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| At my friend Claudia's booth in the arts festival. |
This weekend I went down to the Gig Harbor Summer Arts Festival. It's always a treat, especially when the weather is as nice as it was Saturday. It continues Sunday in case you missed it today.
I decided to look for people I know and put them on the blog, but I'm adding two new friends from the Fox Island Trading Co., which sells organic soaps and other spa products. I'm always on the lookout for locally made mint soap because I love its zingy, refreshing smell and I like to buy local. I found a bar and also learned that they now sell from a storefront in the El Pueblito building. Check them out!
Next up are my friends Jane and Dennis Moore. Dennis does gyotaku, the Japanese art of fish rubbing. I have one of his prints and love looking at it. Jane is one of the yoga girls and she helps out at the booth.
And another friend, jewelry artist Claudia Ann Wild, had a booth. Her silver and stone jewelry is gorgeous.
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| Oops, the pendant got turned around backwards in the first picture. |
The show's director for the past two years is another yoga friend, Pam. I had hoped to get a picture of her but she was probably busy behind the scenes. I know she had to be there in the wee, wee hours of the morning to get things started.
After browsing and chatting, I walked the rest of the way down into the harbor. Summertime here is always buzzing with walkers, boaters, shoppers, picnickers, people eating ice cream, kids, dogs. These kids were pulling a kayak -- I think that's what it is -- out of the water -- It looks like it might go fast.
Others were decorating the sidewalks with colorful chalk art as part of the weekend festivities.
But my goal was lunch and iced tea at El Pueblito. Mmmm mmm. And I brought home enough for dinner, so no cooking tonight.
(Cooking has become problematic because my refrigerator died earlier this week. I had to buy an emergency mini fridge that's just big enough for basics, so there's no point in cooking and having a bunch of leftovers with nowhere to put them. My landlord is getting me a new fridge, but it may be awhile before it's delivered.)
I also went to an open house at what would be the house of my dreams as a newly single home buyer. It's cute, not too big and not too small, in a quiet neighborhood, one level for when I get old and feeble, and affordable. Only problem is I'm stuck in a lease until next April.
I've been going to open houses to become familiar with what's out there in my price range, and then I keep an eye on them online to find out what they sell for. The condo of my dreams just sold for $58,000 under the listing price, which was encouraging for me in this seller's market. Since I'll be buying in the dark, rainy, dead of winter, I hope I can negotiate a good deal.
Wouldn't this master bedroom in today's open house make the perfect quilt studio, with those French doors opening onto the private back patio?
Then it was back home with my soap and leftover Mexican food. I'm still getting used to the idea of having weekends all to myself at home. Sometimes it's lonely but there are advantages, like eating ice cream for dinner if I feel like it. (But no more ice cream until I get my new refrigerator. Not enough room in the mini fridge's freezer.)
Have a colorful day
Sounds like a lovely day you had! Bummer about the fridge... hope it is replaced soon. Glad to see you are starting to at least check out the house market. I was looking (online) for six months before we actually came here to look, just to see what was available in our price range. I hope the buyers' market holds until you're ready to buy!
ReplyDeleteLove arts festivals and I too look for locally made soaps from my favorite vendor there. Ours comes up in a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteI've often thought how awful it would be for a frig to die while it is loaded with food and stuff in the freezer. I was thinking coolers with ice to tide things over, never occurred to me that there were mini-friges easily available to tide one over (although, bad landlord for not taking care of a replacement immediately). Clever girl . . .
And I chuckle to read that you look at places to live the same way I do - yes, that master bedroom would be wasted as a bedroom. It's the perfect studio! How smart to start your looking now and get a feel for the market.
Also chuckled at your lunch leftovers becoming dinner. I went to lunch this week with a friend who also lives alone where we indulged in the hugest reubens - we easily could have shared one but we both had the idea that the second half would provide a quick second meal at home. I was going to save mine for the next day, but then decided why? Yes having the same meal for lunch and dinner can sometimes be perfect!