January passed...and then February...

I had hoped to have new pictures of a freshly painted and cleaned shop by now, but that hasn't happened.  After a month of waiting and scurrying to get all the necessary paperwork to the insurance company, the landlord's insurance company contacted us Thursday and denied any coverage to any of the artisans displaying their wares in the shop. (It's a long, discouraging story that I won't bore you with.)  If you're in the market for insurance, we can tell you which company NOT to do business with!

Soooo that left us with a store full of very dirty inventory needing to be removed asap so the store can be cleaned.  Today several of the artisans and some friends converged on the store and removed more than half of the inventory.  Tomorrow afternoon there will be another group finishing the task.  Our garage is full of furnishings needing to be cleaned, the porch has merchandise to be sorted and considered for potential cleaning, the mudroom has boxes of office supplies and pottery to be sorted and cleaned, and the laundry room is busy washing fabrics used for displays and clothes dirtied from working in a sooty store all day.

It would be very easy to view all of this through 'soot-tinted glasses' but last night we met with the majority of the artisans and were blessed by their positive attitudes and encouragement to learn from our mistakes and move forward--together.  There have been tears and frustration, but the laughter and hugs of support have brightened the difficult days.   The masking tape sticking to the rubber gloves while trying to secure protection around a framed print had us all laughing as the poor victim couldn't get her hands apart.  Removing a dust mask to have a clearly delineated area of the soot from the protected area gives a source for many jokes.  Locking the keys to a borrowed neighbor's truck IN the truck...on the front seat...in clear view left me a bit chagrined. (the other set of keys were with our neighbor who was out of town for the day)
 Now at the end of the day, the neighbor's truck is back in its garage, the day is winding down, and after spending the afternoon with a great bunch of people, I can say, we are truly blessed.  More hard days are ahead, but as one of the other ladies stated today, "This is a blessing in disguise and we will see that blessing in the end."  Until then we'll keep pressing and finding the things to laugh about in the midst of the soot.