After Action Report

Its been so long!  Last week we spent every waking moment sewing and preparing for our upcoming gun show (not to mention tossing a little hospitality into the mix!).  The days were long, my house suffered, but a wonderful weekend spent meeting so many amazing people made our work well worth the effort.

Friday, the kids and I loaded up our truck and headed off to Spokane to set up for the show. We lugged armload after armload through three rooms to get to our table until we finally were ready to lay out the table.  We covered the table with a wool blanket laid over the top of a white cloth (I wanted to hide all of our extra boxes under the table), brought out a really neat wooden military box to contain pens, labels, business cards and money for change and commenced setting out our wares.

First, I stacked a number of Patrice's Simplicity Primer, complete with a neat little advertisement that stood on top of the books.  Next, I laid out The Prepared Family Guide to Uncommon Diseases, Naturally Cozy Pads and Naturally Concealed holsters (all the guys loved my table!).  Real gun show fodder followed.  A Rock Island 1911 .45ACP, Remington 870 (with a ported barrel and green furniture), a single shot .22 and a Remington A303 brought the gun enthusiasts around and a few stocks and other parts kept people looking.  We had a range finder, some pressure canners and a number of other odds and ends to fill out the table so that we did not embarrass ourselves.  All in all, we made a pretty good show.

After we arranged our table, we all took turns wandering through the show, seeing what everyone else had to offer.  We picked up a whole bunch of sutures, some IV start kits and a 2 gallon thermos (for tea in the woods, of course!).

We did sell a tremendous amount in a short amount of time.  Our guns were gone the first day.  Books sold well and I even sold some feminine pads (at a gun show - can you believe it?).  I handed out more business cards for the concealed holsters than I can count, and even sold one.  There were ladies trying the holsters on right over their clothes!  Amazingly, the guys loved the holsters and we even had a few fellows brings their wives back to the show so they could check them out.

Without a doubt, the very best part of our gun show weekend was meeting people.  I had the great honor to meet so many of the local folks who read this blog.  What a group of people you are!  Not only are you doing what you can to prepare for your physical needs, and the needs of those around you - I was struck with the fervency you all have for preparing spiritually for the days ahead.  I am proud to call you brothers and sisters.

Truth be told, I am not in a hurry to do another gun show.  It takes a lot of work to get ready and it is hard to be away from home for a solid three days.  That being said, I am thankful our family took the time to do this show and the Lord willing, I will see you again next year.

Coming Soon....To a Gun Show Near You

So sorry for the silence of late, but I have been busily preparing for my first gun show.  Admittedly, it will not the the first gun show that I have ever attended, just the first one that I will have a table.  In reality, gun shows and I are tight.  My dad has always loved them, and as children, my brother and I spent a considerable amount of time wandering in gun shows from table to table.

When I was growing up, my dad was the proprietor of a little country store.  He sold grain, tack, used furniture and army surplus, not to mention anything else he thought might sell.  He issued hunting and fishing licenses, rented videos and sold guns.  He built a woodstove (in the shop at the high school where he taught), which heated the building and there were tables and chairs surrounding the stove.  We had a bakery case full of doughnuts and sundry other eatables and the coffee pot was always full.  Dad's store served as the local meeting place.  The troubles of the world were hashed out around that wood stove as the coffee flowed.  Deals were made, necessities purchased and small town life was lived, all within the confines of our little store.

Going to gun shows remind me of my dad's store.  The smell, the people, the fiercely independent streak brings me back to the days of my past.  I remember digging through musty boxes full of surplus, making sure the contents were not past their usefulness.  I remember cartons full of packs, pouches and belts, some from our military and some (ugh!) the Germans.  I, of course, could spot the difference in an instance - knowing full well that ours were quite superior.  I remember wearing military wool pants to school in the winter time trying to start a fashion trend and thinking it was normal for people to wear military blouses as jackets.

When I would get homesick, after moving to Seattle, I would frequent a huge Army/Navy  surplus store on 1st Ave.  I would walk past bins full of mag pouches, feeling each one.  I would look at the dummies sporting gas masks and finger the wool blankets with the medical symbol on the corner - and I would feel like I was home.  I would bury my face in the piles of BDU's and breath deeply, and I would think of my dad.

Now, as I walk past table after gun show table, trailing after my husband, I am reminded of my childhood, trailing after my father.  I feel the mag pouches, finger the blankets and feel like I am home.

Soon, I get to have my very own table!  I am going to be at the Spokane Gun Show next weekend (11/4 - 11/6).  We will have books (The Prepared Family Guide to Uncommon Diseases), pads (Naturally Cozy) and miscellaneous gun stuff.  Yes, I know, with pads there, all of the guys will be in a hurry to hang out at my table!  My dad is coming to share a table with me (I'm so excited!) and Maid Elizabeth will help run the booth.

I would love an opportunity to meet any of you folks that are in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area.  If you find yourself at the gun show, I will be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Stop by and say Hi!

Until then....

Introducing....The Flash Draw

One day last week, I spent the afternoon helping my wonderful friend, Lady Day, design a website for her home business.   

About a year and a half ago, Lady Day went on the hunt for the perfect concealed carry (CC) holster.  She looked at all of the options - the purse, the shoulder holster, the fanny pack, ITW (inside the waist band) and anything else she could think of.  Some of the options worked some of the time, but there was no "universal" CC holster that worked most all the time.  

My friend, as her name would imply, is a Lady in the truest sense of the word.  She is petite, feminine and favors long flowered skirts and lovely blouses.  None of the CC holster she found were compatible with who she is.  Many skirts don't have waistbands that accept belts, so the ITW holsters were out.  A fanny pack is a little to "hippy" for a Lady (and everyone knows your packing), and a purse holster is cumbersome, heavy on one side and can be snatched, gun and all.

Lady Day went in search of something better.  Her search led her to an on the body, "bra style" holster that is worn under your clothes.  She found out that sometimes, if you can't find what you are looking for, you have to make your own.  After wearing her new holster for a couple of months, she decided that she could improve it even more.  Noticing wear and rust on her pistol where the fabric touched her skin, she added PUL, a thin waterproof fabric (used in cloth diapers) to protect the firearm.  She improved the straps, making them removable so that when they become stretched from the weight of the gun, they could be easily replaced.

The Naturally Concealed holster (with the Smith & Wesson)

Concealed!

Then, she made one for me!  It is outstanding!  I had carried my handgun in my purse for years, and had often complained about how heavy it was.  I carry a medium (steel) framed automatic that is quite heavy, however, when I started using the new holster, I hardly noticed it was there.  I can go to town, drive around all day, put away groceries, and never even notice a gun strapped to my chest.

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

After much encouragement from her many adoring fans (she also made a holster for Maid Elizabeth) we have convinced her she needs to make this carry option available to the masses.

I encouraged Lady Day to name her new holster "The Flash Draw".  My theory was, you would flash the bad guy, and while he was standing there gawking, you could shoot him.  You would flash and then draw!  But, oh, no!  As I said, my dear friend is a Lady.  She chose the much more sedate name "Naturally Concealed".  And, in reality, you don't flash anyway - the handgun is accessed through the top of your shirt or blouse or discreetly underneath.  But I really thought my name was better.

Regular straps

Criss-Cross for extra support

Lady Day's holster design is very accommodating for many different handguns.  She carries a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum and I carry an HK P7M8 with equal ease.  Some ladies have been able to carry a full size, large frame, automatic (although the holster must be slightly larger to accommodate).

If any of you are in the market for a great, handmade (to perfection) holster - I would more than encourage you to check out Naturally Concealed!

The HK and Smith & Wesson being cozy