A month ago I was thinking of what we needed to pack for our Art in the Park weekend in Alexandria, MN. We were looking forward to nice weather & hoping for some good sales by the end of the weekend. I also had a few other things rolling around my brain box. Specificly the upcoming visit from Abe’s brother Savior (not his real name) which is always a good time.
So the last weekend in July we packed the little trailer & the bed of the truck and made our way to Alex with apple pie hopes. We were very happy to have our same spot as last year–it’s the ideal location as we are very near the roasted almond ladies & the kettle corn guy. Plus the view of the lake is nice when we need a break from the madding crowd.
As we started working on getting the canopy set up & the wooden walls installed (Abe’s used our showroom walls this time) the wind coming off the lake felt so refreshing we were very glad to have it. We got everything prepped for the morning & then visited with my Uncle B for a bit (he lives right next to the park where the event is held) before heading off to our hotel room. We decided to spend one night in the hotel so as not to impose on my uncle for the whole weekend. We got checked in & then decided to go out to eat. I picked a very nice restaurant (not too fancy but great food) & spent my weekend’s fun money on dinner — I wanted to celebrate Abe getting chosen as a featured artist for the event. A big deal (at least to me) as he got a special mention in the paper in Alexandria. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit…then early to bed as we had to be up & at the booth before 7 am (yes even I was up that early…and yes I hated every minute of it). Saturday was cold & WINDY. Sitting at our booth was less than fun because it was so cold. In spite of the wind sales were good & we ended the day feeling pretty satisfied. Fortunately Saturday was a good sales day because Sunday was a total bust. We sat there & talked to people, answered questions, offered to customize anything they wanted but at the end of the day we didn’t make a single sale. I don’t think we could have given it away. A very discouraging end to what is our only show. We’ll go back though because it’s such an excellent place. The staff of volunteers does an amazing job!
We didn’t have time to dwell on the lackluster sales though (we were happy to recoup our expenses) as Abe’s brother Savior was coming to stay with us. So it was work for me, the shop for Abe & cleaning for all. I took a vacation day so that I wouldn’t have to miss out on any of the fun. So July 30th arrived & so did Savior. We grabbed some lunch (and a beer) then hung out at the house & chilled. Well, I chilled…the boys had more beer & played Wii. By 4 in the afternoon I had 1 empty pack of beer, 2 crazy boys & 3 people needing food. Against my better judgement I took them with me to get pizza & movies. We then hung out & peeped “Watchmen” which I had been wanting to see (bet you didn’t think I’d say that…) & I enjoyed it very much. Friday we spent the day with more of the family (I have a post about that –mostly pics– somewhere around here) & Saturday we spent at Abe’s dad’s place. It was chilly & rainy so we just visited & relaxed.
I was not feeling very awesome by Saturday afternoon. I had been feeling a bit more tired & my gallbladder was bothering me a bit earlier in the week but rather than passing it just got worse. Sunday I was very lethargic & wondering if I’d be able to make it to work the next morning. As fate would have it I did not make it to work…rather I got my very first trip to the emergency room. All of that fun is encapsulated in a series of posts “The One Where I Go to the Hospital”. Since getting out of hospital I’ve gone back to work. I’m still not feeling the best but it’s tolerable for the most part.
Other than that we’ve just been wading our way through daily life. I’m working on some more writing (poetry & what may become a short story or novel) that I’m not yet ready to share with the general public. I can’t believe summer is almost over (not that we had much summer weather here) & we didn’t get to do most of our traditional summer activites. I’m hoping for a nice warm fall so we can make at least one trip up to Grand Marais. Spending a day with my camera viewing my favorite spots & hopefully finding new ones would do more for my mind & spirit than most anything else. I also need to think of something special for Abe as we have our 7th anniversary rapidly approaching…I can’t believe it’s been that long already. In some ways it feels like only a short time ago. Ah well that’s musing that’s best left for another time.