There May Be No One Left in Indiana Today . . .

I have been in seclusion in the mail center for the past few days, working through the e-mail fiasco.  If you don’t know about this, be happy – we were accused of spamming and I have to confirm (one at a time) that each address that remains on our list actually wants to be there.  It’s a long process, and I have a deadline – 57 new Spellbinders dies will be released for advance orders on Tuesday, July 19 (more on that next week), so I have to be ready to send out an e-mail to our list a couple of days in advance.

So it caught me off guard when the store called and said “The Fort Wayne ladies are here.”  Oh yeah – I had known for nearly a month that a group of convention regulars from the shows in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Novi, Cincinnati (you get the idea) had decided to make the pilgrimage to Marco’s on Saturday, July 9.  But I got distracted and forgot.

So Zoe and I hopped in the car and headed to the store for a visit.  This is the nicest bunch of people you will ever find – we have swapped greetings and stories and such at shows for years.  But they were spread out all over the store, so it took a while to get them into one spot to shoot a picture.  Nice pic – but it was harder than it looks . . .

Zoe was much more interested in getting a good scratch, and much less interested in facing me and posing!  Visiting done, we were headed for the back door when a greeting from our friend Ann Hathaway told me that another Indiana group had picked this date for a day trip . . .

Ann (center) helps us set up and tear down the booth at the Indianapolis show every March.  We have made sure to share favorite TV shows each season ever since she recommended 24 to me years ago.  She had e-mailed a couple of weeks ago for information from a native – she was planning an antiquing trip to Waynesville (my hometown) and wanted info on shops, eateries, and such.  But I had no idea when the trip would take place, so this was a bonus surprise.  We were looking for a place where Ann and her sisters could pose for a picture, and one of them saw the mannequin and said “Let’s stand next to her.”

Wednesdays and Saturdays are always good days to visit since we have free make it/take it projects on those days so there is always something special to do.  We love day trippers – so if you’re planning a visit, make sure to let us know in advance so we can let you know what’s planned (or plan something special just for you)!