Laffing Horse Crafts

There’s probably nothing more satisfying than the look in a person’s eyes when they get it… unless it’s the knowledge that what they got stuck.

Two years ago, I taught a young lady to spin using my 5 minute spinning lesson… she got it!

This year, she came back for a wheel. She said she would have been back sooner, but last year her other half had to have a PS3.

Another playtron (a patron who dresses up in Renaissance garb to have a good time) came into the booth two weekends ago and just wanted to sit and spin and talk fiber. Of course we allow that… that’s about 1/2 our purpose.

Last  weekend she also came and bought a wheel.

Three years ago a young lady walked into the booth wanting the same thing… a quiet place to spin or knit. She said her daughter was working in the fair and she thought it made little sense to drive home after dropping him off and then back to pick him up so she just wandered around and was tired of that.

Today, Julia is an important part of our Colorado Renaissance Festival crew and our business year ’round!

Gandhi once said that if our world leaders would spin just one hour a day, there would be world peace – he spun for two hours a day. I don’t think I’m going to get the prez and Castro together with drop spindles any time soon, but I’m thinking if I can touch just one life at a time, then in time, I CAN change the world.

5,999,999,998 left to go…

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Jeanette spoke this morning of the lifestyle we live and the comfort she drew from that. Specifically, she noted that we keep odd hours – getting up early (her) and staying up late (me). Most places, we get odd looks when we keep those hours. Here, they’re pretty normal.

I found her observation interesting. However, it’s not what I thought at all.

When I get focused, I get focused! Jen will make dinner and I say “set it down, I’ll get it in a bit.” By the time I turn to get my meal, the dogs have either had at it (with permission) or someone else has eaten it (also, with permission).

There are ‘quiet times’ and ‘curfews’ where we travel and show and I have to be reminded that it’s late. The conversation usually goes a little like this:

“Shawn, you can’t run that sander. It’s after quiet time.”

“No, it’s not! It can’t be any later than 8 p.m.”

“The sun went down 3 hours ago. It’s 11.”

“Ooops!”

On the upside, I seem to be getting a lot done.

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Shawn asked me to write a quick blurb here when I ran to town today. I’m not sure which one of us is the lucky one – he gets to stay at the booth at the Renaissance Festival and work on looms and crochet hooks and knitting needles and his new turkish spindles – while I have to run to town for internet access and to do laundry. Since I’m writing the post – you get my point of view

We are hoping to have internet at the site on June 28 – then we can resume daily updates, with pictures.

In the mean time, I’ll jot notes when I can. Oh, and since I have the computer – Shawn’s 40th birthday is June 18 – just fyi!

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…when you’re having flies… or something like that.

¬†Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are almost completely set up at the Colorado Renaissance Festival site. We’ve shingled the roof, painted the interior, walled off my workshop, created a kitchen and a bedroom, painted new signs… whew!

That means that, with my shop now restablished, I can (and have Р14 crochet hooks finished yesterday Рthe rest wil be done this afternoon and they will ship tomorrow) start on all of the orders for all of the really, really patient folks waiting to get their knitting needles, crochet hooks and trilooms.

Aside from that piece or information, I can’t think of a single thing to write… it’s more like I can think of 28376 things to write, but only have the time and attention span to write that one.

Not to worry, though. Our internet will be re-established at the site on Friday and you can expect frequent updates and more pictures!

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More than once we’ve wondered why, oh why, don’t we live nearer to everything… anything.

It’s hard not to wonder that when you drive 25 miles to town to get a vital piece or part of your latest project only to find that the store you visit doesn’t carry it or is out and will not have any back in stock for a couple of days… or weeks… or ever…

The healthcare is often better in cities, but we’re rarely sick and when we do get a little down, we tend to recover swiftly relying on a healthy diet and lots of fluids and the support of each other.

Entertainment has to be self-made, too. Movies are usually second run, rentals are a long ways away and the one you want is usually already checked out. Professional concerts are out of the question – we’ll not be seeing any headliners in our neck of the woods any time soon (I add this because there is almost always an evening concert on the courthouse lawn comprised of some very talented local folk, but that’s still 25 miles away).

Groceries, fuel, household items, and clothing are less expensive in larger towns. Larger supermarkets and more gas stations with shorter supply lines see to that. Clothing, for us, is hard to come by unless new – we prefer for many reasons to shop thrify stores – and thrift stores in smaller towns don’t seem to have our sizes… sometimes being tall is not an advantage.

At least two times a year – for the Colorado Renaissance Festival in the Summer and for the Louisiana Renaissance Festival in the Winter – we get a chance to travel to and – almost – live in a big city. Those two times per year are enough to remind us loudly why we’ve chosen to live in the boonies.

In the country, a road may meander, but it is the same road! In Colorado Springs, the road names change, it seems, at every stop light. And more than one road can have basically the same name… I drove 25 miles on Briargate Parkway looking for a store that was two miles to the south on Briargate Boulevard. I could have gotten there a lot faster, I’m sure, if I had known to take Briargate Expressway… Confused? I was… and frustrated.

On another occasion, I missed a turn, so I took the next right, then another right thinking those turns would take me back to the road I missed… it would have worked, too, if cities were laid out in grids like they used to be. In this case I got stuck in cul-de-sac, dead-end (which is now converted to the PC “no outlet”), circle drive, suburban clone housing hell. That missed turn took me another 25 minutes of driving in circles to get out of. I told Jeanette to call the Colorado Renaissance Festival and tell them we were lost in Colorado Springs and could not attend this year as I saw no way to find our way out of the morass.

In the country, there are no stop lights. No traffic backed up at the stop lights, either. Far fewer accidents. No road rage. When we see three cars in under 10 minutes, we figure it’s a traffic jam!

When we do go shopping in the country, we might have to wait five minutes in line to check out… and more often than not, the cashier knows our name – really. Here, we look at the 8756 lanes – of which two are open – and I often get called Mr. Larson because Jeanette’s name is first on the check… when we can find a store that will take a check.

We might forget between our trips to town how nice it is to live in the country. We might even mention it here on our web site or in our blogs, or on the phone to our friends. Twice a year, however, we get a reminder – an affirmation – and it is LOUD and very clear!

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