We don't stop playing because we turn old.........we turn old because we stop playing.

The colors of spring are a delight and the smells delicious. Lacy and I spend our mornings pacing up and down the new grass at the top of our sloping property, I with my coffee mug and poobag, she in her t-shirt (protection from the deer ticks). The trees are not fully foliated yet and so the the river is still visible in all pinks and mauves of early morning light. My zen place (and I like to think Lacy's too though in reality, it's just her usual morning constitutional to prepare room for breakfast).

Interesting development about our trip..........after all plans are finalized, plane reservations, apartment rental.........I get an e/mail from Peru Moda graciously offering me incentives because I registered for the trade fair during my stay. Those incentives included one free (yep, free) round trip airfare to Peru!!! Bad timing on my part I'd say. I wouldn't even have known about the trade fair if one of my contacts hadn't asked me if I would be attending. So I missed out on a big one. But I am able to take advantage of free transportation via taxi from the airport as well as a shuttle to Peru Moda from various locations, so that's not too bad a booby prize. I was told to take advantage of this incentive next year.........and next year I'll be much more educated!! Live and learn.
Hoped to start the new sweater so I could bring something new with me and talk to people at the trade show about producing them. It's my intent to have a list of possible vendors for future reference.
It's quite a remarkable feeling.........all this. I hoped to do the Columbus Avenue Crafts Fair in October and requested the paperwork to apply. After telling the women I was speaking to that I would be selling alpaca pet sweaters she exclaimed how great it is that there's a "dog run" right at the site near the Natural History museum. I asked her if I could request a booth at that location and she assured me I could. How's that for kismet?? HOWEVER, the rules state that no imported goods are allowed. I have to have made the garments myself, so it's not in the cards for me. Too bad. It would have been a good kick off to getting the name out there in the dog capital of the world!! The upper west side of New York City!
Meanwhile, Victor is preparing some ladies alpaca scarves based off the pet sweaters in coloration and texture and will meet with me the Monday we arrive in Peru. Good stuff for holiday spending. Pictures to follow.
And onward we tread.............

...life is not JUST keeping busy.....

I hate that........it's not about busy work to keep your mind off the negative things that are always a part of life. It's about the results of the work moving you forward. It's happening....
maybe frustratingly slowly, annoyingly haphazard, scary expensive and uncomfortably ill equipped at times, but the end result is that it's a learning experience that's resulting in exactly what my vision for Lollypups was all along. So everything that has occurred over the past year and a half, had its purpose ....even the personal roadblocks along the way. I breathe a sigh of relief at every turn, and plod on and it makes me stronger..........I like being strong!

The first sample of Misty Heart is finally coming in from Bolivia. Not as easy working with Javiar as with Patricia but he makes the effort. I think there might be something more to the situation in Bolivia with the government's animosity towards the US, that may jeopardize doing business there. While I'm in Peru, I'll try to meet with other vendors and split up the styles so Patricia isn't overwhelmed. I know her own collection will take precedence over mine but I'm hoping that won't occur so I'm trying to get all things finalized before I get there so it moves forward into production smoothly. I still have a "head full of ideas that are driving me insane" (to quote Bob Dylan) and if I see a new color combination, or swatch or picture, I'll immediately pin it up on the concept boards. There are three: Winter Garden; Spun Sugar; Kaleidoscope
and they're bursting with tidbits of ideas. That's how I like to work because something ALWAYS comes out of them. Pepper for instance was based on a simple striped tank top.

Plans made, onward we tread...........

Flight is set for Peru on April 25th. Jeff is tagging along and that's fine by me since he's always been my "sous chef" ....travel is no different and moral and physical support always welcome from my partner and 2nd best friend (Lacy has to stay home). I'm looking into renting an apartment for a week which seems to be less expensive than a hotel. The one I found is located in the Milaflores neighborhood of Lima which is central to the city and full of touresty things to do. Views of the ocean is always a plus wherever we go. When not working, it's a suitable place to find tchotkas and other things of interest in the local markets and with internet wi-fi access, he can write while I galavant. Our friend Richard is married to a woman from Peru and goes there all the time so we'll be talking to him about our plans as the time draws closer.

Hoped to make a side trip to the Galapagos but (haha) once we Google Earthed it, we realized it's way off the coast of Ecuador!! Too bad.

Worked on organizing the business plan today. With construction workers hammering right outside my studio window ( vibrations knocking paint brushes and other articles off the shelves and walls) I decided to go to the library to concentrate which was hot but peaceful, once I drowned out the chatter from other patrons with Vivaldi playing on Pandora from my blackberry. Mission accomplished. Now to type it all up.