Ready, Set, Go!

or that's the way I should feel at this time of year. What has traditionally happened to me the past few years is that I push myself during October, November and December. Then, January rolls around and I end up sick. Followers of this blog can attest to my previous posts on the subject. Well, here we are on January 21st and guess what? I'm not sick! In fact, there was no real push for the end of the year because, let's face it, everyone knows the economy sucks, right? I'm also here to tell you that unless you want a whole media card full of winter shots with lots of snow, there isn't much happening in the photography department either. Anyone who lives in New Hampshire and the north country, in particular, wakes up every morning to a couple inches of fluff on their vehicles. In our family, we call it something else with one less letter. I've charged my batteries, cleaned my lens and filters, re-formatted all of my media cards and I've even played a little with my new tripod. I'm ready! Now, if the weather would cooperate with a little sunshine after a snowstorm instead of this constant gloomy overcast condition, I'd be wicked happy. I can tell you that my phone is ringing with inquiries, a special order from Florida, a request for an appearance at a winter yard sale/craft event and an order from my daughter to help a 5th grader from Washington state with her search for all things New Hampshire. Things are beginning to look up and so are my spirits.

News Coverage

This year marked a banner year for a select group of North Country crafters who had previously been available at the Rocks Christmas Tree Farm in Bethlehem, NH. Long time favorites like Jerry Landry aka “Stumpy” , Zelda Gonyer of Zelda’s Gourmet Preserves, Valerie Hill of Photo-Sensitivity along with Ron and Ina Lippard of Renaissance Reproductions decided to host their own event for the three weekends following Thanksgiving at the Eagles Club just across the street from the SPNHF estate.
For years, savvy shoppers traveled to Bethlehem to cut their tree and purchase handcrafted holiday gifts. When a decision was made not to invite the crafters this year, the small group decided to hold their own event to coincide with the busiest of shopping days. The event dubbed “ The Crafters Are Here”, a play on words from the signage usually announcing the arrival of approximately 14 unique vendors, ran for the weekends of November 27-29, December 5th , 6th, 12th and 13th. A free drawing of a gift basket made up of donations from all the vendors recorded more than 200 visitors.
Other crafters in attendance included Ray Chamberland’s designer pens, Rugs by Jerry and RDH candy, Sage’s Fairy Garden and Thyme To Heal organic teas, Critta’s and Things Fleece and Potholders, Deborah Helen’s Florals and Sap Buckets, Pillow Surprize, Happy Trails homemade doggie treats, and A Natural Moment pen and ink note cards.

Flurries

Now, it looks like Christmas! Two days ago, we received several inches of snow. Yesterday, it was 38 degrees and beautiful. My mom checked the forecast for today and they said the forecast called for flurries most of the day. We woke up to a winter wonderland of an additional 8 inches of fluffy picture perfect powder, here in Whitefield. Not sure what they got in other parts of the state. It doesn't matter because I don't have to shovel "elsewhere". Now, I can get out and get those postcard shots of deep drifts of fresh clean snow piled up against the edge of a log cabin or a post and rail fence nearly buried with the just a hint of the Christmas light glowing beneath. Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? We'll see once I find those things...

Press Coverage

Wow! It isn't often that I find myself being mentioned in the local newspapers so you can imagine my surprise when I found my name twice in the same issue. I was browsing through the Great Northwoods Journal issue of December 5th and there I was on page seven in an article about Birds Of A Feather in Lancaster, NH. The article talks about all the crafters in general. In fact, it was only my name listed among the others. That was enough. I continued to read and when I reached the final page, there I was again. This time, it was an article about how a group of crafter who had previously displayed at the Rocks Christmas Tree Farm are holding their own event at the Eagles' Club in Bethlehem. It was a nice article which included a photo of Jerry Landry, aka Stumpy, with his snowmen made from recycled wood. In this article, I had a whole sentence. It was great!!!!

Update on FaceBook

WOW, I was just rereading a post from March or April and realized I'd better give an update on my FaceBook page. I quickly realized the social networking that is at the heart of a site like this had gotten out of had by adding just one game to the site. It's called "Mafia Wars" and over 4 million people play every day. It's a fun game and I got hooked by that same friend who turned me on to FaceBook in the first place. So, since I now have more than 2,000 "friends" and my real family and friends can't get a word in edgewise, I decided to set up a new FaceBook page for my business, family and friends, NO MAFIA WARS ALLOWED. LOL! The new site can be accessed by searching for me under my maiden name Valerie Mooers Hill or by typing in a separate e-mail account I set up, photolady1@hotmail.com This is a dummy e-mail address just for FaceBook so don't try to e-mail to me anything there. I can still be reached for photography related stuff at info@photo-sensitivity.com For some reason FaceBook didn't recognize that as an actual e-mail destination. I would love to have my loyal readers join me there. When requesting me as a friend just put photo-sensitivity in the message section. I'll get the hint.

"NOT THE ROCKS" Craft fair in full swing

The title deserves some explanation. For the past seven years, I've been at the SPNHF Rocks Estate Christmas Tree Farm for three weekends following Thanksgiving. I was among a select group of 14 unique artisans with NH products and gift ideas. The event had been going on for about 15 years and out of the blue last January we all received a letter informing us the "board" had decided to go another way with the space and were not inviting us back. SO, my friend Zelda Gonyer, who makes the best jams, jellies, pickles and preserves in the North Country, decided we would have our own event. We rented the Eagles' Hall in Bethlehem which just happens to be at the entrance to the Rocks driveway. We're very fortunate because we have more space, better lighting, indoor plumbing and heat. The barns at the Rocks were cold and drafty on the best of days. We have a bunch of signage and an "angel" up at the Rocks is telling people who come in and ask about us where we are. Today there were over 100 people, repeat customers, who came because they visit us every year. And we didn't disappoint!!!! We'll be there on Dec 5th, 6th, 12th and 13th. Come by and say HI!!!!

I Have Been SOOOOO Bad

I was just signing up for this new service called ArtSpider which will go on line later this fall and the application asked for a blog site. It was at that moment that I realized I haven't done any blogging since April. I've thought about it a couple of times but when I gave it a bit more thought, I didn't really have anything positive to say. Maybe that's the point! My photography is a part of me and with the economy the way it's been, in a downward spiral, I've also found myself in a downward spiral. My husband, Carl would call it depression. Since he's not medically certified, I'll disagree with him.

Here's what I'd call it: When I'm "UP", I'll grab my camera, hop into the truck and drive around, stopping when I see something interesting. I'll travel back roads where I have no idea where they'll come out or how I'll even find them another time. This has always served me well in the past. Some days I get great results while others not so much. Now, in the "DOWN" times with higher gas prices, I don't feel I should spend the money to drive nowhere for no purpose to accomplish nothing. During "UP" times, my work would be selling well, shows would have hordes of people stopping by to chat and business cards would be flying off the table. Last week, a "DOWN" time, I handed out just 4 cards, sold half of what I'd sold the previous year and had just 2 conversations with passersby about my work. Most walkers shoved their hands deeper into their pockets and continued their aimless stroll past my tent. I won't continue on. I only meant to point out why I haven't felt much like blogging lately. I think it will get better. I think during the next few months, the "Christmas" season, people will be more likely to buy and then their will be nothing.

One last thing and then I'll get off my soap box. We've had a lot of construction in Whitefield and that has shaken up the wildlife. I managed to capture the image of a beautiful bear in Twin Mountain who was becoming a regular visitor until they mowed the field he was grazing in. That was a bummer. My bull moose is still in hiding. I'm getting the feeling he'll be growing that rack for another year and I didn't get my kayak so there are still no Loon photos in my inventory. Don't even get me started about the hummingbirds. I'll just have to wait until next year for that one, too......