2013 - continued

Once I returned from the COF retreat at the end of June, I had to deal with a bad left brake, which went out just after I crossed into Ohio on my way home. Took the car into my brother. He had to replace the brake pad and caliper and it cost me $400. He also asked me if I realized that there was a loud hum and I said yes, but that I thought it was because of the bad brake. He said no, it was a part in my transmission electronics that was going bad. I asked if the part could be replaced and the answer was not good. Mike told me that he could order the part and replace it for me but since my car was 14 years old, it wasn't very cost affective. You see, the part on its own costs more than my entire old car is worth - $1200. Add a couple of hundred for the labor and I would be putting out $400 or $500 more than my car was worth. I asked him what we should do. He said that I should drive it until it died. That was last July and it's still running, but I do not know for how much longer. In the meantime, I just keep driving along, being careful not to push it too hard. Once it dies for real, I'm going to have to come up with the money to buy a decent used car. I've already been doing research on possible cars and have decided that, due to the degenerating arthritis in my spine, I want to get a vehicle that has a higher seat. Getting into the car isn't so bad (I can just plop down if I need to), but getting out is getting harder and harder. Anyway, once I got back into the swing of things, I was doing the Momence Farmers' market every week and I adopted a new "business" name. I am now known as "The Crochet Lady", and I have the coolest business cards from VistaPrint that feature a crochet hook and a ball of yarn! I also managed to find a few more craft shows to do. Primarily, folks find my booth at a show and then take one of my cards and I get an e-mail a couple of days later inviting me to do their show. Or they just walk up and say that they love my work and hand me a flyer. Last year, I managed to add five new craft shows to my list. And this year, 2014, I have already done 3 new shows with another coming up next week and 4 more new shows for the fall, so I'll be busy, busy, busy. And I will be starting the Farmers' Market on July 16. I have been expanding my line of crochet items. I'm getting pretty good with doilies (even finished a large pineapply one) and I've been doing sweaters and bags and all kinds of other goodies. I just hope that I can sell a lot of my stuff this year, 'cause I need the money for that new car. I also need a new TV and a new computer. It's going to be an expensive year! More later. (Note: it has only been a few days since my last entry and I'm going to try to be more conscientious about keeping this blog up-to-date).