Before the bear.
After the bear.
Before the bear.
After the bear.
Who would have thought that a bear, a REAL bear, would have been part of Flourishes flea market? The connection between my bear business, The Silly Bear, and a bear wreaking havoc on my flea market the morning of our show was.....too weird. I don't know how else to describe it other than....weird.
We had been told the day we were setting things up that a bear had been seen in the area feeding out of birdfeeders and chicken coops and walking around in the cemetary next to the house. Okay, thank you for letting us know. I hardly gave it a second thought after we told the vendors. We went about setting up.....had pizza in the field for dinner.....put on the finishing touches....and left everything in perfect order, ready for Saturday morning.
At 6:30am Saturday morning my world started to spin. Six of twelve booths set up and ready for marketers were now in shambles. Heavy cabinets were tipped over, contents broken on the ground. And then it started to sprinkle rain. I stood in the middle of the field and shook my hand at the sky and said, "Stop it! Stop it right now! Don't do this to me." I thought I might have a melt down right there.
All month things had gone haywire. I had vendors and artists bail on me one by one. How was I going to fill up the field and make a show worthy of those who'd stuck by me? What else......I had to fill the spaces myself. Eight booths. My husband, children, son-in-law and sister in law are rock stars for helping me move everything out of the gymnasium, set everything up, work the show AND take everything back down and move it all back into the gym. I am forever in their debt. I love you guys. (As tears run down my face.)
Not only had I been dealing with the disappointment with what was going on with Flourishes business, I was also worrying about my mom's health issues. The doctors are still trying to sort that out. And lastly, I have been nursing a rotator cuff injury in my left shoulder. Advil. Lots and lots of Advil. Smile girlie....just keep smiling.
The bear was nearly my undoing. However, I couldn't let everyone down by having a nuclear meltdown in the middle of the field. So, I shook my fist at the sky and then proceeded to pick up the mess so we'd be ready to welcome the first marketers at 8am. Afterall, the show must go on!! Smile girlie....just keep smiling. :o)
Warmest hugs, Aleta
A special note: Thank you to Joe & Jermonne,
Barn House; Debbie Taylor and Lori; Corrine and Karen, Second Childhood Girlfriends; and Tammy Gilley,
Tammy Gilley Studios for their support and presence at our flea market.
I'd also like to thank my teddy bear collector friends Debbie, Joye and Lee for driving all the way from Seattle to make my day extra special. A big thank you too, to
Bonnie Foster(a fellow teddy bear artist and 2008 Industry Choice winner!) and her husband for traveling all the way from Idaho to say hello.
From chaos comes clarity. I read that somewhere just recently and it seemed so relevant to what's taken place in my own life these past few months. There has certainly been much chaos!! I am taking some much needed personal time to just relax, find my true self and let go of those things which are not important. I need a clear head to make some decisions going forward. I'm finding clarity.
Look at what I found in the garden this morning! My first strawberry of the season!! Everything is blooming in abundance and the sun is shining brightly.....what a magnificent day!! I hope that you too, are enjoying a most splendid time.....wherever you may be. :o)
Before the bear.
After the bear.
Before the bear.
After the bear.
With the sunny, warmer weather the tropical color is starting to burst at our Portland home. Orange, pink, yellow and lime green!! It's so vibrant....and just what I need to keep me going! This morning I'm off to the chicken races.........er, Flourishes. ;o) You can peek in on the progress here.
It's going to be quite a busy week!! I have a To-Do list for Flourishes two miles long. Things are coming together.....though at times, it seems at a snails pace!
We are blessed with beautiful sunny skies and warming temperatures....and not a moment too soon! I think even the weeds were about to pout about having soggy, cold feet!!
It's Pink Wednesday already!! Good grief, who's put the weeks into the spin cycle? Can you believe it's mid-June already? Me either!!
Waxed and dressed and limbs attached...she's finally finished!! Yay!! I can't wait to get started on another one! Alas, that will have to wait. I'm knee deep in projects for Flourishes at the moment!! :o) 
The past couple of days I've been scouting out red, white and blue things. Why? Well, one of the booths I'm decorating for the Flourishes Flea Market is in this particular color palette. And you know what? I'm really into it!! How 'bout those cool tins? Oh, and I always, always, always scout for white ironstone pitchers. That little red stool is cute as a button and the quilt is in fabulous condition. What's even better about the quilt? The stitching is done in varying sizes of polka dots! Sweet!!
To my surprise, I was recently asked to submit a photo of my studio for possible inclusion in an upcoming magazine article. I don't know that it will make it into the article but it was a really good reason to tidy things up a bit!!
Take a walk with me through my garden and let me introduce you to one of my favorite roses, Gertrude Jekyll. A single rose scents an entire room. A bouquet is simply intoxicating. Happy Pink Wednesday!!
