It's been hella busy at work; we had a set of documents come through that are twice-yearly annoyances (though they used to be quarterly annoyances; I'll take it as a win). Small, two-page doc sets that are localized into 6 languages other than English. Five of them. Per language. The frickin' paperwork takes roughly 10x as long as the docs themselves. And of course they have to be done Right Now OMG even though they won't be published until February. Since they also drag along quite a bit of baggage in the form of ancillary docs, we cringe when they show up, soldier through, and hope that next time they'll have become yearly documents.
This is, of course, in addition to all of our regular work. I do love overtime!
I've been actually coming home and cleaning. I know! I don't know why either, I'm just taking my willingness to scrub the tub and mop the kitchen as the gift it is and I'm exploiting it while it's hanging around. I've been doing bits and pieces every night--a pile put away in the bedroom here, a pile for Goodwill there, putting my bookshelves to rights... I even vacuumed most of the apartment tonight (after replacing the belt in the vacuum) and OMG the cat hair I took out of the bin thingie was insane. There's still a lot to do, and who knows how long this will last? But the place is looking much better. More "cluttered" and less "crazy single lady".
I found out today that my workshop space will go away at the end of March. Now I need to find a new place to set things on fire that I can afford, which in this town is pretty laughable. I'm hoping one of my co-renters will want to go in on a place, but when I posed it to him, he said something about it being "really hard". WTF? I'm willing to do all the footwork. Oh well, I'll talk to him again tomorrow. And put word out on FB.
I'm going to the Austin Craft Riot meeting on Saturday and I'm going to join. They're all about the business/marketing end of crafting and I do need help with that. Then after I pay my sales taxes for the year, I'm going to scrape together money for some spring shows. If i'm going to be paying more for my space I'd better make it worth it.
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Neither the worst year of my life nor my best.
Physically, it was one of the worst, because of the Evil Knee. (It all started exactly one year ago on the 30th.) I'm still dealing with my loss of mobility, with the chronic pain, and my own anger at all of this. I may never come to terms with it, frankly. And it has really well, destroyed my plans for weight loss. I'm finding it too easy to find solace in food.
However, it was a year in which my art took (I think) a sharp turn upwards in quality. My coppersmithing class last spring was amazing and fun and I plan on taking it again some time. Now that my workshop is no longer in flux and is much closer to my apartment I am getting a lot more done and having a lot more fun with it.
I went to Comic Con. Even with my knee problems, I had a great time.
My friends and family continue to delight and astonish me with their generosity. With their time, their physical help, their patience, even monetarily.![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dremiel , wolfshark , tehomet , blueraccoon , my amazing sister-in-law, my wonderful nephew, and all my other friends, both online and off.
Resolutions? Take my art sales to the next level; explore local stores, finally get my etsy account up and running. Stop being an idiot about money. Find some way to work out.
Suggestions? Comments?
Physically, it was one of the worst, because of the Evil Knee. (It all started exactly one year ago on the 30th.) I'm still dealing with my loss of mobility, with the chronic pain, and my own anger at all of this. I may never come to terms with it, frankly. And it has really well, destroyed my plans for weight loss. I'm finding it too easy to find solace in food.
However, it was a year in which my art took (I think) a sharp turn upwards in quality. My coppersmithing class last spring was amazing and fun and I plan on taking it again some time. Now that my workshop is no longer in flux and is much closer to my apartment I am getting a lot more done and having a lot more fun with it.
I went to Comic Con. Even with my knee problems, I had a great time.
My friends and family continue to delight and astonish me with their generosity. With their time, their physical help, their patience, even monetarily.
dremiel , wolfshark , tehomet , blueraccoon , my amazing sister-in-law, my wonderful nephew, and all my other friends, both online and off.Resolutions? Take my art sales to the next level; explore local stores, finally get my etsy account up and running. Stop being an idiot about money. Find some way to work out.
Suggestions? Comments?
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OK, my sister-in-law and I had been looking at houses lately, and had actually talked about putting offers in on a few. (I was skeptical, since we've done this dance once before.) But we kept looking and my sister-in-law kept reassuring me that it was going to happen this time. I had even started making tentative plans about moving the workshop, closing the storage unit, etc.
This Sunday, my sister-in-law and I went to the La-Z-Boy showroom, since they were having this amazing sale and she wanted to get me a replacement for the soon-to-be-leaving futon couch. On the way, she told me that my brother--instead of investing in a house that will appreciate--has decided to invest the money in a friend's new convenience store.
I called it. I knew he would pull out, some how, some way. Thanks, man. I shouldn't have even let myself hope until I had the keys in my hands.
Trouble is, I can't even call him on it. It *is* his money, after all, and it's his call as to what he does with it. I just don't think he realizes how thin the profit margins are on convenience stores. Or how shitty he made me feel.
I could tell my sister-in-law felt bad about the whole thing. She got me a custom-built 2-seat La-Z-Boy recliner (with my choice of fabric), then we went to Costco and she bought me a new flatscreen TV *is boggled*. After my friend's daughter comes and takes my futon away (and my old desk, yay!), I'm calling Goodwill to come get my monster 35" tube TV. That sucker weighs 190 pounds!
Ah well.
Tomorrow evening I will go into the workshop and knock out my last commission (really,
dremiel !). Then I will bake and bake and bake. Because nothing makes me feel better than making calorie bombs for my friends and family.
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Ow. Ow. Argh. Ow.
I have hurt like a mother all week. Maybe it's the change in weather (we're actually having "normal" South Texas winter weather right now, i.e., wet and foggy and drizzly) or just not getting enough sleep. But my legs hurt, my hands hurt, and of course my knees hurt. Yes, I said knees. The left one is getting into the act now. *sigh*
Since Friday, I have: done THREE shows, done my laundry, met some nice people to set up petsitting over Christmas, run the first half of a FrameMaker training session, trekked across town 3 times to take care of friend's cat, returned several things to their respective stores, addressed and mailed 40+ Christmas cards, and spent 3.5 hours in the workshop tonight getting my commissions finished. I still have the other half of the training tomorrow, the White Elephant party on Thursday, a thank you lunch on Friday, meeting yet another person for petsitting over Christmas, a trip to IKEA to purchase a crib and sundries for my Angel Tree baby, someone is coming to take away my futon couch and possibly my old desk, I have to go to various furniture stores to check out recliners, and Saturday I have my last show--in the gallery where I only had 8 people come in all afternoon this past Saturday. (Though I will have at least one person come to buy cufflinks, so it won't be a total loss.) Then it's time to make the Christmas presents.
Crap, are the frickin' holidays over yet?
I have hurt like a mother all week. Maybe it's the change in weather (we're actually having "normal" South Texas winter weather right now, i.e., wet and foggy and drizzly) or just not getting enough sleep. But my legs hurt, my hands hurt, and of course my knees hurt. Yes, I said knees. The left one is getting into the act now. *sigh*
Since Friday, I have: done THREE shows, done my laundry, met some nice people to set up petsitting over Christmas, run the first half of a FrameMaker training session, trekked across town 3 times to take care of friend's cat, returned several things to their respective stores, addressed and mailed 40+ Christmas cards, and spent 3.5 hours in the workshop tonight getting my commissions finished. I still have the other half of the training tomorrow, the White Elephant party on Thursday, a thank you lunch on Friday, meeting yet another person for petsitting over Christmas, a trip to IKEA to purchase a crib and sundries for my Angel Tree baby, someone is coming to take away my futon couch and possibly my old desk, I have to go to various furniture stores to check out recliners, and Saturday I have my last show--in the gallery where I only had 8 people come in all afternoon this past Saturday. (Though I will have at least one person come to buy cufflinks, so it won't be a total loss.) Then it's time to make the Christmas presents.
Crap, are the frickin' holidays over yet?
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Well unless we get an influx of people this may be a complete bust. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
OK, starting tomorrow evening:
Friday: Go to workshop and make star things. Many star things.
Repack for Gallery Black Lagoon show. Test crock pot (hot mulled cider!). Load car.
Saturday: Gallery Black Lagoon Show.
Back to workshop as needed.
Pack for Central Texas Ladies' Marketplace show.
Sunday: Visit potential dog-sitting client.
Central Texas Ladies' Marketplace show.
Back to workshop as needed.
Tuesday: Small show at work.
next Saturday: Gallery Black Lagoon show.
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Friday: Go to workshop and make star things. Many star things.
Repack for Gallery Black Lagoon show. Test crock pot (hot mulled cider!). Load car.
Saturday: Gallery Black Lagoon Show.
Back to workshop as needed.
Pack for Central Texas Ladies' Marketplace show.
Sunday: Visit potential dog-sitting client.
Central Texas Ladies' Marketplace show.
Back to workshop as needed.
Tuesday: Small show at work.
next Saturday: Gallery Black Lagoon show.
Collapse.
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Boy, today was...not particularly fun. Cold (got colder as the day went on), and rainy all day. I made 3 whole sales. The first person in my tent tried to lowball me on a $30 bolo tie. Offered me $25. I countered that I would take off the tax. That got me an incredulous "You charge tax?" Um, yeah, dumbass, I run a business and pay taxes. *sigh*
The new tent held up pretty well. It did develop a few pinhole leaks in the seams. I'm going to seal them with seam sealer after it dries. It held up wonderfully to some wind gusts due to the vents in the roof. Not bad for a cheap tent!
I did a little shopping and picked up some more Christmas presents and traded for sill more. It's always nice to have a mutual admiration society with another artist whose work you like. (I am now the proud owner of a glass dish that reads "I like sunsets, long walks on the beach, and poking dead things with a stick". Hee!)
We closed up early, and the amazing sister-in-law came and was invaluable in helping me take down the new tent and load my wagon.
My total sales were OK for the weekend, just not as high as I expect for this show. But we had the trifecta working against us: we were in a new location, the weather was both cold AND rainy, and Wheatsville (the food co-op that was the original sponsor) did nothing to promote us. I'm now more than ready to sell at the Gallery Black Lagoon the next 2 Saturdays. Indoor shows are the best.
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Well, it rained and drizzled most of the day. Normally I'd be ecstatic about this, since we still have a rain deficit of over 24 INCHES for the last year or so. But I am selfish and wanted lots of people to come to the show. Which is outdoors.
We did have people--early in the day I was very worried that no one would show up, it would be a bust, etc. Slowly but surely people trickled in, and I gradually made sales. Everyone was having a fine time tromping in the rain/drizzle/mist, and it did clear off a bit late in the afternoon. I sold all of my star necklaces and all of my star earrings, as well as a nice handful of enamel pendants and my standbys, the coin bracelets and the kids' necklaces. Almost half my sales were in cash, which is slightly odd.
I saw several old friends I had not seen in AGES. One, K., said, "I knew it was your booth from across the way-- I could hear you!" I have an *ahem* kind of carrying voice, I guess? All that theater training still sticks.
We used my brand-new tent from Wal-Mart today. Took forever to set up, but man, was it worth it. The roof is waterPROOF instead of waterREPELLENT, and has no saggy places, so no unexpected water dumps on customers for me, thanks. I did take the precaution of lowering it a bit, taking down most of my work, and clipping my old sidewalls extra-tight so hopefully there will be no leaks/drips/thefts in the night.
I just realized I never posted links to my last batch of work. Click through for other things, as usual.
Had a couple of requests, so here it goes:
1. Coins! Neat coins! Older Irish, Greek, especially. Coins with animals on them, interesting coins. I can always use coins.
2. Stones. Cabochons, small fossils, crystals....I can wire wrap almost anything.
3. Bench tools. I could use a bench grinder, a heat gun, and either a large chunk of tree stump or a very sturdy table (for chasing and forming metals).
4. If you have any old lapidary equipment or any jewelers tools lying around, I will gladly take them off your hands.
5. A way to organize all the rubber stamps I have accumulated. Most are not mounted (rubber on foam), and I'm getting hip-deep in them.
6. Terry Pratchett silliness. Just about anything from here. Especially the magnets, key chains, and tea towels.
I do have a wish list on amazon.
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I spent most of Thanksgiving day cooking. I decided to cook at my place instead of my brother's, since while his kitchen is much larger, I have a much better selection of implements, pots, pans, and spices. (I buy mine at Penzey's.) The Hideously Expensive Turkey was good, but not life-changing. :-) My new green bean recipe was a huge hit. The stuffing recipe made enough for about a dozen people. It was OK, but will be better with tweaking. J, L's husband, was not feeling well--very depressed over family issues (mom's a hoarder, they have to clean out the house by January...), so we didn't go to see The Muppets like we planned.
I got up kind of late today, and after I went and fed my brother's animals I headed into the workshop. I was there about 4 hours, cleaning and smoothing metal, and putting base coats on pieces. It's very repetitive, soothing work, just what I was up for today. Ran a couple of errands and bought 2 books for less than $10 each (love those B&N discount codes). I have everything ready to make turkey soup on Sunday.
I plan on getting into the workshop pretty early and getting a lot done. I have shows the next 3 weekends--Wheatsville next weekend, and then a trunk show at a gallery the next two Saturdays.
I'm pretty caught up on Christmas presents except for the ones I'm making. The rest need to wait for a couple of paychecks and some gift cards I ordered with my airline miles. Hopefully I'll get started on Christmas cards this weekend (and if you want one let me know--if I sent you one last year, you'll get one this year).
I got up kind of late today, and after I went and fed my brother's animals I headed into the workshop. I was there about 4 hours, cleaning and smoothing metal, and putting base coats on pieces. It's very repetitive, soothing work, just what I was up for today. Ran a couple of errands and bought 2 books for less than $10 each (love those B&N discount codes). I have everything ready to make turkey soup on Sunday.
I plan on getting into the workshop pretty early and getting a lot done. I have shows the next 3 weekends--Wheatsville next weekend, and then a trunk show at a gallery the next two Saturdays.
I'm pretty caught up on Christmas presents except for the ones I'm making. The rest need to wait for a couple of paychecks and some gift cards I ordered with my airline miles. Hopefully I'll get started on Christmas cards this weekend (and if you want one let me know--if I sent you one last year, you'll get one this year).
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Done:
Buttermilk cornbread for dressing
cranberry sauce
eggs boiled
Last trip to store (nothing like discovering the butter you bought 10 days ago is still sitting on the counter--tossed it just to be safe and bought fresh)
Borrowed SATA-USB cable to image old hard drive onto new one
To do tomorrow:
Dressing
Green beans with bacon and tomatoes
Carrots
Roast the bird
gravy
Dinner is at 5 so I won't be in any rush in the morning. My Hideously Overpriced Yet Greener-Than-Thou turkey awaits in the fridge. My usual source fell through so I had to find a decent bird at the last minute. (I'm really picky about my turkey.) I could cook at my brother's place since they're all in Alabama but I'd have to take over my tools and all my seasonings. My kitchen may be dinky but I know where everything is.
Y'all have a good Thanksgiving (if you celebrate), y'hear?
Buttermilk cornbread for dressing
cranberry sauce
eggs boiled
Last trip to store (nothing like discovering the butter you bought 10 days ago is still sitting on the counter--tossed it just to be safe and bought fresh)
Borrowed SATA-USB cable to image old hard drive onto new one
To do tomorrow:
Dressing
Green beans with bacon and tomatoes
Carrots
Roast the bird
gravy
Dinner is at 5 so I won't be in any rush in the morning. My Hideously Overpriced Yet Greener-Than-Thou turkey awaits in the fridge. My usual source fell through so I had to find a decent bird at the last minute. (I'm really picky about my turkey.) I could cook at my brother's place since they're all in Alabama but I'd have to take over my tools and all my seasonings. My kitchen may be dinky but I know where everything is.
Y'all have a good Thanksgiving (if you celebrate), y'hear?
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My amazing friend D came over to the park this morning and helped me unload the wagon, set up the tent, tables, etc. Her help was greatly appreciated, as the Evil Knee really dislikes me carrying things and, you know, walking a lot. I'm ready to go and we are opening earlier than advertised...10:30 instead of 12:00. This came as something of a surprise to everyone, including the vendor coordinator. I guess this is to help people with the traffic on I-35 due to the Longhorns home game. But since it's not on the website or anything, whether we get any sales is unknown.
I got my first hot chocolate of the season! I very carefully put it next to my parking brake, pulled out of the lot....and it fell over. My car now smells really good, yet I have not had my hot chocolate. :-(
My feet and knees are all very unhappy with me. My podiatrist looked at my alignment a couple of weeks ago and said that instead of my feet rolling out and me being a bit bowlegged, everything rolls in now. So he added wedges to my orthotics, and my legs are aligned again--but the muscles around my knees and feet are having to work harder, so they ache more.
Got my change, picked up my snacks/drinks for the weekend, and I plan on getting some more things wrapped tonight while I watch Fringe, Supernatural, and Grimm. I continue to adore Prime Suspect. OMG, such good writing.
House-hunting continues and I should see some more next week. We (as in my brother and sister-in-law) may be putting in a few offers. *fingers crossed*
I got a lot done on Saturday--it was one of those crisp, cool sunny days we get here in the fall, and I went over to the workshop and stayed for 4 hours, messing around with metal and enamel, and having a great time. I discovered if you enamel ozone blue onto bare copper, the first layer is an interesting lavender color, but subsequent layers of enamel will make it blue. I futzed around with some copper scrap and made some earrings that I enameled with various colors; and I made a commission piece (still waiting on approval).
Left with a warm fuzzy accomplished feeling. Got home to find some illiterate idiot had parked in my 5 Year Resident Reserved space. (Big sign, unmissable = ass.) Had dinner with my friends L&J and then we went wandering around Barnes & Noble. Bought the new Tamora Pierce and some really lolarious Christmas cards.
Got up this morning feeling oddly out of sorts. I've been having weird dreams lately. I never remember them completely, but I've been getting odd flashes. Very strange, almost Lovecraftian. Also: flying lizards and magenta cobras.
Balanced my checkbook and almost had a heart attack. Thank everything for the bonus check next week. My rent went up almost 10% and man, does that hurt. I really hope the house deal with my brother and his wife goes through. I'm seriously considering killing my landline and finding room for the things in my storage unit in my overstuffed little apartment just so I don't feel horribly pinched financially.
Anyway, I cleaned the workroom (closet) in my apartment and put together the new earrings and buttons and such. I'll hit the workshop Tuesday, and run up a few more things. My friend D is helping me to set up on Friday for the Austin Celtic Festival and L&J are helping me tear down on Sunday. I'm so glad that I have such great friends and I can bribe them with show passes! :-) I really need the help doing that these days. My Evil Knee limits me a lot in that area.
Dinner tonight with brother, his wife, and the Nephew. Late birthday celebration for brother, and he took us out to McCormick and Schmicks, a really good seafood restaurant. Crab cakes and shrimp and perfect green beans and spinach and peanut butter pie, oh my! Gave him the complete Gahan Wilson collection that he had actually asked for--almost unheard of!
Dressing up as a mad scientist tomorrow. Ought to be fun.
Some of what I did on Saturday:
Left with a warm fuzzy accomplished feeling. Got home to find some illiterate idiot had parked in my 5 Year Resident Reserved space. (Big sign, unmissable = ass.) Had dinner with my friends L&J and then we went wandering around Barnes & Noble. Bought the new Tamora Pierce and some really lolarious Christmas cards.
Got up this morning feeling oddly out of sorts. I've been having weird dreams lately. I never remember them completely, but I've been getting odd flashes. Very strange, almost Lovecraftian. Also: flying lizards and magenta cobras.
Balanced my checkbook and almost had a heart attack. Thank everything for the bonus check next week. My rent went up almost 10% and man, does that hurt. I really hope the house deal with my brother and his wife goes through. I'm seriously considering killing my landline and finding room for the things in my storage unit in my overstuffed little apartment just so I don't feel horribly pinched financially.
Anyway, I cleaned the workroom (closet) in my apartment and put together the new earrings and buttons and such. I'll hit the workshop Tuesday, and run up a few more things. My friend D is helping me to set up on Friday for the Austin Celtic Festival and L&J are helping me tear down on Sunday. I'm so glad that I have such great friends and I can bribe them with show passes! :-) I really need the help doing that these days. My Evil Knee limits me a lot in that area.
Dinner tonight with brother, his wife, and the Nephew. Late birthday celebration for brother, and he took us out to McCormick and Schmicks, a really good seafood restaurant. Crab cakes and shrimp and perfect green beans and spinach and peanut butter pie, oh my! Gave him the complete Gahan Wilson collection that he had actually asked for--almost unheard of!
Dressing up as a mad scientist tomorrow. Ought to be fun.
Some of what I did on Saturday:
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Pretty productive day.
Woke up in a cleaning mood. This doesn't happen often (LOL) so I ruthlessly used it. Threw out a lot of boxes and junk, vacuumed, did some other picking up. I pulled part of my display out and cleaned it--so much dirt from the last show! Then I finally put my sister and her husband's mutual birthday present in the mail, only 2 weeks late.
Went to the Austin Gem & Mineral Society Gem Show. Getting there was..interesting. In the same area we had 1) City-Wide Garage Sale and 2) the Gypsy Food Festival (food trailers). So the area was extremely congested and massively infested with hipsters. Spent a little more money than I thought I would, but not a huge amount. The book dealer wasn't there, which helped. I scored several cut and polished ammonite pairs, ranging from small enough for earrings to a nice pair I will use to make bolo ties. Found a couple of reasonably-priced meteorites--from Texas!--as well as a nice little piece of moldavite. Also a piece of Mammoth tusk, some fossil (sawfish, crocodile) teeth, a gorgeous sea urchin fossil, and a nice range of orthoceras fossils. I stocked up on bolo tie strings too. What put me a little over my limit was a set of really nice cabochons--I wanted one more but it was $50, and I already had 4. I did get my sister-in-law a birthday present, a cross carved out of fossiliferous limestone from Temple, a small town north of here. (Since she's religious, and from Temple, I couldn't resist.) Looked hard for something suitably goofy for the White Elephant Christmas party but came up empty on that point.
All in all, I was there for about 3 hours. The Evil Knee let me know it was very displeased, but I told it to fuck off. I was actually a bit more comfortable than I would normally be, since I went to my podiatrist yesterday and he adjusted my orthotics. It seems that after being bowlegged all of my life, with feet that rolled out, after my knee surgery I am more knock-kneed with feet that roll in. So he fiddled with them to at least help my legs and feet go back to a more neutral position. So far, so good.
Will be looking at more houses tomorrow. My sister-in-law assures me that it will happen this time. I still only give it about a 30% chance, but I remain hopeful. I plan on getting into the workshop tomorrow morning, as I have a commission piece hanging fire and some ideas I want to try.
Woke up in a cleaning mood. This doesn't happen often (LOL) so I ruthlessly used it. Threw out a lot of boxes and junk, vacuumed, did some other picking up. I pulled part of my display out and cleaned it--so much dirt from the last show! Then I finally put my sister and her husband's mutual birthday present in the mail, only 2 weeks late.
Went to the Austin Gem & Mineral Society Gem Show. Getting there was..interesting. In the same area we had 1) City-Wide Garage Sale and 2) the Gypsy Food Festival (food trailers). So the area was extremely congested and massively infested with hipsters. Spent a little more money than I thought I would, but not a huge amount. The book dealer wasn't there, which helped. I scored several cut and polished ammonite pairs, ranging from small enough for earrings to a nice pair I will use to make bolo ties. Found a couple of reasonably-priced meteorites--from Texas!--as well as a nice little piece of moldavite. Also a piece of Mammoth tusk, some fossil (sawfish, crocodile) teeth, a gorgeous sea urchin fossil, and a nice range of orthoceras fossils. I stocked up on bolo tie strings too. What put me a little over my limit was a set of really nice cabochons--I wanted one more but it was $50, and I already had 4. I did get my sister-in-law a birthday present, a cross carved out of fossiliferous limestone from Temple, a small town north of here. (Since she's religious, and from Temple, I couldn't resist.) Looked hard for something suitably goofy for the White Elephant Christmas party but came up empty on that point.
All in all, I was there for about 3 hours. The Evil Knee let me know it was very displeased, but I told it to fuck off. I was actually a bit more comfortable than I would normally be, since I went to my podiatrist yesterday and he adjusted my orthotics. It seems that after being bowlegged all of my life, with feet that rolled out, after my knee surgery I am more knock-kneed with feet that roll in. So he fiddled with them to at least help my legs and feet go back to a more neutral position. So far, so good.
Will be looking at more houses tomorrow. My sister-in-law assures me that it will happen this time. I still only give it about a 30% chance, but I remain hopeful. I plan on getting into the workshop tomorrow morning, as I have a commission piece hanging fire and some ideas I want to try.
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Please tell me someone else is totally in love with the new Prime Suspect.
I love Jane Timony. Maria Bello is AWESOME. Plus, bonus Kirk Acevedo, one of my favorite actors.
I love Jane Timony. Maria Bello is AWESOME. Plus, bonus Kirk Acevedo, one of my favorite actors.
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Well, I didn't get into the Cherrywood Art Festival. It's weird. I got in the first couple of years and then they decided to, I don't know, go with folks from their neighbohood--the very one I lived in long before this bunch of Yuppies moved there, ironically enough. Every time I go to the show, someone who works there tells me I should apply to the show after seeing the jewelry I have on.
I've applied to the Wheatsville show--there's a pretty good chance I'll get in since I've been in it the last several years. I should hear from them in a few weeks (they only sent out applications a few weeks ago). Today is supposedly the day I hear back from Blue Genie, but no word yet. *frets*
I bought myself roses last night. When I got up this morning the living room smelled like a garden.
We're having our little tech writers conference at work, which means I have to get there about 8 am for the keynote speech. I plan on just getting work done, since there isn't a whole lot I'm interested in, topic-wise. (I'm judging the Demo Fair which should be fun.) Then I'm going out to see Moneyball with my friend G.
Friday we have our cookoff and I'm making Igor Bars again. I made the cookie bar base tonight and tomorrow I'll add the caramel, chocolate, and rice krispie treats (made with chocolate marshmallows). I didn't put waxed paper under the cookies so getting them out of the pan might be a challenge tomorrow night. :-)
Tonight's Criminal Minds was amazing. My Team is back!
I've applied to the Wheatsville show--there's a pretty good chance I'll get in since I've been in it the last several years. I should hear from them in a few weeks (they only sent out applications a few weeks ago). Today is supposedly the day I hear back from Blue Genie, but no word yet. *frets*
I bought myself roses last night. When I got up this morning the living room smelled like a garden.
We're having our little tech writers conference at work, which means I have to get there about 8 am for the keynote speech. I plan on just getting work done, since there isn't a whole lot I'm interested in, topic-wise. (I'm judging the Demo Fair which should be fun.) Then I'm going out to see Moneyball with my friend G.
Friday we have our cookoff and I'm making Igor Bars again. I made the cookie bar base tonight and tomorrow I'll add the caramel, chocolate, and rice krispie treats (made with chocolate marshmallows). I didn't put waxed paper under the cookies so getting them out of the pan might be a challenge tomorrow night. :-)
Tonight's Criminal Minds was amazing. My Team is back!
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The World's Best Niece and I went to the opening day of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Magnolia. It was cloudy-ish, with a few little bits of scattered rain, plus some breeze--good Faire attendance weather.
Saw Wine & Alchemy and they were awesome as usual. Bought their new CD. Went by Cheryl Elms' booth where I bought my amazing sheepskin hat (I was wearing one of her tshirts), and traded a pair of my copper spiral earrings for a really cool shirt that the WBN assures me the Nephew will like. So I have a Christmas present out of the way. (My mind works funny. I remembered--a year later--that Cheryl had admired my spiral earrings and had commented if I brought some we could do a trade. This morning I pulled 3 pairs in copper, bronze, and silver, and tucked them into my purse. She remembered and we both went away happy.)
Wandered around a fair bit. Went to the massage booth where a lovely young man worked on the Evil Knee and my feet, and he recommended I do water aerobics and/or Pilates to build up the muscles around the knee. Bought a show tshirt. Resisted the many fried temptations and had some grapes and good lemonade. If you know where to look, the food at TRF is quite tasty.
Had quite a few great conversations with various vendors, all of whom admired the jewelry I was wearing and demanded cards. Resisted temptation at the wind chime booth (there was one made with a soup ladle and some other flatware), and bought a bottle of mead. By this time it was getting on to 4 and the Evil Knee decided, even with the cane, that it had Had Enough. As we were headed out we passed a little import shop with all those cute Indonesian animal carvings and went in on a whim. I found a plain white sign/hanging with a blacksmith's anvil on it and bought it for the princely sum of $5.
WBN and I had our usual great conversation on the way back.
And I am apparently well-known in Navasota, TX:
Today would have been my mother's 86th birthday. I miss you, Mama.
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Monday (day off), I did indeed Wash All Things. I swear the table covers for my booth were actually lighter when I took them home. That was a lot of dirt! I slept very very late (12 hours!), but I did get the car unloaded, go to the bank, and made it to the Huge Laundromat. I also treated my car to a car wash, which it desperately needed after being driven on dirt roads/sitting in the dust for 2 days.
Of course, that night it rained. Juust enough to get spots all over the car, not enough to actually do anything useful. *facepalm*
Tuesday, I checked my email to find an earring commission from the show! Not huge, but every little bit helps. Mailed in my application/checks to Wheatsville. Went to Costco/Target after work and my knee was shrieking at me afterward.
Wednesday I came home from work and just fell asleep on my bed. BAM! Gone.
Thursday was my sister's birthday. I called her while in Half Price Books where I was buying her birthday box-o-books (and her husband's, since his birthday is next week). Spent a little too much, but most was for them. They live in a crap town in west Texas with no real transportation and I'd do this every month if I could afford it. Caught up with Criminal Minds (OMG this season is soo good) and Project Runway (I really think Viktor is going to win). Knee was moderately angry with me for daring to go out and do things two nights in a row. Screw you, knee.
Last night I went out with my friend J who I only see a couple of times a year when she comes here for a conference. I brought her some earrings and we talked a little about the commission I owe her. Her good friend from high school was there too and we had a grand time eating at the Eastside Cafe. I went into Dessert Coma after the Ghirardelli Brownie with ice cream.
This weekend I am seeing a movie with my friend L (Contagion), cleaning off all my jewelry and displays (dusty!) and getting some housecleaning done. Also looking at houses because my brother and sister-in-law want to buy an investment property and have me rent it. That will be nice if it works out--they've said they want to do this a couple of times before and it's always fizzled out. We'll see.
While I appreciate the cool front, I am very froggy and coughing because of all the crap stirred up in the air.
What are y'all doing this weekend?
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OK, I take it back. It wasn't dusty yesterday. TODAY was dusty. Like OMG so freaking dusty. We had 15-25 mph winds, which picked up all the loose dust from the Highland Games and dropped it on us. I gave up on dusting my jewelry about 20 minutes after I got there. I just had to do a little rearranging to keep things from falling over in the wind.
There weren't nearly as many people at the Faire today. I think it was a combination of Sunday (always slower), plus the OMG!Fire!Danger! commentary in all the weather forecasts. I did about half the sales I did yesterday, which is acceptable, especially for a first-time show.
My amazing friends, Y and P, were there all day and did yeoman work getting me torn down and packed up. We started a little early, since the Highland Games ended early and that pretty much put paid to anyone coming to our end of the Faire. We were all torn down and ready to load before they opened the back gate so I could move the wagon in. We were on the road by 8, which was amazing!
Got home, showered, ordered end-of-show pizza. I'll get up early-ish tomorrow and unload the wagon and take all of my table covers to the laundromat to get the hundred or so pounds of dirt out of them. I'll have to unpack all of my things this week and clean them off. Luckily my next show (Austin Celtic Festival) isn't until the first week of November.
I did finally hear from the Wheatsville show the other day, so I'm sending in my application tomorrow. I hope I get into both it and Cherrywood. It would make for a busy November/December but that would be nice.
Off to bed now. Hope y'all had a productive weekend too!
There weren't nearly as many people at the Faire today. I think it was a combination of Sunday (always slower), plus the OMG!Fire!Danger! commentary in all the weather forecasts. I did about half the sales I did yesterday, which is acceptable, especially for a first-time show.
My amazing friends, Y and P, were there all day and did yeoman work getting me torn down and packed up. We started a little early, since the Highland Games ended early and that pretty much put paid to anyone coming to our end of the Faire. We were all torn down and ready to load before they opened the back gate so I could move the wagon in. We were on the road by 8, which was amazing!
Got home, showered, ordered end-of-show pizza. I'll get up early-ish tomorrow and unload the wagon and take all of my table covers to the laundromat to get the hundred or so pounds of dirt out of them. I'll have to unpack all of my things this week and clean them off. Luckily my next show (Austin Celtic Festival) isn't until the first week of November.
I did finally hear from the Wheatsville show the other day, so I'm sending in my application tomorrow. I hope I get into both it and Cherrywood. It would make for a busy November/December but that would be nice.
Off to bed now. Hope y'all had a productive weekend too!
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