Let 2011 Begin

It's February 23 and the year has finally settled in for me. Hawaii at the end of last year was wonderful, but I came back all discombobulated. Then there was the Week of Weather in Atlanta. Then my father's death. Then rushing to get ready for the BMAC. Now I am back from the show and FINALLY feeling grounded in the new year! It doesn't hurt that the star magnolias and the camellias in our front yard are blooming now and I had my Best Show Ever at the BMAC last week. Really. And it was the best on so many levels--fastest set-up since going to the big booth, made Great New Friends, sang karaoke for the first time ("Call Me" by Blondie--a particularly amusing choice to Todd as he knows how much I dislike talking on the phone), and both my best personal AND best studio sales. I also was tapped by Wendy Rosen to participate in a panel discussion on great outside-the-box ideas for studios and retailers (I presented Date Night). That presentation is now spinning off into an e-document for setting up your own date night--available soon for, oh, probably about $10.

Today I spent some time looking at the little 2/2 house next door to our home (which also backs up to the studio property) which has gone on the market for $62,500. It is a pestilent little pit of a place in which the rats and squirrels have reigned unchecked for several years, and the local thieves have stripped all the wire (for copper) and plumbing (also for copper). It needs complete electrical, plumbing, a new roof, new flooring, new kitchen, and structural support in the living room (the owner at some point took out a support column in the middle of the room and put in 2- 2 X 10 beams to support the entire roof system). The windows are in decent shape, the walls are nice (plaster) and the general bone structure is good, but, $62,500... Really?

As the day has gone so late (it's almost 5:00) and I still haven't done much of anything, I'll post more tomorrow including an analysis of show sales, a review of set-up and breakdown, and some amusing highlights.