More Random Tired Thoughts

Today has been . . . eventful.  (I say today because it was 10/30/2013 when I started writing.)

Nothing earth shattering mind you, just full of busy-ness and blessing.

A good handful of us Wiregrass Beekeepers Association people met at the fairgrounds this morning for the annual ritual of decorating a club exhibit for the National Peanut Festival.  How we ever manage to get top prizes year after year remains a mystery to me.  We're rarely organized.  Usually one or two people come up with an idea close to the last minute and we pull it together.  This year three of us women brainstormed less than a week before setup time and the results are phenomenal.  If you live in the Wiregrass you should go.  And you should dance.  It's that good. 

While having that finished is very satisfying even more so is something most beautiful that happened while I was knee deep cutting out lots of letters.  Turns out one of our "competitors" at the National Peanut Festival (NPF) wasn't able to pull it together to decorate their booth.  It was the local food bank, the ones who feed hundreds and thousands in our community.  While my lady friends were putting the finishing touches on our booth, the menfolk were plotting and planning, and after a quick lunch and a grocery/pumpkin run, we decorated their booth as well.  Staff at NPF covered the walls. We did the rest.  United Way never lifted a finger and they have a great booth that they can be proud of.  Letters and all.

I got out of there around 3:30 and after a quick Publix run to get the hubs his favorite milk, managed to make it home long enough to catch my breath -  for about 20 minutes.

Because there's more.  After picking up J&K, my young neighbors and friends, we headed to church to decorate for (drum roll please) Trunk or Treat.  This is the 2nd year our church has hosted a Harvest Festival and this time Mrs. J asked me to manage that part of the festivities.  I don't know how much managing I did - mostly just ask folks to participate, give them ideas, help where needed and make sure the cars were parked in the right places.  Everyone who donated and/or decorated their vehicle and/or dressed up did a fabulous job.  I can't say everything went as planned, my plans anyway, but God's plans were just awesome and I don't think it could have gone any better.  Except for candy.  Nobody anticipated attendance doubling from last year!  Thankfully our Pastor had an emergency stash. We had several Bible characters, clowns, Phil and Willie, and a bee.  (What else would I bee?) 

I can't say I learned anything profound.  But I was blessed by seeing age old truth at work.

Teamwork
Cooperation
The blessings of giving
Paying attention to detail but not sweating the small stuff.
Praying
Planning
Sharing
Loving People

Grace

So that's my day. I don't anticipate another like it for -another year maybe?  But it's been good.  And tiring.  And satisfying.  In two days the booths at NPF will be judged.  There's some good prize money riding on it.  But really, even if our club don't win this year, in the grand scheme of things, we've already won.

Because we did the right thing.

Now I'm going to bed.

My First Ever Farmer’s Market

I’ve managed to get a few varied events under my belt the last several years with my little bitty bee and honey business. Each one is a new learning experience and I’ve slowly figured out what type events are worthwhile and which ones aren’t. This year, 2009, I’ve actually participated in two new venues. The first one was an art festival where I did a childrens activity. While sales were so-so, the fact that it was in my backyard and the fun with the children made the effort worthwhile.

The second was today – a brand new Farmer’s Market! I have to hand it to the Downtown Group, and Julie Bishop in particular, this was a well prepared event! We were met by a small army of volunteers from First Baptist Church who anticipated our needs before we recognized them. Our spaces were well organized and clearly marked. Vendors had access to nice restroom facilities (though I must admit having difficulty finding them!) and parking for both vendors and guests was more than adequate.

I did not take any honey. (1. I don’t have any yet and 2. If I did I only sell in Dale County anyway), but I did take Cinnamon Creamed Honey of which I sold about 2/3 of what I brought. My partner in crime and fellow beekeeper Bill Miller sold completely out of honey, even down to his sample jars. I think he was pretty pleased.

I’m obviously not an experienced farmer’s market vendor, at least not yet, but based on today’s experience here’s what I’ve gleaned so far:

1. I like my tent better than EZ-Up. It’s easier to set up, at least that’s my opinion for now. Mr. E. Herman of FL is loaning us his brand spanking new one and today we had to put the cover on and various other new tent things. I don’t know, I may change my mind before the month is over.

2. Farmer’s market customers are NICE. They aren’t in a hurry and are at the market because they are genuinely interested in eating natural and wholesome foods. I found that most refreshing.

3. Lord, Please deliver me from loud radio station speakers. It’s too soon to predict a pattern, but I suspect W***Fm to be involved with the massive headache I left with.

4. COOLERS AND ICED DRINKS are life savers. Friends who bring coolers with iced drinks are the best kind of friends. I want to be that kind of friend!!

5. Girls with that special “something” still draw a lot of attention. My girls were in bee costumes, and while they were adorable, loveliness radiated because what’s on the inside radiated out.

6. Ok, maybe the EZ-Up had an advantage; we did put a cover on one side to keep the sun out. That was a tremendous help, especially for the bees.

7. TAKE A CAMERA. There was this one little guy who tried on a bee veil . . . talk about a Kodak moment!

8. Lots of $1 and $5 bills.

9. Plan to crash afterwards.

10. Four hours of intense PR can feel like 2 days without sleep.

That being said . . . it’s time for this girl to crash.

Jane and the C Word

Call me a simple Alabama girl. I have to admit that when I heard about yesterdays early morning slip of the tongue I silently had to agree with her statement. Yeah, I'm from Alabama, I don't do that either. Further investigation however revealed that her appearance on the Today show wasn't against vulgarity disguised as art, but that she was there to support and promote the V Monologues in which she's actually participating.

What? The Vietnam activist now turned Christian is now turned to promoting an X-Rated excuse for art??? Remember now, I'm a simple Alabama girl. But I do know how to google a few things and what I found out is that the V Monologues (see, I can't even bring myself to write the biologically correct word) has morphed from a base and crass play to a full fledged movement that seeks to end violence toward women. Ok, I'm all about ending violence toward women.

The whole thing is that dear Jane's participation appears to be a band-aid to a social problem she contributed to in the first place. As an outspoken activist in Vietnam she tore down the moral of an entire armed forces and the American people as well. There is still much anger in this country over what she did. Who does it get taken out on much of the time? Women. Her actions in Vietnam earned her a special traitor status unequaled to any male in history (in my humble opinion) and that anger is still vented against women today.

Then there's the feminist activities. Radical feminism emasculates men. Emasculated men are angry. There again, who bears the brunt of this social problem? Who gets to deal with the men who've been beat down by an ideology that plays down what God intended them to be? Hmmmm.

So here we are - we're living in a world that has pretty much rejected Jesus Christ who elevated women's worth by his holy words and actions and now Ms. Jane who has claimed to know Him is seeking to eliminate the problems she helped create by promoting unholy words and actions. Remember, I'm just a simple Alabama girl but is the irony lost on anyone but me?