Working on the collection

In the recent past and in the foreseeable future, I will either be attending meetings or cataloging artifacts. :-)

Here is the short list of what I've been up to:

• McKinley Day preparations have begun! This year we have decided to omit the speeches and will make the very moving Wreath Laying Ceremony the last program of the day. Letters have gone out inviting people to participate.
  
• We have had several meetings to try to determine the best plan for our proposed storage building. It is amazing that we have 26 acres on which to build, and yet there is no spot free of extra hassles! I think we made some progress today toward a plan that works for everyone.
  
• Split Rock has submitted their final design plan. Joyce has reviewed it, but I have yet to tackle it! I am looking forward to having this project completed. We have been working on it for so many years, it will be fantastic to actually see a new exhibit in that space!
• Collections work abounds. I have cataloged and photographed a large collection of embroidered and crocheted linens. And I have caught up on my volunteers' cataloging by numbering and photographing electric typewriters, vintage luggage, and a collection of bridal dolls. There is still a substantial backlog, but I am tackling it one donation and one day at a time.
  
• I have entered all of the photographs Sally has taken! Woo hoo! This is a big job done because she takes photos so fast, I am almost always behind.
  
• Looming in the near future are several things -- Day After Thanksgiving Activities, Holiday Open House, Open Hearth Dinner, and Tea with the Curator: "Bring Your Doll to Tea."
• Speaking of the doll tea, it has been one big hassle to get all the supplies for making hats! When I signed up as a non-profit for a wholesale account, I must have missed the part where it said you had to have a $100 minimum order! We had to order about twice as many hats as we will need for this tea, in order to get them at a good price. I know that sound nuts, but we think we will plan to do this again next year, so we are purchasing supplies for that in advance. (Make sense now? Good.)

All in all, I have been busy all day every day and at the end of the day I have very little to show for it.

On a personal note, I am doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time this year, and I am pleased to report that I am closing in on the goal of 50,000 words! I am currently just a tick over 46,000. I am hoping to finish up by this Sunday, because my in-laws will be in town for Thanksgiving and I don't want to be tied to the computer finishing a novel while they're here.

In case you are wondering, the novel takes place in a museum, but it is NOT based on anything that has really happened here! (And if you are out in cyberspace and can recommend an agent, I would love to hear from you! I am serious about finding a publisher for this novel and fulfilling a lifelong dream to publish my fiction!)