Tent Prep

Sorry, no photos today. I've been toying with arrangements for an upcoming craft show, and haven't gotten it right just yet. I expected to wrangle with table placement and questions of height for display levels, but I didn't anticipate some of the other decisions I need to face. I've acquired more display items than necessary.

Now I need to winnow things down so that my space will look clean, but not sparse; full of inventory, but not junky or overwhelming. At my first show, a woman stopped and gazed at my booth for a long time. She said my space was an oasis for her eyes, restful after the cluttered appearance of others. That was the perfect compliment, and what I'm hoping to achieve again.

I can hardly believe it.

I finally made the leap. The deal was too good to be true, and only three miles from home!
Now, I just have to learn to thread the thing!
It's not often that I feel that luck is on my side, but I hit a jackpot this weekend! Thank you, CraigsList!

A silver lining to the mortgage problems of the U.S.

I love my "neighborhood."
I live on an interesting road. Until recently, it was narrow and graveled. It runs from one winding, country road to another, with an unnavigable series of creek beds in the hollow between. Although one half mile of our road still looks like the photo above, the sections on either end have been undergoing changes.
Last year, one end of our road was paved, a farmhouse and barns razed, and the land somewhat leveled. Electricity and water pipes were laid for a development.
As you can see, all work stopped soon after, and has naturalized again.
When I take walks or go for a run, this hopeless sign makes me unspeakably happy. I know that someone is losing money on the land, but my family is greatly relieved to keep this end of the road looking like the pastures and horse grazing land we've known it to be.

Soon I'll take pictures of my end of the hollow.

Serger-hunting on Craig's List

I've been watching Craigslist, alert for bargains and dreams come true. There are new items to browse on a regular basis, but often they are a bit too far away, and a bit more than I want to pay. Until now.

I found a serger. It's in my zipcode! It's a Babylock ! It comes with a cabinet, manual, accessories, and thread! It "works great" It's only $100!

I haven't gotten to go and look at it yet, but I've read mostly good things about the 5280E online. Any additional advice (to buy, or not to buy and why) is welcome.

Looks like perfect camping weather

This is Klondike Park. Looks like a great spot to camp on Saturday, doesn't it? We're headed that way for a trail race, and I'm trying to talk the family into staying all day and camping.

The house needs cleaning and I could sure use some time at the sewing table, but my soul needs some outdoors, take it easy time.

Architecture

I admire the careful, awe-inspiring detail in the architecture and craftsmanship of classic church buildings. I know that a house of worship need not be extravagant, but it bothers me to see churches built in the form of metal pole-barns. Such buildings always looks cheap and inauthentic.There's a cycling blog I keep up with, written by a St. Louis man who is out on a two-wheel tour of America. I borrowed this photo from his blog because it's an example of how a new church ought to be built, and what it should mean. Don't you just wish you could go inside? I can hear the music spilling outside and echoing around the valley. I can see brides and grooms, as well as pall-bearers, exiting. I can see people stopping here to think.

The Weekend

I managed to finish up a few wristlet zipper pouches tonight. Sadly, I hadn't sewn a stitch in weeks.
This is our boy, eagerly waiting to cheer for his dad on the last leg of an Olympic-distance tri. When the moment came, our little guy whooped his best imitation of a whistle, which I found adorable, and Dad found encouraging.
Our CSA (community sharing agriculture) shares are changing again, which highlights how quickly time goes by. This is the last of our summer squash, along with some delicious fresh tomatoes ready to be tossed with tortellini.