Signs of Spring
On the inside I'm more than a little frantic today. I've been burning the candle at both ends getting ready for the New York International Gift Fair. About 6 hours of sleep a night, staying up until 1am every night making new jewelry or replacing samples I sold when I didn't want to spend money for more supplies, stressing about simplifying my display, worried about show traffic and orders, etc. I know I procrastinated on many things but I also feel like I have some excuses... I actually received a lot of orders right after Christmas... hooray! I'm so glad many of my stores needed and wanted immediate replenishment, and many individual customers wanted more jewelry to go with pieces they received as gifts. I mailed the last ones out on Monday... that's how busy I've been.
The period from August (the last NYIGF) to December is also my busiest... it's hard to fit in new stuff (display redesign) while in the midst of fall shows and holiday crush. Then there's end of year book keeping. And, of course, getting settled after a big cross-country move. There's been fun stuff, too... a new relationship (swoon!), new friends (parties! drinks! cooking!), a new sport (snowboarding!)... so much! I'm running down the littany of things as a justification to myself... to remind myself I have accomplished a lot, and I've made some big and small steps towards living my life and running my business the way I want. So I may not have the perfect traveling display yet, and I haven't executed all the new designs that are started on my work table... but I'm inspired to get home and keep tackling all those things.
And, yet, here I am with mere hours before my flight... packing, making jewelry, etc. In my head/dream world I would be calm, already packed, doing the week's worth of dishes, cooking one more pot of soup, maybe gardening or heading up to the mountain, having fond relaxed farewells with friends... ah, well... those can be my new goals for August! I *did* decide to take a small break on the first sunny day after 9 days of rain to enjoy some little details in my garden. I haven't even left yet, and I'm already looking forward to coming home in 10 days. It's interesting to move to a new place with an established garden... I have no idea what surprises are in store for me in the areas around my cottage. Here are some things that caught my eye today. Who knows what it will look like upon my return!
