7 October 2009
I stayed home from work today, but Marita Beth had to go to TRF. I dozed in and out of consciousness through the day and eventually stumbled to the bedroom around 22:30 only to find this:
Artemis and I don’t get along on the best of days, but when she’s cute…she’s very cute!
Cheers.
~KR (Written on 14 October 2009)
Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.3
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: +2/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
6 October 2009
Although not, I hope related, I got sick within minutes of receiving the PubGuys t-shirts in the post.
This photo is indicative of my week and pretty much the sole sustenance I was able to keep down.
Not fun.
Cheers.
~KR (Written on 14 October 2009)
Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
13 October 2009
The house is now clean enough I wouldn’t be as embarrassed to have Ally come in and spend the weekend with the dogs, as I was last weekend. Ironically, Kyle is staying home this weekend!
At nine years old, Artemis is finally choosing to be with us when we sit in the living room and watch tv and use our laptops. I love that. The downside, is that every time I get up, she stretches out to take up as much of the chair as possible!
~MB
12 October 2009
After finishing my paperwork for Nicole, I left the house to do some errands. My dear Stephen has managed to get the flu—so I delivered his prescriptions to the pharmacy for Ed to pick up later. While I was out, I did a couple of shopping errands and came across this sofa. I was actually shopping for a small china cabinet for faire, but so far have been unsuccessful in that search. I’ll try again in a day or two—thrift stores, here I come.
My question is this: is there such a thing as a sofa with a built in chaise lounge, in a style that isn’t uber-modern? I don’t like the hard lines and square corners of this one . . . anyone have any suggestions?
~MB
11 October 2009
Rain. Not our first choice for opening weekend, but a common thing, really. Good thing we had a great Saturday, ’cause business today was almost non-existant.
One good aspect of the day was the revival of Bloody Mary Sunday at faire (not that we ever stopped doing bloody marys on Sundays just ’cause there was no faire, of course!) with Roxy and Damaris! Kyle and I had both looked forward to that since May! Two more charming drinking companions I cannot imagine! Next week, Kelly will join us, too, when she doesn’t have to hike through the rain and mud to get to us!
Any other takers? Sherrie? 
So, a long day of rain and very few patrons. Kyle never even donned garb. The fireworks were short and a little early, and the inventory was done, so we were able to hit the road by about 8 o’clock. Home shortly after midnight, exhausted, but safe and sound. Pups were glad to see us, as was the cat. (Many thanks to Allyson for pet-sitting this weekend!)
One down, seven to go!
~MB
10 October 2009
Opening Day of TRF. A chilly, beautiful day! Woo hoo! We had a darned fine day and I have no complaints, except maybe wishing for one more person working the booth!
It was so busy, that I never had time to think about taking photos, except when a customer asked me about the availability of these fabrics to make her a courtesan outfit in a different size than the one in stock.
Although it was a small crew, it was a good bunch of very capable folks. Angie came and helped, and Raven was with us (first and second weekends, at least), and of course, Kat and me. We made it through, and then went back to the pirate camp for steak cooked on the grill.
Hoping for a good Sunday, too!
~MB
9 October 2009
Kat and I worked yet another long, hard day getting the booth ready for opening. But, at least it wasn’t hot and muggy, again. In fact, we were rather cold most of the day! The front blew in at about nine o’clock this morning. I was just getting going, after two late nights in a row, and I realized the approaching clouds were really, really dark. I walked to the bathroom and noticed how warm it still was. And then, within about three minutes, the temperature dropped at least ten degrees! So, I quickly threw the last of the empty tubs into the trailer, and pulled out, so I could unhitch and have my truck backstage for the weekend, without the trailer. I wanted to do all that before the rain came . . . I didn’t make it. I was just deciding where to drop the trailer when the rain started, and while I was unhooking the stabilizer bars, it went from drizzle to outright rain.
By the time I was done, and had the trailer all locked up tight, I was completely soaked. And cold! I changed shirts so I wouldn’t stay cold, but the whole day was cool and rainy. It made for a serious contrast from the day before, that’s for sure. Kat and I dressed mannequins, made display decisions and just generally plugged away at getting the booth ready for opening. John came, as promised, and handled a lot of the tool-related jobs (bless him!) and the last of the cleaning. We sent him on his way home to BeaJay around six o’clock and kept on working. It was around seven or eight when Kyle finally arrived, having travelled down with Curtis and Dwayne and Marcus of The Blazing Sun. They had set up the pirate camp and started the chili cooking and then came to get us. With sundown came serious cold (at least for Texas), and while the company and the food was delightful in the campground, we were cold and still had work to do before morning, so we didn’t stay out there too long. Kat managed to make new friends right off the bat, though!
We went back and dug right into the work at hand. Even Kyle helped us with a few tasks and kept us in a fun mood with music and wit, and a little bit of clowning around—hence my photo of my adorable husband using my wonky glass bowl I made a couple of years ago, as a hat. I was unpacking some glass and happened to mention it was my hat-shaped bowl, and he was off and running! At one point in the evening, there was even an impromptu waltz! (Kat happened to grab my camera and catch it just in time.)
We worked late; Kyle, in a wonderful gesture of love and solidarity, stayed with us to the end, and the few tasks remaining at the end of the night should be no problem for us to finish in the morning.
Bring on the patrons!
~MB
8 October 2009
The day before the day before faire. It was one of the hottest, grossest, muggiest days ever. That’s the bad news. The good news is that all the boxes arriving from Michigan arrived today instead of tomorrow! Yay! So, as of a very late bedtime (again) we are really way ahead of where I thought we’d be tonight.
My photo doesn’t show the beauty my eyes saw as the sun set behind the pine trees and the rays peeked through casting long shadows across the grass.
~MB
7 October 2009
There comes a point when I can procrastinate no longer, and even though my husband is home sick from work, I had to point my truck and trailer south and drive to TRF.
Although she was in a separate car this time, I was grateful for Kat’s company. Especially after we got there! The drive went well and we were onsite by about four o’clock. We worked for a couple of hours, cleaning on a very basic level. Then, we locked it up tight and left it with bug bombs blazing. We enjoyed a delightful meal at Rancho Grande with Kelly and Rhonni and her worker from New York. (Grrr . . . I cannot remember her name . . . I was so tired.) Then, a quick trip to Target, and back to the booth for a marathon of cleaning and set-up. Kat and I each went to our respective, CLEAN living spaces, and gave in to sleep at around three a.m. I stayed up a little longer—this photo was taken at 3:11 a.m.
It came out even cooler than I expected. It shows not only me, but it is a fun shot of our living space at the booth. I love that you can see the camera and the little pink computer and the air card . . . the crazy, groovy fabric I decorated the walls with, and the bright yellow and red accents . . . the Mickey Mouse plush that Nicole gave me years ago, and a great photo of Kyle and I in a frame. All the little parts of our world that make the booth a home away from home.
Another long day tomorrow.
~MB
5 October 2009
My PubGuys shirts arrived today! You’ve likely figured I’m excited about this project. Now, I can dress the part, too.
Cheers.
~KR (Written on 12 October 2009)
Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
