Missing my memory

I don't know how I manage to get through a single day sometimes.

Just over a month ago I was checking my inventory at Artistree and noticed two of my Kritters were missing. I emailed all the artists to see if anyone knew anything about them and no one did. Eventually one was discovered, the numbers had been written down wrong when it sold so it got mixed up with some other item from my inventory.

Annabelle, the one on the left, is the other Kritter that appeared to be missing.

Yay! One found. But the other Kritter was still missing. He's been missing for a while and it really was bothering me that I had no idea what really happened to him.

For some reason I decided to go through my email inbox and delete old emails. One from May caught my attention. The subject line was "Gabriel monkey." And I thought, "Hm, that's weird, isn't Gabriel the monkey that went missing a month ago?"

After going through my inventory sheets, I discovered indeed it was the same monkey and according to the emails, he wasn't lost, he already had a home and I was the one who sold him! I had marked his sale on my monthly sales sheets, but never marked it down on my inventory sheet so when I checked my inventory he appeared to be missing.

This is Gabriel, the monkey that went missing.

This is why I make notes, and write things down, and always follow the same pattern when I do things (like loading my car for shows), because when something happens out of the ordinary, I remember things differently than how they actually happened or don't remember at all. (Like with names, I'm sorry if I have ever been introduced to you and can't remember who you are the next time I see you. I have zero memory for names!) If my head wasn't connected to my shoulders I would probably forget what happened to that too!

Small steps to a BIG goal.

This week has been random acts moving toward an eventual goal, or rather goals. I ordered my sleeping bag for my hike. I finally decided to just go with the one I kept coming back to every time I looked at sleeping bags. And it came today! I got a semi-rectangular bag with part synthetic fiber fill and part down. I figured I would like the extra leg room instead of a traditional mummy style bag. Plus, I like the color!

It is very puffy! I kind of want to just sleep in this it's so comfy.

I also tried dehydrating some dinner. My mom made vegetarian bean chili, what we always eat when we have chili, and I decided to try dehydrating a couple servings of that. The chili only used one tray so I also used up some apple sauce (flavored with some berry jelly) to make fruit leather and took care of the rest of a bunch of bananas that had been sitting for a while. I have not tried re-hydrating the chili yet (update: I did try the chili before going on the practice hike and I took it only as emergency food, it was not very tasty rehydrated!), but the fruit leather and banana chips are wonderful!

Chili top left, bananas top right, applesauce (fruit leather) bottom

I  also met in person a woman I was introduced to through Facebook when I put a question out to my Facebook network for tips on backpacking gear and a mutual friend connected us. We are planning a practice hike (well practice for me) for sometime in September. She brought most of her gear over to my house to show me what she has and to discuss what I need. She also had a mishap story of trying to reconstitute dehydrated chili and still ended up with crunchy dinner after an extended attempt at cooking chili. So I will be testing my ability to cook my chili before I pack any into my food supply.

Four trays of food dehydrates down to these three containers.

I have also been (slowly) getting more things made for the Renaissance Faire. (Read more about this process here.) Today I finished five new creature bowls. So now I have a herd (flock? gathering?) of creatures taking over my work space. I have a little more I definitely want to do for my theme pottery and some of my regular work to catch up on, but I'm still moving along.

Newest members of the herd.

I think I got to this point last year and got a little worried about not having near enough theme work finished, but I had a decent start from last year and I started making things earlier this year. So hopefully I won't have to stay up each night before the first day of the faire to finish firing everything this year!

Prepping for the Renaissance Faire.

My booth last year, some things will get changed though not much.

I have spent the better part of the last couple weeks getting ready for the Renaissance Faire in September. Although I have yet to bring out my tent disguise and signs, I have been thinking about how I need to set up my tent and which shelves I will need to take with me in order to have enough space to display all my work.

One of the several from my clan of dragons I'll have at the faire this year.

And not to mention the time I have spent making the Renaissance specific pottery. I have a few things yet to even start making, but I think I have a fairly good start on all of it.

A creature yarn bowl, I have a couple more in various stages of completeness.

I have a small collection of whistles, and I'd like to make some more if I can get them to work. I have some baby dragon rattles ready to be glaze fired and assorted work in every stage of being done.

A new star studded mug.

Today I went to Rhinelander to gather supplies, and after looking all over Minocqua for incense, I finally found some at Hobby Lobby. I also found candle wick, cord for my pendants, and buttons and grommets for my dad's costume. So now I can finish that.

New beads and pendants drying.

I made some more beads to add to my display I found at the flea market this week and I'm pretty excited about the beads and the display. I'm hoping some of the kids who come this year for school field trips find my bead display and I'll have some extra pieces of cord so they can tie the beads into bracelets or necklaces.

The cash register drawers I found at the flea market to use for my bead display.

What I haven't found or done yet are things that aren't exactly make or break for my display so I'm not worried that it isn't all going to happen. Maybe I'll have those things by next year. Maybe.

I'm pretty proud of my guild sign from last year, I kind of wish
though that I had put "Pottery" instead of "Potter." someone came
looking for Harry last year.

I've also spent some time wondering what it would be like to be a vendor at one of the big, established Renaissance Faires. There's Bristol to the south and Shakopee to the west. I like making the little things, so if I could make a tinker cart display and only take the small stuff (lots of it), would it be worthwhile for me? I wouldn't have to worry about packing as much, it would fit into a couple of boxes, nor would I have to worry about breakage as much. Just thinking. Maybe I could try that someday. My sister-in-law and I are going to be spectators, or whatever visitors to the faire are called, this year after I've done the faire here. If nothing else I can see how people set up booths and cry their wares and I can adjust for next year.

My friend and fellow potter Tammy, one of the organizers Paisley,
and me in costume in front of my booth last year.

All of this Renaissance Faire stuff really plays into  My Mystical Side and I love dressing up for it. The problem I have is when people are in character, playing their parts. It is a big production, a play and the people are actors, I too am supposed to be in character, but I've never been the theatrical type and don't know how to come out of my shell when I might see people who know me as the quiet one. I always revert to who people expect me to be, I'd love to be able to come out of my shell and 'play the part' this year.

Mini Adventure and Blueberries!

I haven't gone on a true solo adventure since May. I had the Energy Fair with my dad in June. And before that I had my last truly solo adventure. (Read about it here part 1, here part 2, and here part 3.) My first solo adventure was only two weeks before my second. (Read about that one here.) But as my summer started to get moving and pottery became my focus, my solo adventures came to an end as quickly as they started.

I've been so focused on making enough pottery for my shows and now the three shops/galleries I am in, that I have not taken any time for me. Then I decided to hike the Ice Age Trail and my solo time became about seeing how far I could walk each morning. I haven't given up on the Ice Age Trail, I'm still planning on going, I'm just so preoccupied with getting gear for that and my practice hike this fall, and with keeping my pottery supply up that I haven't been walking very much the last little while.

My new gear. I still have a lot more I'll need before I can even do my practice hike.

I did manage a sort of mini solo adventure. It wasn't really outside of my comfort zone except for the fact that it wasn't part of my normal daily routine. And that includes that normally I wouldn't have gone unless someone was going with me. Last Friday after making a run to Artistree Gallery with some work and to check my inventory, I drove right past home and headed to the high school to check out the Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild Quilt Show. I didn't take any pictures of the quilts, but there were many I found beautiful, several that I went back and had to study the stitching up close a second time. The show only happens every three years, so basically I have three years to finish some quilts to enter for next time. (I asked, you don't have to be a member of the guild in order to enter.) I have a couple quilts started now, the problem is I really don't know how to quilt large pieces on a domestic machine, or do any of the fancy stitching I saw on many of the quilts. But I have three years right?

New fabric. I want to combine the blues with the green and cream to make a quilt.
The black is for a quilt I have started but needed some black to finish it.

I did buy myself some fabric, because I can't help myself, and maybe I'll use this fabric to practice my quilting before I try on my really big quilt I have started.

They are having a really good crop this year at the farm we always go to.

Then this weekend we had a family adventure. Every year we try to go up to Bayfield to pick blueberries. We freeze them and then eat them throughout the winter in yogurt, baked goods, smoothies and any other way we like. I may be dehydrating some of them for hiking food.

Three boxes stayed with my parents and me and one box went with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.

After picking we went into town to see the two stores we always stop at. No one was in the buying mood though, I had gotten my spending spree out at the quilt show and didn't feel the need to spend any more just yet. So we headed home, bagged up my brother and sister-in-law's berries and said goodbye to them, then my mom and I bagged up ours and got them in the freezer. I had some for supper and some more for breakfast. We're very excited to have blueberries this year, we missed the very short season last year and had to buy from the grocery store. The ones from the store aren't nearly as good as the ones we pick and freeze ourselves.

I'm hoping to have another solo adventure soon, I just don't know when I'll be able to fit one in with two shows this month and my big four day Renaissance Faire next month, I'm making pottery as much as I can handle. Then I'll be attending a Ren. Faire with my sister-in-law next month to see what the big ones are like and taking a practice hike with an experienced hiker in October. My time for solo adventures is a little non-existent right now. I'll see if I can squeeze one in sometime.

Alone, but not lonely.

I'm alone.

I don't say this in an attempt to get sympathy or in order to hear reassurances that I'll "find someone." I'm alone by choice not by chance. If I were interested in finding a boyfriend/fiance/husband/significant other, I'm sure I'm more than capable of doing so.

I'm alone, but not lonely. I find my own company reassuring, sometimes amusing, but most often adequate. Yes, I live with my parents, so I'm not really alone, but when I move to my own place I won't be taking them with me.

I'm content in my own company, it's when I get into large groups and suddenly I become mostly invisible that I feel lonely. I truly am the one at parties who seeks alone time because staying in a group of people who don't always see or hear me drains my mental and emotional well being. I'd rather be in a small sub-group with one, two, or maybe three other people than with the loud rambunctious main group.

I like parties just fine, but large groups means that you get a lot of different people and I always feel like I have to have conversation with most of them especially if I have some sort of past with them. But they don't always feel the need to reciprocate or choose to ignore me for whatever reason. And that annoys me to no end. I try to be pleasant even to those who do annoy me, but once you ignore me repeatedly I no longer feel the need to be polite.

So while the occasional gathering is good to chase the blahs away, I'm usually very happy to get away from the crowds and be alone. Alone, but not lonely.