Seeing Stars

Since my last whiny post things have picked up a little bit. We are still getting way too much uninterrupted sleep but that will change over the next few weeks. How do I know this? Flamingoing will be good because I have several meetings and appointments booked. It is a strange but reliable phenomenon that if I need to be up, dressed and able to relate intelligently with the general public before noon, we will be out creeping around in strange dark yards until 4:oo or 5:00 am. I am expecting at least one order for Thanksgiving simply because we are planning to be out of town. Our back up flockers are out of commission due to several severe health issues so it's either turn down work (gasp!) or creative scheduling best accomplished by offering extra days at no charge.

Anyway - last week ended pretty well. One display out during Hallowe'en was 100% unmolested
even though it was set up right along the sidewalk. We were very pleased. We had hearts and stars out for two celebrations, and everything came home from both jobs.

Too bad the same can't be said of the dinosaurs we picked up this morning. The pack was one raptor short.

The most obvious difference between the situations: the dinosaurs were in a high priced neighborhood. Hearts and stars were in less affluent areas. The more expensive the home, the more likely that someone feels entitled to help themselves to a "souvenir." I'm not saying that it's always someone from the target household, but what decorating niche in a $5 million home cries out for a slightly worn plastic t-rex? If it's the neighborhood kids, don't the parents wonder about the coincidence of a yard full of penguins across the street and the sudden appearance of a penguin in their offspring's environment?

Enough pondering the vagaries of human behavior. I think I'll go mix myself a little adult refreshment and spend the remainder of the weekend doing some intense goofing off. Did I mention, we don't work tonight?