arontius | The February Crier has left the Building! :-) (Reply)

.....My 29th issue of The Crier was completed last night and uploaded to the Idaho Falls printing facility. Only eight more issues to go! Woo! Hoo! March, April, May, June, July, August, September, and October! I might be able to get out of the October issue, but that'll probably be the transition month so it'll still be busy. I'm reveling in the fact that things might slow down to a manageable pace at that point. I...CANNOT.....WAIT!!! :-)

.....2007 accelerated into high speed almost immediately. Every day at work has been an extreme adventure. Numerous jobs piling up on boats, especially in San Diego. Added tasking connected to the organization. The manilla work folders on my desk are starting to stack up high. I'm only seeing flashes of the grey desktop. I shudder to think of what it'll look like after taking a couple of days off for Twelfth Night. But at the same time I'm looking forward to getting out to Ocean Shores for a couple of days. The Marketplace will not require a huge investment of time to manage, especially after it is set up and running. I'm hoping that I'll be able to snag the beloved Laurellen for at least a couple of walks along the beach. I guess I'll have to bribe Mistress Ellen or Her Excellency Brighid to stand watch over A&S displays for a while. :-)

.....Mom is really looking forward to the trip as well. She gave us a little bit of a scare over the past week. She was feeling faint and dizzy and when they took her into the Emergency Room, they found some blood clots had worked their way into her lungs. They kept her in for observation for a handful of days and finally released her last Sunday. It was a good wake up call for her though. She has a difficult time walking and because of that has become sedentary over the past couple of years. This, along with several other factors, made it easier for the blood clots to form. I told her that if she didn't start taking care of herself that she was going to be in a nursing home in a few years. I felt rather guilty even saying that, but it worked for its intended purpose. She's now motivated to make her doctor's appointments and is even talking about surgery to improve her mobility. Good signs all.

.....With Twelfth Night over this weekend, it'll be past time to rev' up the June Faire machine. Have to get with Tyrus and make sure the propaganda campaign is well in hand. Pre-registration forms will be in the March issue of The Crier. The Marketplace will probably be full before the end of January, even with the jurying process we're employing this year. I'm looking forward to seeing how that process plays out. Also need to start twisting arms for volunteers for various June Faire jobs. Now more then ever I'm seeing the effects of the Barony doing too much over the past couple of years. You can see and hear the burn-out in people as you work hard at trying to persuade them to take on something for June Faire. I'm seeing it in myself and will have to be careful not to let it affect June Faire planning. Motivation will be the big thing for this spring. It'll be easier as Twelfth Night wraps up and becomes history. I think that the prospect of 'time off' after June Faire will help some with the motivation.

.....Gotta run. Take care tonight. I hope that the big snow storm bypasses us, but I'm sure we'll get something. It is now tradition in Dragon's Laire that we get a big snow scare before we autocrat Twelfth Night. This will be our third time. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.