Monday, April 20, 2009

OCEANSIDE DAYS OF ART FAIRE

By Shirley M. Carolan

This past weekend Oceanside celebrated its Annual Days of Art Faire. I had it scheduled on my calendar for months and was avidly looking forward to it. Alas, this is the first time in years that I have missed it. I was looking forward to meeting the artists and learning new painting techniques, and,I had planned on writing a wonderful article about the merits of living in North San Diego County, specifically Oceanside.

However, I have a good reason for not making it to the Faire this year. Since I got home from my 10-day hospital stint because of complications from pneumonia, I have been on oxygen 24/7 and tapering off meds. On Friday, April 17, 2009 I “volunteered” at the Carlsbad Oceanside Art League Gallery from 2-5 PM. While it was a lot of fun, and I met some wonderful people from all over the USA I ran out of oxygen on the drive home. I kept my cool and said a few prayers to help me get safely home and to avoid any traffic accidents. My concern was for others as well as myself.

The next day, I was flat on my back and didn’t rise until about 4 PM. I guess I overdid it at the Gallery. I was so intent on telling everyone about the Faire, making sure they got the flyer, and telling them they would see our “Artist of the Month,” Dave Gulewich there. Also, I got about 50% of them to fill out our “People’s Choice” award form so that they would be eligible for a prize at the end of the month. A very busy afternoon indeed. In addition, I locked up the Gallery which was not on the original agenda.

It was then I discovered that my oxygen tanks only hold enough oxygen for three (3) hours which would include travel to and from any event. H’m, I thought the tanks held more oxygen than that but at least I now knew I had to plan any future trips carefully.

Hot weather is not my bag since I’m a transplant from San Francisco. The weather this weekend was indeed hot, some might call it balmy. After much soul searching I chose not to exhaust myself for two hours at the Faire. I missed it dearly and can only hope that all the visitors I met at the Carlsbad Oceanside Art League made it to the Faire especially since I told them I would be there!

If you made it to the Faire, I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, here’s to next year’s Faire, Oceanside!

Shirley M. Carolan, ATMG
Speaker ● Writer ● Artist
artistwithaflair@att.net
Phone/Fax: 760-732-0663
http://www.shirleycarolan.com
http://www.angelscross.blogspot.com
http://www.smcarolan.blogspot.com

Copyright© 2009 by Shirley M. Carolan. All rights reserved. To reprint any part of this article simply contact Shirley Carolan at artistwithaflair@att.net. Thank you.

No comments: