Musings from the Den

Opening Night is Tonight!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:03:30 GMT

Preview went well last night, had a small, but lively crowd, including some LJ folks. So far, costumes are holding up but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed through tonight.

Did have a couple of comments on the costumes that I take as compliments; One friend, whose husband made the chainmail coif worn by one of the knights, thought the gambeson and surcoat had come out of an SCA closet they looked so real. Score! They were dyed mattress pads w/ fake suede cloth edging to look like leather :). I didn't get time to talk to her very much but there was someone who said she also did costuming and had noticed the different fabrics in each of the priest's tunics and thought it fit for a large period household. Part of my reason for doing it, the other being the inablity to find enough fabric on one bolt, at the right price :). Then Rev L., our liason with St Mary's, asked what the director was going to do with the cope after the show. She was hoping to use it, it apparently looked that good :).

So feeling good going into opening night, and then a weekend to catch up with waaaay to many things. I suppose cleaning needs to be in there somewhere but I really want to dig out the embroidery. Belated B-day dinner will be Dim Sum on sunday but Himself surprised me with Sheridon's when I finally got home last night. Thanks Dear!

Murder! In the cathedral that is.....

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:18:30 GMT

Shilling for my show:

I'm the costumer for a show opening tomorrow: T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral. It is about the murder of Thomas Beckett and is being performed *in* St Mary's cathedral downtown. Which is just an awesome setting for this story! To highlight the timelessness of Beckett's story the director's vision was to span the centuries costume-wise (what do you mean I can't just put everyone in T-tunics?!?!?! :) ). I think it works tho, and if I do say so myself it has created some very effective imagery. More info on dates, times, etc. may be found here: http://blessedthomas.blogspot.com/

Here are a couple of pics of the costumes from the first costume check. Behind cut.....
First pic is the four knights that came to murder Beckett. No Himself is not in the show, he was standing in for one of the actors who couldn't be there so we could still see all the costumes together.

And yes, that is a man in tights. You think I would pass up the opportunity :)?

Second is the same four as the 'temptors' of Beckett in the first act. Yes, that is Devon in the lt blue shirt but we ended up switching it out to a red one. SCA-folk may recognize Logan Munro from the Champagne Players in the confederate uniform.

Then a few of the Women of Canterbury who are the chorus for the story

Note to self; need to be sure and get a pic of the cope and mitre.....

Come and see it :)!

Ratting out the Birthday Boy

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:42:57 GMT

renniemom and nottygypsy have already posted but I'm ratting out galactusprime to anyone who may have missed it:

It's his Birthday Today! And he is 50!

He didn't want a big fuss but what's a little post on LJ :).

And here is a pic in a costume folks may not have seen before:

They are growing them taller at the North Pole these days :).

Happy Birthday Dear!!!

For the house hunters

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:46:01 GMT

Quick post for the folks that are house hunting:

If you are looking for a house in the NE Johnson county area there is one in our neighborhood for sale. It was a foreclosure but, at least on the outside, is in very good shape. Haven't seen the inside so I don't know about it. I think this was a case of someone getting the house in the divorce but not being able to keep up the payments. 60th & Antioch. Faces 60th but driveway/parking is on the Antioch side. 3 BR, 1 BA, partially finished basement, drive-out 1-car garage, backyard w/privacy fence. I think it is listing for 85K.

And if anyone needs a *really* good home inspector I recommend this guy:
http://insideout-inspections.com/index.html

He has done several inspections for family and friends and everyone has been very happy. He is very thorough.

Good luck all!

Where's that darn list..........

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:18:26 GMT

Need to start making a list again, and prioritize it! The organizational device in the dining room has been accumulating 'stuff' (how does that happen?) again and is now over a foot deep. Measurements and fabric have finally come together for a lot of the show sooooo naturally, just as the temperatures drop, I need to be down in the sweat(NOT)shop to sew. I'm at faire this sunday and of course only have the HOT weather garb dug out of the closet. I love faire when it is cool but I will not be a happy camper in lt-weight linen and even lighter weight cotton. Need to find time to dig in the closet, and be sure something is wearable.

And I keep getting distracted with EGA temptations. Must. Resist. Shiney. Beads.

More details behind cut.... What is it about this time of year that gets so rushed? I am looking forward to faire, despite the hassles w/ race traffic. Hopefully I can catch the chessmatch this weekend. Managed to find a lot of the fabric, and trim I needed for the show at Hancock's yesterday. Went because I had a coupon that was going to expire, and found a bunch of the other stuff I was going to need on sale too. Timing is everything :). Got to root around in the Theater in the Park costume stash on tuesday and have a couple of pieces I think we will be able to use. Still some challenges to find tho.

Oh yeah, and I got stung by a bee while waiting for my TIIP contact! At first I thought it was a mosquito but it didn't react like a 'squito bite, in fact, what I now realize was the stinger, I at first thought was a splinter. Had swelling in two fingers and the back of my hand but it is going down now, just some redness and swelling on the finger that had the sting. Been years since I had a bee sting, hope this is not going to be my reaction to them now.

We are appliance shopping right now. Yes, in the middle of everything else. Realized earlier this year that all our major appliances are 17+ years and starting to show their age. Had the budget braced for all of them going out at once while I started research. Found that apparently now is a good time of the year for the best deals so we are going to start some serious looking. If we can get a good deal on a bundle may go with replacing at least 3 of them at once. Washer is probably the closest to going right now, fridge would be the hardest to do in a quick turn around as we need a very specific size. I would rather be shopping for fabric, or beads, or.....

And to all my LJ friends with four-footed members of your family; give them a hug. It is a rough season right now, several friends have lost one of these family members. My thoughts are with them.

Checking in midweek

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:13:16 GMT

Last week went so fast, this one is dragging. Finally hump day however!

Got a lot done over the weekend. EGA class was great, of course now I can't put the project down (a little sampler strawberry, to cute!). Also dug out the henna and I'm a redhead again. Went a little overboard, forgot I usually only use half a box.... Oh well, it will fade, but in the meantime, in the right light, I look like a new penny :).

No renfaire again this weekend, which may be a good thing. Seems to be some respiratory crude going through folks out there (so far not the cutelittlepiggy flu, so far as anyone knows) and I am just as happy to miss it. Himself has also managed to miss it, at least so far, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Speaking of the flu, had the first full read-through of the show I am costuming last night. That could be a big concern there. Folks were advised that the director would be a bit lenient about missed rehearsals if you are coming down with something. Stay home so you won't infect the rest of the cast! I've seen actors plough through while being really sick but this one doesn't sound like it would be so easy, not to mention how contagious it seems to be. Hope we can avoid it.

Hope to get to Coronation this weekend. Would be nice to see folks, altho it means I will be within reach of a certain Evil Baron (tm)................

Long weekend/short week

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:35:54 GMT

I really like that combination but the weekend is never long enough and this is always a bad week to be short. Summary behind cut.... Thanks to Her Wonderful Majesty, Himself and I got to be a part of a pelican ambush, despite not being able to make the Valor event last weekend. I sat down and seriously considered day tripping it on saturday but I'm just to old for that, and Valor is just a little outside of the time zone for that. Himself wrote the letter so we could beg the boon by proxy. Got it over to Y's on thursday for transport to the event. Somehow Her Maj managed to get the victim, errrr candidate, to bring the letter into court himself. We Got Him :)! Altho apparently I am now a dead woman :) :) :). Long over due tho. Sorry we had to miss it but I really appreciate TRM's still working a way to let us be a prt of it.

Saturday was errands with a trip to the farmer's market for bread and melon, sidelined briefly by a stop at a couple of garage sales. At one of these I scored a really cool basket, one of those largish ones (campbox size) with handles and lid. Still had the lid altho I will need to reattach it. At the same garage sale I notice some loose Legos in one of the large tubs-o-toys that had been put out. Asked the price, and then if I could dig them out. Over 20 mintues and two tubs later I had a couple plastic shopping bags full of Legos and small misc toys that had gotten to tedious to sort out. The price was a *steal*! Now Himself just has to finish sorting and assimilating with the rest of his stash.

Sunday was out to faire and working at T'gs. I can't remember an opening weekend where the weather was this nice. I think it rained a bit saturday morning but that just kept the dust down :). Mornings were cool and the highs were, maybe, in the low 80's by the end of the day. What a difference from the 110 degree openers. Lots of folks out and we stayed pretty busy but in talking with some other merchants business seems to be down for just about everyone. Didn't make it to a show but got restocked up on inscense sticks (I was almost out) and found some green pottery horns :).

Monday started with coffee on the deck in very foggy weather. Very unsual for this time of the year, but cool :). Next was piddling around with projects with reality shows on the tele in the background. Oh man, these are just like trainwrecks and soooo easy to get sucked into. Do these people realize how they are coming across?

No faire this weekend, unless I decide to go out sunday just to visit. Have a stitching class on saturday tho that I am looking forward to.

Need to get my priority list put together for the next couple of weeks. Have one deadline to shoot for next weekend but the others are, unfortunately, flexible. Don't give me flexible, it's is to easy for me to get distracted............ooooo shiney!

Hectic week

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:58:52 GMT

Been a hectic week here at work, and a couple of busy evenings this week. Was very nice to have the break on wednesday with everyone at the dress rehearsal for the Feast at renfaire however. Our bunch came prepared with a feast and were royal entertained by the talented cast. Notty and I also went prepared and avoided the swarm of mosquitos I'm sure were lying in wait :).

It looks like the weather is going to be pretty nice this weekend (a miracle around here on Labor Day weekend) so I will be out at faire on sunday. I missed the first weekend last year so I am looking forward to seeing everyone from the beginning this year. I was sitting hear at work to day realizing that I need to get prepped however! Our current faire routine is nothing like it used to be (or I would still be chained to the sewing maching this week) but I do need to get my costume our and checked and my usual bag of faire supplies (small cooler, allergy meds, doggie treats, sewing kit, etc.) packed out for the run.

The above will be the to-do list for saturday, with hopefully some quick errands that also need to be run. If I do get everything done then monday can be recovery and more work on the PR patterns. Those are the weekend priorities, at least for now :)!

Exhaust fans suck...

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:49:01 GMT

To the point that folks are having trouble getting out of our building :).

They have been working on the HVAC off and on for a couple of weeks, supposedly regular maintenance (the building is only a couple of years old!). This can result in 'interesting' air flow and our supposedly secure doors (you have to flash ID to get into the building and on certain floors) stand open on their own or a rush of air blows you back when you try and enter. Wellll, the air handlers just went down, unexpectedly, but the exhaust fans are still on. Professors are being blown down the hallway, the chair couldn't get one of the hallway doors open (and he is a pretty fit guy) to get out of the building, not to mention the supposedly hermetically sealed windows, are whistling. I'm having to pop my ears every couple of minutes. They are supposed to be working on the problem.

I soooo love working in a structure built by the guys who put in the lowest bid........

Weekend Update...

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:55:27 GMT

Stuck to the plan and made more progress, Woot! Cut for space...

Ran just a couple of errands saturday; to the OP farmer's market for fresh bread and a stop at Pensey's. The market was pretty crowded but I couldn't resist strolling around and picking up some homemade pasta and A Melon. The melon was spur of the moment but I'm very happy I got it, so refreshing. May need to try and go back next weekend for another it was that good :). Hit a couple of garage sales on the way home and managed to score some vintage (as in 20+ year old) lead miniatures for Purpledumbass at a real bargain. The sale had not originally looked that promising but the folks holding the sale had their corgi out with them so of course, I had to stop. Turned out to be a good idea :).

Got back into the sweat shop saturday afternoon and it was nice to be able to find things. Got all the fabrics pulled I thought I might need for the show, plus a oouple of extras. The one problem with having a sweatshop I can find things in tho is, well, that I find things, like unfinished projects :). Found two tunics for myself I had cutout and meant to get embroidered. These are now on The List. Also found the fabric to finish the window treatments with for the living room. This has been an ongoing project so I knuckled down and got the done. Woot!

Mornings were lovely this weekend so I was out on the deck both days. Saturday the hawk must have been in the nieghborhood as I only saw a few brave chickadees at the feeder, and the feeder still had food in it on sunday morning. Not quite cool enough to keep the insects completely at bay saturday AM but boy it was on sunday. It was so chilly I needed a lap rug :). Birds were out this time, including a little grey wren that seems to be hanging around and a downey woodpecker.

Sunday stayed cool enough I tackled some of the long overdue little jobs in the yard. Cleared out the volunteers on the north side of the house, the vines from part of the north fence, weeded and remulched part of the herb garden and got the bushes on the south side trimmed. Got the trimmings raked up but the hip said no more bending so I had to leave that for Himself to bag up late (thanks dear!). Got a few mosquito bites but not bad considering what it has been like the last couple of months.

Enjoyed a nap on sunday, then worked on the PR ornaments I need to get finished to be able to take pics. I'll post them when I get them done, promise.

Renfaire starts this weekend and the forecast is looking fairly decent. Of course my scale for this is almost any temperature under 85 degrees and rain less than a tropical torrent. Seen the torrent, and opening temps of 100+, don't want. Seriously, a decent temp for the first 3-day weekend is a life saver and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for folks. If it stays decent I may make it out for one day so next weekend's list is going to be tentative for a few days.

Class was interesting...

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:12:50 GMT

Altho not in all the ways I was anticipating. Note to self: remember that EGA is as much a social group as a stitching group and not everyone has the same skill levels.

Cut for probable lengthy rambling.....

I had an enthusiastic group of about 15 for my class last night, which was the latter half of the meeting. It was an informal seating arrangement, pretty much around the tables we have been at previously but I ended up kind of in the middle which worked pretty well for fielding questions. The class was for one of the bird ornaments, cardinal or dove. I had written instructions, extra patterns and folks dived right in, often without reading first :). Now I know why, on some of the kits/patterns I have gotten, there seem to be a lot of instructions that personally I found unneccessary. You have to write these things for the lowest common denominator. Sigh. Good to know as I am still thinking of developing these patterns for more use.

I think I did a pretty good job as an instructor tho. Gave the basic instructions as folks started with first cutting out the paper pattern, then the felt pieces. Seemed a good time to have their attention, before they started in with the sharp implement :). Had a few questions on starting, turning the corners and was able to direct them to the places on the handout. Did some hands-on demoing for others and there did not seem to be very many repeated questions or trouble spots. A couple actually got all the stitching done on one ornament so I think the time alloted was right. I had little bags of the ribbon for the hanger and little embelishments so that went fast at the end. Noone left the class early, which I count as a plus. I also did add an extra pattern for a simple stocking for anyone that wanted to practice again before tackling turning another corner. I think that pattern will get worked up with a handout too, muuuuuch better for beginners.

So it will be interesting to see if any of these show up at the monthly show and tells this winter......

Prepping the list for this weekend. I've decided to keep an actual hard copy to-do list, mostly not to loose track of the lower priority projects. This weekend has at least one errand, more work in the sweatshop (some sorting but otherwise small repairs to get out of the way), need to get out in the yard (that means dealing with the mosquitos, ugh), fun on the computer with patterns, and maybe a little knitting(muffler, the extent of my knitting ambitions at this time). I'm also starting to realize the house probably needs a list of it's own, but 99% of that would also need to be on the budget, which is not going to happen anytime soon. Oh well.

Looking forward to some cool mornings on the deck the weekend!

One of those priorities....and cool links.

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:36:15 GMT

Monthly EGA meeting that I said I would teach the penny rug class at is tonight. Last night I was able to leisurely double-check the bag and put the finishing touches on the recycled wool examples. Sooo nice not to be rushing around. Now here is hoping I haven't forgotten anything at the last minute :).

Working on the 'to do' list and priorities for this weekend. Some yard and house work may need to be in there, probably more time in the sweatshop too but hey, I can find things there now :).

And partially for keeping track of these myself. Over on SCA LJ these links were posted about a major redo of Dover Castle to the period of Henry II:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.16921

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/heritage_today_article.pdf

And then this one to another living history site in England (they have a lot :) ) this one also has a virtual tour:

http://www.barleyhall.org.uk/

http://www.r3.org/barley_hall/tour/24hall1.html

Sigh, I would really like to have a 16th century living history site around here....

It was good to have a plan...

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:46:10 GMT

And a list.

So far, the plan of a list with priorities is working! Resisted the temptation to run errands (ie: goof off) this weekend and got a ton of stuff DONE! Primarily that was the sweat shop. Didn't leave the house all weekend (except to enjoy the cool mornings on the deck with my coffee) and really hit the list. Made sure the PR class supplies were ready, then thought I would drift down to the sweat shop and check on what I had on-hand, fabric wise, for the show. Wellll, a little bit of time grew into the better part of two days but I have a basket full of fabric for consideration for the show, a bag and a half of trash (yes, I actually threw some fabric (scraps) away, and 3 bags/piles of fabric odds and ends to go to other folks for some specific projects. Pre-washed and dried a bunch of fabric that had just been sitting around, then got the new shelf up and tubs sorted and labeled so that now, GASP, I actually know where a few things are :). And the work space is useable, not piled with stuff waiting to get put away. Go Me :) :) :).

Oh yeah, and I have enough green linen, at least for now :). Once I got all the odd pieces I had in one place, there was enough to fill a whole tub! Altho naturally they are all each just a bit different shade of green. Unless I need more than 5 yards of one shade though, I'm pretty set for awhile :).

Other highlights behind the cut

It was good to know I already pretty much had the supplies together for the class on thursday, but then sunday I realized it would probably help if I also had a slightly simpler pattern for some of my possible students. Being the EGA (Embroiderer's Guild of America) folks tend to be pretty needle-wise but the corner turns on the bird patterns can be a little tricky so I've done up a quick stocking ornament that is all curves, no corners, for anyone that wants to start simply. Not going to do a detailed instruction sheet on this, just have some patterns sheets available. I played with some of the dyed wool for the ornaments too, and had to resist the temptation to sit and stitch on these all weekend, but I'm happy with what is coming out so far. Something to look forward too and will post pics when I have them.

And I cooked! Scones on saturday, crockpot roast and potatos on sunday, plus some quick baked chicken and rice to put together with frozen veggies and freeze for lunches. Woot!

Got some of the calls made for the EGA seminar but had trouble getting ahold of folks. Still doable this week, altho I have meetings for the show tonight and tomorrow. Do need to get the materials photocopied before the meeting thursday (making a new list....).

And finally, sunday evening, got a little time to play with ETtY's blackwork patterns. Always fun working on the laptop with a smallish black and white cat trying to take up more than her share of the lap..... :).

Hands hurt today, not sure exactly why. I didn't do that much stitching at one time but it could just be all the grabbing/holding/folding/lifting from getting the sweatshop organize. Note to self; start using the muscle rub *before* it starts hurting.

And for Hdsgrl, some pics of the penny rug ornaments I've designed:

The cardinal and holly were my first patterns, Dove was developed from the cardinal pattern. The cat was specifically for a friend who has greys like our Murf. The little wren is one of the more recent, and probably my favorite, alltho it is a little tricky to stitch.

Now to work on the list for this week..........

I haz a list..............

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:13:22 GMT

Oh brother do I have a list! Put one together earlier this week, then kept thinking of things to add, and add, and add. You see, I am a handicraft junkie, especially historic handicrafts. Nothing I like better than trolling through books, craft shows or the internet looking for a really cool project someone has done or a new historical tidbit about some (probably) very esoteric bit of textile history. I always have a new technique or project I want to do, lots of them, to many of them.

Cut 'cause this may get long and I'm polite......

Then I realized that what works for me is not so much having a list, as having some priorities to the list. I will always have things for the list, just need a reminder that they don't all have to been done right now, but some do and they need to be highlighted. Especially at this time of the year!

Another thing I am finding, with my advancing years, is I need to spread the type of projects out. Scratched the knitting itch the last couple of weeks, and found new tendonitis tendencies in my hands. Note to self; spread out the next knitting project. Already know I can't do the costume sewing pushes like I used too, especially for the type of costuming I tend to do there is to much grab/pulling/holding of the fabric and there go the hands. Note to self2: remember this for the current play.

So, the list earlier this week helped in that it started sorting out the priorities. Putting all the distractions aside I was able to finish off both the tabards in just a little over two nights and they are on their way to the event this weekend for delivery even as I type. Woot! two things off the list :).

Priorities for this weekend: the EGA class and seminar.
Several months ago I volunteered to do a little class at the monthly EGA meeting on making a penny rug christmas ornaments. This is not as fancy as it sounds, just doing blanket stitch around a felt shape :). Was introduced to the penny rug technique several years ago at another class during an EGA meeting and PR turned out to be one of those techniques that really spoke to me. Did a green man hanging banner for a friend, and discovered all the lovely hand-dyed wools out there for the rug hooking enthusiasts. Oh yeah, twist my arm and make me play with fabric. Along the way I got the idea to 'rescue' old wool suit coats from thrift stores, age them with a little brown dye and hot water (takes the modern edge of the colors), and use these wools for the ornments. Had the rescued wool but hadn't done much with it so the idea was that if I committed to the class, it would make me get this project going. And it has worked! Did the dyeing over the last couple of weeks and have several lovely pieces of wool to cut and piece.
So for the class I have prepped patterns and instructions for two ornaments (cardinal and dove) and kits of craft felt, needles, beads and ribbon for hanging. PRIORITY #1 for this weekends to-do list is to lay all this out and be absolutely sure everything is there, make a list of anything I need to pick up/finish this week, and get it all in one bag ready for the class. Very doable, especially over a weekend.

PRIORITY #2 is to make a few calls to some of the EGA folks to finalize a few committee heads. Getting that done this weekend means I can then have time to photocopy and assemble any materials I would need to take to them at the meeting next thursday.

Those are the two MUST DO items on this weekends list. I may have a costume meeting for the play but that is not scheduled yet and not urgent. On the secondary priority list, again in no particular order:

Clean/sort out sweat shop (in prep for a lot of things, and just because it's that time of year.....)

Get ETtY's patterns entered into PC Stitch

Check Himself's doublet pattern to be sure it is still working

Make myself a new every-day bag (current one is getting overloaded, have to make myself streamline)

Finish design for blackwork coif (while avoiding pretty pictures, going to be hard)

Sorting through the sweat-shop and playing with PC Stitch are the most likely to happen as both are flexible and actually can be very relaxing.

So I have a plan for the weekend, hope it goes smoothly!

Rushed..............

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:00:54 GMT

What the heck happened to my mellow summer ?!?!?

School is back with a vengance, first exam coming up for the med students next week. Grad students had orientation today, and seminar program starts in two weeks but I've only heard from one of the first 3 speakers. Hello, need to make plane reservations!!!

On the home front, planning has started for both the EGA seminar and the show. Seminar is not until 2011 but lots of committee positions to get in place now. Show is in November but I like being able to get started on the costume planning, and fabric shopping early so both have been kicked off.

Lots of other odds and ends sitting around to be done so I am borrowing a page from rougewench and starting a to-do list here. Hopefully this will help me stay focused on what needs to get done, as opposed to what is waaay to easy to get distracted into doing: looking at pretty pictures of embroidery for research and playing with shiney beads. List behind cut

In no particular order:

embroider tabard for SCA vigil project

Sew and hem second tabard for same

Finalize class handout for EGA meeting next week

Prep supply kits for same

Cut out and sew 'primitive' PR ornaments in time for EGA class (part of demo)

CALL EGA folks on committees

Clean/sort out sweat shop (in prep for a lot of things, and just because it's that time of year.....

Get ETtY's patterns entered into PC Stitch

Check Himself's doublet pattern to be sure it is still working

Costume meeting with AS for the show.

Make myself a new every-day bag (current one is getting overloaded, have to make myself streamline)

Finish design for blackwork coif (while avoiding pretty pictures, going to be hard)

And whatever I can get done with in regards to cleaning the house

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that should get me started...........

I can haz corn pads..........

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:16:32 GMT

Not that I have any corns, yet, but I did get a splinter taken out of the bottom of my foot yesterday and the doc recommended them for a couple of days.

The splinter has been there for awhile. Couldn't get it out, looked like just a spec left when I first got it, and tried to remove, so I figured it would eventually work it's way out. That was in May. Wasn't much of a problem in June and July, but this month I was finally trying to get back to walking, which meant wearing shoes with better arch supports (and firmer soles) than my crocs flats. Hmmm, that nagging little pain in the bottom of the foot was getting worse.

Tried to dig for it again, soaked it, scraped off the small callous that had developed, no luck so I gave in and called the doc. Fortunately I got in with one of my favorites. She wanted to be sure it wasn't something like a plantar's wart but I assured her it wasn't. Ok, time to numb up the spot. OW! That darn stuff burns!!! So anyway she sliced of the callous, found a small speck, latched onto it with her tweezers, and pulled out a 1/3 in long splinter that had gone straight into the foot! No wonder it hurt when I walked!!! She thought it was a pretty big splinter but having taken larger ones out of various animals at the farm, and myself, I wasn't so impressed :).

No pain last night, uncomfortable this morning but the aforementioned corn pad is helping. Probably take it a little easy today and tomorrow but hopefully should be cleared up soon then, back to walking!

Probably more than anyone really wanted to know with their morning coffee :).

Blink

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:28:05 GMT

What happened to summer? I blinked and missed it. It was the end of July, August stretched ahead, a few more weeks to take it easy but Nooooo: I forgot about med school starting, sigh.

For some reason I decided at the last minute to take a day of vacation the last day of July and boy am I glad I did. The weather was perfect! Enjoyed coffee on the deck, lunch with a friend and some leisurely time to run errands so they weren't all crammed into that saturday. Had a family event on saturday, got back to work monday and everything hit. All of a sudden folks have remembered they have to get some things done for the class that started, oh, that day! Not to mention it was time to start the seminar and student day prep. So work is now pretty much back up to normal speed, and then some.

On the home front I have been continuing to try and get the accumulating stash organized, and have managed to hang onto some of the progress made so far while still putting some new projects in the pipeline. Oh what I could do with a whole week off and nothing else scheduled!

Cutting the rest for length: the projects....... it can never be just one of course: I'm teaching a penny rug ornament class for EGA this month. Deliberately signed up for it as I knew it would get me off my butt and finally working up the patterns I have for the ornaments, and making some 'primitive' ones out of the wool I'm recyling from old thrift-store coats. This meant 'washing' the wool in a bit of brown dye to tone down the modern hues. Actually worked pretty well so now I have a pile of wool to play with. Pattern handouts are done too. Just need to tweak the modern-felt examples and work up some from the recycled wool. Woot!

So naturally in the middle of this I managed to find a great baragin (as in a *steal*) on a really really nice needlework frame on eBay. Here is the original manufacturor: http://www.hearthsidecraftworks.com/ Beautiful wooden frames and one style in particular that is adjustable (enough for my height), fits either side of the recliner and leave room for the cats on the lap. It is perfect for the blackwork coif pattern I have had in development. So now that I have the frame I need to make the final decisions on the design and get the pattern marked up. This meant pulling out the coif research to double check pattern layouts, etc.. Always fun trolling through the notes but not that much time to dawdle around right now.

And then, I'm knitting. Note I have not said I am taking up knitting. As many of you know, if I started knitting my mom would make me knit my own socks. Nope, this was a freebie pattern at Micheals that a friend asked me to pick up copies of for a knitting group at her work. The patterns happened to be right next to some pretty pretty fall colored yarn and the rest is history. I have to admit I was kind of curious if I could do this too. I did some basic knitting probably 30 years ago (A Dr. Who scarf :) ) but this was a bit different. The pattern said it was for beginners soooo, I gave it a try. Took some finagling, and starting the thing about 5 times but I'm over half-way done now, so far so good. I know there are a couple of errors where I didn't get the stitch count right, and they may be more noticeable once it all comes off the needles but I think I will be able to live with them :).

EGA seminar: I'm the chairman for our regional seminar here in KC in 2011. Yeah, didn't say No fast enough. Site is locked in, teacher letters sent out, need to get my committee rounded up now. That means phone and email time, lots of it, to be sure communication is clear. Once all that is in place I'm not to worried, I will be able to delegate, just need to get the ducks in place.

And then, Art called. Sigh. This is a director for local community theater that I have worked with before. He is doing T.S. Eliot's Murder at the Catherdral in November and asked me to coordinate the costumes. I've said No to Art before but, this one I just couldn't. I have gotten smarter in my old age and have already lined up someone I know I work well with to co-coordinate with me soooo, hopefully the load will not be to overwhelming.

That's all for now!

Any golfers out there?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:26:53 GMT

The American Junior Golf Assoc is looking for someone who is CPR-certified to be their first-aid station at their gold tournament next week (starts sunday and runs through thursday) here in the Kansas City area. They offer polo shirt, hat, meals, and plenty of golf watching to someone who is interested. Some funds are available for a stipend but being non-profit, they are first looking for volunteers.

If you or someone you know are interested, and qualified, drop me an email.

Family weekend

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:55:33 GMT

The wedding went off pretty much without a hitch. The bride was nervous, clung to her dad's arm down the aisle but seemed to get her feet back under her once she arrived. It was a comfy sized group in attendance, who pretty much all came to the reception/dinner afterwards. There was a dance floor, what was mostly used by the very very young kids (2 - 6 yrs) to begin with. A mixed older crowd joined them after dinner.

I can now post the pic of the wedding dress:
This was at the final fitting a week ago sunday, she was a little excited :)> Her hair was done up in a bouffant for the wedding, I think I like this a little better. Perfect dress for her, she was a fairy princess!

On the home front I FINALLY found new cabinet handles for the kitchen, they arrived and Himself got them all installed this weekend. This has been an ongoing process to update the kitchen. It had good 'bones', but yellow plaid wallpaper and old, dark colonial style handles. It proved a bigger job than I thought to find new, simpler handles, as the drill holes for the old ones were a slightly unusual size and we really didn't want to redrill over 30 cabinets and drawers to fit new ones. They make a big difference in the loook of the kitchen. I suppose that eventually new counter tops would be nice but I think the floor may demand attention before then: it is linoleum, in two pieces, and starting to come up in at least one spot. Also up for consideration, what with the new handles, is a new light fixture. Why is it a redecorating job never seems to be done :).

Shilling for my mother....

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:48:36 GMT

Anyone in the KC area looking for a flute, recorder, or possibly piano teacher?

My mother used to teach all of the above before she moved to KC and in with my sister and brother-in-law last fall. Move is going well, everyone getting along fine, but she finds she misses teaching. Rennies would probably recognize her, she has been playing a couple of weekends each year with her recorder group (Carnegie Consort).

If anyone is interested just let me know. She is in JO county, near Wardparkway Shopping Ctr.

A little catching up.....

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:31:48 GMT

Holiday weekend was pretty laid back. We had Ternon's memorial on friday. It was at the renfaire site and a lot of folks I had not seen for years were there. There were tears but it was good to see everyone and remember.

And I had found out the week before we had lost another old family friend, actually a contemporary of my folks. He and my dad had met while working at a Y camp in the summers and later banded together with some other former counselars to get the camp restarted in the 80's. He was in my folks wedding, and attended ours, writing about it later in his newspaper column. He was an MD but had always had an itch to write so in the 80's switched to teaching and writing. Had a very successful series of western novels and keep going to the end. He was at a writer's conference when he had a stroke and then passed the next week. I'm glad it was relatively quick, altho I know his family misses him.

We did not take advantage of the weather last weekend but pretty much lazed around the house on sat. and sun. It was nice to have Himself home without a lot to do on the schedule. I did run some errands and finished the alterations on niece/goddaughters wedding dress. She and her mom came over sunday for the final fitting and after one tweak, it was done, so they took it home with them. Wedding is this saturday. I'm taking an emergency sewing kit with me just-in-case :).

And news from my youngest sister: we are related to royalty! details behind cut... Youger sis' current obession is geneology. It started with scrapbooking and I must say, she has done a very good job of ferreting out our family history and then doing some nice layouts with the information. She was a journalism major and later worked for Hallmark so she has the research and writing skills for a pro. She had already tracked down the family tree that I was able to find the Mayflower passengers on, and also found information on the Norwegian branch, which had all just been a rumor. Her focus currently is our maternal grandfather's branch. We knew there were Quakers a generation or two back on this line (yes, Quakers :) ) and she found a source that took them back to Nantucket in the early 17th Century, then to England and back from there. Turned out an ancestor had been killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury (1471, major turning point in the War of the Roses). He had been on the loosing side, which meant the family fortunes went a little downhill after the battle. Before that they had been doing very well, since this ancestor was the 4X great grandson of Edward I! Yup, that one :). Turns out EI is my 20X great grandfather! Which also means the relative lost at Tewkesbury was on the Lancaster/Red rose side. Darn, I had always leaned toward the Yorkist, had a fondness for Richard III :). This family tree has been tons of fun for me, the history major, not to mention a bit of an anglophile, to poke around in. John Hawkins is also in there, but I think he is more correctly a 11X great uncle, sis needs to check on this part. Yup, ceplionhearth and I are related :).

Niece's wedding is this weekend, then need to get another sewing project done. After that I have a couple of embroidery projects I want to *finally* get drawn out and started. Forecast looks like summer is settling in so a good time to stay indoors with the A/C.

Finally; coffee on the deck!

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:07:33 GMT

So sunday I finally got to enjoy morning coffee on the deck for the first time in a long time. A combination of weather, schedule and health had meant no deck time for over a month. I enjoyed it :).

I was another renfaire widow this weekend while Himself was down at White Hart with the LMC. I was really worried about folks in the heat on saturday but it appears all were smart enough to take precautions and survived. The front that blew throw the area saturday night also cooled them down and it sounds like sunday was a lot more enjoyable for everyone.

Heat did not stop Himself from shopping however and on saturday he found me a lovely surprise gift at one of the crafters; a copper glazed raku pot decorated with gingko leaves. Does he know me or what :). It is really very lovely and I think calls for reorganizing the mantle to properly display it.

Otherwise the weekend was quiet. Ran errands on saturday with the houself, found a good sale on something I needed at JoAnns (like, when isn't there going to be something there I need) and then a small, but good score, at a thrift store. Almost thought one of our favorites had moved further out down the road but it is actually a few blocks closer, reopens Jul 11. Sunday I never went out of the house (except to enjoy the back deck :) ) and spent the whole day doing laundry and trying to get all the piles of misc. crap that build-up at this time of year under control. Didn't do to bad a job if I do say so myself. The dining room table is still full of boxes, but I know what is in them now :). Definitely need to organize a bunch of stuff for eBay soon though.

The last week has been rough for a couple of losses, and not the ones in the headlines. Cut for length.....
Every one was home, starting laundry but still feeling the glow from Lilies when we got word that had lost one of the founding members of our Barony: Sir Ternon de Caerleon. Ternon had not been playing SCA very much for several years but thanks to the online forums had kept in touch with a lot of folks. He was one of the fighters I watched at my first renfaire, and I also watched him fight in our first principality tournament, and become Calontir's first prince. Several years after that we were baronial officers together. Folks have been telling a lot of great stories (like the time he rode his bike to Pennsic, got injured and couldn't ride it home, so it was duct taped to the back of the Vatavian bus...) and I expect more at the memorial on friday. It will be a sad time, remembering the loss, but a good time for memories.

This morning I had email from my sister that an old friend of my father's had passed away. Don Coldsmith was in my folks wedding, and attended ours. He was a family Doctor in Emporia (graduate of KUMC) but retired in the mid-eighties to follow a life-long dream of writing westerns. He was successful at this and was at a writer's conference in OKC the weekend before last when he suffered a stroke and passed away last week. Don's kids were all girls and about the same ages as my sisters and I so we all hung out together a lot as kids when the adults got together. They had horses, which I was quite envious of :), and later bought my second horse, an Appaloosa mare, from them. We went trailriding in the Flint Hills with them at the Y camp my folks had first met at, and both my Dad and Don had been a part of getting it reenergized in the late 80's. Don did a lot of public speaking, especially on American Indian culture, and middle-sis and I were able to suprise him when he spoke here at KUMC several years ago. The last time I talked with Don was when I called to tell him we had lost my father.

Sigh, as Bette Davis said; growing old is not for sissies..

I need a set of gills.......

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:12:00 GMT

It is way to hot and still way to humid here right now, a set of gills would come in handy so I could, oh, breath normally!!!!

Heat advisory in effect through wednesday. Fortunately last week was not quite this hot. Close, but not quite as hot. And we were camping in it :). I was a wouse however, what with being sick the week before Lilies, so we did not stay out on site more than two nights in a row until the last two. Probably just as well, the heat plus humidity was really dragging.

Despite the above, and a bit of rain, Lilies was still fun. Always good to see folks we don't get to see except at this time of year (like our camping neighbors from Outlands). We opted not to cook and went to the food court for meals. Twist my arm and make me eat brisket daily (one of the food vendors does BBQ :) )! Didn't get over to the New Market area because of the heat and am disappointed about that, heard there were some new merchants there. Hope they did better than we did in Old Market, it was sssllloooowww. Talked with some of the other merchants and they say this has been the trend this year, most of the regulars who do other shows say their business has been down 35-50% depending on the show. We were really slow but then I'm kind of a small niche market (late period embroidery patterns).

The annual Lilies daquiri party was held as usual late saturday afternoon. It was HOT so we went light on the rum to increase the amount of cool strawberry 'slushies' folks could enjoy, and still walk :). Had a nice time with the folks that drifted by.

Himself has become a master a packing tetris with the two cars so we were home and unloaded by 2:30 pm. Still have at least one load of laundry though and several loads of things to run through the air cycle in the dryer to be sure all the dampness is out before they get packed away for next time.

Still frustrating that I can't get around as much as I would like to at Lilies, balance is still off when it comes to negotiating uneven ground, especially in the dark. But I'd rather be at Lilies with limited mobility than not at all!

Update

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:56:22 GMT

Behind cut, no gory details, good news, mostly for my records

Love my doc, she was able to work me in yesterday and quickly diagnosed a secondary infection, probably bacterial soooo, big honking bottle of antibiotics and a follow-up appt for this morning. If the pills weren't working by then apparently we were going to IV. But they worked! and fast!!! Fever was the lowest it had been in daaays when I went to bed, and still there in the morning and visible improvement in the other area. I am on the road to recovery! But still running an occasional low-grade fever and breaking out into a sweat with not much exertion. Doc said there were somethings needing to work out of the system but she was happy with the results so far so no third appt. Felt like my brain started coming back today, I could actually think in sentences, but no energy. This is going to be a problem for Lilies and we may need to replot our schedule tonight. I HAVE to be there thursday for setup and friday for early merchant check=in. Just not to sure how many nights I will be able to stay.

Better news: I've lost 17 pounds through all of this ! I know a lot was probably water, and will go back on, but hoping I can keep some of it off. Stomach is better but not much real appetite yet so, small portions..

And thanks everyone for their kind wishes!

Someone get the name of that truck...

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:14:14 GMT

Had fever and chills last wednesday, cycle tapered off slowly through thrusday, back at work friday with some chills. Much better saturday am, almost had appetite back, mid-afternoon; Boom! There came that truck again. Cycling through chills/fever/sweating since saturday afternoon. Got a little sleep last night and dragged myself to work (the only reason I am posting) so I would be closer to the Dr Office for the urgent-care appt I called for as soon as they opened. Earliest they could get me in was 1 pm. They did suggest the ER but it would probably take longer there. Sigh. I don't need this right now!!!!!