Signs of Inconveniences to Come . . .

I was at the store this morning and noticed that a few new signs have been erected on Whipp Road.  Believe it or not, we didn’t know a thing about this until a few days ago.  If you’re a local who frequents our store, and especially if you’re coming in from out of town August 8-14 for the Stamping Gala leading up to the Cincinnati convention, you’ll want to pay close attention . . .

Some signs are already visible, while others are yet to be revealed.  But they all mean the same thing – starting Monday, August 1, West Whipp Road will be closed FOR A MONTH from the Far Hills Avenue intersection past the first entrance to our parking lot.

Remember this picture from back in the spring, when Dorothy Lane Market across the street flooded during the heavy spring rains?  The culvert that overflowed and caused this flood is going to be replaced.  Unfortunately, nobody at the Montgomery County Engineer’s Office considered that our busiest week of the year might just happen to be the second week of August . . .

Sometimes a good map is worth more than a thousand words.  So follow along while I describe your detour (there are a number of options, but this one seems to be the best if you’re not familiar with the area).

If you are coming north on Far Hills Avenue from I-675, turn left on Shadybrook Drive (it’s the next road past the entrance to Bethany Village).  When Shadybrook deadends, turn right onto Flemington Road.  When Flemington deadends, turn right onto Whipp Road and the entrance to our store will be on your left just past the firehouse and bank.

If you are coming south on Far Hills Avenue from Kettering, go past Whipp Road, then turn right onto Shadybrook Drive (about ½ block past KFC).  When Shadybrook deadends, turn right onto Flemington Road.  When Flemington deadends, turn right onto Whipp Road and the entrance to our store will be on your left just past the firehouse and bank.

Want some landmarks and “eye in the sky” visuals?  Click on this link and you’ll get the Bird’s Eye View of the detour – and you can zoom in and get a better look of the neighborhood involved in the detour (surely they’ll be thrilled with more traffic).

As always, if you make a wrong turn please call the store at 937-433-7030 and we’ll get you there!

Burgers & Baby Pictures . . .

I have a few images to share with you from last weekend’s excursion to lovely Grapevine, Texas.  Would like to have done this days ago, but I have been drowning in e-mail issues since I got back – I have been referring to it as “e-mail hell”, but Robyn Trimble sent me an e-mail this morning and called it “Spam-ageddon” and I like that much better.  I knew before I got to Texas that my free time was going to be limited, but there was one thing I simply had to accomplish while I was there . . .

The first In-N-Out Burger locations in Texas opened in the past couple of weeks.  This is good, good stuff – I was introduced to them years ago on a trip to California, and get a fix when I’m in Tucson visiting my parents.  But this is much closer, so I just had to make a stop on the way into town.

Apparently, their reputation got to Texas in advance – the drive-thru line went all the way around the building and out into the street.  There were policemen directing traffic, and cones in the street to extend the drive-thru line about a block.  There was a sign out in the street that announced a 25-minute wait from that point to the speaker to place your order.  Wow …

My truck was never going to make it into that parking lot, so I parked a couple of blocks away and walked in.  The line was no better inside, so I gave up on my taste buds and asked an employee to go behind the counter and pick up the one thing I couldn’t leave without – an authentic In-N-Out Texas t-shirt for Ryan.  By January when I go back, I suspect the lines will be a little shorter (and the In-N-Out about a mile from where I stay will be open).

The Grapevine show was noteworthy mostly for the age of our help.  Suzanne Reed’s son Sean was just a baby when she started helping out, and in January he asked if he could help us set up in July.  Good worker – he helped Momma set up the USArtQuest carts, priced stuff for me, and by the end of the day was still interested in coming back again.  Suzanne, you had better take advantage of that enthusiasm while it lasts – the teenage years are coming …

And we had a baby in the booth all weekend.  I could leave it at that and just show the pictures, but the explanation is pretty good.  Jane McLaughlin and her sisters Ann and Margo have helped us for years in Grapevine.  Jane’s son John and daughter-in-law Natalie are missionaries in Mexico for Athletes in Action, and Natalie (also a setup/teardown veteran) was in town for a visit with four-month-old Lucia.

A baby in the booth always draws attention, but it appears that Lucia has a crafting future – that’s a Faber-Castell Big Brush Pen in her hand in the right photo, and she had no interest in giving it up!

Next summer, I am going to go for a spin in this – Jane’s husband Weldon has a motorcycle with a sidecar, and this is how Natalie got to the show on Saturday (Lucia rode with Grandma in the car).  It’s modeled after the German motorcycles from WWII (think Hogan’s Heroes).

Here They Are, Spellbinders Fans . . .

You’re going to get the short version today – I’m still working on the e-mail list fiasco (I’ll devote an entire post to that at some point).  52 New Spellbinders Dies went live on our website this morning as the Summer CHA Show in Chicago opened.  We are accepting advance orders now, and will ship them as soon as they arrive from Spellbinders (they estimate late August or early September).  As usual, we’re selling them for 20% off the MSRP and we’ll ship the advance orders free!  (Reminder – anything you need immediately should be ordered separately – otherwise, we’ll ship it with the dies when they arrive)

When you see something you like, just click on the photo and you’ll open the corresponding page on our site so you can look at it -- and from there you can add it to your shopping cart!