Weeks Offline

It's been a long time since I posted. I got into the Oregon Country Fair at the last minute by working in someone else's booth. It was really a perfect match. They sold beautiful micromacrame jewelry to which my weaving is a perfect compliment. In return for loaning them booth parts and lighting and working half of every day selling their wares, I was able to sell before and after the public hours of the fair.

This might not sound like such a good deal, but it really is. I learned from a friend on security that there are 17,000 people on site during off-hours. This includes all of the entertainers, food vendors, booth workers, infrastructure teams like construction, security, parking, medical, and more. I brought my booth lighting setup and spent a week adjusting my sleep schedule so that I could be up and selling in the cool and busy evening hours. It was a fantastic experience in terms of sales and in terms of fun. I'll definitely be doing this again!

When I returned home and got online again I found that my best friend in San Francisco had gotten the results of a batch of tests that he'd had the week before and they were dire. He's had a heart murmur for his entire life. Somehow, some ordinary bacteria in his bloodstream took advantage of the eddies in that valve to set up residence in the area. The end result was a dangerous infection that damaged the valve and required a quickly scheduled valve replacement surgery.

I was so tired on the night that I returned from fair and that I wasn't thinking straight. After a good night's sleep I knew that I needed to be in San Francisco for a few days to be with Carl while he recovered from surgery.

His medical team is fantastic! Everyone from surgeons to physical therapists and nurses seem to know exactly what they are doing and how to do it well. He was recovering very rapidly when I returned home to finish my preparations for the trip to Washington.

He comes home on Tuesday where he will be cared for by friends and a daily visit with a nurse who administers IV antibiotics.

And now I'm home and trying as hard as I can to make sure that everything is done and packed up before I drive away for the three biggest shows this year, back-to-back, without coming home. Woohoo!