An update
Yes, I'm finally going to update about a weekend at faire. I don't usually because I'm stuck in the shop, only getting out for about an hour each day, when I can wander and search for food. Really, the most exciting thing may be describing some of people who come in the shop... and many of them eventually blend into one big Shopper Person.
This weekend was a bit different.
Saturday was pretty normal for the year. It's been an odd year for shopping patrons this year. We've had some people who come in and gawk and some who buy, but there's been a lot of time just looking out at a larger empty shop. We've always made our wages at least, but some days it's seemed an iffy thing for that. Saturday was a lot like this, even with the increased number of children for scouts day. I was happy to see that many of the parents kept and eye/hand on their children, though we did have a number of wild children in the building. At the end of the day we quickly closed down and everyone rushed off home. Kilted and I had decided to stay and check out Fire and Ice. It's the first time we've actually stayed behind for an after hours function. I will say that we were torn between that and going to dinner with Juli Mc and OTB. So, Fire and Ice, for those of you who haven't heard the henches (mainly Shefie and Cherry) drool about it, takes place at Faire Maiden Glass. They provide ice cream and all sorts of sunday fixings and you watch the gaffer and apprentices blow glass. Ah, but there's a catch, see they hand out tickets first and if you're number is called you get to go up on stage and decide what they are going to make.... and it's yours.... FREE! Yup, completely free Girl Glass of your own design, made right before your eyes. Sweet! We were amazingly lucky because Kilted actually had his number called. He went up on stage and was given a choice of a bowl, or a bowl... or a bowl. Of course he got a bowl and the combination of colors matches almost perfectly with the goblet I use at faire. He also added some dicroic(sp?) to it and if you look at it with your hand making a back shadow it's just like looking at a starry sky. Other funny things, I got my ass smacked by Doc (one of these days I'll find out her real name) once before she realized she didn't know me. She appologized for it, I shrugged and said I didn't care, so she smacked me twice more and moved on. Oh, and Karl and Will traded jokes with Chad Fabulous in drag (damn is he a good queen!) and have decided to rogue him/her. We also got to see the platter they are donating to Rescu be born. I've never watched the gaffer make a platter with wavy sides, but I don't think it can look nearly as impressive durring the day as it does at night when they turn off all the lights and there's nothing but this glowing disk being spun and dipped. We ended up not getting home until nearly 1AM, but I think it was completely worth it.
Sunday, however, was a completely different day in every respect.
Even though we had gotten home and to bed so late, we actually managed to get out of the house earlier than usual, and it was a very good thing we did. We pulled up to the shop at 8 AM just as Kilted's cell rang. It was Sis calling from the MN fair (it was opening weekend and she was getting the shop going up there) to let us know to get to the shop ASAP because Feather Mama had been in an accident. We weren't sure how bad everything was, but at that point we did know that she had been taken to the hospital and wouldn't be in that day. Luckly, we all have keys to the shop and things were pretty much set up for the day, but we had no bank. We let Sis know that we would get eveything started and to keep us updated. We had some cash on us and managed to get it broken down to a good starting bank of singles, fives and tens. Kilted left and I opened up the shop and got everything out and started cleaning up for the day. H and her daughters showed up and soon we had everything in full swing. It was, by far, the quickest setup we had ever had and we were left with half an hour before gate open with nothing to do but talk and speculate over what happened and what we needed to do that day. It was about the only quiet time we had all day. Not more than half an hour after gate opening and the store was swamped, and it stayed swamped until some time between four and five in the afternoon. This was the day the shoppers came out. This was the day when people bought because they wanted to, not because they needed to. This was the kind of day it would have been nice to have all season long. And the four of us kicked butt! It was really difficult at times, but everyone was patient because they wanted to buy. M got into the flow of things and sold her tush off. I didn't leave the area behind the counter until the flow of customers stopped... which was about when the dead parade came around. H and B went out on the pole and sold halos and fans all over the grounds. And by the end of the day, when the final parade out to the gate passed our shop, we were cleaned up and mostly packed up and ready to go. Yes, I am very proud at how we pulled together and worked through this day. :-)
As for what happened to Mama, it seems that as she was driving to work Sunday morning her tire blew out and she lost control of the car. Luckly there weren't many cars on the road at 7 AM Sunday morning and she only hit the concrete barrier as she spun across the road. She's bruised and battered, but the seat belt and airbags saved her from going through the windshield. Also, most of the damage was on the passenger side of the car, so it was a very good thing that this was the weekend Sis was opening up the store at the MN faire and not riding in with Mama. Mama did split her leg on the brake and ended up needing 50! stitches and she's not to put weight on the leg for some time. She's at home now and Sis is taking care of her. The car has been totaled, but everyone is still alive and that's something to be thankful for.
So, that was my weekend in a rather large nutshell. I've got to go take care of the lovely migraine I developed today, and my laptop is almost out of juice, so if anyone has any questions e-mail them and I'll be a little more talkative tomorrow. :-)
Night
This weekend was a bit different.
Saturday was pretty normal for the year. It's been an odd year for shopping patrons this year. We've had some people who come in and gawk and some who buy, but there's been a lot of time just looking out at a larger empty shop. We've always made our wages at least, but some days it's seemed an iffy thing for that. Saturday was a lot like this, even with the increased number of children for scouts day. I was happy to see that many of the parents kept and eye/hand on their children, though we did have a number of wild children in the building. At the end of the day we quickly closed down and everyone rushed off home. Kilted and I had decided to stay and check out Fire and Ice. It's the first time we've actually stayed behind for an after hours function. I will say that we were torn between that and going to dinner with Juli Mc and OTB. So, Fire and Ice, for those of you who haven't heard the henches (mainly Shefie and Cherry) drool about it, takes place at Faire Maiden Glass. They provide ice cream and all sorts of sunday fixings and you watch the gaffer and apprentices blow glass. Ah, but there's a catch, see they hand out tickets first and if you're number is called you get to go up on stage and decide what they are going to make.... and it's yours.... FREE! Yup, completely free Girl Glass of your own design, made right before your eyes. Sweet! We were amazingly lucky because Kilted actually had his number called. He went up on stage and was given a choice of a bowl, or a bowl... or a bowl. Of course he got a bowl and the combination of colors matches almost perfectly with the goblet I use at faire. He also added some dicroic(sp?) to it and if you look at it with your hand making a back shadow it's just like looking at a starry sky. Other funny things, I got my ass smacked by Doc (one of these days I'll find out her real name) once before she realized she didn't know me. She appologized for it, I shrugged and said I didn't care, so she smacked me twice more and moved on. Oh, and Karl and Will traded jokes with Chad Fabulous in drag (damn is he a good queen!) and have decided to rogue him/her. We also got to see the platter they are donating to Rescu be born. I've never watched the gaffer make a platter with wavy sides, but I don't think it can look nearly as impressive durring the day as it does at night when they turn off all the lights and there's nothing but this glowing disk being spun and dipped. We ended up not getting home until nearly 1AM, but I think it was completely worth it.
Sunday, however, was a completely different day in every respect.
Even though we had gotten home and to bed so late, we actually managed to get out of the house earlier than usual, and it was a very good thing we did. We pulled up to the shop at 8 AM just as Kilted's cell rang. It was Sis calling from the MN fair (it was opening weekend and she was getting the shop going up there) to let us know to get to the shop ASAP because Feather Mama had been in an accident. We weren't sure how bad everything was, but at that point we did know that she had been taken to the hospital and wouldn't be in that day. Luckly, we all have keys to the shop and things were pretty much set up for the day, but we had no bank. We let Sis know that we would get eveything started and to keep us updated. We had some cash on us and managed to get it broken down to a good starting bank of singles, fives and tens. Kilted left and I opened up the shop and got everything out and started cleaning up for the day. H and her daughters showed up and soon we had everything in full swing. It was, by far, the quickest setup we had ever had and we were left with half an hour before gate open with nothing to do but talk and speculate over what happened and what we needed to do that day. It was about the only quiet time we had all day. Not more than half an hour after gate opening and the store was swamped, and it stayed swamped until some time between four and five in the afternoon. This was the day the shoppers came out. This was the day when people bought because they wanted to, not because they needed to. This was the kind of day it would have been nice to have all season long. And the four of us kicked butt! It was really difficult at times, but everyone was patient because they wanted to buy. M got into the flow of things and sold her tush off. I didn't leave the area behind the counter until the flow of customers stopped... which was about when the dead parade came around. H and B went out on the pole and sold halos and fans all over the grounds. And by the end of the day, when the final parade out to the gate passed our shop, we were cleaned up and mostly packed up and ready to go. Yes, I am very proud at how we pulled together and worked through this day. :-)
As for what happened to Mama, it seems that as she was driving to work Sunday morning her tire blew out and she lost control of the car. Luckly there weren't many cars on the road at 7 AM Sunday morning and she only hit the concrete barrier as she spun across the road. She's bruised and battered, but the seat belt and airbags saved her from going through the windshield. Also, most of the damage was on the passenger side of the car, so it was a very good thing that this was the weekend Sis was opening up the store at the MN faire and not riding in with Mama. Mama did split her leg on the brake and ended up needing 50! stitches and she's not to put weight on the leg for some time. She's at home now and Sis is taking care of her. The car has been totaled, but everyone is still alive and that's something to be thankful for.
So, that was my weekend in a rather large nutshell. I've got to go take care of the lovely migraine I developed today, and my laptop is almost out of juice, so if anyone has any questions e-mail them and I'll be a little more talkative tomorrow. :-)
Night