Signs Never Sleep

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM LINCOLN SIGN COMPANY! boo!

If you would like to try your own hand at pumpkin carving - click here

Living life to it's fullest on the weekend

Gah!  We had one heck of a weekend!  Schools back in session and that means that our kids have busier schedules than we do (Just wait, piano lessons and Cub  Scouts are  just about to start!)

This was one of those weekends where we never stopped moving, fit in every activity imaginable, and it seemed to last for about a month (in a good way).

Started on Saturday morning with soccer... Soccer... SOCCER!

Connor's group (the wee ones) had their practice at 9:30am and I actually am a coach for that.  Now, the actual "coaching" that I do is rather limited.  It is pretty much restricted to trying not to spill my coffee and telling the little girls that soccer balls are made out of ponys and baby ducks...

At 11am, we were back at the soccer field and I was helping out with Ben's game.  I am the timekeeper for substitutions (there is a gadget involved so I'm all in).  Ben's team lost but its mostly because Lancaster plays BIG, corn-fed kids (one of the kids was shaving on the sidelines, I swear!)

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After the game Saturday, we went home and I put a few hours of work in.  Cutting some of the last trim-work on a Connecticut River Bank run of signs and printing out pumpkins for the Jack O' Lantern Resort.  Do you know anyone looking to buy a condo at the Jack O' Lantern?  I know of one that I'll sell you for $50,000 or less if you throw in a copy of Madden 2007

I married one of the good ones.  I mean it, in my younger days, I had them lined up around the block (I swear) but I think I dun picked a good one.  After Soccer Vicki relaxed by repainting a desk, then to take a break she mowed the lawn, and she also baked about 60 zucchini breads...

Later, she really did relax while she did about 4 loads of laundry

 

She's a keeper!
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OK, Sunday we hiked from 8am until about 2:30pm.  We hiked the Cherry Mountain Trail and then over to Owl's Head (3600 feet, thank you very much)

Ben gets the MVP award for this weekends hike, as he was doing it with a cold that got worse and worse the more we hiked.  I was fully expecting child services to be waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain but they never showed.  He is a good kid and a trooper.

Also, special thanks to Conner for supplying the freshly-picked apples for the hike.  He had just gone to Windy Ridge Orchard with the Harrington clan on Saturday (Oh, and Holly, he RAVED about the hotdogs you guys get IMPORTED all the way from California!)

When we got to the top of the mountain we got a spectacular view of...  fog, and clouds, and nothing and mist...

Later on it did clear and the view was great.  Tons of moose poop up there, by the way.  Watch your step.

On a related note, on the hike to Owl's Head we were driving a moosethrough the woods  the whole way.   We never saw it, but we heard it moving through the trees.  It also could have been Bigfoot...

 

Click here for a slide-show of the weekend

Our vinyl cutting plotter is going in for repair to Gerber Field Service

One of the tools that we use here every single day is our vinyl cutting plotter which allows us to cut letters for both signs and vehicles.  Vicki went to switch it on this past Wednesday and it made a "POP" sound which was not a good sound, because that was all she wrote for the plotter.....

Luckily, I still pay for my extended warranties with the Gerber Field Service department so it is fully covered, and I even pay for an extended service so that I get a free loaner while our plotter is getting repaired, so we really only lost use of the machine for a day...

Gerber got us back up and running within 24 hours.  That's fantastic, because being without this piece of equipment would be devastating.

How NOT to spend a productive afternoon

We were in Charlestown, NH and Claremont, NH yesterday installing signs for Connecticut River Bank, and throughout the day, the van seemed to be starting a little less enthusiastically each time.  Finally, at the end of the day, when we really just wanted to be on our way home, that was all she wrote...

This vehicle has served Lincoln Sign Company since 1996, and considering the amount of love and care IT DOESN'T get from me, it serves us very, very well.

We did try to jump-start it, and I would like to note that the persons car that we used in the attempt received even less maintenance than the van usually receives.  It was one of those vehicles that a mechanic would open the hood, take one look, close the hood, get a gun and shoot the car, and then shoot the guy that brought the car in.  The terminals on his battery were literally mounds of green corrosion to the point that they actually looked like some bizarre cup-cake topping.  Lee chiseled and hacked his way though the corrosion (did not taste good AT ALL!) but all we got was a very loud clicking sound.

We thanked "Captain Auto Care" and he went on his way, and we had the van towed across the street where the starter replaced.  The owner of the garage is a big fan of the weblog, so he gave us all the parts and labor for free!

  (It would be so fantastic if that last sentence were actually true)

Lincoln Sign Company is creating a new weblog! and only 6 people on earth can read it!

This is pretty much an announcement only to the great people that work with us here at Lincoln Sign Company.

I have created an "internal weblog" that will be a collection of announcements, news, procedures, and chili recipes that are for "our eyes only".  Please take a look at it as often as you would normally read our regular blog.

Right now, there is nothing really all that interesting in it, but give it time and it will grow. 

Now, you need a user-name and password to get in (to keep the "riff-raff" out) so meet me in the Lincoln Town Cemetery under the next full moon and if you hoot like an owl, I will leave the password in the stump of the old oak tree...

I am also going to setup a link on the desktop of the paint-shop computer for your clicking pleasure....

Here is the site.....  http://signsneversleep.typepad.com/l1nc0lns1gnc0mpanyinterna/

It looks like winter has found us again!

Well, we are finally getting the winter weather we have been missing out on this season to date, and Mother Nature is making up for lost time!

The weather over the last few days has been frigid to say the least.  Lee and I had an install to do yesterday, but as we needed to do some touch-up painting, we rescheduled for Wednesday when it will be a bit warmer (and the paint won't freeze on the brush!)

Gah!  Just looked at the temp and it is 3 below right now.
Wednesday is a high of 18 above  here 25 above (with some sun) where the install is...

We are going to be have alot of visitors in March, so I hope the weather cooperates and gives us an extended skiing season, as they all want to ski.

South Peak Resorts event signs created for Essential Events

south peak resort on loon mountain centex destination properties table signs lincoln sign company, originally uploaded by SignsNeverSleep.

It is a small world, and it is doubly small thanks to the internet.  I was contacted by an event planner, Dottie Brown, at Essential Events out of South Carolina in reference to an event that South Peak Resort on Loon Mountain is having at the end of this week.  She had found us using GOOGLE, and she asked me if I could do some signs for a company called  South Peak Resorts right at the moment I was sitting in front of my design software with a big "South Peak Resort" Logo staring back at me.  We both had a good laugh...

As I said, small world...

The signs are done, by the way Dottie, and we delivered them to Jason Maring at 12:30pm today...

Best of luck with the event...

Lincoln Sign Company Won a 2006 MACK Award for Carved / CNC Routed Signs

We were fortunate to win a Merit Award for the Pentimento Sign we completed back in December of 2004.  I was thrilled and surprised that we were lucky enough to win something our first time in the competition, especially after seeing all of the quality entries that had been submitted.

When you receive the award, you are asked to walk to the front of the room and say a few words (yes, just like the Oscars), and I hadn't really been prepared for that at all and was caught a bit off guard by it.  I think it would surprise alot of people in the shop to find out that Pentimento is my favorite sign, and I am thrilled we won something for it.

As with most things in life, sign-making is a team-effort and I just want to say congratulations to everyone who works at Lincoln Sign Company.

Chris did the design and layout for this sign.
Lee did the router carving on the lettered panel.
Vicki did the lettering and the gold-leaf.
I am also pretty sure that Connor and Ben did some of the gold leafing as well.

Additionally, I would like to say a "Thanks" to everyone responsible for putting on the MACK Awards event and all of the corporate sponsors.  You did an outstanding job and it is greatly appreciated.

The New Hampshire Sign Association MACK Awards 2006

This past Saturday I drove down to Manchester, NH (you know, I used to be a "traveling salesman" and not bat an eye at the prospect of driving 2 hours each way to get to an appointment or an installation with one of my customers.  After a year and a half of NOT having to do that on a regular basis, I am a wuss about driving anyplace where it takes more than half an hour)

Anyway....

Drove down to Manchester for the NHSA Mack Awards ceremony and banquet.   The Mack Awards was conceived in 1983 by the then NHSA secretary Don Reed as a means to bring sign companies together to annually show off their best work.  Dedicated to Charlie Magliozzi, a giant in the New England sign industry. Charlie was instrumental in the founding of the NHSA in 1976. The first Mack Awards was held at the Highway Hotel in Concord, NH in the fall of 1983.

I had a really great time at the event.  I saw some friendly faces from my past  and had a great time catching up on all the "NH sign industry" gossip. 

Basically how the MACK awards works is interested sign companies submit pictures of some of their favorite projects (I did this back in December) and two judges from out of state spend a day going over the entries and deciding which deserve to be recognized.  There were about 13 categories.  This was actually my first "MACK Awards experience", and I was a little blown away by the attendance.  There were roughly 120 people there (a mix of sign companies and suppliers) and there must have been between 250 and 300 individual entries for the awards.  I don't know what I was expecting, but there were alot of really great pictures of wonderful work spread out throughout the room and it is amazing to be able to see so many different styles brought together in one place.

(Now, if you haven't figured it out by now, I really love signs, and being stuck in a room with alot of pictures of signs and people that make signs is right up my alley)

After dinner the ceremony started, and I settled down with a cup of coffee as the various awards were presented...

Was Lincoln Sign Company lucky enough to win a MACK Award that night???

STAY TUNED

It looks like the sign "silly season" is going to heat up a little early this year

Traditionally, the winter season is know as a "slow time" in the sign industry, but thus far I have not really found that to be the case here at Lincoln Sign Company.  We are fortunate and blessed to always have just enough work to keep everyone in the shop happily working on something and it allows me to go slowly insane in a feeble attempt to keep up with it.

Over the last two weeks, the phone and the Internet has started ringing on a regular basis, and I am getting 1-3 requests for quotes and jobs per day. 

That's fine, I can hack it, bring it on!

Word to the wise, if you are even slightly considering a project for this year, please let me know now.  It really does help if I have alot (and I mean ALOT) of time to plan a job out.  In the end, you end up getting a better sign, and I go crazy a bit slower; so it's a win-win for everybody.

Seriously, if you are going to need something for the Spring, please let me know ASAP.

South Peak Resort and Loon Mountain Ski Area host Business After Hours for the Lincoln Woodstock Chamber of Commerce

This past Wednesday, Vicki and myself, along with Christine and her husband Brian attended the Business After Hours event hosted by South Peak Resort and Loon Mountain Ski area.  It was held in the Octagon Lodge and there was plenty of food, drink and great people to talk to.  I had been telling Christine and Vicki all week at work that traditionally this event is the "wild game" event for the Lincoln Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, and traditionally they will cook up just about anything they can catch.  I think they both really took this to heart because even though there was no "armadillo on a stick" or "fried squirrel pop-overs", they did steer well clear of the Venison Stew, which is actually a shame because it was the best thing there that night (and is actually a dish that Loon Mountain is well known for.

(There was also a "Jerk Salad" at the buffet, and until Wednesday night, I had no idea that someone had gone to the trouble to name a salad after me.)

As I mentioned, South Peak Resort was one of the hosts and Ryan Gamble and Ed Brown (who both work for Centex Destination Properties who are developing the area) took the time to introduce themselves and talk about their plans for the area.  South Peak Resort is going to be a mix of homes, resorts and condominiums, much of it being located right next to the Pemigewasset River.  They are going to have ski-in and out access to Loon Mountain, and considering their plans for additional ski trails, connector lifts, terrain parks and additional infrastructure, it is going to be a fantastic addition to the area. 

You can read all about it HERE

At the tail-end of the event, I was able to meet Ryan, shake his hand, welcome he and his family to the area and thank him for his recent business with Lincoln Sign Company.

Other highlights of the evening?  Vicki and I won two day passes to the Loon Mountain (which I am sure we will use very soon), and White Mountain Mikey won the custom carved house sign that we were giving away as a door-prize (couldn't have gone to a nicer guy!)

You meet the nicest people at the Lincoln Woodstock Chamber of Commerce Business After-Hours events!

Yesterday, Vicki and I (and Christine and her husband) were at a business after-hours event that our local Camber of Commerce had at Loon Mountain.  Now, not only are the events great because they have tables and tables of free food (and I am all about the free food folks), but they are also great events to meet local business-people (which I think is the ACTUAL reason that they have events such as these, although the free food is justification enough as far as I am concerned!)

Anyway, I was sitting at a table next to Katie Roy and Pati Apgar from Northern Acres and Pati mentioned that that she was familiar with this weblog and reads it from time to time, and I thought I would just send a quick note letter her know that I enjoyed meeting both of them...

via the weblog...

Please give me a call if you ever need anything...

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EDIT== In the interest of fairness, I should point out that everyone I met, talked to, or interacted with at the event last night, was nice.

Except the guy that ate the last of the shrimp...

Lincoln Sign Company and a sign of snow

If you don't live in the area. I should let you know that we have been having alot of wild, winter weather here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for the last few days.  We have been getting some fairly respectable snowfalls, 45 mile per hour winds, and temps that haven't gotten much above ZERO even during the day!

This was Vicki going out to do the snow-blowing at 6:35am yesterday morning........

yes, I did pick well when I chose a woman to "get hitched" with.  She lives to snow-blow, and as unbelievable as it seems, she also volunteers to mow the lawn during the summer. 

I was drinking coffee inside while this craziness was going on, but don't worry, I did step outside to take this picture, and boy! it was cold!

What do I do to hold up my end of the marriage?  I sit around and look pretty...  I am one of those "trophy-husbands" you are always hearing about...

 

snowsign snowsigns snow sign

I am going to be in Littleton, NH today, talking to clients about commercial signs and vehicle lettering

I have a busy schedule today...

We have a ton going on at the shop right now, so I need to get all of those plates spinning, and then in the afternoon I need to drive up to Littleton, NH (if you are thinking about buying a sign in Littleton, NH, keep in mind that we are only about 20 miles away from you) to meet with some clients.

Then, I am going to drive back to Lincoln, NH, quickly eat dinner, and then I am going to a meeting at the Town Hall to talk about the Lincoln Sign Code.  They are reviewing them, and one of the board members asked me to participate to get my perspective.  My take on Lincoln's sign codes is that they are some of the healthiest I have ever seen, and nothing should be changed from the way it is right now.  The current sign codes are not restrictive to the business owners, getting a sign permit in Lincoln, NH is very fast and easy, and the codes are easy to read and understand.  At the same time, they strike a great balance, as they do offer some guidelines and do not have the "anything goes" type attitude that some smaller towns sign codes have.

I will let you know how the meeting goes, if it is interesting enough...

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EDIT
oh, and I forgot...

I am also having lunch with a clown today...
THIS clown...

What we are working on in the shop right now...

Every once and awhile, I just walk around the shop and take pictures of everything we are working on at that moment to give everyone an idea of all the different types of jobs we might be doing all at once.  A few days ago I took these pictures and I am just getting around to posting them now...

A Lincoln Sign Company winter scene

DSC01053, originally uploaded by SignsNeverSleep.

 

Currently Vicki is on a tear, going through the shop and cleaning everything.  I am not going to be able to find ANYTHING if everything is in its proper place.

I have already warned her that this is going to be endless for for the next three years...

"Do you know where the BLANK is?"

"I have no idea, I was looking for that as well".

"Vicki must have thrown it out when she cleaned"...

big, BIG fun...

A Day In The Life of Lincoln Sign Company: December 21st, 2005

Recently I took photos throughout my day to give everyone what a "typical day" here at Lincoln Sign Company looks like for me.  It is odd how doing something like this can actually give you quite a different perspective on your day-to-day activities and really help to point out the things that are important and the things that really aren't all that important at all.  It is also ironic that this day that I decided to "capture for posterity" is also one that I was at my highest stress-level in recent memory; lots of deadlines looming over my head and tons and tons of stuff to be done....

A technical note:  It is actually going to take me a few days to get all of the pictures posted and commented on, so feel free to check back over the next few days leading up to Christmas as the post will slowly expand over time.

A really hope you enjoy "A Day in the Life of Lincoln Sign Company"

Here is the entire "Day in the Life" posting <HERE>

 

Christmas Time is a busy time at Lincoln Sign Company

DSC00119, originally uploaded by SignsNeverSleep.

OK, just a really quick post today...

It's 4:31am and I am frantically trying to get all of my ducks in a row for the day.  Lee and I are going to be driving North today to install the Wagner Forest Management sign up around Dummer, NH (the ground is probably not frozen up there yet, right?) and I am putting together a list for the rest of the gang here at the shop to work on while I'm gone.

The Christmas "crazy-time" is in full swing right now at our house and both Vicki and I are a little "on-edge".  You know, that special Christmas "on-edge" you get to when you have too many things to do, too many events to go to, and too many presents to wrap (I actually do not help with that), and too many cookies to bake (I don't help with that either), and too many Christmas cards to mail out (nope, don't help with that either....

OK, so the problem might actually be me...

So anyway, in between walking around the house and Vicki and I wishing each other "Merry Christmas" through clenched teeth, we had a great weekend full of Holiday goodness which I will need to catch you up on later in the week...

In the meantime, here is a quick synopsist....

Vicki went shopping for Christmas gifts on Saturday (no, I don't help buy the Christmas gifts either, "I actually might suck") and the kids and I shoveled, cleaned and did chores (yay for us!)

Sunday we had the Christmas Party at the American Legion here in town, and we also did elfing at the Polar Express Event here in Lincoln.

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EDIT:

Oh, and I forgot, Friday night we were all out with the Cub Scouts Christmas Carolling to Senior Citizens around the area and then we had a bunch of people over to out house for a "family game night"...

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COMING WEDNESDAY 12-21-05
I am going to do a "DAILY GRIND" - basically, the way this works, is that I set an alarm to go off every 30 minutes (more or less), and when the alarm goes off, I snap a picture of whatever I am working on or looking at right then.  It should give you a peek into what "a typical day" looks like for me.

Look forward to many, many exciting pictures of paperwork, and coffee, many many cups of coffee!!!

The Lincoln-Woodstock Annual Chamber of Commerce Christmas Party 2006 at the Woodstock Inn and Station

For those of you looking for your daily "Signs Never Sleep fix" it is going to be a bit delayed today...

You see, I was at the X-mas party last night, and I am a cheap date, and a sucker for white wine in big glasses and scallops wrapped in bacon.

Things are a bit "fuzzy" this morning...

STAY TUNED FOR THE FULL REPORT LATERRRRRRRRRRR...

We can even install signposts for you in the middle of winter!

Now, this is something we really don't like to do.  Let's face it, digging through frozen ground as tough as concrete really isn't anybody's idea of fun, but we have been doing more of it this year than we have ever done before, and so far it has gone pretty well.

Yes, I know Lee...  We really haven't dug anything in FROZEN ground yet, but we'll get our shot on Thursday and Friday of this week...

There are a couple of ways to approach the coming of winter in regards to signposts

#1:  Get the posts in the ground waaaay before the sign is done.  We have done this in the past, but it does mean two trips out to install.  And there is no margin of error for the size of the sign.  If the sign turns out a little too big, that's a problem!

#2:  Dig the holes before the ground freezes.  We just dug about 20 holes like this for two upcoming installations and we'll let you know how it goes.  First time we have dome it this way.  Helpful tip:  Make sure you cover the hole you dug with something!  We placed "Safety Caps" PATENT PENDING over the holes we dug recently

#3:  Use a power post-hole digger.  Actually, I have no idea how this will work out.  Never really dug frozen ground with a power auger.  How froze is too froze?  We will find out on Thursday I guess.  (I am estimating the first 4-6 inches of ground is frozen here in Lincoln.)

#4:  Calcium Chloride.  This is a trick known to about every septic system repairman on earth.  Pour a big pile of calcium chloride on the spot you need to dig, let it work its magic for 24 to 48 hours and then dig away!

#5:  Wait until Spring.  This is the "low-impact" approach and can be done from the warmth of the great indoors with a mug of hot cocoa (with the little marshmallows)

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Next year, about August, I am going to do a mailing to remind our customers that if the need a new sign during the winter, please let us dig the hole now! (In August)

If anyone else has any thoughts on this subject, I would love to hear them.

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COMING TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK  12/20/05
I am going to do a "DAILY GRIND" - basically, the way this works, is that I set an alarm to go off every 30 minutes, and when the alarm goes off, I snap a picture of whatever I am working on or looking at right then.  It should give you a peek into what "a typical day" looks like for me.

Look forward to many, many exciting pictures of paperwork, and coffee, many many cups of coffee!!!

The Polar Express in Lincoln, NH: Behind the scenes with Believe In Books

As I mentioned last week, we have been volunteering for The Polar Express experience out of Lincoln, NH for a great organization called Believe In Books.  It has been a fantastic experience for us, and I am very glad we signed up to participate.  Ben is "the boy who gets the first Christmas gift" for about four nights, and is enjoying it immensely.  He is slowly refining his character with each performance that he does, and he has become totally believable as an 8 year old boy.

Vicki and Connor have been playing "parent and child" in the audience, and have been wonderful of those roles as well. 

Somehow, I got roped into playing an elf.  My elfin name is Kurmudgeon, and I muck out the reindeer stalls at the North Pole.

 

Ben "don't call him "the-boy-that-saved-Christmas" Iles, and two snow elves that can take standard elven "bag-dragging" to new dramatic heights.

Many people do not realize that elves have alot of meetings to attend

Many, many meetings...

Elven motivational speaker...

Photo-ops are very important to elves

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

COMING NEXT WEEK

I am going to try to get some pictures of the entire event from start to finish and post them.  As I have said, it is a terrific event, and if you have a chance to participate, either as a paying guest or as a volunteer, I would really encourage you to do so.  I can easily see us volunteering for this every year until Ben and Connor get into their teen-age years and start rolling their eyes alot.  Then I will actually dress in the elf costume and come visit them in high school....

Oh and Ben and Connor of the future, if you are reading this as indifferent, rolling-eyed teenagers, go clean your room!  (and you are good kids)

Here is the Polar Express website

The Time Capsule of the Lincoln Town Library

Some people go to bars to unwind after work, I go to the Lincoln Public Library.  If I am not in the office around 4:30pm, it is a good bet I have my butt planted in one of the armchairs in the reading room (catching up on Smithsonian Magazine or People) or trading witty banter with Trudi and Carol.  The library is a great place to unwind for me, and if they served drinks it would be perfect.

Awhile ago, I offered the services of Lincoln Sign Company to put the Library Trustees Time Capsule (in honor of the Libraries 100th anniversary) up in the wall display box, which we were happy to do.  Note to the designer of this place of glory for the capsule:  "there is a reason time capsules are generally buried in the ground or in the cornerstones of buildings.  They tend to be heavy and go down alot easier than they go up!"

Our estimation of the weight of the box is probably around 100 lbs and we had to hike it about 12 feet in the air.  We were able to install it effortlessly with a common sandwich bag, and eagles feather, and a five-cent cigar.

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Speaking of time-capsules, I am freqeuntly asked, "why do you keep a weblog?"   There of course many, many answers to that question.  One that related to todays activity, is the fact that this weblog will serve as a "time-capsule" for the Lincoln Sign Company.  I like the idea that decades from now, someone will be able to type www.signsneversleep.com into a browser somewhere and see what we were up to on December 9th, 2005.

This weblog is a great marketing tool, a photo record,  and the Lincoln Sign Company's shot at immortality.

The Official Advent Calendar of the Lincoln Sign Company

OK, so yes, I am a wee bit late with this, but I have only recently just discovered it.  Leslie Harpold, a US web artist, published a magnificent web-based Advent Calendar every year, and this year's is superb so far.

I, as most children, always had an advent calendar growing up and I can remember there were mights that I hard a hard time going to sleep as I would agonize over what the next window would reveal.  (As you can imagine, Christmas Eve nearly killed me on many occasions, as I tend to hyper-anticipate events).  The was also the "opening all of the Advent calendar windows on December 1st" event of which my mother and I no longer speak.

Believe it or not, Vicki and I have kept Connor and Ben immune from Advent Calendars to date, with no clear rationalization of why.  Perhaps we are cruel...?

Well, here is Leslie's Advent Calendar for this year.  And if you have trouble sleeping for the next 15 nights, don't blame me...

"I wonder what tomorrows will be?"

Click Here to see the advent Calendar

We do sign installations in all sorts of New Hampshire weather

We got about 6 inches of snow in Lincoln of Friday, and when I told people we were still doing an installation the common response was "are you nuts"?  I really don't think it is that big a deal to put some signs up in the snow.  We told the customer we would put them up on Friday, so we are going to do everything in our power to get them up as promised.  Come-on, its just a little snow...

These are signs for two new tenants in the Village Shops of InnSeason Resort.  South Peak Resort is currently selling home-sites right off Loon mountain that allow you to walk out of your front door and onto the slopes.  That would be excellent  (I really want to go skiing this weekend, I wish the Kanc was open...)

The second shop is Lily Anne's Jewelry and Gifts.  They have an excellent selection of gifts, and is a great store to browse in.  Larry (one of the owners) came out as we were doing the install and we chatted a bit.  I really like the way the sign looks with the snow stuck to it like that...

COMING TOMORROW...
Lincoln Sign Company travels through time!!!

It's the people that make the signs

DSC03256, originally uploaded by SignsNeverSleep.

If you are a parent, you know that kids can sometimes teach you important "life lessons" that can really surprise you.  I occasionally send Connor around the shop with the camera (roving reporter, you know) and the first time he did this I looked at the pictures he had taken and was shocked.  I tend to always take pictures of what we are working on that day, pictures that illustrate the process of building a sign, or finished signs.  Well, here Connor came back with a camera full of pictures of the PEOPLE who work at Lincoln Signs.

the PEOPLE...

kids are very smart...

I felt very proud of him, but also very "put in my place", in an odd sort of metaphysical way...

So in honor of Thanksgiving, over the next few days I will be sure to post pictures of all the wonderful people we get to work with every day. 

Lee was yesterday and Kristin today...

Thanks Connor