Outdoor Vending 2012 Part 3

Before the season started, we met to discuss any business things that we needed to decide as a group.

 Cathy, Pat, Elise, Bette, Marsha and Barb.

Often there would be lulls in business, and on a hot summer day Pat and Bette would relax in our pop-up chairs.

The Mudbuddies had business cards made. We still met under the red pop-up tent, but had changed to green tablecloths, because the bright sun on white ones blinded some people.

Outdoor vending (2011 -part 2)

Some of us potters who'd been working independently in the clay studio at Black Mountain Center for the Arts, wanted to sell our wares, rather than just give them to all our friends and relatives!

The Tailgate Market is behind the First Baptist Church, right on Montreat Rd and 1st St.

This is part of the 2011 crew. The market is every Saturday morning from 9-12, from early May till the date which seems to flex in the end of Oct, beginning of Nov.

 Marsha, Barb, Cathy and Bette
 And below in the green vest is Wendy...another MudBuddy.

The first year we joined, cars and vans parked right behind our booths with the canopy.  Later there would be another aisle added with booths on both sides of it, so cars were only allowed behind the furthest booths.

Outdoor vending journal (2010 - part 1)

The sales of pottery and clay objects is always a fun venture...if you like sitting/standing outside in unbearable weather! At other times it's a great way to meet the public, and find out half the town are actually acquaintances and friends. (Well, if you've lived here long enough.)

 Pottery students held a pottery market in June 2010 (perhaps in conjunction with some other sales event)  The students all had their work on display, and helped with sales.

Our booth next to the parking lot and road in front of the White Horse, downtown Black Mountain, August 2010.

Pottery booth outside the Clay Studio, August 24, 2010 Sourwood Arts Festival.  Not much foot traffic unfortunately!

Part of the hill separating the clay studio from the action of the Sourwood Festival.

All the clay students submitted some of their works to be sold, and took turns womaning the booth.

The landscaping of Blue Ridge Apartments

 The sterile looking mulch and trim landscaping on my front apartment side.

 My steps to a porch which is waiting to have flower pots to warm up my area.

The building right up the hill from mine.  There are 5 of these "patio" type buildings on the hillside...each with walk in to both upper and lower apartments.  Don't take a deep breath! Unless you like creosote odor...

Yearly physical

This morning, while the Dr. spends most of his time typing on a computer, I'll review (from my notepad on my phone) the various complaints that are current.  Strangely, some are completely new from last year, which will mean adding to the list he's typed up already.

I had my fasting labs a week ago, so he'll be able to tell me the chemical results from my blood-work.

I'm hoping the Dr. will find some ways to treat the new problems.  The old recurring ones will have questions answered by just saying keep on doing what's already been done.  I admit to not doing Physical Therapy exercises regularly.  They used to help with my hand cramping when holding tools, mainly for working in clay including sometimes just a tiny paintbrush.

So while I'm sitting here and the temperature outside rises above freezing, and the bright sun dries off the clouds that were here an hour ago...I bemoan the landscaping crew that has again made my environment hostile to creatures. Including me.  They shoveled and ladled a foot deep spread of mulch on all the beds around buildings, and next to driveways.  Only the plants which had already poked their green heads up were able to sustain themselves (bushes of course, and the ever present day lilies.)

Now April 2

Last week Mar 28

week before Mar 23

But that isn't the problem.  It's the smell.  The mulch has been treated to kill anything under it.  And it was made from wood with creosote.  Whether that's the "treatment" they talk about or just is coincidental, it stinks.  I know with time it will weather away.  In the meantime I cover my nose as I walk to and from my front door and car.

And of course the neighborhood creatures are also dismayed, since many of their food bugs and worms and nuts have been covered with the mulch.  Only grassy areas (which were mowed though not needing it) remain.  The edges of each stretch of pavement or walk were edged, and steeper slopes were weed-eaten. (There, I made a verb out of cutting with a weed-eater!)

Aren't you glad I can't share the smell of creosote with you?  I hope soon to be able to open my windows when it's over 60 degrees F outside again. Soon.

No school today!

That's the news that my children all tried to convince me of when April 1 came around.  You'd think they would come up with something more believable if they really wanted to fool me.

Rabbit rabbit (as they say around here.) I have no idea who "they" might be.  But since it is to offer luck for upcoming time, the first of the month is a good enough reason to spread that news!

More news? Not from the networks who supposedly tell us what's going on in the world out there. 

I'm deciding some changes that are coming about in my life this next month.  Still thinking about them, so can't tell you what changes might really happen.

I do know I want to spend more time outside in nature.  I've cracked the shell of my hibernating self from winter (though there is some doubt that it's really over yet.)

What would I do without parenthetical phrases? I'd be more direct.  You would receive a formal outlay of my thoughts, without the personalization that my side-comments provides. At least I think so.

Listen to the elders...

"Peanuts" comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, 1976.

In case you're an elder...please make a comment below.  I think it's more likely that those who read blogs are of the elder persuasion than of school age.  Just my opinion!

If you knew how many more days you would live...

What would you want to do?
Many people say, just do whatever I was doing already...being with family, going on small trips, maybe working on one project or another.

And some people would do the "bucket list" thing...the big things that meant a lot to them that they hadn't had a chance to do yet.

Main St. Deadwood, SD, 1876

Then there are folks like me, dealing with ancestors all the time, so aware of the many people that have given me my own life, and they are all dead.  I look at their headstones through photos on line.  I also read a blog about elders, which some days touches on death, preparation for it, and being those who are around it and are survivors of some loved one's death.  The person who writes that blog is currently dying of pancreatic cancer.  It is a surprisingly rich experience for the blogging readers.

Booth Monument, Stratford, Fairfield Co, CT

So today I toy with a choice about this blog. Quite honestly, nobody seems interested in it.  Almost nobody ever comments, unless I share it over on 52 Ancestors, or Sepia Saturday.  Actually they are few and far between in commenting.  And they aren't really interested in my family trees.

I spend hours before each posting, looking over at Ancestry at the many hints on each person in a family...and trying to determine if this person by this name is the right one, or maybe another one by that name who lived around the same time.  It's incredibly confusing in early Colonial America, and even more so in England.  There were cousins of the same name, and uncles, and grandchildren...not to mention the headaches of women who weren't recorded by anything but a first name often.

So I think of why I'm doing what I'm doing. 

1. To know the truth.  That's a big reason.  Somehow that is a fundamental part of my searches.  To record it as best I can of course, after I figure it out.

2. To make discoveries.  I recently had an "ah ha" moment.  It meant a connection to me.  Nobody else could share the excitement I had however.  But I knew something I hadn't before. Something made sense.

3. To spend my time recording a worthwhile bit of information.  Not just trivia.  Not to give anyone a laugh.

But then, what if nobody ever reads it?  Mmm, that's why I'm thinking of this right now, is it really just a lost cause?  I could be doing something else.  Making the most beautiful piece of sculpture ever.  Writing a wonderful story.  Meditating to become more holy/enlightened. Catching up on things I've put off for years.  Volunteering to help others more. Reading more. Cooking more. Hiking more. Taking photos more. Writing something else...

So the question before me today is...given I have a limited life-span (like we all do, completely ignorant of the actual time limit) should I spend hours a day putting this ancestry information together here?

The answer I first come up with, is it satisfying? Do I get joy from it?

Not so much, I guess.

So I think what I need to do is give myself a set amount of time a day that I will sit down and work on family history.  Then whatever amount of information is sifted through, I can have the sense that my work on it has been fruitful.  No matter what it is, an hour of it will provide some amount of information.  Let's say a quarter of a blog.  So 4 hours might produce a blog posting in total.

And the one hour of work will also produce some information onto my Ancestry pages too.

There's also that goal I set for Christmas last year. To produce a document of the family for my 3 sons, and their descendants (if they have any.)  It is somewhat depressing that they are growing up and not reproducing yet.  I wonder if I'll live long enough to have a great grandchild!  Oh well, just look at all my mother ancestors who saw so many children die before they became adults.  My life has been much longer already, and I've 3 healthy sons at least....the youngest will turn 40 this year!

Walker Sisters, Smoky Mountains National Park

I also tend to look at the birthdays of ancestors as the way I find whether I've written about them or not.  It takes me to most of them several times, and each time I look at their siblings or children a little deeper.  And I find many things that give clues to their own lives.  Elder parents often lived with their children who were grown...and that shows on census records.

OK, time to get away from the laptop for now.

I'll be back to write more about my next ancestor, Elizabeth Ufford Beers, on April 3...not here.  I do those posts on my other blog, Three Family Trees.

Feed friends!

Well, this grandmom bought all this food for having 5 visitors last week.  But they didn't come, we went to a restaurant instead. So the food needed to be cooked.  I am lucky to have friends who work all day and don't mind having home made food when they get home.

We ate the glazed ham, fluffy mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans, after a big tossed salad. Oh, I forgot to mention the multi-grain chips and spinach dip!  Since it was 2 days later, I'd had a bit of the wine already, and just offered them some juices (planned for grandchildren.) My friends were very gracious, and we watched the beginning of the basketball tournaments, in which they have invested $10 as a pick of winners of final 4, or something like that.

They brought strawberry pie, but i don't eat strawberries, so they took it home with them.  My friend even dried dishes while I washed up.  It was a good evening, and they went home to watch their games with some left over ham for sandwiches, and I still have left overs for several dinners for myself.

A son and family

Your children have their own lives, intertwined but still going in different directions eventually.  Hey son, they are living with you (your 3 daughters) for just a moment in their lives, and then they'll be gone.  Hey mom (my daughter-in-law) you can only hold them for so long, then they will listen to their own inner voices.

I was so happy to have a brief visit with them this evening (Tues.) as they whizzed past on their way from one place to another.  I'm not the destination in their lives. But fortunately I'm near lots of interstates, and can go from my home to where their route is going.  We have a meal every year or so that way.

I wish they had had time to come to my house.  It sits here empty except for a few friends who drop in.  No kids that just know the door is always open for them.  That was not the case even my own life with my own grandmothers.  We were removed, kept separate...so something that wasn't approved of wouldn't infect us.  OK, that's a bit extreme.

My children who are parents, are very responsible, and care a lot for their little ones who are almost all grown, like these 3, or are all the way grown up but still living at home like my other 3 grands.  The youngest of my grands will turn 12 in a couple of weeks.

I admit that I didn't take parenting as seriously as these men (my sons) are...but then maybe it's a male thing.  I know I felt a real disaster as a mother many times.  And then I had the gall to be a single parent and take all kinds of responsibilities that I wasn't at all prepared for.  No wonder things turned out the way they did. And it might have been part of why they are such good parents!

However, each of my 3 sons are grown, and in relationships, and seem to be living pretty happy lives.  So no matter what the quality of their parenting may have been, they've turned out fine.  I love them so much, and am so proud of each of them.

UUCSV welcomed the goddesses

 Maggie Moon interpreted the music by dancing

 Kim Hughes sang for us

 Recorder music by...(ask someone his name, I don't remember)

 Annelinda Metzner was author of all the music and poetry, and also the M.C.

 Rebecca Williams shared readings

Unfortunately I had coughing, so had to leave...nothing like missing hearing something because someone coughs at the wrong moment.  But I watched from the lobby!

Thanks so much Linda!