Switching Gears…

My Christmas craft fairs are all over.  After working and anticipating them for so long, it’s sort of surreal to have them over in just a “blink”.  The other part of me is ready to tuck away the myriad of craft supplies littering my home and get it back in order again.

I’m also itching to dig out those totes and put up “Christmas” around here!

But, I can’t  close the “craft fair” chapter that quickly.  It was just too eventful not to share…

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When my friend Coleen and I decided to dip our feet back into the world of craft fairs again, nothing in our wildest imaginations could have prepared us for the day we had on Saturday.

Our craft fair turned into an epic island adventure.

The day at the fair was wonderful. Despite a wild West Coast storm there was an incredible turnout. By the time it ended at 4:00 our tables were much more sparse than when they started out. I was beyond grateful for the kind customers and comments throughout the day.

Coleen and I started the process of loading up our things amid pelting rain and howling winds…only to discover the ferry (to the island where we live) was not running.

What followed was a comedy that could rival any TV sitcom.

We sat in the ferry line-up for 5 1/2 hours.

During that time, I made the following observations:

• The inside of a vehicle doesn’t stay warm for long when the wind is shaking it around and rain is pelting it from all directions.
• A painter’s drop cloth works quite well in the absence of a real blanket.
• When you’re really thirsty, you drink your supper “to go” coke and then eat all the ice, too.
• Making repeated trips to the bathroom is a result of drinking too much of that “to go” coke.
• No matter what the tag claims, your coat is probably not “waterproof”.  If it is, however, your pants will become soaked from the thigh down in 5 minutes flat.
• The restaurant across from the ferry serves very yummy hot cinnamon buns…and the decaf coffee is bottomless…
• The above is also a good place to warm up and dry out your wet pants to the condition of “dampish”.
• However, it closes at 9 p.m.

But the biggest lesson I learned was this: Spontaneous laughter with a good friend {for 5 hours straight} is finally an ab workout that I enjoy!

The other thing I learned?  Although seasoned islanders assured me that the ferry ALWAYS makes one final run to get people home…they were wrong.

At 11 p.m. we were informed that it would not…

After all that waiting, we joined the long line of other stranded islanders at the local motel waiting for the special “stranded islander’s rate”.

At that time of night through the fogginess of sheer exhaustion, we also observed that:

• heated tile bathroom floors are appreciated much more after sitting for hours with wet feet.
• the motel maintenance man will come to your room at midnight to fix your chirping fire alarm.  He’ll probably forget the battery on the first trip, though.
• it is always a good idea to pack a toothbrush and toothpaste in your purse.

Yesterday we woke up to a peaceful, blue sky day.  The ferry ride home wasn’t bumpy at all.

And now that I’m finally home, I’m ready to stay put for a loooonnnnggg time!