You know, it’s kinda’ hard to get into the holiday spirit of things when you’re outside in the pouring rain gathering up the various “Yes, we are open” things that Laurie normally puts out at the shop during the day, when closing time comes around. These items I speak of consist of things like an American flag (hanging off the building), a Vermont state flag (hanging off the left sign post), a smallish, long vertical “OPEN” sign that she had hand painted (hanging off the right sign post) and a “foldy” sign that sits by the road. Oh yes…and unplugging and coiling up of the long, heavy-duty extension cord that powers the white Christmas lights that adorn the big sign. I was watching the shop today while she was doing a show up in North Troy (about a half hour’s drive from Newport) at the Wooden Horse Arts Guild of which she is a slightly reluctant but willing member of and as the day wound down to 5:00 pm I found myself not exactly relishing the idea of tramping outside into the small parking lot, the cold temperatures and pouring rain to gather these various items up and bring them inside to dry out overnight. And then I thought of how my lovely lady gets out there and does the same thing seven days a week irregardless of the weather and so, righteously self-rebuked, I hitched up my drawers, threw my jacket across my shoulders,threw the hood over my head and tromped out into the rain, gathered up the above mentioned items and brought them in where it was warm and closed the shop in a proper fashion.

Now, when I said that Laurie was a slightly reluctant but willing member of etc etc, I meant nothing derogatory in that remark at all. I just simply meant that my lady is so completely “down to earth” that I swear, her feet are sometimes planted firmly a foot and a half below the ground on which she walks and she conducts herself in that fashion as well. This plus the fact that she is an absolute professional when it comes to doing a show (she’s done many) and conducting business along with several years of experience backing her up you might well imagine how she gets along with a group of shall we say, the “artistically inclined”(?). Not that there is anything wrong with the those who are artists. Being of theater stock myself which is a very close “kissing” type cousin to the artistic set and almost indistinguishable from one another at a party or gathering of said kind, I can assure you that we’re only mildly insane and not dangerous at all unless you count dangerous unto ourselves but not exactly a good match for someone who has a more practical way of looking at things. I think the biggest mistake they make is not realizing that a quilter is as much an artist as someone who paints, carves, sculpts writes or plays an instrument. Just as many if not more quilts are hung on walls as works of art as those that lay on a bed. Ah well, Life’s full of lesson’s to be learned if you’re willing to learn them and she is I’ll give her that. After all…she’s practical that way.

But I digress…

I’ll be doing this for the rest of the weekend as well since the show runs from today through Sunday. I don’t mind at all really. I like minding the store. Gives me a chance to sit in my own Cobble Mountain hammock chair that was taken down at the house and moved to the shop this summer as a display and demonstration model. Perhaps next year the shop will be at the point where we can purchase one to take it’s place and mine can come home and I can sit in it here as well. That would be nice, don’t you think?

The folks west of here already know about this storm that was stretched across the US earlier today and yesterday and now has seemed to have gathered up it’s entire essence and plopped itself over New England to give us “what for” and all that. So far it looks like it will be all “almost snow” which basically means a cold hard rain. To give you an idea here is an image of the latest weather radar out at the Burlington, Vt airport:

As you can see the snow line appears to be north and east of us except for that smudge of a mixed bag up above eastern NY. It can stay up there as far as I’m concerned. Not quite ready to haul out the shovel quite yet but I suppose I can’t complain about the rain soaking my holiday spirit and not wanting to do the shoveling that comes with the white stuff. Hope the old snow blower starts when the time comes is all I can say.

So we’ll see how the “sidekick” does as shopkeeper of Long Meadow Farms quilt shop. Maybe I’ll even make my second sale you never can tell.