Photography (ph)follies....

Rob discussing his photos with a customer

Wow, just sat down to my computer to start writing and the scanner was squalking at 4:15 a.m. That’s pretty unusual for Buffalo on a Sunday morning.  As I listened, I became very saddened because it was a call for some poor soul experiencing a psychotic breakdown. The worst part is, I know the person. Well, I should say that I used to know them, I don’t hang out in the bars anymore so I don’t see this person much but the last time I did they seemed okay and gainfully employed. Actually, he was an employee of Rob’s when we first moved here and Rob was manager at Colonel Bozeman’s for a couple of years. I sure hope that whatever is going on with the poor soul, he gets some help. I do know that he has a lot of family and it’s a relief to know there will be people to help him out the other side of whatever caused this.

We had a very eventful day ourselves, yesterday.  Rob and I had a Spring Fling show in Sheridan. We had to get up at the crack of dawn and load the car in the ice and leftover snow with all of our artwork.  We can’t pack that stuff the night before because the photography can’t be out in cold weather.  It was a relief that the snow had not come that the weatherman had predicted for yesterday when we were getting ready as we had to take both of our vehicles.  So, after getting everything, including Miss Thistle, packed up, off we went!  The roads were pretty good until we got to the Johnson County line and then everything got pretty nasty. Sheridan evidently got all the snow we were supposed to get.  It was a real nail biter there for a while, especially because early morning is when all the big trucks are out on the highway.  I was hit by an 18 wheeler when I was 17 and I have a serious fear of those big guys. 

The highway crews had only plowed the slow lane so passing was a major butt pucker! It never fails that there’s always some yahoo who drives way too slow and makes you pass them! One of the things I really like about living here is that we have hardly any traffic,  so bad weather is usually only you and the weather.  For some reason, though, people seem to like to travel in packs on the highway. I’ve never understood that! I try to stay as far away from others as I can, especially in bad conditions. So, there were several times I was talking out loud to myself as I passed people on what looked like solid ice and blowing snow at 65-70 mph. Yes, I know, I hear you…slow down!  Well, braking is not something you wanna do on ice, right?  The highway here is a series of hills and valleys and you just have to let the car speed along at its own pace!

We made it safely to Sheridan with plenty of time to enjoy a nice breakfast at the Country Kitchen before hitting the show.  The show itself was a bit of a disappointment this year.  We made money but not as much as we usually do at this particular show.  We had a great time anyway, though.  Bonnie L., who does beautiful original turquoise jewelry, was there with her sidekick Sheridan and “Cowboy” another fabulous jeweler friend was there.  Heck, we knew half the vendors!  I think I bought more in dollars than we took in, oops!  I had a lot of birthday gifts to shop for though, and since this show does not allow any commercial vendors, I tend to do a lot of shopping.  There’s one lady who comes from Billings who does a lot of her own soaps and stuff that I always buy from because I am allergic to perfume and detergent.  She makes this awesome laundry detergent that’s nothing but pure soap and lavender oil. I had to stock up on that, of course. Rob is so sweet, he doesn’t make a fuss.  He was busy discussing photography with all the people who stopped by.  We joke that if we had a dollar for every compliment on his work, we’d be billionaires!

Sheridan (left) and Bonnie with their custom jewelry

The college’s culinary school provided the lunches this year and it was fabulous! They had a really nice white bean chili and a lovely chicken wrap with fresh avocados and a raw green bean salad accompaniment. For once, I did not have to go off grounds in search of my vegetarian alternative for lunch!

Since Miss Thistle was along,  Rob and I took turns going out in the snow and playing with her every hour or so.  She had a blast, running around in the deep snow of the fairgrounds, sniffing where all the livestock had been.  Gosh, she’s got a lot of energy!  My knee is doing so much better and it felt good to get some exercise with her.  I think I’m actually ready to start back on our daily walks! I’ve already called some of my dog-walking girlfriends and set up dates for the week.

We got home about 5 p.m., totally pooped out!  Usually on Saturday evenings we watch a movie, but neither Rob nor I  thought we’d be able to keep our eyes open.  Good thing, because I was fighting to keep my eyes open and we went to bed really early.

We have another show at the end of the month but it’s right here in town, thank goodness.  It’s the Small Business show for the Chamber of Commerce.  That’s always a rip roaring good time. It’s a two day show of all the small businesses here in town.  We’re looking forward to that one a lot! They have a Business after Hours on the first evening, complete with music and it is very well attended by the community.

SO, today is going to be a day for regrouping, inventory to see what sold and needs replacing in the photo bins and preparing everything so that we are ready for the one at the end of the month. We don’t do a whole lot of shows, preferring to rely on sales through our website and through word of mouth when someone needs gifts.  Of course, our dream is to have a shop right down on Main to display our photography, but right now the real estate is a little too pricey for that to be anything but a dream. We have our photos displayed for sale at the Jim Gatchell Museum and at one of the other boutique stores downtown, Artful Hands,  in the meantime. Good things happen to those who wait, right?

Well, I’m going to get my happy butt in gear this morning. The house is a wreck from bringing in all the stuff from yesterday and there’s a pile of dirty laundry that’s starting to develop its own personality, so I better get cracking on something productive!

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday! We are actually supposed to get up into the 50’s today and the 60’s tomorrow, whoo hoo!! Could Spring actually be coming to Wyoming?

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.  ~Mark Twain