Sunday, November 4, 2012

This and That

My husband gets top billing in today's blog post:  He resolved to make better use of his basement workshop, and he has kept to it.  First he customized shoe storage for our back door, then he created wooden jewelry boxes for the girls.  Most recently, he built a fence for outside to hide our trash can and recycle bin at the back of the house!
 It's kind of nice to know that there's a handyman around the house!

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The Mom-Hosted Holiday Bazaar took place on Friday night, organized by my friend Melissa, and including eleven vendors at Ashbridge Manor.
In terms of income, it was fairly similar to last-year's bazaar.  And better than the fiasco of the firehouse flea market!

While I did not sell a lot of any one thing, I did sell a lot of different things:  a stitched collage, some Layered 'n Stitched cards, a binder ring notebook, a set of matchbook notebooks, an airmail envelope notebook, a set of embellished binder clips, some sets of decorative greeting cards, a set of gift tags.  One of just about everything sold, but no popular favorites, which I found interesting. 

I'm still thinking that craft shows may not be the best venue for my things.

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My girls are into Knock-Knock Jokes.  (Yes, Heaven help me, I know.)  If you know any good ones for the three- and four- year set, let me know.  So far, our favorite is:
Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Impatient cow.
Impatient cow who? 
(But while they are in the middle of saying
"impatient cow who?" you have to "moo" really loudly.) 
 
Get it?  Huh?  Huh?  :-)

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We went to the library yesterday to look for Knock-Knock Joke books, and I happened across the strangest book in the grown-up section.  It's called Forgotten Bookmarks:  A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages, by Michael Popek
It is exactly as its title suggests:  reproductions of all the different kinds of things Popek has run across between the pages of the books he has handled as a bookseller. 
There is a chapter for photographs; letters, cards, and correspondence; notes, poems, lists, and other written ephemera; receipts, invoices, advertising, and other official documents; and objects, like razor blades (!) and four-leaf clovers. 
Popek also has a blog where he shares his findings:  www.forgottenbookmarks.com, but I haven't checked it out yet.  The book is a fun read to pick up from the library and browse through.
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Source
And finally:  I abandoned my jogging for the entire month of October!  I decided yesterday that it was time to get back out on the track and re-establish my running routine.  Prior to my "exercise sabbatical" I was running two or three times a week, and had gotten to the point where I could jog three miles without stopping, under proper conditions (e.g., flat track, cool temperatures).  Well, yesterday, after my month off, I managed to run three miles, but I stopped to walk a lap between each mile.  I have some re-strengthening to do, but I was happy not to have lost my ability to jog completely.  I have to thank you, Blog Readers:  the only reason I managed to run as far as I did was my desire to tell you that I made it three miles!  If I had not wanted public bragging rights so badly, I would definitely have stopped earlier! 

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Wishing you a great start to a new week!

9 comments:

Lelainia N. Lloyd said...

That's an interesting book! Razor blades are not as weird as you might think. Teenaged girls who cut themselves often stash blades in their books, so no one knows.

Janet said...

I should have written a book! I used to sell used books and I found so many interesting bits and pieces left between the pages. I saved a lot of them.

It's very nice to have a handy man around the house. Thank goodness my hubby knows his way around a toolbox just as yours does.

eli said...

Andria! me encantó lo original de ese libro!
En cuanto a los handymen, son excelentes pero sólo cuando ponen sus manos en acción. Le voy a enseñar este post a mi marido para que se inspire!!
Que disfrutes mucho tus knock-knock jokes!!

Deborah de Roz said...

It must be so nice to have a handy man around the house, so..well.. handy!

I was very impressed with your running. I have dabbled and find it very enjoyable. It is nice to be out in nature, doing something just for me and is particularly good for lifting my mood. You have inspired me to have another go x

Well done at the Craft Fair. My Mum and sister have sold (or tried to)at craft fairs in the past and as you say, it is a tricky venue for selling.

The book you found at the library looks fascinating.

When Isabella wakes up I will ask her what her favourite Knock Knock joke is and share it with you and your girls. I am up super early with my little boy but it gives me a chance to chat online! xx

Karen Isaacson said...

knock knock
who's there?
panther
panther who?
panther no panths I'm going thwimming.

(okay, this looks really dumb in print, but say "pants or no pants I'm going swimming" with a lisp and it's hilarious)

laurie said...

obviously, being handy and artistic runs in your family!

i like to walk. leisurely. but i admire those who run so please know that i did appreciate your accomplishment. :-)

aprilmariecole.blogspot.com said...

Such a wonderful post, Andria.
Thank you so much for sharing little bits your life with me, through your Blog. :]
It is amazing what we tend to hide from ourself... in a book!!! LOL

VivJM said...

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Hugo
Hugo who?
Hugo first, it's dark in there.

Knock knock
Who's there?
Boo
Boo who?
No need to cry, it's only me.

ps/ do you hire your handyman husband out? ;-)

Parabolic Muse said...

Oh, you crack me up. I'm sure you look like the FIRST picture! when you're jogging.

I have sensed a downturn in craft faires in general. I don't think it's because of the genre of things you're selling, I think maybe it's a combination of people saving money and also shopping online. I don't know if you want to deal with online selling, but if you had an artfire or etsy shop it would be easy enough to find out if it's profitable.

I'd visit it!