I'm having some personal problems with finding a new place to live(seems my landlord has decided I'm a pain in the ass for making too many complaints. He has "invited" me to move and was very insulting about it.)

So I'll be out of touch up to and just after October 31st(figure a week or so). Which sucks because balmy fall weather is the best for working on walking sticks.

Things are bad enough that with a night job and moving preparations, it made me miss the St. James Court Art Show [link] [link] here in Louisville, Kentucky. The daytime temperature was over 90 degrees F, so I don't feel too bad about missing out. Ironically, my bus which takes me to work out past the airport goes right by here a few blocks away.

Used to be, when I was a kid that my parents made good money that weekend. Eventually, though, the show went high-end and my parents decided it was too much trouble to keep up.

Nowadays, my mother sticks to ceramics, selling at at a handful of church craft shows and fills orders for gift shops and private individuals. My father just curses; "greedy high-falutin' bastards..."

My father and older brothers were the ones who got me started on walking sticks though when I started doing them again for myself it 10-15 years after they quit.

My memories of the show include; hot apple cider on a cold foggy morning, people walking their dogs, neighborhood cats that sat on balconies watching the crowds, a $3.00 Italian Sausage sandwich(an outrageous price then, it'd be a bargain now), standing in line at the Porta-Potty, elephant-ear pastry [link] , the glass-blower who worked on pieces all day long(very popular!), the houseplant seller(long-gone, no place at a high-end art show!), "sand" candles, paper jewelry, meeting friends at the fountain, breaking down the booth and packing up while still selling stuff at the last minute, taking the whole family(plus friends) out to eat at Shoney's.

Anyhow, I'm going to be busy until a week after Oct. 31st. Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for awhile.

Wands_Staffs_And_Magical_Stuff @ Google Groups [link]