Procrastination

I'm having a very hard time making myself work this week. I really should have been working hard, but I've been hardly working. Thank heavens I have a nice inventory built, but I always like to have more, and new creations to offer.

I have a show in San Antonio on the Riverwalk again this Friday through Monday and it's a very hard show to do. I need to be there at 7 a.m. on Fri. to start setup and the show runs until 11 p.m. On Sat., Sun., and Mon. I won't need to be there so early because the booth will already be set up except for setting out the merchandise because the show doesn't begin until 10 a.m. But by the time my goods are packed at the end of the evening, and I make my way to street level and get the heck out of Dodge, then drive the 30 miles home, it's at least 12:30 a.m. when I get home.

Because of the difficulties of this show, I will be working with a partner this weekend. I always said that partners didn't make good business sense, and still maintain that opinion, but...... this is a difficult show, and I need someone there to cover for potty breaks and just to be able to take a quick walk around to see what other wares are being sold....(also so I can make a Starbuck's run late afternoon for a venti frappucino ). So this will be our trial run. We sell the same product, but our work takes different forms. So this will be our try at partnering and if it doesn't work out, we may have a cat fight. (can I sell you tickets?)

I think one of the reasons I am having such a hard time creating right now is that this is about the time of year Wendell and I would have taken our short, but sweet yearly vacation to Santa Fe. Touring the jewelry and art galleries in downtown Santa Fe, Canyon Road, and Taos , we would feed our minds and souls. We would bask in the high desert atmosphere, enjoying the cool nights and mornings, and reacquaint our taste buds with New Mexico cuisine.

As much as I love Tex-Mex, Wendell taught me to appreciate the New Mexico Mexican food. He would never pass through Las Cruces without stopping in Old Town Mesilla at La Posta. Even when we came back from Tucson in Feb., and he had been sick with a stomach flu, he insisted on stopping there so I could eat. He had crackers and Sierra Mist.....I had Tostadas Compuestas in one of the back dining rooms with a coal fire burning brightly in the fireplace.

Doldrums

I really needed to be creative today but got bogged down in the routine of paying bills, finding insurance for the business as is now required at one of the shows I do, yardwork, etc. So this evening I settled down in the studio with a book on cassette to keep me company, but wasn't to get any work done yet since the canine furbabies wanted to go for a walk. They begged pitifully. Since they do such a good job of protecting me, I thought it only fair to let them pee all over downtown tonight. So now we are through with walkies, and Mom has lost the inspiration to work. Maybe if I think about all the bills to be paid, the inspiration will return!

Hill Country Heat

Yesterday I tried my luck at a market in Kerrville, Texas. I was marketing handpainted signs and potpourri at this venue. The jewelry market is so saturated at this time it is hard to compete. Many customers don't realize the difference in quality, all they see is jewelry. So with about 2 hours of sleep, I made the 105 mile trek to the Texas Hill Country. I was hoping it would be cooler, and it was gloriously cooler in the morning. But as the day wore on, the asphalt started absorbing the sun's rays and radiating it back. It was a sizzler, for certain. The thermometer on a sign across the highway declared it to be 107º just as the show was ending.

The market was slow, and I don't think I made enough money to pay any bills this weekend, but I do think I will give it another try. It was nice seeing different works and meeting different artists as well as a few familiar faces. I was happy to arrive home to air conditioning, where I hit the tub to wash off the sweat before an early evening nap.