When one is trying to "stay at home" with their children, it's fascinating that you don't REALLY stay at home most days.
Typical day for the last three weeks: At the crack of dawn (okay...8:15am) I put the car in reverse, take my daughter to her summer school session, maybe run into the market for a dinner ingredient, come home to walk the dog or get some exercise in the park, sit down to look at the recipe for the night, realize I am missing ONE other ingredient (usually one of the MAIN ingredients), see a picture of the recipe, look at the fresh herbs, remember I forgot to water our vegetable garden, stand and water, see the dog still needs a walk, remember the dog also needed a bath and I DO have the hose in my hand. Wash the dog, remember that the dog needs flea treatment, but the vet only takes checks and I used my last check weeks ago. Go inside, take off yoga pants & tee shirt, get dressed for"real" (buh-bye exercise), get into the car, reverse, drive...go to bank, order checks, get back into car, drive for the medication. Closed Mondays? What? Look down at my watch, time to get the girl from school.
Yes...THAT is what "staying at home" is about.
The herb garden DOES look great though. Cilantro, basil, chives, rosemary and as far as veggies go, I am secretly scared the tomatillo is going to climb in my bedroom window and wrap itself around my ankle one night soon. Impressive growing skills those guys possess! I see visions of tomatillo salsa in my pantry for the winter!
My son is using his yearly nasturtium whispering skills....
The 4th was good...and as I predicted...everyone left FULL. Indian Curry wings, Thai wings, chipotle brined ribs...we had m e a t.
Now, I love "staying at home", but Uncovered Ruby was in a pinch and I think I knocked some people over trying to get a shift in July. I found a day that JOHN was actually IN this state and went for it. So, my first one was today.
Last night I realized I was REALLY nervous. I had to remember tax. And the store is very small, but there is a list of 100 vendors. And some people put numbers AND business names on their tags. And it's a long drive...would there be traffic? And how does the Visa machine work? And WHERE are ALL the lights? What was I thinking when I agreed to take a shift without being trained? I am gonna blow this place up!!!
When I drove down the main drag, I saw firetrucks everywhere. I figured THAT would be my luck. The block was on fire on my first dang shift. Then I saw I was the last car that was on the road and they were closing up Main Street behind me as I drove. And police men were wandering and people lining the street.
This was in front of the shop.
I opened up. (There are about 483 lights and plugs & 8 power strips FYI). I opened the door and now the street was really packed. A parade! I came out to watch and take pictures. Then came a limo from a funeral home and I saw people crying. I thought maybe Battle Ground parades are sad. Then, I saw all the policemen and firemen salute the limo and I saw their black arm bands. I got little goosebumps. ALL these people were here crying & lining the street for a much-loved police officer who had drowned this weekend.
I spent middle school & highschool in a small town and I nearly broke both my legs trying to get out. But today, at that moment, I "got it". All these people had been lined up for an hour that I knew about. They love their small town so much and they felt a terrible sense of loss & they all came together this morning. I respect that so VERY much.
And later, the shoppers started coming in (the shop was PACKED!...this "untrained" shop girl got trained pretty flippin' quickly) and these shoppers were so funny, talkative, open...it was interesting. I only told one person I was "new" and she said "I will walk away and let you concentrate". People were really kind. Michelle from My Shabby Passion came to work her booth and let me run for a sandwich. My hard as a rock string cheese & mushy cherries weren't doing the trick. I am already out of practice packing my lunch!
Tonight my brain HURTS. That was a lot to take in--the senseless loss of life & seeing the funeral procession, meeting SO many new people in such short time, learning so many new things in a pinch, so many things to memorize. But it was nice talking to people. And taking a break from parking, reversing & driving for 6 hours.
Tomorrow, back to the daily grind and a few estate sales for good measure! Time to prepare for the next A Vintage Gathering! This time it will Saturday (the 30th), but they added a candlelight shift Friday (the 29th) night from 5:00-9:00! All those Barn House people can shop early. This is going to be SOME fun.....
Cheers to lots of driving, learning new things, support from fellow vendors and respecting different lifestyles!
