Hanging On for Dear Life . . .

I went out into the backyard yesterday after church to continue what I worked on last Sunday -- mowing and raking and generally getting the yard ready for winter. The first thing I saw gave me pause . . .



This is a tulip poplar -- we have several that I have planted over the years that came from my in-laws' yard (you should see their "momma tree"). It was those few leaves up at the top that caught my eye -- they looked like they were hanging on for dear life, and as long as they could stay on the tree they could keep winter from coming. I have been feeling like that, too!

I worked until dark, and then drove over to Miami University in Oxford to watch my nephew Conner play broomball. I went to Miami -- so did my wife and my brother. Many people confuse "our" Miami with the one in Florida, but ours has been around since 1809. I have an old t-shirt at home that says "Miami Was a University When Florida Still Belonged to Spain."



For the uninitiated like me, broomball is like hockey with no skates and a plastic "broom", and a ball instead of a puck. I took a shot of the opening faceoff with my cell phone and then cropped it -- that's my nephew in front of the referee (blue sleeves).

This morning, I took Zoe to the vet for her annual checkup. I always feel like a rat when I know she is going to get shots. But I wanted to get it out of the way before she heads to the kennel on Thursday morning . . .

Because we will be headed out for our last show of the year. We're going to Birch Run, Michigan (between Flint and Saginaw, and just a stone's throw from Frankenmuth) for the Great Scrapbook Events Shopping Show at the Birch Run Expo Center (right across the street from a huge outlet mall). This will be the first three-day show we have ever attended (Friday 1-8, Saturday 10-6, and Sunday 10-4), and we're going all-out with Fifty Feet of Fun -- Plus Ten! We're going to have Sue Rothamel from USArtQuest at one end, Tim Hammonds from Scor-It at the other, and Sue Nelson from Heartprints.net in the middle, and we're going to fill the other ten feet with lots of scrapbook papers and such.

Added bonus -- we were expecting a shipment of the new Cuttlebug Christmas Dies later this month. They came in early, so we'll have them this weekend! You can get more info about that show at http://www.greatscrapbookevents.com/ If you're in the area, plan to come out and see us.

Instructions for Last Week's Slider Card

Connie Vogt did a really cool slider card for the Free Make It & Take It in our store last Wednesday. She sent me photos and instructions -- in advance -- I told her I would post them ASAP.

So I sat down after lunch on Wednesday and went to work -- downloaded the pictures Connie had sent and mixed them with the shots above that I had already taken of her project. And I went to work on the blog post. That was about the time that Karen called and told me that Barry Payne was in the store in an Elvis getup and I needed to get up there NOW and take pictures. And I did -- went up, took the pictures, came back, and put them together to post.

Then I hit the "Publish Post" button -- and everything in both posts disappeared. Apparently it is a bad idea to work on two posts at the same time in different browser windows. I learn something new every day.

Since the Elvis post was the "short and easy" one, I redid it quickly and got it online. Figured I would get to Connie's later. Didn't . . .

Even had two people ask me about Connie's card Saturday when I was in the store and I promised I would get it done on Monday. But Connie beat me to it and posted photos and directions on her blog.



So with thanks to Connie, if you go to http://craftjunkies.blogspot.com/2009/11/marcos-make-it-take-it-slider-card.html you can see photos and step-by-step instructions without being bothered by my commentary!

I had begged off until Monday, because I already knew what I would be doing during the daylight hours Saturday and Sunday afternoon . . .



And this is what it looked like Monday morning -- 17 bags and one trash bin full of leaves, stomped down as much as I could compress them. We don't have that many trees, but I won this year's version of the "Who Gets to Rake B.J.'s Leaves?" Sweepstakes. My neighbor across the street has a huge tree right next to the road, and the leaves always blow into someone else's yard. Most of the time, the wind comes from the southwest and Jim & Sylvia two doors down from me get bonus leaves. If the wind comes from the west, they blow all the way down to the end of the street (Chad & Ashley at the end of the street are in their 20s and have plenty of energy, so Sylvia and I were hoping for that option).

Friday morning, the wind started howling directly from the south. I was at work, but I knew what I would find when I got home. So I started raking on Saturday afternoon, took a break for the trick or treaters, and finished the job Sunday after I got home from church. I was still grumbling about the time change -- it was almost dark when I finished, and it wasn't even 6:00 yet!



My supervisor was on duty through the entire process . . .

Random Thoughts -- One of Which May Interest You . . .

The long, cold, dark winter is upon us (how was that for a dreary thought?). For me, this is the most depressing weekend of the year -- the time changes Sunday morning. Under the current format, this is as early as it can happen -- and it won't change back until March 14! So for the next several months, I will only see daylight at home on the weekend. During the week, it will be dark when I leave the house in the morning, and dark when I get back in the evening. I'll bet you would never guess that I like sunshine and warmth . . .

Strangely enough, that's exactly what we're getting today. As I type this, it is SEVENTY-EIGHT DEGREES and the sun in shining. It was 66 when I left the YMCA at 8:00 this morning. There is a huge band of rain about 100 miles west of us (sorry, Indianapolis) -- I assume this is what's left of the storm that dumped 18" of snow on Denver a couple of days ago. We were expecting our sixth consecutive wet and sloppy Friday night for football tonight, but it looks like it may actually be nice.

So I'll be on the microphone in the press box tonight as my high school football team tries to qualify for its third straight trip to the state playoffs. They need to win and get a little help from teams they have beaten along the way. Ironically, one of those teams is "Ryan's school" -- if they win, "my school" gets extra computer points. This is the last Friday night of my 30th season in the press box.

Tomorrow, the store will be hopping -- Sidewalk Sale and the last day of our Fall Sale. Too bad today's weather won't hang on for another day -- the Trick or Treaters will also be out on Saturday evening around here.

Here's an advance warning (isn't that why you read this?). Monday will be the first working day of November for us -- and the first day of the annual Free Shipping Offer that many of you have been waiting for. All through the month of November, we'll be offering free UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail shipping (whichever is cheaper for us!) with a $50 purchase. That applies to Continental U.S. addresses -- for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Canada, we'll ship for half the Priority Mail rate. For other international customers, we'll be happy to check to see if we can find an economical way to do the same thing for you. Just remember to ask for the free shipping offer when you place your order.

So give us a call Monday at 1-888-433-5239, fax your order toll-free at 1-888-266-0496, mail it to Marco's Paper, 14 Marco Lane, Centerville, OH 45458, or e-mail it to marcos@marcopaper.com (without the credit card info -- call us with that).

And for the two of you who read this blog regularly who placed orders this morning and couldn't have known about this offer (you know who you are), I already marked your orders to ship free. You're welcome . . .

Stay Off of My Blue Suede Shoes . . .

We had an Elvis sighting in our store this afternoon. I had never really taken it seriously years ago when I heard that the King had been spotted in a Burger King in Kalamazoo, but who knows?

Barry Payne and his wife Maureen are often seen at Marco's. They take classes, and both have led our Free Make It & Take It on Wednesdays and Saturdays. From what I hear, a while back Maureen told Donna Sheetz that Barry had an Elvis costume at home, and ever since Donna has been all over him to wear it to the store.



Today was the day. Karen called me about 2:00 and told me to get to the store with my camera. Elvis was in the classroom calmly minding his own business, until I arrived . . .



Within seconds, Donna appeared from the class she was taking in the back and started fawning all over the King . . .



And of course I had to get a shot of Elvis and Priscilla (Maureen) . . .



Pretty soon it was Karen's turn. Brought back memories of an August night at Stampaway in 2002, when three versions of the King appeared at the Preview Party!

Memo to those in or near Dayton -- Saturday, October 31 is the last day of the annual Fall Sale at Marco's. We'll be having a Sidewalk Sale from 10:00 until 4:00 -- with thousands of items on the sidewalk and in the vacant storefront next door priced at $1.00 each! Inside the store, you'll find hundreds of items marked down from 25% to 75% off! Don't you dare miss it -- costumes are optional . . .

Need directions? Go to http://www.marcopaper.com/aboutmarcos.htm for a map and directions, or put 25 West Whipp Road, Centerville, OH 45459 into your GPS.

A Family Tradition Continues . . .

I love family traditions. We don't have a lot of them, but I look forward to them every year. My son Ryan is now 21, so he has outgrown (or at least he thinks he has) some of the things we did when he was younger. But some of them remain -- and last week was one of them.

We carve pumpkins.

We found an evening last week when we were both available. This is getting harder each year, especially since Ryan works a lot of evenings at Best Buy. I planted pumpkin seeds in the back yard in the spring, watered and tended them all summer, and had visions of nice big homegrown pumpkins this year. We got four "size challenged" ones instead. Ryan had mentioned that he would like to carve a big one this year, so I made a trip to Sam's and bought two monsters. And we went to work.



Of course, in our family there is an observer for everything we do . . .



Once we finished, we moved them into the kitchen where the light is better. That's my effort that Zoe is investigating. Ryan finally took off the lid so she could get a better sniff.



Ryan went for smaller slits and more scars and slashes. And we found that his held up better over time.



Ryan insisted on this picture -- he wanted to see which face looked more gruesome. It was a close vote . . .



After a couple of days in the house, we moved them outside next to a hard maple in front. Its leaves were really pretty this year. That little bitty pumpkin in the middle was the biggest of our homegrown crop. Good thing I took the shot when I did -- the one at right was taken three days later after a day of hard rain and wind. The leaves are really pretty around here this year, but after a good wind the rakes come out!



I was hoping to get one shot that I really liked to print out and save. I think this one was it . . .

Life in the Fast Lane . . .

My life is NEVER dull and usually moves at quite a fast pace. I have said for years that my mom was five days overdue when I was born and I have been trying to make up for lost time ever since. But there are times -- and last weekend was one of them.

It started last Thursday morning when my Aunt Janet called to tell me that the hospice nurse at our local nursing home had just called to tell her my grandma was failing rapidly. We have expected this for some time -- Frances (I have always called my grandma by her first name -- she was only 40 when I was born) has had Alzheimer's for several years. Thankfully, it had already set in when Leo (my grandpa) died five years ago, so ever since in her mind he was either on his way home from work or from the war. You would have enjoyed my grandpa (everybody did) -- just about everything I like about myself came from him.

So I headed for the nursing home and spent several hours with Janet and Nancy (my other aunt) and other members of the family who came in from time to time. My mom and dad had headed to Arizona for the winter the week before, and I knew she would feel guilty not being there. So my brother and I filled in for her as best we could. By afternoon, I could tell that Frances was tougher than the hospice nurse knew, and I headed back here to load the truck for the Fort Wayne show. I went back for several hours in the evening, and then checked in about 5:30 Friday morning before we left to make the three-hour drive to Fort Wayne.

Setup for the Fort Wayne show was a continuation of "Karen's Lovefest" -- only this time Karen was actually present! First time she had been to a show since her stroke.



Trish (at left) was one of the ladies who helped us with setup. And Polly Weed from Polly's Pals was only one of many vendors who stopped by during the day to see how Karen was doing -- and help me keep her from trying to do too much! Karen is doing great.



Robin Arnold has helped us at shows in Indiana and Michigan for years. Even on a chilly October day (with a chilly convention center floor), she prefers to go barefoot. But it does take its toll on the soles of her feet . . .

After setup, I headed home to work a high school football game. This time it was "Ryan's school", so I was running the scoreboard. It's always nice to be inside the press box when it's raining, but they lost 63-7 on Senior Night. Afterward, I stopped at the nursing home on the way home, and again at 6:00 a.m. Saturday before I headed back to Fort Wayne. It was obvious that her time was coming, and Janet called me at 7:30 while I was driving to tell me that she had just died.



I was at the front door when the show opened. The first ladies through the door headed straight for our booth to hug Karen and welcome her back. Happened all day long . . .



Robin and her daughter Keia were demoing for us -- and we quickly learned that Robin's fingers attract as much color as her feet!



Keia was attracting color of a different type. The little girl is Noelle -- her parents are Michelle and Steve from Toomuchfun Rubber Stamps. They live in Fort Wayne, and Noelle has been the "show baby" since she was born -- but we found out last weekend that she will have to share the attention with a new baby sibling come April. Noelle likes Keia -- so much so that she dumped a bottle of glitter all over her . . .



And the afternoon giveaway on Saturday had its usual excited group of winners-in-waiting . . .



I spent a good part of Saturday evening making arrangements to fly Mom home for the funeral. Sunday morning, Rich and Emma Lou from Heartfelt Creations (along with two of their friends), Nami from Denami Designs, and I joined Michelle, Steve, Noelle and Bobbi (Michelle's mom) at their church. Great music, great sermon, and great company.

Then we worked the show Sunday, tore down the booth, and headed home, where I learned that in the one day I was gone, the washer had died, my newspaper delivery had been cancelled for no reason, and Zoe had jumped the Invisible Fence. I spent most of yesterday dealing with that and helping Janet and Nancy pick photos and make arrangements. Around that, I picked up my brother from his mechanic when his car broke down and took him back after it was fixed. And Carla decided she needed to get out of the house so we went to an outlet mall so I could get some new walking shoes and then out to eat and the grocery. I hit the wall about 8:00 last night -- just fried. And now I'm back to work today (Tuesday) and the visitation is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow and I'm giving the eulogy and after that life goes on. Good thing I like being busy . . .



One last image from Fort Wayne -- this guy was walking around the show Sunday afternoon with his wife. There was a gun show going on in another part of the convention center. But I couldn't help wondering how many stamps his wife could have gotten in trade . . .

A Creative Mess Is Better Than Tidy Idleness . . .

I live by the above statement. Anyone who has seen our convention booth during setup knows that chaos reigns. My desk, my car, even my closet at home are much the same. I just have too many irons in the fire to take the time to clean up as I go, so it makes for a huge project when I finally decide to make it spotless. At least that's what I tell myself . . .



An e-mail arrived this morning from Donna Weibel that makes me feel much better -- she plans her creative mess ahead of time! Donna teaches classes in our store and is one of the most organized people I know. Lately she has been hooked on Tim Holtz tag projects -- last month she went to Phoenix for the second time to Tim's Creative Escape. And there is an earlier post on this blog about how much goes into the preparation for her classes (http://marcopaper.blogspot.com/2009/05/class-prep.html).



These are the finished products that Donna has been teaching recently -- next week starts her second installment of Tim Holtz Christmas Tags. Neat stuff! But Donna also sent me some shots of her studio after she finished creating. It's a trip back behind the curtain. I love her description -- "like a craft bomb detonated in there."

And then the finished products go into Ziploc bags and plastic containers, ready for the trip to our store. Donna says she has to be able to "see" everything to know what to put where, and she really does know what's under each pile. Takes a couple of days to reorganize once the job is done.

I understand completely, and I feel much better . . .