Got the Point?

 I haven't been writing here much in the past few weeks because I feel really awful, going through withdrawal from an anti-depressant that I took for years.  April and May are pretty much shot for me, with fatique, brain fog, disequilibrium and nausea.  Add to that edema.  Really, it has been hell.  I'm surprised that my spirits have stayed as good as they have, but I do know there is life at the end of this ordeal.  Sad part is, I figured out I need to come off another one.  The two together have had terrible impacts on my health, and I'm looking forward to a clean slate.

In the meantime I have been seeing an acupuncturist, which has been a wonderful experience.  Those needles do miraculous things, and I don't know where I'd be without the help of my practitioner.

As you can see from the pictures above, I have not been idle.  I am really tough on my toys, and blew out my Singer sewing machine, again.  See, in the past, I could not afford a nice fancy sewing machine, so I would buy a Singer or Brother from Joann at half price sales.  Then, sew the daylights out of it.  They usually lasted 3 years for me.
Terry had this Singer from 1958 in his man cave.  It needed a new cord is all.  I oiled it and threaded it up, and OMG.  I've forgotten what it was like to sew on a quality machine!!!!  Now I am going like crazy.  I'm working on the quilt, shown above, for my niece Erin, who gets married on July 26th.  Last summer while we were all on vacation, I took Erin to the Stitchin' Post in Sisters, Or., and had her pick out a pattern and fabric.  Well, once I got home and took a good look at the pattern (I had to buy the book!), I realized there was no way I had the patience to make it.  So, I decided to do a simple disappearing nine patch.  It's easy, and looks like you have spent intense time and effort on it.  I know she will love it.   I've also started on a pillow top and a wall hanging for US.  I'm really excited and can spend hours working up new projects.
That and the yard have kept me busy and prevented me from obsessing about how awful I feel.  But, I feel great today, and I see a new horizon.

My, What a busy week!!!

 Let's start with the Burien Market.  It was 25 degrees cooler this week than the week before, which made people more inclined to buy warm hats, but it also kept many people home.  I'm the eternal optimist and took off to the market without a coat.  

By 1pm I had to call Terry to have him bring me one with the walls of my tent.  EVERYTHING got wet, and once we got home at the end of the day, I had to set up my displays in the living room to dry out overnight.  I had another show on Saturday.

Despite the rain, folks were in great spirits.

 Two Scoops, a blues duet, showed up and entertained us for hours.  I just love their tip jar, shown above.

And look at those smiles.  You can tell they love what they are doing.

 And here is Tami Sioux.  What a kick in the butt.  I first met this woman while shopping at the market last year.  My kids had given me one of her pieces for Christmas the year before.  I bought another.  And, I'm sure I will continue to do so.  Another, and another, and another.

 We visited each others' booths constantly, and along with Alice who sells plants, we decided we had a good  basis for friendship and networking..

 Below is Jill Griffin, who does incredible jewelry at reasonable prices.  She is a really nice person, of course, and I spent a bit of time with her.  You see, my problem at these affaires is that I tend to spend as much as I make, but gee, I wouldn't have come to look otherwise, and wouldn't have the money to spend, right?

 As usual, the flowers were aplenty.  I made a trade with one of the farmers, and will be getting fresh flowers every week for quite some time.

Friday was supposed to be rest and relaxation.  I am detoxing from a powerful med that I have taken for years and it is having a huge impact on me.  I am exhausted beyond anything I have ever experienced.  It is painful and emotional.  But, due to the wet market, and having to readjust my plans, I had a pretty busy day.  The bonus was that a friend of mine whom I met at the Bellingham market gave me a call that night.  I had been trying to reach her ever since I washed my phone and lost all my info.  So there she was, and I was in desperate need of a massage!  Oh, that's how we met.  When I vended inside at the market, I was always next to a group of masseuses who became my friends and practitioners.  Susan is also living in Seattle now.  Isn't that great?!

So on to the Tukwila Backyard Wildlife Festival.  What a wonderful, funfilled day.  They do such a fantastic job putting on this event, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite having only gotten 4 hours of sleep.

Right next to me was the
Tukwila Rotary, who, as you can see, were having a marvelous time selling native plants.

They are also the ones with the sense of humor to put leg warmers on the flamingos.

I really want that flying pig in the upper left corner, but I had to settle for the flying wrench, even though sales were good.

This is Gary Golightly, The Bubbleman.  He had both children and adults howling with laughter.

This little pollinator kept me in stitches all day.  Her main stage was right across from me, and she knows how to flaunt it.  Terry says she has been at this festival for years.  She also does a dragon fly on stilts and a butterfly.  I liked the bumble bee the best.

So another good day of sales which makes for a deposit into the vacation fund.  Pretty good, making money while having fun.

Bloody Mary is the One I Love!

I love a good Bloody Mary.  I like to think I am being healthy drinking them, with all those vegetables.  MMMMmmm.

This particular drink was served to me at the Pine Tavern in Bend, Oregon three years ago.  It's like a salad in a glass, but, unfortunately, the drink itself was not that terrific.

When Terry picked me up at the airport after my recent trip to Colorado and Wyoming, he took me to dinner at a sweet Italian restaurant, Verrazano's.  Besides having incredible Italian food, I had the best Bloody Mary I had ever had before.  So, I decided to try creating my own mix.  After several attempts, I have developed what suits my taste buds.  I am going to share it with you, but be aware that I like things hot and spicy.

Linda's Warm and Spicy
Bloody Mary Mix

Start with 46 ounces of either tomatoe juice, vegetable juice or, as I prefer, Spicy V8.

Add:

The juice of 1 & 1/2 lemons

3 T brown sugar

3 T A-1 Steak Sauce

1T Tabasco

1 T Worchestershire Sauce

1 +/- T fresh grated horseradish

1 T celery salt.

Keep this in the refrigerator at least 24 hours before using.

Burien Farmer's Market

 It was a beautiful, sunny day for the opening of the Burien Farmer's Market.  Burien is about a 10 minute drive from my house, and they also take crafts.  Not all markets accept crafts, so this is my first attempt at more local markets.  There are more and more opening up each year.  I just read that one is opening on the Microsoft Campus in Redmond!!

 Here is my booth.  I did not take hats, and very few headbands, since it was 85 degrees, and no one wants to try on, much less buy, a warm hat in that kind of weather.

Two men were admiring my yarns when one of them says "Ya know Kaffe Fassett?  He'd really like this stuff.  Wow, I could not have received a nicer compliment.

Bottom line, though, I did not make a single sale.  That is not surprising for a first time at a market.  People have to get to know you.  The networking I did was phenomenal, and I had a great time.

 This is Max, my booth neighbor.  He sells OMG! dipping oils and balsamic vinegars.  I have several of the products, which I bought at the Pike Place Market.  It was so fun to listen to his sales pitches all day and get all the ideas of how to use the different oils.  Last night, I brushed my oven fries with Cabernet Garlic Oil.  Oh, My.

 On my other side was a new garbage and recycling company that will soon be doing the waste removal in Burien.  His is a drum made of repurposed propane tanks.  The sound it emits is so beautiful!

And here is the cookbook I display in my kitchen.  It's not my favorite, but I do like identifying with these wild and crazy women.