And then, while we were discussing it, thinking about it, I remembered that the even more responsible thing to do, if we were going to spend a big chunk of money like that (and here’s that ‘opportunity cost’ thing again – we can’t buy everything, there isn’t enough money) would be to buy a set of ProPanels. They’re professional quality portable gallery walls for showing art at festivals. I have a portable wall I designed and constructed myself, but it’s big, heavy, and every time we put it up & take it down it wears out a little more. Before too long (probably within a few months) I’ll have to buy replacement parts for it again. The better solution would be to spend the money (probably around $900-$1200 for a full set of KD ProPanels & accessories) and improve my business’s public appearance. This is also a sort of future-proofing, since actual Art Festivals (ie: Scottsdale ArtFest, Tempe Festival of the Arts) wouldn’t accept my ugly self-made wall, but would love the more professional setup. Showing for a year on Roosevelt Row cost less than showing for a weekend at either of those festivals, so until/unless my art income goes up into that range I’m wary to invest in showing at those shows, but buying these panels would be a sort of pre-investment in that future.

bleh.

But it’s so responsible. We’ve been responsible all year – how do you think we made it nearly a year on a teacher’s salary? I just need to pray about it more. Did God provide this extra money to test our responsibility, and see that we can be faithful with more money and manage it for a longer period? I suppose I know the biblical answer is that God says to give away everything we own, which seems to be anti-materialism, so that train of thought leads to just slowly eating it and continuing our relatively ascetic existence. (I think we ate pasta for dinner 9 of the last 14 days…) Sigh. I don’t know.

And then, while we were discussing it, thinking about it, I remembered that the even more responsible thing to do, if we were going to spend a big chunk of money like that (and here’s that ‘opportunity cost’ thing again – we can’t buy everything, there isn’t enough money) would be to buy a set of ProPanels. They’re professional quality portable gallery walls for showing art at festivals. I have a portable wall I designed and constructed myself, but it’s big, heavy, and every time we put it up & take it down it wears out a little more. Before too long (probably within a few months) I’ll have to buy replacement parts for it again. The better solution would be to spend the money (probably around $900-$1200 for a full set of KD ProPanels & accessories) and improve my business’s public appearance. This is also a sort of future-proofing, since actual Art Festivals (ie: Scottsdale ArtFest, Tempe Festival of the Arts) wouldn’t accept my ugly self-made wall, but would love the more professional setup. Showing for a year on Roosevelt Row cost less than showing for a weekend at either of those festivals, so until/unless my art income goes up into that range I’m wary to invest in showing at those shows, but buying these panels would be a sort of pre-investment in that future.

bleh.

But it’s so responsible. We’ve been responsible all year – how do you think we made it nearly a year on a teacher’s salary? I just need to pray about it more. Did God provide this extra money to test our responsibility, and see that we can be faithful with more money and manage it for a longer period? I suppose I know the biblical answer is that God says to give away everything we own, which seems to be anti-materialism, so that train of thought leads to just slowly eating it and continuing our relatively ascetic existence. (I think we ate pasta for dinner 9 of the last 14 days…) Sigh. I don’t know.