Run! It's a moose!

Short version:  While I was setting up for the Austin Flea on Saturday morning, one of my tent weights fell on my foot.

Long version: I have these weights to stabilize my tent in case of wind. They are made of PVC pipe roughly 2.5 feet high and 3 inches across, and they are filled with cement with a large eyebolt sticking out of one end. One of them tipped over from where I had it leaning, bounced off the asphalt, and landed on the big toe/ball of my foot.

Cue swearing. It HURT, but I quickly realized nothing was broken and I had to get the booth set up, so. It hurt all day, kind of a dull throbbing. When I got home and finally took my shoe and sock off, man, the bruising was SPECTACULAR. Bright red/purple, with some stylish almost-black accents. I iced it all evening, and iced it on and off all day on Sunday. The bruising has now spread to my second toe and across the top of my foot, but I can bend the toe, there's no numbness, so I figured I dodged a bullet on bone breakage.

The really annoying part is I'm still trying to get ready for the 10k in April and because of terrible weather I haven't been getting out and walking, and Sunday was absolutely gorgeous. (I did get a lot of base enameling and laundry done though, so yay?)

I'll be applying my heat pack to it all day in the hopes of making it better sooner. sigh.

But, the show was a rousing success mainly due to a couple of women just walking in and buying without even looking at the prices. Made up for a little hipster chick trying to talk me down on a pair of earrings she was buying as a present.

I had a really long and detailed post all planned out in my head, but I can't be arsed to write it out, as it would be pretty boring.

Short form: I sold a LOT of jewelry.

Long form: Holy shit, I sold a lot of jewelry.

I was nervous--these are my people, but this was a big financial risk for me. And you never know what people are going to want to buy.

Well, I was in the black by Friday afternoon. It was a wonderful feeling. :-)

I sold to Lois McMaster Bujold, Carrie Vaughn, Mary Kay Kare, C. J. Mills, Mur Lafferty, and several other "names". Didn't get a chance to see Tanya Huff or Seanen McGuire, but they were very busy. Had a nice talk with Jay Lake. Got dragged along to a dinner with Hugh Howie (Wool), and introduced a couple of friends to the joys of World Con Masquerades and Hugo Awards ceremonies. Restricted myself to one piece from the art show* and one bag of books.

I was able to hit the Trader Joe's in San Antonio for snacks and for frozen food on the way back to Austin. One opens here on the 20th but I'm not going anywhere NEAR it for a month at least. The crowds will be epic.

Now I have 3 weekends free this month to get ready for both FenCon and the Austin Celtic Festival, as I will be packing and moving all of October. A good problem to have, but....



* You know you've been collecting for too long when you wander through a con art show and think "That's a really nice set of originals by that artist, but my collection is much better."

 Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

It's Monday and I'm already so over this week.

For the third time, I lost out on a house I liked (and I REALLY liked this one) to an all-cash offer. This is getting really old.

I just got a letter from the Dealer Coordinator for WorldCon*. Guess what? If I want electricity for my booth, I'll have to fork out an additional $130. If I had known that when I applied, I probably wouldn't have done so. With that little addition to my expenses, the cost of my ONE TABLE (no skirting, I guess I'm lucky I get a chair) will be almost $500. This is approaching Dragon*Con-like levels of expensive. 

I really want to to do this show. But they seem to be trying to make their money off of the smaller dealers. They've offered the larger vendors a break on their tables, but not us.




* Dated April 26. Six weeks? Has no one heard of email?

Have had a busy few weeks.

All of the last weekend in April I was outside at the West Austin Studio Tour, with my tent in front of a glassblowers shop. The owners were nice, their work is amazing, and sales were good both days, though Sunday was markedly better. My friend J was in for his Law Fraternity Reunion, and he came and spent a couple of hours with me on Sunday and we had a good talk. I got a bit sunburned, but made the pleasant discovery that I can now tear down a show on my own without feeling utterly wrecked afterward. My trainer and I decided that this means I am just about completely healed from the knee surgeries!

I didn't even unload the car all week, since the next Saturday (this past weekend) was the Violet Crown Spring Festival. My friend L came over and helped me set up (again!), and I was glad she was there, because I discovered I had left my earring rack at home and she could run over and get it for me. Leaving everything in the car had thrown off my checklist; that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :-)

Sales were strong and the weather was great, if a tad breezy. L came back and helped me tear down and we had dinner and then I fell down for 12 hours.

Sunday, I went by Dragon's Lair and made an unexpected wholesale order. Yay more money!

Tuesday after work, I saw more houses. There was one I really, really liked. So, we're putting in an offer today. It's not huge, small yard, new roof and I like the layout and touches they've added (matching ceiling fans, really nice carpet in the bedrooms and wood everywhere else, covered patio in back, etc.).

I'm offering a few thousand above their asking price and I really hope I'm not competing with several cash offers. They're still living in there and I have a very flexible schedule as regard to moving dates, so that may help. Not getting this one will be disappointing but not devastating; I am being very careful not to fall in love with any properties.

This weekend I'm in the workshop, since I have to restock and make things for ConQuesT. And mail art off for it next week.

I'm still working with my trainer 2x week. I've taken off close to 30 lbs of fat, but true to form I've replaced it with 25 lbs of muscle. I'm finally noticing a reduction in my belly! Woo!

 I had a nice day at the Flea. Didn't make a huge amount of money, but I was in shade and the people were nice. I was upstairs but they had a couple of great helpers who carried everything up and down the stairs for me.

I did go to 24Diner afterwards to have their amazing pork chop dinner (perfectly grilled organic pork, mashed sweet potatoes, and bacon-y greens).

Got home and realized I don't really have to unload the wagon except for the tables, since I have another show on Thursday. I love being lazy efficient.

Checked my mail, and this is where my day took a turn for the crappy. CareCentrix (a weird division of Cigna that handles all the things like my CPAP machine) finally sent me bills for my new unit. I'm assuming that my deductible was applied *somewhere*, but since they sent me (counts) FOUR SEPARATE BILLS IN ONE ENVELOPE, it's damned hard to tell. I foresee a long-ass phone call either tomorrow or Monday to get to the bottom of this. It's also hundreds of dollars more than I thought it would be. Joy.

The second Bad Thing was a weird letter. Handwritten, yet addressed to me "Or Current Occupant".

Inside was a handwritten letter from a Margaret, reminding me that Easter is coming and I should really come to a free Bible talk explaining how Jesus' death is wonderful and cool. There was also a bonus professionally-printed flyer from her church (Jehovah's Witnesses, not that it matters), complete with White Man Jesus picture. 

This kind of casual Christian assumption just makes my blood boil. I am not a Christian. I do not practice any religion, and don't want anyone shoving their beliefs into my mailbox under cover of a letter from a "friend".

I wrote a reply:

( Annoyed reply here )

...don't worry, it's going out without a return address or name. I have zero desire to get in a "dialog" with these people. They just make me furious!

Well, another Austin Celtic Festival has come and gone. I was able to get my usual spot next to my amazing neighbors, an older couple who sell Celtic merchandise and travel around to shows in their RV. They remembered that I bought a hedgehog plushie from them last year for my friend L, who is nuts about them (and owns a live one), so they presented me with a box with TWO Gund hedgehogs!! They were samples that they couldn't sell--but how nice was that?

Weather threatened rain briefly on Saturday but aside from terminal humidity after dark it held fine all weekend, especially on Sunday. A bit warm, but there was a nice light breeze and plenty of shade to sit in. And plenty of lemonade/tea/Guinness/whatever from the various food vendors. I was able to score a couple of cans of haggis for The Nephew, since he had it a couple of years ago and absolutely loved the nasty stuff. I am still coughing quite a bit from all the dust. Very annoying.

Nice Things What Happened: A random customer insisted on buying me a tasty lemonade! Someone I had given a gift box to on Saturday returned Sunday with a very tasty Butterscotch Cake! R. gifted me with a cool LED headlamp, great for loading and unloading in the dark! I took a nice commission at the show (and she paid in advance!). A Really Hot Guy in a Kilt asked me for a cord for his necklace (some men are meant to wear kilts. He was one of them.) Two random photographers asked to take my picture while I did some wire work in front of my tent!

I rearranged my tent layout and I really like it. I'm now at the front where I can interact with everyone who comes by and I can help the kidlets with their Very Difficult Necklace Decisions. (I keep a t-bar of inexpensive Peruvian ceramic bead necklaces up front to distract the smaller kids away from my more expensive work.) I also got rid of the cash box in favor of a great little change apron I had made out of some fabric with fossils on it.

Sales were very solid; not amazing, but well on track for both last year and the year before. Sunday was very slow until later in the day, when I had a nice flurry of high-priced purchases. I always worry that Sunday will suck, and I'm usually pleasantly surprised late in the day. Folks just do their shopping (with me at least) later in the day on Sunday.

The wagon is still mostly loaded. I will hit the storage unit tomorrow and offload all the fair-specific stuff like the tent and such. I'm setting up Wednesday for a small indoor show that I don't have to be at, so I'm leaving most of everything else in the car until then. 

....my goodness, I have been remiss in posting.

I am now walking much so better; only limping when I've sat too long and stiffened up (or when I'm tired). I finally have a halfway-decent-fitting swimsuit so I can start water aerobics next week at the Y in order to build up strength and flexibility in my left (non-surgeried) knee. It's still giving me fits, even though a cortisone shot to that knee a couple of weeks ago really helped.

I am working on a 115-piece commission for the World Science Fiction Convention--the committee for next year's show in San Antonio is providing my enameled pins to everyone nominated for a Hugo or a John W. Campbell award this year. So far I have 30 pieces finished and will get another 15 done on Sunday, and I hope to keep to the 15-per-week schedule so I can get them done in time to make new work for ArmadilloCon. And then the Austin Craft Riot has a show in August...and since I've already committed to run the Pegasus table at Anime Overload, I can't do the Austin Flea this time. Phooey.

My new workshop space is working out splendidly. My landlady has a portable AC unit in the garage and we've bonded over all sorts of things, including BBQ and pie. I'm still rearranging tools and I'm having some friends make me a smallish sturdy table that I can hammer and do chasing on. (And if anyone wants to get me an awesome birthday present, I could use 5-6 lbs of medium pitch from Northwest Pitchworks...)

Movies: I've seen The Avengers THREE TIMES (and would see it again!). Saw Prometheus. Still don't know if I liked it or not, but boy was that ever a Ridley Scott movie! MIB3 was pretty good; Brolin does an amazing Tommy Lee Jones. Cabin in the Woods was a great deconstruction of a horror movie. Waiting on Brave, Magic Mike, Savages, Spider-Man, The Bourne Legacy...Batman not so much.

Saturday: Went to the coin show today and came back with some doozies, including an Elvis coin from the Marshall Islands and a couple of amazing ones from Bulgaria and Russia and Greece. Got bread and peaches and tomatoes and mini pies at the farmers market and then I did the base coat of clear enamel onto 30 pin blanks. Hit Whole Foods for dinner and called it a day.

Three hours at the hospital this morning for pre-op stuff. Insurance, anesthesia, pharmacy. blood draw, urine sample. Then 1.5 hours of What To Expect After the Surgery, which would have been fine if two of the other joint replacement patients hadn't been complete Entitled Snowflakes.

The one next to me (left hip, Monday), kept bleating "I'm allergic to codeine!". Yeah, lady, so am I. I told the pharmacy nurse and the anesthesiology nurse and they made notes and it's OK. Why did you feel the need to bring it up with every person that came in to talk to us? The physical therapist? Really?

The one to the right of me (left hip, Wednesday, and coincidentally the only man having surgery in this bunch), kept muttering "Well, my wife is an RN. And MY doctor said.." You know what? My BROTHER is a DOCTOR and while he's a great family practitioner, he's not a surgeon. Yeah, he and his wife (an RN, buddy), have given me some great tips. But I'm here to listen to what the hospital nurses have to say. Since they, you know, specialize in this stuff. Please, both of you, quit interrupting every two sentences to ask questions they're going to answer in a few mintues! Lord love a duck, they were annoying.

Then I had to wait for 30 minutes for the X-ray tech to come down and shoot film of my chest. I treated myself to lunch at Central Market afterward. With cake.

That's over and I have to be there at 7am Tuesday. Apparently, like flying, you have to be at surgery 2 hours early. The Amazing Sister-in-Law will wait for me with my computer and my iPod and my books so I don't go insane for the 2.5 days I plan on being in the hospital. Feel free to call me starting Wednesday morning and if you're in the neighborhood feel free to stop by.

I do have a show in Burnet tomorrow and Saturday, then I get to see nwhepcat ! Whee!

Went in to see my surgeon today and set a surgery date--April 10. He's pretty aggressive about physical therapy; he gave me a list of exercises to do every day until the surgery. I'm also going to go in and get PT for my other leg, which has been compensating for the crap knee. It's in bad shape right now--it won't straighten all the way and there's a lot of internal swelling. The surgeon told me he will get me up on my feet the afternoon of the surgery and I should be out of the hospital in a couple of days. Then it will be 2-3 weeks at home with home therapy and (probably) going out of my mind.

Before that I'll have the apartment maintenance guy install a hand-held shower head. And I still need to move my workshop. And I have 2 shows.

Speaking of which, Austin-area peeps! Come out to the inaugural Round Rock Market Days this Saturday. 9-4, "downtown historic Round Rock". 95 booths, all juried. Food, farmers stalls, and entertainment. Plus, you know, I'll be there. Come say hi!

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.