DC Big Flea and a little Mrs. Lincoln

Humble, hopeful, with hair, and certainly asceert...and it's still just Saturday.

Economy smiconomy. We hadn't done the Big Flea for over a year. The last one had been in Fredericksburg, VA a year ago February. It was snowing and awful and that was the good financial news; I had even rented a moving truck. If you go to February 2007 post, you'll see how fab our set up was. Anyhoo, it put us off a bit and then this and that happened and here it is, for me, like having a baby-I forgot the pain. And this is why I haven't posted for a while; I've had my nose to the grindstone pretty constantly working on new art to take to the flea. As you might have read in a previous post, I decided to go this time to try to sell THE SOFA, which I didn't even end up taking. However, I did take a lot.

Loading in on Friday was...umm...warm. In the 90's and they can't turn on the a.c. until most get in through the giant loading doors. Just makes sense but is brutal in July as well as January and February. However, everyone is jolly compared to when loading out occurs as no one wants to have to take anything back and it's just as hot and it's been two days of kissing customer booty and basically begging. I shoulda used one of those signs the homeless use.

Saturday was busy and really good. I said really good not really great. Really good is enough to keep a body off the bridge but just stupid enough to drive back to Ellicott City from at 9:30 p.m. to get more smalls and return to DC at 1:00 a.m. More on after that later.

I guess I loved this doll lamp so much I must have sublimely kept folks from buying her 'cause she came home with me, although, I think I'd have recovered just like childbirth.

Here were a lot of goodies that did get adopted-yippie!...

...and the sewing machine that was adopted literally in the last few minutes of the weekend.

An overview. The china cabinet was adopted, another story later in the post.

As I look at these photos I do feel some confirmation of being an artist. The pink mannequin doll and the jar that read, "How babies are made.", with the black and white photo of an old factory with the china baby doll head on top. I thought they were good, but had had the baby factory for a while so I thought it was just me. Well both were purchased last weekend by different women. It means more than just money but the money is also the point.

Speaking of purchasing, I did way less buying than I usually do but came home with the antique tile covered shelf, the crab print (the first step is admitting you have a problem and, okay, I live in Maryland), and a couple of Stacey Bear's button cards-another post in itself.

Speaking of Stacy Bear...here she is on the left with Kim Stout of Thistle Hill who does the flea with her. They are both so cute and I could wipe their booth clean with lottery winnings. I got the most beautiful scarf box from the partner, photos on next post.

Mo of their goodies, a true candy store for grown ups who've had their fill of Snickers already.

And the siren of their booth...the signature scallop trim, I knew on Friday when I saw the trim that they were coming and some of my money was going. And too much fun when these two cute girls below stopped by the booth right before Hope, above, along with Mellie and Amy came by to see me. I was overwhelmed with goodness so that I missed the girls telling me where their booth was. They have been good customers and fans of mine and Mellie's and if you check out there blog, Vintage Rescue Squad, you'll see why I'm so sorry I didn't get to stop in and drop some dough.

And here she is again with Suzy who had come by the booth with Beth. See, this is what makes it worthwhile. This and...

...this

...here's the real reason I ever go to the fleas...these friends. We and many others met when we all had shops at Oella Mill. In the several years since Oella closed the fleas are the most time we have time to spend together. We were/are like family and it makes all the hard work and sometimes no money all worth it. We know friends are priceless. This is us at Texas Roadhouse Saturday night waiting two hours for our food, no, not waiting for a table for two hours, two hours at the table waiting. The meal was compted, thankfully.

Here's Linda with our friend, Pete also the former owner of Oella Mill. He treats us with a visit at the fleas.

Brenda, happy on Saturday; oblivious to what Sunday would bring.

Okay, so for the "Mrs. Lincoln" part. After we finally got our dinner was over at 9:30 after being there since 6:30 I spontaneously decided that since I'd sold so many smalls that day I should drive all the way back to the shop and get some more for Sunday. Saturday is usually better than Sunday but it can trick you and be better. So I drove the hour to the shop not feeling too well; I had indigestion and felt sleepy after that big chicken fried steak meal. When I got to the shop I started feeling better because I could...umm...bubble up some of the indigestion and get some relief. I got back to the hotel at 1:00 a.m. and at 2:00 a.m. woke up with stomach cramps and feeling really bad. I started with the attic but it took until 5:00 a.m. to start in the basement. That went on until 10:30 when I went and bought some Imodium. Then it was a slow day in all ways. A really sweet woman bought my china cabinet for a song on Saturday and in my overwhelmed stupor I had given her measurement of 45 inches wide (probably correct), 40 inches deep, not; and 100 inches tall, not even close. She had taken my car fortunately so she tracked me down through this blog and called the Pink Cabbage and got my cell number. I didn't get her messages until Sunday. I volunteered to deliver it to her on the way home as the local pro wanted to charge more than what the cabinet cost her. It was quite a bit farther than I had thought but she gave me great directions and I got there with no problems. And she had a great neighbor who helped me carry it in. HOWEVER, on the way home I did something wrong and got so lost that I ended up in Anticostia where we don't even feel comfortable at that stop on the Metro. All windows boarded up, gangs and hoes in the streets, trust me, scary. I saw a police so I followed him honking wildly. The more I honked the fast he drove until he blew through a stop sign just to get away from me and I lost him. Nice. I was on the phone with Paul by now hysterical and he was trying to find where I was on map quest to help me get back to 95. At a red light there was an older man next to me. I flagged him down and told him I was trying to get back to 95, he said he was going near there but not all the way there but to follow him and he'd signal where I should turn. At the next light, he got out of his car and said it was more complicated than he remembered so he'd take me all the way back to 95 and then turn back to where he needed to go. My angel! By then it was late so I called Paul and said I might as well rip off the band aid and go directly to the shop to unload the leftovers and be done with the weekend. I got home about midnight. So, who's up for the September show?...

Please check this out and pray...

We have thirty years of so many wonderful family memories of being in Big Sur. So these fires have caused a lot of emotional stress for our family. And we are not just being selfish; we are also thinking of all those who have had to evacuate, have lost their homes, and, of course, the folks fighting the fires and putting themselves in harm's way. Please check out the link below and the heartfelt photos and please pray however you think appropriate. It's hard for me to hit the nail on the head of what my perspective should be because of all of these wonderful memories; most were some of our most bonding times of my family of origins' lives; days at Nepenthe, Deejans, countless hikes and picnics at the falls behind The Big Sur Lodge where my sister and niece lived for years, Sunday afternoons in lounge chairs next to the river at Fernwood Inn listening to Jake Stock and the Abalone Stompers, my middle son being born there, my oldest son "finding himself" (just as I did) there and completing his healing from addiction there, just to name a few.

http://extras.montereyherald.com/slideshows/basinfire_0708/index.html

New art at the shop plus...

Here are some new looks and new art at the shop. I had decided that I'm going to sell the new sofa. I'm hiding behind it as I type this as I know there are some of you who are not going to understand this decision. I had to go with the guys on this one, it's not as comfortable as the one we've had for 12 years-I know. The beautiful Victorian I rescued from going over the wall at the dump is sooooooooooooo fabulous but it really should be in a real living room. We have a family room; our formal living room is used for Paul's study as we knew we would not use it otherwise. And it's the one thing Julie B. would not have thrown me under the truck for grabbing! Sorry girl.

So I was bent on moving it UP THE STAIRS into my room at the shop-ha! Well I took some things out and moved everything around which, thank goodness, was due anyway but there's no way three normal extra-strong men could get up the stairs with that. And Jody and Tammy had just decorated the stairway walls so cute and I'da had to take it all off even if I found some group of generous neanderthals to do it (California needs its governor right now). No kidding, it's like a piano.

That's when I decided that the DC Big Flea was in my future. It's my best shot at selling such a nice, genuine antique piece. In the meantime the rearrange was a good thing and I got some new art made and in.

The Flea is weekend after next. As the time gets closer I'll share some of my new concoctions with you. Just like any good liberal, if there's a problem with something (eg., it's not selling) I just throw more money at it. There have been lamps in my past that had many different shades before they were accepted into a new family. I rarely give up, I just wait until I've put 4 times the amount of money into it than I price it then put it on 50% off.

If only some one could discover a way to make creating art and making money go together. Then we'd have to drop the "starving artist" handle. I'm ready to drop it like a hot potato. Oops, I almost forgot to mention the "plus". We've got a great old truck that pulls up to the shop everday now and sells fresh, local produce from our parking lot!!!! It's so great. I'll get some photos and share what the deal is. It's very cool. DID I MENTION LOCAL???????

Yikes...nail biting...don't tell you-know-who yet...

I gave Paul a slight hint yesterday that I was just thinking about doing this. Well, he knows I don't sit on ideas very long, right? It's just that I panicked when I saw the secret was out that it's Mary Engelbreit who is the guest speaker and book signer at the big luncheon. Last year I was just turning 50 and my family was coming and my mom wanted to go with me and show me all of my heritage so I had used my 50 year old card pretty much up.

So I did this just sitting here on the computer without actually discussing it. My suggestion of yesterday was that I sign up and Paul and Matt go with me so I can share all my family heritage stuff with them. I got a pretty lame response, which is normal, but here goes me at least. What's the worst he could do, pull my hair out? Whew, I suddenly need to take a really long money nap; spending not making, but we already knew that...at some point, "This is it.", needs to mean, "This is it.". h.......e......l.......p. I must ask for prayers for the DC Big Flea being a money-maker. The show house would not be bad either, I'm just saying...

Yahooooo, I'm going to the DC Big Flea!!!!

The DC Big Flea!!!! Gosh it's been over a year since we did our last Big Flea. In fact it was the one show they did in Fredericksburg, VA. I guess it was a little too traumatic for us. It was in February and Karen and I had to go down a night early to try to beat the sleet and snow. Loading in for the show was awful, in the sleet and snow and no heat in the building and it was freezing. It was the first show at a new conference center and I think the customers were thinking knives, big bags of $1 socks, t-shirts, and whatnot. It was a long, hard, not-too-fruitful show. It put us all off the idea of doing a show for a while and then one thing after another seems to have come around and here it's been over a year. I got it into my brilliant head recently that I should do it. I hope I'm not wrong. This is the first time I've done it alone but I've got some stuff I'm hoping folks will be interested in plus since we haven't been there for a while hopefully our good customers will be champing at the bit to grab some goodies. It's a good thing we don't go just for the money; we have a great social network there-great. It's so much work, so hard, but we always have so much fun at night that it's worth it. It's like any other travelling groups; the circus, gypsies, etc., there is a great cast of characters. Don't worry, I'll take photos and let you know all about it!