You Need to Have a Birthday This Good . . .

Yesterday was Zoe’s Eleventh Birthday.  Birthdays are always special in my family, and the ladies in my family are really good at looking young.  I can’t count the number of times I heard “She doesn’t look eleven” yesterday – and my response was usually “She doesn’t act eleven, either.”



The day started as it usually does – I took a picture of Zoe on our back patio and posted it on my Facebook page, along with the caption “Happy Birthday, Zoe... eleven years old but forever my puppy.”  Then I posted the same picture on her Facebook page (yes, for those of you who weren’t around a couple of years ago when Zoe made her presidential run, you can follow her exploits here) with a caption befitting the theme of the page – “Seems only fitting that Zoe's 11th birthday would add a fourth day to a holiday weekend... she is selfless that way, always thinking of what is best for the nation.”

I told my daughter-in-law Emily that Zoe would get birthday greetings through Facebook from all over the country -- and sure enough, over the next few hours they came in from Florida, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Connecticut, Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, and I'm sure I have missed a few.  Our customers are wonderful people.

Since it was Friday, Zoe came with me to work as she always does when I am in town – and the fun really began . . .

  

In a matter of a couple of hours, Zoe got birthday treats from UPS, the USPS, and FedEx!  Yvonne has been our UPS driver for most of Zoe’s lifetime and always brings treats – Zoe is so used to this that she starts losing her mind as soon as she sees a brown panel truck.  The mail carrier has only been on our route for a couple of months, but always brings treats – and this was the first visit for the FedEx driver.  First time I can remember Zoe hitting the “treat trifecta” in a single day . . .



At lunchtime, we made a run to our store, where Donna always makes a fuss over Zoe.  And in the evening, we topped everything off with a trip to McDonald’s for Zoe’s favorite – a vanilla ice cream cone . . .

I’m not sure if I can post YouTube videos here anymore, but I think if you click on the picture below you will get to see it.  And if not, you can click on this link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs_UC6FccaQ&feature=youtu.be

Today, Zoe is simply enjoying a typical Saturday here at the mail center with me – and she still got a treat from the mail lady . . .

Mega Everything . . .

Spent last weekend in Novi, Michigan for the Great Lakes Mega Meet . . . about 200 miles – and 40-50 degrees – from my house.  It was in the mid-80s at home the whole time I was gone, while in Novi it started in the mid-70s, then the mid-60s, then the upper-30s, and finally the mid-40s – with monsoon rains to boot.  Thankfully, we were inside all weekend so it was warm and cozy . . .

 

. . . or not.  The convention center is expanding – it was supposed to be finished before we came this year, but lots of delays later it has barely begun.  So there was a huge “cold air register” in the back corner of the hall and the outside air was pouring into the building.  Since no one brought cold weather gear, the department stores were getting a workout.

Still, there was a lot of fun to be had – and lots of sights to see . . .

Tanya Doner-Kostynuk from Riley and Company celebrated her birthday on the road during setup, so we made sure that she felt special.

 

All of the “big rigs” were jockeying for space at the dock.  Gail Mollard from the Art Gone Wild Conglomerate (now encompassing Art Gone Wild, Inky Antics, Stampers Anonymous, Darcie’s, Verses, Northwoods, and I’m probably missing two or three) was on guard duty during the wait for dock space, but actually got a chance to drive . . . about twenty feet . . . when a fork lift needed to maneuver in to hold up the dock plate while it was repaired.

Not sure that I have ever seen a shovel tied to the back of an RV – but Port from Totally Tiffany says he has driven it to some places where he probably shouldn’t, and that shovel has come in handy when digging himself out of trouble.

How long has it been since you have seen one of these outside your hotel room door in the morning?  This was a pleasant surprise outside mine . . .

 

The mob scene just before the show opened on Thursday.  When the ladder I use for giveaways grows up, it wants to be just like Kate Griswold’s . . .

Spotted in the Riley and Company booth as I walked to the front to take a picture of the crowd.  The grammar police in me has trouble getting past that missing apostrophe . . .

 

Anthony Gilbert from Anthony’s Paper Craft joined me in our booth again – and knows how to draw a crowd with a basket of Dum Dums . . .

The tote bag did not catch my attention – those are everywhere.  It was the Rice Krispie Square in the corner – I always have those on hand in the booth in case I need some quick calories, but I had never seen them anywhere else at a show.

T-shirt of the weekend . . .

And tote bag of the weekend . . . since I have spent much of my adult life in search of the perfect typestyle, I can relate.

This lady was just overwhelmed by the ice cream cone she had just bought – I told her the vendor must have been flirting with her.

 

And we had another year of “Kids Love Copics” – I am amazed by how much they know, and how much they enjoy amazing their parents with their knowledge.  My friend Isabella Walker (at right) was old enough to take classes this year, and had to plan her show floor time wisely since she had lots of places to shop.

This week, the roadshow will be in Syracuse, New York at the SRC Events Center at Onondaga Community College – come out and see us and bring a carload of friends!

Schedule Change for This Weekend . . .

From Christopher Alan at Brutus Monroe . . .

"Christopher Alan regrets that he will be unable to attend the Great Lakes Mega Meet this weekend. Under medical advisement he has decided to take some time off to recharge and regroup. Please know that Christopher’s health is his top priority and once rested he will be back and continue all future scheduled engagements. Christopher would like to thank everyone in advance for their incredible support and understanding during this short break."

 

Brutus Monroe products will still be available in our booth this weekend -- stop by and see us in Novi, Michigan!

Winter to Summer in Less Than a Week . . .

Spent last weekend in Akron for Adventures in Stamping – it’s always one of the biggest shows of the year, and at the end of April the weather there could be anything from coveralls to shorts (and anything in-between).  What we got was dreary and damp, with two days of frost . . .

  

But it was bright, cheery and warm inside the Knight Center, where Christopher Alan from Brutus Monroe, Anthony Gilbert from Anthony’s Paper Craft, and Lisa Nelson from our store were doing demos for the happy crowd.  Apologies to Donna Sheetz from our store, who was also there demoing and running a cash register on Saturday – I forgot to take her picture!

Christopher had company – Cathy and Heather from Brutus Monroe also made the trip from Pittsburgh and spent the day shopping and visiting with us on Saturday.

 

It took me a minute to remember why I could hear every word Debby Drabik from Just for Fun was saying from where I was standing – she uses a microphone and speaker to make it easier on her voice.

 

A couple of views of Christopher’s visit to our store the day after the Akron show.  I’m told that he had an enthusiastic audience all day.

 

“I’m told” . . . because I wasn’t there – my friend Tom and I left on Monday morning for a golf trip in McRae, Georgia (about an hour SE of Macon).  Tom’s six-month-old grandson Edison makes the trip with him everywhere.  We stopped in Adairsville, GA to have dinner at Cracker Barrel with our friend Barry (who I stopped to see in Florida back in February).

Tom retired in January and is learning to cook and bake – he made brownies to bring along on the trip, which went nicely with my snickerdoodles and soft molasses cookies.

 

The fellowship in the evenings after we finish the golf for the day is always the highlight of my trip – but the shot that I holed from 130 yards on the first day (my first eagle in more than 20 years) was a close second.  And temps in the high 80s without a hint of clouds or wind added to the fun.

 

I thought this was really cool – the morning sunlight shining through the mist from the sprinklers on the course.  Had to get underneath a walkway to shoot the pictures without too much glare – then cropped them as best I could.

 

Got home about midnight Thursday night, so the sight of my dogwood near the back door caught me by surprise this morning.  I had said before I left that it would probably bloom by the time I returned – but of course, I forgot.  The dogwoods are at least a couple of weeks late here this year – and the temperature today is in the 80s.  I think once again we have skipped Spring and gone directly to Summer . . .