It Could Have Been Worse

And it could have been much, much better. I'm not going to say a lot right now because I am planning on waking up tomorrow with a bright and chipper attitude, and my sense of humour back intact. I would like to thank everyone for their fabulous moral support and great messages. I have really appreciated it, and it has meant a lot to me to have found such a fabulous group of friends online.

Right, back to today. Um, what can I say? I will show you a little bit of how the stall looked. It was hard to get photos because my table was in the middle of the hall, and every time I turned around the girls were rearranging the display.

Helen took this photo, before we finished setting up, but it gives an idea.

Unfortunately I had no where to put the quilts other than folded on the table.

The Ikea decoration rack was a good buy.
It seemed to draw people's eyes and it was where most ornaments were sold from.

I didn't take any 'after' photos. There was no need. Because other than the girls moving stuff about there really wasn't that much of a difference.

0 cushions sold
0 baby blankets sold
1 zippy pouch sold - of the smallest size
3 buntings sold
Assorted ornaments sold - but not that many

And that was that. I didn't realise they were advertising it as a Christmas Craft and Gift Show. Seemed to be pretty much gift show, not craft. I think this influenced people and how much they wanted to spend. I had a lot of people stop, talk, tell me how wonderful everything was and then move on. That gets very disheartening after a while. I paid the organisers for the table and then made about £45. So, yes, it could have been worse. The lady I was beside only made enough to pay for the cost of her table. But the lady selling sock monkeys for £5 (Um, how does she do that? And does she make them herself or does she get them really cheap from Asia because £5 is such a low price?) seemed to be doing a killer business. On the other hand, the WI stall were left with loads of cakes at the end. I have never seen the WI not sell out and leave early!

So very much a mixed bag. The highlight had to be the lady beside me - who was very nice and very funny - saying that she was tempted to go and buy a sock monkey just so she could rip its head off as she hated the things. I got the pleasure of facing a table that was selling knit toys - proudly displaying a good sized sign declaring them all to be made with 100% acrylic yarn. That made me laugh out loud.

My girls knew I was disappointed and they were so lovely. Helen told me that no one else she knew had a mother who could make things like I could and that was enough to make her very proud of me. And then she took all the cushions and put them on the sofa, saying she had wanted to keep them for us anyway. Bless! Even the ones with the fire engines on them?

I haven't had a glass of wine yet. But I will soon. Right after I have produced a dinner from the freezer. Thank goodness for fish, chips and peas!

That's me. Wiped out. Dispirited. Still broke. But not down and certainly not out. Life can't get me that easily!

Susan