Living

News, Trends & Alerts Affecting Your Life

I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and a bit of a procrastinator, and I think the two go hand in hand. Lately I've decided it's better to just get on with something and finish it, even if it's not entirely perfect, than to have dozens of unfinished projects and project dreams.

Press Photos/Jennifer Ackerman-HaywoodAndrea Everman runs Owly Shadow Puppets from her home in Chicago. She was in Grand Rapids recently to sell puppets at the Eastown Street Fair.

When Chicago artist Andrea Everman shows up at art fairs, her booth becomes something of an oasis, a place where kids can play without getting hassled by their parents.

While most vendors hold their breath when small children pick up their handcrafted wares, Everman invites children to play with the laser-cut "Owly Shadow Puppets" she sells at street fairs across the country.

It helps that her art is made of shatter-proof matte board.

I met the 30-year-old Allendale native at last month's Eastown Street Fair and discovered she has a way of making mothers relax. She reassured me her puppet samples "are meant to be played with," and I eased up from my usual "don't touch" refrain.

Observing plant and animal behavior has long been an effective way of predicting winter weather.

Signs of a cold winter include trees holding leaves longer than normal, squirrels developing thick coats and burying nuts instead of eating them and thicker husks on sweet corn.

Another sure sign of impending cold is myriad complaints of critters getting into the attic or basement and animals treating the landscape like a buffet.

Courtesy PhotosPaint supplements new decorating schemes at The Boardwalk and Union Square condominium buildings in downtown Grand Rapids.

Maybe it's the post-summer doldrums or a race to get ready for holiday entertaining, but color experts say more people paint their homes in October than any other month.

Whether inside or outside, cooler temperatures, sunny skies and mild breezes to dissipate fumes make October ideal for painting.

With thousands of colors and styles available, selecting the right look for a room or entryway often takes longer than the project itself. Consider these things:

Here's where you'll find craft shows and bazaars:

Saturday, Oct. 11

Fall Bazaar -- 11 a.m-2p.m. Saturday, Sacred Heart Hall, 2036 20th St., Allegan. Crafts and baked goods, various items, raffles. Lunch: $5 adults, $3 children. Call (269) 217-9152.

Craft Show -- 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 11, Princeton Christian Reformed Church, 5330 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Kentwood. Sixty booths, bake sale, and lunch. Call 455-0110.

Fall Arts & Crafts Show -- 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 11, Sunshine Community Church, 3300 East Beltline Ave. NE. Variety of merchandise, more than 90 crafters, lunch, snacks, free admission. Call 364-4242, ext. 101.

Fall Fest Craft Fair -- 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 11, North Park Presbyterian Church, 500 North Park St. NE. Halloween, Christmas and gift items, cookies by the pound, breads, and jams available. Stay for the Italian dinner at 6:30 p.m., $7 adults, $3 children age 10 and younger, musical guest William Vits from Grand Rapids Symphony. Call 363-6864.

Life has been a bit crazy. More than that it has been stressful. Even normal days have gone a little nuts and lately I find myself at the end of the night in bed and hungry. It seems pointless to get up at that point and decide to just go to sleep.

So imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scale after my shower the other day with my hair wrapped in a towel and found the scale down over 5 pounds. Nice. Even with wet hair and a towel.

During a recent appraisal, a client asked me to value her objects based on what I thought she would get if she sold them. After providing a value for her stamped brass sheet-covered wood box, she exclaimed, "That is less than I paid for it!"
If I heard this once, I have heard it a thousand times. What a person pays for an object is not a factor, except to that person, when selling it.

When University of Michigan student Betty Echlin learned she had won a $5,000 scholarship, it changed her life.

Echlin, 43, wants to be a teacher and has been taking classes part-time at U-M-Flint since 2002.

"I'm on a biological clock," said Echlin, who lives in Mount Morris. "I was so ecstatic when I got it and I never thought I qualified. I felt so honored. It was very humbling."
The scholarship allowed Echlin to quit one of her two jobs and attend school full-time.

The money for that scholarship and several others was collected through fundraisers held by the nonprofit Lucile B. Conger Alumnae Group. The organization's biggest fundraiser is the annual Conger Home Tour, which takes place Thursday in Ann Arbor.