You already know us as storytellers, but did you know that we’re also amateur carpenters? Emphasis on the word “amateur.”
Join us for our first “field trip” video!
Transcript for FraeLea Conversations #15
Frank: Alright. Six foot-four.
RaeLea: OK. Hi, I’m RaeLea and this is Frank, and welcome to This Old House.
Frank: Actually, I think that might be trademarked so we better not call it that.
RaeLea: You think so?
Frank: Yeah.
RaeLea: Ok, well how about welcome to FraeLea Conversations?
Frank: That’s better.
RaeLea: That’ll work.
Frank: That’s better. So where are we at? We are obviously on site somewhere.
RaeLea: Yea, yea, we are at RaeLea Massage Therapy.
Frank: Your massage therapy studio. So yeah we haven’t really practiced this. Can you tell how professional we are, as always. So, you haven’t really heard from us in about six weeks. As you can see we haven’t gotten any more professional at doing these videos in the time. Because, we have been spending our time doing what?
RaeLea: We have been constructing the massage studio for me.
Frank: A lot of people don’t know that you in a previous life were a massage therapist. A licensed massage therapist, at that.
RaeLea: Yes, yes.
Frank: Not an illegal massage therapist.
RaeLea: Not a masseuse
Frank: Not a masseuse, nothing in a darkened alley, or anything like that.
RaeLea: No red lights
Frank: No red lights. Maybe purple lights, because that’s your favorite color.
RaeLea: True.
Frank: So we decided to—
RaeLea: Tell them why—
Frank: Ok I will tell them why. So, we have been for the last two years living off over savings as we make an effort to get our writing career off the ground and our savings has been dwindling has you might expect during that time. And we haven’t gotten to the point where we are ready to pull the trigger on publishing the Ascending Mage series that we’re working on.
RaeLea: It’s close.
Frank: It’s close we’re getting close. So it dawned on us this year that the math doesn’t quite work out. Our burn rate verses what we were getting accomplished.
RaeLea: We do burn a lot.
Frank: We burn a lot. We love to build projects and all of that. So the decision was made that you would get your massage therapy license renewed.
RaeLea: that’s right
Frank: In the state of North Dakota.
RaeLea: That’s righ,t using my credentials from Washington State, North Dakota was able to use that, and I am now a licensed massage therapist for North Dakota.
Frank: And that lead to, one thing lead to another where had to rent space and we decided to set up a full-fledged business for it.
RaeLea: Right, right
Frank: And so what you see here a very partial glimpse of massage room and reception room is on the back side, where you see my fancy miter saw sitting out there. I had to show case that a little bit.
RaeLea: Well, Yeah
Frank: I am proud of the tool.
RaeLea: He loves that toy. I mean machine.
Frank: It is not a toy—
RaeLea: Tool.
Frank: Yeah exactly, but we have been working for the last five weeks now—
RaeLea: We have—
Frank: Remodeling this commercial space, in downtown Dickinson. Great location.
RaeLea: Yeah, it is!
Frank: And we will show some overlay photos too, I think, as we talk here and hopefully we don’t ramble too much longer. I guess the bottom line is we wanted to inform you, our loyal fans what we have been doing over the last month.
RaeLea: And why you haven’t seen us.
Frank: Why you have seen much of us and when we get done with this and you are in business, and taking clients.
RaeLea: Right
Frank: We’re very project-oriented squirrels so when the project Is done we are shifting gears back to writing. So, the plan is—you want to explain the plan, kind of what we are planning on doing?
RaeLea: Well, the plan is I will be working here, Frank will be working at home and hopefully this will give us another few years of being able to get our stories out.
Frank: Having a little cash flow to stop the bleed. You know so our savings does drain completely. All though it is getting close to that.
RaeLea: Well it doesn’t help that you insist on making it all upper-end.
Frank: Well you know, this has been her dream for a long time and I was resistant because I love having her at home. I love working with her and collaborating on the stories. Admittedly, it is a bit of an ego thing too. I feel a little bit of the traditional attitude of, you know, my wife is going to work from home, with me and that type of thing. So, it’s taken a little bit to get to the point where I have to admit that, ok we do need to have some income coming in while we are doing this. So, we are going to be, I am not embarrassed to admit, relying on your income while these initials books hopefully find an audience, and we recognize that they might not find an audience. In that case, we will have to keep on working and reevaluate.
RaeLea: Right.
Frank: So that the plan, you are going to be working here in downtown Dickinson, about a mile and a half from where we live in Dickinson, North Dakota.
RaeLea: It is a whopping three-minute commute.
Frank: That’s a hell of a commute there. But, I will be working from home and in between clients we will be collaborating and checking in with one another. You know, kinda continuing on the process
R, Right, that the plan anyway.
Frank: We signed a three-year lease with the place and we sunk a ton of money into it. So, fingers crossed that it will actually be profitable.
RaeLea: Oh, it will be. It will be.
Frank: Yeah. So, should we wrap this up?
RaeLea: Lets
Frank: Alright, so it’s not, This Old House. It is Fraelea Conversations and our website is…
RaeLea: FRhurt.com
Frank: Good Job.
RaeLea: Thanks.
Frank: Well, thanks again for joining us and we’ll catch you next time on whatever construction project that we’ll be doing.
RaeLea: No, no more construction projects.
Frank: Maybe next time this will be done. Alright, thanks again everyone.
RaeLea: Alright.