Summer Break.

June 17.  Today is the first official day of summer break for both of my kids.  No more school, no more sports - swimming lessons are the only activity we have planned at this point, no more rushing to the bus in the morning, no more packing lunches.  I have been looking forward to this day for the past several weeks as I have found myself busier and busier with less and less time to cram it all in.

And so, starting today, I am putting this blog officially on summer break as well.  I have been in and out over the past few months as it is, and while I have lots of ideas swirling, I haven't been able to get them out of my head and onto the computer.  So I'm going to stop worrying about it, and if I get a chance to write, I'll do it and save it to publish in the fall.

So what will I be doing on my summer break?  I have lots of things going on and a huge to-do list that I'd like to tackle.

First, I'm happy to announce that I have taken on a studio space with two local maker friends, Vanessa from Queenvanna Creations and Cyn from Riverdog Prints.  We will be sharing a space where we can work out of our houses, have clients in for meetings, and hold open houses.  While we will not have an official retail space with set hours, while we are there working, people are welcome to pop in and shop from what we have available at the time.  We're looking forward to seeing how it all comes together, as we're in the moving and organizing stage right now.  To keep up with us and see everything unfold, you can check us out on Facebook.  We will be operating under the name of Hello! Artisan Shop & Studio.

While that endeavor will take up a lot of time, I have a lot of other plans and things I would like to accomplish:

1. Use the free passes the library offers to many local attractions.

2. Get our money's worth out of the season pass we bought for the town pool.

3. Have play dates with as many kid friends as possible.

4. Read lots of books with the kids.

5. Take the kids out to local ice cream spots.

6. Fill my Etsy shop with all the products I have made in real life.

7. Thoroughly clean out and clean my basement.

8. Ditto that on the kids' rooms.

9. Take a few driving vacations to places like Cape Cod and Maine.

10. Have Gus keep a vacation journal.

I will be back here Tuesday, September 8 with a report of how all this went, hopefully a slightly updated site, new ideas, and a refreshed me.  I will be hanging around Instagram for the next few months, and I'd love for you to follow me over there.  I hope to see you there, and I hope you'll join me back here in September.

Happy Summer!