The weather outside is frightful

but a warm fireplace is so delightful.  So is shopping (indoors) for holiday gifts, treats and special treasures.

The first week of November is the biggest craft show week of the year.  There are dozens and dozens, all over the place.  I'm only going to be at two this week:  Red Ribbons and Reindeer at the Hollywood Schoolhouse in Woodinville, and the Bellevue Club on Saturday only.

I will NOT be at Pickering Barn, as listed on my earlier version of the calendar.  Again, I apologize for the inconvenience and confusion.  I just can't swing it all this week - a little short on time, a little short on inventory, a little short on help.  And the winter holiday newsletter is going out too this week.  A bit too much on my plate for this week.

Here are the details on where I'll be this week:

Oct 31 - Nov 3
Red Ribbons & Reindeer
Hollywood Schoolhouse
14810 NE 145th St, Woodinville
Wed 1 - 6 pm, Thurs & Fri 10am - 8pm, Sat 9:30am - 6pm

Nov 3 (Sat only)
Bellevue Club Holiday Bazaar
Bellevue Club, 11200 SE 6th St, Bellevue
Saturday only 9am - 6pm
Note:  This is open to the public and everyone is welcome!

I've got a bit of the new holiday stuff at both shows.  Red Ribbons is a boutique show with a central cashier and I will not be there personally.   However, I will be working my own little display (as will everyone else) at the Bellevue Clube show.  Hope you can make it out to one of them.  We're just getting started on the season!

Show Schedule Changes

 Quick note about upcoming shows:  I have to cancel a show that I had on my schedule for next week.  I will NOT be at Pickering Barn next week.

I think I've mentioned that sales are up this year.  Sometimes quite a lot.  More mail order, more shows, more soap.  I've been working as hard as I can to make more soap during the last few months.  But with the curing time, I'm just not getting ahead.

At this point, I'm hoping to just cover what I have on my plate already.  But with the way October has been, I don't have enough inventory to split it 3 ways for the shows I scheduled for next week.  I can only swing 2.  So I'll be at Red Ribbons and Reindeer at the the Hollywood Schoolhouse.  And I'll be at the Bellevue Club show on Saturday, where I'll be manning my own booth.   It's open to the public, and I'll post details on both of them in the next few days.

I'm so sorry for the interruption, disruption and inconvenience.  Hopefully if you are looking for me next week, you can make it over to one of the other two shows, where I will have a really nice full display.  It just didn't make sense to spread myself so thin everywhere (especially mentally :)   I'll make a note on the web site.  Just wanted to post here to make sure the word gets out.

October updates

I know it's been awhile since I've posted much, but it's been a little off-kilter over here.

My cat went missing a couple of weeks ago.  We were playing in the sunshine on the patio in the afternoon, and I had to head down to the studio to get a little work done.  An hour later when I came back, she wasn't around.  But a few hours later, and still no Dora?  We got worried.  When we called for hours and she didn't come home all night, we were in high panic, never slept a wink.  Days followed.  Searching and combing the neighborhood for miles every evening and morning.  We did the fliers, the neighborhood lists, the calling of vets and shelters.  Hired a pet psychic.  It was 11 days and our life was a mess.  We hadn't hardly slept, eaten, cleaned, done anything normal.  Suddenly she's home.

I have no earthly idea why the most loved, most pampered, little home-body, super bonded and attached kitty would just "poof" and take so long to find her way back.  But we are breathing again.  It is definitely the roughest, scariest time I've gone through that I can ever remember.

In the meantime, I had a colonoscopy.  Gross.  One of those "maintenance" things they make you do in the name of health or something.  I'm normal and healthy by the way.  But again, gross.

I also had Salmon Days during that time.  Trying to prepare for one of my bigger shows during all that crisis was a nightmare.  And then being out all day trying to smile and sell soap was not easy.  But with the perfect weather and ginormous crowds, it was a record breaker for sales.  I'm wiped out.  In just about every way.

So you might have noticed that the Pumpkin and Cranberry soaps are off the site.  I've got batches that just came out, so there's about a 2-week wait until they will be back up.  I'm pretty low in inventory in just about everything else, between Puyallup, the fall newsletter and now Salmon Days all in a month's time, it's been more than I can keep up with.  Which is nerve-wracking because I'm just heading into my 2 busiest months.  I'm cranking out the soap as fast as I can.  And we'll keep fingers crossed that I can hold it all together.

I did have to cancel being in the Starving Housewives show this week.  I would be setting up today, and I have got just about nothing left from the weekend, and no time to prepare.  I just need a week to get back up to speed and ready for Vasa Park next week.  So sorry if you are looking for me there.  I hate having to cancel, truly, but there is only so much I can do here.

I think that covers the latest news bits.   I'm back in the studio working full-time with great focus, so if you need anything, just holler.

Salmon Days 2012

These folks have the cutest slogans - this year it's "thrills and gills!"

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest's most-beloved, family-friendly, award-winning and fishiest festival around!  We've got lots of activities, arts and crafts, music, food, friends and excitement. 

This year they have a brand new Splash MOB game.  Visit 24 local participating business to be entered fro a grand prize of $1,000 in valuable gift cards from local merchants.  See the website for details.

This is a HUGE festival, with so much going on - plan a whole day there.  Food booths all over, plus the big Kiwanis Salmon Bake.  Music stages, all kinds of kids activities areas.  Plus a gazillion art and craft booths to explore.  It's going to be a blast!

Dates: Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7, 2008
Place: Historic old downtown Issaquah
Times: 10am - 6pm both days
Booth Location: Same spot as last few years! Booth #318, located on W. Sunset Way, at the corner of the driveway entrance to the hatchery.

Link: Salmon Days

Get your happy on!

That's the tag line for the Puyallup Fair this year.  The show has been a whirlwind and I can hardly catch my breath.

But this is the final weekend, so if you were meaning to get over there, time is running out. There's the new Body exhibit, the Rainforest exhibit, and lots more beer/wine gardens if you need that to get through the day too.  So much to do.  Earthquake burgers, Krusty Pups, scones, elephant ears - so much to eat too.

10am to 11pm today and tomorrow,  closes at 10pm Sunday.  You can even buy your ticket online, print it at home, and bring it to the gate without waiting in line.

So go!  Get your happy on already!

Starlings

A collection of starlings is called a "murmuration."  And if you've never seen one before it's awesome and breath-taking.  I've only seen small ones.  But these two girls, out canoeing, caught the most amazing video  - you have to see it.

Autumn 2012 Newsletter

Just popping in to post the latest newsletter which is just winging it's way to email and snail mail boxes everywhere - with links to take you right to the products that are available now! ************************ Dear Friends, As the days get cooler, and the mornings and evenings abruptly get darker, we realize in a flash our carefree, lazy days of summer have vanished.  In its place, on little tiptoes, autumn has snuck in and begun to decorate for the party. What was once a bevy of overflowing flower beds are now wondrous seed pods, grassy tassels and bulbous bulb-lets.  Pinks and greens are now browns and golds.  Leaves on the trees are just beginning to color around their edges, waiting for the first nippy nights of frost to unleash their glorious riot of reds and oranges, burgundies and yellows. Autumn has so many riches of its own that it’s often the favorite season of all.  Bringing us great beauty and a quiet calm, there are infinite ways to enjoy fall’s own unique gifs.  Outdoors we crunch through leaves, race through the pumpkin patch or corn maze, snuggle under woolen blankets in the bumpy hayride.  Indoors we return to the warm comforts of home, with rainy afternoons spent reading in front of the fire, mugs of warm cider and cinnamon cookies at our side.

"It was, as I have said, a fine autumnal day; the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance.  The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tendered kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple and scarlet." -   Washington Irving

Pull out your sweaters and warm socks, the fall fete is

upon us!

AUTUMN SEASONAL SOAPS

Autumn’s cool, crisp air crystallizes our senses.  The whisper of wind and the crunch of dead leaves shoo us back indoors to the warm delights of home – soups stewing, goodies baking and fireplaces crackling.  This year’s Autumn Harvest soaps highlight our favorite fruits and spices, taking the best of the season and celebrating the bounty.  ($4.25 each or 4 bars for $16.00)

Honey Bee:  Fresh honey is the special ingredient in this soap, gently soothing and calming skin while adding extra moisture.  Scented with warm beeswax, sweet honey, and pretty orange blossoms, it’s soft and comforting.

Sandalwood Rose:  Earthy, woodsy sandalwood, a pinch of cinnamon spice and pretty rose petals make a sophisticated and enchanting blend in a pretty ivory colored bar.  This scent is found in a few high-end boutique bath products, and for good reason – it’s gorgeous.

Clove Orange:  Making orange pomanders is a favorite craft project for the holidays – winter oranges studded with cloves and tucked into bowls around the house.  This soap is scented with sweet orange oil blended with spicy cloves and a pinch of cinnamon stick  Lighter and fresher than our Breakfast Soap, it’s the perfect fragrance for fall. (100% natural soap)

I’ve also made a couple of fall favorite soaps from last year’s menu to honor customer requests: 

Sugar Pumpkin: This is the ever-popular pumpkin soap.  Scented with creamy pumpkin, vanilla, a sprinkling of spice, and warm brown sugar, it’s sweet and cinnamon-y.   Sugar pumpkin is the quintessential fall fragrance, sure to mark the start of the season.

Cranberry Harvest:   Tart, juicy cranberries and zesty orange peel, loaded with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and pepperberry. This is a soft red bar - brightly fruity with a nice compliment of traditional spice. 

Holiday Spice Home Fragrance Spray

It’s not too early to start spritzing a little festive spicy holiday spirit around the house!  Holiday Spice is our most requested seasonal spray, every year since the very beginning - oranges, cranberries, spices and greens all blended together for the perfect scent of magic and delight.   Cinnamon spice and harvest fruit pair well with our fall soaps and set the mood in your cozy home.  (4 oz bottle - $ 6.00)

THE SEASON OF SHOWS, SHOWS, SHOWS The next few months are chock full of craft shows, fairs and festivals too.  I’ll be doing what I can to bring the goodies to your neck of the woods.  See the enclosed calendar or log onto the website to get more details on the “Show Schedule” page As always, I sincerely appreciate your loyal business throughout the year, and wish you a brilliant and abundant harvest season!

The Sea

(photo credit here - piccsy.com)

"I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came."  - John F. Kennedy

Happy Labor Day!  It's a perfect day to troll the beach for treasures, chase waves, breathe the salt air, squish toes in the sand and just relish the last bits of summer.

Puyallup Fair Coming UP!

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

I'm participating in the Artists in Action gallery at the Puyallup Fair again this year, like I have the past few years. It's a really big undertaking, but pretty exciting too - and a much needed boost for me in September. We are located in the Artists in Action space, which is on the ground floor under the Grandstand. We have a little handcrafted artisan boutique -- a mix of pottery, fiber arts, painting, basketry, jewelry, clothing and a bunch of other stuff, which is my category - the "other stuff" part.

New at my display this year: single bars in the polka dot gift bags, some gift sets in little metal baskets that look like houses (super cute), singles of the lip balms in the new tins, and the fall soaps scents.

I wanted to post the details early this time around, in case anyone's headed over there in the next two weeks. It's the biggest thing that happens all year for some folks, even if they are just going one night for an onion burger and a concert. Lots of great entertainment in the line up.

Puyallup Fair

The Fair is open September 7th through the 23rd. Sunday through Thursday 10am-10pm. Fridays and Saturdays 10am -11pm.  Opening day (next Friday, 9/7) opens at 9am, and it's free admission between 9am and noon only if you bring a food donation.  More details on the site under "deals and discounts".  Otherwise admission for adults is $12.50, kids and seniors $ 9.00, but kids under 5 are free.

The "Artists in Action" area, is in the Merchants Building -- the lower level of the Grandstand, at the west end, next to the Fisher Scone windows. It's a boutique style craft show, with lots of pottery and fiber arts, demos every day with artists demonstrating their techniques and craft. It's a central cashier style thing, with all of us artists milling around the floor, meeting and greeting our guests. Don't mind the elephant ear crumbs on our shirts, we can't help ourselves.

There are close to 70 artists in our show, doing fiber stuff, pottery, wood work, metal work, jewelry, clothing, hand-painted all kinds of things. Some new artists and new stuff. We've mixed it up and changed around the booths a little bit. We're still doing demos all day of how we make our wares. I'm working a bunch of little small shifts in the mornings (til about 2pm) so I'll be in and out.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!  I'll be working - so much to do to get ready before we set up early next week.   This is going to be big y'all!

Endings and beginnings

An update on all that fretting from last post:  I do indeed have 3 new fall scents that I'm pretty happy and excited about.  They turned out better than I hoped, and I just need to get a few more batches of those made in the next week so that I'm covered.

And yes, in fact, the Baby Love soap is over.  Both of the fragrance oils I used to make that particular blend are discontinued forever.  They were discontinued in December, but I guess I had just re-ordered in November, so I didn't notice until now, and have no way to stock up or get more.  They were pretty expensive and special things, so there is nobody else making or carrying anything similar.  I've done an exhaustive search.

I know this will make some people very upset.  Loss of a beloved thing is always really hard.  I feel the same way.  Of course the first reaction is denial.  And then how can I get something almost like it to replace it as quickly as possible so I hardly know it's gone missing.  I haven't given up hope that I can somehow mix something together as a replacement (like the Havana soap).  But it's going to be awhile before I have the time to work on that.  The investment I put into it will sort of match the requests, sobbing and hand wringing I get from customers.  It hasn't been the biggest selling soap, so a little wait and see . . . please feel free to contact me.

So just a little rant about the state of things in the world now since it's hit me in the arse a few times in a row this past week.  We're living in a place of vanilla and it makes me sad.  I love choice.  I love variety.  That's why I make so many seasonals and new scents.  It's so much fun to try new things and not be stuck with just the same old.

But first the recession and then the economy never really turning around, retailers have had to cut back on stock and selection.  Stores stopped carrying myriad smaller and obscure type things and just focused on the few most-popular brands and items.  In the crunch, customers bought less and only the primary things they needed.  So stores carried less items.  They couldn't afford to keep such large stocks of things that didn't turn over as fast.  So suppliers got hit too, and stopped making the stuff that didn't sell.  Or they made changes to the minimums, and if you didn't want thousands of them at a time, they were discontinued.

It's happened everywhere, and I'm not immune to it either.  I've had to go through all those heart-breaking decisions myself.  But I hate it.  I hate that special or custom or unusual things are now no longer available anywhere.  That's what happened at my local grocery store with some of my favorite ethnic and organic products.  That's what is happening everywhere you look.  Sure, there are still some niche shops - but the prices are high.  And there is still the one-of-a-kind handmade stuff (please support these too before they have to quit!).  But in general, in the mainstream shopping, it's much more limited than it was a few years ago.

The man I lamented all this with at the fragrance oil company said he has never sold as much vanilla and lavender in his life as the last few years.  And I have to agree, it's the same with me - those two scents have really been so much more popular recently.  The slightly kooky ones, I don't hardly make at all because nobody orders them.  Sort of chicken and egg thing.  Maybe it starts with the customers, and they are looking for simplicity and comfort?

I don't know.  You can go round and round.  The answers are the same.  Discontinued.

Sorry for the downer.  Have a great end-of-summer weekend y'all.  It's the final hurrah before school, back to work and fall begins in earnest.

Running backwards

I'm frazzled today.  Things are going in the wrong direction.

First, the Havana soap.  I'm pretty sure I made an announcement here that the Havana soap is back.  It was a scent that I carried for years, a long time ago.  And then the fragrance was discontinued.  I bought up what I could and made it for awhile longer while I searched for a substitute.   Years passed and there just wasn't anything like it out there.  Until late last year.  I found a new fragrance that was almost like it.  And I made a test batch.  It turned out perfect.  Yahoo.  It's fixed!

So I put it back on the website.  Made the announcement.  And nothing.  I took it to a show, but during the summer I had so many spring and summer scents, that mostly I didn't bring it out to the public.  It just wasn't selling online at all, so I took it out to Anacortes where people went crazy for it and I sold all I had.  So when I went back to the website to temporarily put the "out of stock" sign on it, I realized that I had totally goofed and it was invisible all that time.  It wasn't actually on the site.  Oy.

I made more last week, the day I got back from vacation.  I wasn't thinking.  I just made it by memory without looking at my notes.  Forgot a major component of the scent.  So I've got about 60 bars of woodsy, but not Havana soap.  And no time immediately to make more of that.  I'm buried in Fall soaps and Puyallup Fair soaps - trying to get everything finished by the end of the month.  I will get it back up, I promise, but maybe mid-September?  Kicking myself.

Which brings me to the Fall soaps.  I started a plan last month and made a little flurry of test batches.  When I got back last week, I didn't like any of them.  I really, really, really hate just doing what I did last time.  Even though I've got requests for some of those same soaps, and I've still got bottles of those fragrances just cluttering up the studio.  So I gave in, and made a couple of batches of repeats.  But over the weekend I came up with a new plan, and made a few more test batches.  This morning, I'm convinced they aren't going to be good either.  I'm out of time!  I've got to make all the rest of it, like yesterday.  And I still don't know what to do.  Looks like it's going to be a bit of repeats and a bit of um, something else.  We'll see how today's and tomorrow's last minute batches turn out.  But there will definitely be a few weirdo extra soaps at shows and maybe the clearance section.

Lastly, I'm in a panic about the Baby Love soap.  It's one of the very first fragrances I started with.  I've had it for over 15 years.  And this weekend when I tried to buy the 2 different fragrance oils that I use to make that blend, both are discontinued.  I think.  They are just gone from my supplier's website.  And they won't return my frantic phone calls today.  Oh.  My.  God.  There are so many people who will freak right out.  It's all they use.  Like forever.   I have no idea how to replicate that sort of thing.  It's a complicated blend of a bunch of things, and I'll never be able to do it on my own.  An exhaustive search all weekend came up with absolutely nothing out there that even comes close.   Just like Havana.  It would be easier to try to do it on my own with a bit of McGyvering.  But that's going to be a very long and expensive journey, and it will still be out of stock for an extra long time.

Ok, don't make a mad run on buying me out of that one.  I'm still waiting for a call.  I've got a bit more of the fragrances at the moment to make more, and the last batch isn't cured yet.

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.  But I'm in anxiety mode and don't know what to do about any of it today.  Except dither and fret.

Bumps in the road.  There are ups.  And there are definitely downs.  Gotta have both.

Late August

Late August - Margaret Atwood

Life's A Beach

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

I'm back from vacation and the studio is open again.  It's back to work and business as usual.  It's going to be full steam ahead from now until the end of the year I guess.  Things get busy now, gearing up for the Puyallup Fair.  And then they get busier as we head into fall.  And busier yet as it turns towards the holidays and winter.

Hard to wrap my head around all that at the moment.  But the gears are turning.  All the new fall products need to be introduced in just a few weeks, and the fall newsletter will be going out at beginning of the month.    I'm working on lots of little things, making plans and pushing forward.

It was good to get a little time away.  But you know how you always need a bit of a vacation after you've just gotten home from vacation?  I'm still catching up this morning. And probably the rest of the week will be like that too . . .

Studio Closed - Summer Break

Popping in for a couple of quick things:

1.  I'm taking a short summer break this week.  The studio will be closed starting today, through Monday, August 13.  Any orders, emails calls, etc. will be dealt with on Tuesday, Aug 14.  Thanks for your understanding.  It's been a long summer and I need to recharge my batteries and enjoy a little of life outside of work.

2.  A ginormous THANK YOU to all my loyal friends and customers in Anacortes this last weekend.  Even though it was hot, hot, you all came out to buy soap and support the artists out there.  I had my best weekend sale ever.  Really.  EVER!  Which is tough to do after 16 years in business and especially in our still crappy economy.  I broke records, and I couldn't be more pleased.  I know it's still tough for a lot of folks to make enough money at the shows.  And I'm incredibly grateful that you continue to buy my products and make the effort to come out to the festival and spend your hard-earned dollars.  Much love to you all!!

Whew.  Whirlwind weekend.  I'm fatigued beyond belief.   And I just have to power through the loose ends today before I get a chance to think about something else while I sit quietly somewhere and just take in the success.  Long summer.  Lots of hard work.  And a little something to show for it.  Feels good.

Anacortes Arts Festival

This coming weekend is the Anacortes Arts Festival.  It's one of my biggest shows of the year, and I'm excited to be heading up there again.  I'm even more thrilled because I was an invitee again this year.   It's a big honor to be invited back instead of going through the jurying process, and it's based on sales - so I must be doing something right!


At the heart of the Festival are 250 booth artisans who fill six blocks from 4th Street to 10th Street on Commercial Ave. These artists come from throughout the Northwest and as far away as New York, Florida and Arizona. Each year they are chosen through a selection process based on quality, originality and marketability. Check out the full Listing.


There's also food and a beer garden.  There are demonstrations, a showcase gallery at the port, kid's areas, music performances, street entertainment - the works.  It's a ginormous show from end to end of the entire town.  Hope you all can take a trip up/over there this weekend!


Dates:  Friday through Sunday, Aug 3, 4 and 5, 2012
Hours:  Friday and Sat 10 - 6, Sunday 10 - 5
Where:  Commercial Street between 4th and 10th, downtown Anacortes
My booth location:  Space 512C, center of the street, center of the block between 5th and 6th streets.   Right next to the alley in mid-block, south of Gere-A-Deli corner. 


Lots more info on their website, including maps, directions, all the different venues, booth artisan lists, etc. 


This is the last show of summer for me.  I'm off on vacation all of next week and closing the studio for that week.  Stock up now.  Call or email before Friday if you need something quick.  See you this weekend for a little fun in the sun!

Gig Harbor Art Festival

Whenever anybody not from around here asks me where I'm from, and then finds out I'm from Seattle - they almost always ask (with incredulity) "why would you want to live there?  doesn't it rain there all the time?"

No it doesn't rain here all. the. time.  But of course you do have to make peace with a lot of rain in the fall and winter.  And now in the spring too.  But those of us in-the-know smile indulgently, keeping our little secret that we have the very best summers of anywhere else in the country.

Turns out, that's not true any more.  While everywhere else is getting hotter and hotter, drier and drier, summer is something we don't get any more.  Last year the big thing was we had only 78 minutes of summer.  That was a total of minutes that our temperature got over 80 degrees, over the course of the whole freaking season!

This year, we've only had 50 minutes so far.  And nights often drop below 60 degrees.  Even this month - July!!!!

So here I am in the midst of my big summer festival season, and I'm wearing sweaters for all of it.  Socks too.

This weekend is the Gig Harbor festival.  In years past I remember it being ridiculously hot (well for us.  90's is hawt!).  This particular weekend often was the big heat wave.  But this time we'll have clouds and cool mornings.  Possibly sun breaks on Sat afternoon.  Possibly showers on Sunday. Last year it poured rain both days, so this is an improvement.  Yikes.

Gig Harbor is charming.  The views are lovely.  The festival is great fun.  Come on out anyway.  Even in your sweaters or rain jacket.

Show is Sat and Sun, July 21 and 22.  Hours are 10am to 5pm both days.  It's located on Judson in Gig Harbor's historic waterfront district.  My booth is at the far north end of the street - on the right side as you are heading up that direction.  I'll have all my summer goods.

And one reminder:  I will NOT be at Bellevue next week.  The first time in years.   So this is it until Anacortes the first weekend of August.

Get your summer groove on, people!

West Seattle Summer Festival

This weekend!  I know - I could have gotten this up earlier this week.  Hopefully you don't have so many summer plans that can't make it over to this one.

This is a totally rocking neighborhood festival.  Totally local.  Totally good stuff for everyone.  Kids activities - like making art and a romping carnival area (those blow-up jumping thingies and everything).  Vendors on the street have sidewalk sales going on - with great stuff for folks that like to shop for deals - check out the Easy Street tent for tons of music.  All the restaurants have outdoor areas set up on the sidewalk just for this weekend, with food and drink specials.  There are also the usual food vendors.  And bands with live music at both ends of the festival.  There are garden demos, performers, etc.

Plus there is this great street festival, with booths from all over.  Some hand made.  Some commercial.  Some imported stuff.  It's a little bit of something for everyone.  Come check it out.

West Seattle Summer Fest

Friday through Sunday, July 13-15
Festival hours:  Fri and Sat 10am - 8pm, Sun 11am-6pm

Those hours are for the whole shebang - evening street dance included.  The booths close down at 6pm, although some folks will stay open til the end.  (I usually leave at 6pm).  The restaurants obviously stay open til late night.  

The link above has all the scoop, from the band line-up, to directions, to kids stuff, to the green area.

Long weekend of hanging out in my booth again . . . heading out early.  Hope to see you there!  Oh, don't forget - they have the usual Sunday Farmer's market there too - in the parking lot behind the food booths.  And Bakery Nouveau will be even busier than usual, so head over early before they sell out.

Last weekend was a blast!

Yeah, I meant to post earlier this week, but just didn't get to it.   I was at Choochokam last weekend, in Langley at the south end of Whidbey Island.  It was the perfect summer weather with non-stop sunshine.  The music was so happy and fun.  People were smiley and friendly.  No problems with the ferry (for me anyway).  And it was all good.  Except for the sales.  Which were a bit on the small side (for me anyway).

Had a great time.  Wish you all had come out.  And if you want to see what the festival looked and sounded like, a local guy made a video.  I saw him running his machine on wheels up and down the street the first morning.    Check it out below - pretty fun!

One of the best parts is taking the early morning ferry over with the sun just coming up.  It's so quiet and peaceful.  The little fishing boats are all just heading out to someplace else.  A perfect morning.  A cup of hot tea in the travel mug.  A fresh scone.  Nothing but fresh air and the smell of the sea.