A Lot of Week
What was I saying about not getting out much?
First there was the opening weekend of the North Carolina Renaissance Fair. The weather was gloriously sunny and warm, and it was GREAT to see everybody. I spent several lovely evenings basking in the hospitable glow of Cheezer's Far, and enjoyed grilled steak and bacon, a variety of liquid refreshments, *innocent look* and delightful company.
danicia, I tried to find a duck to punt, but Frank the Ugly Duck was nowhere to be found. Someone must have told him I was coming.
Also, Alavert ROCKS! My car was covered with pollen, but I didn't have so much as a sneezing fit. No post-nasal drip like last year. Hooray!
I thought CD sales and tips were pretty low, but looking back at my notes from last year I see that I didn't do as badly as I thought. I didn't sell more CDs, but I was only off last year's opening weekend sales count by one. With a third weekend scheduled, I just may come out a little bit ahead.
I'll say this, though: the challenges of performing at a fair like NCRF do make me think about and reevaluate how I'm doing things. Reevaluation can be good.
The site layout has been reconfigured a bit, which meant that I couldn't play in front of Greycat's booth without interfering with a stage act. Well, drat. [hammered] Dulcimer Dan's booth is back (he skipped last year) in a lane that eliminates the possibility of me playing in that great spot that thatliardiego pointed out to me last year.
Sunday was especially slow, sales and tip-wise, but Sundays always seem to be at NCRF. Actually the day was kind of funny... I got a tip while I wasn't playing, which led me to quip, "Good sir, are you paying me NOT to play?" And I sold a CD while I was sitting with a friend, bemoaning the day's low CD sales. (The customer had seen me playing earlier.) I was bemused by this until I realized that it was April Fools Day, after all. Had I been thinking ahead I would have worn a jester's cap or something.
I did have fun when I took a break and sat on the grass with the DaVinci Brothers. Everytime I saw Leo and Bob DaVinci, I would cry, "THERE'S my boyfriend!" and give the puppet a kiss on the cheek. So the three of us -- me, my boyfriend, and his third-wheel brother -- sat on the grass near the chapel and joked around and flirted and sometimes I broke into "And they called it, puppet loooooove..." So that was fun.
Also, I got some really nice compliments on my playing. One vendor said that she loved to hear me "make the dulcimer talk."
Saturday night's Meet & Greet for the festival participants was nothing like last year's. Somebody forgot to bring lights, so as it got darker and darker in the tent, the crowd got louder and louder and talked right over poor Phil Johnson, also known as MooNIE. Yeah, MooNIE. The same guy who packs 'em in all day long at NCRF. It was really strange and I felt really bad watching it. But Phil seemed to let it roll off his back. He said it was simply because there was no light, so there was nothing to focus on. Well, I was disappointed.
Sunday night, Phil appeared at Tir Na Nog to perform his very strange and funny and "inappropriate" (his word for it) music. He asked me to sing and play a few to warm up the crowd... like they really needed it. But a favor's a favor, and if he needs the support of my long experience as a musician... eh, I'm full of it. The favor was all his. I even sold a couple of CDs, which sure made me happy.
Some of us from cast closed the bar chatting with some extremely charming customers who had a devil of a time trying to find the place because they thought the bar was actually called Turn the Knob, not Tir Na Nog. Turn the Knob. Oh, my. That was easily the most entertaining thing I'd heard all day, even with Phil being his demented self. Sorry, Phil.
On Monday I drove back to D.C., but not without stopping first on I-95 to run out of gas. *sigh* I was less than a mile from the bloody exit. But that counts for nothing when you run out of fumes. I started walking, and had nearly reached the exit when a Chesterfield Fire and Rescue truck pulled over to pick me up. They drove me to a gas station and back to my car. lusciousmango, I asked them if they knew you and Dana, but they politely pointed out that you two are volunteers, and they were not. *blush* Anyway, good thing they saved me so much walking time, 'cause I had a gig to get to!
But what counts is that I reported to the gig on time, even if lunch was two PopTarts in the car. I played dulcimer at an April Fools party for the Motley Fool, thanks to tombeaux, who recommended me. It was interesting to say the least to be playing in my renaissancee costume, outdoors in a high wind behind an office building, near a unicycling jester and a guy eating fire, while the party served hot dogs, pretzels and frozen margaritas! This party had something for everyone.
Then I went home, ecstatically greeted Glenn and Colby, took a desperately-needed shower, and then we all walked to our favorite restaurant and ate outside while the moon rose. It was a perfect evening.
Tuesday was a beautiful day, and I did a bunch of errands and took Colby for a walk, then I dragged Glenn and Colby to the Tidal Basin in D.C. to look at the freakin' cherry blossoms that I have to freakin' go look at every freakin' spring. There was a lot of traffic. Downtown was mobbed. Colby was very tuggy on the leash, and he is a very. strong. dog. It made for a pretty exasperating outing. We did enjoy the World War II Memorial, though, which was beautifully lit when the sun went down. Until several busloads of hyperactive teenagers showed up. *wince*
SCENE: Glenn and Darcy are walking away from the monument which is crawling with people. The sidewalk is relatively clear and they can finally walk freely after 30 minutes of bumping into tourists.
Glenn, looking at the crosswalk just in front of them: "You want to move fast. You want to move very fast."
Darcy looks up at the crosswalk and sees the enormous wave of teenagers threatening to cross their path. "ACK! Run!!"
On Wednesday I didn't want to leave the house, but I had to drive to Wilmington DE for the Kalmar Nyckel's mandatory annual crew refresher course. I stayed overnight for Night Watch. (Which is basically being on the boat to keep it secure.)
Today I got up later than I wanted to because I had slept poorly, between being too warm and listening to the other night watch person snoring like a warthog in heat. (Forgot my earplugs, drat it all.) I jumped into the car, drove to Takoma Park, left the car at a repair shop because it had been starting with great reluctance all week, and walked to the Metro. I took the Metro into D.C., and walked to the National Zoo to meet robrobbinks. Whew! Then I had some coffee, thank god.
I hadn't been to the zoo for years! It was really fun, and I got some great pics of the red pandas and lousy pics of the hippo. And an overpriced hot dog. And delightful commentary from Robby Golightly, who reminded me to "Consider the Tapir" but we didn't find any to consider. We didn't quite see all of the zoo, though...
Because I had to get back on ye Metro and return to Takoma Park to pick up the car. New starter engine. And then I drove home and had a nice dinner.
Tomorrow, I drive to Raleigh, NC for Week 2 of NCRF. Easter Weekend. And it'll be kind of cold. I'm not terribly optimistic about the turnout, to be frank. But at least there's no rain on the forecast. Every little bit helps.
First there was the opening weekend of the North Carolina Renaissance Fair. The weather was gloriously sunny and warm, and it was GREAT to see everybody. I spent several lovely evenings basking in the hospitable glow of Cheezer's Far, and enjoyed grilled steak and bacon, a variety of liquid refreshments, *innocent look* and delightful company.
danicia, I tried to find a duck to punt, but Frank the Ugly Duck was nowhere to be found. Someone must have told him I was coming.
Also, Alavert ROCKS! My car was covered with pollen, but I didn't have so much as a sneezing fit. No post-nasal drip like last year. Hooray!
I thought CD sales and tips were pretty low, but looking back at my notes from last year I see that I didn't do as badly as I thought. I didn't sell more CDs, but I was only off last year's opening weekend sales count by one. With a third weekend scheduled, I just may come out a little bit ahead.
I'll say this, though: the challenges of performing at a fair like NCRF do make me think about and reevaluate how I'm doing things. Reevaluation can be good.
The site layout has been reconfigured a bit, which meant that I couldn't play in front of Greycat's booth without interfering with a stage act. Well, drat. [hammered] Dulcimer Dan's booth is back (he skipped last year) in a lane that eliminates the possibility of me playing in that great spot that thatliardiego pointed out to me last year.
Sunday was especially slow, sales and tip-wise, but Sundays always seem to be at NCRF. Actually the day was kind of funny... I got a tip while I wasn't playing, which led me to quip, "Good sir, are you paying me NOT to play?" And I sold a CD while I was sitting with a friend, bemoaning the day's low CD sales. (The customer had seen me playing earlier.) I was bemused by this until I realized that it was April Fools Day, after all. Had I been thinking ahead I would have worn a jester's cap or something.
I did have fun when I took a break and sat on the grass with the DaVinci Brothers. Everytime I saw Leo and Bob DaVinci, I would cry, "THERE'S my boyfriend!" and give the puppet a kiss on the cheek. So the three of us -- me, my boyfriend, and his third-wheel brother -- sat on the grass near the chapel and joked around and flirted and sometimes I broke into "And they called it, puppet loooooove..." So that was fun.
Also, I got some really nice compliments on my playing. One vendor said that she loved to hear me "make the dulcimer talk."
Saturday night's Meet & Greet for the festival participants was nothing like last year's. Somebody forgot to bring lights, so as it got darker and darker in the tent, the crowd got louder and louder and talked right over poor Phil Johnson, also known as MooNIE. Yeah, MooNIE. The same guy who packs 'em in all day long at NCRF. It was really strange and I felt really bad watching it. But Phil seemed to let it roll off his back. He said it was simply because there was no light, so there was nothing to focus on. Well, I was disappointed.
Sunday night, Phil appeared at Tir Na Nog to perform his very strange and funny and "inappropriate" (his word for it) music. He asked me to sing and play a few to warm up the crowd... like they really needed it. But a favor's a favor, and if he needs the support of my long experience as a musician... eh, I'm full of it. The favor was all his. I even sold a couple of CDs, which sure made me happy.
Some of us from cast closed the bar chatting with some extremely charming customers who had a devil of a time trying to find the place because they thought the bar was actually called Turn the Knob, not Tir Na Nog. Turn the Knob. Oh, my. That was easily the most entertaining thing I'd heard all day, even with Phil being his demented self. Sorry, Phil.
On Monday I drove back to D.C., but not without stopping first on I-95 to run out of gas. *sigh* I was less than a mile from the bloody exit. But that counts for nothing when you run out of fumes. I started walking, and had nearly reached the exit when a Chesterfield Fire and Rescue truck pulled over to pick me up. They drove me to a gas station and back to my car. lusciousmango, I asked them if they knew you and Dana, but they politely pointed out that you two are volunteers, and they were not. *blush* Anyway, good thing they saved me so much walking time, 'cause I had a gig to get to!
But what counts is that I reported to the gig on time, even if lunch was two PopTarts in the car. I played dulcimer at an April Fools party for the Motley Fool, thanks to tombeaux, who recommended me. It was interesting to say the least to be playing in my renaissancee costume, outdoors in a high wind behind an office building, near a unicycling jester and a guy eating fire, while the party served hot dogs, pretzels and frozen margaritas! This party had something for everyone.
Then I went home, ecstatically greeted Glenn and Colby, took a desperately-needed shower, and then we all walked to our favorite restaurant and ate outside while the moon rose. It was a perfect evening.
Tuesday was a beautiful day, and I did a bunch of errands and took Colby for a walk, then I dragged Glenn and Colby to the Tidal Basin in D.C. to look at the freakin' cherry blossoms that I have to freakin' go look at every freakin' spring. There was a lot of traffic. Downtown was mobbed. Colby was very tuggy on the leash, and he is a very. strong. dog. It made for a pretty exasperating outing. We did enjoy the World War II Memorial, though, which was beautifully lit when the sun went down. Until several busloads of hyperactive teenagers showed up. *wince*
SCENE: Glenn and Darcy are walking away from the monument which is crawling with people. The sidewalk is relatively clear and they can finally walk freely after 30 minutes of bumping into tourists.
Glenn, looking at the crosswalk just in front of them: "You want to move fast. You want to move very fast."
Darcy looks up at the crosswalk and sees the enormous wave of teenagers threatening to cross their path. "ACK! Run!!"
On Wednesday I didn't want to leave the house, but I had to drive to Wilmington DE for the Kalmar Nyckel's mandatory annual crew refresher course. I stayed overnight for Night Watch. (Which is basically being on the boat to keep it secure.)
Today I got up later than I wanted to because I had slept poorly, between being too warm and listening to the other night watch person snoring like a warthog in heat. (Forgot my earplugs, drat it all.) I jumped into the car, drove to Takoma Park, left the car at a repair shop because it had been starting with great reluctance all week, and walked to the Metro. I took the Metro into D.C., and walked to the National Zoo to meet robrobbinks. Whew! Then I had some coffee, thank god.
I hadn't been to the zoo for years! It was really fun, and I got some great pics of the red pandas and lousy pics of the hippo. And an overpriced hot dog. And delightful commentary from Robby Golightly, who reminded me to "Consider the Tapir" but we didn't find any to consider. We didn't quite see all of the zoo, though...
Because I had to get back on ye Metro and return to Takoma Park to pick up the car. New starter engine. And then I drove home and had a nice dinner.
Tomorrow, I drive to Raleigh, NC for Week 2 of NCRF. Easter Weekend. And it'll be kind of cold. I'm not terribly optimistic about the turnout, to be frank. But at least there's no rain on the forecast. Every little bit helps.