. Hope to see you at the Fair!