pyroguysr's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freyja Ahhhhh... fun yesterday! Went to a local leather shop (local meaning that it was within 60 miles of here) called Zack White Leather (http://www.zackwhite.com) and found all sorts of neat things. I've lost almost 2 inches off my waist and only have 4 more to go. I drooled over a pair of leather pants that they had there. I just don't have the bucks to buy one. I did buy some leather to experiment with. I'm gonna try making something out of the scraps we bought. I haven't done leatherwork in years... not since I was in Scouts with my son, that's for sure! I'd love to learn how to make leather clothing out of it, especially since I love wearing vests and such. I think I was a tailor in another life, eh? We are staying with some friends of Kat by the name of John and Kathy. John is an architect and Kathy is/was a nurse that now teaches blind kids. They are neat folks, but not nearly as humorous as Henry was. They DO have four cats, the most entertaining of which is Wesley. He is a beautiful cat and I cannot, for the life of me, remember what his breed is. But he is one perky, playful thing. I tend to wear him out with string and feathers and other stuff... the other three cats are long-haired calico's that are (in order) Old, mellow, skittish. But they all provide entertainment as well. Bought some more dragon rings at the Faire this weekend. I'll take pictures and put them somewhere eventually. I also bought another knife... I needed an "eating knife" because the other knife I bought last year is a bit too fancy for a merchant... and it began falling apart because it wasn't designed for rugged use. It's more a ceremonial knife. Same with the sword. I'll wait for the Southern Maryland Celtic Fest to buy a new sword... just have to figure out if I want a broadsword or a smaller one... Would have loved a bow, but the ones I liked were damned expensive. The lady I'm about to talk about bought a laminated ashe bow with dark blue suede leather around it... very nice... but cost her $300! Kat and I went out with a lady that we met at the Ren Fair this last weekend. Her SCA (Society for Creative Anacronisms for you uninitiated) name is "Freyja" and she is tall (6' 1 or 2"), 29 yrs old and very Nordic. She was a bundle of fun and took us to the Hibernia pub. I finally got my St. Paddy's Day meal, just a tad bit late. I loves corned beef and cabbage! Today I actually have to do some work. I'm organizing all the paperwork for all the festivals we've done and will be doing into a binder so that we don't lose or misplace stuff. Then I have to do the books, then look up some more festivals that we may be able to do after Maryland's Ren Fest is over in October. My objective is to work about 40 weekends per year and right now, I'd like to make about $1,000 in sales per weekend. Sounds lofty, especially since we're only averaging about $675 per weekend, but I think it's do-able. $40k sounds like a lot, but when you factor in the cost of our booth, the stock, the driving, the camping or hotels and such, it means we may clear about $15 to $20k for the year... which is still a hell of a lot better than Kat was doing in previous years. We're already $6k ahead in sales from last year, but our expenses have been high because of all the purchases we've made. At FLARF, one of the folks sold us a brand new tent they bought and we got it fairly cheap. This technically means that we can do two shows at once. Still have to work that one out. I'd love to do the Italian Ren Fair down in Miami next year. They used to do it at this mansion, but people trampled the gardens, so they moved it to the Hialeah race track. I haven't yet heard how attendence was this year... but it sounds like a good fair to do. Unfortunately, it conflicts with the NC fair and Kat does a spinning-wheel demo at this one, so I'm needed (re: chained) to the booth! Maybe we can get Sam and Edie (freinds from FLARF - see some previous entries)to sell for us there! I know their daughters would LOVE to work for us. Let's see, what else is happening... oh, yeah. For all of you folks out there that enjoy playing card games, go to http://www.looneylabs.com and check out the game called "FLUXX." You should order it! We play it almost every time we go out to eat and it's a blast!! Other than that, I'm generally happy and relaxed. I'm avoiding the issue of doing my taxes, but I won't be able to put it off much longer. I know I'm gonna owe big-time. I'm tired of being poor, but I also realize that, if I keep this business going at the rate I am, that we will be very successful in a few years. Things I'm investigating or interesting internet sites: The Libertarian Party (www.lp.org...dammit, I have to call my registrar in Lake County, IN to get an absentee ballot for the May elections!); Polyamoury (or is it "polyamory?); RefDesk (www.refdesk.com) and; Circlet Press. I miss you all... I think I'll sneak into CEA for a few to yack at people... 9:50 a.m. - 2004-03-31 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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