Last Friday, I was working at my kid’s cooperative nursery school here in the Haight in San Francisco. I was starting to tell another parent about how my 3.5 year old daughter told her dad she refused to listen to the Sinead O’Connor CD I’d left in her CD player - because, she said, “I only listen to [the music of] dead people, so please put on Woody Guthrie’s CD instead” - when an Irish dad walked by us. I assume he’d only heard me say the name Sinead O’Connor because he snorted, “That woman? She’s crazy!”

He needn’t have bothered. Because there’s simply nothing in the world he or anyone could say to me to change my opinion about Sinead O’Connor, whose music I adore and whose clear siren voice still brings tears to my eyes. I’ve loved Sinead O’Connor’s music from the first time I heard her music in 1987. I was sitting in my driveway listening to college radio when “Mandinka” started playing. I remember holding my breath through nearly the entire song and hoping, really praying, that the DJ would announce who was singing so I could go out immediately and buy her music - this was, after all, a college music radio station, where such important information like who was singing and the name of the song was often neglected. I remember feeling like I’d been hit by lightning - who *WAS* this?! Why hadn’t I ever heard it before now? Thankfully, the DJ announced her name so I could buy “The Lion and The Cobra,” which I loved, and by the time I heard it, I knew I’d be a lifelong fan.

Now that we’re both so much older, I can honestly say I’ve loved everything Sinead has recorded, I’ve been on her side through her controversies, and I hope she’ll continue to be well enough to play her music.

So Sinead O’Connor, thank you. I am entirely grateful.

Price sheet? Check.

Each item priced? Check.

Finally entered the digital age by learning how to use Square? Check.

Please find me tomorrow, May 9, 2013, at the PG&E Spring Bazaar at 77 Beale Street in the Financial District of San Francisco tomorrow from 10:30 am - 4 pm!

“I see so many small business pages that say they’re struggling because of the changes facebook has made regarding who sees your posts, so I thought I’d write a post about how I think facebook now works.
It seems to me that a written post gets potentially seen by 3 or 4 times more people than a photo or a link and if you are sharing your own pictures or posts you might as well not bother as they’re seen by so few.
The more people who comment or click “like” on your post the more Facebook will allow it to appear in different newsfeeds. So the answer is, if you’re reading this, click “like” or comment on anything and everything that catches your eye and help all us small businesses survive or one day you’ll go looking for your favourite business page only to find they’ve given up because you didn’t take the time to like or to comment on their photos or posts. ♥ Thank you ♥

*All small business pages are urged to copy and paste this onto their pages and pin it”

When I saw this posting on Facebook tonight, it seemed silly and obvious at first blush. But after giving it some more thought, I think there’s a lot of truth to what the author is trying to say and that truth should be repeated rather often. We all make important decisions with what we choose to buy or choose not to buy, and from whom. I try really hard to support small businesses in my community and I see so much value in doing so. I also shy away as much as I can from big retailers and I hope other people try to do the same.

Just this weekend, I was pleasantly delighted to be reminded at my local bookstore, Booksmith, that they donate a percentage of money to my kid’s school. How can Amazon beat that?! They can’t.

So please, choose to celebrate, honor, spend your hard earned cash, and yes, please do “LIKE” each of us small, independently-owned local businesses. I can tell you that my one new “Like” this week on my Facebook page brought a smile to my face, inspired me and challenged me to earn whatever it is that brought that individual to my page. So I’ll try to pay it forward to a few more local businesses. Any suggestions?

Come find me at the PG&E Women’s Spring Bazaar at 77 Beale Street in the Financial District, SF! The weather is slated to be in mid-60’s (and no rain).  San Francisco is unpredictable so I always suggest dressing in layers. The event starts at 11 and ends at 4. If it’s anywhere near as good as last year, there will be plenty of awesome crafts, treats and other things for mother’s day and every day!

So about a year ago, I bought these two white styrofoam head forms at Mendel’s, my local, independent, family-owned craft shop - an addictive place! But I had misgivings because, well, let’s face it: styrofoam? Really? Isn’t that possibly the most toxic stuff on the planet? Sheesh. But the truth is I hadn’t found one that wasn’t styrofoam and I needed two heads for display purposes at craft fairs and shows so folks would understand how my clips can dress up a hat, a scarf, etc. Otherwise, people don’t understand the concept! So, I bit my lip and bought one, no, two.

Days went by and I detested them even more now that these heads lived in my home. So back I went to Mendel’s, where I spotted some glitter in a spray paint can. Even more toxic, right? But in for a penny, in for a pound. So I tried to spray one of these heads and … eww. It was gloppy, gooey and gross. The end result was horrific, which probably should come as no surprise considering what I’d done.

Fast forward to a few days ago, when I got tired of seeing this shameful head. So with just a little bit of time between picking up child #1 from school and picking up child #2 from school, I finally (!) got around to collageing one of the heads. And it came out, well, much better! Which only goes to show that I shouldn’t have messed with toxic, bad-for-the-environment stuff in the first place. But at least I can justify the fact that now I’m using it instead of sending it to landfill. Lesson learned: don’t buy it in the first place and you won’t have those regrets later.

Cameo clip is apple green with 4 layers of Thai mulberry paper, a renewable resource! Flower is edged by hand with glow-in-the-dark green fabric paint (check it out under a black light!) Cameo is oval shaped with ivory girl on black background - from Mendel’s, too. Mounted on a double pronged alligator clip lined with turquoise cotton twill Thai-made ribbon, and lined on the inside with American-made wide vintage pink ribbon I bought from an estate sale here in the Haight! You can use this to dress up your hair, lapel, scarf and, of course, your sun hat. $16

(c) 2013 Made In the Haight, all rights reserved. Shop from local, independent and green artisans - Made In The Haight is a certified San Francisco Green Business, too!