Now, That's Just Rude

I was going to post last night and decided to wait until today. I click over to my blog and, lo and behold -- I've been blogjacked! I should take her up on the offer and just let her continue to post for me, but I'm afraid of what she'll say ....

Had a blast this past weekend. Went with Duh & Happy to work a charity "Wild West" event to benefit the Center for Individual Development in San Bernardino. Happy runs the Wheel of Fortune, while Duh and I helped out in the saloon. I had worked one weekend last year, but due to a broken tooth - it wasn't as much fun as it could have been. This past weekend, though, was great. Saturday was kind of slow -- not many people were there, and we didn't have a lot of customers for either the saloon or the Wheel. Yesterday, though, there were a lot more people, the weather was a bit warmer, and they had the Chili Cook-off, so people were thirstier. We sold over $1200 in beer (at $4/per), and then we also had wine, sodas and water.

Everyone seemed to be in really good moods, too ... both the volunteers and the customers. I even had an "admirer" ... even after he found out that I have a full-grown son. It was flattering, if nothing else. And it was fun to flirt with all the cowboys ... But my favorite "scene" of the weekend was on Saturday, right near the end of the day. The stagecoach was approaching the saloon, and the driver was cradling his sleeping baby in his arms. Absolutely adorable. And of course, I didn't have the camera handy. So ... today's pictures are from Saturday ... the stagecoach, and 3 of the bartenders.

Blogjack!

You know, if SOMEone doesn't start keeping up with her blog, someone else just might have to take over & make posts for her. Just sayin'.

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

I have gotten so bad at updating this thing, I might as well just close it out and ignore it forever. Once again, I'll be skipping most of the time since my last post, and just start fresh from here. Well, I'll back-track a little bit ...

Saturday, as you know, was Halloween, and - as you may not know - Wednesday was Duh's birthday. She and Happy decided to have a small gathering of friends to celebrate these two events. I went over early to help clean up and prepare, which didn't take long. Duh was kind enough to let me wear the outfit I wore to the Ren Faire a while back, while she and Happy donned their "Captain and Chenille" outfits from Sis' Pirate Party. There were about 15 people there, and several were in costume. I think Sis and Rafe would have won a prize, had there been any ... they came as Gladys & Tyrone from Laugh-In. The pic isn't from Duh's party, because I really failed at taking pictures ...

Spent Sunday going through Duh's costume stuff to sort out what she and I will be wearing for Harvest Fair the next two weekends. We managed to come up with 4 outfits each, and only have to wash one shirt for re-use. I'm borrowing and/or buying the purse that Sis used for Halloween, so the only thing I don't have is shoes ... don't know what I'm going to do about shoes. I'd just go barefoot, but since I'll be working in the Saloon, I don't think that'll be appropriate.

Last night I was back at Duh's (yeah, I might as well just move in - it's been joked about) and BK came over to color my hair again. I couldn't find the color I wanted, but got one that turned out very similar to how the first coloring turned out. I had wanted a touch more red -- but I think this is ok.

Long Time, No Write

It's been ages. Wow - I'm really failing at this whole blog thing! At first I don't update, because I have nothing to write about. Now that I'm starting to do things to write about, I don't write because I'm too lazy. So ... here I am, and I don't remember what all I've done since the last time I wrote. I guess I can start with last weekend.

Saturday, we had a small family picnic. K and her son, A, were out visiting friends, so we all got together at a park out by Dad's. Let's see -- there was Dad and J, The Kids, Sis and Rafe, K and A, and myself. We had some really yummy ham, homemade potato salad, Hawaiian rolls, and brownies. Oh, and homemade lemonade, too. I think everyone had fun.

Sunday was club day at the bar, and they were having a "craft fair, rummage sale". Duh had to stay inside the bar for and do club registration stuff, so BK and I sat out at her Tupperware table. There wasn't a big crowd of customers, but we did get her a booking for a T-ware party. I guess, all-in-all, it was a success since she got the booking ...

This past weekend was the Paradise Dance Festival. I had so much fun! Had to make 6 trays of baked pasta last Thursday (2 w/meat sauce, 2 w/o meat, and 2 chicken/broccoli Alfredo). I met Happy at the hotel at about 11:00 on Friday, since I was scheduled to help set up & serve lunch at noon. Well, the other volunteer already had the stuff set up, so I really didn't have much to do. "Serving" the meals basically consists of staying in the hospitality suite and making sure that things are replenished as needed. It's really nice, because people just come in as they get a break, so there's usually someone in the suite at all times, and everyone is very friendly. (We don't provide meals for EVERYone in attendance, just the Pros, Judges, and volunteers). After lunch clean up I was free until time to set up dinner, and again, the other lady had it all done early. Duh, Happy, BK and I ate dinner at the hotel bar ($10 for a cheeseburger and fries - but it was really, really good).

Saturday was a bit busier, and we didn't quite stick to our work schedule. Got up at 6:00 to get breakfast set up, served, cleaned up. As we were cleaning up from breakfast, we were also setting up lunch (the pasta). I was supposed to have free time during lunch, but Duh and BK got called away to help set up the carnival area, so I stayed to take care of the food. After lunch, I went and helped with the rest of the carnival set-up, we hung out at the carnival (off the clock) for a couple hours and then started the tear-down. Since we didn't have adequate lighting, we were allowed to just put the stuff into the trailer and leave the EZ-ups until Sunday.

And then there was yesterday. Breakfast, lunch ... and clean up. Complete clean up -- everything out of the hospitality suite, festival registration, ball room and judges room. We couldn't start on most of it until after 5:00, because the rooms were still in use. But, I was home before 8:00, which was good ...

So - I came home exhausted but feeling really good about the weekend. Everyone was so nice, and so appreciative of the work we were doing ... makes you feel good when people rave over the job you've done.

and there may or may not have been a bit of flirting ...

The Last Week

Let's see ... the last week or so. Spending time on the job search (yuck!) and housework. I really need to start going through some of the storage tubs of stuff and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. I should also sort books ... but I'm not sure I'll be getting to that any time soon.

Went to a small "1st Annual" Renaissance Faire with Duh and Happy on Saturday. Other than it being rather hot out, it was a really nice day. I borrowed an outfit from Duh ... wasn't completely "period" but I think I looked ok. There weren't a lot of vendors, but they stuff they were selling was really nice. There were a couple booths that we spent a lot of time at ... the vendors were so much fun to talk to! I was going to buy a tankard (because it felt silly to walk around carrying the plastic Budweiser cup) but the ones we were looking at were pewter - and expensive. Happy bought Duh a really pretty pewter necklace. And a tankard for me. Yeah, I couldn't believe it, either.

Met a couple of Happy's friends from when he used to work the Faire; spent most of the day hanging out at the Mariners Guild. Had an absolute blast - great conversation, lots of laughs, and even tried a couple of micro-brew beers that were really good. It was a lot of fun watching Happy, too, because he was "in character", which meant he was a little bawdier than he normally would be.