Phew! That was a busy one. Sachi went out of town for a few days so I was shopgirl and temporary single parent. I seriously couldn't do any of this without my sister, and am quite happy being the Auntie. Keeping up with the day to day of the shop certainly feels like a two-person job... so a few things slid while one was away. Three nights of sleepovers have disrupted my sleep so I am feeling a little off-kilter. At least in a week, I will be heading up to Door County for a little vacation. Hopefully I will finish up some projects before that time, and figure out what projects to bring with me.
The girl kept me company for a few hours on Wednesday but she was mostly at school. We did take off early on Friday to go to Milwaukee for a wedding which was a fun getaway, even though, golly, I sure do love my little island that is Madison. I can't believe someone would spend money on a billboard that says "Liberals destroy private sector jobs." I mean, really? First of all, don't you have something better to be doing with your money? Second of all... The jobs that the WI Manufacturers/Realtors/Grocers seem to be lobbying for don't seem that desirable and also, am I the only one who has been noticing the various layoffs from the private sector? THAT, I believe, is caused less by liberals or government regulation, and more by the fact that those private sector companies are worried about where the revenue is going to come in. And so they should be if their workers (i.e. customers) keep getting laid off. Also, I just don't think that some things should be for profit. Like the education of our young people.
Grr. On the one hand, this is a discouraging moment. On the other hand, I feel like younger generations, who no longer expect that their employer will provide a lifetime of work and pension, now also have more freedom about what kind of work they will find or make for themselves. I see a lot of people taking initiative and creating their own job and I find that very promising.
That said, if the private sector does not create jobs that provide a quality standard of living, then they are just as guilty as liberals of destroying their jobs. There seems to be such a disconnect between what happens to workers and what is going on with consumers - how is the private sector going to recover economically if the customers they depend upon are scraping by with three or more jobs per household? These are the thoughts that woke me up at 1 in the morning after driving that stretch from Madison to Milwaukee. To be fair, there were much fewer billboards than I was expecting.
On a more pleasant note, the wedding was lovely. Jen had the sweetest sweet table, with tributes to various family members. Made me tear up a bit. The day was lovely - we looked out over the lake and I took some deep breaths while the girl played at the playground. We got some yummy treats, a little dancing, and then home again, home again.
Sachi is back from her Minnesota getaway filled with ideas and enthusiasm. She is cutting fabric for altered sweaters and Christmas ornaments as I type. She got this cute clock fabric...Can't wait to see what she makes with it!
I did managed to make some new buttons and am working on some new button bracelets. The dish of Madison buttons has been getting rather low and I had some new photographs to buttonize.
We are slowly adjusting to our post-recall world. I've been working on some new buttons and also modifying the remaining Keep Calm posters. Turns out there are still a lot of re-words. I think that redistrict is my favorite - I like the idea of turning around language and actions on those who've perverted them. It's not a sophisticated modification but it seems a shame to waste what is an otherwise totally up-to-date message that I still believe in.
Sachi managed to whip up one new set of buttons before she went away.
Other new arrivals include more prints and t-shirts from Brooklyn. I'm not a game-player, but I couldn't resist the shirt with all the video game controllers. I love the way people are arranging stuff visually right now. We also received more Wisconsin ceramic dishes, inspiring spiral bound journals,
Finally, happily, we received the small version of the "this is your life" print. It's been selling well in the larger print size, which is a lovely letterpress, but some people are wishing for smaller versions. Happily, there is a notecard, and a smaller print supposedly in the works. We love the message and the inspiration. (You can check out stories that people have shared here).
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