Our friends from BNR Electric were again onsite at the Hazelnut Inn installing the latest and greatest electrical components. Although the Inn will appear like it has been in place for centuries the building is very high-tech in many ways. Today, complementary charging ports for guest’s electric vehicles were installed in the parking lot. We don’t anticipate any guests will bring their horse-drawn carriages when they come for a honeymoon or anniversary stay. It is only ninety-five days until the open house!
The art of the salad
Henry is ready to help no matter the task as long as there are tools involved. Today we were in the kitchen, making a fresh salad for his dad’s birthday celebration. Henry has been using knives since he could hold them (under careful supervision of course). He retrieved the lettuce, cauliflower, carrots and radishes from the fridge, and helped me rinse them all in the sink. He then got to choose which ones he would slice and dice. He picked the radishes and carrots, leaving me to cut the lettuce and cauliflower. With Henry’s expert assistance, we had a delicious, fresh salad in no time. The birthday celebration was fun too!
Age is just a number
I was only fourteen years old when I started my professional art career. I ‘borrowed’ my mom’s old Christmas card collection which inspired a hand-drawn book of Christmas window splashes. As December rolled around I hitchhiked into town (I was too young to drive) and sold the designs to the local merchants. I sold the first window to a family friend for fifteen dollars and as my confidence grew so did the prices I dared to ask. Over the next two weeks, after school and on the weekends I would lay out the designs onto the store windows and then paint them backwards on the inside. That first year I made a whopping six hundred dollars - a fortune back in the late 1960’s. I remember one very large window project which I quoted at fifty dollars. The owner watched intently as I painted the design and was surprised when I completed the project in only a couple of hours. As I approached him with the invoice in hand he was suddenly reluctant to pay. He asked me who I worked for. On hearing the news that this skinny little kid in front of him was the owner of the company he generously offered me twenty-five bucks. He was adamant that this was still a lot of money for someone my age. I calmly asked him for a rag. I dipped it into my brush-washing bucket and walked up to the window. I told him that for half of our agreed estimate, I would wipe half paint off the window. We stared each other down for what seemed like a very long time before he agreed to pay the full amount. I was often questioned about my age and my experience as I began my self-employed journey but each time I would somehow convince my prospective client to trust me. As my portfolio and client list grew through the years things gradually got easier.
A few years ago I was visiting a client in California. We were reviewing a complex design and discussing a project that would take five years or more to complete. Our client was a three-generation family business. One of the grandsons in the meeting looked at me intently and then asked me how old I was. I could see him doing the math in his head as he calculated how old I would be as the project was completed. It took me by surprise for I had never run into this concern previously. It made me smile. I assured him that our company was also multi-generational and that he was in good hands - no matter what. It’s funny how little changes through the years. Age is still just a number.
