Happy Birthday to ME!

Yesterday was my birthday, and, wow! It was a great day. My best friend wanted to take me to lunch and said we could go wherever I wanted. I told her that I wanted to go to Olive Garden because their television commercials always make my mouth water. She reminded me that we don't have an Olive Garden here in Boone. I said "well, that's where I would go if we had one." So, after deciding that we didn't have anything better to do, we drove to Hickory (about an hour away) and went to Olive Garden for lunch. It was delicious and I'm so grateful to her for making the trip. A special treat, indeed.

Because they're working on widening the highway that comes up the mountain (they've been working on it forever) the DOT closes the road from 12:00 to 2:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays so they can dynamite rocks off the sides of the road. Therefore, after we finished our lunch we had to kill some time by shopping until we could get back home. We went to Michaels and she was amazed by the amount of jewelry stuff for sale. It's all made in China and people can purchase bits and parts and put together their own jewelry. I was a little amazed, too, and now understand even more when people think that my work is too expensive. But, the debate over "junk jewelry" or "costume jewelry" versus "art jewelry" is a topic for another day. Over all, it was a lovely, leisurely day.

This also means, of course, that there are only 13 days left for the BIG, BIG BIRTHDAY SALE in my Etsy shop. Sales have been brisk, so go look before everything's gone. If you make a purchase this month your name will be entered in the drawing for a free pair of earrings. I'll draw the name on December 1st, and announce it here.

I'll be spending the rest of the week getting ready for the Trunk Show at Hospitality House of Charlotte on Friday afternoon and evening. If you're in the area (across from Carolinas Medical Center), please stop by and shop because a portion of the sales will be donated to this wonderful organization.