I had a show on Saturday and it was fantastic - you are right, people are out and buying! It pays to find well-established large shows - this was a very large one and cost me $90 to participate. It was a juried show and cost the public $2 to attend. The money went for the band. Interestingly enough, I have found that I do best at shows that cost the public to attend. Those are the most serious buyers. I did want to mention that in my mad dash around the school to check out the other vendors before the show started, I came across a gal selling concrete mushrooms and leaf birdbaths. They were nicely done and her display definitely stood out amongst the USUAL (boring) same olds, and I ended up buying a large mushroom from her for $15. I did compliment her on her prices and for having unique items! My mushroom is still packed away in an empty box I brought home. I wish I could have made it back to the gym while we were packing up to talk to her again and see how well she did.

thanks very much...I thought if I could, I'd let the new canes grow to their 10-12 foot height and then cut them back and go ahead and cut back last year's growth now...they really haven't put out much new growth on the last year's canes yet...here they get kind of burned in the winter, but the spring growth before the shooting, makes them nice and green and bushy...last year I harvested the oldest canes and thinned it out a bit after shooting, so it's not too dense.. It's good to know I can control it at 8' and it won't kill it...I was afraid I'd have to get rid of it and I really enjoy it... thanks again, mate...

Oh my LANTA!!! I'm not real big on garge sale-ing yet, but today I went to a "garage sale" in a convention center. There were hundreds of tables of...stuff. There were also thousands of people (it seemed) and all of them pushing, shoving, grabbing, babies crying, stuff shattering, people complaining. It was kind of scary. I two plates, one silver and one gold each with glitter. Glitter is like my favorite color! I'm dying to order those gliter tiles from that one online source (I'm waiting for the perfect project so I order the correct color!) I need to go to thrift stores around here. I'm really bad about going to antiqe shops. Duh! Way more expensive. Here we have a HUGE (for us) craft fair in the fall. It takes up three or four convention centers all over town. I think that's big. Anyway, most people in the tri-state area go to that one. Are you close to Greensboro?

What sweet notes, you guys. Thanks! It's always great when we can get a smile, and you made my day! I responded earlier, but guess I didn't submit it right. I'll see what I can do about getting up into the attic for you, Flag. There are definately treasures to be found, I'm sure! Garden Crone, that was an especially nice note. Thank you. The castle is Preston Castle and was built here in Ione, California in the late 1800s as a reform school for boys. It's in Romanesque architecture. Merle Haggard, Rochester (from the Jack Benney show) and Rory Calhoun all did time there. I guess it worked! They taught the boys trades and discipline and manners like wearing white shirts and ties to dinner. The photos from there are wholey interesting. It's been in disrepair for many years but the castle foundation is quite active now and we managed to get a roof on it last year. The woodwork was all stripped out years ago to enhance other historical buildings in the state and that will be hard to replace. However, the inside is quite gracious with huge fireplaces and wide halls. It's wonderful to have it here just a couple blocks from the house and to be active with the Castle Foundation. Believe me, there's always something to do!