Where Oh Where are the Strawberries!?!?

I would really appreciate it if someone would offer to come to my house and search for my one and only pattern for this strawberry pinkeep …

 

This strawberry design is something that I drew it up and created just one pattern to use for myself  a number of years ago.  I used this strawberry grouping in a couple different pinkeep shapes and last year for the first time, I used the strawberries to create this Candle mat …. 

I’ve had quite a number of requests for this pattern, and over the year, since I made this candle mat, I’ve put everyone off, telling everyone that I would get the pattern ready to sell in the strawberry season of spring. 

Ok, so where is my original drawing of this?  Where is my one and only pattern that I have used over the years to make that pinkeep?

I dunno.  I can’t find it anywhere. 

I’m thinking that if a bunch of you offer to come to my house to look, you’ll all look in completely different places and it’s surely to be found.

There are only 4 different places where I store my patterns and I’ve searched each of those places at least 4 times each.  It’s just not there.

It’s probably right smack in front of my face and I just need to take a break from searching so that it can surprise me with a sudden appearance.

With all the time that I’ve spent searching, I should have just sat down and drawn up another one.  I’d be almost finished with it by now. 

It takes a lot of time to draw out designs, not just to get the drawing balanced, shaped and spaced right but to also get that drawing design to fit just right on the background shape.  I will also have to redraw the candle mat background scallop shape, which is such a time consuming project too.

Oh well… the strawberry candle mat pattern will definitely be the next next pattern release.  I’m just going to need a little extra time to get it done now.

In the meantime, the Census job is going really well.  I’ve settled into a daily routine now and I’ve adjusted to my new work schedule rather well.

Every morning between 8:30 am and 10:30 am, in my dining room, I meet with 5 of my crew team members.  No days off!   I have to meet with them every single morning so that they can drop off their time sheets and completed cases.  I check over all their cases for problems and then after my team meetings, I go up the road a few miles and meet with my supervisor to turn in all of the collected cases for the day.  That meeting is usually between 11:00am and 12:30pm.

I’m free for the day after that except that I have my own casework to do too.  So usually late afternoon, I go out and visit homes in my area that have not turned in their census forms.

My team is terrific. All except one works other jobs along with doing the census and everyone of them have fascinating careers.  I have two private airplane pilots, an interior designer, and a horse trainer.

I have one really sweet, kind lady who is a senior citizen.  She’s soooo good with gettting the job done.  We plan to use her for all the difficult cases because really, who would slam their door on a sweet little old gray-haired lady? 

I wish I were able to tell stories about what I’ve seen and learned over the past few weeks while knocking on doors and interviewing people for the census, but I can’t.  Everything has to be completely confidential.  Oh sooooo many good stories too!

The area where I’m working is way out in the country with houses so spread apart, there are no neighbors.

So when I go knocking, there’s no one to save me if the situation becomes bad.  Really, no one even knows where I am while I’m working because we’re not permitted to tell what addresses have and have not sent in their census forms.

All I’m allowed to say is that in our workbook manual, in the chapter about safety, it says, and I quote, “wear comfortable shoes in case you have to run”

Out of all the homes that I’ve visited, even the worst , most dilapidated  ones, everyone has been friendly except for two homes. 

One guy was so scary that I had to tell my supervisor that I would never go back unless I was permitted to take someone with me.  The guy wasn’t even mean .. he was just scary and sinister … and the wood chipper sitting out in his yard made me think of the movie Fargo.  And if you haven’t seen the movie Fargo, just Google it and I’m sure you’ll find out what the woodchipper in that movie was used for.

There are times that the paranoia almost takes over because I am concerned that my life could very quickly become the next best selling horror movie.  But in every single instance, after forcing myself to be brave and knock, I’ve left smiling because it was unnecessary worry.  The really sinister one was actually a fairly nice home so maybe the surprise of that was what caused more fear.

In general though, the experience has been more than terrific.  It gets me out, talking to people.  I’m not a talker myself, preferring to listen instead.  And boy, do I listen to some really goooooooooooood stories from people! 

After my job is completed in a few months, I’ll share some great experiences but until then, I have to go and get ready for my morning meetings.

Happy Day everyone!  (cross your fingers and hope that my strawberry pattern will appear right before my eyes today, please?)