2021: uncertainty, mountains, hiking, swimming, biking, art shows, driving, and hope

It has been over one year since I wrote in my blog. I have no idea if any person would ever want to read what I have to say, but I will write anyways.

So many disappointments happened in 2020, but I also found a new job at Amazon picking groceries for people who were scared to go to the grocery store or had some other reason not to do their own grocery shopping. I couldn’t stay at home and not work. My jewelry business was on hold and little did I know that people were still buying so much! If I could have anticipated that, maybe I would have stayed home and worked on my online Amazon Handcrafted store.

After working for Amazon, I was able to go out and hike, bike, swim, explore without any guilt about not being home making more jewelry. Every summer since 2008, summer has always been my very busy time of year. In the first few years, it was the only time I would make my income. I would have shows during the holiday season, but it would only be in 2012, when I changed and applied for shows in Arizona.

With that being said, my first show was in Vail, Colorado and it was absolutely fantastic. The weather was perfect, I had record-breaking sales, everywhere I looked, I saw smiles. Only a few people were wearing masks. I had left Washington and going over the State lines, I noticed that people were not wearing their masks and I was vaccinated already. I stayed in Avon, just a few miles down the mountain and jumped on my bike as many times as possible to check out this beautiful area of Colorado.

I drove to Aspen, Colorado in July and took several different scenic routes, stopping for photographs, swimming, biking and hiking.

August was an extremely busy month with several back-to-back shows in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and the following weekend in Bozeman, Montana. The heat was so extreme in Idaho, I walked into the lake up the hill in my dress and walked back to my booth dripping wet. The temperatures soared into the 100’s and smoke from wildfires were in the air.

I did several shows around home here and it felt great to see familiar faces and meet new people.

Now, I am ramping up for the last show of the season in Sacramento, California. This will be my first show in California. I had been accepted into the Palm Springs Art Show in March 2015, but I had just moved from Seattle to Everett and the stress was too much for me to handle, so I cancelled.

This October, I will be able to stay in my studio and make my jewelry and look forward to a very fun and exciting show in Sacramento, California!

October 5, 2021