Slightly Off Center

It's the second week of Holiday Market al fresco, and I've learned a few things from week one.

1. I need better shoes. I normally wear Birkenstocks and socks--yes, I'm that guy--or, in colder, wetter weather, Coleman hikers. Last week, even with the hikers, wool socks and a rubber floor mat in the back of the booth, my feet got cold. This week was also predicted freezing at set-up, so I knew I had to do something different.

As it happens, Bi-Mart's Black Friday (Starting Now!) flyer came out last week, and included winter boots for just $19.98. So I snaffled a pair of forty-two-dollar boots for less than half price.

My toes were very thankful.

2. I need another mask. Last week was cold and foggy all day. I normally take a mask for load-in, and a change of masks for the sale day, as between breath condensing and sweat, cloth masks get saturated and clammy by the time I'm set up. A dry mask, like a dry sweat-shirt or sweater, is a necessity to keep from getting chilled. Last week, however, it never warmed up, so selling mask was saturated by take-down, and if you've never tried to suck air through a wet mask, it ain't easy. So this week, I brought three.

As it happened, the sun came out this weekend, so though set-up was still cold and clammy, the sales mask stayed reasonably dry and aerate-able through the end. And I even managed to get the set-up mask almost dry, by clipping it to the sunniest part of my booth frame.

Still bringing all three next week.

3. My ten-foot booth canopy is not made for one person to use. The best way to open a so-called EZUp is to have two people on opposite corners, tugging away from each other. I've figured out that I can open it up by myself, not easily, by getting underneath and pushing up the center pole, basically bouncing the legs outward, and then getting outside to snap each of the corners into place. Lengthening the legs is easier two at a time, too, but still possible one by one.

The one thing that's hardest, though, is putting it back in its sleeve. The manufacturer wants us to take the canvas cover off between uses. None of us do, but the slip-cover is designed for the much skinnier, canvas-less frame. It has clips and zippers on both sides, but it's still almost impossible to get it on and zipped, even with two people. My 8x8' booth has a much simpler slip cover.

So I went to JoAnn Fabrics, bought two yards of rip-stop nylon--$7.99 a yard, less a 40% off coupon--and made my own slip cover. It's a little long, but it keeps everything safe when I slide it into the van at the end of the day.