Our little house on the ridge and even the entire town of Floyd seems to be busy these days. All this stuff you read about a quiet country life seems to be about somewhere else. In addition to a challenging work schedule, there are several house parties and business parties every week.
I am still so busy doing custom framing that it has cut into my blogging. This is a shame because the action of creating custom framing solutions with clients is an inspiring and rewarding activity that is definitely worth sharing with readers. I promise that I will do some posts on this in the near future.
Gretchen is being commissioned to do pet portraits by people all across the country. She is experiencing her first Christmas rush and it is keeping her very busy in her studio at the other end of the house.
Since I am in the workshop at all hours and Gretchen is spending hours drawing in her studio, we are very appreciative that Gretchen’s daughter Marjorie has taken time from her job interviews to pitch in and help with meals and chores.
The nuclear family may have its advantages, like privacy, independence, and all that, but an extended family is a hell of a lot more fun and there are always free hands to help with daily chores and design work when needed.
One of the unexpected benefits I receive from having others working here almost every day is that I can easily call a design conference and get family to act as sounding boards for articles I am writing or framing decisions I am reviewing.
We drive into town several times a week for meetings and I notice that we seem to have more tourists this year then ever before, and they seem to be coming from all directions. It isn’t like tour buses pull up and discharge passengers. It’s more like seeing new people in town every day and it’s long past tourist season.
With the revitalization of Floyd well underway, we have more parking spaces in town than ever before and the parking lots seem to fill up almost every day. Perhaps it’s cause and effect. Now that you can easily find parking places in town, there is less reason to go elsewhere for shopping and for lunch.
This convenience factor is a subtle thing. I have always tried to buy locally whenever possible but I notice that I do more shopping in town now that I can park in a central location and carry out several errands without having to drive around and find new parking spaces.
The presence of new businesses and studios at the Village Green is definitely contributing to an increased energy level in the town of Floyd. It may even be causing the town to reach critical mass as a shopping destination for more people.
It is certainly an interesting process to watch. More later…