12 days left in New York

... and then another installment of "The Great Schlep". Phil and I have started the piles of stuff to take. We haven't yet decided whether or not one of us will haul a trailer.

Part of me is thrilled, and part of me has a long list of New York Stuff I haven't done yet. C'est la vie.

August 22

Hi folks,
The weekend ahead looks great weather-wise, so we're ready for a good work-week. It will be 4th weekend, the theme is Magic and Mystery. this could be a fun theme, but instead it appears to be amateur bands-dressed-like-Harry-Potter weekend ... a couple of years after the Harry Potter craze no less.

But rather than be negative, I'll tell you about the Good Stuff happening. I've heard from most of my core employees at Queen's Pantry, so that is lining up well. I'm on day 18 of a High Raw diet, which means I'm eating no animal products, and every day for 18 days so far, I've consumed 90% or more raw food. I don't have a lot of time for playing in the kitchen during our work-season, so I've been eating a lot of fruit. But what a time to be eating fruit! Local peaches are Soooooooo good.

Phil and I bought shares in a local farm (near TRF) for the 3 months that we live in the area. We'll get weekly shares of whatever came due that week. I'm very excited.

Off to continue finding the top of my desk before the weekend.

Catch Up

Lessee ....
Dolly missed our house, but took down one avocado tree. Our neighbors Jenn and Scott lost a big tree and 2 cars, but had good insurance. They're swamped with the post-hurricane rebuild of area restaurants, so this will end up being a very good year for their business.

Phil and I are in New York, at the New York Renaissance Faire. Weather has been iffy each of our 2 weekends so far, but we're doing well. The weather has been gorgeous in-between ... so we are enjoying the opportunity to live in the woods in the summertime.

I'm on day 11 of eating mostly raw food, and I'm feeling AMAZING. My energy level is very high, and it gives me an easy way to say "No thank you" to those yummy fresh cut french fries that Phil sells on the weekends. Besides, the summer bounty of fruit and veggies is so fabulous, it's an easy shift.

That's the update for now ... back to work I go ...

California on the Solstice

I went to California for a week … delightful and beautiful, and magical all in one whirlwind trip. I went to see a wedding, and to help those I love pull it together. Travis and Hannah Alvarez were married in Butano State Park, under the Redwoods. For the parents (who were theatre producers) … there was a long list of “things that could go wrong” but the couple knew that everything would be “Good and Right, and Beautiful”. Travis and Hannah were correct.

I include a photo that I took at the wedding, and the caption that Travis attached to it on his MySpace page:


"Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate and pure. This one left them all behind."

Opening weekend, GARF 2008

It was cold, and breezy, but lots of old friends came to visit, and we made money. After all, that *is* why we do this crazy job, isn't it???

Phil was in town for opening, and we had a few routine medical visits. He's flown back to Houston now, and it's girl-time here in Atlanta. I just spent an evening with Kelly and Kristen, and a bottle of wine, so I've not had time to begin to miss Phil yet.

The medical visits were uneventful, except for the small thing where I tell myself I'm visiting the dermatologist in order to get Phil there, but *I'm* the person that ends up getting moles sliced off. I currently have a chunk cut out of my big toe. He just had a couple of sun spots.

Houston to Atlanta

It's moving week (I should make up some name for this since it happens 4 times a year). I'm moving from our place near Houston, to my cute little apartment at the Georgia Renaissance Festival. I'm ready ... it's 80 degrees at 8pm here, which makes packing a chore.

But, I get to move to another one of my playhouses, and set up camp for 2 months. I'll do a bit of travel within that 2 months, (the TRF food vendors annual meeting happens in early May) ... but for the most part I'm working at the Renaissance Festival, and living in Rapunzel's Tower until the first weekend in June; (at which point it will be too hot there, and we'll head north to NY for the summer months).

So I'm driving Tuesday and Wednesday (this is NOT an April Fool's joke).

Phil flies in on the weekend, and we'll attend the great Dessert Expo on the following Monday and Tuesday.

In defense of my waistline,
I will attempt to run several miles in order to prepare for the caloric onslaught.

NYC visit

Phil and I are in NYC today. We're attending a Food Show at the Javits Center. We were already scheduled to attend the Great Dessert Expo in Atlanta, and the Fancy Food Show here in late June, but it was suggested that all food vendors at TRF attend this show ... so here we are.

We've taken stairs whenever possible, and if the weather breaks we'll get a lot more walking in, but there's no getting around the fact that we're gonna have to consume about a billion calories to make this trip worth it. I expect to blog about the show on the Queen's Pantry blog.