Writer, Writer, Where Have You Been?

OK...My last post was September 28. SO...….

 Where have I been for more than six months?

 Busy.....Very busy.

 October 1, I was asked to help fill a gap in the entertainment schedule for Hanford, California's Renaissance of Kings on October 5-6, performing as a storyteller, because an act was unable to perform. I semi-frantically began planning what stories to tell for two shows a day. I was also working on an exhibit for GEORGE THE GIANT'S STRANGE MUSEUM OF ODDITIES & WONDERS--I took a cardboard box from Amazon, cut and folded it into a 5 1/2' form, covered it with 8 packs of Bicycle playing cards, and created..... a Card Shark! I finished it at Hanford on Sunday the 6th.

 October 9, I embarked on my largest Dryer Lint Art project to date. Using lint gathered from George's gatherings and from my own dryer, I made a 16" x 20" portrait of my brother doing an "eyelift" with chains suspended from deep-sea fishhooks hooked over his lower eyelids. George gets paid to do this as a sideshow artist. I do not do this. I have enough damage on my body, already. It was finished on October 12 at George the Giant's Oddities Museum, a 3-weekend pop-up establishment in the building of Bakersfield's Fox Theatre.

 Last half of October, I did eight Spooky Story Concerts at libraries (and one church). The playlist ranged from Spooky Gigglers to folk tales to Urban Legends, with a magic trick or two thrown in the mix.

 November--Two Pine Needle Basket workshops in libraries in Fresno and Sanger. I like doing them, so I can introduce others to one of my favorite hobbies.

 December--Elves' Workshops and Holiday Story Concerts. The workshop motto is "Why should the elves have all the fun?" I presented several projects for ornaments, decorations, and gifts. The Concerts weren't musical, except for "Jingle Bells."

 January--Mostly, I worked.

 February--Same....maybe I was getting ready for things to change.

 March--On the 3rd, I drew election duty at the Orange Cove Library, hanging around until the poll staff left. Then, the Fresno Rogue Festival began on the 5th, and I reviewed 17 shows out of the 25 I saw (The remaining 8 were also seen by other reviewers in our group). The shadow of the pandemic spread around us, and Monday, March 16, I was sent home because I was in the 65+ range: OLD. I spent time at home, creating a few how-tos on www.instructables.com for pine needle baskets, Suji wire art, and making a water clock from a 1-liter plastic bottle.   Writing very little--well, there was a Great Food Search I did for kingsriverlife.com about things I cooked while I was "isolated".

 April--I went back to work on Wednesday, April 1, and worked through until Friday. There was little for me to do at the library, so I decided that I would take 4 weeks of leave, starting April 6.  

SO...….Here I am, getting on my wife's nerves, in what the late folksinger Phil Ochs called "My Rehearsals for Retirement."

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