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[offcntr]

Today in the booth, we have Very Beaky Birbs! Kingfisher, loon, hummingbird and downy woodpecker. (Chickadee gets an Honorary Beaky for sheer attitude.)

Weirdly erratic day, weather-wise. It was just starting to shower when I left home at 7 am, stopped by the time I got downtown. Got the booth up, stands started, took a porta-potty break only to hear rain again. Stopped when I got out. And it was like that all day. I'd put up the side panels of the booth, but left them rolled up and tucked under the roof when it looked like the rain was past. Then it'd sun shower, I rolled them down. Cleared up, tucked them up. Clouds blow in and I'd bring them down again.

Rinse, repeat. Literally.

Finally dried up for good around 3 pm, and I was able to pack up and load out without being showered on, but it did start spotting again as I drove home.

Fun memories of the day: a little boy, maybe four, with an adorable mask. Dude! I said, You've got a koala nose on your mask! He opens his jacket, pulls out a crocheted toy koala to show me. We're twins! I say, in my teddy bear nose mask, as I hold my teddy bear up to my face. Mine has its own mask, of course, and as they leave he and mom are planning to make a tiny mask for his koala when they get home.

Then there was the young south Asian woman who stopped in. She'd bought herself an elephant mug at Holiday Market two years ago, after spending debating, should she buy herself a present, should she just get gifts for her family. Eventually, she settled on both, and today she came back with her mother in tow. Had mom pick out some mugs for herself--butterfly and dragonfly--then called up her husband and panned along the mug shelf so he could pick out one--a fox--for himself. Says her family all know my work now.

I love being the family potter.

Then there was the very quiet Chinese young woman, probably college age, who carefully considered everything in the booth before settling on cat food bowl, with an orange-and-white cat. And told me how much she liked all my work, before carrying off her tiny treasure.