Yellow

(For photo credits and to see my other photo sets, visit me on Flickr)

It's Thursday.  Yesterday was the official start of summer.  And today it finally feels like it here.  Warm, sunny, yellow.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the color yellow.  I guess I like it best mixed with grey.  But when it's sunshine - I lurve me some bright, light, sunlit yellow.

It's final packing up day before the Redmond show tomorrow.  I totally didn't get enough sleep last night, having to be up before dawn to race over and meet the delivery truck for my new oils supplier.  I'm on a new route, but they can't squeeze the semi-truck down my super narrow, very steep hilled street.  So I need to meet them at their first delivery of the day (5:30am!) and pick up my order.

It's going to save me money in the long run.  The constant increase in base oils has really put a dent in my bottom line the past year or two.   So I'm hoping this new supplier works out - that the oils are great quality and stay a bit more reasonable.  I can certainly give up a few hours beauty sleep to make that happen.

Tomorrow is going to be another early one - having to be in Redmond for set up by 7am.  With all the morning traffic between here and there, through downtown Bellevue and all that 520 congestion, I'm sure it will be rough.  Hmm, note to self, maybe I can map a different route through surface streets.

Ok, I'm out.  So much to do.  But head on over to the Redmond Town Center this weekend to see what it's all about.

Redmond Arts Festival

This coming weekend I'm doing a brand new show (for me).  It's Redmond Town Center's Art Festival.

It's co-organized and sponsored by VALA Eastside which stands for "Venues for Artists in the Local Area".   This show is an arts festival and sidewalk sale, plus a gallery show in their space at Redmond Town Center.  Click their link above for a schedule of artist demonstrations, workshops and street performers.  There's going to be a lot going on.

The main street there will be closed off to traffic and we'll have our tents set up in the middle of it all for the art festival portion.

General details -
Dates:  Friday through Sunday, June 22-24
Hours:  Fri and Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 11am-7pm

My booth spot is #78 which is closer to the REI/Macy's end of things, almost at the very end of the tents - second from the last one.

Honestly, this one is all new to me.  So I'm not sure how it works.  It's always fun to try something brand new and change things up a little bit.  If you're in the area, come on over and check it out.  Maybe on the way back from the Saturday Farmer's market nearby (which is a great! market, by the way).

What did you do today?

Someecards.com

If you've been reading along, you already know I'm a procrastinator.  I need the urgency of a deadline to really get going.  But my job here requires constant moving it forward.  Not lolly-gagging and then all-nighters, but batches of stuff day after day, every day.  So I'm constantly struggling with myself to keep on truckin'.

There are totally days when I have so darn much on my to-do list that I just crumble and end up spending way too much time on the internets surfing nonsense.  Or take a nap instead.

I think the mentally healthy route would be to decide to take an hour or two, or half a day, or even the whole day if that's what required - and do the exact thing that my heart desired to be doing right then.  Just get out of the office and check off an item or two of pure fun.  Then come back to work and dedicate myself to being productive for the day.  I might really get a lot more done that way.

Because mind-numbing hours doing nothing fun and nothing you're supposed to do is just an obnoxious waste of time.    Except when you really truly do need a nap.

I tried this new theory today.  I was working really good up until lunch - got a lot done.  Then the take-away Chinese food took me down.  I napped.  I got up and wasted another hour (or two).  But I was able to finish up the afternoon with another boost and finished my list.  For today.

It's going to be a full summer of shows.   I've got to keep the ball rolling.  Let's see how much ground I can cover tomorrow.  Hope floats.

Build A Little Biz - Manifesto

Awesome.

Oh yeah, it's Sorticulture weekend!

This weekend is Sorticulture, Everett's Garden Arts Festival. This is such a fun show - tons of nursery and plant vendors, plus lots of garden art vendors with great stuff.  I always spend a little more than I planned to because I just can't resist all the pretty and unusual plants for my garden.  

There are display gardens, kids activities, demonstrations and lectures, music performances and food too. Free admission. Parking is a little tight sometimes, but there are shuttles from nearby lots.  See here for more info.

It's going to be rainy and cool I think.  There'll be rain boots.  And mud. 

June 11 - 13
Fri 10-8, Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5
Legion Memorial Park 
145 Alverson Blvd. at West Marine View Dr.
Everett, Washington 98201

"Sorticulture unites art and the garden in a celebration of creative outdoor living. Our featured artists create distinctive hand-crafted garden art and our nurseries produce a wide variety of plants to transform your backyard. Learn tips and tricks from top regional gardening experts including KING 5's Ciscoe Morris Saturday at 2 pm. Sorticulture also features display gardens, food fair, wine garden, live music and free activities for the kids."