Thursday, May 19, 2005

NewComers Tonight

Tonight was the monthly NewComers meeting. This is something the MHA is doing, in partnership with a project group from the Leadership class here. We started in the fall and have still be feeling our way through what we're doing.

Tonight was fun. Matt and Michelle were there. He was in the original group and they're also pretty new to town. Also there were Butch and Kelli - they've been once before and I really like them. They're very new to town but I'm sure they'll have no difficulty getting to know people.

Coming for the first time tonight was another lady I've known for years, but only just to say hello. She's involved with the Kid's museum here in town and it was wonderful to get to talk to her and learn about what they're doing. She used to work at the library and that's where I know her from first of all. It was really fun to chat with her in a more relaxed setting.

She paid me a really nice compliment - saying that she noticed that I always talk to everyone when I meet them. I never thought about that, but I guess I do. She and Kelli had both been to a marketing workshop yesterday and that's one of the things they talked about - was it is important to be "out there" as far as engaging people. I guess it's just natural to me so I don't think much about it.

It's always interesting to see how you're perceived by other people. Well, sometimes it's scary - this time it was interesting. But I do wish at times that I could see myself through others eyes.

It was a good night.

Today was a productive day for me with MHA things and I also got something done in my house that I've wanted done for forever - the kitchen ceiling repaired. I have had it repaired once, then the new roof leaked again. Anyway... I'm happy to have it done now that the roof problem has been corrected. I have to paint it to match the rest of the ceiling but I can handle that - no problem.

I also did some scans tonight of journals I've been doing. I'm painting the covers, and really loving the effect of the color and texture. I'm a big believer in texture in paint. As my friend, Matthew, says, "Patsy, one of the things I love about you is that you know no excess." I love the color - it makes me want to pick up it up and write more often - just because it's fun to look at.

I've decided this is one of the things I'm going to sell when I start doing art shows. Actually, I'm going to put them on my website in the next few days and sell them there too. We'll see how it goes.

I guess one of the big tricks is the pricing. I haven't figured that out yet. I want them to be affordable. I don't want people to feel like they can't write in them because they're too "special," so they have to be affordable - certainly less than $20. We'll see what I come up with.