Around my house, the cats rule!   Judgement For The Plaintiff is no exception.   Yup – that really is this cat’s name.   She was named by my sis (Amy) and nephew ( Josh).   Just Amy’s way of personalizing the legal system.   The cat’s nickname is Judgement – still kind of a long name but she is quick to respond when you call her.

Judgement is visiting me right now.   Kind of a long story but if you know Guy there is no further explanation needed.   Just seeing me was traumatic for her – that means bad news and she knows it.   She has been here since November 4th and I am not really sure how long her visit will last.    Each day she has become a little more comfortable here and around me.   She has been the “only” cat for quite awhile so Elmer really threw her for a loop.   Elmer just wanted to play but Judgement didn’t understand that so there has been a bunch of hissing between them.   Judgement has been living in the extra bedroom and this makes Elmer insanely jealous.    He could be found with a paw stuck under the door trying to get inside Judgement’s room – probably to eat her food  LOL!!!!

After work I went into my bedroom to put on my slippers.   Ahhhhh – nothing like slippers on a cool night!   My favorite attire.    In the bedroom I found Judgement neatly perched inside the wooden boxes I have set up on my dresser.   She looked so comfy and cute.   These boxes were planned to be unassembled this evening so I can take them over to Jersey Made for the wooden box wall (see Jersey Made – Day #2 for more info on that).    I can’t do it!   Judement looks so happy sitting there.    So plans have been halted and I will find other boxes to take over tomorrow instead.   These will have to go later.    Wouldn’t want to upset the Judge.  LOL!!!

The day started out raining.  I think they were afraid of what tomorrow’s weather might hold and today’s forecast was just a smidgeon better.   So off I went.   My car was overloaded this time because of the 2 tarps that I took along with me.   Just enough room for me in the driver’s seat.  I could reach the stick shift but not much else.   There were only a few people there before me setting up.  Christine from the Animal Orphanage pointed me to where my space was located but told me I couldn’t drive off the path.  I finally found my space at the far end of Lion’s Lake, thinking it would be crazy for me to try to carry everything this far.  As I was walking back to my car Christine came rushing towards me.   Hmmm – I wondered how she would like my news that I couldn’t stay.   Instead she told me that ‘yes’ I could drive my car to my space.  I told her that was great cause I wouldn’t be able to stay without that. 

I pulled my tent from underneath the massive amounts of things on top and proceeded to set that up.  I put the biggest of the blue tarps across the back with zip ties.  My tent did not come with walls.   Then I put my pale green curtains in front to disguise the tarp.  Then I proceeded to set things up.   I tried a new layout this time and made an L shape, putting the 2 tables that are 36′ square against the back wall.  Figured this would give me the best protection in the event the rain got worse.

My space was up against this beautiful pine tree.   What a view! 

I am getting much better at setting up my display and giving it height as well.  Think I will keep this new layout for my next event and see if I can perfect it some more.

Here is the other side where my Charming Again necklaces were displayed.  They were a big hit!   Seemed there was something for many different ages, both male and female.   This was not really a ‘shopping type’ crowd.   They were there for the dog vendors and other people giving out treats and toys for their pets.  The dog’s tug on the leash seemed to control where people went.  Many people I just handed my card and encouraged them to visit my website.

Dogs were meeting and greeting each other.  Seemed to be the social event of the year for dogs from all around.  Saw someone wearing a shirt that said “You had me at woof”.  That sort of described the day for me as I chuckled to myself.   The most interesting dog I met was Dahlia, a Silken Windhound.  I had never even heard of that type of dog.  Passersby were trying to guess it’s breed.  The owner seemed content to let them keep guessing for awhile.   She bought Dahlia one of my paw print Charming Again necklaces.   Of course we picked out a lovely multi-colored cord for her.  She promised to send me a picture so I could share it with all of you.

There was a man there who had a tattoo of a wedding band on his finger.  Thought that was the neatest tattoo I had ever seen.  I am really not keen on the idea of putting ink into skin but I had to comment on this one.  He explained that his work prevented him from wearing a ring and this was much safer.   He and his wife stopped back again after looking around.   She invited me to participate in the Woods Street Festival which is kind of a big deal in this area.   I might not be able to do it because of a prior committment on that date but I was very flattered at her compliments on my work and her invitation.

My neighbors were from PetValue which is located near my house.  They gave me 2 bags of cat goodies.  I had stashed them under my table.   After awhile it seemed that many dogs seemed incredibly interested in going under my tables.   Owners looked puzzled.  Then I realized that they could probably smell the cat treats.  Hehehe – it helped a few people stay in my tent just a little bit longer!

My neighbors on the other side were very interesting.   Lucy has a business called Spot Clean located in Clementon.   Her motto is “don’t try this at home” and they encourage you to bring your dog to get washed there.   Lucy greeted many of the dogs that passed.   They all got a treat and some kind words.   Visit her website for more information    www.spotcleanpetwash.com   

Lucy shared a tent with Holly (yes, the same name as me – wow).   Holly has started a mobile pet wash.  She has a fully equipped van that comes to you.   She showed me the inside and it was quite impressive.   I didn’t get her card but think it was called Mobile Wash.   I’ll have to find that info to pass along.   Holly had water on hand.  The heat and humidity caused many dogs to be overly thirsty.   I loaned her one of my plastic containers until a friend delivered some bowls for her to use.  

I was so pleased that Pam from Saved Whiskers Rescue Organization stopped by to visit.   She and Nick were commenting on my space and the many things that I had created from recycled items.  SWRO is where I got all my foster cats – Elmer, Leah, Nitus and Eva (Leah’s sister).   All of them came to my home as adult cats that were in abusive or abandoned situations.   Pam and I used to work together.  She would tell me stories about how challenging it is to find homes for these cats.   I couldn’t help but try to help them.   I enjoyed telling Pam & Nick some of the more recent Elmer stories – his fan club grows all the time.  Along with Magic, my black cat that is about 15 years old now, they are my little family.     www.savedwhiskersrescue.com  

These little blocks were a big hit.  I had gotten a little wooden wagon filled with building blocks at a yard sale.   The wagon is the perfect size for the envelopes I hand out for the Acme receipt program for the Medford Arts Center.  The MAC gets 1% of the receipts that we collect and that has become my little project to help the arts in the community.   So since I had used their home for another purpose I decided to decorate these little blocks of wood.   With some old wrapping paper with world maps I attached them to the blocks and added an alligator clip.   Perfect for holding a photo, business card or other momentos.  Of course I used some of my Stampin’ Up! stamps to add some special words.   Not shown are the 2 that I made with baby feet – they were a hot seller and are all gone now.  

The event ended at 4PM.  There were a few people that started packing up early but I always like to stay until the end.   I hate it when people leave events early.  It sort of disrupts things for the rest of the vendors.   It took me awhile since my artist friends weren’t around today.   Abbie was teaching a jewelry class at the Creativity for a Cause event in Mill Race Village in Mt. Holly.  It was a breast cancer benefit.   Jenn’s 3rd child is due very soon so she is not doing shows right now.   So this was the first time I set up my tent by myself and took it all down too.   I packed up all my things which has to be done well or it won’t fit back into my little car LOL!   Finally I was finished and driving home at 5:15PM.

So it was a good day for the Leafpile.   The sales from the day weren’t so spectacular but sometimes that is not an indicator of how well the show went for my business.   I often get emails after the event of people wanting some special order items.   Since many cards were handed out today I think that this was a good venture for me to do.  

Thanks for reading my doggie tale (or tail as the case may be)!