Back from the Delaware Riverkeeper show. Long drive in freezing rain with only trucks and sanders to keep me company. Took six hours instead of four, but I was so thankful to get home in one piece. The show was a fantastic success. Once I got set up on Friday I drove to Jan's for dinner and bed. We got back to the show early Sat. AM to do the lighting and get ready for business. My first sale was one of Lynne's fabulous earflapper hats to another vendor. Then the socks started to go, then the hand creme, then the soap and once in a while a bag. I even sold my "One More Bag" bag. It's kind of a game I play. I dare myself to hustle and make one more bag before a show and watch for it to sell. An international energy consultant bought it! She was there with her three beautiful ballerina-ish daughters, Nicoletta, Alessandra and Vanessa who were enthralled with my spinning wheel. Mia came to help and we had so much fun. The Prallsville Mill is very old and beautifully restored. I enjoyed spending two days there. A few old friends from NJ came by to see me. I was able to spin for a couple of hours with Martha, the basket maker's, daughter, Jessie. She is eleven years old and a fantastic spinner. When I plied our bobbins they were practically identical. We spent Saturday night at Jan's and woke up to a dusting of snow. Mia did her aerobic pilates while I lounged in bed and read my Vanity Fair magazine. It was heaven! Felt like a weekend at a luxurious bed and breakfast inn. Four PM on Sunday and the show was over - back to reality. Bad weather was closing in fast and my truck was covered with a sheet of ice. Mia had insisted on running out to buy me a cell phone for the trip home. Jan wanted me to stay an extra night, but I had to get back to the farm and go to work Monday morning. It was a scary trip home, punctuated by moments of extreme terror. I lost the money envelope in the truck and was sure I dropped it in the parking lot at Barnes' and Noble when I got coffee. There I was in the rest area on the Pa/NY line, pulling everything out of the cab in the freezing rain, with truckers giving me curious glances. Sure enough, the black zipper envelope Jan gave me to put the money in blended in with the black vinyl floor mat. It was there all the time. I was about to drive back a hundred miles to the spot where I thought I dropped it. Duh!! Monday morning came too soon. The weather feels like January. 20 F. and snowing all day. Stock tanks freezing and bunny bottles too. Even the llamas came in and wanted back in the barn. The wind is fierce and drifts are piling up against the north side of the barn. The apt. is warm and toasty but I can hear the hay mow creaking on top of us. Barns should be full of hay or they sway and shift in the wind. If only mine was full of hay...
Hot socks!!!
ReplyDeleteHi There.
ReplyDeleteI know quite a bit about the Kupris family and I am in contact with them still to this day. I wanted to let you know that many of your facts that come from Chris are false. First of all, there are 5 kids (Edward, Chris, Sylvia aka Grace, Bernadette, and her twin Bernard). All 5 kids were born in New Berlin at a hospital. Chris was not in charge of the farm, Bernard and their mother Philomena ran it after Vincent's death. Chris at the time worked for the state but later left and came to work on the farm. Once Bernard and his family moved to Florida Chris took over and it went under as Philomena was near her death. Bernadette and Grace worked quite hard on the farm but obviously they had many things happening in their lives also. I read your blog and like it quite a bit and the farm looks very nice as I remember it. Please check any information that Chris gives you before putting it on your web site.