October 24, 2012

I know I know I know!!!!  It's been tooo long and I have been soooo busy!  It's hard to think of what to say when I feel I have so little time.
It's raining again today.  Ha!!  Yayyyyy!!

So, I had resolved to start taking pictures of everywhere I get to go.  I was in Nevada, IA  (nevaydah)
October 13th.  They have a lovely city sign and I did not take a picture of it.  Or the church.  I did get kicked  out of a motel because "they lost my registration confirmation".  I handed it to him even.  He wouldn't accept it.  First time in my entire life.  Grrrrrrrr.
We had about 25 people at Nevada and the workshop was run by Patrick Gagnon. Now there's an interesting and very humorous person!!  He had them learn 2 pieces that they were allowed to keep and the sight read through a bunch more.  He used that time to teach/work on/ different techniques.
It was a wonderful day.

Meanwhile, Twyla has finished cleaning up my 2 month I-don't-care mess.  And she's going to start cataloging the choral music that we have.  It's a very necessary activity.
Norm is feeling a little better.  His left shoulder still hurts although not as much as before and he is off the narcotics that helped reduce the pain.  We are still waiting for the result of the biopsy of the tumor.
So, in a week, I'm going to Vermillion, SD to pick up mom and then on to Rapid City for a Saturday workshop with the Bells of the Hills.  I'm really excited about this.  I WILL remember to take pics. 

Pictures from the summer

These pictures are from the Duluth festival. Don't ask my why I just take pictures of the display!! HA

To the right. A small display rack that has CDs  etc. on it.

Ok. Well this is Chuck Peery from Morningstar Publications. He was behind my space in Cincinnati but came around to talk to Alan Lohr and Philip Roberts alot.

The middle table held the tie-dyed gloves and chocolate and other gifts, all of which were a great hit.
And last but not least, Philip is showing off his love of red.  It was a really fun time.

August 10, 2012

Alright.  I'm sorry. In and around wanting to tell you how exciting it is to do this job and all the new things I experience, is real life.
Norm: Norm has recovered well from the cancer treatments and is now taking a little bit of testerone to increase the hormone level in his body.  He has a bit more energy, taking fewer naps. However, taking over from me (Carol) while I am gone to festivals or family visits is a bit much for him.  I need to figure out how he can better deal with those days.  He's doctor has requested that Norm work only 20 hours per week.  Norm is now starting to think about working fewer hours than that. Norm has had difficulty with his blood pressure meds making his blood pressure too low.  Norm has had eye surgery.  He is presently recovering from that.  Helen, his wife, is doing well.  She continues to volunteer and seems to be happy with being in retirement.

The store is doing well.  It has taken me 3 weeks to neaten everything up after the month of festivals etc. I don't enjoy being here by myself but we continue to have no money to hire someone part time.
I have expanded the types of chocolate we sell..well... all from Sweet Earth Chocolates of course.  We have a greater variety of notecards, cds, some ornaments, mousepads.  In the serious vane, I have expanded the choices for seniors, preschoolers, boomwhackers, and classroom.  I have also worked on getting more reading material for those interested in composing/arranging and in the artistic/movement aspect of our art form.

Carol

July 26, 2012

Well, we had a wonderful time at Cincinnati and Duluth.  New displays.  New friends.
oh.  sorry.

July 12, 2012

Just about at that place where I'm ready for the next Seminar!  Duluth was an absolute blast, not only personally but also business-wise.
1.  I totally changed the display and braved getting a second booth.  Worked perfectly. My friend Joanne helped me run the display.  We were a good team.
2.  I also decided to ring in the Massed Ensemble.  This made me more exhausted but it was fun and I got to ring under both David Weck and John Behnke.  David is a new acquaintance but I've "known" John for a while and it was nice to work under him as a ringer.  Both have a wonderful sense of humor.
3.  I followed the advice of a few people: I brought my computer and a printer, I put out the reading session music so people could look at it, I started using a credit card phone reader.
There were pluses and minuses to the last.  Mostly because the exhibit area was in a concrete room it was hard to get phone reception.

When I went back to work on Monday the 2nd, I needed to put together 4 reading sessions worth of music.  Hopefully it'll sell.  I won't know until next week.

Then  this coming Monday, the 16th, I drive to National Seminar in Cincinnati. I working on getting things set up now.

June 6, 2012

Six plus six equals 12.  That's what I woke up thinking today.  Go figure.  Definitely not a "war" baby.  But then, aren't we all?

So, we decided to rent 20' this year at both the Area 7 and Cincinnati Festivals.  Last night while I listened to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, I worked out how I was going to organize our products on 5 tables.  I still need to do it physically.  Usually, I've tried to have 24' of tables with 16' of tables on both sides. I have to decide exactly what I'm going to bring.  Thankfully we have a few friends who keep giving us ideas.  It does help having suggestions.

May was a quiet month. The Permanently Out of Print sale went...so-so.  Not as well as I'd like.  There are so many interesting changes to do to the store and the collection..display-wise.  As I get to understanding what works and what doesn't, changes get made and new things get added.

May 11, 2012

I'm trying to update our system.  It's kind of frustrating.  I need someone around me who understands all this mess.
Oh well.  May 17 - June 16th  we are going to have a Permanently Out of Print Sale.  All POP music will be 15% off.  Funny thing about this music is that some of it is quite good but you know it was published 20-30 years ago...or it's been republished for 3-5 octaves and nobody wants to talk about the 3 octave or 2 octave versions.
And of course, styles have changed.  So 3 octave music that was written absolutely melodically is considered "too open" for today.  Norm and I keep on thinking, well, maybe ensembles should play them.  So, we did have a good reach last year.  We're going to try it again this year.

Also, I'm thinking about Christmas in July.  Kind of selling some of our gifts at a reduced price for a couple of weeks.