When You Believe

So, yesterday was the first day of the Pleasant Home Holiday Shop. There's about two dozen local artisans: jewelers, knitters, book makers, wood carvings, paintings and drawings and others. We are nestled into Pleasant Home which is a wonderful mansion. We are there for the entire week and the first day is always the most attended but folks do come in during the week.

For my group, it is the fourth time we've participated and we've been the top sellers for the past three years. I was a little worried (nothing new there) that we would not make the goal I have placed in my head. The truth is I have a goal for my own sales: $425. Yesterday I took a step towards that goal with sales of $185 - all to one person. Someone I went to grade and high school with who lived just a few blocks from me when we were coming up and who still lives in the neighborhood.

But that's not the great news. The great news is that Miss April sold a bunch of her stuff. Now I believe a seller should be able to price the way they see fit but Miss April seriously under prices her items. She does it for the love of it - in real life she is a real estate agent. She's thrilled at what she made and that is really the important thing. I'm thrilled she sold so much because it is the best she's done in a show.

Yesterday Melissa, April and I manned the table (it's the only day during the sale week we are required to do so) and it was a fun time. Saturday, April, Vicki, Chantal and I set up the table, then we (minus Chantal) went to eat some authentic Mexican food and went over to Knot Just Knits and spent a couple of hours - where the owner of the shop pointed out I was the only one who did not purchase anything - she does not know how great a feat that is. But I did vow to purchase something on Friday when the group goes there - and I am bringing donations to the lending library she has started.

Can anyone tell me where I put the sheet music to 'O Holy Night'? I pulled it out to rehearse it and now I have no idea where it is. I might have taken it to church already - since I have to be in Oak Park before Sunday, I will go and see if I stuck it in my music folder. Maybe it's in the car or the van. I didn't find it in the house and it didn't just disappear so it's somewhere - might as well be at church, waiting for me, laughing at me.

I really want some ice cream.

In My Own Little Corner

So this is the afghan I'm working on. It should be finished within the next few days. I have roughly 24 more color changes of 2-8 rows and (I timed it) it takes 8 minutes to finish a row - so I have more or less 960 more minutes to go - I can wait for you to go get the calculator or you can just let me tell you it's 16 hours. I still have some knitting hours in me today - in fact, the schedule says I have two free hours coming up - part of that time will be used working out but the rest can go to knitting. Tonight is date night but I don't see any reason why this afghan won't make it to the first day of the sale this weekend. I have tallied almost my entire stock and I will be about $100 short of my goal of having $1400 worth of merchandise available. I have quieted the panic devil by calling it out and accusing it of just wanting to speak to have noise. Once this afghan gets done, I will be fine (though it will not cost $100 to be sure.)


Remember my telling you I wanted a craft lamp for Christmas and I got it for my birthday because Mr. Honey hasn't figured out how to fulfill my birthday wish? Well, even if you don't, I said there was a funny story behind the craft lamp I got and here it is:

I gave Mr. Honey a flyer from Joann with the following statement. "All the craft lamps are on sale for 50% off and if you go on certain dates, you can get an additional 20% off the 50%. Here's the flyer." I pointed to the ad where it stated the craft lamps were 50% off and had the dates of the sale and the date to get the additional 20% off.

That's all I said.

So he walked in with this: the craft lamp to end all craft lamps.
Now, keep in mind, I did not tell him what craft lamp to get and the ad said the price range was something like $15 - $200. When we talked about lamps I believed the only thing I mentioned was a lamp on the table next to my chair.

This lamp could be assembled to be a desk lamp, floor lamp or clamp lamp. It comes with a magnifying glass and a clip for your patterns (or something) and the thing swings 360. So, I'm putting it together and I'm thinking out loud if I could get the accessory pieces on the thing when Mr. Honey says:

"As much as I paid for it, you better be able to use everything."
Hmmmmmm.
I said, "I'm sure I can, I just have to figure it out."
"As much as I paid for it, you should be able to use it all."
Hmmmmmm.

"Weren't the lamps 50% off?"
"Yeah."
"Did they give you the other 20% off?"
"Yeah."
"So when you say how much you spent, are you counting the original price or the price you actually paid?"
"What I actually paid."

OK, I'm thinking, how much could you have spent with 60% off? (It's not 70% the 20% came off the already reduced price not the original price.) If the lamp cost $200 then he spent $80 - a good piece of change but not a heck of a lot but remember, Mr. Honey is cheap thrifty.

"How much did you pay?" I expected to hear $65 - $80 in which case I can just ignore the rant.

"$116. The original price was $270"
"What on earth would possess you to spend that much money for a lamp?" (Imagine the voice going up.)

Now, the correct answer to the question is: "Mrs. Honey, I know how much you love crafting and this is your business as well as your passion and no lighting is too good for my baby."

The answer I got:
"It's the one you said you wanted."

Scroll back up and review what I actually said when I gave him the flyer. "I didn't tell you what lamp to buy. Where did you get the idea this is the one I asked for?"


Wait for it.....

"It's the one in the picture."

I haven't responded yet. Makes me crack up every time I think about it. The only thing I can say is that when I need a car I'm going to hand him the catalog with a Lamborghini on the front.

No, no ladies, back off - he's all mine.

Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrgghhhhhhhhh!

Remember the cool, calm me? The one that wasn't worried about the stock I had for the sale?

That's over.

I began making the inventory list for the items I will put on sale. I figured out I would like to have $1400 in inventory available. I was making the log and I came to the end and I am short almost a couple of hundred dollars.

OK, so do I panic? Do I not panic and just go into a little blitz and get some more stock in? Do I try and let it go? i can make myself crazy over how I should make myself crazy. This might not end at all well.

On the other hand, the fabulous Melissa was much in our thoughts the past few days. First, because I was thinking of having Mr. Honey take me to McCormick and Schmick for my birthday dinner and the fabulous Melissa recommended we go there. She also talked me through how to do a lining in a knitted bag.

The lining I did turned out very well! Rather proud of myself. It took me a couple of hours to get it done and I am sure practice will lower that because I had to thread my sewing machine and get it working along with everything else. But it came out really well and I am glad I know how to do it! This is why Melissa is fabulous.

But that restaurant was on the sucky side. For the $120+ Mr. Honey spent, that food should have tasted better. The only thing that was really good was the dessert. The calamari was nice and fresh but whatever coating they put on it was flavorless and the sauces were watery. (You'd think with a name like McCormick they would know about spices.)

We had two salads - a beet salad and a wedge salad. The beets were tough and water logged. The wedge salad was better. I would even go as far as to say it was good. Mr. Honey had a glass of wine and I had a Morgan and Coke (that was pretty good.)

The entrees were decent but we've certainly had better steak (me) and seafood (Mr. Honey.) The dessert that was good was the apple pie (great flavor and nice ice cream) but the creme brulee (which the fabulous Melissa said was really good) was merely OK. The room is beautiful and the service was great, but food is why you go to a restaurant and it was so up and down that the saving grace of dessert wasn't that much of a saving grace. We agreed that while we wouldn't take it off the list of restaurants to go to, we couldn't think of a reason to go back - except for dessert. Considering there's a movie theatre close by, that's a possibility.

Melissa is still fabulous. And I think I will knock off a few more items before Sunday - and keep the panic to minimum!