Ever since the closing of the shop in February, the Artisan Guild has been searching for a new home. It's been very discouraging because there are a LOT of empty buildings/businesses in the village of Unadilla, but for one reason or another, none of them are available for us to rent. There have been times when we wondered if we were just to give up on the idea, but as soon as the thought was verbalized, there would be a re-iteration by some outside source of how important the shop is to the community.
The other day Wayne received a call from an area church board member offering their parsonage as a temporary shop for the Unadilla Artisan Guild. The pastor is moving out this weekend and we'll be able to get in to look over the new site either tomorrow or Tuesday. Depending on how much work needs to be done to set up the shop we could be open very soon!
Having an active shop again will provide the opportunities for us to pursue other funding to purchase a permanent building for the Guild and provide other growth opportunities for the Guild and the community. We are VERY excited to see what God is going to do in this next phase of the Artisan Guild.
The days ahead will be busy as we take stock of inventory, finish new items for the shop, and build displays in the store. It'll be great working with all the wonderful artisans again. They've become like family and it's been strange not seeing each other on a regular basis for the past few months.
How neat it is that a church has provided a means for the community to regain a business. We are blessed!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Busy Days
We made the planned trip to Syracuse on Thursday, but the weather didn't cooperate for a zoo adventure. We ended up going to the MOST Center, which is a hands on science museum. It was so much fun seeing the 2 youngest enjoy the museum. Ian told me that night that it was the happiest day and that he just couldn't stop smiling as he thought of our time at the museum.
Yesterday Rachael and I attended a small fiber festival. Rachael got lots of inspiration for needle felting projects. She was also drawn to every animal at the festival. I had to remind her several times that we weren't there for herding dogs, alpaca, or sheep. After the festival we stopped at a quilt shop where she picked out fabric to make a new tote bag for her music lesson. We stopped at another small shop to get some coconut oil for me to make another batch of goat milk soap.
Today started with a trip to the ER with Wayne due to severe pain spasms of his back. They gave him a "cocktail" of pain and anti-inflammatory medications and he slept for a bit.
Upon returning home, I took Katelyn to her final concert of the season with the Little Delaware Youth Ensemble. They did a wonderful job. I'm always so impressed that such a diverse age group of young people can come together and make such beautiful music.
Katelyn is going to miss her weekly rehearsals with her orchestra friends, but I'm looking forward to the break from 'crazy Monday' (which also included work for me and swimming lessons for the 2 youngest). Marc also finished his session of therapeutic horseback riding for the summer so that's another 'to do' gone from the list.
So another week has passed and a new routine will be kicking into gear with the end of the school year and the beginning of summer adventures. Let the fun begin!
Yesterday Rachael and I attended a small fiber festival. Rachael got lots of inspiration for needle felting projects. She was also drawn to every animal at the festival. I had to remind her several times that we weren't there for herding dogs, alpaca, or sheep. After the festival we stopped at a quilt shop where she picked out fabric to make a new tote bag for her music lesson. We stopped at another small shop to get some coconut oil for me to make another batch of goat milk soap.
Today started with a trip to the ER with Wayne due to severe pain spasms of his back. They gave him a "cocktail" of pain and anti-inflammatory medications and he slept for a bit.
Upon returning home, I took Katelyn to her final concert of the season with the Little Delaware Youth Ensemble. They did a wonderful job. I'm always so impressed that such a diverse age group of young people can come together and make such beautiful music.
Katelyn is going to miss her weekly rehearsals with her orchestra friends, but I'm looking forward to the break from 'crazy Monday' (which also included work for me and swimming lessons for the 2 youngest). Marc also finished his session of therapeutic horseback riding for the summer so that's another 'to do' gone from the list.
So another week has passed and a new routine will be kicking into gear with the end of the school year and the beginning of summer adventures. Let the fun begin!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Jumping into June
I've been spending the past couple of weeks getting the garden planted. I still have a few herbs and flowers to find homes for, and there will be at least one or two more staggered green bean plantings, but now the main focus will be on subduing the weeds. I'm also researching crops for late fall and winter harvests to help keep our diet healthy, costs down, and which can be grown in our hoop house.
Friends came and helped reposition the shed our neighbor gave us for Marc to use as his blacksmith shop. Wayne hopes to get the hoop house attached to the side of the shop so it will double as an entry into the hoop house (providing a buffer from the cold air to enter and exit during the cold months).
On the 1st Wayne and I celebrated 28 years of marriage. It's hard to believe that so many years have passed. It's been a wonderful adventure!
Yesterday I celebrated my 50th birthday...half a century!?! The girls made a spaghetti dinner and a cake for me. It was a wonderful day of relaxation and rest.
Tomorrow the 'baby' of the family turns 8...that doesn't seem possible either! We're going to make a family trip to Syracuse and try to get to the zoo for a special birthday present. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we'll try out the hands-on science museum. Ian will be thrilled with either activity, and it will be fun to do something as a family.
The girls finished their standardized tests, so they are 'officially' done with school for the year. As soon as we receive the test results, I can file our end of year reports with the school superintendent and I'll be done for 2012-13. School never really ends since there's always learning experiences in life, but it'll be nice to have a little less structure to the schedule and some extra time to do all the things we put off for summer.
Today we made a difficult decision and took two of the alpaca to auction. We got rid of "Mr. Wonderful" and "Peter". Mr. Wonderful didn't have very good fleece and was getting quite old. Peter was a kicker and his fleece was difficult to work with. Culling the herd is hard, but I know we need to make these difficult decisions as part of our business. I will miss "the boys" but will try to keep my focus on what we have left.
Friends came and helped reposition the shed our neighbor gave us for Marc to use as his blacksmith shop. Wayne hopes to get the hoop house attached to the side of the shop so it will double as an entry into the hoop house (providing a buffer from the cold air to enter and exit during the cold months).
On the 1st Wayne and I celebrated 28 years of marriage. It's hard to believe that so many years have passed. It's been a wonderful adventure!
Yesterday I celebrated my 50th birthday...half a century!?! The girls made a spaghetti dinner and a cake for me. It was a wonderful day of relaxation and rest.
Tomorrow the 'baby' of the family turns 8...that doesn't seem possible either! We're going to make a family trip to Syracuse and try to get to the zoo for a special birthday present. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we'll try out the hands-on science museum. Ian will be thrilled with either activity, and it will be fun to do something as a family.
The girls finished their standardized tests, so they are 'officially' done with school for the year. As soon as we receive the test results, I can file our end of year reports with the school superintendent and I'll be done for 2012-13. School never really ends since there's always learning experiences in life, but it'll be nice to have a little less structure to the schedule and some extra time to do all the things we put off for summer.
Today we made a difficult decision and took two of the alpaca to auction. We got rid of "Mr. Wonderful" and "Peter". Mr. Wonderful didn't have very good fleece and was getting quite old. Peter was a kicker and his fleece was difficult to work with. Culling the herd is hard, but I know we need to make these difficult decisions as part of our business. I will miss "the boys" but will try to keep my focus on what we have left.
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