Good Evening, folks from the Lilac Festival!

If you are visiting because you picked up my card at the Lilac Festival Hello!  and Thank you for braving the cold today to come down to the Lilac Festival!  I have most of my photos here throughout the blog postings and I'll get a page of all of the photos up together in the next couple of days - if you would like to make a purchase just drop me an email and I can hook you up!

We're All Set Up!!

It's chilly!

Lilac Festival Tomorrow...

So the kitten thought it would be a good idea to wake me up at 6am... and I couldn't get back to sleep so I got up, followed Cleo downstairs and saw they they'd eaten all their kibble... I refilled their bowls and headed up to the sewing room to get working on everything for the Lilac Festival tomorrow.  It had snowed all night and partway into the morning.  Luckily the snow stopped and what had fallen has melted!  Rain is forecasted for tomorrow - totally lame.  I wasn't expecting it to be 20 and bright and sunny but I was at least hoping for no rain and it to not be freezing cold... hmm I just checked the Weather Network and they're not calling for rain until the evening - not too bad.  

Everything is ready to go for tomorrow morning - a lot got done today, we even managed a trip to Ikea for breakfast and to look for picture frame stands - they didn't have any so we went to Michael's, then this afternoon when I needed a break we went grocery shopping!  hahaha  Now I need sleep... up at 6am to get ready...

 

Weather forecast...

Here's a prairie shot for ya!  Just checked the weather forecast and its supposed to be sunny on Sunday!  C'mon Lilac Festival!

Photos all packaged...

Shot of me here this morning with my Stache on.  We had lots of snow down south last night... fingers crossed for no precipitation on Sunday!  I got the photos all packaged last night... all I have to do with the photos now is wrap the originals I had printed for display, frame four of the photos, and make dividers so I can access each of the photos quickly in the box that they'll be in.  That's what's on the agenda for this evening, along with printing out price lists, cutting out decorative staches, and working on a display for the necklaces - and stands for the photo frames...  then tomorrow I'll pack up all of the gear and supplies to go to get ready for Sunday!  Here are a few more of the photos that I'll have at the Festival.

Once the Lilac Festival is done I'll be blogging about what I'm cooking and what I'm photographing.  My brit bestie Serrene is going to be staying with me in like two weeks! Whoot - we're going to go on a few photo excursions while she's here.  Its gonna be fun times!

Ta for now!  Blog again tomorrow with some snaps of the pricelists and packaged photos.  And I'll see if I can work out the mobile blogging and blog a bunch from the Lilac Festival!

A few more photos that will be available on Sunday at the Lilac Fest...

Here are two more colour shots!  I have quite a few black and white shots too... and a variety of prairie and coastal shots... here I'll post a few more...

Here are two B&Ws for you to take a gander at!  I'm going to package the rest of the photos tonight - about 80!  And I'm in the process of cutting out some bristol board Staches for display in the tent!  Perhaps I'll wear a giant one like Flava Flave!  hahaha  If I had access to a scroll saw or band saw I would cut out a big wooden stache to have as a sign sticking out off the booth... hmm... never know what the next couple of days will bring... perhaps I can find one to use... or just buy one!  We'll see, we'll see.  Well the work day begins...

Photographs for Sale...

A quick little look at two of the 14 photos I'll have for sale at the Lilac Festival this coming Sunday!!  I'm getting so excited to get out there and sell some photographs!  Of course the colour on the actual printed photos is much nicer that what you see here - these were just saved small for a quick sneaky peek!  Now lunch is over - back to work for me!  More pics later of the photos that I'll be selling this weekend!

Busy Weekend...

Not the best picture quality, took a quick snap with my iphone, to give a sneaky peek of the Staches all packaged.  I have some boxed and some bagged and ribbon tied.  Got them all packaged now.  Got 24 of the 104 photographs packaged... I need to get more flat poly bags to get them all packed and protected.  I have one of my take aways in with each photo.  The pricing has been decided:

8 x 12 = $20

11 x 16.5 = $40

Mustache Necklaces = $30

Thats that.  I was originally thinking 40 and 60 for the photos but its a street festival and people will only carry limited cash with them so I don't want to over price for the venue.  It is also my first time selling my photographs - I feel like I'm underselling by quite a bit but I really think this pricing will work for this venue.

Yana and I will be located near the Rose and Crown - just a few booths down from the Paradise Mini Donuts...

I'm hoping to get the rest of the photos packaged now in the next night or two, after a trip to the packaging place, so that the packaging has a chance to press nice and flat.  I still have some things to make as well - some frame stands for the four framed photos that I'll have at the festival.  I would also like to make some giant paper Staches - we'll see how that works out!  

Had a BBQ this weekend - take a look:

It was a very busy weekend - Chris and the neib RJ finished off our fence this weekend!  The back yard is looking so much more complete now!  Didn't get to sit out and enjoy the deck that much as it was quite a cool weekend, but now that the back yard is just about complete we have the whole summer ahead of us to enjoy it.

Time for a little surfing before I start my work day.  

...no text...

The text I wrote didn't show up after the photo so here it is:

Perhaps I'm way behind the times, but I just discovered mobile blogging. So I'm sending a this test blog posting.

I got another round of necklaces together last night. Only 7 left to assemble and package!

Gotta run and start the work day.

ps. The picture up top there is of the clematis I have to plant. It's sitting on my patio right now.

Sent from my iPhone

Testing... Testing...

Muchos Progress!

I could barely sleep Friday night - it was like trying to go to sleep on Christmas eve - the sods were coming Saturday morning!  We got them mid morning and laid them so quick!  We also got an umbrella and fireplace for the patio - out little outdoor living room!  

I only have 5 mins now before I start work but I just got my take aways done - well the draft version of them done, take a look, what do you think!?

I'm going to print them on different colours of card stock.  They look best printed on a proper printer - not a sissy inkjet printer - so I'll have to bring the pdf to a Staples somewhere I guess to have them printed.  I'm thinking of buying a paper cutter though - very useful things.  I've also decided on the photos that I want to sell at the Festival - in just two weeks!  I have to take a final look through my photo library though to see if I missed anything that I think might go over well... still lots of work to be done - I have to finish up the mustache necklaces tonight!

Gotta run - the work day begins!

Mid Week Update

Monday wasn't that painful after all... Coco Brooks the pizza place brought us a pile of free pizza's for lunch as a promo because they just opened a new joint over on 52 St here in the Foothills Industrial.  Yeah I'm blogging before my work day begins.  Not that I know if anyone even reads this - I haven't really given any instructions on anything or given any useful advice...  Hmm...  I'll get on that - and that wasn't sarcasm - I'm serious.  Well at the very least I'll blog more about projects I'm working on, thought I guess that's what I've been doing.  Anyway the night before last I wanted some cookies, and we didn't have any in the house.  Probably sensing that I was going to ask him to go to the grocery store Chris suggested that I bake some cookies!  I didn't even think about it - I just jumped up and started - I used a very basic chocolate chip cookie recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook (I haven't had a lot of success with chocolate chip cookies but these!?  They came out looking, and tasting most excellent!  

Then yesterday morning when we were leaving the house we were greeted in the den by this:

A beautiful Lily!  I think its a double lily?  Today though the flowers a dead!  Surely a sign that they want to be planted outside!  Soon!  We've got the yard almost prepped for sods, we measured up the back yard and worked on a couple spots that haven't gotten turned over and raked yet.  A bit more work out there tonight and it'll be ready for sod!  Well we're going to throw down some compost and peat and rake it into the dirt right before we sod.  I'm ordering the sods at lunch today for Saturday delivery - I hope they're green!  I guess we'll see on Saturday!

Dear Monday... why can't you be Friday!?

I just spilled tea all over my desk and scarf while I was trying to adjust my under desk heater with my feet - what does that mean for the rest of my day!?  Hopefully now that thats out of the way the rest of the day can be good and go by quickly - Not to be wishing away my time here now I just want to get home and get working on my Stache's!  I picked up the rest of the supplies that I need to get the rest all finished up.  So I'm thinking I'll get them done this evening.  

As you can see I had half a dump tuck load of topsoil delivered and we've really evened out the yard - compared to what it was.  We have a bit of evening work to do up at the top and then a strip by the parking pad that we need to turn up because it is so packed down, then cut away the bit of grass that grew up by the parking pad all across the back and then rake that out even.  Its really foggy out this morning so I'm thinking the weather won't be a whole lot better at the end of the day - hopefully we can spend a bit of time after work a couple days this week and get it all ready for sod - I really hope to get sod on Saturday perhaps!  Oh that would be lovely!  The weekend forecast was beautiful, though I haven't checked it in a couple days so it could have changed!  Either way - the sooner the better with the sod!  (unless we get a pile of frost and snow!)  but if we get it down soon it'll get a good chance to root in before summer really hits!  Oooo I can't wait to have grass!  I think the yard will look 100% better once we get grass down.  And we have gardens planned out.  I have a pile of plants living in my front den right now, just waiting for the back yard to get done.

Last night I made seafood chowder for supper - yum!  I also got a few more pictures printed this weekend - a few more colour shots - they turned out awesome so the big order is going to take place this weekend coming - then to package and label those.  I also want to make a big mustache sign for the table... just gotta figure out what to make it out of...

Stache's!

I got half of the Mustache's assembled last night before I ran out of supplies - so a quick trip to Michael's this weekend and I should be able to have those all finished and packaged... I have to cut down the inserts that go into the boxes with them, and I'm short on boxes so some are going to be packaged in these cute pink paper bags!  They're so sweet!

Above is a little sneeky peek of four of the photos that I will have for sale at the Lilac Festival - I'm selling photos unframed although I will have these particular four at the Festival to show how the photos will look framed and if someone wants to buy one or all of them framed then they can!

Lots of work to do this weekend - I'm going to design a postcard sized take away for the Lilac festival - sort of like a business card and then get those printed - I have a build up of card stock so I can use some of that up to print my take aways.

I have to run now, my work day starts in two minutes and I have to go and pitch sumo suits to the boss for our Stampede breakfast activity... wish me luck!

Yard Work

Had an ok productive weekend - this picture doesn't really show it the best but I' spent a good part of Sunday out leveling out the backyard somewhat - I broke up the soil at the top of the little hill and put it down at the bottom - It will still have a slope to it but not nearly as bad as it was.  We are going to put in a stone area over by the corner of the deck opposite the hot tub - to put the BBQ down onto so that it is off the deck and we have more room on the deck!  And I saw an ethanol gel fire place that can go on the deck - its a 360 one that looks like regular back yard fire pits - only it can actually go on the patio without burning it down - so I'm thinking of picking that up for my birthday.  What else... the back yard - we need a load of dirt to help level out the yard and to prep it for the sods, and trees and flowers for the gardens to go back there - I'm so stoked to get the back yard done - oh we have to build three more sections of fence at least as well - fingers crossed we can get this all done before June - I can't wait to have a summer with a back yard!  Its been years!

Saturday I got a few pictures printed large - the colours seem good, so I have to order multiples of those.  I have to decide on a few more to have printed as well and then send those to get printed next weekend and then order the multiples of those ones the weekend after.  Its already the first weekend of May!  The sale is May 30th!  And I have to assemble all of the necklaces and package them, come up with some displays for the necklaces and photos, and design and send in my business cards... hmm, I thought there was something else...  Oh yeah get a large frame and cut the mat to fit the larger photos to photograph them for my etsy shop!  If only I could work 4 tens and have Friday's off - Ooo that would be sweet!  I need more me days to work on my projects!

Here is a snap of my Yellow room Orchid.  Happy Monday!