We’re having a heat wave. Upwards of 100 degrees here. Summers are hot in West Virginia, but 100 degrees doesn’t usually happen. Nothing’s happening on the farm. It’s too hot. I haven’t gotten the rest of my hay in. The barn is too hot. The animals are hiding in the shade or in their shelters. Flowers are shriveling. It’s hot!
Meet Mr. Health Inspector!
Photos taken today in the finished studio:
The inspector from the health department, inspecting:
He said my kitchen was perfect other than a couple of non-critical issues, so he filled out the paperwork and my permit will arrive in the mail in a few weeks! Meanwhile, he will be back next week to check up on me to make sure I fix the non-critical violations. (For example, the shelves have to be painted. Stuff like that. Guess what I’m doing this weekend?) He was pleased. I was pleased. I’m official!
In other news, hard to believe, but I am still working to send out photo reward orders. Let me explain, so you don’t think I’m just lazy. I sent out 15 yesterday, and 10 today, so I am working on them. Each order has to be placed online through my photo gallery on Smugmug. I’ve contributed to a number of Kickstarter projects myself, and I notice without fail that they send out the orders with a note thanking the herd of friends and family who helped them send out the rewards. In most cases, the rewards are all the same thing, and they have a big envelope-stuffing party. In my case, the rewards are all different–the photos are individually selected by each contributor, and in turn I have to individually select them online. Because each order is placed and paid for online, I have to do them all myself. (I love my family and friends, but I would feel uncomfortable dispersing my debit card information to a herd of people.) Out of over 400 photo reward orders, I’m down to the last 50. It takes about an hour to do half a dozen orders. Every time I can put together a couple of hours, I sit down and place orders. I won’t stop until I’ve finished the last one. Needless to say, I might have bitten off more than I can chew with the way I set up the rewards, but if you’ll bear with me, I’ll get there. (This could have been simplified by giving everyone the same photo, ordering in bulk, and then being able to have an envelope-stuffing party. Only someone who belongs in an insane asylum–me–would have set it up this way, but I hope the wait is worth it for the benefit of being able to individually select the photos. I do apologize for how long it’s taking to finish!)
The Kickstarter backers poster on the studio wall:
You can also find the backers Wall of Honor list on my website here.
Thank you so much to all of you who helped make this happen!
Posted by Suzanne McMinn | Permalink
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"It was a cold wintry day when I brought my children to live in rural West Virginia. The farmhouse was one hundred years old, there was already snow on the ground, and the heat was sparse-—as was the insulation. The floors weren’t even, either. My then-twelve-year-old son walked in the door and said, “You’ve brought us to this slanted little house to die." Keep reading our story....
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