Rain, then wind, then sun

We are having our normal April weather but of course all those who sell outdoors are hoping for abnormal April weather, sunny every Saturday. I will want warm and dry Tuesdays in May as well. Outlook is unlikely.

I don't know if I will commit to rainy Tuesdays, but I do find that rainy Saturdays work okay for me. My wares are not generally ruined by the damp if I open the tubs to air them out during the week, and carefully remove any items that really do get wet. Last week the actual rain was minimal and nothing got very wet. It's a different day though.

I have to bring the pop-up instead of the slightly easier umbrellas and stand. I use two umbrellas but one fastens to my display. Each system is heavy and hard to manage but I need shade too, so I have to take something. I prefer the umbrellas because I dislike the look of all of those white pop-ups in a row: too uniform for me.

But if there is any chance of rain at all, I take the booth and at least two sides. It's handy to stretch one out the back over my trailer and tubs, just to keep it all dry. I use another on the south side for showers, and take it on and off during the day as the clouds pass by. Raven and I have a few strategies we use at the seam of our two booths to minimize the drips, though we always get some water in the back corner. It has to go somewhere. I did like the old style booth when it drained off the back, but not the part where it pooled up and you had to poke it with a stick to dump the water off, sometimes on someone. The pop-ups drain okay, although drips come down from every side.

On the second week, the sunny one, I took an extra hat stick to display more hats, and as a result four people stepped in the lower part of the fountain while looking at my stuff. This has happened periodically but never so many in a day. I haven't known quite what to do about it but this time it was so obviously my fault that I determined it wouldn't happen again.

I stopped bringing my old bamboo folding fence which has outlived its usefulness anyway and brought an extra stick to fill out that back corner so that no one's foot will approach the fountain. I also put some tape on the edge of it so it would be more visible. It's really simple to put the tape on and take it off each week, so I'll probably continue that, and the stick worked really well even though it makes my load look even sillier with all the tree branches on top. So I think I fixed it, even though this week there wasn't actually any water in that part of the fountain, so no wet hazard. Still a bit of a hazard, but at least if someone steps over the edge it won't be my fault.

I went through my usual Catholic process of guilt and confession (I had to tell Beth...) but came out with a workable solution, so all is well. I imagine there will again be water in the fountain, especially with this week's forecast.

I like to sell on the rainy days for a couple of reasons. On the sunny ones, everyone comes, so there are maybe twice as many booths, and probably not quite twice as many customers for them. I do pretty well in the rain. Of course, my particular craft (the hats) is one that people sometimes need in the rain. They need them in the sun too, so I'm happy to have a product that works that way. The bags and the clothing don't work that way, but still, the rainy days are not too bad for my sales. I feel lucky about that.

I am also a really staunch Market supporter. The bills have to be paid no matter the weather. Our "Rainy Day Fund" would not last long if we really used it for the rainy days. With fewer booths, we still have to have full staff along with all the customer and member amenities, and even more of those sometimes, like the heaters. Being a fair-weather marketer does not make me feel right. Plus, when I used to stay home for questionable weather, it almost always improved and I had to deal with that guilt. Now I just get up and go. It's much simpler.

So despite the gloomy forecast for the week, I'll still go on Saturday. I'm prepared for it. I'll take it easy on Friday afternoon to rest up for it. This will be the fourth Market though, and I have really hit my stride. The first week was super exhausting, the second not so much, and last week felt normal. I was tired, and my foot hurt, but it wasn't overwhelming. May might be overwhelming. I'm planning to do Tuesday Market, and that is a surprisingly hard turnaround, selling two days with only two in between. I can do it though.

This is a good year for bags, so far. People are discovering mine, and appreciating the choice of beauty with utility. Most people have what they describe as far too many bags, but they make convenient gifts, and I have a lot of choice in style and size, so they are selling fairly well. I have no idea if this will continue. The future is always a mystery to me.

The present is more concrete. Writing this reminded me that although I did dry out the booth and the sides, I forgot to open the tubs to let out the dampness. Guess I'll go out to the shop and fiddle with my stuff some more. This is the second-to-last Tuesday I'll have to work out there. Maybe UPS will arrive and I can actually get some things done. Hope you are having an efficient and productive day!