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October 29th, 2009
08:32 am - weather again
Last night I got very hopeful that vending at Reston would happen. On WTOP they said rain now rain Sunday morning instead of Saturday. I figured that would mess up my Sunday plans, but I can go to the dam some other time if it was too bad and I need the $. So today I woke up hopeful thinking about all the things I need to do before market day. The TV weather was on and I heard rain late Saturday - that's OK, I think.
BUT Wunderground has a 20% chance of rain at 8:00am (like they had last night) but all the other 20s are now 60s!! The "weather channel" says RAIN.
Current Mood: unsure
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October 25th, 2009
11:09 am - oops
Somebody forgot she needed to order dye chemicals.
I used up most of two 25 lb boxes of dry chems before I went to Richmond but didn't want to order more right then because I wasn't sure I'd be home for delivery. Well, now I'm stuck not having enough! Just ordered more. Sigh. I would have known this if I had actually tried to dye stuff last weekend-but the weekend was mostly taken up with paperwork and research.
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October 24th, 2009
01:39 pm - Reston
Well, I had been planning to vend until I saw the rain chance. 80%. Then 100% With winds of 15-20mph and afternoon T-storms. Reston is not a great place to vend if it's raining because you can't park right near your space. I have set up at places in the rain before and it's best to get your canopy up and the sides in place before unloading the rest.
I lucked at at the rainy Mayfair because it wasn't raining during unpacking time and packing up. Plus they had volunteers helping us load & unload so it went a lot quicker. Still, so much got muddy after and my canopy is stained from some tree's seeds. If it weren't for two big customers it wouldn't have been worth the cleanup time and damage.
But at Reston people don't want to shop outside in the rain for something they know they can just get next week, so sales would be WAY down. Plus I'm not committed to going. There's no wasted vending fee or empty spot. (At the Mayfair people pick spots when they arrive so at least there were no gaps, just a real short line of vendors.)
Anyway, I woke with a splitting headache and am watching the rain line on radar. There is a nice thick line moving northeast at almost the same angle it's tilted. So the same areas are getting hit over and over. Reston is in this line and they are getting socked real bad right now. (yellows & oranges on the radar) (Gaithersburg is in that line too.
I really hope I can do next week because it'll be the last one.
I think they'll be open Dec 5th too and I may do that - it's a special day with Santa and a petting zoo, but sales weren't too great.
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October 13th, 2009
10:11 am
If I do events that are that busy again I'm going to invest in a better way to take credit cards. I've got so many to follow up on. They are so hard to read and I'm sure it's all my fault. At least there was only one new one from the Sunday ones and that one was near the beginning of the day. I was really trying to be extra careful - even if it took a little bit more time. 36 credit card sales. 5 problems. Plus one I still need to call from last week and one REAL OLD ONE i still need to successfully follow-up on!! Very few checks.
I'm still not planning on doing many (if any) indoor craft events.
Plan is to do Reston Oct 24 and 31. A local event on Nov 14th (I need to call about it!). Maybe go to Darkover and see if I can sell some items to friends (I'll be in town now, so I can go.) and work on taxes and spring event applications.
And I need to push the calendars now that I spent $ on the stock. And clean up a bit around here so potential customers can set foot in this house.
This week is mostly still travel and emergency stuff. Anything that can wait a week will have to.
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September 17th, 2009
06:48 pm - Weather
Sunny & plesant for both Saturday and Sunday. WOOT!!
Reston and Gaithersburg.
If I bring photos to either I probably won't bring hanging ones. I don't want to carry the gridwall at Reston and don't think it's worth the bother at G'burgh 'cause I haven't sold many photos (if any) there. The location is a bit better this year - we're back on Summit Avenue. But we're still on the other side of the railroad track. And it looks like we're in the block even further away from the tracks then I've been a couple of the years I've done this event. Not great.
Taste of Gaithersburg is where the crafters were last year. There's NO TRAFFIC FLOW PAST THE CRAFTERS ON THAT BOTTOM BLOCK OF SUMMIT AVENUE. OK. I take it back. This spot SUCKS. (Until I REALLY looked at the map I didn't realize we were below the post office. I must find somewhere else to vend next year.
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September 14th, 2009
08:33 am - This is what I've dyed since my surgery in July:
T-Shirts:
Child: 37
Adult: 44
Long Sleeve Ts
Infant: 3
Adult: 20
Child pants: 2
Child dresses: 23
2 piece baby outfits: 3
infant pants: 1
1Z: 6
Baby bunting: 1
Scrunchies: 14
pairs of booties: 2
Hats: Lots. (Lost count - probably over 20)
Bandanas: Probably a couple dozen
And things that I will NEVER DYE AGAIN
2 pairs of shorts (made of jean material
1 pair of Jeans
And I made probably a hundred photo cards, matted a bunch and even framed one (it's hard to frame anything in my dusty house!)
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September 13th, 2009
11:34 pm - The weather
Was great today. Warm, but not TOO hot.
NOTE: for next year. Put the canopy on the west side of the two spaces so it provides some shade in the afternoon!
Next weekend:
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 70s.
Sunday
Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s.
I've got Gaithersberg on Sunday and hope to make it to Reston on Saturday. I might only bring the tie dye. (OMG I've got a LOT of stuff!!! Even after today I still had 12 full containers of tie dye (and, of course, that doesn't include the 4 smaller containers or the bag of hats)
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September 12th, 2009
03:24 pm - Costco photo Center
Don't presume you're smarter then me. Auto Correct was off. I purposely chose not to crop the photo even though it was saying I should.
The document was size 12 X 16 to match the stupid frames I got (OK, that day I WAS stupid... I had meant to order 12 X 18 frames.) Today I meant for you to print my 12 X 16 print on a 12 X 18 piece of photo paper. I hoped there would be a place to put a comment in there so that you'd do it correctly, but there wasn't. And you didn't.
I remembered to check when I picked the photos up and was told I should have Auto Correct off. I claimed I did. (just checked - I DID. I ALWAYS do.) With the cropping the photo was useless to me so I got my $ back but I won't have the photo framed for tomorrow. I guess I could, but I really don't want to go back to Costco twice more today!! Sigh. Now I have to hope my backup is good enough to enter tomorrow. (yes, I'm actually going to have an item judged tomorrow.)
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01:30 pm - First event of the season
I was hoping I could do Reston today, but my leg bone has been hurting more this week and I'm really not up to carrying things. I can lift things when I can do so with most of the weight on my right leg, but I can't carry things. I had been limiting myself to things under 10 lbs and I've only recently started carrying my cat! Unlike some events, I can't just pull up to Reston, unload and set up. Nope. I've got to drag everything across the courtyard which is rough on the leg bones.
Tomorrow ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) chilady is going to be helping me and with luck I can do Reston next Saturday after another week of healing.
I've got a lot of stuff to do today to get ready for tomorrow. The one thing I'm really not looking forward to is getting my gridwalls in the van. I'm hoping the pickup while stationary, move a tiny bit, put down and then take a step method of "not carrying" works.
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July 26th, 2009
09:08 pm - Surgery update
I just realized I never posted anything here after my post-op appt. The surgery went well and I've got my staples out. BUT I'm not supposed to put any weight on the leg for four more weeks! My next appt is August 18th. I might be able to dye something next weekemd because it doesn't hurt too bad to have the leg down anymore.
That will be a challenge though - I've got this rolling knee walker thing, but I also have a 2 story house. My bedroom, workroom and shower are upstairs - and so far I've only been going up there to shower. Being up there longer will require me to drag this heavy roll-a-bout upstairs and do some picking up in my office so I can actually get around. (I ran out of time pre-surgery). And once I'm up there getting food will be a challenge. I've got crutches, but other injuries make using them very difficult and I've fallen more then once trying them.
And if anyone wants to buy something - well, it's all in my van. Another challenge. At least I packed up in an orderly fashion so finding stuff shouldn't be too hard.
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July 24th, 2009
12:21 pm - Wish me luck!
Richmond Folk Festival. Oct 9-11
Application aquired. HUGE event. $25 app fee. $300 space fee.
Boss out of the country from Oct 5-14
Red pandas to visit. :)
And Lion Cubs!!
I'm going to check into camping to save $
Won't need tables or canopy, so I'll have room for tent, air mattress & suitcase.
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July 19th, 2009
07:50 pm - Events
Why do events feel like they can keep raising their fees in these bad financial times? And raising them, and raising them? Kentlands Oktoberfest jumped from $45 for non-residents in 2008 to $65!! It's still worth doing it, but WHY?!! I feel like they are trying to screw the little guys and succeeding.
Because of my health I cannot get another full-time job and I need some income from this business or I'll never make ends meet. The ends are so far away from each other it isn't funny. OK, so, what is another $20? This isn't the only event that has increased it's vending fee this year. Some jumped from $180 to $250!! It really adds up when you do as many events as I do!
(and yeah, it's killing me right now that I can't vend. Two absolutly lovely July Saturdays and where am I? At home recovering from surgery. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow just how long I'll need to keep off it. I know it'll be quite a while yet before I'll be up to all the carrying involved, but the pain is getting less enough that I might be able to dye some stuff by the end of the month.)
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July 12th, 2009
09:09 am - Is this July?! In DC?
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s
Now, that's a week away and I'm sure it'll change BUT for that to even be a possibility on July 18th in Washington DC is amazing.
Of course I can't actually vend anyway. The Dr. said my surgery went well, but I don't know yet what that means. I don't see him again until the 20th. Hopefully then I'll know how long I need to keep off my leg. I'm going to try to keep other muscles in shape as much as possible so I'm up to lifting and carrying for fall vending events.
September 3rd will be 8 weeks after the surgery. Catonsville is September 13th. I'm going to assume that I'll be mobile (and really mobile) by then. This week I'm going to work on adding other events to my calendar for the fall. I know I should have done it months ago, but I also know why I didn't. A newish symptom started in March '09 really took a lot out of me. I've been busy and going through the motions, but lacking real motivation. The pain right now is pretty darn bad... BUT an area that started hurting above my little toes in March doesn't hurt anymore!! I'd suspected that this had something to do with blood flow and it was around the same time I started having trouble sleeping. It was a bad combo. I really wasn't motivated to make any future plans. I hope my motivation is really back. If you know of any good events that still have space for the fall please let me know. I'm willing to travel a bit if it's to a location I can combine with a photo taking trip.
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July 3rd, 2009
09:39 pm - Not doing Reston this weekend
My leg hurts and I've got to get some stuff done before surgery next week. Right now I don't know how long I'll be incapacitated for. According to my research I may need to keep weight off the leg for 4-8 weeks. I was told to rent a mobility device for 6 weeks. I've got crutches too. This is not going to be fun, but I can't keep living with the pain - it's gotten so bad I can't sleep unless I take a Vicoden or Ambian at night. So, I'm having surgery on July 9th and will not be vending at least until September. After that it all depends on how quickly I heal. It's not enough to be good enough to walk without aide, I have to be good enough to carry stuff without aide.
I may be looking for help to do events in the fall. Or at least help for set up and tear down. If anyone's interested in earning some $ or tie dye for a bit of work please let me know and we can discuss dates and details.
Instead of vending I'll be dyeing some stuff I meant to dye last week.
Have a good Fourth.
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June 26th, 2009
03:20 pm - Changed my mind!
I convinced myself I can handle tomorrow afterall. Mid 80s. Not too humid. No T-storms. 10-15mph winds. Lots of ice. It could be worse next week and these are the only two Saturday's I've got before I get cut open! So, Reston Market. Show up. Buy Produce and Tie Dye.
And I hope it was understood that me saying I can dye an order Friday or Saturday meant 'Sat morning at the latest, but I've got Friday open to dye stuff if I end up vending on Saturday' and not 'Sat if you don't get the details to me so I can do on Friday.' Any later and I won't have the items ready for shipping by a reasonbly priced method.
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June 24th, 2009
02:11 pm - Reston
I will NOT be at Reston Market again this week. I just didn't sell enough two weeks ago to risk going when it's going to be 88 degrees. It's so hard for me to pack up when it gets that hot!
Plus I've got a number of custom items I need to dye and I was thinking of working on those.
OK, there is a slim chance I will be there... but most likely not. I've been in a lot of pain lately. I'm having surgery on July 9th to remove a cyst/lesion/tumor in the medial malleolar. (bottom of the tibia) This'll kill vending for the rest of the summer. I'm hoping I will be mobile by September.
Comments here about wanting to buy stuff on Sat could change my mind. Esp if you will be there in the morning. And I might get the one custom order died Friday. (the one that has a time limit)
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June 20th, 2009
11:25 am - Rain!
I'm glad I didn't even try to go to Reston today. What a mess out there!! I don't even sell much on a GOOD day there. (plus I've got a bit of a headache... the only good thing I can say about the rain is it's still cool enough that I can go lie down again. (no sun hitting the upstairs windows)
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June 15th, 2009
06:37 pm - Reston
I most likely won't be there next Saturday. Right now they are calling for a 40% chance of T-storms and "Highs in the mid 80s" Not a good combinationf for someone that can't rush in the heat.
Plus I just found out I'll probably need surgery on my ankle. This is for a problem that has been going on for the past 13 months. I'll know more about that on Wednesday.
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June 8th, 2009
06:15 pm - Reston Market
I wasn't there last weekend because I was on vacation, but I heard it was wonderful weather. It figures.. the reason I went away now is that it's usually too hot to vend anyway. Last year I was hardly there at all in the summer. The two weekends it was nice I was stuck at the county fair. Maybe this year will be better. Hot during the week, lovely on Saturdays.
Saturday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Northeast winds around 5 mph.
It's 5 days away, and a lot can change by then, but I'm hopeful.
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June 1st, 2009
07:35 am - HA!
The pintuck skirt hanging on my upstairs stair rail IS an XL.
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