New Thought on Bells as Wedding Gifts

Over the years we have had customers buy a bell and explain that this was not their first bell. When we try to help them chose a bell to "go with" their others, they explain that this is really a replacement bell for one or more bells lost in a divorce.

 Recently, we had a customer buy such a bell because he has now lost his second bell in a divorce. He has been divorced twice and lost custody of the bell each time. Hmmm. This caused us to think that we need to create something to help out in these situations. So, we are thinking perhaps we need to create a document that the purchaser of a bell as a wedding gift can give to the receiving couple... like a Pre-Nup???

 

Now, what would make this easier for the future divorcing couple, is for the gift giver to give TWO bells as a wedding gift so that if a divorce occurs, the couple can at least split up the two bells.

 

Just a thought. You know, we just want to be helpful.

 

We head to the Woodlands Waterway show in mid April. Hope to see all Houston area folks there.

We Could Have Been On CarTalk (on NPR)!

We have listened to CarTalk for years and laughed so hard sometimes, we thought we might have to pull over to the side of the road. So, not long ago someone called in to tell about their car that wouldn't start and the two hosts came up with the solution that a squirrel had probably built a nest in the car's engine. Ha Ha, very funny.

Hmmm, not so funny when it happens to us! We hadn't driven the truck in several days. We had been on our trip to CA, so the truck had been sitting for a while. AND... it has been unusually cold for this time of the year. So... this is what happened to us.

 

If you even wondered what a squirrel nest was made of?? Well this one was made of moss from our oak trees and No, there were no babies in there. But, what was under there was several chewed up wires. So much damage, that the truck had to be hauled in to get repaired.

We don't want talk about how much money this little squirrel family adventure is going to cost us. But, the truck has to get fixed in a hurry so that we are ready for the Woodlands show in two weeks.
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that our last shop dog passed away. The last two dogs we have had around here were good squirrel chasers. One of those was Carla's dog, Eva. She is up in Indiana now... we may have to get Carla to bring her back. She would climb right up into a tree after the squirrels. The dogs never caught one, but them kept them in check.

So... We Took a Little Vacation

 

So we took a trip out to San Francisco, CA to see some very good friends who are always up for a good time. And this visit was no exception.

Ok, so we ate too much - chocolate, wine, seafood.

 

We went shopping at Trader Joes...

 

 

and ate some exotic, but healthy things...

 

THEN... the adventures began.

First, we rode on Segways through Golden Gate Park.

 

... and we both survived. Neither of us crashed. We rode through traffic, off road onto the dirt path, past people doing yoga, drumming or chanting. Our friends, Betty and Bill had done this before.

 

We had to spend a lot of time in training before they would  let us go.

 

Then, the next day... we went FLYING....

Philip went first...

                                                                          then me.

Neither of us have ever wanted to jump from an airplane, so going to FlyIt will be the closest thing we ever do!!

Two More Bells At Home

This bell lives in Durham, North Carolina - new this year...

And this one is on an apartment porch in Clear Lake, TX. We happened to spot it recently when we were visitng friends with boats in marinas around Kemah and Clear Lake.

 

Hmmmm.... seems those Texas sails are popular.

Art Show Change

Change is good. Change is hard.
We made a decision this year not  to apply for the Texas State Arts and Crafts Show (Kerrville).This decision came as a part of our LIFE planning to begin to cut back on a few shows so that we could travel more. Skipping this show is a hard thing for us. Kerrville is very close to where we live, so this has always been a convenient endeavor. And we have a long history with the State Show.

We have been at the State Arts and Crafts Show since 1980!! Here is a picture of Philip's exhibitor badge from that first year.

We have been there so long that most of the other exhibitors who started doing that show with us have died (we miss you all), quit doing art shows, retired completely or changed their lifestyle/art/focus.

In our first several years, as some of you may remember, the show was actually on the campus of Schreiner College. It was huge. There was a whole section of the show devoted to the education of folk arts and crafts of Texas. There was a large area devoted to art education/participation for kids. The food was diverse. It was great. People traveled from all areas of Texas, often staying in Kerrville for several days, perhaps also attending the big folk music festival during the same visit.

Our first year, the exhibitors were asked to dress in pioneer costume. We accommodated this request. Philip wore overalls and the girls (age 3 and 5 at the time) and I wore long dresses and bonnets. We MELTED in the heat! I found a picture of Jenny in her pioneer ourfit.

 Our booth was a long table with a false front and we were under a big oak tree. The girls took naps under that table and the tree provided our only decorative aspect to our display.

 We were the "new item" that year and sold like crazy. Heck, we made so much money, I stopped teaching the next year. We thought we were going to be millionaires..... Ok, we also moved from Marion, TX to Boerne ..... And, common sense got the best of us and I did go back to teaching.
But, that first year in Kerrville was the start of a long relationship.

The State Arts and Crafts Show has evolved as you long time attendees must know. Directors have come and gone. The show moved off of the Schreiner campus. The number of days the show ran each year changed like crazy. We had two weekend shows, four day shows, three day shows, shows with preview parties, shows with performing artists, animal exhibitions, shows with exhibition pavillions and shows without.

In those early years, there were not as many art/craft shows in Texas as there are now. The competition has taken its toll on the Kerrville show. Attendance has gone down and many artists have moved on to try other shows. We aren't sure of the future of this show, just as we aren't sure of our future show choices, but for this year, we are saying goodbye to this old friend.

We certainly do encourage customers to keep attending if this was a show you enjoyed and a time of year that a visit to the Hill Country is good for you. If you need a bell from us, don't let our non-attendance cause you grief - just go to the website or call.

We hope the festival will be great and hope all who go have a great time. Here is the link for this year's show.

http://www.tacef.org/arts-crafts-fair/about-the-fair/

More Pictures of Where Our Bells Live...

Here are a few more shots of where some of the bells live.

These two bells are in Arlington, TX

This bell is in Texas.

And this one is from our yard. Not sure what to say about the moss growing on the side of the bell. Maybe that could become a feature and we could sell bells as being even more a part of nature?

Sping Show Invitations

For many years we have mailed out a postcard to cusotmers prior to coming to an art show in their town.  And for those of you who received those cards over the years, you read updates about our family as well as bell making info.

Well, just as we began taking orders via the internet several years ago,  we are now going to begin sending our show reminders via email. So, if you haven't already received instructions to do so, by all means email Philip at pdewey@gvtc.com and let him know to keep you on the list to receive show invites. This will give him your email address and we can proceed from there.

I will be posting the spring shows here on the blog as another reminder for you. Don't hesitate to email, if you have a question about an upcoming show.