Millinery in May

For the first time in years, I took a personal day for personal enjoyment. This allowed me to go to the museum Friday morning to set up the millinery shop prior to opening. It also meant, I was their as students arrived for their field trips. I miss field trip days. These kids and teachers did too. It was nice to see such happy and excited faces bouncing around the village.

A look around the shop via Instagram Reel.

Saturday morning was a surprise turn for me. When I checked the weather app Friday morning, it said 10% chance of rain. Saturday morning, it said 90%. I grabbed my umbrella. I should have opted for a not sheer dress or grabbed my coat. It pretty much rained all day.

Saturday morning video….

One of my favorite questions of the weekend came from a young visitor. They asked about what to do if the straw mildews or gets moldy. What a great question, especially on a rainy day. Mold and mildew are a threat to straw. If a straw hat or bonnet gets wet and does not dry fast enough, it can develop mildew or mold. As bleach will weaken or dissolve the straw, I try spraying the straw with diluted vinegar. If need be, use an old toothbrush to work the mildew or mold free.

On Sunday, a troop of Girl Scouts were my first visitors. They had many good questions while being excellent listeners. They reminded me of some of the types of programming I really miss doing.

What a difference a day makes…

I discovered there are some notable changes for me when setting up the millinery in May rather than in July. Among them….

School is still in session. This means my preparation time is completely different. I had developed a two week staging process with a samples making build up spanning about a month. Neither of those were feasible with school in session.
Food via roadside stands is not a possibility in May. Strawberries aren’t ready. Raspberries aren’t ready. Basically, stands here are starting to have plants. That is it.
Eating leading up to the event isn’t a concern for most people. Given my digestive and migraine issues, I have to be careful. In July, I graze of vegetables and fruit with some sage carbs and protein the handful of days before an event. This doesn’t work when I need to be at work, taking lunches. I’ve discovered I am freaking hungry!
The weather is completely different. Wednesday morning, I had a thick layer of ice frost on my car. It was a cold 34 degrees on the drive in. Setting up Friday morning was quite pleasant, though, being in the 50s with a breeze. If anything, I forgot to drink enough water as I worked.
Allergies! 🤧