So Far Behind and So Little Time . . .

I am so far behind.  In many ways, it’s my own fault – but every fall it seems that several shows and my golf trip all seem to come up at the same time.  And it did again this year.

This was my schedule for the past few weeks . . . on Friday, October 2 I drove to Fort Wayne, Indiana to set up for the show there.  Then I drove home that evening to announce the high school football game, and drove back the following morning.  Did the show Saturday and Sunday and drove home.  Spent Monday, October 5 unloading and loading the truck for the following weekend’s show.  Left my house at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday and drove to Winchester, Tennessee to play golf for three days (somewhere in the middle of which I found internet access at a marina nearby and did e-mail).  Got home at 8:00 on Thursday, was in bed by 9:30 – got up at 2:30 a.m. on Friday, October 9 and was on the road by 3:00.  Drove to York, Pennsylvania and set up for the show there.  Pat and Dave from Heirloom took me to dinner for my birthday after setup.  Did the show Saturday and Sunday and started the drive home Sunday night – until I blew a tire (again) and spent the night at a nearby motel.  Got the tire replaced on Monday morning and drove home.  Which brings us to today, where I am at work on a relatively normal schedule for the first time in almost two weeks.  That will last for today and tomorrow – on Thursday morning, I’m off to Sevierville, Tennessee for another show this weekend.

And some of you are sitting there and thinking, “He thinks HE is busy . . .”

What all of this means is a lot of new items released over the past couple of weeks and I simply haven’t had time to tell you about them.  Now I realize that some of you check our website regularly to see if anything has changed, but others wait for me to spread the word.

Like this – the October Distress Color of the Month is Carved Pumpkin (how fitting).  It was announced on October 2 and I am finally getting around to posting it here on the 13th – and it will arrive here from Ranger today.  All weekend long in York, people asked whether the October color would arrive in time for them to do their Halloween projects – and I found out Saturday evening that the answer was YES.  And we’ll have some at the show in Sevierville this weekend.  Well done, Ranger . . .

Lots of other new items from Ranger were announced the same day – they aren’t here yet but should arrive soon.  New Stickles colors, foil sheets, Glitter Dust, a Paper Mosaic Kit, and more.  And of course all of this is 20% Off the MSRP with Free Shipping in the Continental U.S.

Real Time Correction – as I typed that last paragraph, the bell on the front door dinged, and the UPS driver came in with the October Color of the Month and more than half of the other new Ranger items!

And Spellbinders came out with a new Platinum machine (that will cut up to eight layers in a single pass).  It cuts over 40 different materials including wool, balsa wood, chipboard, craft metal, leather and so much more.  And there is a whole new line of dies.  Check it out!

I’m probably missing something else, but now I need to help with shipping those Carved Pumpkin sets so you can get started on your Halloween projects.

A few images from York and the golf trip to clean out my cell phone camera . . .

There was no way I was going to win on the last day of the golf trip when one of the guys had superpowers . . .

But this golf ball deserves mention.  It was my faithful friend for three days – 63 holes – on a heavily wooded course – it went into the woods multiple times, and even in the water once – and I didn’t lose it.  I sometimes lose two or three balls in nine holes.  So now it goes on to a well-deserved retirement . . .

I found this ball in the middle of the 2nd fairway on the last day of the golf trip – I suspect it had been clipped by the mower . . .

From York – my friend Dee Ruger has been getting around on this contraption since she tore her Achilles tendon six months ago.  And it struck me that every girl needs a bell on her bicycle – so I went out to Walmart after setup and bought one.  Her husband Cal and I put it on the scooter when Dee wasn’t looking – but she noticed it as soon as she hobbled back.  I heard that bell ringing off and on all through the weekend . . .

And the obligatory “Cal asleep at the show” shot . . .