A Few Things

First, Kevin started his NEW JOB today! He has been unemployed for almost exactly one year, when the large seed/sod company he worked for out of South Carolina pulled the plug on their bio-diesel project. My husband was in charge of building the plant, which he had done, and making the fuel, using vegetable oil. Until they decided it was "too expensive". :( Forget cutting edge, eco-friendly, renewable-source, clean-burning and all together groovy, it was just too expensive.
Anyway, since that time, he has been doing farming here, as well as fence building contracts, automotive repairs in our driveway, selling off HUGE piles of lumber he had invested in, etc. etc. Things got very tight for us financially; but we were making it ok. The money I was making on Etsy saved our bacon a couple of times.
Anyways, the new job came out of the blue, all of the sudden, just this weekend; Through my brother who works for a company that builds portable storage sheds. The company contracts with a private hauler, and business is so good (who knew anything was "good" in the economy right now?!) the owner is expanding to two hauling rigs, and was looking for a driver! He called Kevin and offered the job! The money is good, the schedule is amazing, the job is easy on K's back and shoulders, which have been giving him fits. God is so good to us.
So anyway, Kevin is going to the NC coast with a huge building today. I am excited, because the "boss" says a lot of his deliveries are to the coast; which means I might be able to go along with Kevin sometimes, and spend the weekend on the beach as part if his business trips! Woot!

- We're getting a puppy!! Our friends the Hobbs have a yellow lab momma dog and she just had 9 puppies. We decided to take one; a girl. We got to hold them all yesterday; at 8 days old. Their eyes are still closed, and they haven't reached their peak of cuteness, but they're pretty close! We're so excited, and trying to agree on a name. Ideas are welcome.

- I don't know if I mentioned it here or just on my Etsy Facebook fan page, but a few vintage hats from my personal collection and from the Etsy shop were used in a local off-Broadway production of "Annie", in which my niece played one of the orphans. I saw the musical and my hats on the actresses; it was a thrill!


(Here is one of them....on the left. That is the character of "Grace", Daddy Warbucks' assistant!)

Anyway, that is only half of the story..... the director of "Annie", who also works as a professional actress, model, production person, etc. etc. is going to be doing some kind of vintage - themed photo shoot for a regional art-music-theater-tourism-travel-culture magazine called "Showcase". It is a big, glossy thing, full of the coolest stuff in the NC/VA region where I live.
Anyhoo, she is going to be using my hats in the photo shoot for a feature in next month's issue of the magazine! I am so pumped. I don't know if I will get any credit for the hats being mine at all; frankly, I don't care - it's still pretty cool! I am in the process of offering her the use of my entire personal collection of not only hats, but everything else I have, for her photo shoot.
I am also looking into some advertising in the magazine (and *whispers* fishing around for the possibility of a feature on my collections/shop? Who knows!)
Regardless of what happens with it, she said I can use the professionally done photos they do with my hats in them, for Etsy or whatever.
I would love nothing better that to get "in" with some models/photographers and do some more vintage style shoots with vintage clothes and stuff..... just for the heck of it. :) Yay!

- Still enjoying boundless tomatoes from the garden, and inventing other ways to enjoy them besides BLT - here is a recipe I did the other day and it was very delish.

Well, I am going to trot off and take some photos and read up on crate training puppies......!! See ya.