I just had a thought. Many years ago my deaf sister was an avid seven day adventist. I remember being extremely pissed off that she took the bible so literally. She wouldn't eat unclean meat. I told her that when they wrote the bible they didn't have refrigeration to which she replied, "God knew there would be refrigeration later, he still doesn't want us to eat unclean meat." I mean for Christ sake, she wouldn't eat shrimp. We grew up on shrimp. It particularly agitated me that with each question I asked, trying to prove her an idiot, she would look in her class notes binder and read out lowed to me some asinine quote.

So I was thinking about this theory, and if she was right, and God knew the future, it reasons to believe that he (and by the way, for any of you who don't know, he, I mean He, actually wrote the bible, no matter what else you believe, those words are directly from god, I mean, God) so he knew that December was our last possible chance to turn the economy around for the year, so he made sure that Jesus (spoken in a lowed southern voice, drawn out as long as possible) he made sure that JeSus, was born in December (late December to be exact) to boost the economy each year. So help the economy and follow the wishes of GOD and spend some money, Please. Amen, Awoman, and Achild.

I've been a mother for 26 years today! My boy is getting older. Nice day to play on the computer. I've got some new items on eBay and a new bead listed on my site

These things I call craft fairs aren't really crafts fairs, some of them have a bunch of vendors reselling things they have bought. And they all have too many jewelry sales booths..........

Time to hit the galleries. Anyway I've got some beads in the kiln, I haven't made beads in a while and I think I might be back in the swing.

I dreamed I was visiting my friend Ruth and when I was getting ready to leave I said, come on to my house, let's walk and then I'll give you a ride home. So we did. I made her a sandwich before I took her home. Then I remembered that I had put a deposit down on a trip to South America and the time for the trip was very near. I had completely forgotten about the trip and didn't know if I could get my boots in time. We were supposed to buy boots and walk in them to break them in before the trip. I was pretty confused how I could have completely forgotten about this trip. I wasn't sure of the dates and I hoped I hadn't booked my trip to Italy when I was also booked to go to South America. When I woke up I was trying to figure out if the South American trip was fact or fiction. I had a very small whispers of remembering a previous dream about the South American trip. ~fin

Immigration. Illegal aliens and health care. Here is the solution. Allow anyone to come into the country give them social security numbers and let them be legal. Then collect taxes on their income to cover the expenses of their being in this country.

Ok so this is interesting I think. I went to the Christmas Carousel Arts and Crafts show or fair or what ever the hell it is, as a vendor. Because I love melting glass and playing with fire and I'm trying almost anything to figure out how to sell my glass objects I make while I'm out there in Really Great Place so that I can afford to keep melting glass and playing with fire.... It seems like it should be so easy. I mean really it should. So I'm at my 3rd or 4th show, my first inside one, I'm pleasantly not as nervous as I've been before the other ones.

right now I don't have a show scheduled or an item on ebay... damn.

Anyway, I'm thinking somewhere around $1000.00 a day would be reasonable, because I haven't listed on eBay in months, just made glass I thought would sell at this damn craft show.

My booth was to die for wonderful. I'd made several improvements, painted a Christmas back drop.

Every other customer who came in would say things like "wow they've really got you stuffed back here" and other vendors would say, " Yea, this is where they put the new guys" It was nice being a little far from the maddening crowd, but my sales were hampered by being tucked away in an obscure corner, a sort of dead end area. I did my best to keep a positive attitude. And I had fun talking with people, meeting other artists and meeting my public. after expenses I made about 300 dollars, that was at a booth open for 26 hours plus set up time and break down time, and of course back there somewhere were a few hundred hours of labor creating glass and jewelry.

Hmmmm, might be time for some new strategies!

But wait there's more! For some reason the worker men who lay down the red carpet decided to put the end of it inside my booth. They had to pick up my tables full of glass to get the carpet under the table legs. Then they vacuumed in there at night. Now two mornings I came in and found broken glass, ultimately to the tune of a $130 loss. (subtract from my 300 that leaves well, less). I talked to management and they astonished me with their ignorance and crass behavior, and of course, did not do the right thing and reimburse me for these losses. (I was told after all my products would be safe at night, locked and guarded by a man with a gun) so they lied to me when they said my stuff would be safe.

So I came home Sunday night feeling a little raped and thinking, ok, that didn't work, but hey, I'm smart and there are some people who absolutely love my glass. So I'm pondering a new business plan. I'm sure it's just waiting for me to put it to use (the plan is waiting).

Anyway, no more shows where most of the booths are full of people selling manufactured stuff. (which this was) I'm feeling a little less than worthy to make it into juried shows, so I'm pretty sure that's the first thing I need to remedy. I'm starting this week to get an inventory worthy of a juried show, and I might just have to spend a little bit to have my booth appear more polished, sophisticated, and professional. (which sort of sucks, I'm just a normal person, seems like a normal person could have a booth that looks like a normal person owns it but I think to make the people I need to give me money want to part with their money, I have to spend just a little bit more of my money to buy those show cases, blah blah blah) so I've got to make some money, in order to buy those cases. I'm photographing today to have my wonderful inventory up there on the web!