Three months since my last post and so much has happened:
1. I developed a mentoring relationshipwith a SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) counselor, who is guiding me in next steps.
2. I attended the Machine Quilting Showcase in Kansas City.
3. I’ve developed a cash-flow analysis and business plan (they both still need just a little bit of work).
4. I’ve found a great studio space at an affordable price.
5. I’ve aleady received some quilts to finish.
6. I’ve picked a name: Tallgrass Quiltworks.

It’s so exciting to be on the way to my own business, and I believe I’m doing it the right way. Once I finish up my business and cash flow plans, I’ll be seeing a banker about a loan. If that bank turns me down, I’ll move on to another bank. If I’m rejected there, I’ll go to ANOTHER bank. I’m going to make this happen!

(Part of) The quilt that helped me rethink my future.

Ah, yes. It’s taken me several years to figure out what the best job in the world is. I’ve had PLENTY experience with what one of the WORST jobs in the world is. And now, I have the opportunity to create my own best job: And that’s working for myself, doing what I love. My hours. My schedule. My rules.

Little did I know when I was laid off last summer that I’d journey to this point. I thought I would land another job promoting my industry, or another marketing job promoting some other industry. Due to the economy, or maybe due to my age, nothing seemed to work out. Not long ago, I emailed a friend with this message: “I’ve applied for 77 jobs and have had three interviews.”

During the first several months of unemployment, I struggled with thoughts of identifying and starting a business that I could really get into. I love animals. What about a kennel? Dog biscuits? Dog-sitting? Nothing seemed right. And everything seemed too cost-prohibitive. in the meantime, I was applying for jobs that weren’t quite right, either. Perhaps those few interviewers I spoke with could sense my reservations about crawling back into the day-to-day routine.

Then, as the (made in Asia) quilt on our bed became more and more threadbare, I decided I needed to make a new one for our bed. As I started to work on the design and the fabrics for the new quilt, I felt good. This was what I’d been missing the last several years when I’d let quiltmaking leave my life. It was if the clouds parted and the sun came out. And a revelation: Do What You Love. THAT’s the best job in the world.

Carry A. Nation used her hatchet to break up saloons in Kansas.

But before the whine, the wine: My review of Murphy-Goode’s 2004 Snake Eyes Zinfandel (Elaine Maria vineyards).

I’m a little disappointed. The 2004 Snake Eyes, for its $37 price tag, just isn’t as good as the previous wine I tried, the 2005 Liar’s Dice. Snake Eyes isn’t as rich or dark. It’s a little thin. Doesn’t have the body I expect in a wine that costs $12 more than its brother. I can drink a fine Rombauer Zin for about $25, or a Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Zin for around $15. Better value, in my opinion.

On its own, Snake Eyes is quite tasty, but I can’t help comparing. Would I buy it again? Nope. Will it affect my quest for tbjitw? Nope. See, M-G people? I still love your idea! And I’d be SO good at it.

Now the whine.

I think the biggest challenge for this blog is going to be finding the wine. M-G, to its credit, lists the stores in Kansas that carry its wines. However, it fails to mention that each store probably only carries one or two kinds.

I could order the bottles from the vineyard itself. But right now (and for the foreseeable future), shipping wine into Kansas is problematic. I’m not sure if it’s some liquor-store-owner cartel or an overly zealous Kansas legislature that prevents importing out-of-state (which would be nearly ALL) wine shipments directly to a purchaser.

If I read the rules right, the wine has to be shipped to a retailer, which then gets a percentage (passed on, naturally, to the consumer). The purchaser then has to get out of her pajamas, drive 20 miles to the liquor store, pay for the wine, drive 20 miles back to her home in Rose Hill, where she can FINALLY open the &*(#*)*^!% bottle and enjoy it. Not exactly convenient.

In this state, you can’t go to a liquor store and buy alcohol, ice, glasses, and a bottle opener at the same store. Because that might encourage you to have a PARTY right there in the PARKING LOT! Just recently, a law was passed where you can buy a bottle of wine at a restaurant and, if you don’t drink it all, have it corked and take with you at the end of the evening. One restaurant I frequent puts the cork in the bottle and then puts the bottle in a big ol’ plastic bag and staples it closed.

Hey, it’s Kansas! It’s the place where Carry A. Nation began her career by hacking up saloons. We’ve had liquor-by-the-drink only since 1986. There was actually an amendment in our constitution that stated  “the open saloon shall be forever banned,” so we’ve definitely come a long way regarding alcohol.

To keep it in perspective, it is just alcohol, so while the laws may be annoying, all in all it’s easy for me to find a decent bottle of wine at a good price and enjoy it with some good food and good company.

Let me just take a moment here to say why this particular store is my favorite: Price. This place has no overhead. It’s in an old (read: low-rent) concrete building at the corner of two of Wichita’s main drags. It has absolutely NO atmosphere. And frankly, I would prefer to choose my own atmosphere while drinking the wine, so concrete’s fine by me, if they’ll pass on the savings. And as far as I can tell, they do.

My favorite wine right now is Zinfandel (no, not the dreaded white zin, but the real thing), so I was hoping to find Murphy-Goode’s “Liar’s Dice.”

Finally, my afflicted friend turned me over to a more knowledgeable colleague, who told me he could order it for me. Well, fine, I thought, but I’ve got some serious tasting to do, and I want to take some home with me today! The second guy must have seen the determination in my eyes and went to look for it. Ta-da! Liar’s Dice Zin, 2005.

And as I write this, I’m enjoying some. It’s very tasty, dark, plummy. Rich. At around $17.50 (I got a 30 percent discount for something–not sure what) it was a big bargain. Fabulous with any savory food and fabulous on its own, I would definitely buy another bottle.

I suspect they’re closing out–something about a distributor changing and waiting for some other distributor to pick it up. Kansas laws regarding the sale of wine will be the subject of another post. Suffice to say the laws are Byzantine.

So, Murphy-Goode folks, I think I deserve extra credit for tracking you down. I bought another vintage which I’ll post about later. But if all your wines are this good(e), at least I’ve found a reasonably priced wine which I’ll buy again and again. Even if I don’t get tbjitw.

Why do I think this is the best job in the world (tbjitw)? Let me count the ways:

1. I would get to live in Sonoma County, CA  for six months. I’ve never been there, but I have looked longingly at the pictures. It’s been on my lifetime list of places to visit. Beautiful!
2. I would get to drink wine daily. Probably for free. And then write about it.
3. I would get to learn about terroir, how wine is vinted, stored, tested, and enjoyed. And then write about it.
4. There’s probably good food involved.
5. Oh, and $10k a month for six months, plus accomodations!

What qualifies me for tbjitw:

• I’m a marketing director ( and understand that Murphy-Goode’s tactics to get free publicity are BRILLIANT!)
•  I can write
• I’m social
• I’m probably in their customer demographic
• I love wines

I’m a little weak in the social media experience realm, but I need to learn it anyway because, at my day job  (the second-best job in the world–sbjitw), our potential students are using these methods of communication ever more frequently. So my purpose for blogging is two-fold: 1) to learn how so I can get tbjitw, and 2) to be more effective at sbjitw.

In the days ahead, I’ll be blogging about how the tbjitw campaign is going and also about work life, home life, my boatload of dogs and cats, and random thoughts. Fortunately I have lots of friends who (whom?) I MAY be able to talk into reading my blog and commenting to help me make it better. Fire away, kids!