I am finally starting to feel a bit settled after over 4 years. I feel like I may be getting my life back in order and it feels fantastic. However, sometimes the best laid plans and “good intentions” no matter how good don’t always pan out. It has been a cray busy last couple of weeks. This is where the good intentions not working out comes in. I made a commitment to write my blog once a week to help market and get my business on tract. It didn’t happen last week. I am trying not to beat myself up about it (too much).
I spent two days in Franklin, NC at the GL&W gem show. It is not nearly as big as the Tucson gem and jewelry shows or the JCK show I use to attend in Las Vegas but it is a good show especially the July one. Many of my favorite vendors attend the Franklin show. I stocked up on some really great things, mainly gemstones. I went over my budget but the nice thing about gemstones is that they do not go bad or out of style! Being at the gem show has really gotten be excited to get back to work. I am starting to make my new line of aromatics so I also got a bunch of tumbled gems for the elixirs and soaps I am planning on making along with essential oils. I am really excited about this venture. I have been doing some research and cannot wait to get started to see what creations I come up with.
After I got home from the gem show. My mom and her friend came for a visit from Wisconsin for a few days. The first day they were here we met a friend of mine for lunch. I took them to the Hot Tin Roof where I have been bartending. We grilled pork chops for dinner and just sort of hung out. The next day we did not really have any plans and at the spur of the moment decided to take a drive to Catawba Falls. It was a 3 hour drive, with lots of rain! We started our 1.5 mile hike in the misty rain but it soon let up.
Stupid me in the spur of the moment decision making was not thinking. I was wearing flip flops for a hike on a muddy rocky uphill trail. Duh! My 81 year old mother was a trooper. She made it about half-way to the falls before we sent her back. I and her friend kept on. We almost made it to the top of the falls. I decided to stop where a sign read “Danger, serious injury and or death have occurred” something about if continuing on. Had I not been wearing flip flops and had it not been raining I definitely would have been continuing on! I have plans to go back with my hubby. Now it is a challenge to make it all the way to the top of the falls. My mom said she heard people talking while she was walking back about the idiots who were wearing flip flops. the “idiot” would be me!
The next day they were here, we visited a chocolate factory in Raleigh and went to the Raleigh State Farmers market. I have been wanting to go there for some time but in the 4 years of living here hadn’t yet made it. The farmers market was pretty “Wow!” I bought some herbs, flowers, some ceramic pots and a few things for dinner that night. My childhood friend, Julie from San Diego was in town with her daughters and niece visiting colleges. I had invited them for dinner. We had a nice visit and a good meal with most of the food from the farmers market.
My husband and I spent the rest of the week and weekend prepping and planting the herbs and flowers we bought. Prepping meant weeding a good stretch of our hope to soon be yard. We had planted grass and wildflowers earlier. I did not want to take chemical warfare to it. I am not really into using chemicals anymore and I did not want to accidentally kill all my bamboo or the wildflowers that were still blooming so I weeded. NOT an easy task! I don’t think I worked quite so hard since growing up on a dairy farm milking cows and baling hay. My body definitely felt it. But I must say the hard work was worth it and I am liking how it is shaping up.
With going to the gem show and having my mom visit, I have not been bartending. I have not missed it one bit either. I am not scheduled to work at the sports bar this coming week either. I am not exactly sure why but I don’t care! The plans for the week include getting back to doing some creating!
Ta, ta ‘til later,
Cheryl