Who would have thought?

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.