A festival and an 18th birthday...

Please excuse the horribly grainy photos. Two days in a row, I toted my camera around without an SD card. You would have thought after the first day, I would have remembered to put the card back in.

I spent the day at a local fall festival on Saturday. I had a good time. I always like to meet other people that are crafters and artisans. I was happy with the amount of inventory I somehow managed to churn out over the last year. I always seem to set my expectations of myself too high when it comes to the quantity of items I wish to have ready to take to these events. And I always end up slightly disappointed that I could not get more done, but I am a full-time wife, mom, and homeschooler, and this whole business thing really is just a hobby. That's the pep talk I find that I give myself when I haven't quite met my product goal.

However, once I got there and set up my booth, I realized that I did really have a nice amount of items. I was actually somewhat surprised that I had managed to create so many things over the past twelve months.

One thing that I always appreciate and enjoy about these kinds of events are the people I get to meet. I love to meet other like-minded people that appreciate a handcrafted item and understand why the items cannot be marked at discount store prices. I understand that times are tough for many people. We're surely not rolling in a load of money around here either, but I do find that I am willing to spend a bit more to not only receive a well-made, hand-crafted item, but I also know that I'm supporting a normal, every-day person like myself. A person trying to make a go with sharing their love of their craft with others while making a little (and I repeat again, little) profit. Most of us aren't out there to make a living off of our wares. Rather it's about the process of creating and then sharing with others. It feels tremendously good when your handcrafted items are admired by others.

Sunday was Sergei's 18th birthday. 18!!!!! It's hard to believe. I remember when I turned 18 and the world seemed so full of possibilities. Of course, the world is still full of many possibilities, but I've also been through enough valleys since then to know that life is most certainly not the perfect, idealistic, "everything's-going-to-go-my-way" journey that I once thought it might be. But that wisdom comes with age, I suppose, and living and surviving through the valleys and the mountaintops of life.

Since Sergei is attending a boarding school, we traveled the two-hour trip up north to spend the day with him. We ate way too many chicken wings at Quaker Steak & Lube and then spent some time in a nearby park playing football. Well, Brad and the kids played football. I prefer to sit and watch and snap photos while they all play.

We had a very nice visit, had a good talk about Sergei's future and his desires and then headed out for the long drive home.

It was a good day.




I still have some items available in my Etsy shop and will be adding more soon.