Tuesday, September 22, 2015

BOOTH UPDATE and BAD DOG JIMMY

I've spent some time working on my booth.
Last month was my first month and I sold enough to make rent, pay the mall commission and to still get a modest little check.
So after picking up the check I promptly drove over to Michaels and spent it all on canvases and paper mâché pumpkins.
Sigh.
This last weekend's boarding schedule was the last "light" weekend for a while.
Possibly until after the New Year, so I decided to take the weekend PLUS Monday off, to do a few things.
Saturday I went to an Art fair.
I bought a metal owl for my fence.
I bought one last year that sits on a piece of a tree limb on a stake.
It's in the flowers at the front of my house and makes me happy whenever I see it.
When I saw that this year she had a single separate owl, one that could be mounted on the top of my fence I just had to get it.
(I'm still working on redoing my fence). 
Here's a close up of the owl.

Here's the owl sitting on top of the fence I made a few years back.
I made it from some new 2 x 4's and pieces of wood from my old fence.

I whitewashed the fence and it's faded now but I'll be taking it down next Spring when I get my new fence built.
I'm going to enclose a larger part of the yard this time but still leave the bottom of it wild and natural.
Here's another photo that I think is funny because it captures Jimmy jumping as high as he can and in mid "spring" as he tries to see me over the fence.

After the Art Fair I spent some time at the condo of a client of my sister's, doing their gardening.
I dead-headed and watered.
(My sister is on vacation in Vermont so I'm doing her some of her gardening side business while she's gone.)

Sunday I painted my fence posts. I think it's easier before putting them up.
Then I painted a base coat on the pumpkins and also dragged more stuff out to go to the booth.
As I was painting the pumpkins at the kitchen table and a light breeze came through the window,
I thought how nice and peaceful the day was.
Everyone was scattered about, sleeping or chewing on their bones.
When suddenly I thought I heard a different sound. I stood up and looked into the living room.
My beautiful Mid-Century Modern sofa.
I love that damn thing. 
It was such a rare find and a real steal.
I noticed some "cracks" in it from Blue standing up on it and circling before laying down.
I had been researching how to hopefully repairs the cracks and had been to several fabric stores and hardware stores looking at things.
Well, I heard this sound and I stood up and caught Jimmy Chew in the act!

I gotta tell you, I freaked out!
I was SCREAMING and having a real meltdown.
I went to swat his butt but he was too quick, so instead I hollered him and at most everyone else to go outside.
I went back to my pumpkin, finished the coat, washed out my brush , took a deep breath and let them back inside.
I was still mad but calmed down a bit.
Jimmy refused to look at me, I know he knew that he was in BIG trouble.

Monday, I went out and spent a lot of time rearranging my stuff in the booth.

I crammed it full. I prefer a more sparse look but I need to get this stuff moving!

I am also running a 20% off sale on everything in my booth for a limited time.
(I noticed that a lot of the other booth vendors do that too)

I just want the stuff to GO, so that I can move more STUFF out there!

After that, I went and watered my sister's client's flowers and then drove to her house and watered all her flowers.
Finally I went home, feed my critters, did a couple loads of laundry and then my weekend was over!
Wow! Those 3 days flew!
So, how was YOUR weekend?

15 comments:

Vicki said...

Oh dear, Jimmy... He knows, poor wee boy.
Over the years, I've had dogs, chew/poo on/wee on/scratch/destroy the odd thing I regard precious.
And after the initial shock, and growling at them, I realised that our "stuff" holds no material/monetary value to them, at all :)
So, for example - in order to protect my beautiful (and expensive) flax linen duvet cover, I cover it with a blanket before I put Jack on the bed - he sometimes likes to scratch and dig his nails into the doona to make it more comfy :)
We learn to look at things from their perspective... human = love. food = love. stuff = meh, lol.

I love your owl, it looks fantastic on the fence that you made - what a great job BTW!

Hope you sell heaps more gear so you can purchase more art supplies.
I was thinking of Christmas cards made by you today. How lovely they would be. Hint, hint :D
XXX

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

Poor little Jimmy Chew didn't know what to do...his mama usually fussed him, but now she cussed him...for doing what a chewer would do.

Cindi Myers said...

Vicki,
Yes, you are right of course but sofa was like a piece of Art to me.
Something I can't replace with the same.
I have tried covering it and I'm doing it now too but usually the cover itself gets dirty so quickly that it would drive me crazy.
The Naugahyde is so easy to wipe with a cloth and it's back to shiny.
And also, to be honest, I like looking at it and didn't really want it covered.
But... I'm over it. (mostly)

I hope to sell everything in this house that isn't useful or I know to be beautiful.
(Although my beautiful is getting chewed! LOL!)
and Thank you for your HINT! :D
I plan on starting on Christmas as soon as I'm done with the pumpkins
and the Day of the Dead cats!
But I appreciate the nudge!
XOXOXOXOXOX

CheerfulMonk said...

I know how you feel about the sofa. It's precious. :(

Vicki said...

Oh dear, perhaps you pre-empted things with giving him a name that ended with "chew", lol.

If you enquire at a furniture/sofa restorer/upholsterer, couldn't they recover just the seat area of the sofa for a reasonable price? Just a thought.

I now see "stuff" completely differently and am working towards paring back to as minimal as possible - mostly due to inspiration from our dear Tam, she's my minimalist mentor :)

I now live by the quote by William Morris, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”. I think you agree too :)
We should have lovely cross stitch samplers with that quote - wish I could cross stitch :)

Looking forward to picks of your latest art works.
And, give wee Jimmy a hug from me...
XXX

tammy j said...

OMG. could we love you even MORE????
LOLOL.
i'm sorry. it's not funny. no.
but.
I love your life.
one thing you have to say. it's NEVER DULL!
first. your booth looks FANTASTIC... I think it's cool filled to the brim!
let's them do a lot of rummaging around looking for treasure.
and the owl you did. I LOVE it.
ok. enough with the caps. your little owl has such personality.
and...
maybe jimmy chew is secretly harboring anger over his horrible hair cut.
male egos are famous you know.
and the picture of him jumping and peering at you over the fence! LOLOLOL!!!!
I love this whole post.
and now to the real best part.
in the phone book... check out someone who repairs naugahyde.
we had a guy come to the hotel to repair the tears in some of the booths in the coffee shop.
he was AMAZING! I don't know what the charge would be. might be too much. but it's worth a try.
when he finished you could barely see where it was split. they seal it somehow. maybe you could show them the picture above and they could tell you if they could do it or not. one thing... being black... the color would be a perfect match! that was the hardest part at the hotel as I recall... matching the booth color.
xoxoxo ... ps. love the color of the cover you've put on the sofa. AND ... vicki's explanation of the critters' outlook about our STUFF!!! XOXOXOXO

Cindi Myers said...

Vicki,
I had thought of using that name before adopting him, so yes, it's actually my fault. :p
That's a great idea! I will check in a furniture restorer! Hopefully it would be less than a new sofa!
I laughed when I saw that quote, I think I used that same one on Tammy's blog last night.
I am working towards that goal.

I hope to get some time this weekend to work on my Art.
I do have to work Saturday at the clinic and I'm obligated to do gardening work this weekend for my sister too but hopefully I can squeeze a little Art time in there!

I'll give Jimmy that Hug and maybe a pinch too! Just kidding! ;) Darn dog!
xoxo

Cindi Myers said...

Jean,
Yes, it is precious to me.
Even though I realize it shouldn't be.
Thank you. xoxo

Cindi Myers said...

Tammy,
I actually do think my life is rather Dull. Funny that you think otherwise! LOL!
I'm glad you like the booth. I want it to look nice but I also want to cram it full of STUFF at the same time.
You could be right about Jimmy but then again, he's done stuff like this his whole life.
That terrier is such a terror.

Vicki said the same as you! I hadn't thought about getting a professional to repair it! I will definitely check into it! Thank you!
The color of the cover is the color that I'm painting my laundry/mud/dog room that you can see at the end of the house when you enter the front door.
I had bought that cover with that in mind. Well, not with Jimmy destroying the sofa in mind but...
But glad you like the color.
PS. I didn't make the owl, I got him at the Art Fair, but I did make the fence! LOL!
XOXOXOXOXOXO

Cindi Myers said...

Sharon!
HAHAHAHAHA!
I LOVE your comment!!!
xoxoxoxoxo

Cindi Myers said...

I just noticed that this new format has a reply feature! LOL!
Love that! LOL!

Dee said...

That owl is fabulous. I really love it. I am sorry about your sofa, though. Our pets can really be mischievous at times and we love them anyway because how can you not... :)

Your booth is great... seriously. It's too bad you don't live closer to me. I'd certainly shop there. It was nice to 'meet' you. I enjoyed my visit to your blog... :)

Doreen@foxdenrd said...

Cyn, the new format isn't working with my iPad. I can't see what I'm typing and then when I try to hit submit it freezes. Anyway, I'll try again.congrats on the booth and I'm sorry about your sofa. Definitely look into getting it repaired, but be prepared for sticker shock.

Cindi Myers said...

Dee,
Welcome! Thanks for stopping by.
You are so right, pets can drive us crazy but I know I'd be lost without mine!
Thank you for the nice comment about my booth. I wish you lived closer too! LOL!
Thanks for visiting!
:)

Cindi Myers said...

Doreen,
Sorry that this format is causing problems.
I need to take some time and change it around and make it more user friendly.
I haven't called around about my sofa yet, kinda scared to hear the price but thanks for warning me.
I'm crossing my fingers.
Thanks for taking the time to comment even with all the hassle!
XOXOXO