A More-Than-Pleasant Surprise

My door only looks like this MOST of the year...

I was typing up some future posts recently when the doorbell rang. It was so unfamiliar to me that I had to think twice about which door to answer, the front or the back....

And there on my step was a friendly face I haven't seen in ages. She'd come to my house at a time when my kitchen was full of caterpillar poop and milkweed stalks, my entryway was full of garage sale items and books to be sorted, and my sink was full of dirty dishes.

And -- without even a split second of 'can I do this?' -- I let her in. After much hugging and 'holy cow!'-ing, of course. And I cleared a chair off for her and swiped an arm across all the flotsam littering my table, and we had coffee together and we laughed and cried and caught up with each others' lives. And she actually said, "I love your house; there are so many interesting things in it!" And she meant it, too. And I tried hard not to go into apology mode and make excuses for what I saw as my crazy-ass mess.... 

(And honestly? A little part of me inside was screaming, "She said my house is interesting! Where's Mom when we need her to HEAR this!?")

Laurel (that's my friend's name) admitted that she follows this blog, bless her!, and remembers a post in which I mentioned expecting a visit from someone and spending two weeks prior to it staging my house in a way that made me feel better about it. That was NOT something that she wanted me to do, so she took a chance and simply dropped in on me instead.

'Drop ins' are one of my big fears. The prospect of them keeps me awake at night and gives me bad dreams. But surprisingly, they've only ever gone horribly awry in my head. Anyone else seems to be fine with my chaos, and our visits have gone so well that I've wondered afterwards why I'm so afraid of get-togethers....

This is the issue you want to look for!

Some of Laurel's amazing work

My friend Laurel is a passionate jewelry creator. She sells regularly at local art shows and has a wonderful Etsy store called StoneWing Designs (see it here). When our coffee was finished, we trekked together into the Village to the local bead shop (Garden of Beads) where she pored over hanks of semi-precious stones. I watched as Laurel lovingly fingered strands of gorgeous jasper and agate and draped unique color combinations across her palms, and as we talked she shared with me that her work is about to be featured in the next issue of Easy Wire. My friend and her wonderful work -- published in a magazine! She's gonna be famous, I just know it. And I'm crazy excited for her and am confident that this is the next step that will open up interesting doors for her and her unique creations.

As our impromptu get-together drew to a close, we made a date to do it all again soon. HERE. At Tumbledown. I want to see what she's made with the wonderful pieces she purchased and she wants to see where I create. I'm looking forward to it like a little kid! And just recalling how I made it through a 'drop in'  and am already excited about the future visit has me a little shell-shocked.

I've been surprising myself a lot lately.... :)
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