giazzworld

Renaissance Faire raises money for a good cause

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

3 Maples Renaissance Corporation
44 Tucker Road
Kingston, NH 03834
http://www.nhrenfaire.com
giazz@comcast.net

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
By: Gia Volterra de Saulnier
Marketing Coordinator

Renaissance Faire raises money for a good cause

2/1/12 – Kingston, NH -
For two weekends in the middle of May 2012, the beautiful Three Maples Farm inKingston, NH will be transported back to a magical time from the past.
On May 12th – May 13th and again on May 19th – May 20th from 10 to 5 PM eachday. The New Hampshire Renaissance Faire will be held at 9 Thorne Road,Kingston, NH.
Come join us and enjoy the sights and sounds. Bring your family to enjoythe experience of meeting knights that battle it out or have tea with theQueen.
A portion of the proceeds raised by this wonderful event will be donated tocharity. So, not only will you have a great time, you will also becontributing to fantastic charities.
Tickets for this event are: $12.00 for adults and $8.00 for kids from ages 5-12. Kids age 4 and under will be free.
For more information, please see the website at http://www.nhrenfaire.com

New Year => My hopes and ambitions

2011-12-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

You know, I really don't like New Year's Resolutions - I mean you can still have yours if you like, but for me, I tell myself I'm going to lose weight or do more with our business...and that's great telling yourself any resolutions you want...but in reality the chances of actually getting it done are slim to not being done at all...so for this new year coming, I've decided that I'm changing the word "Resolutions" to "Ambitions" - see this way, I can write or say what I'm planning on doing without much problems if the Ambitions don't come true.

So, first thing on the docket?

Well, lose weight - yeah, I'm still struggling with that, but Hubby just got me the Wii "Zumba II" so, last Monday I did 20 minutes and plan to do 20 minutes (hopefully tonight) and try to do it 3 times a week - yup, low impact to start for sure...oh and yes, I am sore but hey, I don't exercise that much so of course my body is going to be sore, but if I'm going to look stupid or do the wrong moves ...at least it's at my own pace/home so I hope to lose some pounds off this thing...I'll keep you updated on my progress.
Do more with our Business - PhinnVolt Enterprises - so far, so good...we gained 3 clients this year (even though we lost one) and we are learning along the way, but grow our business so that I can finally do away with my day job (or at least that's the hope).
Learn as much as I can as far as Marketing goes, so far so good, I seem to be getting the hang of things and am willing to share with the rest of the class
Get Renaissance Performers and Merchants it's own website and ad space so that I can make a profit out of the work I've been doing - and continue to do my own interviews and by the way, the Blog has over 2500 hits! Wow! I only started that in September (http://www.renperfmerch.blogspot.com)
Figure out how to knit this sweater....argh....sigh...I'll get it.

Let's stick to these 5 things for now, and I'll add more ambitions later on as I go through the 2012 season/year.

________________________
Other notes:
Bumbly Phinn and I will be performing at New Year's Rockport Eve in Rockport, MA starting at 6 pm! Please come! We'd love to see you and if you come I promise I'll come over to embarrass you personally! (:D)

The New Hampshire Renaissance Faire is officially ON! Dates will be May 12th/13th and May 19th/20th 2012 - more information to come shortly! The Facebook Group page is : http://www.facebook.com/groups/nhrenfaire/

We have a few more tricks up our sleeves so stay tuned! Thanks for your support as always!

Have a Great and Healthy and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Rockport First Night

2011-12-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

Rockport First Night

This is a great time for the kids! Please come see us perform - we start at 6 pm! Lots to see and do! Big THANKS to Northshore Magazine http://nshoremag.com/rockport-first-night/ that is helping me promote this event! Great time in Rockport, MA - beautiful at night with the tree lit up and all!

If you live in the area, please do share and re post! Thanks!

K.I.S.S. = Keep it Simple Stupid

2011-12-13T02:50:00.000-08:00

No, you aren't stupid, what I mean to say is you need to keep things simple. When doing any marketing I learned a long time ago (and yes, I was in one of those MLMs that taught me that phrase) that you have to keep things as simple as possible.

Not everyone is going to understand what you are selling or get your act. I mean I know that we've had a few moments of crickets in the audience (don't you hate that?), however, you have to figure out a way for the general audience/market to buy something that you sell.

Which for musicians/artists/actors/writers is a little bit more difficult to do. You might want to change tactics or change the theme of what you are doing. Get silly. Yes, silly. Get them to laugh. Once you get a customer/patron to laugh you have them in the palm of your hands.

Same thing when marketing online. You have to make it light. Don't get too serious all the time (but yes, make it interesting). Make it so engaging as you are when you are performing at Faire.

Keep it up! Keep sharing your stories/your tips/your adventures. I love networking with others so we can learn together.

That's my tip for this week!

Creating my destiny, whatever that might be

2011-12-07T12:42:00.001-08:00

You know, I've learned over the years of holding ~~oh I don't even want to comment on how many 9 to 5 day gigs I've had~~ a day job while trying to pursue our other "life" - if you've been following me or any of our Festivals, I've learned how to create something else...My destiny...my passion...my calling. Yup, I'm taking hubby and Charlie on for the ride too...hope they can hold on.

I guess the reason I'm posting this, is yes, I do know how hard it is to find a job. Trust me, I've been trying for the last 5 years while working full time as a contractor (er, a fancy word for temping). I've gotten no where...either I'm too gray (haired) or too animated, or spill too much information on the interview. Or gee, I don't know as soon as they Google (r) me they find 45,000 hits on me since I do all the marketing for these Festivals that we created.

However, that being said, even with Winslowshire ending (sigh) it was still a way for me to be able to create my new destiny, my new calling, my new passion...marketing. Yup..who knew? Not me - and now even with that ending, more clients are now coming to us wanting our little company to help them create Festivals for the 2012 season (yeah, I know, I'm a tease, but some of the rumors are true) - and knowing that I helped create something bigger than me (okay, us - sorry hubby) was just huge. To add to that, I also created Renaissance Performers & Merchants http://www.renperfmerch.blogspot.com and the fan page on Facebook (which every other day is growing like wild fire) http://www.facebook.com/renperfmerch to help others in this genre learn about helping themselves promote their services or music or performances.

So, yes, I think I am creating my own destiny, and if I have to keep working a day gig to get there then so be it, and if I don't get another "job" then I'm okay with that...I'm just going to keep plugging at this until we get it right.

It's that time to be thankful

2011-11-18T12:34:00.001-08:00

As next week is the BIG Turkey day - or as we say Thanksgiving - I like to be thankful of all that we have been blessed with: (warning, this post is going to be a little ~~okay a lot~~ sappy)

Not in particular order;
My family - and this includes my married family - thank you for letting me become a part of your family and letting my family just be themselves - I'm sure they appreciate stuff you do for them and vice versa.

My son - okay time to be gushy here - but really - Charlie is a trip and a half. He makes me smile almost every day (even when he's not feeling well) and he reminds me to be a stronger person and just have a laugh. Did I mention that one of the school parents told my MIL that he was a "student that inspires his whole class" - hmmm - yeah, I can see that.

My friends who have become my family - you know who you are. Our hardworking cast and crew - for both Winslowshire (http://www.winslowshire.com )and Abbadia Mare (Abbadia Mare) without any of you, I really don't know where we would be.

My chance to interview and meet some incredibly talented people on RenaissancePerformers & Merchants - more coming soon - so stay tuned for that!

Knowing that we're headed in a new path career wise (possibly) - that's kind of scary but cool at the same time, but yes, I'm still working full time (okay, I should be thankful I am still working anyway in this crazy economy of ours).

My chance to say thank you to all of you who have supported US in the past, present and future - without you, I don't know where we'd be.

What are you thankful for?

Trial and Error

2011-10-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

You know, I've been learning a lot of different things about online marketing. I guess I've been trying to follow the leaders, the experts, the ideals...but it really comes down to this:Trial and Error. It was mentioned on Twitter under @AbbadiaMareFest while I was on #startupchat that StartupPrincess has once a week (and if you are new to Twitter, and @ sign = that that is my particular account under Twitter or anyone is under an @ sign to start "following them" and the # sign = hash tag or a way to follow certain topics.

When someone mentioned trail and error, I posted right after that, "er do you mean trial and error? Yep, that's how we've learned". It is true. You can't try something new and not try it.

I know Facebook has changed. A lot. But that doesn't mean it doesn't work for everyone or everybody's business...trust me, there was a time on CraigsList (r) that a company posted they wanted someone to help them market their business. I was somewhat new at it, but decided to help anyway - and I created a fan page to help their business, but it didn't grow. I know, weird right? No. I mean, you can create something (just like a business or a website) but if you don't tell people about it OFF LINE AND ONLINE then NO ONE WILL KNOW ABOUT YOU!

I just was reading now about another post that Facebook may lose some followers or fans. Let me tell you something, I started a brand new page not even a year ago called Renaissance Performers and Merchants Renaissance Performers and Merchants and well, it's over 1,300 people. Why? I think it's because I'm helping others similar to my "avatar"/"tribe"/"community" learn about how to market themselves or promote themselves.

Shoot, last I checked Facebook is still free, and if it's that kind of resource I can still use, than dang it, I'm going to use it. Of course you have to be social on your fan page, that's why it's called a social network.

Twitter is still a great thing to help market our festivals, that is why I use them. I like Google + too, another resource that I can use to help promote our festivals. You name it, I'm probably on it to try and help promote our festivals. Why? ~~It's not because I am doing it for my health,~~ it's because that is how people find out about us. Our business has grown because of it, I've networked with many different people that I would have never met because of it. I've learned how to become what I want to.

I used to be on LiveJournal (LiveJournal) but haven't been on that for a while, I have tried so many sites my eyes hurt. Some work, while some I don't really bother going on after a while...again, it IS Trial and Error.

What works for me might not work for you, and what works for you might not work for me. I guess my point is to keep trying. That is how you will succeed.

Best of luck!

You are ALL beautiful to ME

2011-09-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

You know, I understand about what "society" thinks Beauty is. I mean we see it every day right? On commercials, TV, magazines, models, etc...this has been an ongoing battle with most everyday ordinary women (and men) that I know.

But, to me, beauty is not about looks or how you come across to people. I mean sure, you have to look decent enough on an job interview (suit is really best) or on a first date (really - no torn jeans, but maybe in specific areas). Beauty is what is inside of "you" or your soul. That is what makes you beautiful. No amount of makeup or dressing up or tiaras or making young girls look like a princess (although on occasion, I suppose this is fine) for a Pageant will make them or you feel beautiful. You have to feel inside of yourself that confidence, that great pride in being who you are.

I suppose that's why I love being in Renaissance Faires so much...I mean, I get to dress up funny, act funny, be funny...and you know what? I think people dig it. So, guess what, I'm going to be beautiful no matter what you say to me and you are ALL beautiful to me.

I also want to take this opportunity here to thank ALL of YOU who have supported us (Phinn and myself) over the years - we have more coming our way (can't divulge yet what, I know...such a tease). In the meantime, I did create another blog here and so far so good: http://www.renperfmerch.blogspot.com
So check that out.

Lessons I learned from Disney World

2011-08-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, my family and I went to Disney World for our vacation and I've learned a few things there. I wanted to share with you my thoughts of what I learned although, most people probably know these things, but they might need gentle reminders.

1) Dreams do come true: What I mean by this is that if Walt Disney dreamt of a mouse (Mickey) and created a world where all this magic happens to entertain all ages, then you can have your dreams come true too. A quote I saw there was "If you have an idea, dog it. Dog it until it's done right. When you think it's done, dog it again." - Walt Disney

2) When you are performing, you have to fine tune it to make sure that families/patrons/customers believe you. When I saw those characters (yes, I even saw Goofy) they are them, they are called them (by everyone), they are not called by their first or last names, they are called by their character name. Even the cast/crew was calling them by those names. But also on this note, some other shows "Flights of Wonder" was classy, entertaining and educational. I thought that this was a great show and I think it's really important to remember that while we are entertaining people, we are also educating them on history or just a piece of yourself that you can bring to the audience.

3) "Keep moving forward" - Walt Disney - yes, I agree with this whole heartedly - if you are trying to create something, invent something, build a business for yourself and you don't it will work or worse, fail to make you cringe in the basement forever, you just have to shrug it off, and keep going no matter what.

4) Even if you aren't so brave, you have to act brave in front of your 7 year old. I am afraid of heights. I am afraid of flying. But my son (Charlie, age 7) held my hand and said, don't be afraid mummy and I was okay. I even did some crazy rides like 'Soarin' where you are aloft in the air and NOT on a plane...yeah...and I did 'Mission Space' - note to self, I will never be an astronaut!

5) You have to learn to be patient. There are lines about for every ride there, but if you wait your turn, you can get on the ride you like. Or you can get what's called the "Fast Pass" which worked out well for some rides, but other times, it was just worth waiting in line.

6) Always be thankful for the moment. What I mean by this, is that you have to thank the people around you and often, because if you don't you never know when the next time will be. Disney is a huge team (from around the World). From the people who collect the trash to the people who are the entertainers. They all know the songs, they all smile, they all acknowledge you and your families.

7) Always know your limits - I pulled my back out a few weeks ago at work, and I knew what I could and could not do. I sat out on a few rides because I knew that I couldn't handle it, and I was really glad that I did.

8) Animal Kingdom is just amazing to me. I mean, it was just so great to see all those wild animals be so calm and peaceful while sitting in a "safari" ride, some of the animals were very curious about us humans looking at them with cameras. Oh yes, and Coral Reef restaurant also had numerous live fish/sea creatures swimming in a tank - which was very cool.

9) Always be sure you have your child with you at ALL times....yeah...Charlie got lost twice (almost) but we made sure we put a tag on him and we made sure that he kept with us most of the time....at Disney World, it is too easy to get lost there, but we made sure we kept our eagle eyes on him.

10) The food there is fantastic and so was 'Talk to Crush' - so if you go - get on the Deluxe Meal plan because it is worth every buck and also if you have small ones take them to Talk to Crush, he really does talk to them...oh yes, and if you have small ones afraid of the dark, whatever you do, don't take them on 'Stitch's escape' - it's pretty scary for small ones.

Gut Decisions

2011-08-12T08:08:00.001-07:00

I have been debating something for a while here, and I think all the people who are actually reading my blog understand that. What I've been debating is this: My real life/working life as a contractor vs doing something that I really want to do, which is - marketing/promoting for Renaissance Festivals.

I found my passion, my fire, my interest. I found that other people responded (well) to our ideas, our festivals, our world(s). I found that if I worked really hard at it, that people would really love our little festivals that we created. But I found out something else in the process....

See, a few years ago, (if you all remember) I started writing articles for a blog site (can't say here, as I think this person might remember) that went from no hits (really) to a lot of hits automatically. I learned that my articles were popular...very popular. I didn't realize how many people actually liked my writing and actually wanted to read what I wrote. I didn't know that it would get that popular really fast. That's when I decided I wanted to be paid for what I wrote. I wasn't sure on how much, but really, something was better than nothing.....but that person decided on not paying me....so I decided to stop.

Fast forward to this year, when we were doing BOTH Winslowshire AND Abbadia Mare Festivals...I was a very busy girl...along with deciding finally to create a fan page on Facebook called Renaissance Performers and Merchants (http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/RenPerfMerch) that is now up to 1,027 people! That's a lot of people! This page helps promote other Renaissance Performers or Merchants from around the country or around the world to say where they are performing or website information or whatever they want...I found that if I can help them, I am really helping myself boost myself into a new (somewhat scary) career - then I got an e mail recently offering me a job...a real job....but I turned it down....yeah...

Why? Oh there are so many reasons here, but I don't want to post them on this blog, since this gets transferred to Facebook as soon as I post it, BUT my main reason is this: I want to really try and create MY OWN THING....is that so horrible? Is that awful? Is that mean? You know what? It probably is a little horrible and a little mean...but in reality, I think I want to just give it a go...what do I have to lose....um...let's not answer that shall we?

My point here, is you sometimes have to go by your GUT....not your heart, not your brain, not what your parents/spouse/kids/life situation thinks...but your gut. You know, the little piece of yourself that knows that this IS what you are supposed to be doing.

Wish me luck...I'm gonna need it.

We DID IT!

2011-07-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

It was a lot of hard work (but fun at the same time) and with great results! The City Meeting in Gloucester, MA was an experience I will not forget for a long time, and I think it's important for people that are getting into this business realize that you MUST always go with what the CITY is requesting! NO matter WHAT!

They gave us a green light, and we didn't need to pay any fees whatsoever - talk about great luck! I also finally got a call back from an ATM service 2 days before the festival - they were in Ipswitch, MA http://www.atlanticatm.com came - and set us up!

Now, for those who are familiar with Hammond Castle http://www.hammondcastle.org (or not so familiar) - it is an amazingly beautiful venue, BUT with NO cell service or electronic service - (weird considering it was the man who invented the radio signal...oh wells) but these guys were fantastic! They figured out how to get a signal so vendors could get cash transactions or the ones that had issues with their own electronic devices, had a way to make $$$ (so yay for that!).

We are still waiting on all the results, but I believe the amount that the Castle made for the weekend was over $9K so not too shabby for a first year event - and all the reviews that came back have been extremely positive and welcoming. My husband has finally broken the curse of the older Faire there.

I'll post up pictures for you all to see them later should you want to see them. In the meantime, you can visit our website at http://www.abbadiamarefestival.com HUZZAH!

Oh and I created a fan page on Facebook called Renaissance Performers and Merchants so others that also partake in Renaissance Faire or Festival by vending or performing can post their information too! The page is grown to over 930 people in less than 6 months! Wow!

Last post for a while - at least until Faires are over ;)

2011-06-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I should be blogging more often, but the truth is that I just am so crazy busy, I don't have the time to write here...

I know that things will be getting even more hectic as the next big thing for us is Winslowshire Festival (http://www.winslowshire.com) which is coming June 25th and 26th.

We actually marched (in the rain, no less) for Foxborough's Founder's Day Parade, http://www.fcatv.org/founders-day-parade-part-2/ which you can see here (we're there somewhere after the guns go boom). We also got a small feature in The Sun Chronicle http://www.thesunchronicle.com/ and I just got off the phone with someone from the paper and hopefully they will print the article before we get to the festival!

Then after Winslowshire, we go directly to Abbadia Mare Festival which is coming to Hammond Castle in Gloucester on July 23rd and 24th -(http://www.abbadiamarefestival.com) which was featured in The Boston Sunday Globe Things To Do section (page 27!) http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/specials/family/articles/2011/06/05/new_england_weekend_fun_guide/?page=4 and we had a 1/4 page ad in the Boston Phoenix Summer Guide that just came out June 10th. We'll be marching in The Horribles Parade (yeah, I know...go ahead, make fun of it if you like) on July 3rd to promote Abbadia Mare Festival.

Then I'll be going on a vacation to Disney World in August...so yeah, I probably won't write here again until September sometime...till then, hopefully I see you at one of our Renaissance Festivals, after all, they are for some great causes right here in Massachusetts ;)

If you create it will they come?

2011-05-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

If you create it will they come?

So, you created a fan page....now what...it's just like having a website or a business, but no one seems to know about it.

If you create a fan page and you are the administrator for that page (it does help to have an assistant), YOU need to post something at least once a week to engage people's interest.

Ask questions, create an event, leave blanks like I like this business/service/product/musician because ____________

Also, cross posting is a good thing especially online marketing. When you cross post on your page, on your blog page, on your fan page, it all goes viral. This means the ranking on the search engines go UP.

Sharing is also a good thing. If you have a fan page and you are looking for your numbers of fans to go up, share or have your friends share. Do a give away (a song on a CD or some little product) - people LOVE free stuff (including me).

BUT if you post something on someone other than yours fan page, make sure you have permission to post your fan page (or they do have fan pages here on Facebook that allow that).

That's my tip for this week!

Notes to self, oh and updates

2011-05-04T02:39:00.000-07:00

These are just more notes to myself. I'm sure you have probably either already figured these things out for yourself, but just in case...here are some new ones:

Notes to self:
Don't ever (ever) give a young child ice cream or something sugary 10 minutes before they go to bed. Yeah...bad idea.
Don't like big black ants...they drive me crazy!
Don't make a post on Facebook public unless you are absolutely certain (and in no other terms) that it won't backfire on you (yeah, happened a few times)
Keep on plugging, as you never know what might happen - so yes, keep working full time, and do these festivals, I think this could be our year! (I hope anyway)
Keep thanking people. This is really important note to self.
If you get yourself into a crazy hectic schedule, remember that you can write it down.
Things happen for a reason. Period.
Don't forget to keep writing, this means blogs, articles, etc.
Don't forget to love myself ;)
Don't forget to perform or play well.

______________________

Updates:
Winslowshire is coming up soon this June, and we are getting ready for a new year!
Abbadia Mare is coming up this July, and we have some exciting news coming but can't divulge just yet (heh heh)
Also, if you are an owner of an older Group page on Facebook, they are going to be archiving them and shortly. I have created another fan page to cover the ones that I think are important. If I don't then, they will just fade away into the sunset (sorry people, gotta follow with the times I guess).

Abbadia Mare Festival featured in Artizen Magazine

2011-04-27T07:25:00.001-07:00

http://www.artizenmagazine.com/artizen2-4

On pages 14- 17 you will find my article that I wrote all about Abbadia Mare Festival (coming up this July of 2011). I am so appreciative that Cindy from Artizen Magazine gave me this amazing chance! (Her website is http://www.artizenmagazine.com) .

I'm also thankful and oh so grateful for everyone that has supported us so far for this upcoming event!

Please do check out the article and leave a comment if you like.

Thanks in advance!

Changing gears - or at least trying to

2011-04-15T07:40:00.001-07:00

You know what's interesting? My life. Now, I don't mean to be conceited here, but my life has been changing gears these last couple of years. But, really, doesn't everyone's life change? Isn't that part of life itself?

For me, I think that trying to work full time and do these Renaissance festivals (and promote them) it's like, my Universe is changing gears...

Join me in my adventures as I continue to strive to what I have passion for - marketing Renaissance Faires and Festivals.

In the meantime, doing Passover this Saturday with some of our friends and Rehearsal this Sunday with a kid that's not feeling so great :s

I'll keep you all in my loop as much as I can ;)

Winslowshire Festival - A Renaissance Festival to benefit Winslow Farm

2011-04-02T04:29:00.000-07:00

Press Release

Contact: Phinn Volt Enterprises

Name: Gia Volterra de Saulnier

e-mail: infownslowshire@gmail.com

Winslowshire Festival - A Renaissance Festival to benefit Winslow Farm

by: Gia Volterra de Saulnier

Norton, MA - Imagine a place that seems to be a step back in time with maidens, knights in shining armor, fairies, pirates and more who all are part of a Renaissance Festival called Winslowshire Festival for the Animals.

Winslowshire Festival was created in 2008 as a benefit for Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary (http://www.winslowfarm.com), a "stay for life" animal sanctuary that helps abused animals and offers a tranquil setting.

Phinn Volt Enterprise's Director Richard Saulnier has been pleasantly surprised at the continued support for this coming year. "I'm ecstatic that we've been able to continue this long with 40 vendors and 20 performers that seem to want to keep coming back!" His wife Gia agrees, "We couldn't be more pleased that Winslowshire seems to be like a little vacation even for vendors and performers alike. We've really strived to make this a family friendly event so that all ages can have a great time while supporting a fantastic cause."

In fact, Winslowshire has some previous vendors and performers that are returning from previous seasons and have new vendors as well including; pottery from PupDog pottery (http://www.pupdogpottery.com), T York Stained Glass (http://www.etsy.com/shop/LdyIsis) , Parrish Relics (http://www.parrishrelics.com) and Ironwood Artisans (http://www.ironwoodartisans.com) just to name a few.

The two day event will be from June 25th and 26th of 2011 from 11 am to 5 pm each day. Admission is $12.00 for adults, $7.00 for kids from ages 5- 13 and kids under 4 will be free.

Specials include: Two day pass for $18.00, Come dressed in Renaissance Attire for $2.00 off and a Veteran's Discount of $2.00 (must show military ID). Specials may not be combined.

For more information about the event, please go to the website at http://www.winslowshire.com

Abbadia Mare Renaissance Festival

2011-04-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

Abbadia Mare Renaissance Festival

Bringing the Renaissance festival back to Hammond Castle

By: Gia Volterra de Saulnier

You don’t have to imagine an amazingly beautiful castle against an ocean view; you can actually go visit a real one in Gloucester, Massachusetts called Hammond Castle (http://www.hammondcastle.org). Hammond Castle was created by John Hays Hammond Jr. who built this incredible medieval style castle according to the website: “in between the years 1926 and 1929 to serve both as his home and as a backdrop for his collection of Roman, medieval, and Renaissance artifacts”.

John Hays Hammond Jr. was one of America’s premier inventors who patented over 800 ideas with 400 inventions. One of the most famous today is the Remote Control over radio waves (so ladies, yes, you can thank John Hays Hammond Jr. for the Remote Control). He also was a bit of unconventional person that loved throwing parties at this Castle of which were sometimes Renaissance themed, where people dressed in Renaissance or Medieval attire to come to these parties.

To describe what a Renaissance Festival entails is difficult to put on paper, but mostly it is live interactive theater in Vaudeville/Shakespearean format with entertainment and music from the era. Add handmade crafts and goods with some good food and some historical magic to boot. However, don’t expect Historical accuracy, as most Renaissance Festivals are done with a lot of humor and puns all around.

You will see actors dressed in the full attire of that time period(s) as they greet you and your families. You can watch magic shows or see live fire eaters while perusing many hand crafted goods from art, fiber, pottery, stained glass and much more! You can also have your small ones join in on the fun as they watch Knights battle it out with swords or Fairies wandering around with glittery wings. For this festival, you can expect to eat fantastic food from Nourish Lexington (http://www.nourishlexington.com) who will have chicken wings and ribs, and some vegetarian choices as well. There will also be snacks available such as delicious brownies from Cucina Dolce and Kettle Corn.

To bring back the Renaissance Festival it is important to keep the history alive for Hammond Castle, which is why they contacted Phinn-Volt Enterprises to create Abbadia Mare Festival. Phinn-Volt Enterprises consists of Richard and Gia Saulnier, a husband and wife team, along with an remarkable crew of about 30 people, have been busy at work getting ready to put on a fantastic show called Abbadia Mare Renaissance Festival, John Hays Hammond Jr. named the Castle Abbadia Mare “Abbey by the Sea” , For the Castle was designed after a few Abbeys from Medieval Europe and it sits by the sea.

According to the website http://www.abbadiamarefestival.com “The Abbadia Mare Festival is a fundraiser for the Hammond Castle Museum. On July 23^rd and 24^th of 2011, we welcome you to please come and support our festival. Perhaps you can be a part of our Human chess Match, or cheer on our knights as they do live steel combat.”

So far, they have 13 wonderful performers such as Misfits of Avalon (http://www.misfitsofavalon.com) , The Neville Companye (a Knight troupe that does hand to hand combat) (http://www.rainasmind.com/neville/index.shtml) , Diabolis in Musica (http://www.diabolisinmusica.com/index.html) a Medieval instrumental group that plays authentic medieval type instruments (very engaging as well) along with so many others.

There will be many arts and hand made crafts from such vendors as: Ironwood Artisans http://www.ironwoodartisans.com, Parrish Relics http://www.parrishrelics.com, Wulfemoon Studios http://www.wulfemoonstudios.com and PupDog Pottery http://www.pupdogpottery.com to name just a few.

There is plenty of lodging available and if you go to http://www.abbadiamarefestival.com you can find a couple of hotels that have deals for this festival.

Abbadia Mare Renaissance Festival will be from 11 am to 5 pm per day and tickets are $12.00 for adults and $7.00 for kids from 5 – 12. Kids under 4 will be free. Tours of the castle will also be available for an additional cost.

For more information about this Renaissance Festival, please visit their website at http://www.abbadiamarefestival.com

Updates or life in general

2011-03-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been posting as often as I want to...it's just that I have so much going on at the moment.

Updates for Winslowshire are: We now are up to 33 vendors and 20 performers. If you vended with us last June and would like to vend with us again for this coming season, please send in your application as soon as possible, as the fees do go up by the end of March! For more information, you can visit our website at http://www.winslowshire.com.
I did create a blog for that site at http://www.winslowshire.wordpress.com - of which I will update hopefully this Thursday.

Updates for Abbadia Mare are: We now are up to 17 vendors and 20 performers. Due to the limited spaces available, we can only accept 3 more vendors. If you are interested, please do get your application in as soon as possible for that one as well. For more information on that festival, please visit our website at http://www.abbadiamarefestival.com .

I also created a blog for that, which I will update hopefully this Thursday (might as well get two blogs with one stone..heh heh) http://www.abbadiamarefestival.wordpress.com )

I now need to write 2 press releases and 2 Public Service Announcements....Oh boy, I can do this right? Right...

In the meantime, I have a Parent Teacher conference tomorrow evening...oh and another EIP meeting on April 4th in the morning...oy vey....oh and not to mention Passover is going to have to be on a weekend.

Did I mention that Bumbly Phinn (aka hubby) and I are performing this coming weekend in Wrentham? Yeah...and Senator Ross will be there....and I'll be in Garb...note to self, wear the leather full bodice...DARE program = no Irish Drinking songs...great...maybe we'll have a few of our crew come up and sing with us (we hope).

We're also performing again this year at NHRenFaire http://www.nhrenfaire.com on May 14th and 15th - heard that's a Pirate Invasion weekend and our friends The Bawdy Buccaneers http://www.bawdybuccaneers.com/ along with "Captain Jack" will be there along with many friends, so we're looking forward to that.

Other than that rehearsals are going well so far, and we just have a few other issues to work out with Hammond Castle (yeah, that is exciting for us too!).

Woot! Busy busy busy

Announcing Abbadia Mare aka Abbey by the Sea Renaissance Festival

2010-12-28T16:56:00.000-08:00

The producers of Winslowshire Festival for the Animals (http://www.winslowshire.com) is proud to announce that they are bringing back a fresh new Renaissance Festival to Hammond Castle http://www.hammondcastle.org (originally called "Abbadia Mare" by John Hammond which is translated to Abbey by the Sea).

The festival will take place at Hammond Castle on July 23rd and 24th from 11 am to 5 pm per day. We'll have entertainment, great food and an amazing back drop of Hammond Castle views.

We will have more information as the time gets closer and would like to thank everyone behind the scenes so far for everything!

Huzzah and we're looking forward to Abbadia Mare, Abbey by the Sea Renaissance Festival!

A Happy time for all!

2010-12-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

Wow, Christmas is this Saturday...is it me, or did this year go by really quickly?!? Dang...I am so not ready either...well, I just have a few more people to get gifts for, so it shouldn't get too bad....shah...I'm kidding myself.

In the meantime, last night was a nightmare getting around Burlington, MA area...with snow on top of mall rush for shopping...jeez, I am really wondering if we are in an economic slump (well, I can't speak for everyone I suppose) took us almost 2 hours just to get to North Reading, MA...usually a 20 minute drive!

So many new things coming up soon...I might be doing interviews again soon for another website called World of Rennies...but have to work out the details with the creator of that website.

In the meantime, I think I need to slim down all the "group" pages I have on facebook and just concentrate on the ones that we need to...and get ready for next year...no, I still can't spill the beans yet...but it is pretty huge news!

So, this will most likely be my last post on this blog until next year, so just wanted to say Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza and ho ho ho!

Thanks for your support of me, and of course to Winslowshire Festival! We certainly appreciate the support.

Festivals 2010-2011

2010-12-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Back to business as usual for now

2010-12-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wow, is it already the Holiday season? Yikes Hanukkah started the other day...it's just amazing how quickly it came up!

My little man is growing up too...the first night of Hanukkah he actually lit a candle and made a general wish for all kind (said he wished for mommy and daddy...aw...no prompting either). He also bought his first book all on his own accord at the Book Fair and did very well for himself...such a proud momma.

We're already coming up for ideas for Winslowshire next June and I've been blogging on my other site at http://www.winslowshire.wordpress.com and just did another post last night about some of the vendors that we had and some ideas for Holiday shopping.

Did I mention that I'm so thankful for everything? Thank you Universe...

I think I need to do another letter to "The Universe" it actually came true (well, most of it anyways...and it's still coming true today)...I know it's hokey, but it actually worked.

That's it for now...more to come probably after the Holidays :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

Changes that need to be made for MA

2010-10-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

*Warning - this is going to be my perspective on the current Politics of the State of Massachusetts in order to win a contest on WRKO, I am entitled to my opinions (& so are you) and hope that no bashing of any kind happens here - all opinions are my own and have not been compiled by anyone else.*

Changes that Need to be Made for MA
You all do know who I am right? No? Well, let me introduce you to myself, I am Gia Volterra de Saulnier and I am Judge Volterra's daughter. Yes, I know, I don't always agree with his politics and have come to grow up with my own ideas and concepts of how things really need to change here in Massachusetts.

My parents have very democratic values and I respect them, but I don't always agree with them. My family that I have now (married into) is Independent but leaning to the Conservative side of things.

I also worked at Cambridge District Court for 4 years too as an Associate Probation Officer from 1998 to 2002, but that was a long time ago.

I will start this blog by saying I am not a proponent for Governor Deval Patrick. I am not really a staunch supporter of any candidate to be honest with you, but I think that Governor Patrick has not done what he said he was going to do. I remember when he first went into that Golden Dome on Beacon Hill and I remember that the first thing to go was the curtains...really? Curtains? Um, Governor, I hate to tell you this, but people at that point were not doing well with getting jobs and you're worried about curtains?

Then I remember his wife quitting her job...gee, I wish I could do that too...but guess what, I can't...why? Oh because I have a condo to mortgage, and not enough money to buy a house....oh I mentioned that? Yes, the housing market did go wacky didn't it...I mean I don't think anyone will disagree with me here on that.

I don't think that raising more taxes and cutting more programs in school are the answer here. I do think that maybe cutting costs for curtains might help (a little, not sure exactly how much they cost to be honest). Or maybe cracking down on Town Counselors taking bribes and not getting jail time...did I mention jail time? Yes, they are dishonest....they need to do at least Probation.

Okay, really, here's my opinion about Illegal Aliens....um, they are NOT legally here...they are Illegal. I am NOT talking about the people that take the tests to be here legally. I am not talking about the people who immigrated to our great Country many years ago (like my father to be honest with you), but that was all done legally. I DO not support anyone here that is here Illegally PERIOD. I don't like the fact that OUR tax dollars are going to their health care, when our own health care costs are going up....I understand that they don't want to leave here, it's nice here, but this is NOT fair that I have to pay out of our money to pay for them.

Oh yeah, and well, I am not a big fan of the new Health care bill either, has anyone seen it? I mean I wouldn't mind looking through it to see what the changes are and how it's going to affect all of us....but it isn't available to the public so...guess I'll just have to keep guessing on what it's going to be all about.

I think that not just jobs need to be created but a sense of responsibility here. I mean, if our new Governor can handle the responsibility then maybe just maybe new businesses and entrepreneurs can get a small business going so they can get more comfort in growing business to keep that said business in Massachusetts instead of closing signs every where I turn.

We need someone new, someone with a fresh pair of eyes to look beyond the somewhat new curtains in Governor Patrick's office. We need someone with fresh ideas and come up with real changes that need to be made. I know who I am voting for (yeah, I'm going to be a tease on that one, sorry). Let's hope those changes or promises made on the annoying TV ads just get made.

My Wii Fit Plus, My six year old and me (mii)

2010-08-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

So, update on my kidney stone(s) is that my nutritionist thinks that my other kidney stone is still somewhere in my system.

The good news is that I've been really (pretty good, with an exception of some cheating) good about my diet changes - no soda, no red meat, no caffeine (well, okay, I did limit myself to 4 cups of coffee a week MAX), no salt (ugh so hard, and yes, I still LOVE my buttered popcorn at the movies, sigh) and drink more water, juice and watch my protein intake.

The bad news? Well, according to the 24 hour test (yeah, you really don't want those details, TRUST me) I am not drinking enough liquid. I should be going (sorry to be disgusting here gang, but it is what it is) at least 1 ml per day, so I've upped my drinking water to at least 4 cups per day (trying for 5).

In the meantime, I went to a "College Reunion" that a friend of mine had that I hadn't seen in 10 years. Now, mind you, I was VERY different in college. You could say I was a wild child (and even that is an understatement), but now I'm settled, married and have a boy named Charlie....:)...he's six. When I got there, there were people there that I hadn't seen in 20 years or so (cough, cough) so it was really neat for me to see them again and tell them what I'm doing and find out what they are doing now a days. It's funny how some people change dramatically and others, well, they still look the same exact way (minus a few things), and how people have matured and aged gracefully. It was really fun to see my son interact with all of the other kids that were there as well (some his age, some older, some younger).

The party had a Wii Fit and my son had a grand old time playing with it (with the other kids taking turns). The funny thing about that is that we have the Wii Fit at home and in the box since Xmas time (we do both) and I hadn't taken it out of the box until Charlie really wanted to play with it. See, if you have a young one and you have a Wii system in your house, chances are that they are going to want to play Mario Kart or Sonic The Hedge Hog or Mario and Sonic at the Olympics (yes, we have the Winter Olympics too) rather than an exercise program such as Wii Fit Plus.

The interesting thing about the Wii is that while it IS a video game system, it really strives to get you off your tuckus (butt) and move while making it interactive and fun for kids (and adults). The Wii Fit Plus does that. It makes exercise interesting and fun while making him strengthen his muscle tone. The other thing is (if you haven't had the experience yet) when you step on the Wii Board the Wii System scans your body, your height, weight and really helps you set your weight goals. It even gives you a Wii age (yeah, mine is NOT good, it told me 68 yesterday...sigh...I have a lot of work to do here).

So I took it out of the box. Charlie liked doing some of the games on it, and I'm now doing exercise on it. Now, it will help him build his muscle tone (said his Wii age was 36...yeah, in his head maybe....) and it will help me loose weight.

I'll check in with the blog to tell you my update with it...I figure I can at least let you all in on my journey with me. Wish me luck....goal weight is to lose 10 more pounds in 2 months...attainable? I sure hope so....Good news though - when I started at the Gym over a year ago I was at 175 (really heavy for 5'2) and then I lost 12 pounds and kept at that weight...so not too terribly awful...just not good.

Wish me luck...I'm going to need it.

So it's been a while since I last posted

2010-08-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yeah, sorry about that. I get busy...I get into other projects....I do have a life...sort of ;).

So, about my other projects? Yes, well, one I can write about and the other one will just have to be a tease but I think it will be big (gigantic one hopes, but time will tell).

In the meantime, I'm still working (yeah, well, about that....things are changing here too, but I can't write about it) but we all know as a temp I have to be cautious at ALL times.

So, the big news other than little Charlie starts the Big K - Kindergarten! Whoo hoo! I know it will be a change for him not just because of going into Kindergarten, but that he changes schools too as it's a co-taught class between Special Ed and Regular Ed teachers to make sure these kids have a regular class but if they need special assistance, they are there! Thank Goodness for North Reading Public Schools and Pupil People Personnel http://ps.north-reading.k12.ma.us/Pages/NRSDDistrict_PPS/Index for helping with his IEP (Individual Education Plan) and for helping us get ready for what is to come.

Oh yes, the big news for me? Well, it's just a jump, a leap of faith. I got contacted by Brian Khuu with The Reenactor http://www.thereenactor.com to do a bunch of articles all about Re-enacting and I've already started that. So, if you are doing any Re-enacting of any era and would like me to interview you, just send me a comment or an e mail and I'll send you some questions.

In the meantime, we have to start getting ready for Winslowshire (yes, I know it IS a little early) but we do need to talk with the Farm owner.

For those of you who don't know me really well, I happen to be more Spiritual than Religious but I had way too many coincidences to not ignore the signs I got this last weekend (my birthday weekend). We had two wakes to go to (RIP Robert F. O'Donnell aka Sir Robert of Artemis and RIP Dana M. Daisley) and both of them had "signs" that they wanted us to see.

On Sunday (you are all going to think I'm crazy, but this IS true) on the way home from Rockport, MA (well, we did make a stop at Hammond Castle - http://www.hammondcastle.org) I was listening to a radio station I don't usually listen to (once in a while thing, you know change the channels during a commercial type of thing) and "Black Bird" by the Beatles came on. Not a big deal right? Wrong...my good friend Frank O'Brien died 9 years ago (roughly around this time) and that was his favorite song to sing. If you listen to the lyrics of that song, it basically is the message of take what you have and use it and Go for it.

So...yeah...I cried...(bawled actually).

What are some signs for you? Do you think that I'm nuts? Do you believe me? Ah well, that's my point of view...I love blogging for that.

Thanks for letting me write.

Things I have learned - oh I'm sure there is more to go too

2010-06-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

1) Never (ever) leave your car door unlocked...yes...even in the suburbs when you think it's safe and sound....yeah....not good....things will get stolen
2) Always (yes, always) be a good listener even when you don't want to hear a particular thing.
3) Pay attention to your 5 year old...otherwise, they WILL annoy you in any way they can
4) Breathe and nod if you are in a tense situation, just smile and walk away if need be, but do prioritize what is really important and move on
5) I am not a wedding planner....yeah....that did not go well for me...I did try it though.
6) Don't leave cream cheese in a hot car over a day and a half....yuck
7) Don't leave Meade (alcohol) out in a hot apartment...it will burst....everywhere...not pretty
8) Don't buy fresh bread during a time you will not be around, lovely (not) bugs will get in the bag and enjoy it for you...yuck
9) Let your friends help you if you need it, but remember to help them when they need it

I'm sure there is more...please feel free to add your own

Close to the edge

2010-06-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Getting closer to countdown of Winslowshire Festival for the Animals - only a few short weeks away trying to get everything organized and done in time!

In the meantime, our wonderful crew will be marching at the Foxboro's Founder's Day Parade www.foxboroughfoundersday.com this coming Saturday and I heard that some special guests might be there as well to promote Winslowshire! All the while, husband and I (plus a couple more of our crew) will be at Rhode Island Scottish Highland Festival to promote there...in the meantime my son got a birthday invite so my in laws are taking him there.

Then Sunday is rehearsal (dress) to do some promo pictures before faire...wait, in the meantime, Charlie's big play is next week, he gets to be an ant (no not an Uncle or Aunt, just an Ant) for a silly bug show, then Dress Rehearsal for that weekend and Charlie's last day of Pre-K is 6/22/10 with a condo meeting on the 23rd of June...then faire, then Sterling Renaissance Faire in July with Charlie then he goes back to school (summer).

He then goes on to Kindergarten for next Fall to a new school, but I'll deal with that later this summer about discussing it with him in detail to make sure he understands the new routine. Fun, fun, fun.

Breathe...

Then I have to do a 24 hour test sometime in July....sure.....um, time? Anyone?

Then I can breathe again...I hope...thanks for dealing with my craziness, it's more fun this way to vent about it here.

Me and my kidney stones (and new diet)

2010-05-07T08:06:00.001-07:00

Ah, the joy of having a kidney stone...(please know that I'm being very sarcastic here). If you have never had the pleasure of having one, let me tell you that it is not the most pleasant of sensations.

They say that most men get them, but in some cases, women get them too (lucky me I guess).
In case you haven't had one, and are feeling any of these sensations (and sorry for being graphic, but...it is your health here) : a knife going through your lower back area (left or right) and possible nausea and constant feeling of going to the bathroom (#1), then you might be having a kidney stone trying to pass through. I suggest if this your first time with this experience, get yourself to the ER and IMMEDIATELY!!!

I am no doctor, but I did have one 12 years ago, and just had the pleasure of having one a few weeks ago and thought I should write about my experience to help others if they themselves are not aware. The best advice I can give is to go to http://www.kidney.org and this website can help you with options.

I went to see my Urologist Specialist (Nurse Practitioner) who suggested I start changing my diet (yeah, well, my diet wasn't the best, but not the worst either...still).

This is now my current diet until further notice:
No dairy (changed to Rice Dream http://www.tastethedream.com/health/glutenfree.php at the moment)
No salt (yes Kosher Salt does count)
No soda
No red meat
watch my protein intake
No caffeine (sigh, that was the hardest I miss my caffeine)
Water, water, water

The good news? I think I lost some weight in the process...and even though I have another one in my system somewhere ready to drop at any time (yeah...great...) possibly in a year/years/months (I hope not during faire, please G*d)

So, if you think you are experiencing this pain, please, go to your Doctor and discuss as soon as possible, I like having you read what I write.

Tips and Tricks

2010-04-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I suppose I haven't posted for a while, and it's time. Yes, and, well, to tell the truth, I should keep you all updated, since I now have 8 followers (thanks!).

This post will be about my tips and tricks. Not that you don't have your tips or your tricks, and if you like, you can post them here, I don't mind.

A lot of people will say, where do I find the time to do all these other things? The truth? Whenever I can squeeze it in.

But now, I have to find time to do some PT (Physical Therapy) with my 5 year old per his PT teacher as he is now 3 years behind where he should be. Yeah...and well...I'm not the most physical person in the world, but know that for him, we need to really push through to get him more in shape to where he needs to be. Should I put together a schedule? Hmmm, not that it would be hard to do so, but with so much else going on in my life, maybe it will make my life (and his) a little easier.

So, working full time, then promoting and marketing stuff when I get home, then knitting when I can (I'm almost done with my first official sweater...sort of), then rehearsals on weekends and now excersize during the week? Oy, this is going to be fun. I'll do it, I will...I just have to get organized....

Tip 1. Don't go to crazy over the small stuff you can't controll...sure, it happens, but you can't let spilt milk or juice let you go nuts, just clean it up and go from there
Tip 2. Yes, you are going to get drama from others, just take it in, listen and if they want a response, you can help, and if not, then just let them vent...I know...I do it too.
Tip 3. Do something to relax you. TV, Write, reading, playing music, knitting...etc...sometimes this can help you get on to what you need to do next.
Tip 4. Accept the help. Say YES. Be gracious about it and say Thank you to all that help you, and yes, that does mean your in-laws too ;)
Tip 5. Go above the crazyness - don't worry so much about your not being on top of everything, just take it in stride and laugh it off
Tip 6. Yes, hormones are going to get in your way (especially if you are a woman of a certain age..ahem) but just breathe them through too and let your significant other know ahead of time should your hormones get the better of you

Episode The Ninthe

2010-04-13T03:09:00.001-07:00

Episode The Ninthe

Posted using ShareThis

The Rennies are taking over Facebook (at least in my world)

2010-03-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

I think it's rather interesting that Facebook is now being taken over with "Rennies"...for those of you who don't know what a "Rennie" is: A person who re-enacts being in Renaissance Faires, Festivals or elsewhere. They love to dress the part, portray being from that "other" world, interact with customers (or in their language, "patrons").

Of course, you have Rennies that don't partake in being part of the acting/performing or even vending of wares...no, they just dress up and have a great time wearing their "finery". You do get a sense of being someone else when you dress up. Sort of like acting. Except with acting, you wear normal clothes mostly. There are even some famous Rennies, but I can't mention them here...(I know, I'm such a tease).

I thought that Facebook was a fabulous place to do marketing, and it is. I started promoting Winslowshire (come on, you knew I was going there...) http://www.winslowshire.com but then I finally figured out how to do the fan page on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Norton-MA/Winslow-Shire-Renaissance-Faire/37495897211?ref=ts and a group page http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=12036181653&ref=ts (which is totally different by the way, and if you would like some advice, just ask).

I also created Renaissance Performers as a group page on Facebook too (from my old page of Milbridge Days in Maine, but as that was just a one time deal, I made use of it and it's now that) http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=18836104891&ref=ts which is now up to 663 members (wow, a long way away from 5).

Now there is more: World of Rennies http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lewiston-ME/World-of-Rennies/348322574906?ref=ts and Save the Rennie http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=351815370484&ref=ts (by the way, check out the if you want to adopt a rennie forum, pretty dang funny if you ask me) and of course many different Renaissance Faires are now listed on Facebook too.

For instance: The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=344145885731&ref=ts contacted me (yes, me) to help with writing an article for them (for World of Rennies, which I promise I will do hopefully soon).

La Renfest, NH RenFaire, CTRenFaire, and others are listed too...just put it in the search section, and you too can find your local Renaissance Faires and Festivals. I think that this is great to have all these faires now listed on Facebook as it does help with promoting our faires at the same time. I love it! Pass it on!

Why yes, it is my opinion, thanks for asking though

2010-03-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

I'm probably going to get some flack for this post from some friends of mine...so in advance I apologize if I'm going to offend any of my Vegan or Vegatarian friends...but this is what happened to me today.

You know, I am NOT a vegetarian nor am I a vegan. I am a carnivore. I love meat. I tried being a vegetarian (years ago) and it didn't work out for me. I understand how people feel about it, I do...and this is why I try not to push my opinions on others...but then when people push thier opinions on me, I get to vent. (heh, that's why I like blogging now).

Husband and I are putting together this Renaissance Festival (now 3 years) for an Animal Sanctuary (http://www.winslowfarm.com) that insists on us having a Vegetarian menu to promote the Animal Sanctuary. I understand that, I love the animals, and I respect her for doing that. But, I am only the organizer, the promoter, I am not going to risk going Vegan for this faire. We decided together (with the farm owners permission) to not go vegan. So, when I called an organization to help me find a Vegetarian food vendor (not easy to find in this area of MA by the way) I did not expect this woman (let's call her E. for anomoninity) to push her opinions on how this faire should have a vegan menu.

Or how this farm should take into the case of all these animals being mistreated before, yet she has never been there so, really, how does she know all these things? I know we've had our differences on how to do this faire, but we did get some flack (ok, a lot of flack) for our event being vegetarian (and that's a stretch having a Renaissance Faire go Vegetarian, when most Renaissance Faires have Turkey Legs and at ours we have the Turkey Legs running on the actual Turkeys). But, for the most part, it's during the day, and it's lunch time where most people will eat a sandwich or salad anyway.

So, let's agree to disagree and have the Vegetarian menu and plug our little faire! Go Winslowshire! http://www.winslowshire.com
Thanks

On a Quest

2010-03-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

In olden days of yore, knights were sent out on quests to find something special, something rare or just something for the King. Yet, here I am on a Quest of my own, actually a few quests...should I list them out for all to see?

Quest #1:
Ok I think I really need to write more. Write fiction and poems on LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com ) get back into that as it was interesting and forced me out of my comfort zone and learning to re-write with grammar and sentences. Figuring that I have a great imagination and clever at writing twists at endings of stories...yeah, that was almost as fun as playing music.
Quest #2:
I need to find a vegetarian food vendor for our little Winslowshire. Yes..I know, a conundrum as most Renaissance patrons that go to Renaissance Faires expect Turkey Legs, except for ours is for a benefit for an Animal Sanctuary (Winslow Farm - http://www.winslowfarm.com) and they want us to have just vegetarian food. We've done it in the past, and it's gone over okay, but now with everything else going on, I'm now making phone calls. I did call Johnson & Wales University (I figured one of the best Culinary schools in RI could possibly help us out). I also called Atlantic College (a Seventh Day Adventist College in Franklin, MA) and they have a Culinary program there (they only eat Vegetarian, but...they can only do Sunday as Saturday is Sabbath for them). I'm making more calls to Vegetarian restaurants and other sponsors for the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival (yeah, there is such a thing). So, progress is being made...and my other friend who is already vending with us, her significant other happens to be a vegetarian cook...so that might be another option...

Quest #3:
Get myself a new career path and figure out how I need to do that as I think the Universe is SCREAMING at me for the last 2 to 3 years of not being able to get another office/administrative gig...yet, I am still working full time, so I guess I should count myself lucky I have a job...but still, I feel like I'm doing really well promoting and learning how to do marketing, I think that is really the path I need to be on...

And the saga continues

2010-01-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a little while since I last wrote...but so much is going on with me. Like I finally went to see a dentist. Yes...it's called, we don't have the Dental Insurance so I waited for many years until I could go...and then my teeth started to really hurt....bad...so yeah....

But it isn't terrible...well, unless you count that I have now 2 cavities...yes, your mother was right after all...do brush your teeth...but a plug for Gentle Dental in Wakefield...if you would like to know a good dentist or haven't been to one in a long time (like myself) go and tell them I recommended you...then I get a referral discount. (cool right?)

Oh yes, and the voting was exciting...well, once we got to the voting booth...but traffic was, er, fun to get to and back...talk about crowded and all for three choices...I think we chose the right man for the job...(sorry Martha)...

But I digress...they hired another temp where I work...yes...they didn't open up the position and I am still the temp here...and now for more bad news which I can't divulge quite yet...but don't worry, nothing too major...

Ah, and the fun begins for Winslowshire, although I've already started plugging that a little bit, but I do have more to go...yahoo...

That's it for now...saga saga saga

And so the competition begins

2010-01-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, I know...life is all about competition right? I mean we all learn that in Kindergarten on through High School and then life hits you square in the face.

Don't we compete for jobs? Compete for the man/woman you love? Compete with your children? But are we getting ahead here? I'm not so sure anymore...I think that you have to get strategic on what you need to do in order to have your game plan, your life plan, your moment in time.

I don't mean to be so vague here, but since this blog is shared on a lot of my places that I'm on, hopefully you will all get my drift without me spilling my guts out online here.

I am not that vindictive...really, I'm not....I just have to do the research on what my next steps should be, and you know what? For once, I am not going to divulge my secrets...I'm not going to let everyone know how or what I did to get to this point, or to the next point....after all, isn't that what competition is all about? To have a leading edge? I'm not talking about just Business here either, although sometimes, maybe I should have that in mind....but I think it is also about passion and care that you put into something....like knitting....You have to keep in mind the project you want to accomplish, but you know that if it doesn't come out perfectly the first time, that the second one might come out better....but who cares if it is for yourself? Or is it? Isn't it the satisfaction of just knowing you did it?
Sorry for the double enteandre (sp) here, but I think you all get a clue as to what I mean.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Connecting and Re-Connecting

2009-12-01T02:30:00.001-08:00

You know what is so great about social media? It can help me connect with people that I know or that I once knew.

In fact, I just got an e mail this morning from http://www.allsfaire.tv and since I helped them via Facebook through ideas that I had about how to market their show on the internet (who knew I was an expert now?) they now want to do affiliate marketing. In other words, I help them out by posting about them (which I have already done) and they will help post about us. Did I mention that they are going to be on TIVO? Hello? Like this could be HUGE for Winslowshire. Like really huge.

Then, I finally found someone that I have been trying to contact for years. I mean over 10 years (probably more). Yes, but here's the thing....he found me through facebook. Again, another connection. Thank Goodness my husband is cool about this whole thing. Still, I'm glad we reconnected even after all this time.

Even my family (my father's side also) is on Facebook....well....all except for my brother, but we won't go there.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday and here's to more posting this coming year!

Oh yes, and blameless self promotion, husband and I will be performing at Rockport First Night! Let me know if you would like more details!

Little boy blues - not really

2009-11-11T12:37:00.000-08:00

So, they say that funny sayings come from mouths of babes right?
My son is only 5 (okay, he's a little over 5, going on 6 in May) but sometimes he just comes out with these sayings that are just really (should I dare say) cute.

Yes, cute. This morning, for example, we saw a deer (a doe) running on Rte. 28 (Main Street, N. Reading, MA) and I said to my son, "Look Charlie a deer!" My son then says "Like Santa's Reindeer?" Me, "No, honey, a regular deer...."

Really? Santa? Am I prepared to talk with my son about Santa? After all, we do celebrate both Holidays (I'm Jewish, husband is Catholic), and I want him to believe in Santa, or something bigger than us (I'm not that religous people, seriously), but I do want him to know that we also celebrate Chanukkah and Christmas. Santa or not, he needs to know the true meaning of the Holiday, about not just getting and receiving presents but to be nicer to people all around us. To share with others what they do not have.

For instance, I'm currently knitting a shawl for my good friend Brenda - her mom was in a facility that has elderly patients, she wanted some lap throws or shawls (knit or crochet) to make for the "Snuggle for Seniors" program in Townsend (I think), so I'm making a shawl (knit). It feels good to make something for someone that will be able to not only appreciate it, but to feel some love from someone they don't even know. A connection of some sort, maybe a soft thread? Ha!

Anyway, my husband and I will be performing for Rockport First Night on December 31st from 7 to 8 pm, so if you live in Rockport or in the near sections, we'd love to come see you and help come out to support Rockport, MA.

Hugh M. Hill; weaved stories as Brother Blue - The Boston Globe

2009-11-06T06:43:00.001-08:00

Hugh M. Hill; weaved stories as Brother Blue - The Boston Globe

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Ode to Busy-ness

2009-11-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

Ah being busy, isn't that fabulous? Yes, but it does leave me less time to blog, to write, do work? Sigh, yes, now that whatsername is gone, (see my other blog if you like at http://www.justthetemp.blogspot.com) I am back doing the work again.

It's not that I don't like being busy, I do, but when other people don't follow the rules for a while, well...they get sloppy, they slack, they don't do it correctly, and then I come back in saying...No...

Sigh...and I still don't have a clue as to if and when they will open up this position again.

In the meantime, the Halloween event went pretty well at the farm (http://www.winslowfarm.com) but we were rained out a lot. Now we're just concentrating on next year's Winslowshire (oh yes, I have a blog about that too, http://www.winslowshire.wordpress.com and the website is http://www.winslowshire.com) and already we are getting interest in next year's event!

I am thinking of other ideas to do fundraising for the farm, but in the meantime, spend some quality time with husband and my son going on the Polar Express http://www.wakefieldmusicboosters.com/polar-express-2009.html and other things.

So, yes, I have been busy, and hopefully I can blog more this month.

Stuff and Cape Cod

2009-09-23T06:39:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't been writing in a little while, we actually went on vacation! Crazy right? Well, really, it was my 8th year wedding anniversary. Yeah, 8 years ago, 9/22/01...11 days after the big caboom (9/11/01, a day that will live in infamy) I got married.

I'm the nice Jewish girl who married a nice Catholic Goy (ha ha a little Jewish humor if you will) and we had a Priest who married us (and no, I didn't convert) and a Rabbi (and no, my husband didn't convert). (Which is why I was SOOOOOO happy with the turn out of the More To Love show, http://www.moretolove.com when Luke picked Tali who also happens to be a nice Jewish girl, and I believe he is Christian, and Tali stood up to his dad about her Religion. - Judiasm) (oh yes, and L'Shana Tova everybody)

Anyway, I digress...we went to Cape Cod and stayed at the Inn Season Resorts (http://www.innseason.com ) as we've been members now since 2008, (and just upgraded a little bit, so we can get more time to spend together) which is not a bad thing - right? We had a beautiful room (right across from the ocean) and had a grand time on Cape Cod. Saturday we went on the Cape Cod Railway (http://www.capetrain.com) in which we took the Scenic Fun Train ride. They also had a Elegant Dinner Ride and Brunch ride, but that was a little too much ($) for us, so we went with the scenic fun ride. My son (age 5) is a train nut, and he was ALL excited about going on this train.

I have to say, the train ride was VERY relaxing and scenic. I also learned some interesting facts all about Cape Cod and it's history. So, if you are planning a trip to Cape Cod and looking for something to do, I would highly suggest checking them out. It's nice to be part of something that was part of history.

The other nice place we went to was The Boat House in Falmouth, MA http://boathousefalmouth.com/ was fabulous! They have a special right now for lobsters (okay, so I'm NOT that Jewish) for a one pound lobster for only $7.99! Cheapest lobster in MA I'd say, and beautiful views!

If you would like more information on any of the above, just let me know and I can give you some.

Also, update on the Halloween event (yes, again)...The last night of the event will be October 30th! This will be for the Haunted Woods ONLY! So, don't miss your chance to be scared out of your wits! Again, this is a PG13 rated event, and all for a good cause. The website for the farm is http://www.winslowfarm.com)

Phew...long post.

An adventure from yesterday, according to my husband

2009-09-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

He'll probably be upset that I write about this, but it is rather funny (now). This is the adventure that he had yesterday taking my son to what I thought was Children's Hospital in Boston.

Our pediatrician (who after many times, we requested our son to have a specialist see for his not going to the potty after age 5) finally set something up.

The voice from the voice mail (you know, the computerized woman that says, hello, this is Children's Hospital confirming for the patient - Charles S. - who has an appointment on blah blah, etc...). -side note - Now, I was the one that took the call. I don't remember the voice telling me that it was in Lexington, I just assumed Boston.

We both thought that it was for my son's autism evaluation and PPD, and in Boston at 1:45 pm.

So....my husband took my son all the way to Boston, (had to park on the 8th level fyi) and found out that the appointment wasn't in Boston at 1:45 pm but in Lexington at 2:45 pm. So, back in the car they go (and yes, they did have to pay the parking fee), and made it to Lexington in time to see the specialist.

Now, I worked in health care, but according to my husband, the Dr. was um, elderly, and saw that my son's MRI came back with nothing and wanted to know exactly why my son was being seen by him...well, Charlie is doing better with the Pee issue (sorry for being gross here, but it's the truth), but still has not got the whole poopie thing down yet. The Dr. nodded and said, I think he's doing okay so far. (But he's five Dr!) So my husband said to the Dr., when I was little my parents were told to try a stool softener as maybe that would help.
Dr. said, sure, you could try that.

Sigh....sorry honey...will try and save you a trip next time by trying that first and calling to confirm the confirmation.

Halloween at the Farm coming in October

2009-09-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

So I've been a busy girl this Labor Day weekend, what with going to the farm (http://www.winslowfarm.com/) both days to get ready for Haunted Woods and the Spooky Carnival all going through the month of October.

Oh you didn't know about that? I guess I should tell you all then right? Yes, well, Winslow Farm has asked us to put on the Haunted Woods which starts October 2nd, from 7 pm to 9 pm which will be creepy, scary and all around hauntingly good time on the Friday evenings and Saturday evenings of every weekend of October, and yes, this goes all the way through October 30th!(which should be the last evening of the event). Wish me luck with this gang, as I get scared easier by someone just coming quietly around the corner to say HI! This is a PG13 rated event, so kids 12 and over will have to be approved by adults before going in...

There is also going to be a Spooky Carnival Games for the kids on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays also starting October 2nd going all the way through October 25th from 12 pm to 4 pm with old time Carnival games and Prizes to win!

Tickets for both events are $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for kids. Kids under the age of 4 will be free.

*edited for dates of event!
__________________________
In the meantime, Charlie has his autism/PPD evaluation at Mass General Hospital tomorrow, not sure what that will entail, and he starts PreK (yes, again, third year) on Friday, September 11th, so I will update you all on that.

By the way, the farm (Winslow farm that is) got a postcard addressed to me saying how I can get on shows like Oprah...really? Okay, will need to see if that is for real or not...but wouldn't that be neat to think about!

Profiting from Her Passion: A Success Story

2009-09-04T02:52:00.000-07:00

An woman named Kimberly Reddington that I met on http://www.workitmom.com asked me if she could do an interview, and here it is. Kimberly is the owner and founder of Cereus Woman http://www.cereuswoman.com . If you are looking to get some advice on business ideas, inspiration, knowledge of Internet or Media Marketing, Cereus Woman is a good place to start.

Please do check out the blog below!

Profiting from Her Passion: A Success Story

A Cute story (and yes, it involves my son)

2009-09-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

They say out of the mouths of babes right? Did they ever talk about how kids learn as they go? Man, it is funny how sometimes you think how well your child is adjusting when they do this:

Last evening, my 5 year old (Charlie) wanted to play his video games (We have the Wii Mario Kart) but both of us (meaning my husband and I) were just too pooped to play video games (yes, it is tiring). Instead, we asked him to play in his room.

He then found his basketball hoop play set (still in the box by the way) from his birthday party (last May) and asked if we would open it. It's not enough he has everything already open and ready to play with, he just sees something not opened, so therefore he wants us to open it....ah well, kids...right? So my husband says to my son "I will open this if you go and clean your room up first."

My son then says "Okay." in a tired sighing tone (yes, already it starts)....we wait for a while, we hear some crashes, and then he comes back into our room and says "Okay, all done. Now can you open?"

We both get up and go to his room...he actually did pretty good...his stuff was on his train table (where he could reach it) and mostly all his stuff on the floor was picked up (toys, trains, cars and whatnot). We then put up his basketball hoop on the wall where he could reach it from.

Later, I then go into the living room and find his train map (yes, it's more like a rug thing with a train map on it) on the floor..."Charlie...." I said in a 'mom' tone....

"Yes, mummy?"
"Did you put this here?"
"Yeah! See, train and railways and tunnels, and look a turn table, and and and..."
"Yes, but listen, did you put this here?"
Nods his head....

"Honey...you have to come and see this..." I yelled down the hall to my husband....
He came out and looked at the train rug map on the floor and couldn't help but laugh..."Just leave it there for now, we'll move it later."

Great.....

My adventures in knitting

2009-08-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a knitting addict...well, it's a good hobby and I really like it. My problem? I just started 2 years ago, and well, I chose something a little (okay, a lot) more challenging.

I'm so glad there are knitting communities online that can help me out such as http://www.knittinghelp.com and http://www.lionbrandyarn.com and http://www.ravelry.com even LiveJournal http://www.livejournal.com has communities that are there to help me.

I even like http://www.knittingfool.com/pages/Alpha.guest.cfm?CFID=53650002&CFTOKEN=14610604 t0 help me with more challenging stitches...and I'm making notes as I go along.

I've already knitted a few things and I'm trying my best to just keep it to 2 projects at one time. So far I've made:

Olive Green Basket Weave blanket (kid size) with using Lion's Brand Wool N Chunky
Easy Triangle Shawl - using Homespun Lion Brand (I made two of them, one in green and one in blue, the blue one came out a little nicer, as I used the actual gauge for the whole thing this time, and I added fringe) - highly suggest this for beginners like me.
Long Blue scarf (just knit stitch, my first thing I ever did) using Lion Brand Homespun
Hand warmers (made at least three pairs) using Red Heart yarn
Lap blanket using green and now white Red Heart yarn
Easy Lacey shrug Green - Red Heart Yarn
and now to something more challenging: Amethyst Shawl (Intermediate) ugh...need help!
Scarf for Charlie (son, age 5) using knit stitch and two colors (blue and dark blue stripes) Homespun yarn again
Scarf for my hubby 2 skeins of Lion's Brand wool N chunky 1 skein real green wool knit 6, purl 6, knit 6 came out pretty wavy, note to self: all brands have different gauges!
Scarf for my step mother once removed using homespun (garter stitch, and ribbing, and stripes)

I've been a little busy

2009-08-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry gang...I know I should write here more often, but the truth is, I'm writing on so many different blogs now a days, it's hard for me to even keep track.

In fact, I've been trying to blog once a day (yes, once a day) on http://www.winslowshire.wordpress.com and so far, I've got a lot more hits on that blog alone...I mean I think it's now up to almost 250 hits! Where this one...not so much.

Okay updates...Charlie (my son) is fine...the MRI came back with nothing, and the funny (ironic) thing is that he's sort of now just getting the clue about peeing in the potty...FINALLY...but his pedi wants us to do another eval. for his PPD and mild autism, so now Charlie has to go through that...

My 41st birthday is coming up this weekend...yes...I know...sorry, I'm a leo...didn't they tell you that us leos are obnoxious about our birthdays? They didn't? Are you sure? Hah! Well, anyway, I digress...but I was all philisophical last year about turning 40...I was trying to find my life's purpose(s) and all that, writing more, blogging more, marketing more...and now I am going to over 40...YIKES!!! I think that is the part that is scaring me the most!

Oh yes, before I forget, I am here to let you all know that there is now a 10% discount on your first month at PreSchool Social Academy in Woburn! Go to http://www.whofish.org and search for PreSchool Social Academy and get the coupon! This deal lasts up through August 21st so do hurry!

I'm also guest blogging on http://www.northshoreparenting.com which I am trying to update at least once a week, and I am going to be interviewed by Kimberly Reddington with Cerusus Women and soon as she wants me (yes, Me!) to discuss my success...my success? Really? Is it really all about the money?...No....but it would be nice to think about.

Oh yes, and sad news for Jazz fans...Les Paul died today at age 94. May he rest in peace.
Other sad news for me, is some of my old Spaghetti House pals passed away too...Karin, you were a trip...RIP girl.

Oh I haven't told you about Spaghetti House? Well, I'll save that story for another post. I have to go for now.

New ventures?

2009-07-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about my future lately...doing more marketing and promoting of events. Think I've done pretty well with it, I do have to say. Been looking into helping promote other companies for a fee (of course)...

Oh yes, while I'm thinking about it, PreSchool Social in Woburn, MA has ONLY 5 seats left to fill. The website for more information is http://www.preschoolsocial.com - I'm going to call her this evening and get more details for you all (who are actually following me), but if you have little ones, this might be a fantastic opportunity to check it out!

Also, in the works, another possible position to do some event planning/promoting in Weston, MA for another group, but will need to wait for the green light before I do any promoting of the said event.

In the meantime, Halloween is coming up first, and the farm (http://www.winslowfarm.com) does want us to help with that...but still need to work out the details...one minor flaw at this moment in time, is that she (the farm owner) wants us to do it Friday evenings - um, we both work full time in North Shore, MA and she is in South Shore, MA...hmmmmm....we'll have to see.

Oh well, updates for now anyways...

Thanks

Been a little busy lately

2009-07-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted to this blog in a while...I've been a little busy lately. What with working full time (oh yes, that's another story, that I'll blog later about on http://www.justthetemp.blogspot.com) and putting together Winslowshire (http://www.winslowshire.com) and other things, it just means that now I finally get a chance to write.

Well, first things first right? I was asked a while ago on one of my other networking communities (http://www.workitmom.com) on how I find time to do all these things, and I still have the same answer I did then. My answer is I'm not sure...I just know that it needs to get done, so it gets done.

I think that I have finally found my niche, my line of work that I really want to be in though...and it is definately NOT temping forever...wow, that even felt good to write. I think that promoting and marketing are really a forte of mine, and am thinking about if I ever do get to take classes, that's what I want to do. Yay! 40 years old and I finally figured it out...whoo hoo.

In the meantime, Winslowshire did pretty well, if I do say so myself. We doubled in merchants, doubled with performers and tripled the amount we made the farm last year. Now she wants us to do Halloween there as well for the whole month of October....great....and what is she going to pay us? Are we going to need to get a food vendor? Do I have to call the church again to get the parking? Am I plugging this thing yet? I don't even have dates yet...so I think I will just rest a while first before I let you all know what is going to happen.

Charlie (my 5 year old) is going in for an MRI for a brain and spine scan at Children's Hopsital in Boston, MA. The nurse asked me if I preferred Waltham, but since the parents are not allowed in the same room, and at Boston they are...well....I went with Boston. We're doing this, as we have a concern that at 5 years old, he might not be feeling the pressure to go....go to the bathroom....yes...he's still in pull ups....sigh....

Well, just wanted to put up one more post before July 4th holiday. Please be responsible and have a safe weekend everybody!

Only 10 days until Winslowshire

2009-06-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

I know I've been rather busy. I do admit that...I also admit that I am now addicted to the internet...there...I said it. (Or at least wrote about it).

I do think that marketing anything or promoting anything, you just have to keep plugging it until everyone knows about that said event. Especially in this lovely (not) economy of ours.

I know that putting your mind over matter does really get you somewhere, even if it means the extra time to go on the internet and scour through my over 300 e mails...yes..I said 300...mostly all junk, but sometimes, I do get a good nugget of information.

I found out today, that you can now create a Google Profile page! Yeah! So I did that today!

Okay now the updates for Winslowshire...that's what this is all about right? Oh yes, I also have a wordpress blog now just on Winslowshire and that blog is http://www.winslowshire.wordpress.com .

We now have over 40 vendors! I know! Crazy right? 20 confirmed performers, and yes, it will be a little different for Saturday versus Sunday. In fact, we got a phone call last evening regarding information about our Faire. A new vendor wanting in? Another performer wanting to perform? No....a customer.... a potential customer who is bringing his family and his brother is bringing his family...wow! Really? I know the Three Graces also posted the event on Facebook, and I see a lot of people confirmed just for them!

I guess I will be a little sad when this is all over, and can't thank you all enough for letting me write about it.

But then there is Halloween....oh yes....more information to come on that AFTER Faire is over!

That is all for now...

More updates

2009-05-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

So, you do remember that the NH Renaissance Faire is this coming weekend right? Yes! Good. Now the website for more information on that is http://www.nhrenfaire.com so do check it out. They have updated the site.

A Taste of Winslowshire will be at The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham on June 10th from 6 pm to 8 pm. Some of the performers and some of our volunteers will be there to do some demonstrations. For more information on that, please visit their website at http://www.crmi.org and go to http://massinnovationnights.com/events/directions-to-the-museum-helpful-hints for directions!

We will also be doing the Relay for Life in Pawtucket, RI on May 29th and 30th, so if you live in RI, please do come out and support us!

We did find some hotels that are going to be helping us out in the local area of Taunton, MA. We also have to deal with the fact that Jimmy Buffet is coming to town, and most of the hotels in the Norton, MA area are already booked.

Here are some of the hotels and their websites:
http://www.hamptoninn.com The Hampton Inn in Raynham, MA - Rate of $109.00 per night this does include breakfast (blocked 20 rooms just for us!) the code word is "Winslowshire"
http://www.qualityinn.com The Quality Inn in Raynham, MA - Rate of $70.00 plus tax per night (has 20 King sized bed rooms available, 8 two Queen sized beds rooms available and 15 smoking rooms available) again the code word is "Winslowshire"
http://www.super8motelattleboro.com Super 8 Motel in Attleboro, MA- unfortunately, all the rooms (except 2 smoking rooms) for Saturday are all booked. They do have rooms available on Sunday and the rate she quoted me was $50-$60. (I am not sure if that includes tax or not)

That's it for now.

Family friendly

2009-04-28T12:49:00.001-07:00

So, this arse that I work with (who will remain nameless to protect the innocent) believes that in order to have any fun, you need beer. He even put a note (or someone did, I actually have no proof that it was him) on a flyer that I put up on MY cubicle for an event I'm doing in NH that it "Needs Beer".

I not only crossed said comment out, I also added NO Alcohol, Family Friendly. Wow, this crowd is a tough one to work with.

But seriously, you don't need alcohol to have fun, and if you do, then you may have a problem. Seriously, I don't have the time, nor the monies to pay for an alchohol license. I don't have the money to pay for police detail, and seriously, if you are going to diss my fair, do it with just me, but don't say anything mean to my other coworkers. I mean that's just plain mean.

Jeez people.

Yours.

Winslowshire Festival for the Animals at Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary

2009-04-22T12:27:00.001-07:00

Huzzah! The second annual Winslowshire Festival for the Animals is back at The Winslow Farm Animal Sa

View >>

Winslow updates

2009-04-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

For a while now, we have been promoting Winslowshire (http://www.winslowshire.com) and I have been wanting to blog for a while, it's just called time...so sorry about not posting for a while.

Let me tell you some of the updates that we have so far.

We now have extra parking for Winslowshire at The New Testament Baptist Church in Taunton, MA www.newtestamentschool.org with extra busing from Bloom Charter Bus to and from the parking www.bloombus.com . Of course DH and I have paid the deposit for the busing, but we'll have to come up with some fundraising ideas (and I have a few good ones, but just need a place to do it at).

We now have almost 30 confirmed vendors. I know. I can't even believe it myself. I think that this is a fabulous opportunity for these vendors to show off their wares. Some of the vendors coming are: www.cloakmaker.com , www.fairetailor.com , www.hickoryarms.com , www.silvermane.com , www.goodquillhunting.com, www.ravensbeck.com , http://www.antikanueva.com/ , http://www.storiedthreads.com/index.htm, http://www.myspace.com/gargoylepete and more!

We even managed to find a vegetarian food vendor that happens to be a chef from a 4 star vegetarian restaurant in RI, and Kettle Korn (my personal favorite).

We now have 17 confirmed performers, including: Sir Robert of Artremis Glen http://cdbaby.com/all/minstrel7 , Rufus, Shakespeare, The Harper and The Minstrel http://www.theharperandtheminstrel.com/home , The Neville Companye http://www.rainasmind.com/neville/index.shtml and more!

I'm looking forward to a great new season!

Oh yes, and we will also be performing in May at the NH Renaissance Faire for more information on that, please see their website at www.nhrenfaire.com

Huzzah!

Aren't we all just strangers?

2009-04-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, we took my son to his favorite breakfast food place. A bagel with lox spread. I know it sounds strange that my four year old likes lox, but he liked it since he was really little, and it's a treat if you have never tried it.

While we were waiting for our bagels, a very large guy (maybe 6'5 and 250 on a good day) came in to get his coffee/bagels. My son then turned around and said "Hey big guy!" in his little cute voice. The guy took it well, and I wanted to crawl under the table.

My son says hello to everyone. It doesn't matter who.

The reason I bring this all up, is this week, we had our IEP. For those of you who don't know what an IEP is, it's an Individual Education Plan. My son has been part of the IEP now since he was 3, since he was diagnosed with PDD, and mild autism. The teachers in the meeting (in one section) wrote and discussed my son's strengths and weaknesses, but one of the major issues they wanted to address was his awareness of his surroundings and safety, meaning strangers.

I have never been a big proponent of not being freindly to strangers. After all, how do you meet new people that could be potentially your friend, your neighbor, your boss, your husband/wife, your lover, your teachers. After all, isn't one of the main factors of life to meet new people?

Also, my husband and I do renaissance reenacting. Talk about strangers. That's what we are supposed to do. Interact with complete and utter strangers.

We are all okay about meeting people on line, on Facebook and on Twitter, but we aren't okay with meeting people in real life?

I mean, I know that there are certain people in this world that want to harm people. I watch the news, I worked at the Courthouse in Cambridge, I understand all that...but at the same time, if I'm with my son, or know that he's with a responsible adult, we should be able to determine who is dangerous and who is not.

In fact, one of my favorite pasttimes is to just do small talk with someone I've never met, after all, you never know who you might become friends with.

Tweet this

2009-04-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

Not sure if you are aware of Twitter (http://twitter.com) but I seem to be addicted by it. It sure is a great marketing tool (and free I might add). I know everyone is talking about it, and now here I am blogging about it.

I think I may have mentioned it before, but I will again today, because one of my twitter pals (http://twitter.com/MomsWhoSave) is giving away a beautiful amethyst bracelet. Her website is http://www.momswhosave.com and by the way, great site for coupons. Yes, coupons...you know the ones we all used to cut out from the Sunday papers (which by the way is getting lesser and lesser), now all you need to do is go to her coupon page and boom there you are, coupons...cool right? Just print them out, and off you go and save some money (needed now right, 'cause after all we aren't part of the major stimulous plan)...

So go and tweet this if you like, and you can follow me too at http://twitter.com/giazzpet

Family stuff

2009-04-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

I don't talk much about my family here on my blog. Maybe it's because my dysfunctional family isn't much for me to talk about. I've learned to deal with parents being divorced, how to deal with one parent or in my case three seperate families. Yes, that's right. Three. My father got married three times.

Let's hope certain people don't read my blog, or else they might figure out who I am, and who my father is. Let's just say that my father is a pretty public figure in Massachusetts, although now he is retired.

I also want to point out that I now have my own family. It is a difficult concept for me, since I really didn't have a starting point, but found what I was looking for.

So, I guess my point is that if you are going through a rough time or your parents are having a rough time, just know that I have been through alot.

That being said, there are different families in my life. I read in a book a long time ago (and I'm sorry if I can't remember the name of it at this point, but I think the title was Wild Women Stories), but basically there were stories in it and it related to real true life.

What I learned from that is you can make anyone into your family, it doesn't have to be your blood parents. In my case, I had the Spaghetti House gang as my family for a while, and now I have the Renaissance Faire family as well.

So here's hugs to all of my families, and of course to my own.

Hello to all my followers and thank you

2009-03-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

You know, I never did thank any of my followers. I would like to say thank you to my 3 followers. Thank you very much for reading my blog! I certainly appreciate it, since I am relatively new to this whole blogging thing.

So, now to the news...(don't you love when the news media says that?);

The farm owner at Winslow has decided that she doesn't want to vend the food this year. We did have some vegetarian options last year, but with so many people wanting in now on this faire, we thought it would be too much for her to handle, and guess what, it is. So, now I am on a mission to find a food vendor that has vegetarian menu only (yes, I know Oxi Moron, but we've tried to reason with her, but to no avail). I may have found one person in R.I. that might be willing and sounds excited by the whole concept, although, he has not been to a Renaissance Faire before, so how did I explain this to him? I basically said, it's like walking through living history. (How else?), And to sweeten the deal, if he says yes, then I can maybe get a Belly Dancer to come to him during the day to give him a private belly dance and possibly the wenches to come over and give a bodice hug, but now that means I'll pay out of my own pocket to do this...but I don't mind...if that means we have food to eat!

The parking is working out nicely, I can't spill the beans yet, but that is coming along, and I will explain as soon as I can!

Also, the flyers are done, and we now just have to post them up everywhere I can think of, online and off! So far, I've posted on: http://www.facebook.com , http://www.whofish.org, http://www.boston.com , http://www.cafemom.com, http://www.workitmom.com, http://www.going.com, http://www.efaire.com , http://www.yelp.com , http://www.momfaves.com, http://www.nerennies.net and a few others. If you know of any free sites that I can promote our faire, do let me know and I will post to that as well!

I'm getting excited as the time draws near...
Thanks again.

Please help promote me! Vote!

2009-03-13T08:19:00.001-07:00

So I added this site on my blog to advertise and promote Winslowshire, which by the way is growing like a weed.

We are now up to 35 vendors and 18 performers, and we may even get a chance to be plugged on A Celtic Sojourn on WGBH Radio (http://www.wbgh.org/celtic). I e mailed Mr. O'Donovan myself, and he wrote back that he's willing to plug our show on his show, and to help us out with the people from the ICC (that's the Irish Cultural Center's Festival which goes on in Canton, MA, website is http://www.iconsfestival.com/ ).

I also contacted a few companies around the area to see if we can possibly get more parking, and sponsorship. Even Wheaton College (http://www.wheatoncollege.org) is helping us a bit.

Every little bit helps, and I certainly appreciate the support we have gotten so far.

I think this year will be great fun, and I can't wait to see everyone!

On to new Faire season

2009-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

So, I guess by the title of this blog entry, you will notice that I am no longer going to be doing the "Alpha-quest". Although, it was sort of fun, in a way to discuss all the different letters and what they represent to me (and possibly others as well).

So that being said, this entry (and others going forward) will be about the Winslow Shire Renaissance Festival (and others that we attend) to promote that and to also talk about how we are coming along.

With this being February, our Winslow Shire http://www.winslowshire.com/ is coming along nicely and we are now up to 27 vendors (possibly more coming) and 11 to 12 performers. I say this, as we are not sure if Shakespeare is definately in and if Rosalita's Puppets will come on Sunday, right now they are penciled in.

I am now on the hunt for sponsors, so if you would like more information on how you can get involved, please do let me know directly.

So far we have Knights in Shining Armor for the ladies http://www.rainasmind.com/neville/index.shtml , Belly Dancing for the guys http://www.joydances.com/home and others. We will also have live demonstrations of Blacksmithing with full forge from Shane Stainton http://www.forgedknives.net/ and live music this year from Windborne http://www.myspace.com/windborneduo.

Did I mention, our Friends at Silas Griffith Inn now have this fabulous package that will help us out?!? Yeah! Their website is http://www.silasgriffith.com/ so if you want to stay at a beautiful Inn and help out the Festival for 2009 that is a great deal!

I'm now trying to figure out how to write a proposal letter, so any advice is helpful.

Keep tuned for more information on Winslow Shire! Also, we will be performing again this year for the NH Renaissance Faire http://nhrenfaire.com/

L is for Love, Love, Love

2009-02-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

First of all, I would like to say that I'm sorry to all my followers that I haven't been writing. There has been a lot in my personal life that has been going on.

Now that I've hopefully grovelled enough, I can now write this entry. I figured that it was so close to Valentine's Day, that I would write about love.

There are so many forms of love.

I guess I really didn't understand that when I was growing up. I didn't know what love was. My family didn't really know how to show me that, as they were to busy to fight amongst themselves.

There is my love for food. Mostly chocolate, but these days with watching my diet (sure, right, as I sit here eating Dorito's and having a soda - ah every once in a while is not a bad thing right). See, there, that is exactly what I am talking about. You can love your cheating ways with food, but then you may have to pay for it later. You can love really good cooking. I know there was nothing like my grandmother's brownies. She probably made them from a box, but I was so young, I wouldn't know any better.

There is my love for music. I love music and how it makes me feel. Even with the no good MP4 player I just got, even for the brief moment that it was working, note to self, get an iPod!

There are my first loves, where I thought that love and lust were the same. Little by little did I figure out that I had to learn to love myself. That is a trick to learn. I never realized how much of that was true. To this day, I sometimes hear those demons inside my head telling me how I'm no good, or whatever. But I can now go above that. I was so screwed up with so many different men. I thought that by having sex with some random guy was going to make them love me. I think they call that the Cinderella Complex. Let me tell you, it took me a long time to figure out that wasn't the right thing.

Then I did meet a good man. I learned about the love of family and friends. I have learned a lot about loving my son. He has taught me so much in so little time.

I think that once you become a mother, it becomes an instinct like no other.

They can give the mother of the new octuplets as much flack as they want to. I hope that she has the strength to teach them what she can about love. Because that is what is all about gang.

Love.

K is for knitting

2009-01-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

So, I'm pretty new to knitting, only about a year, and I've learned so much in so little time. I wish I could post pictures (and hopefully one day, with a digital camera), but in the meantime you will just have to use your imagination.

I'm now doing a blanket (my first attempt at a big blanket, thanks to http://www.ravelry.com ) I'm on there as giazz, so if you like you can friend me.

I also like http://www.scarvesfromtheheart.com/images/logo.jpg as this is a site, if you have too much yarn, you can get nice patterns and give some to charity, always a good thing.

Have you tried also Knitting for Dummies? Great book for me, and if you are new to knitting I can try to help you as best I can.

Try also http://www.knitwitch.com great videos, and nice projects.

http://www.lionbrand.com is great for free patterns (always nice for me).

What's your favorite knitting project? Have you made anything? Leave a comment!

An article that I wrote

2008-12-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

The Re-Enactor
Online newsletter/Magazine
Issue 1
Dec. 2008
Grosmont Castle, Herefordshire, UK
Photo: J. O’Keefe
Grosmont Castle, Herefordshire, UK
Photo: J.O’Keefe
Note:
Please feel free to print this email out and pass around amongst your group members
or pass on to other groups and do encourage other groups and traders to sign up for
this free email newsletter.
Let us have details of any shows that you are organising and they will be put in this
email newsletter.
If you have any interesting stories or re-enactment anecdotes that you want to share
with the world send them to us.
If you want to write a report on a show or send us some photographs* we will be only
to glad to add them.
* Please make sure that the pictures you send are yours and by sending them you give us permission to
publish them in The Re-Enactor.
Contents:
Group Details
A list of groups from around the world with their contact
details.
Event Details
A few show details for 2009 with dates, location and contact
details. Please contact host group before attending the event.
Special Report
Festival for the Animals
Please send all correspondence to
Jason.okeefe@btopenworld.com
Note from the editor:
Welcome to issue 1 of
The Re-Enactor, we
are obviously in our
fledgling state and
have a long way to go.
Our aim is to connect
as many re-enactors
from as many periods
of history together as
we can and from all
around the world. To
share knowledge,
show information and
just general chat.
It’s as much your
magazine as it is ours
so please do let us
know what you would
like to see in it.
Regards
Jason O'Keefe
Email:
Jason.okeefe@btopenworld.com
Group Listing
A.R.M.E. (Asociacion Recreacionista Medieval
Escandinava)
4th - 13th Centuries
Location: Argentina
Battle re-enactments and duels, talks on myths,
legends, religion,history and art.
Email: medieval.arme@gmail.com
website: http://www.medieval-arme.com.ar
Blood & Bourban (Pavia 1525)
1520's specifically 1525
Location: S.E. Queensland & Brisbane, Aus.
Landsnechts & Spanish Infantry, Cavalry, Canon
and non-combatants
Email: deanmaynard@hotmail.com
The British Plate Armour Society (BPAS)
14th & 15th Centuries
Location: Members all over UK
Combat, archery, living history, film & TV work
Website: http://www.britishplate.org.uk
Group established in 1974
Causae et curae
1350-1400
Location: Denmark
Knowledge on medieval medicine, handmade
soaps and herbal remedies. Handsewn medieval
costumes.
Website: www.sitecenter.dk/middlelaldermedicin
Company of Chivalry
14th Century
Location: Bristol, UK
Knights, soldiers & peasantry in period costume
displaying arms, armour and other artifacts.
Website: http:www.yecompaynyofchevalrye.com/
cc/
Domus Lunaris
Wars of the Roses
Location: Sutton, Surrey, UK
Group of medieval mercenaries comprising of
swordsmen & women inc. massage therapists &
healers.
Email: glcookie@hotmail.com
The Freemen of Gwent
14th Century & up to 1415
Loctaion: Members all over UK
Combat, archery living history, crafts and trades
email: ann.horton@ntlworld.com
website: http://www.freemenofgwent.org.uk
Gustav II Adolfs fotfanika
Early 17th Century, specifically reign of Gustav II
Adolf 1611-1632
Location: Goteborg, Sweden
Honour guard, wedding guard, musket salutes,
canon salute, city watch show, pike, musket &
artillery drills.Troop & military camp.
Website: http://giia.nu/
Historia Germanica
1500-1560
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Sword training in the style of Renaissance
manuals, cannon drill & firing, costume
workshops, feasts.
Event: Abbey Medieval Tournament & Festival,
Cabooulture, Queensland. (Dark Age –
Renaissance)
History Alive (Roman – Vietnam War)
Email: annamargot.collins@gmail.com
Jacobs Ledung
1250-1325
Location: Goteborg, Sweden
Representing the common person of the periodfarmers
and craftspeople. Dyeing, weaving,
sewing, bone carving & cooking.
Email: mattiniord@hotmail.com
Knights Order Of Lion Rampant
1385-1415
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Event: Abbey Medieval Tournament & Festival,
Cabooulture, Queensland. (Dark Age –
Renaissance)
History Alive (Roman – Vietnam War)
Website: http://www.lionrampant.com.au
http://www.historyalive.org.au/
La Licorne Blanc (Sth Burnett Medieval Society)
1100-1563 (notably The Black Prince)
Location: Murgon (South Burnett) & Toowoomba
Various workshops held monthly covering
heraldry, costume, cooking, music & dance + lots
more besides.
Email: lalicorneblanc@gmail.com
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?
gid=26515937494
Legio XV, 7th Texas, Det Sondenfjeldske
Frivillige musketeercorps (D.S.F.M.C)
108, 1808 * 1861-5
Location: Oslo, Norway
The three groups let people join in re-enacting the
military activities of the periods, and the legion
also helps you to make your own equipment.
Websites:
http://www.7thtexas.info/index_historiske7th.htm
http://legxv.laiv.org
http:home.ifi.uio.no/oddharry/dsfmc/dsfmc.html
Leongatha Medieval Society
English Army 1346-1400
Location: Leongatha, Victoria, Australia
Combat, armour making, tournaments,
educational talks, western martial arts, warbow
training and construction + traditional archery
Email: leongathamedievalsociety@gmail.com
Website: www.lms.asn.au
The Levy
15th Century
Location: Hereford, UK
Combat, archery & living history & various crafts
inc. maille making, bow making, fletching, leather
work.
Email: jason.okeefe@btopenworld.com
Website: http://www.freewebs.com/levyarchery
The Lion Rampant
Medieval
Location: South Buckinghamshire, UK
Singing, fighting, juggling, music, dance & story.
Educational shows in a light hearted fun manner.
Website: www.lionrampant.uk.com
The Lion Rampant (History re-enactment
workshop)
16th & 17th Century England
Location: All over England
1st person interpretation for 16th & 17th century
social & domestic history.
Website: http://www.historyreenactment.org.uk
Milites Templar
Early 12th century – 1307
Location: Belgium (Ghent)
Swordmanship demos, camplife, shows for
children, marching with latin commands.
Email: info@milites-templi.eu
Website: http://www.milites-templi.eu
The Montgomery Levy
12th – 15th Centuries
Location: Mid Wales, UK
Full living history, combat, archery, field kitchen,
medieval baggage cart & traders display “levied
foot soldiers”
Email: montylevy@gmail.com
Plymouth Medieval Society
1370-1450
Location: Plymouth, Devon, UK
Combat tournament with characters from the
hundred year’s war in full armour, medieval court
dancing.
Email: plymouthmedievalsociety@yahoo.co.uk
St Ita's of Cill Ide (pronounced kill eeedie)
1564
Location: California
A participation guild focusing on the everyday
lives of noble women. Sewing, carding wool,
spinning, leather working.
Website: www.stitas.net
The Sons of the Dragon (Meibion Y Ddraig)
14th Century + Hundred Years War
Location: Wales,UK
Living History & Archery
website: http://www.sonsofthedragon.co.uk
Email: urti@globalnet.co.uk
The Seattle Knights/ Pirates of Puget Sound
1100/ 1740
Location: Seattle, U.S.A.
professional theatrical combat and equestrian
performance troupe
Email: damegeleah@hotmail.com
Website:http:// www.seattleknights.com
Teutonic Order of Prussia
C14th & C15th
Location: Kandanga, Queensland, Australia
Jousting, Foot Combat, Daily life and times reenactment
Email: teutonicorderofprussia@homail.com
Uppsala Medieval Society
500 – 1500
Location: Sydney, Australia
Combat, various crafts including brewing mead,
archery, blacksmithing. Training every weekend.
Website: http://uppsala-medieval.org/
Email: herald@uppsala-medieval.org
White Company
100 years war, specifically 1346-1394
Location: Australia
Archery, equestrian activities, dance, games,
costume, cooking.
Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/whitecompany/index.ht
ml
Traders Details
David Hodges
Medieval trader (+ other periods)
Location: Northants, UK
Forges, fireboxes, spits, lamp irons, banner stakes,
tent pegs, tools for making & repairing armour +
general tinsmithing and sheet metal work.
Website: www.medievalmade.co.uk/tools/
Tony Jones
Maille Maker
Coifs, avantails, bishops collars, halberks, gloves
Email: tony.109@hotmail.co.uk
Fairbow UK
Location: Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK
Suppliers of traditional English Longbows,
American flatbows, horse bows of varying tribes/
armies and all leather work and sundries
Email: livebythearrow@gmail.com
Website: www.fairbowuk.com
Tel: (James) 07771 866133
David Smith
Events Organiser
Location: Wellingborough, UK
Organises event around the UK
Websites:
www.medieval-fayre.co.uk
www.east-anglian-medieval-fayre.co.uk
www.new-market.org.uk
www.history-boot-camp.co.uk
Fezbat The Fletcher
Medieval trader
Location: Morda, Shropshire, UK
Medieval style arrows, modbods, target points,
blunts, X Bow bolts
Spined to match your bow
Email: fezbat@aol.com
Ebay store:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fezbat-The-Medieval-
Fletcher
Unicorn Crafts
Location: Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, UK
Purveyors of variable reproduction medieval
artifacts including ironware, wooden items,
jewellery and pottery
Email: boballison@btinternet.com
Events Listing 2009
Medieval Traders Fair
February 7th & 8th 2009
Fiera Di Ferrara
Ferrara
Italy
http://www.reenacting.it/Home.html
Email: info@rievocare.it
Cosmeston Medieval Village
April 12th & 13th 2009
Penarth, Cardiff, UK
Contact: ncoles@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Living History village, traders, combat and archery
Bodelwyddan castle
April 25th & 26th 2009
North Wales, UK
Contact:
david.smith34@ntlworld.com
Living History village, traders, combat and archery
Cosmeston Medieval Village
May 3rd & 4th 2009
Penarth, Cardiff, UK
Contact: ncoles@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Living History village, traders, combat and archery
The Three Counties Show
June 19th – 21st 2009
Malvern Show Ground, Malvern, UK
Contact:
Jason.okeefe@btopenworld.com
Huge County show, 100,000 public, 100’s of trade stands
& us with Living History, Combat and archery
demonstrations
The Battle of Tewkesbury
July 11th & 12th 2009
Tewkesbury, UK
Contact:
battle@tewkesburymedievalfestival.org
UK’s largest medieval event, traders, combat, archery and so
much more
Berkeley Castle
July 18th & 19th 2009
Berkeley, Glos, UK
Contact:
plantychrisb@yahoo.co.uk
Living History village, traders, combat and archery
The Battle of Azincourt
July 25th & 26th 2009
Azincourt, Pas de Calais, France.
Contact:
chris@azincourt-alliance.org.uk
Living History village, combat and archery
Walraversijde Village Event
August 1st & 2nd 2009
Nr. Oostende, Belgium
Contact:
Frederiek.de.smeyter@gmail.com
Living History village, combat and archery & joust
Balingup Medieval Carnivale
August 22nd & 23rd 2009
Balingup, Western Australia.
Website:
Http://www.balingupmedievalcarnivale.com.au
Combat, traders, jesters, parade and lots lots more
The Battle of Mortimers Cross (1461)
September 5th & 6th 2009
Leominster, Herefordshire, UK
Contact:
Jason.okeefe@btopenworld.com
Living History village, traders, combat and archery
Ludlow Medieval Christmas fayre
November 28th & 29th 2009
Ludlow Castle, Ludlow, Shropshire, UK
Contact:
TBC
Christmas crafts both medieval and modern, combat, have a go
archery, living history & traders
Special Report
Winslow Shire Renaissance Faire
A Festival for the Animals
by Gia Volterra de Saulnier
Nestled amongst the shady woods of the Winslow Animal Farm Sanctuary occurred
the first ever Winslow Shire Renaissance Faire on June 28th and 29th of 2008.
Debra White, the president and owner of The Winslow Farm which opened in 1996
contacted Richard Saulnier, aka Arthur Bumbly Phinn, to create a Renaissance Faire
for the farm as a fund raiser. The farm hoped the faire would raise monies for
operating expenses and raise community awareness of their work.
All of the animals at this farm are rescued, formally abused or abandoned. Ms. White
and her staff provide these animals with a comfortable environment and quality of
life.
For June 28th and 29th of 2008, the farm became a medieval village, with merchants
pavilions and performers, from the many eras of the Renaissance period. The garbed
re-inactors, along with the many visitors – some wearing period outfits, others out of
place in modern wear, had a taste of true medieval living. The free roaming animals
of this farm made it look as if one was wandering about in a small village tucked in by
shady trees, on the edge of a lake.
Notable performers included story tellers Bumbly Phinn, Sir Robert of Artemis Glen
and Kate of Antika Nueva,; Magician Ed the Wizard; Shakespeare; Pirates; Musicians
Shaunough, The Harper and the Minstrel, Dirge Queen, The Bawdy Buccaneers. The
crowd was also entertained by wandering performers inc. Rufus the mud beggar and
Guy Todd. The local Martial Arts Academy, Red Dragon, demonstrated their tricks
throughout the two day event..
The vendors were spread out with pavilions and tents added another element for
wonderful wares like soap, clothing, swords, marshmallow crossbows, and jewelry.
The plan is to start small for the first year and to grow each additional year. 2008 was
a grand success that had over 400 guests. Including about 150 guests arriving in
period dress. The comments from fellow Rennie's that attended were very pleased
and entertained.
In respect of the many two and four legged animals in attendance, the faire menu was
all vegetarian. Faire goers enjoyed Vegetarian Chili, Corn Chowder, and baked
potatoes that were very tasty. Thirst was quenched via dollar cups of orange spice
iced tea and mint lemonade, and juice. As a family friendly event, no alcohol was
available for sail, and was not missed by the attendees.
General admission for the faire was $10.00 for Adults, $5.00 for Children 5 through
12, and Children 4 and Under were free. There were special admissions, a two day
pass could be had for $15.00, patrons arriving in renaissance attire, received half price
admission.
As a family friendly event, the farm and the directors decided on a dry faire, meaning
no alcohol was provided. Soda, water, lemonade, iced tea and juice were the
refreshments and they were only $1.00 per cup.
This faire is based on a festival, in a small local town, where you would normally not
find nobility. However, using the land and it's natural surroundings they set up a
festival with independent acts and merchants about. However, we did have Pirates
about. Everyone seemed to enjoy a simple faire without major plot or sovereignty.
Patrons who have been to other renaissance faires liked the idea of seeing old friends
and making new ones.
The farm owner and directors were pleased with the event. The Sanctuary will be
holding a second Faire in 2009 for June 27th and June 28th of 2009. The directors of
the faire are in the planning stages, and are currently looking for sponsors for this
grand event now. All money donated will be tax deductible for the farm is registered
non profit organization, and a worth while cause.
For more information, please contact Bumbly Phinn at bumblyphinn@comcast.net or
your intrepid reporter Jass Phinn at giazz@comcast.net .
I am already looking forward to next year's faire. Seeing old friends, making new
ones, and walking around the grounds of this enchanted farm once again. Mark your
calendars for next year's Festival for the Animals at Winslow Animal Sanctuary, at 37
Eddy Street, Norton, MA on June 27th and June 28th of 2009.
Pictures: Michael Meissner.

J is for Jazz

2008-12-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I apologize for not writing last week, but things have been really hectic.

With that note, I will write two blog posts today so that way, I keep up.

J is for Jazz.

Jazz for me is not just music, it's a way of thinking, a way of feeling, but a way of thinking.

I have been playing jazz for about almost 20 years, and I'm still learning new things.

I go to jazz jam sessions these days to keep on my toes. Unfortunately, there aren't that many live jazz jam sessions that you can just show up and play at in the Boston area, and you would think there were plenty of them, since Boston is known as a great music city.

The next jam session I hopefully plan on going to will be taking place on Sundays from 3 pm to 7 pm at The Continental in Saugus, MA. Unfortunately, they don't have a website.
There is a blues jam session in Cambridge at Tommy Doyle's and the website is www.tommydoyles.com .

Hope to see some people come out to support live music!

I is for Imagine

2008-11-26T04:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, I took a family census, and the word for this week is Imagine. I know that I have previously discussed about D is for Dream, but my husband assures me that Imagine is different.

Is it really? I suppose it could be. Dreams are when you can dream about something coming true, and Imagining is part of dreaming.

I know that this week, it is Thanksgiving, so I would like to take my readers on an imaginary trip.

I am living in England, close to Big Ben, I am playing jazz at my own night club somewhere in Soho, my son is going to college at some prestigious University where only a few can get in. My novel that I wrote for National Novels Writers Month www.nanowrimo.org has gotten published and better yet, is one of the New York Times Best Sellers list. This is how I make it, instead of working so hard, that I can't even see straight.

I also want to apologize to my readers, I didn't realize that Blogging should be done at least three to four times a week. I am new to this whole blogging thing, and come December, I will start blogging more times a week, and keep the alphabet theme going once a week.

Thanks for sticking with me, and I will ask you to imagine a better world. Let's hope it gets better and soon.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays to all

H is for Hectic Holidays

2008-11-18T16:18:00.000-08:00

So, the Holidays are coming around as soon as next week, (and I might decide to take a blog vacation, hmm, that's another idea), and I thought I would write about my Holidays that I celebrate.

First of all, I hope I don't get too many comments that just because I'm Jewish, I am not supposed to like Christmas, but I do like Christmas.

But we celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, we put up a Christmukkah tree, have a menorah, play driedle and have potato latkes.

I'm raising my son for both holidays, (and I have ever since he's been a baby), and it drives me crazy that every year that since the day after Halloween, Christmas is pushed in every direction, the media, the radio, and of course the web.

Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas, but they should talk about the other Holidays too, I mean promote your business people, oh and by the way, if you want to go shopping, check out my portal at http://www.marketamerica.com/phinnshop.

Oh yes, promised at last Girls Night Out on Twitter, my recipe for Potato Latkes

Need:
1 frying pan, canola oil (best), 4 good sized potatoes (red or russet is fine), 1 egg, 1 medium sized onion (red or white, depending on what you like), 2 tablespoons of flour, optional: garlic (minced in the jar is fine), seasonings to taste (salt and pepper).

Directions:
Mince finely all potatoes and onions together (blended is okay, but don't get too pulpy), put in a medium sized bowl, add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of flour (matzo meal is encouraged) and eyeball it to see if it will make it too lumpy or not, looser is not so good, make sure all binded together, add garlic and seasonings.
Heat oil in the frying pan, and put the potato mixture in the frying pan, and heat until golden brown, flip and do on the other side.
Serve hot with sour cream or apple sauce or both.

Have fun, and have a nice Holiday for yourselves

G is for GNO gives Back!

2008-11-11T02:24:00.001-08:00

If you are part of twitter, and you happen to be a woman, (or I guess men can join too, just know it's mostly ladies), you get on http://mommygossip-gno.blogspot.com and sign up for what's called #GNO or Girls Night Out. This event is usually fun, hectic, and talk about things (in short sentences) that are going on.

It usually happens every Tuesday night, and there is one tonight called GNO gives back. This way you can give back something.

Oh, believe me, my money is tight too, but there are other things you can do.

If you knit (and yes, I'm still new at it), you can make scarves for the homeless or blankets for sick children, or shawls for women going through a rough patch.

Just think about it.

What do you do?

Go to http://mommygossip-gno.blogspot.com and click on "Mr. Linky" you have to RSVP each time you do it, and you can promote your business, blog and whatever else.

Sounds great right? Okay, so I'll be there, see me under @giazzpet.

Follow me!

F is for Freedom

2008-11-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

I have not gotten very political here on my blog, as I don't exactly share the same views as the main stream media or my parents for that matter.

However, I do feel that today is a very important day to discuss FREEDOM.

So today, my topic is freedom.

Freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom to vote.

If you are over the age of 17, I hope you have registered and I hope that you take a minute out of your crazy hectic life and get off the internet for a few minutes and get out there to vote.

I'm not saying here who I am going to vote for, I am just trying to make a point that our forefathers (and foremothers too, hmm, why is that not a subject to take up), fought so hard for all of us to have this right.

If we vote, then we have a say. If we listen to all the media and the celebreties, and the news, and the social media, then we can say, okay, we have a winner...but the truth is that the voting here in the US doesn't really start until tomorrow, November 4th.

So, please take a moment of your time to get out there and vote, and then when all the votes are counted and accounted for, we will have the new President of the United States of America.

Let's hope we choose the right leader for our Nation Under G*d.

E is for Emergence and I've been tagged again

2008-10-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged and doing a lot of thinking about what my blog should be for this week, and I thought the subject should be about Emergence. So this will be a combination to add to everything, so that way I don't have to do two different blogs.

I think that for me, emergence is to push through difficult situations. To push through to whatever you put your mind to.

1.) When I was in college, the woodwind director basically told me that there was no such thing as jazz flute (which is obviously WRONG!), and that I had to audition for the Jazz Studies and do two different juries (which are basically performing for your teachers, very scary), one for classical music and one for jazz. I pushed through. I emerged into a pretty good jazz player, and even performed with the elite Small Jazz Ensemble (which was all the best student jazz players at that time, and believe you me, they were very good). So, I think I emerged from being just a classical flutist into doing what I love most, jazz.
2.) I emerged from my crazy dysfunctional family (and again, if my parents are reading this, I'm sorry to write about it, but it did really happen). I was so messed up from my parents trying to vie for my attention the wrong ways. I didn't have a clue as to how to love somebody, including the idea of unconditional love. I had to see many shrinks (sorry Psychiatrists), but the best one for me was the one I had in College, where I had to learn the 12 step program just to get over some of the stuff I went through. I emerged into a loving family of my own, and want to teach my son how to be a good person.
3.) I am emerging again now, from my every day job, into writing and blogging and marketing. I even just signed up for the National Novel Writers Month Contest http://www.nanowrimo.org. Where I am planning to write a book about the Spaghetti House that I lived in Cambridge, MA from 1996 to 1998. I can't even tell you how nervous I am, but proud of myself for doing it anyway. If you can donate some money to the cause, I would be forever grateful.
4.) I emerged from not having any job to learning about my other options. I learned about getting into business for myself, marketing myself and just networking with other people. If you are interested in learning about Market America please check out their site at http://www.marketamerica.com and if you don't like to sell, guess what, you are going to have to learn. You sell yourself everyday. You sell yourself to your kids, your spouse (Honey, can you please take out the trash?) You even sell movies that you've seen or restaurants you visited. It's all based on the same idea.
5.) I emerged from being a roomate at a crazy spaghetti party house, to being a grown up, to taking responsibilty for myself.
6.) I emerged from not knowing anything about Renaissance Faires, to performing in them, going from bars to the woods, very different.

So now, I get to tag you. It's fun, and easy. Just remember the rules. 6 things people don't know about you, and tag 6 other people from Twitter or Blogs, and then put a post here that you did the meme.

I have been tagged again by @SpookyGirl and her blog is http://spookiez.blogspot.com/2008/10/ive-been-tagged.html

People I'm tagging are:

@PinkOliveFamily her site is http://www.pinkoliveboutique.com (looks like they have some pretty cool stuff too!)
@BethComingUp her blog is http://whenicomeupforair.blogspot.com
@cosmicgirlndc her site is http://www.african-americanbrides.com (brides to be, definately check this out!)
@moonsanity her site is http://www.oldfashionedliving.com (which they have recipies and information to share!)
@MudslideMama her blog is http://travelingmamas.com (she was on #gno last week I believe, great advice)
@linneyshvede her blog is http://shortpumppreppy.blogspot.com

Have fun kids

D is for Dream

2008-10-22T05:32:00.000-07:00

I was trying to think of a subject for this week, and I thought of all the words that start with D.

Depression is a big one these days, with the media outlets and the big business boards staring us all in the face. We have to remember that we are all strong, we all have families that need to be taken care of.

The one thing that I have learned from The Secret http://www.thesecret.com is that the more you believe you are depressed, the more depressed you will be. We all have those "demons" inside of us, telling us we're not worthy, we're fat (women mostly), we're ugly, we're no good. Mine happens to come from years of my dad (and again, sorry dad if you're reading this) telling me these things. Maybe it's because he grew up in a very strict household, or maybe it's because I'm the first girl in his family, or maybe it's because he really didn't want children.

The point I'm trying to make here is that I had to re-learn about loving myself. I had to learn that it wasn't my fault. I had to learn to forgive my parents and try to learn to become more of myself.

That's when I started to Dream. I don't mean having dreams at night, although when I was younger, I had great dreams.

What is it about Dreams? They push you, they make you have goals.

Right now, my dream is to start running my own business, have my own car, have a house, see my son grow up to be big and strong, own a jazz club one day, but mostly, just to dream.

I guess that's why I fell in love with the Renaissance Faires. They bring a dream to life. They show children of all ages of the knights, the Queens, the mud beggars, the fairies, the stories. It makes it enchanted for all.

For those of you who live in New England, I will be performing next weekend at the NH Renaissance Faire, http://www.nhrenfaire.com so if you come, ask for Jass Phinn and Bumbly Phinn.

Let's all dream together, and get through these tough times.

C is for Creating

2008-10-15T09:37:00.001-07:00

To all of you who are following me, I have started an expiriment to do a letter of the week, and this is letter C week.

Also, I have to point out now that this entry in my blog would be considered a "Bloggerie" for those of you who are on Twitter, (http://twitter.com) would follow @bloggeries, who has a Blog listing of all blogs in US and Canada (but I'm not positive on the latter).

There is also buzz on Twitter that today is Blog for Poverty day, so here is my take on Poverty.

I too, was broke and had no money. My father (and sorry dad if you're reading this), decided that once I was 21, he kicked me out of the "house", paid for my first months rent, and that was it. I know what it is like to work hard for my money...I still do.

If you have no job, well, keep trying and learn new ways of marketing yourself. Get blogging about what you can do for a company, or learn about ways to make extra money on the side. My husband and I are learning everyday to do that. You can always temp, there are many companies that are always looking for a good temp, and hey it's only temporary, but it does add up on your resume. My personal favorite in Boston, MA area is Reardon Associates http://www.reardonassociates.com and you can also try Account Pro http://www.accountpro.com and last but not least try Robert Half at http://www.accounttemps.com and http://www.roberthalfinternational.com .

Try to cut back on things you don't absolutely need, and if you have kids, well, they will just have to learn on how to create things instead of buying things. That's even better when they create.

So, now I've come full circle on creating. You can create music, art, cross stitch, magic, knitting something from a ball of yarn, to creating a blog. Yes, you. The person reading this saying, well, I don't know what to write.

Just write. Something.

Create, it's what we're put here on earth to do. (Sorry, not trying to be religous here, just philosophical).

By the way, @americanheretic said on Twitter "How do you make money? You work for the Mint. How do you earn a living? You get a job. How do you make meaning? Start a business."

:P

I've been tagged

2008-10-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

If you are on twitter, http://twitter.com you can follow people, and they follow you, and now I'm up to 95 followers! You can tweet about silly things, post about websites, updating your blog, and there is even a girls night out once a week, if you are on http://www.twittermoms.com/ you too can sign up for girls night out if you follow @rogbark, and link to all the followers on twitter.

So now, I've been tagged by @Mom2dm, with her blog at http://mom2dm.blogspot.com/2008/10/ive-been-tagged.html who now has been nice enough to promote my blog.

So I now need to let you all know 6 things about me that you all don't know.

1) I'm a jazz flutist that has been playing for about almost 20 + years or so. I actually played my flute in the subways in Boston, MA area and used to leave my $1,400 (+) flute in the subway by itself (yes, not that great moment of time in my life)
2) I am a contractor working at a major company in Wakefield, MA and have been there over a year and a half, and at this point, I'm not sure if this is what I want to do the rest of my life...um, that would be NO.
3) I'm currently competing in 2 writing competitions on Live Journal http://www.LiveJournal.com under giazz_40 http://giazz-40.livejournal.com/profile on Live Journal Idol 5, and Brigit's Flame.
4) I'm not the cleanest person, I like to watch shows like Clean House, but don't exactly live in one. Sorry, I am just not a clean freak, and it drives everybody crazy, but I do clean...sometimes.
5) My dad left when I was 3 and my brother was 1 and a half, and divorced my mom, and then re married by the time I was 9, and then divorced her, and then re married again just before I got married to my husband, but didn't invite myself nor my brother. At the time, he was a Judge, (now he's retired) and he did invite another Judge and his wife (who I knew when I was working at the Courthouse at that time). I decided to rise above it, and give them a gift anyway.
6) My husband and I decided to have three separate weddings as well, we had a pagan ceremony in Maine, a Catholic ceremony with the Priest (and yes, I happen to be a nice Jewish girl who married a Catholic boy, and no I didn't convert), and then we had the Jewish ceremony with the Chuppah and Ketubah with the Rabbi. I actually have the picture of the Priest, the Judge and the Rabbi all at the bar.

So, now I can tag you, right? Why not, it's fun...if you don't want to, you don't have to but these are the rules (and no, I didn't make them up).

@ZenofJazz blog http://www.allthatsevil.net/

@SandraFoyt blog http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/

@SmallTownMommy blog http://www.smalltownmommyus.blogspot.com/

@DrMommy blog http://drmommyhealthtips.com/

@rogbark blog http://goodandcrazypeople.blogspot.com/

@knitonefortheroad blog http://knit1fortheroad.blogspot.com/

The Rules:
Now, if you’ve been tagged with the meme game from twitter, you must post 6 things no one knows about you on your BLOG. Then you have to tag 6 more people. (don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged.) Leave me a message letting me know that you’ve accepted the tag. Let me know when you’ve posted your list and make sure there’s a link back to my BLOG. http://www.giazzworld.blogspot.com Have fun!!!

B is for Blogging

2008-10-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Blogging we all know is not a new thing...it has been around for a few years now, but I, myself am very new to Blogging.

I find that you can Blog about anything. You can blog about your kids, your crafts, and your ideas.

Speaking of ideas, I thought maybe that B should be for Brainstorming. After all, brainstorming ideas up can create blogs on certain things.

If you have a Live Journal, http://www.livejournal.com then they give you a prompt every day, and you can write about what that prompt is. Or, if you feel like you can write about something, you can find http://www.ehow.com and write articles on what you are an expert on and get paid.

Wow, I have thought about it, and I figure, what the heck do I have to lose? I have just entered into a new frontier, a new thought pattern. I don't need to be stuck at a desk for 40 hours a week just getting a paycheck, I am much more than that.

I am strong, I can blog, and so can you.

So, what do you blog about?

A little experiment

2008-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Come on a journey with me, as I learn more and more about new ideas, new marketing techniques and just meeting new people.

So far, I have learned so much. Let me just say, that if I can do it, anyone can do it!

I think I am going to try a little experiment here on this blog and see how it works.

My son is now in pre-school at the Little School in North Reading, MA. http://ps.north-reading.k12.ma.us/Little/home.aspx?categoryID=1216 and they have show and tell every week, with the letters of the alphabet. This week is letter D. (And yes, we went through this last year too, and let me tell you finding an item(s) starting with I, X and Z are really interesting)

On that note, my experiment here will be A is for _____. So my A for this week is Admire.

I admire people that are just figuring out that there is more to life than a day job, a pay check and no life. I admire new business entrepeneurs learning what it takes to get out there and meet new people. I admire musicians, especially the ones that are still playing in bars just to play.

That's who I admire.

Who do you admire?

I will be featured on another blog

2008-09-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

http://amonthofstuff.com/

I found this twitter, and it's all make believe, but I will be featured on her blog coming October 4th, 2008. Check it out!

Edited today 10/1/08- I am featured today!

By the way, check out twittermoms, if you are on twitter and a mom, this is a fabulous marketing tool!

The website for twittermoms is http://twittermoms.ning.com/

Another one that I really like is http://www.divinecaroline.com

I am now up to 74 followers on twitter! Wow! That is seriously cool.

Thanks for following me here too!

My facebook badge

2008-09-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

http://

This is my facebook badge! Come join me on facebook!

Am I a sucker?

2008-09-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

I don't like to think that I am a sucker...in fact, I like to think that I'm pretty smart...make smart business moves, make smart investments.

Yet, I can't help wondering if some of the things I get involved with, make me a sucker. We already have so much going on right now, and now we want to add something else?
Wait, that costs more money? Oh no...we did it again...yet, I think that we weren't totally sucked into a new thing.
What am I talking about? Oh sorry, I thought you all were in my head...:(. We went to a "conference" where we got free dinner, and a free mp3 player (so far, so good), and we bought their website program for $50.00 (not a bad price), and we get to go to the conference on September 27th, 2008.

I'm talking about StoresOnline. I don't think it's a bad investment. In fact, I think it's a good investment, we can put our own products on the web.

After all, we are part of http://www.marketamerica.com/ and we really like that, as we've been in that for four years now, and really like the products, and yes, please check out the website at http://www.marketamerica.com/phinnshop we do have great products, and they have really healthy choices.

I still have to get the money together for the other BIG idea coming about and soon, and start promoting that. So far, we've been promoting the Winslow Shire Faire for The Winslow Farm Sanctuary in Norton, MA, and even some of our old friends working at KRF had heard about our little fair.

Almost ready to launch this big thing

2008-09-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I am almost ready to launch this big idea of mine...with support from my friends and my husband, I see no reason why not.

I understand it's a little crazy, but I feel that I'm ready for this change in my life, and to make my life better, I really need to do this.

I am sorry I am being a little vague here, I just don't want to get the idea stolen by someone else, and then I have nothing...I need to wait until it's registered and then I'll spill the beans...

I haven't even told my own mother...and thank G*d, not that I don't love her, but she can just be soooooo negative...(sorry mom if you are reading this).

I haven't told my father the retired Judge. (Oh I didn't mention I'm the judges kid did I? Whoops, sorry, but now that I have finally been released from that "prison", I feel so much freer these days).

Well, I promise to write about it and soon, but I did want to let you all know (for those that are actually following me) that I appreciate your support.

Wish me luck!

It's that time of the year again...funny story

2008-09-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

So welcome to September, time of leaves changing on the trees, time for kid(s) to go back to school, (oh man, where is that darn backpack again, did I even remember to write his name on the clothes he brought with him?), time for me to remember things.

Ah yes, fall is in the air, and make sure to check out The Connecticut Renaissance Festival http://www.ctfaire.com/connecticut_renaissance_festival/index.php - 9k -
and we can't forget the New England favorite, King Richard's Faire http://kingrichardsfaire.net/

But I do have a funny story to share with you all.

My loving husband went to the auto dealership to check the ABS light that was always coming on...turns out we need a new battery. (Great $$). Then his friend that works at the dealership ordered the wrong part. (He will remain nameless, to protect the innocent...lol) So, then my loving husband had to go to Avis Rent a Car, and get a rent a car...with one tiny problem... he needs to re-register his license with the DMV...(more $$$).

Did I mention, I am trying to get a business started, and now we have no $$$??? Now what....Oy vey, now I just have to wait...

Yes, my son is in Pre School at the E. Ethel Little school...I highly recommend North Reading, MA for a school system, they have done really well with my son!

Any other tips, just let me know, and happy fall to all.

Did I mention change was coming?

2008-08-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well kids, change is definately coming and soon! Somehow I get involved in crazy ideas once in a while, and now I am going to go for it!

I mean, why not! I have found some interesting information lately, and I'm here to share it with you as I go on this journey.

http://www.twitter.com/giazzpet This is my Twitter account, come follow me as I learn more and more about my journey.

http://www.renaissanceperformers.ning.com This is my own networking group of Renaissance Performers that I have created, with the most up to date information!

I also found http://www.startupnation.com, so if you have a start up, thinking about starting a business, this site has fabulous tools to use, with pod casts and more!

I am also on http://www.ning.com under a bunch of groups, and yes, you too can create your own network!

I am about to go on a new business venture, and have finally found a lawyer in the Cambridge area that is willing to work with me that won't cost me an arm, leg and my soul...I'm also on http://www.facebook.com under Gia Volterra de Saulnier, friend me if you like...I love networking!

Oh yes, and I have just learned how to knit, so for all you knitters out there or wanna be's check out http://www.ravelry.com , http://www.knitwitch.com .

Thanks for letting me let it all out here, it feels good to write about it!

More ideas coming from me

2008-08-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on ideas for fundraising, and came up with a world wide jazz jam session, but I'm not sure if this idea will work or not.

Also doing some research on another project, but I don't want to post about it yet, until I make sure that it is good to go...

(I love keeping you all in suspense)

I just signed up with Technorati today, and StumbleUpon, so I'm now pretty much connected on everything...

Wish me luck, and any thoughts are certainly appreciated

You can also find me @giazzpet on Twitter

Turning 40 this Saturday

2008-08-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

I suppose turning the big 40 isn't supposed to be a big deal. After all, many people have done it before and not complained.

I guess I'm doing a lot of soul searching these days to figure out what it is that I want to do.

So, happy birthday to all Leo's that are out there, I know I share my birthday with Madonna, (Happy Birthday Madonna) and I share it with the death anniversary of Elvis (yes, I know, he is still living in parts of TN...joke, people, joke)

I will hopefully be playing at the Bangkok Thai Paradise Restaurant in Salem, MA on Sunday night for their jazz jam. I can't wait.

Rochester Renaissance Faire for October of 2008

2008-08-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

I found out the other day through http://www.fairenews.com that The Rochester Renaissance Faire http://www.govenorsinn.com is having their very first Renaissance Faire, and that they would like us to perform for them!

So, that being said, my husband (stage name is Bumbly Phinn) and I will be performing for the Rochester Renaissance Faire for October 18th and October 19th.

As soon as I get the website, I will post it here. I believe that they are looking for vendors, so if you are a craftsman (or know of one) and would like to vend, please go to their website for more information.

There is also more Renaissance Groups on Yahoo! http://www.yahoo.com that I am also part of.

I forgot to put links on my prior posts, but I am learning very quickly on how to do that.

Bumbly and I will also be performing at The Rockport First Night, in Rockport, MA (this is his 12th year, and my 7th!), that website is http://www.newyearsrockporteve.com, so make your plans now!

Huzzah!

Also would like to give a special shout out to the Gladus, since it is their birthday coming up very soon, please check out their website at http://www.thebawdybuccaneers.com

By the way, mine is on the 16th of August, and yes, I do share it with the death anniversary of Elvis, lucky me.

Until next time, plug away...;)

Change is coming, I think...

2008-08-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

So change is coming, whether I want it to or not. I find out this week if they are continuing me at my day job (which I've been at for a year and a half).

I guess that turning the big 40 this August is making me re-think about what my true life goals really are.

I am lucky though, I guess that I will just roll with the punches as they come.

I have started writing the article for Pryates Way Magazine, and I hope that once I finish it, it will be ready for the next round of articles in the Fall/Winter Magazine.

I am starting to put together a media kit so I can start looking for Sponsors for the Winslow Shire Renaissance Faire for next June of 2009. (June 27th and June 28th).

If you would like more information on the farm or about the event, please do send a comment my way, and I will be glad to help.

Also, if you would like more information about nutritional supplements, I can also help you there as well.

Wish me luck on my new adventures, I will surely keep you all posted.

Sad news

2008-07-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

I just found out today that the Washington Fantasy Faire has been cancelled.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jul/14/permitting-reality-check-puts-a-halt-to-fantasy/

Although I personally have never been there, it must be frustrating for all parties involved.

I know what it takes to put on a small faire, I can't even imagine the amount of people that they have to notify.

Alas, there is always next year!

Big hugs to those in Washington...:(

Welcome to Giazzworld

2008-07-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to Giazzworld, my world on the big wide web.

My real name is Gia Volterra de Saulnier and I live in Massachusetts with my husband and my four year old.

Currently I am working full time as a contractor, but I also have a side business called Market America.

Market America is a one stop shopping site where you can customize what you want. The site is www.marketamerica.com/phinnshop

I also perform with my husband as a Renaissance Performer at the following Faires.

Winslow Shire Faire, June 28th and 29th of 2008 the website for that is: www.home.comcast.net/~bumblyphinn/site
Maine Renaissance Faire/Milbridge, ME July 26th and 27th of 2008 the website for that is: www.milbridgedays.com
NH Ren Faire (pending)

I have also created my own Renaissance Networking site called:
www.renaissanceperformers.ning.com

I also am on the following sites:
www.NERennies.com
www.renspace.com
www.livejournal.com
www.workitmom.com
www.cafemom.com
www.plaxopulse.com
www.twitter.com
www.ning.com
www.mombloggersclub.com
www.linkedin.com
www.facebook.com

I also have great contacts in jazz and blues music.

Nice to meet you out there.