Sheesh, are the holidays over yet???

So maybe I'm not as cranky as my Chibi looks in this photo, but I sure am glad Christmas is over. Hmmm, that didn't do much to prove I'm not a scrooge. Chibi cracks me up - she is the most expressive cat I've ever met, unlike Ebi the Botox Boy. NO, he hasn't had any botox injections, but his face is truly motionless not unlike... well, you get my drift.

I AM looking forward to New Year's Day and the year ahead! How's that for optimistic?!

Looking forward to a day off...

I'm a little haggard these days - kinda run-down, not exercising, not eating great (too many carbs and sugar), drinking lots of coffee. Thank goodness for clementines and those big containers of pre-washed greens, which have been pretty much my only fruit and veg lately.

Was getting ready to leave for the Rusty Plum holiday bazaar last Saturday morning - was going to bring all my stuff downstairs and wait for my taxi , when I grabbed my glasses and this happened.

They cracked clean in half! So I brought my contact lenses along and had those on for the day. Not good, not used to having them in all day and my eyes were zonked by the evening. The next day, I didn't want to wear lenses, so instead I looked highly intelligent, holding up one side of my broken glasses like a monacle and squinting to see what or who was coming at me. I'm sure I scared customers away. Wasn't a horrible weekend sales-wise, but not great either. I'm hoping for a better time this weekend. By the way, the Rusty Plum is at 105 St-Viateur W., corner of St-Urbain. Saturday December 19th from 11am to 7pm, and on Sunday December 20th from 11am to 5pm.

I love my black glasses and was thankfully able to just replace the front part of the frame for $80, so I was thrilled. The place I went to, Farhat, was also having a $99 special (frames and prescription lenses), so...

I also got these!

I have loved this shade of green for so long (kinda avocado/mossy/limey) but am not keen on it too close to my face. Yes, I know, you can't get any closer to your face than glasses, but I love them and I still have my trusty black pair to fall back on. Figured if I was going to get another pair then they may as well be reeeally different from my usuals :)

Monday December 21st will be my first day off in a long while AND we are going to see the Cirque to Soleil! Can't wait!!! Ok, back to work... but first, to the espresso machine!

Rusty Plum this weekend! (plus a ring and a cat)

Folks, we are down to the last two weeks before Christmas. Once again, I've done diddlysquat towards the holidays - it's been that way for the past 5 years since I'm prepping, making and selling pretty much right up to Christmas. I WILL get my act together for 2010!

Back to the present, the Rusty Plum is back at St Michael's Church, corner of St-Urbain and St-Viateur. Come and finish off your gift shopping and have some pierogi for lunch (or snack)! I'm looking forward to the Polish prune doughnuts - looooove 'em! Click on the poster for all the details :)

I didn't write about the last couple shows I did, did I? The one on November 29th at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre was amazingly successful for me - I was kind of in shock at how much I sold. I need more shows like that!!! Well, I think the universe must have known what awaited me in TMR the following week-end (which was last week-end). P-I-T-I-F-U-L. Oy. It's all good though - live and learn. And I met some wonderful new sellers :)

And... I did buy a lovely ring from the wonderfully talented Cristina Fragapane, the Traveling Artisan. She makes the most beautiful pieces from silver and stone, just amazing. Mine has a blue topaz, a little brighter than my birthstone which is aquamarine. You can click the pic to see it better, and yes, yes, I need to put cream on my monkey paws a little more regularly.

Cristina will also be at the Rusty Plum, on December 19th and 20th, so check her out too!

My Friday cat ...
It's the Ebster. Jean-François (hubby) bought me an espresso maker a couple weeks ago (yahoo!) and it arrived in a perfect box for Ebi. He sat in there for a good half hour; I'm sure big boy (aka "le Gros") was enjoying the feeling of fitting in a box, such a wee tiny kitty... Funny little man-cat.

ok, back to work now...

More craft shows...

Thank you to everyone who came out to my first two craft shows of the season – great to see you all, and I really appreciate your continued support!

More shows coming up... more scrambling to do... Please take note of the changes below for my shows in December, if you were planning to stop by and say “hi”!

Friday December 4th, Saturday December 5th, Sunday, December 6th
11am to 5pm (no change!)
Schofield Hall, Town of Mont-Royal City Hall – 90 Roosevelt Ave, TMR
(bus #165 north from métro Côte-des-Neiges; bus #16 from metro Parc – please see http://www.stm.info/ for other options)

NEW! The final TWO week-ends before Christmas!
Rusty Plum Holiday Craft Market
Saturday December 12th & Sunday December 13th
Saturday December 19th & Sunday December 20th
Saturdays 11am to 7pm
Sundays 11am to 5pm
St. Michael’s Church (basement) – 105 St-Viateur W., corner St-Urbain (or 5580 St-Urbain!)
*Collection at the door of non-perishable food items for http://www.laruedesfemmes.com/ (Herstreet)!

Hope to see you there!