Is This The Time For Craft Shows?

An interesting question. I think you will find when the economy is slow, the craft show attendee is looking for authentic home made products over mass produced ones. If you are a crafter, I truly believe this is the time to hit the road and display and sell your products at local craft fairs/shows. There are a lot of great resources available to help you become successful at craft shows.

Here are a few that I suggest:

Click Here! For secrets to sell your jewelry (or any craft) at Craft Shows
Click Here! For information on Fairs & Festival Vendor Calendar


If you still are not sure, start out slow. My first craft show was with a few neighbors that got together and made one of the homes a Holiday Craft Show. It was "wildly" successful! In today's economy, be wise! Check out the resources and craft your way to success!

Portland Maine Lighthouses

We decided since we are so close to Maine (only 70 miles away) we should take a little day drive over to Portland. We've been through Portland many times but have never stopped along the riverfront to see what is there. It was really a quaint area with great shops and of course cruises. So we chose the lighthouse cruise and saw at least seven light houses on our 1-1/2 hour tour. It was another beautiful day making this cruise a great choice. We stopped to eat at Gilbert's Chowder House and it was FANTASTIC! We both enjoyed a cup of clam chowder and a lobster roll that was packed with lobster.

Is It Fantasy?

You know, I've been traveling around the New England states for at least 10 years. I've been to every state that claims they have this creature called a "moose" along the east coast and have yet to see a real moose. Now, I have seen sculptures out of wood, metal and even plush ones as in the picture below. But, I have never seen a real one. We hit a couple of art shows this week and when I saw photos of a moose, I would ask the photographer, "where do you find this "mythical" creature." They always laugh and say "Oh, they are there!" WHERE?

It has become a family joke especially when we see these road signs, claiming "hundreds" of collisions. Come on! We have driven these roads at dusk and dawn (supposedly the best time for a moose to cross these roads), but still no sightings.

My best story is when we were in Bar Harbor, ME in 2001 and we had just walked from our B&B to a restaurant on the main drag. As we were being seated a couple came in all excited that they had just spotted a moose walking down the main street. We couldn't believe we missed it! Oh well, I guess I have to be content with my sculpture spottings of a moose.

From 60's to 20's in 8 Miles

OMG! This was truly an experience. We drove up Washington Mountain and the weather went from a comfortable 66 degrees to 25 degrees in 8 miles. How is that possible! I don't know, but if you ever have the chance to experience this phenomenon you should do it!




The road is pretty narrow and not for the faint at heart. Coming from California and driving to Santa Cruz every weekend made it not so terrifying for us. I did get butterflies though when we went from a beautiful tree line to nothing but desolate landscape. I don't really know how to describe it except to say it was like being in a weird dream.










When we got to the part with the rock piles we actually saw a bird trying to fly and wasn't going anywhere it was that windy!









Yes, that is snow/frost at the top. It was really windy and way to cold for me. Hiking is a big thing here as it is a part of the Appalachian Trail. We actually saw hikers coming from a trail to the weather station where this last picture was taken. You have to really love hiking and cold weather!

Pumpkin Heads in New Hampshire

Well, here we are in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire and I guess it's what they call "Pumpkin Head" time. They are fun to see all around the area, some more clever than others. I tried to get pictures of the one's I thought were worthy. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Finding Your Roots

I've been thinking about pulling out all my old research and continue to work on my family tree. It was really a lot of fun when I was doing it, but I got "burned out" after a year. I did quite well and got great information on my maternal side. And, the best part was all the information I got from a second cousin. I also have a lot of "stories" that I got from a family member that made the search even more fun. I was very fortunate to get copies of items such as baptism certificates that have since been destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. The church was completely destroyed in Bay St. Louis, MS.

If you have the urge to find your family history, I strongly suggest their is no time like the present. I wouldn't have the great pictures and stories I have today due to a natural disaster if I hadn't followed that urge. It all started with a simple search of census records. If you like a challenge, this is a great project!


Picture: My mother's grandmother (French, Choctaw and Italian)