Archive for October 2016

Texas Color   Leave a comment

Rising like a castle wall above the surrounding desert, the Guadalupe Mountains are an impressive sight on the plains of West Texas. Guadalupe Mountains National Park provides over 80 miles of extraordinary hiking trails through a beautiful and diverse wilderness. Here you can see amazing fossils, take awesome pictures and climb to Guadalupe Peak: the “Top of Texas.” Photo by Aaron Bates. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/20/16.

Rising like a castle wall above the surrounding desert, the Guadalupe Mountains are an impressive sight on the plains of West Texas. Guadalupe Mountains National Park provides over 80 miles of extraordinary hiking trails through a beautiful and diverse wilderness. Here you can see amazing fossils, take awesome pictures and climb to Guadalupe Peak: the “Top of Texas.” Photo by Aaron Bates. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/20/16.

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Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Posted October 31, 2016 by henrymowry in National Parks

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Batty   1 comment

 

Flow   1 comment

Rocks   2 comments

Tuolumne Sunset   Leave a comment

With a little planning, you can capture some amazing moments at national parks. After checking the weather, Eric Neitzel drove 3 hours to Tuolumne Meadows – the one place in California’s Yosemite National Park that’s flat enough for the perfect sunset. Braving the mosquitoes, he carefully laid down on the meadow grass to try and make sure the beautiful flowers of the meadow were shown as well as the the sunset and Pothole Dome. “For me, laying in the flowers of Tuolumne Meadows taking this picture made me feel like half John Muir and half Ansel Adams.” iPhone photo by Eric Neitzel. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/16/16.

With a little planning, you can capture some amazing moments at national parks. After checking the weather, Eric Neitzel drove 3 hours to Tuolumne Meadows – the one place in California’s Yosemite National Park that’s flat enough for the perfect sunset. Braving the mosquitoes, he carefully laid down on the meadow grass to try and make sure the beautiful flowers of the meadow were shown as well as the the sunset and Pothole Dome. “For me, laying in the flowers of Tuolumne Meadows taking this picture made me feel like half John Muir and half Ansel Adams.” iPhone photo by Eric Neitzel. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/16/16.

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The Perfect Sunset

Posted October 27, 2016 by henrymowry in National Parks

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The Stroll   1 comment

Majestic mountain views, fall colors and epic wildlife are some of the many delights of visiting Denali National Park. Of this caribou strolling through the Alaskan tundra, photographer Nick Harrison says, “He walked so soft and steady as if he was also taking in the beauty all around him. He was so calm – nothing disturbed him.” Photo by Nick Harrison. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/14/16.

Majestic mountain views, fall colors and epic wildlife are some of the many delights of visiting Denali National Park. Of this caribou strolling through the Alaskan tundra, photographer Nick Harrison says, “He walked so soft and steady as if he was also taking in the beauty all around him. He was so calm – nothing disturbed him.” Photo by Nick Harrison. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/14/16.

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Denali National Park

Cold

Northern Lights

Posted October 26, 2016 by henrymowry in National Parks

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Fall Is Orange   Leave a comment

Fall foliage lights up the lakeshore at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Along with changing leaves, late season sunflowers provide a colorful contrast to red-wing blackbirds that swoop and dart through grasses. The refuge protects a wide stretch of the Rio Grande river where sandhill cranes, geese and other waterfowl spend the winter each year. Photo by Robert Dunn. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/7/16.

Fall foliage lights up the lakeshore at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Along with changing leaves, late season sunflowers provide a colorful contrast to red-wing blackbirds that swoop and dart through grasses. The refuge protects a wide stretch of the Rio Grande river where sandhill cranes, geese and other waterfowl spend the winter each year. Photo by Robert Dunn. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/7/16.

California Is Colorful   Leave a comment

No need to adjust your screen, this technicolor terrain is Artist’s Pallette at Death Valley National Park in California. Aprons of blue, pink, green, purple, brown and black drape across the mountain front. Metals and minerals affected by oxidation and other chemical reactions created this unique landscape. Photo by Kevin O’Connell. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/6/16.

No need to adjust your screen, this technicolor terrain is Artist’s Palette at Death Valley National Park in California. Aprons of blue, pink, green, purple, brown and black drape across the mountain front. Metals and minerals affected by oxidation and other chemical reactions created this unique landscape. Photo by Kevin O’Connell. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/6/16.

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Death Valley National Park

Heat

Superbloom

The Fire Above, The Desert Below

Posted October 24, 2016 by henrymowry in California, National Parks

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The Board Chronicles: Claremont Village Venture Arts & Crafts Faire 2016   1 comment

The Board Chronicles is an ongoing series of articles about the adventures of Mrs M’s Handmade as a vendor at community festivals & craft fairs. Mrs M’s subsidiary, Mr M’s Woodshop, has been approved to create this chronicle for the good of vendorkind.

Village VentureTalking to vendors, we were told me had to do this event. Had to. Great for handmade goods. It’s a big, one-day event … we had to be there. We missed the first 34 of these, so let’s see what # 35 has in store.

Claremont is a city of 36,000, located in the eastern part of the LA sprawl. According to Wikipedia:

Due to its large number of trees and residents with doctoral degrees, it is sometimes referred to as “The City of Trees and PhDs”.

I like trees. I like smart people. Here’s hoping I like this awkwardly named event.

New Ideas

  • This event allows one booth per California Seller’s Permit, so we could not do a double booth here (We have a permit for Mrs M’s Handmade, which is officially the company. Mr M’s Woodshop does not have legal standing nor a permit.).
  • That means Mr M’s Woodshop is just a figment of my imagination.
  • After careful consideration (we learned we were having family in town this weekend after we applied), we decided that I would solo at Claremont & Mrs M would stay home to make product with her visiting assistant.
  • This event The LA County Fire Department requires every booth to hang a fire extinguisher from their canopy. Not a bad idea, but really? I bought a fire extinguisher; I’ll mount it in the trailer after the event. That’s a good idea in any event.
  • Since I’m a solo act, I’m going to do this event driving the Jeep with the old cargo basket mounted on the hitch. No trailer for me … which is now a new idea? I’ve done the last 8 events with the trailer, so I need to re-learn how to pack for a solo event. This year, we’ve done 20 events. 16 have been done with a trailer, 1 with 2 cars, and 3 with only the Jeep. It’s an increasingly rare thing in this modern era!
  • I have a little cold and a cough. Wonderful.

Observations

  • This is event # 3 in our commitment to eleven 4th quarter events … which means we’re doing 11 events in 11 weeks (sigh). Miles to go before we sleep.
  • Since we have 2 weeks with double events, we get 2 weeks off, and one of them was last week … and the other is next week. That means I have very few days left to make more product. I no longer promise delivery of custom orders by Thanksgiving. To anyone.
  • I filled the car with containers of boards & such … and left the rest at home. So, for this event there were no Small Boards, no Engraved Boards, and no Domed Cheese & Cracker Boards on display. This is what it means to not pull the trailer. Can you believe I used to do events like this with product for both Mrs M and myself in one vehicle? Things change.
  • One handout vendors received was a memo from the Chief of Police recommending we have 2 people in the booth to help watch valuables and guard against theft. Failing that, he recommended that if we were in a booth solo (like me) that we introduce ourselves to our neighbors so they could help keep on eye on my personal items.
  • So, as directed by the Chief of Police, I introduced myself to both neighbors. I always do what the police tell me to do.
  • Didn’t expect a marching band, but one of them came by. I don’t know which one, as they didn’t have any identifying uniform. They had somewhat matching t-shirts, and I assume that this was Claremont High. But, in the end, I had no clue.

claremont-band-critic

  • I suffered in wool band uniforms when the temperature was 90+. What gives with bands being oh so casual these days?
  • Following the band was every little person in costume, plus many moms & dogs in costumes as well. They were hot on the heels of the band for some reason. I did like the inflatable T-Rex costume.
  • We have an e-chip transaction problem. Every event now, our e-chip reader has a transaction that it just doesn’t work for … this time, I got a “transaction canceled” and then a “declined” message. I had the buyer call his credit card issuer, and, sure enough, the bank had credited our account, but Paypal never told me that. This has got to stop.
  • My booth was on the main street, which was a good thing. We had very good traffic, and I heard that wasn’t always the case on the side streets that were much narrower.
  • Requests were for a guitar cutting board, a chicken, a hippo, and a turtle-shaped board. An earring holder and a cup tree were also requested.
  • Load-out was organized very well by the Chamber: you had to get an entry slip from a volunteer after your gear was packed in order to drive your car in to load. Until then, you couldn’t bring your vehicle in. Since this is how we roll, I thought the system was great.
The large sheet was the original entry pass for the morning; you had to have both it and the blue loading pass (for the blue zone) in order to bring your car in for loading.

The large sheet was the original entry pass for the morning; you had to have both it and the blue loading pass (for the blue zone) in order to bring your car in for loading.

  • When I got to the gate to drive in, I saw that the Claremont Police Department was manning the barricade and communicating to motorists after they verified you had the right pass (!). The cop came to my window, verified that I knew where I was going, and then told me to be careful: people were driving crazy, he said. Wow!
  • When I got to my space to load out, I couldn’t park near my gear. My neighbor on one side was a senior citizen couple that wasn’t loading quickly. On the other side were a couple of young girls (one in high school, one perhaps in college or a bit older) trying to load the pickup “just like Mom does.” So, on one side I was slowed by age and on the other side, by the lack of it. As Rosanne Rosannadanna said, “It’s always something.”
  • In the end, this was a good event. The organization was very smooth … but I wish there had been more buyers.

The Food

Saturday Breakfast: Carl’s Jr Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Combo. Hello, 24 hour service at 5am.

Saturday Lunch: Velda’s ham sandwich

Saturday Snack: Trail mix

Saturday Dinner: Bourbon. Roast beef. Carrots. Mashed Potatoes & Gravy. Green Beans. Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The Facts

  • Total miles driven: 141
  • Booth cost: $210
  • # of people we met during the event from the producer: 4
  • Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 3
  • Total sales: $1,185
  • # containers of product taken: 12
  • # boards available: 92
  • Saturday alarm: 4:30a
  • # transactions: 20
  • # soap & lotion vendors: No clue. I don’t get out much when I solo. And there are so many vendors at this event, but I did see the booths of 2 soapers, and one of them was a liar, assuming they don’t have FDA approval to say their product treats psoriasis. Good thing they didn’t get to meet FrenziedVelda while making a claim like that.
  • # woodworking vendors: No clue. I did see another maker of cutting boards, though he was mainly a turner (with a display of 12x different pizza cutters! Seemed like overkill to me.). There was also another turner that I saw, but I only saw about 15% of the total booths at the event.
  • Edge grain vs. end grain: 23:1
  • Returning next year? Maybe

Boards sold: 24

14x Magic Bottle Openers

3x Cheese Boards

3x Small Surfboards

1x Cutting Board

1x Bread Board

1x Lazy Susan

1x Notepad Clipboard

Stormy   Leave a comment

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