Her Favourite Pillow Tuesday, Apr 28 2009 

Daily krmb 2:28 pm

Her Favourite Pillow

27 April 2009

I have long admitted a love affair with photographing my cat. Her personality frequently leaves something to be desired, but in the looks department, she’s got the blue ribbon! Artemis is the most photogenic pet I’ve ever known. Her beautiful white fur makes her fairly easy to shoot, even in low light. Her pink features
—nose, ears, toes—are so . . . pink, they’re just precious. And when she’s surrounded by bright colours, it’s a win-win combination! Here she is, taking a nap with what seems to be her favourite pillow. It’s a bright pink fuzzy/furry thing we bought a couple of years ago because it amused us one night in a Wal-mart store. If you throw it, the impact of catching it, or of it hitting an object causes it to make a wonderful “boing-g-g-g” sound! Too funny. But, what Artemis knows is that it feels good on her paws when she kneads it, and it feels good underneath her at naptime.

Monday . . . all I can think of is how much I wish I too, could take a nap. But, instead, I’ll go to bed at ten-something, when Kyle does. It’s the beginning of a brand new week!

~MB

 

Maria Smiles Tuesday, Apr 28 2009 

Daily krmb 2:14 pm

Maria Smiles

26 April 2009

Well, today’s weather was more pleasant by far, but, once again, we believe the weathermen damned us, and the attendance was sparse. Today’s economic climate does not combine well with an icky weather forecast for those in the renfaire industry!

There was ample time today, to adjust hangers, re-arrange racks, and give generous breaktime to my workers. Even me! I took my first hour or so away from the booth since the show started! And, then, later in the day I actually took another half hour to go see the final show by a performer-friend. (See Kyle’s post for a photo of Rob making a sandwich with his feet . . . yes, really!) I had intended to snap a bunch of photos today, but only ended up with a couple. This one of Maria is my favourite—I hope she likes it, too! Maria is an old friend we are enjoying having around us again. She is a talented woman—seamstress (she’s one of very few stateside kiltmakers I used to recommend), architect, mother, businesswoman—and this year, she wanted to be back in the faire scene after a number of years away. And I’m lucky to have her working for me in this year of staff transitioning.

After the (very long) day, we packed things up and headed toward the local Chili’s where we met George and Delaenya and Ginger and Gypsy, for dinner and margaritas before making the half-hour drive home. It’s a great wind down after a weekend, and tonight the company was special. Next time I get to see George and Delaenya, it’ll be July, and I’ll be in Wisconsin!

~MB

 

Gold Medallion on Black Chenille Tuesday, Apr 28 2009 

Daily krmb 1:58 pm

Golden Medallion on Black Chenille

25 April 2009

Unfortunately, the weather gods were not thinking about the Renaissance faire when they designed this day. We had misty sprinkles on and off throughout the day, and the muggy factor was through the roof! But, although that sort of weather almost completely squashes my sales, the festival’s attendees didn’t seem to mind overly much. The parking lot was full (we heard) and I talked to other crafters who did alright.

At the end of the tedious day, we rather hurriedly changed clothes and prepared to meet George and Delaenya at the Catfish Plantation for dinner. It has become a birthday tradition—with George’s birthday on the 17th and mine on the 18th, and that being one of his favourite restaurants to visit when he’s here. I was underwhelmed with the idea when we arrived, remembering how all their deliciously-Southern fried foods no longer agree with my delicate constitution (how’s that for a polite euphamism?!). But, Kyle wisely pointed out a grilled tilapia special involving no fried anything. I ordered it, and could not have been more pleased with my meal. Yummy! And downtown Waxahachie being a dry area (is it still?) we drank iced tea with dinner—also good after a hot, humid day of rather freely flowing alcohol of various types.

This photo of this gorgeous black and gold chenille brocade is the only evidence of me owning a camera, today. I had a customer wondering if we could get more of it, so I snapped its photo to send to Nicole to find out. I love it, by the way. I saw this for the first time in a store in Dallas about two years ago, but haven’t seen it in a while. Here’s hoping that in L.A. it’s more readily available.

~MB

 

Foot Sandwich Tuesday, Apr 28 2009 

Daily krmb 8:41 am

26 April 2009
A very slow day in the shop, so I left in the hands of my extremely capable manager and stole away to watch a show with my wife at one point. Rob, who we knew and loved as Gyro from the Flaming Idiots was at faire filling in for Christophe the Insultor who was unable to be there. Rob is an extremely funny and very talented man so there was no way of knowing how the show would turn. This time, we were treated to his world famous act – in fact, he owns the Guinness record for this feat – wherein he makes a sandwich with his feet. Every aspect of the sandwich making is done with his nimble toes while sitting in a chair on stage. I had 2nd row seats, so managed to capture a great deal of it while poking the camera between the elbows of the couple sitting in front of us.
This is probably the best shot of the series
The Foot Sandwich.
It’s pretty astonishing. If the photo doesn’t suffice, here’s a YouTube link.
Cheers.

~KR (Written on 27 April 2009)

Listening to:
Whole Day Off by Oingo Boingo
from Farewell

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 18.6 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
Flash: Off

 

Stratum Tuesday, Apr 28 2009 

Daily krmb 8:40 am

25 April 2009
The fourth Saturday of faire and another new game in the shop. Sometimes, I truly love what I do. This is Stratum. A Family Games game that is a combination of Strategy and ummm…yeah, Strategy. Fun game for two, a bit more fun with three, and a blast with four. It’s an extremely quick game to learn and play with enough strategy to keep a player continually coming back for more.
Stratum
Great fun. In fact, so much fun, I sold through the entire stock in the first day. Here’s hoping I can get some more.
Cheers.

~KR (Written on 27 April 2009)

Listening to:
Rich Girls by the Virgins
from Cut the Crap

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
Flash: Off

 

Frantic Dog in Leaves Tuesday, Apr 28 2009 

Daily krmb 8:40 am

24 April 2009
Got home fairly early from work so that we could go to faire. Marita Beth, however, had struggled a bit with a costume piece she had to finish. So, I amused myself for a couple of hours.
Frantic Dog
This is ‘Tia, although you can but barely tell. She’s frantically searching for a ball or a frisbee or something, anything, for me to throw to her. Little did she know I was just there to take some photos.
Cheers.

~KR (Written on 27 April 2009)

Listening to:
Hot Blooded by Foreigner
from Records

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
Flash: Off