The 401

As part of today's driving lesson I drove for the first time on the 401, our busiest freeway. Frankly, as busy as it is, I prefer it to driving in the city, where there are bicycles and dogs and entire preschools full of preschoolers tied to strings for their walk and grandmas, and manic squirrels, and people stopped for no reason in the middle of the road.
The freeway was a breeze compared to all that!

Finding The Calm

Some days are just days for sorting buttons, and today was the perfect day...to sort buttons. This task permits my mind to wander peacefully, requires little effort or concentration, yet allows the virtuous knowledge that I am accomplishing something I would hate doing if it wasn't quite the right sort of day.
The Oasis show was rather quiet. Bead buyers are feeling the pinch of the economy just like everyone else and are being very cautious about what they are buying. I know I am! I resisted several temptations myself, and bought only a bit of glass and a new small masher to replace the one I melted. So rested all weekend and is feeling better, which really is one of the most important things in my world. It was quiet enough at the show that I really didn't need extra help, so that worked out quite well.
I really have no idea why I didn't think to take picture of the show this year. Brain fart?
We had drinks on Saturday night with Terri and Anne at the Library Bar at the Royal York Hotel. I think there must be a law that all older hotels have at least one cozy, dark and comfortable bar with deep cushy chairs and candles...it was the perfect place to visit and get caught up. We were not staying there (I wish!) but what a beautiful, grand old hotel.
I am also most grateful to Terri and Anne for some great advice...about display and self-promotion and marketing and about being proud of my work. Thank you both, love you!
On Monday I popped into a leather shop on King Street West...holy leather lover's heaven! I love the scent of leather and walking into this shop had me inhaling the scent of soft leather coats and garments and piles of skins. I wanted a larger piece of stingray leather to texture PMC, but found it to be beyond my current budget. However the staff showed me a lot of wonderful things and I bought a piece of ostrich leather which will be a pleasure to work with. It has a lot of different textures within the one piece.
So was too tired for our planned trip to the Apple Store, but we did go to Anthropologie. Somehow I just wasn't in the mood to shop, which has probably never happened before in the history of my life. They were sold out of the scarf I liked online, and didn't have my size in the one pair of pants I was interested in, so I wandered out empty handed, which is certainly more economical, isn't it?

Updatelet

Hello! I haven't posted much lately, I know. I have been working hard though, making beads and vessels and playing with enamel, and ebaying, and taking driving lessons.
It's always hard to know how "personal" a blog should be. How much of my thoughts and feelings should I share? Should I blog about difficulties in my life, as well as about good things? It's a difficult balance to achieve.
We've both had a difficult summer health-wise. We are doing our very best to remain optimistic, and love each other deeply, and to enjoy, and to live in the moment.
And in the meantime there are jobs to be done, and all the everyday details of life. The trivia, the little crap that I worry about needlessly. Everything is thrown into it's proper perspective when faced with the prospect of loss.

Last weekend was the local "Art in the Park" show. I have never done this show before though we have attended it to look around a few times. It has a nice mix of artists and artisans. The day was a beautiful, warm, sunny Ontario late-summer day, and there is nothing more pleasant than a late-summer day here! People were out in full force to enjoy it! Sales were okay, not spectacular, but in these days every sale is an appreciated sale. Plus, we handed out a huge number of flyers for the upcoming artist's studio tour. I wasn't told until almost the end of the show that "advertising" was a no-no. Oops. I honestly had no idea. I was sorry to have broken a rule but glad I wasn't told until late in the day!!
We had lots of nice people stop by and lots of little ones who designed their own bracelets from the kidbeads bowl. It's quite fun to watch them choose. Some take forever, some pick the first three they see. Some of the color combos are...innovative!
I'm still loving our little tent. Here is my little set-up:

This weekend (if the gods are willing) I'll be selling at the Bead Oasis show in Toronto. I am so glad we are back in the regular space...last years space was such a bad choice for both the sellers and the buyers. This year we are again just steps from outside and nice and easy for our beloved customers to find us. I'm looking forward to seeing friends and eating some delicious Indian food.

Another thing I'm looking forward to is the day when all the earth-moving machines go away! Yes, there is a constant rumble, thump and beep-beep-beep right outside. Not only are our neighbours expanding their garage into a 3-bay extravaganza, the sewer pipes on our street are being replaced. I long for a bubble of silence! When they shut down for the day even the trees breath a sigh of relief.