Busy Weekend�

2002-04-08

Busy this weekend. Wanted to go see �Blade�, but it was just more than my poor self could handle.

Went to the gem show at the Santa Monica convention center Saturday morning. I set up for that trip the way some people pack for vacations. Before I go I make sure I have my free pass (don�t want to spend money getting in, want to spend money on stuff!), resale number, business cards from my old shop, and cash enough to get what I want.

I like to get there early, before it gets really crowded and while I can still get a parking place in the lot, instead of out on the street somewhere. I'm paranoid enough just driving into LA, much less tromping around on the street with all of my stuff.

I'm taking my husband next time, if I can possibly talk him into it. I'd feel much safer. He'll come if I tell him why. I hate to drag him along on something that will most likely be boring for him, because it's one of the few places I really shop, even though I try to be quick about it.

Once I get there and get in, I head for one particular booth. They sell silver chain, wire and the other pieces necessary to make jewelry. Even when I get there early there's a long line. You take a ticket, and if you're lucky, you only have to wait an hour. I go in, grab a ticket, check my number against the number they're calling to estimate how long I have, then I shop. In the last six years, I've never had them call my number when I wasn't there.

This year I ran out of money before I got to the silver booth. But I had the ticket. Maybe I could save somebody a wait. So I walked over to the booth. I couldn't seem to catch anyone's eye. Then a woman with a small boy walked up and took a ticket. She looked at the ticket, looked at the sign and said, "Oh, no!" The perfect opportunity. I gave her the ticket and walked off. The sign said they were now servering 101; my ticket was 103; hers was 179.

I also got to go to a friend's reception. It was very nice. A party, just what that sort of occassion should be. It was nice to see the people I hadn't seen in quite a while and nicer still to see Susie. Forgot my camera at home, darn it all. I would have loved to have pictures of Susie in her wedding dress.

Then on Sunday I had brunch at my folks (strawberry blintzes, yum!) to see my cousin who is down her with his family to go to Disneyland. I haven't seen him to talk to him in a long time. The strongest memory I have of him is a picture we have of him one summer when we stayed in a cabin on a lake in Michigan. I want to say it was Lake Jehosiphat, but I'm sure that can't be it. In the picture he's four or five. We're (my sisters and me) a few years older than him. He's showing us his 'muscles'.

I remember him and that time fondly. I liked him enough to give him a picture I'd painted that I really liked. Of course, he was kind enough to admire it. One of the first times. I'm sure the sky has faded. I did it with a really wide Magic Marker. It was the only way I could get the sky black enough. If it still exists, I bet the figures would still be distinct. I did them with colored pencil.

I was glad to see that I still like my cousin. His wife was comfortable with him, his kids love him and he has a sense of humor that I can appreciate.

All in all it was a very nice weekend. Found some stuff sure to stir up a little creativity; found a friend almost lost; revisited a cousin I didn't know I missed.

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