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revchrisLast weekend we did the Stronghold Olde English Faire. It rained on Friday, so when we got there, all we did was put up the tent roof and unload the tables, because more than that was likely to have everything be completely wet in the morning. Saturday we went to set up, only to find that the tent had sagged just enough that it was retaining water. We dumped it, and then started setting up in the mud hole that was our booth space (we weren't the only ones, it'd been raining for several days, and, fortunately, we were near the top of the hill).
We sacrificed the big tarp as flooring for the booth so that we weren't standing ankle-deep in the mud, as not only was there rain, but they have a mole problem, and right behind our back table was a large set of tunnels which only made the mud deeper there. It rained on and off all day Saturday, but since the site is basically a clearing in the woods, there wasn't much wind, and we didn't put up any of the sidewalls (except the back one, which was mostly to control the water dripping off the roof).![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
teeka did demos all day (under a patio umbrella). There were a reasonable number of people there enjoying what I kept explaining to everyone as a "realistic recreation of an English country faire."
Sunday it rained briefly in the morning, but then the sun came out. This, and the large amount of hay they were spreading all over the muddy spots both days kept everyone from sliding around too much, but didn't really help keep anything clean. It did, however, let most of the tent and booth stuff dry off enough that we could pack up without too much mess. Overall, business was similar to last year, but we did a lot more sales on Sunday than usual (Saturday was down by almost half but Sunday was more than double of last year). We loaded everything up Sunday night, but started packing earlier, so we did it all when it was still light enough to see, which was good, as I need to fix the lantern, since it seems to have a plugged fuel feed line.
Monday morning I backed the camper into the driveway (it's easier to leave it on the street Sunday night and then put it away the next morning when it's light enough to see), and I drove in with Maggs since she had a doctor appointment just off campus. I finally finished with all the laundry yesterday. Now everything needs to be sorted back into the right bins (tent and booth, as opposed to the current clean&dry vs wet&dirty), and I still need to wash tent ropes.
Yesterday I put another light up in the basement so that there's more light on the finished side of the wall I'm still working on. I also removed three light switches from upstairs. When the house was wired last, they took one outlet in each bedroom and put it on a switch, but instead of putting one socket on the switch, they put both, and, on the one I checked, didn't leave enough wire to make it easy to fix. One is the outlet that has the clock in the guest room, and another is the outlet or the phone base station in the office, and the third is behind my dresser, and doesn't get used. I pulled the switches and spliced the two switch legs together so that the outlets are now always on, since I had been occasionally accidentally turning off the power to the phone. Then, after picking Maggs up from the Market, I mowed the lawn.
Today we did the Northside Farmer's Market, and then stopped at the hardware store because Maggs was looking for skeleton keys (if you have any that are iron or steel, and don't need them, send them to her). They had just put the leaf blowers I had been looking at on sale ($40 instead of $60), and we had a $10 rewards coupon and a $10 birthday coupon, so we bought it (for $20). I tested it out on the ground around the two trees that are currently dropping leaves, and while it's not as quiet or as neat as a rake, it's a lot faster, and easier on my back.
Maggs is currently taking her second nap of the day (the first one was while she was out at the Market), and I'm off to work on dishes.
We sacrificed the big tarp as flooring for the booth so that we weren't standing ankle-deep in the mud, as not only was there rain, but they have a mole problem, and right behind our back table was a large set of tunnels which only made the mud deeper there. It rained on and off all day Saturday, but since the site is basically a clearing in the woods, there wasn't much wind, and we didn't put up any of the sidewalls (except the back one, which was mostly to control the water dripping off the roof).
teeka did demos all day (under a patio umbrella). There were a reasonable number of people there enjoying what I kept explaining to everyone as a "realistic recreation of an English country faire."Sunday it rained briefly in the morning, but then the sun came out. This, and the large amount of hay they were spreading all over the muddy spots both days kept everyone from sliding around too much, but didn't really help keep anything clean. It did, however, let most of the tent and booth stuff dry off enough that we could pack up without too much mess. Overall, business was similar to last year, but we did a lot more sales on Sunday than usual (Saturday was down by almost half but Sunday was more than double of last year). We loaded everything up Sunday night, but started packing earlier, so we did it all when it was still light enough to see, which was good, as I need to fix the lantern, since it seems to have a plugged fuel feed line.
Monday morning I backed the camper into the driveway (it's easier to leave it on the street Sunday night and then put it away the next morning when it's light enough to see), and I drove in with Maggs since she had a doctor appointment just off campus. I finally finished with all the laundry yesterday. Now everything needs to be sorted back into the right bins (tent and booth, as opposed to the current clean&dry vs wet&dirty), and I still need to wash tent ropes.
Yesterday I put another light up in the basement so that there's more light on the finished side of the wall I'm still working on. I also removed three light switches from upstairs. When the house was wired last, they took one outlet in each bedroom and put it on a switch, but instead of putting one socket on the switch, they put both, and, on the one I checked, didn't leave enough wire to make it easy to fix. One is the outlet that has the clock in the guest room, and another is the outlet or the phone base station in the office, and the third is behind my dresser, and doesn't get used. I pulled the switches and spliced the two switch legs together so that the outlets are now always on, since I had been occasionally accidentally turning off the power to the phone. Then, after picking Maggs up from the Market, I mowed the lawn.
Today we did the Northside Farmer's Market, and then stopped at the hardware store because Maggs was looking for skeleton keys (if you have any that are iron or steel, and don't need them, send them to her). They had just put the leaf blowers I had been looking at on sale ($40 instead of $60), and we had a $10 rewards coupon and a $10 birthday coupon, so we bought it (for $20). I tested it out on the ground around the two trees that are currently dropping leaves, and while it's not as quiet or as neat as a rake, it's a lot faster, and easier on my back.
Maggs is currently taking her second nap of the day (the first one was while she was out at the Market), and I'm off to work on dishes.
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no subject
Date: 2009-10-11 11:23 pm (UTC)The offer of help with your basement is still open. I've got to work on ours as soon as we have the moola for it. The house, she be too small.
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Date: 2009-10-11 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-13 06:07 pm (UTC)