I had fun at Handmade Mart! Now I'm a slug. With Cable.

I'm still sort of recovering from the flurry of activity of the past month. This past weekend was, in my head, the final big push of the spring -- the opening of Cheverly Community Market on Saturday, and Handmade Mart on Sunday. After all the excitement, I gave myself Monday to regroup (and sleep.) Now it's Thursday, and I still haven't done a whole lot this week (though I have caught up on all sorts of shows and movies, thanks to the cable teevee to which I finally gave in). I keep telling myself that this is much-needed rest. That summer is coming and I'll have wall-to-wall kids. That I deserve a break. The truth? It's hot. I'm tired. And needing a teeny little creative break. Ideas are just starting to flow again, so I'm thinking it's not all bad... Now, back to some cake show. There are a lot of them. They're hard to turn off.

I have to step away from the wax and paint fumes for a bit...

Getting ready for Handmade Mart and the opening day of Cheverly Community Market and I think I need either a nap or food. And probably a bath, since I seem to have coated a good part of my left hand and arm with silver wax.

And here's my big confession: I've never been in a craft show before. I'm a little (lot) nervous. Selling stuff through third parties (stores, etsy) is no problem, but the whole people interacting with me thing? That sends me right back to middle school, where I was painfully shy. Funny, since I blog in three places and take thousands of photos of everyone else. What can I say? It's a quirk.

Have I mentioned that I'm getting excited about Sunday and Handmade Mart? Look for my banner between 10am and 5pm on Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring -- there are a ton of great artists who will be represented, and I can't wait to get a look at their work!

Here's my vendor profile...

Cheverly Day. Amazing Place. Amazing Community. Amazing Day.

Definitely an Only in Cheverly kind of weekend...

We had a great time at ChvProm (that's our table!), though I have come to the conclusion -- perhaps a little late -- that I am old and full of bad decisions. My apologies to anyone who heard us singing Guns & Roses songs at 2am. That was champagne-fueled, as so many questionable ideas are. Come to think of it, I think we made plans to form a lounge act...I'm going to have to learn some Journey songs...and learn to do a beehive again, because I was definitely channeling early '80s-era Tama Janowitz with the 'do and the clothes.

Cheverly Day itself was a blast -- from the great parade in the morning to the rain-soaked fireworks at night. I've posted a lot of pictures -- a lot of pictures -- on flickr.

(These two photos are from the lovely Katie Troyner, who is full of awesome.)

Cheverly Day is this weekend! I was very lucky to be asked to create the program for the 80th anniversary. The book was mailed to every household in town, and contains many, many recollections from friends and neighbors about what makes this a great place to live. Click here to take a look!

We're also getting ready for a big ChvProm on Friday night. The table decoration contest is particularly fierce this year. Can't wait to post photos, but for now our theme is under wraps! All I can say is that many cans of spray paint have

been used.

Finally, I'm very excited to announce that I'm returning to work with Cheverly Community Market this season -- my fancy title is "Digital Outreach Manager"... there'll be a lot of new content on the blog and website coming soon, as well as some cool new stuff!

And...it's almost GROTTO SEASON!

I'm excited about a lot of things right now!

The next three weeks are crazy. Crazy I tell you! Spring break is over for the kids and there are only a five weeks left before summer, and I'm fairly certain that every minute is going to be a whirlwind...

* Cheverly Community Market kicks off an exciting new season with a potluck this Saturday night. Details here. You'll be hearing a fair amount about the Market from me this year...and I'm glad to be part of it again.

* ChvProm is next Friday! This is one event that makes Cheverly a magical place to live. Our group has big plans this year...big plans. I can say no more.

* Cheverly Day is next Saturday. If you've talked to me in the past month, you know I've been sort of preoccupied with getting the program ready -- it's a big one. I think that the very best thing about this program is that there are so many stories of people who live here, why they came here, why they stay. And a bunch of stories of families who have been part of Cheverly for multiple generations. Can't wait for everyone to see this!

* Cheverly Community Market opens the 2011 season on Saturday, May 21.

The thing I'm most excited about? I'll be in my very first craft fair on Sunday, May 22. Silver Spring's Handmade Mart is a juried fair of super cool vendors, and I'm thrilled to be part of it this year. Please come visit me there!