Improvement, Elation and Heartbreak - It Was A Day

Yesterday's exercise session went much better than the first session last week, although I'm still appalled at how weak some muscle groups in my body actually are. Lots of work to do there, so it's good to have a goal. I figure I'll try to work the barre in every other day - three times a week. That should be a good start. It's only a 30-minute workout, so not a major chunk of time, and the portable DVD is working great for the visuals. 

I do NOT look this good while working on my barre, but
I have hope that eventually I might. LOL In any case, it's
nice to be working on a full body workout from top to
bottom. I have groups of muscles in really great shape,
and others that are horrid. This type of workout will
be very helpful as an all-around workout. 

Yesterday I spent some serious time with our final paperwork for the County Grant, and sent it all off in the afternoon after a lovely conversation with the woman assigned to our application (she wanted to make sure we had received the email asking for signature and documents - that it hadn't been caught in spam filters). I had a notification waiting for me this morning, that the funds will be posted to our bank account on Friday the 17th. I'm totally breathing a little easier today. It's been a rough few months and this grant will be a real help. 

In the heyday of the Bead&Button Show, it was a treasure trove for
the eyes and the imagination. Tables upon tables strewn with beads of
all colors, sizes and shapes. Glassworkers with their own hand-made
extraordinary beads, all one-of-a-kind. When I look back, I'm really
happy I purchased what I did when I did. I'm, fortunate to have
a fantastic collection of specialty beads from almost every
glassworker or beadmaker whose work I wanted to showcase
in my own designs. 

On a more negative note, my annual bead show, Bead & Button, as well as the publications and books published under that name are ceasing publication and the show is permanently cancelled. I've attended the show since the third year it existed, so for 25+ years I've been at the Bead & Button Show every time they held it. I met hundreds of friends, interacted and learned from teachers from all over the nation and the world, and exercised my own creativity in their contests. I was a student at the shows and I taught at a few as well. Having the show end on such a down note after postponement and then cancellation due to COVID ... it's a bit heartbreaking for me. I had heard the rumors, of course, and thought they were probably true, but I'd been holding out hope. Hope was dashed in emails and on-line posts yesterday. 

I guess that's reflective of life in general - we get good and bad thrown at us, and we push onward. I'm not happy about the bad, but I'll celebrate the good and that'll have to be good enough. On that note, I'm moving onward into my day. Have a stunning and wonderful Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Stay safe, Be well, Practice kindness.