Tent

Erection

(That might get me a couple hits)

Thursday evening Nat, Elle and I went out to Faire camp grounds to help Dizz put up the GP Large. Nothing interesting about that. We did the same thing last week. Chris and Bree came out. There was another Italian woman there who apparently was getting married Friday (today).

Chris knows what's going on and is good about keeping focused. It's nice working with him. "Kelly, stop fucking off and hammer in a stake." Something like that.

Bree is good natured. She smiles and cracks jokes. She also helps. It is fun working with her.

The Italian woman helped greatly. I was worried because she complained about being cold so much. She got up and pitched in without a word. I like that.

Nat was on the spot even though her back hurt. She aggravated it she worked so hard. She is not able to run around Faire throwing stuff at people. She gets paid to do so in the parade. She needs to rest up for final weekend.

Elle was right there saying "I can help Kelly?" She doesn't quite have the order of questions down. She is so cute. Elle did hold the flashlight a couple of times. Good girl. It's funny when she goes to had someone a flashlight, she ends up shining it right in their eyes, without fail.

Dizz is always working it seems. She is a hardy mountain woman. She over did it a smidge last night.

Satan was there. The same one mentioned in yesterday's blog. He came over to make sure everything was OK. He already had the shower and kitchen set up at his camp. Showoff. =]

I drove several stakes. I'm not sure I did a very good job. I'm not sure I got the angle correct. I'm not sure I didn't bust any of them as I hammered away. I did like the sparks as they flew. I did get some aggravations out and it kept me warm. It never fails that some of the stakes will need to be moved. Sometimes you end up hammering them all twice and one four times before the tent is in shape.

The corners of the GP Large are coming apart. It turns out the stress is a bit much for the canvas. The metal rings that hold the poles to the canvas are coming out of their mounts. It looks bad, but I bet with some care it can be repaired. It may need to be replaced. I'm not sure how much effort that is, but it does not look easy. This is the last weekend for the big tent this year. Next weekend is Thanksgiving. Many people intend to treat this weekend as last weekend. The camp grounds are going to be packed.

It was cold and dusty. We had the cars high beams giving us light along with a couple of lanterns. I also used my MagLight. At one point I noticed the beam was dimming a bit. It wasn't the bulb or the batteries. There was an inch of dust on the lens. This must have happened one of the times the light ended up on the ground. The disadvantage of a flashlight in general is that has to be handy to be handy. I still say it was a good purchase. It never fails that there is just not enough light in all the right places when putting up one of those tents. I have a head lamp that doesn't work either because I'm constantly shining it in every one's eyes.

Reflection

Remember the RV fire from last week? There was a moment last week where a bubble burst. The fabric of our collective Faire happiness was tested briefly.

There was a moment where I sat behind the car looking at the night sky. It was freezing and I huddled up looking though a slit between the hood of my jacket and the neck of the jacket. The sky seemed removed a bit. There were tons of stars and a large number of planes flying around. Thee was also a radio tower off to the North. There was a glow to the South East that was the faire ground. There is a fourth wall feel between the camp ground and the Faire.. The camp is the camp and the faire is the faire. Last week when you could see and smell the smoke from the burning RV climbing the night sky, glowing red on the bottom, and falling on the camp, it broke the magic for a moment. It made everything, the whole magic world we have made for ourselves shake a bit. That monster in the air that was a real fire that could hurt people. The smell of burning plastic and wood that rammed it down our throats. For a moment I felt both the magic and the break. It was strange. Then I watched the sky for a while.

Aftermath

On the way home I asked "Shouldn't we be on the Toll Way by now." We had been on the Toll Way for like five minutes. Just as the words past my lips, we past a toll booth. Nat was like "Are you OK?" I was just plane tired. Elle was of course passed out in the back seat the whole time. Nat managed to get us home without damage.

We didn't get home until 1:30 or so. I was so out of it that I sat down to play with the cat for a second, to distract him from running in to Elle's room while she got ready for bed, and fell asleep against the wall. I just brushed my teeth, washed up a bit, and went to bed. Got up in the morning and went to work.

When I got home I noticed the amount of dust on my boots was the same amount that I normally carry home after a full weekend. This means the terminal dust load on my boots it achieved within a couple of hours at least. I bet with farther experimentation, it happens within several minutes.

I nearly dropped the coffee pot this morning when I felt a sharp pain in my upper forearm. The joy of pounding the sledge into the stake and watching the dust fly, feeling the ground shake was well worth it. I was worried about typing last night, but that is OK.

It turned out that several people were up late last night. Some didn't get to bed until 3:00 or so. They were playing video games or something along those lines. Every one seems to be in good spirits though.

At noon, it felt like 10:00 or so in the morning. My built in clock was off all day.

I did break the $10 bill I was saving in my pocket for next weekend's camping fee. It was a noble cause thought. Cinnamon Pop-Tarts.

Things I Learned

• Put the center poll tip through the center of the metal plate, through the grommet in the tent canvas, and make sure the metal latches are all straight before you push on the poll to raise it up.
  
• The candle has a purpose. I have no idea what, but it has a purpose.
  
• You really can warm your hands around a liquid fuel Colman lantern.
  
• Hammering a metal tent stake in to the ground really can be fun.
• Standing at one end of the GP Large and shining a MagLite to the other end lights nearly the entire door even on a tight beam of light.
• Ratchet straps do not age well when used with a GP Large.
• A GP Large has twice the foot print of a GP Medium.
• The work lights that Heath uses work many times better than the headlights of a couple of cars and a couple of lanterns for putting up the GP tents.