Art in the Park

Every year, the Omak Kiwanis hosts their Art in the Park in Omak, Washington. This year, I was a vendor at Art in the Park. We just came back from Omak a few hours ago and now resting at home, recuperating from this weekend's experience.

The weather didn't completely cooperate with us though. It rained on and off most of the first day, which is when most of the the people show up. Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL day, but being Sunday, the crowd wasn't quite as a large.

The economy has made a large impact on Art in the Park too. People are looking for basics and personal gift ideas that are also inexpensive. Many of the usual vendors that attend Art in the Park come from all over the Northwest. This year, many of the vendors didn't show because the expense required to travel.

Despite all of that, Art in the Park was still a success. I chose to come again this year because I lived in the Okanogan for over 17 years. I still have family and friends that live in the area. We live about 500 miles away though and the gas cost was atrocious. Still, we considered it a success because it allowed us to spend time with our family and we were able to recoup some of our cost of traveling.

Our customers were looking for good deals, unique gift ideas at affordable prices, and handmade product  with quality at reasonable prices.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to provide quality with affordability in this economy. I had to raise my prices and use some lesser priced oils that still that didn't impact the quality of our soaps and other handcrafted items. I also had to use packaging that didn't cost as much.

There were a few customers who complained about the "high price" of handcrafted items and were looking for an even better bargain. I simply explained that they were welcome to check out my "bargain section" which I always have at every arts and craft fair I attend. These items are often half price. Many of my soaps are $5 and more. When someone says this is too spendy, I simply state that I won't compromise the quality of the soap. Besides, people frequently purchase a $5 hamburger without blinking an eye, which they enjoy for maybe 20 minutes. For the same price, I can give them a quality soap or other handcrafted product that will last for 2 months or more.

Handcrafted artists and vendors do not "make a killing" on the price of their handcrafted items. They want to make a quality handcrafted item, they want to be able to afford to do this, and want to attend affairs like Art in the Park and other places to show their wares; which costs $ because they pay to be a part of the arts and crafts fairs, the gas it takes to travel to these affairs, the items they need in order to set up a great display, the business license and insurance, PLUS suffering through all the increased costs of producing their wares...it's a wonder that handcrafted artistry is even alive in our country anymore.

We hope to attend Art in the Park again next year and hope that all of your enjoy our soaps, handmade and re-loved treasures.

The McIntyres and the North Carolina Link

McIntyre Farm, North Carolina

Occasionally I write a bit here and there about some of the interesting...or maybe not so interesting, background of my heritage. Most of these items are tidbits that my older brother has actually been researching and was gracious enough to pass down the line.

Well, here is our North Carolina link in our family. They lived around1760, near Charlotte, North Carolina. They were farmers. According the records we know of, they were active in buying and selling large tracts of farm land.

The Scotch-Irish were not particularly fond of the English and were irregular soldiers during the Revolutionary War. They were part of defeating Lord Cornwallis' British Army like the Battle of King Mountain and also in minor skirmishes like the ambush at McIntyre's Farm.

Times were a bit rough after the Revolutionary War though for the next 25 or so years; farms were foreclosing; and our ancestors packed up and headed out west to the fertile, cheap land of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Our earliest official documented and directly related McIntyre relative that we have been able to find so far is that of John McIntire, who was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, near Charlotte, 1797. We know that he was at least a third generation Scotch-Irish Colonial, but have no definitive records of siblings or his parents. We DO know that there were several McIntire families living in the area at the time.

Patoka River, Indiana

John left North Carolina to Louisville, Kentucky, which was nothing more than a frontier settlement, just across from Indiana. At the age of 25, he married Margaret Day, who was born in Indiana. Their son was William, born in 1824 in Kentucky. Shortly after, they had built a farm near the Pakota River in southern Indiana where three more sons were born: Edward in 1828, Lawson in 1830, and Anthony in 1833. Lawson McIntyre is whom I am descended from.

McNairy County, Tennessee

They farmed there for about 10 years before relocating to the community of Purdy in McNairy County, Tennessee, near the Mississippi border. Some of their North Carolina relatives were already living in the area and, no doubt, encouraged the relocation.

Such is the little that we know about our first known McIntyre relatives. These were on the paternal side of my family. My grandmother's maiden name was Vaughn and we can trace her relatives as far back as Jamestown. What little we know about them is that her great great great great (I think that's all the greats) grandparents lived in Jamestown, most likely as indentured servants.

Coffee

This drink and I have always had something of a dubious love/hate relationship over the years. What is it about coffee that inspires zillion dollar businesses like Starbucks to thrive? Even in our slowed economy, I constantly see all manner of folk with $4.00 plus coffee drinks in their hands and not blinking an eye about it.

Frankly, I'm trying to STOP drinking the stuff, mostly because of the caffeine content. I could switch to decaf, but I would just rather stop. I hate the idea that I depend on caffeine. What if I were suddenly catapulted into a scenario that left me without the ability to drink caffeine? My world would fall apart for a few days as I go through withdrawals! I would be reduced to a blithering idiot begging for her morning cup of joe because the headache and pain of it all is too much!

The really horrible thing is that I WAS caffeine free for months at one point. MONTHS! I felt FINE without this stuff! I had "unleaded" coffee in the am instead of the leaded version. Caffeine is hard to get away from even throughout the day. I love carbonated drinks and most of them contain caffeine. My most favorite carbonated beverage doesn't come in a caffeine-free version. So, if it isn't coffee in the am calling my name, it is the carbonated beverage later in the day that is. I really must switch to drinking Squirt instead. Only problem is that it isn't as readily available as my preferred nemesis. I could drink 7Up or Sprite, but I am just not all that fond of it. I slowly returned back to caffeine because it was too hard to avoid it!

You know, I am not all that sure that I really even LIKE the taste of coffee. I like the smell though, and that seems to be enough. I don't drink my coffee with milk or sugar. I drink it black. Always have. Why? Because I didn't want to like it too much. Rather than like it, I just sort've gotten used to it.

I ran into a rather unpleasant scenario yesterday morning. Since I was busy all weekend with other responsibilities, I was unaware that we had run out of coffee. Monday morning, I get up to get ready for work, stumble my way to the kitchen for my morning cup of coffee and found we had NONE. Desperate, I searched the cupboards for some residual form of coffee, or even tea that was caffeinated. If I didn't have something, I knew I was going to be in for a rough day. My hubby raced to the store and purchased some coffee. I barely had to time to drink a quarter of a cup before racing to work. It wasn't enough. Once I get to work, I'm pretty much stuck there for the next several hours without a break to even get anything else. I looked all over our tiny little kitchenette for something with caffeine in it. I finally found a tea that claimed caffeine and prepared a cup for myself. It wasn't enough. I made another cup. It wasn't enough. NO ONE in the building had time to go for a coffee run. I was beginning to have mid-morning withdrawals. By afternoon, I was the blithering idiot with massive headache. I made it to the end of my work day, but had to drive to the auto repair shop to meet my hubby. I asked him to please take me to someplace where I can get a cup of coffee. Actually, I drank a diet, caffeinated soda instead, which helped; but the damage was done. It had been a horrendous, exhausting day without enough of my coffee fix.

This morning, while I write this, I am having a cup of coffee. I hate it. I hate being dependent on it, but will drink it because I don't want another day like yesterday. Oh and did I mention that coffee is stimulant? That's why most folks drink it. Raises your heart rate, raises your blood pressure, constricts the blood vessels, and not healthy for folks with heart problems, blood pressure problems or circulation problems. Worried about getting stroke? DON'T drink coffee, or coke, or pepsi, or Dr. Pepper, or Mountain Dew.....

Tomorrow, I will have another cup of coffee. Going to try to limit myself to ONE cup, just ONE!