Friends

I have some non-Sufjan-loving friends (they just don't know him yet), so I made a list of my favorites for them. What do you think? http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/The+Dress+Looks+Nice+On+You/7297969 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Chicago/20035 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Casimir+Pulaski+Day/30019 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/For+The+Widows+In+Paradise+For+The+Fatherless+In+Ypsilanti/8017009 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Romulus/1227410 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Size+Too+Small/30034 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/The+Predatory+Wasp+Of+The+Palisades+Is+Out+To+Get+Us/7612692 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/All+The+Trees+Of+The+Field+Will+Clap+Their+Hands/7297970 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Abraham/20042

Soren
November 2009 Outside Raleighwood, NC
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An entry or two ago I mentioned that the final show of the year was not exactly the barn-burner that we were hoping it would be. (Heck, I didn't even see a spark nearby some dry brush and kindling)

Still.

While talking to a friend on Friday about something completely unrelated she told me that she and her husband were going to be doing a small "First Sunday" street show in a nearby town. She said they had done pretty well at the show the previous month, despite rain and small crowds. Good enough for me. I contacted the person running the show, received permission to set up and talked to Bonn about it. Bonn was done with shows for the year and said I could do the show on my own if I wanted to -- and so I did.

I like to think of myself as a Participant/Observer of Arts and Craft Shows. I like to think after 15+ years of doing shows and selling our handmade jewelry that I know what I'm doing. Then I insist on going out on a freezing cold day, set up on a small town sidewalk and wonder why people don't seem too interested in buying jewelry.

Here's a clue: jewelry sells when women try it on.

And when it's really cold out, low on the List of Things Anyone Would Like to Do is fit a cold piece of metal to their arm.

At the end of the day I packed up and made the long drive home in a car without a heater, feeling pretty ridiculous for having spent a day out in the cold making slightly more money than if I'd stayed at home and not sold anything. I was so beat by the time I made it home that I almost fell asleep waiting for the (anticlimatic) finale to this season's Amazing Race.

On the way to bed I stopped by my computer and checked Facebook where I found this entry by Bonn:

"Tom drove away this morning alone to do a show in Pittsboro- he's so stubbornly, maddingly, hopelessly wonderful...sigh."

And that made the entire day worth it.

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Swirls 2
November 2009 Chapel (Can't Buy Me a) Thrill, NC
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December rolls around and, with it, comes two things relating to the Word for the Year idea: Christine Kane, the singer/songwriter lifecoach/speaker gets people to Guest Blog all month long about their year's worth of Word of the Year experiences (thereby getting a full month of free blog content provided -- wise woman that she is) AND I have to start thinking about my current and next Word for the Year.

Being egotistically driven to see my name in print (even if it is just in pixels on my computer screen) this year I decided to write up 700+/- words on my 2009 Word for the Year and send it in to Christine's staff. I figured as one of the, apparently, few token males who read her site, I'd have a pretty good chance for Equal Opportunity publication. Sure enough, later the same day I submitted it I was asked if I had a photograph they could use. I pointed them to one of my favorite psychedelic self-portraits.

Interested in what I had to say? Can't wait until whenever they publish it on her blog? Well, just ( click on through to the other side... )

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Another Sunset
November 2009 Outside Raleighwood, NC
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Well, the good news is that Toners seems to be doing pretty well. I ended up taking him back to the vet on Tuesday to have them "assist" with getting his colon emptied out -- a process I was knew was necessary but still approached with some squeamishness. ("Oh, you'd be surprised how often we do this procedure," said the way-too-perky-for-that-hour-of-the-morning-vet-tech) As it turned out, though, the Toners had managed to, um, finally do the deed himself the night before. He was sent home, sans procedure, and with some additional meds to help with some pain and to help his appetite kick back in.

All in all, we're all pretty happy with how things have worked out.

The not-so-good news is that last week's Last Show of the Year was nowhere near as good as we were hoping. The show itself was noticeably smaller than it's been in past years and the crowds continued their Very Careful Shopping. My theory (... the brontosaurus is...) is that with money being as tight as it is this year, Frivolity is out and Necessity/Utility is in. When push comes to shove, handmade anythings feel gravity's pull and splat down on the Frivolity side of things.

We spent a good part of our weekend co-miserating with the other artists nearby our booth.

So, crazy as it may be, I've signed myself up for a Sunday afternoon show in a local town. It's outside, but only for four hours. Friends of ours have this small, monthly show several times and have good things to say about it, so what the heck. A little money to spend for Christmas would come in handy.

I'm curious -- how has the current economy changed your Christmas spending plans? or has it?

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