Who would have thought that the high tree pollen count would be more of a detterent to walking the pup than say the icy streets of winter or the pouring rain? I'll take an umbrella and golloshes over not being able to breathe after the walk. The past two evenings I've used a bandanna over my nose and mouth during the walk to help keep down the pollen from entering my system through breathing. It's not foolproof, but it helps. Yes, I realize that a good dust mask would likely be more effective, but the bandanna is easily located. I forgot it this morning and suffered a very scratchy throat and irritated eyes. Of course the bandanna does nothing for the irritated eyes, and I joked with Mom on the phone last night that I should wear swim goggles while walking outside.
Therefore I believe I have 4 possible paths to follow:

1. I could make a Steampunk walking outfit so the gas mask or goggles and bandanna look a bit less out of place. I'm thinking one of the adventurere outfits with tall boots, jodpher like pants, wide belt, white shirt, jacket, goggles and mask. It might be a bit extreme for walking the dog twice a day, but darn stylish, right?

2. I need to acquire one of those nice large Victorian straw hats and make a bee-like veil, only using HEPA filter material. I could make a couple of flowy day dresses to wear with a vintage looking beekeepers hat and be exceptional stylish during the walks, and far less likely to fog up as well.

3. Suck it up and take more drugs/eyedrops more often.

4. Pray that the pollen season is over soon, at least the stuff that bothers me. Stupid nature.

I know, I need to appropriate this set of TankGirl's headgear:


bleargh.

Otherwise I had a lovely weekend locked safe in my bubble of purified air in the house. I did some embroidery, and playing with a new wiki on the computer, not to mention the well deserved nap, and lots of tissues in use thanks to the few times I ventured outside into the cruel pollinated world.

Hooray rain, at least for now.

Historical Masquerade awards and honorable mentions that I can recall.
Update 5/14: bauhausfrau  x-posted the results to her journal. Update below in italics...

Novices:
Best beading- Salome's Sins -Excellence in Beading, Workmanship
Underpinnings- Lady on the Town -Best Supporting Role for Underpinnings, Workmanship
Wig craft- A Hunting and Miss Gideon -Exceptional Wig Craft, Workmanship
Good catch- Miss Gideon -Honorable Mention- Good Catch, Presentation
Fork pleating- Winter Evening Affair -Excellence in Fork Pleating
Best use of couching- Eleanor de Toledo -Excellence in Couching
Presentation- Diamond Fairy -actually Best in Class for Documentation
Presentation- Madame Guillotine- Best in Class for Presentation

Journeymen:
Cascade pleating- Longing Glance -Excellence in Cascade Pleating, Workmanship
workmanship(?)- Where's Watson? -Best in Class, Workmanship
English Court Dress- Best Costuming for the Theater (no pictures, they had changed), Workmanship
Betsy and Tacy- Excellence in Hand Detailing, Workmanship

Best in Class, Presentation- Where's Watson?
Best Period Manners, Presentation- A Longing Glance
Best Characterizations, Presentation- Betsy and Tacy.

Master:
Most Compelling/Presentation- Anne, Uncrowned - Most Compelling, Presentation
Best Pants- Beautiful People -We Like Your Pants, Workmanship
Trimming- Walk in the Park -Exceptional Frills and Furbelows, Workmanship
Fit- Vogue Pattern and Masquerade Ball, I think
Honorable Mention, Documentation- Dior for Vogue 1959
For Her Bonney Coat, Workmanship- Killer B's
Best in Class, Presentation- Killer B's

I remember a tie for Best in Show between the Diamond Fairy and someone else (perhaps Dior by Vogue), but I'm honestly not sure.

Indeed there was a tie for Best in Show between Dior by Vogue, 1959 and the Diamond Fairy.
There was also a Best in Show-Documentation for Notes on America's Favorite Pastime.

Castle Blood gave an award for theme to Madame Guillotine, among others. The Killer B's also got something that I can't recall. I thought there was a Best in Show for each category in addition to the overalls, but I just remember the elements that were highlighted.

Are the awards posted anywhere, or is that asking for too much? Does anyone else recall other specifics my addled brain forgot?

Sunday of CC27 was fun, even if I didn't get there until 1pm, I didn't leave until almost 11pm, so $4/hr of enjoyment.

For dinner I was graced with the wonderful presence of: silverstah , chargirlgenius , trystbat , sarahbellem , demode , seekatesew , lindseyerin37 , angldst (briefly- she was packing to go), jubilima , and of course the Supreme Court Judge of costume fashion, attack_laurel . (Oh, and since I was taking notes, I got tasked to post this list of impressive women.)

I was lazy and put on my super-bright pink wig with some pink Roman and went in that. I got a Hall Costume ribbon at the registration table, which was a bit surprising, and yet I forgot to get someone to take a good picture of me in it. I changed after dinner into the Snow white wrap dress, but again forgot to photo myself. Eh, I was there to observe, not be observed (as much as the pink wig screamed LOOK AT ME!)

I did get some fun time really hanging out with silverstah  and chargirlgenius  in their fabulous 15th Century gowns, which was a refreshing change from SCA event. They, obviously looked gorgeous. I had a fun visit with kass_rants  at the Reconstructing History booth, chatting and being silly, even if I did get to give nq3x  a bit of a shock in saying hi. (hee hee!) I also got to see Drea and stanci and chat with them some, although apparently it was too late to catch Drea in costume.

Some observations:
-CostumeCon doesn't seem to be really suitable for daytripping. Take note all ye newbies like me who might be local to the next one, it was fun but is obviously making for a late night, and I gotta work tomorrow (eep! today)
-It''s okay to pack hand projects, as there was a lot of sitting and chatting that could have been good embroidery time.
-Posting of schedules online would be key to letting local folks know the value of full attendance.

And now that my set of photos on Flickr are done loading, I'm off to bed. I just wish they were better in quality, as I hate my flash and have a crappy zoom. Ah well, fun was had.

Seriously folks. Is there a schedule available anywhere? I've combed the site, and there are parties in the ConSuite mentioned, but aside from the Sunday designation for the Historical Masq, and that one party starts after the Masquerade or 10pm, I got nothing.

Sigh, guess I'll show up sometime on Sunday, plan to stay late-ish, and try not to worry about it. I'm also thinking of maybe coming up Saturday night after 6pm, but I guess we'll see. Depends likely on how terrible the allergens are for MD Sheep & Wool. (I like having a schedule planned out, even if I don't stick to it. This is hella frustrating.)

Right now I'm thinking of Sheep and Wool on Saturday during part of the day, and possibly Saturday night at CC27. Sunday, most of the day at CC27. Alan's decided to skip Crown, so he can watch the pup and do whatever he plans to this weekend and I don't have to plan a day care or returns home to check on her.

Or I could skip the Con and stay home to nap and embroider... hmm...

PS: Is this level of planning for a CCon typical and it's expected that folks just show up and stuff happens, and I just have unrealistic expectations 3 days before an event?

So, I've got plans to go to a day of Costume-Con27 held on the first weekend in May. I've hopes to hit MDS&WFest the other day of the weekend. Since I'm only planning on attending one day, I figured getting a membership isn't worth it. (Or are there other perks to membership?)

So first of all, I can find no schedule posted for the weekend (even a rough one) so I can decide which day to attend. Do you have to be a member to get the schedule? I know I don't want to miss the historical masquerade. (Okay, thanks to some digging I found that the Historical Masq is on Sunday, but what time, I haven't a clue.) I'm sure many other veterans will let me know what other areas/activities are not to be missed. But how does one go about finding a schedule of activities, classes, etc. for the event?

Second of all, I've never been to any Con, much less a Costume Con. So the big question is, what to wear? If I only plan to attend one day, do I need to pack multiple outfits and plan on changing for the fun of it? Will there be changing space if you don't have a hotel room? Is this another "just toss on some garb" event, or do you have to go crazy? I'm half tempted to not wear any of my historical stuff and just plan on the Sabe Decoy outfit (assuming some tweaks to the hat, and creation of a black under-layer) or my Snow White from Halloween. I'd also consider pulling out my wool 1890's Walking suit, which I never get to wear, except that it is wool in MD in May. I guess I could always tweak something Roman into something more costumy with ease.

Obviously I haven't signed up for any of the parades or competitions, I just want to come and hang out, look around and have a good time. So I guess, despite the plethora of information on the webpage, what can I expect at my first Costume-Con

Let them Eat Cake!
(yummy yummy icing...)(perhaps that is why the tubs of icing remain in the fridge...)

Bob's party was yet again a costumed spectacle. And I was only an hour late getting into my costume. Keilyn was the only one to show sans-costume, but lucky for her I hadn't gotten around to making Ewok hoods. I might need to make one for Freddy for skipping the party this year. Almost 30 friends; two fighting Padme's, a few other Padme's and Leia's and even two Ventresses, not to mention a couple of Storm Troopers and Solos, Count Dooku, a minature Darth Vader, and the best Obi-Wan and cutest Ewok on the planet!

'Twas awesome, and I am intensely sorry to those who missed it. I'm also grateful to TJ, CG, and Bob for helping with my hat so I didn't have to go around bare-headed...

The feather boa was a big hit (feather boa at a Star Wars party? tough to explain...) and this is one of my favorite pics of the party, of our lovely hostess:

Costume was finished at 1am this morning. Dyed my hair this morning before work. No pictures yet, but I think it turned out fairly well.

Now where are Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, Bashful, Sneezy and Doc?

Tonight I need to knuckle down and seriously make my Halloween costume for Friday. I'm also trying to decide if I should temporarily dye my hair darker for the occasion or not. Tuesday night might require a visit to JoAnn's for some small accessories before practice to complete the ensemble. I'm so excited but need to get it done. I meant to play in the sewing room on my costume yesterday after I got home, but instead I succumbed to a nap and the embroidery. My fingertips were a little numb when I went to bed from playing with the embroidery, but they have thankfully recovered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a blast at St. Luke's Artisan Fair on Saturday, even if I was extremely late in arriving. I was a couple of hours late in getting up and leaving the house, and then I got stuck in some traffic on 95 just before the 295 exit around Richmond, locking me in. The plus side of traffic is that I was able to drive with my knees and braid my hair during the creeping up to the accident site. I had also forgot to pack an Acorn, but luckily I remembered looking at the map on Friday night, so I got there just fine. As soon as I checked in and was getting dressed I wished I had brought Roman. It was really freaking warm in the hall, despite being the end of October. But I got dressed, found many wonderful friends, partook of the day-board, since I was starving, and sat to chat.

I've uploaded the pictures I took, though I did not manage to photograph everything, and have to declare my favorite to be Team Cheese.
 Vitha put together a very compelling display, and it was darn tasty too. The depth and breadth shown was very impressive.  I even took the plunge and tried the liquid whey and the buttermilk, in addition to all of the cheeses offered. She had 5 cheeses available, some pressed whey, fresh butter, and whey bread. It was awesome. The cheese press made by Marcellus and Arghylle was frosting on the cupcake, and really made it a wonderful comprehensive display. 

I also really liked Sophia's food display, and declare the spinach tarts my favorites, but the sauce for the pork was also full of nom. I grabbed one of the booklets of recipes to flip through and then I will likely give it to theodorad  and try to encourage her to try some of them for a tasting panel to include myself. :) I also seized upon the opportunity to flip through her pre-view copy of Patterns of Fashion 4 at the end of the day (THANK YOU mmcnealy !) and was surprisingly able to keep all salivation in my mouth and off the book. *drool* I wanted before, and now I seriously WANT!

Other favorites included tattycat 's chocolate display of great intensity, as well as other only in Spain topics. Yum, um wow, need more of that whipped cream from the day-board and more water. Truly wonderful and she demonstrated great knowledge of the subject. I loved Mariana's casting display to include samples of cast tokens, buttons, etc. as well as the carved moulds on display. That was amazing. I am also a fan of baronessadriana 's stitching samples from the Herjolfsnes finds, Kaleeb's natural dyed wool samples, and an embroidered purse using the dyed wools, as well as orlacarey 's dolls.  Then I had fun visiting the various embroidery samplers on display with belfebe  and being amazed at the quality, variety and research presented. Janina's was lovely and impressively meticulous.

I also had a grand time showing off my pin cushion to anyone interested (and likely some not) as well as the pretty GST threads and my current project of a panel for my MIL (the center pink is almost complete now). I also was finally able to wear my hand-sewn shift with my petticoat bodies, which made me pleased, if a bit warm. Of course I've now got plans swimming in my head of an embroidered shift like the one in the V&A with the pink creatures all over it... the problem with successful artisan fairs is the bevy of inspiration afterward with only the same amount of time on hand.

Since Gracie was a little done, and the Moore's were my hosts for the evening, we boogied out a little early and headed to the Lone Star for dinner. The food was tasty, Gracie was charming and the company was fabulous. And then we were joined by John, Deedee and Amanda which only improved the evening, not to mention a peacock and peahen sighting. About an hour and a half later the kids were done and we punched out in a hurry counting ourselves lucky and extremely well fed. Then I had bdeb 's entertaining company on the ride back to their place, and we stayed up chatting and enjoying each others company until after midnight when it was crashy time. Morning came and there was more playing with Gracie and drinking the wonderful Diet Coke of great happiness, and hanging out some more before I got on the road home and left the hospitable Moore's to the rest of their day.

Fun fun weekend!

We survived another Landing Days at Jamestown, but this time the trek home was the most dangerous part of the weekend.

Since attack_laurel's Bob was unable to attend Landing Days this year, we had her-entertaining-self along for the ride. Last week had been a tough one and I was waffling on going to Jamestown this weekend, but as we were waiting for traffic to die down and Alan to complete his conference call, she and I chatted until I finally snapped and started packing. We got on the road kinda late, but meant that we had no traffic to deal with on the after-rush hour drive down. Our room was fine, if you don't care about having a fan in the bathroom, and at least nice and spacious.

Saturday was lovely, and I got to spend most of my day hanging out with Carla and stringmonkey in the barracks. They made food, a couple of dishes in the dutch ovens, but I mostly sat near the herbs and tried to engage visitors in identifying them. I plucked some rosemary, thyme, sage, hyssop, mint and lemon balm, and a staff member had picked an impressive fennel stalk, which was used in the pork, apple and onion dish. After the busy day was done we retired back to the LaQ and tried to motivate towards the shower, and rounded the day out with take-out from Red, Hot and Blue, and hanging out with friends, and even social time with Lara, Fred, Cin and folks. I did bend Cin's ear on sprang, but need to find some of the 18th Century examples for her to explore for use at Yorktown. I also played with my knitting and screwed it up twice, and eventually got it right after a bit of ripping out of rows with a bit of stringmonkey guidance.

Sunday ended up being cooler and comfortable and quieter, but not without fun. I spent much of the day with attack_laurel in the Governor's House so we could take turns and spell each other to take breaks. She worked on hemming curtains for the bed and trimming a cushion, and I did knitting, sewing and some servant-like cleaning up of cobwebs, and such. It was a good day, and we even got to start the day with a bus load of visitors from England. I was even able to take a little bit of time to do some shopping in the gift shop for some books and pamphlets. Alas a tornado watch was announced, and as attendance was down, we did decide to take our tired selves out about an hour early.

The drive home ended up being the worst part. I-64 became progressively packed, so we dove off for 17N to 301N which had much less traffic, but became slow due to the rain. There was also a bit of a back-up crossing the Nice bridge over the Potomac's choppy waters, but luckily there was no accident, just volume. Alan drove the first part and we took a break for dinner at the Outback in La Plata, before I drove the last bit in the driving rain on the beltway home. Despite leaving around 5pm, and noting that we did take an hour break, we still didn't get home until after 10pm. Once home and unpacked in as much as we cared to, we fell in bed and slept the sleep of the ded.

I am glad I went, and had a lovely time with friends, but am justifiably sore, with sore hands and arms from the knitting, sewing, cleaning, and gripping of the steering wheel to guide us home safe. It was awesome to see attack_laurel's lacing of the petticoat to the bodies in action. Really inspiring to make a new petticoat and bodies, but I should finish my new shift and convert an old serviceable back-closing petticoat to front closing so I can try lacing it in as well.

Upcoming is a fun trip to the MFA and more embroidery at Plimoth! excellent.

Bob's Super-Party Pictures


We've survived yet another one of Bob's birthdays. Happy Birthday Mr. Quatermain, and may your study of anal-ogy and anal-bum-covers go well. Heroes, Villains and those unclassified others all came together for one heroic night. Dr. Jekyll tended the bar, Mina Harker lay out an impressive buffet of tasty foods, Ursula was the best villain costume in attendance, and Rainbow Brite was determined the best "hero", although my money was on Black Canary. Sadly the karaoke machine didn't get used, but the trash and recycling bins are full so folks seemed to have a good time just the same. I think the total head count was 49; 45 heroes and villains, 2 lame folks not in costume (Matt? Freddy? Do I need to costume you next time myself?), and 2 super dogs.

Sunday morning, the secret hideout hosted yummy brunch to 16 secret identities. We had coffee, OJ, waffles, scrambled eggs, and 4 kinds of sausage; chicken and apple sausage, and 3 different types from Gunther's farm thanks to Drea's trip to the Raleigh Farmer's Market. Then we worked together to set the house back in order so little clues were left to the party the night before. Thanks for your help folks!

Alan and I spent the rest of Sunday napping, curled up by the roaring fireplace, and doing other little cleaning tasks. I love hosting this party every year, as we get a wonderful gathering of friends at our house, and we are also guaranteed to have a clean house at least once a year. :) We ended the night by catching Superman Returns on TV, which seemed very fitting given the weekend.

Dear SciFi Channel,

I admit I was interested when I saw the menu listing for a movie called Grendel showing. I wish I had read your IMDB entry before changing the channel. While I can forgive clown make-up on one of the women, and puffy sleeved princess dresses on the others, and I can forgive truly bad acting (because honestly SciFi, experience has taught me it's not your strong point), and I can forgive the invention of the crossbow by Beowolf... But what I can't forgive, what I could not get beyond that raised my blood pressure and made my eyes pop, was the use of cow-horns on helmets to distinguish Beowolf and his troops. There are many things we don't know about the past, but we are fairly certain that with all that is known that they didn't put freaking cow horns on their freaking helmets. argh!

Thank you for encouraging me to turn off the TV and pick up a book. I'm only glad I subjected myself no longer than 10 minutes.

No love,
me

Catherine, Tammy and I flew up to Providence on Wednesday night, picked up our rental car and drove to the hotel to hang out and chat a bit before snuggling into bed.

Thursday morning dawned nice and early and we got up, moving, and had yummy waffles for breakfast before getting on the road to be there close to the 10am opening of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Sadly I neglected to have a good Boston map on me and the GoogleMaps directions were confusing so trying to Zen drive my way back to the hotel was a hopeless failure. First I headed one way on Massachusetts Ave only to say it feels wrong and to turn around for a very very long way back to the hotel. Sigh. Yes, I was headed the right way to begin with. But we did get to drive through some cute neighborhoods, past Harvard, Cambridge, and finally gave up to ask for directions from folks who were equally lost, to then ask a very nice homeless lady who gave me great directions (so I gave her a $5) and we got to drive past Tufts University before finally making it back to I-93 and eventually to our hotel. At least we were sitting down for the drive. And then, I had to choose what I hoped would be the quieter of two restaurants only to choose the one with good food and really really bad karaoke. 
I.... did it MYyyyy waaaaayyyyy......  and we really wish he hadn't.

The ultimate lesson is; wear comfy shoes to museums, take a good map when driving in unfamiliar territory, if you do venture forth without a map-happily enjoy the view, don't let Gen pick the restaurant, and contact the museum well in advance to see the hidden collections items because it is truly worth it.

Hooray!

The neighborhood redeemed itself last night. While we didn't have the flood like in years previous, we certainly had a good crew of folks come by, and I am not forced to eat a ton of left-over candy by myself this year. We had a cute little witch with wig, hat and pink and black dress, an Incredible, a Jane Austen character, a pink leopard, Batman, and all other wonderful children out celebrating Halloween. Only a few were super greedy, like the Unicorn, and took more than two pieces, but most were charming and well behaved, like the lady pirate. We did get a few teenagers who didn't bother to dress up, and I gave them a piece each after harassing them, and making those few who had masks put them on, but all in good fun. I do still have some candy leftover, even after Isobel took a few pieces home to her Bob and we sampled the variety last night.

After the din died down, theodorad(who had come over to hang out), theblueleader(who was our wonderful house-guest for the week as she worked on a project), attack_laurel(my partner in sugar distribution and costume adornment), Alan and I all turned off the lights and headed down to downtown Silver Spring for a late dinner at Ceviche. It was yummy, and great company, and we had an excellent time. Eventually friends made their ways home and we made our way to bed to end another fine Halloween.

And since I know you were dying to see, here is what I wore, and what Isobel wore:


Hope everyone else enjoyed their Halloween in the way they wanted to.

So, I knew roughly what elements would go into my costume for today, but I was having trouble coming up with a solid answer for the "What are you dressed as?" question. It finally hit me this morning as all the elements came together:
My inner 5 year old.

I'll try to get someone to take a picture of me tonight to share tomorrow. 

I'm still a big fan of Halloween. Heck one of the main draws for me to the SCA is the variety of cultures and time periods to pull costume ideas from. I love to dress up. While no one else on my hallway has dressed up in the past 5 years, I always try to dress up as something. (I just have to make it a bit more professional something- no Smut-o-ween at work.) Last year I was a pirate, and I've also done Lara Croft, Cinderella from Ever After (complete with only one wing), a member of a harem, obscure Venus, a black widow, and I'm sure something else.  I got no less than 3 queries yesterday to see if I was dressing up today, so I had to not disappoint. So tonight, despite the dreadful turnout from last year, Isobel is still coming over to hang out and hand out what little candy we can, and then we'll do dinner and such. Nothing smashing, no bar, no dancing, but I guess we could turn on some music and dance in the living room, and I know Alan would make us drinks if we asked. If this year is as dead as last year, perhaps we'll have to think of formally closing up shop and checking out the haunted parts of MD instead. But I like seeing the cute little kids in costume and even don't mind harassing the lame teenagers before handing out candy.

Y'hear that neighborhood. This is your last chance to return to taking Trick or Treating seriously. Skip the mall.

Normally I'm a fairly happy person. Lately though I've had people, from a gentleman at NOTT to a grocery store clerk, reminding me to smile. Normally I do, so that just reminded me that lately it hurts to smile, so I've apparently been looking grumpy. The TMJ is back to bugging me, and has been ramping up for the past three weeks. So I went to the doctor to get a stronger relaxant for nighttime on a temporary basis. I also called the specialist cranial sacral massage therapist, and have an appointment on Friday morning. In the meantime, soft foods and stress reduction, or something.

On a happy note though, the navy linen petticoat is completely hand sewn and is finished. First I sewed up the waistband with top stitching, then I finished the edges of the skirt rectangle with a running stitch. Next was the gathering, pinning and sewing down of the cartridge pleats. Then the front seam of the skirt was whip stitched up. Lastly the eyelets were added to the front of the waistband with blue linen thread, a lacing cord was fingerloop braided of the same blue linen, and then the hem was whipstitched in place. whoohoo. Progress went the fastest on Saturday during the Bandes workshop.

Saturday was the Bandes workshop at our place where targets got worked on, sewing, braiding and knitting got played with, and Gareth seemed to have a grand time playing with the pups and keeping an eye on them. It was fun to see folks, and while nothing grand got accomplished, many little things were done. Then we tidied up a bit for the Kynny and Freddy birthday party. There were wings, dips, and a groaning board of sushi, and a good time was had by all. Kirsten and I were up chatting until 4am, and Alan was up with the cadets much later. So Sunday was full of sleeping in, brunch of french toast, strawberries, sausage and bacon, and then naps later in the afternoon. I did manage a quick run by Michael's to utilize the 50% off coupon for framing of my recent scrolls.

Monday, UMUC did a small memorial service and moment of silence for the fallen from a week ago at Virginia Tech. I got asked to participate as a VT alumni. After the moment of silence, each victim's name was read aloud, a bell was rang and those of us in line took an orange rose from the podium to the pedestal of the sculpture in the center of the courtyard. I got to lay a rose down for Reema, the youngest victim. I couldn't help but think that the folks in line were too many, but it is amazing how much space 32 people take up. That in itself was a wake-up, trying to imagine our community without the other 31 folks in line was daunting. It certainly sent home the message that the impact will radiate out.

But on a final happy note, I bought some 14's from Old Navy yesterday. Whoohoo! Guess this means I really need to purge the 18s from the closet, a happy task indeed. I just need to find the time.

In the vein of life goes on, I just realized we are 23 days from the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown Landing Days. Holy crap. After the big push to get wool for Foods and Feasts, Training and MTA, I now need to hop on and get some linen ready for May. crappity crap crap.

On my list, in order:

• new smock (or two)
  
• new coif and forehead cloth
  
• navy petticoat
  
• pink petticoat
  
• red jacket
  
• linen payre of bodies
  
• blue linen doublet
  
• cassock?

I also need to do an A&S entry for Crown, which might end up being a smock. Two birds, one stone, all that.
crap. 
Nothing like turning to work to distract from reality. Hey, at least I got the lawn mowed yesterday afternoon. Took an hour with the push reel mower, so good exercise too.

you are lightskyblue #87CEFA

Your dominant hues are cyan and blue. You like people and enjoy making friends. You're conservative and like to make sure things make sense before you step into them, especially in relationships. You are curious but respected for your opinions by people who you sometimes wouldn't even suspect. Your saturation level is lower than average - You don't stress out over things and don't understand people who do. Finishing projects may sometimes be a challenge, but you schedule time as you see fit and the important things all happen in the end, even if not everyone sees your grand master plan. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Talked to my Mom this morning on the way into work. She was telling me about the fun of sailing for a week so far. They are currently down near Key West, and the weather is sunny and warm. She was lamenting the lack of wind this morning, but I hope that picks up for them. Their ultimate destination is the Bahamas, but their schedule isn't fixed. They used the radio and got in touch with a friend of the captain's and he tossed them some fresh stone crabs for dinner, which they then cooked and ate on the boat. My mom has been happily unoccupied as the ship's doctor, so has instead been enjoying the weather and fixing the mainsail cover's zipper with needle and dental floss, and knitting stuff, and crocheting bags for holding things below decks, and in general being a boat string monkey. 
Oh how I envy her. 
She tempted me to fly down and meet them somewhere and sail back with them, and if I had a valid passport, I'd be seriously considering it now. To quote Jimmy again, I wanna go where it's warm. 

All the while I was chatting with Mom on the phone, it is 38 degrees out, I'm driving to work, and there are snow flurries blowing about. Talk about your contrasts. I wished her wind, and she wished me warmth. I can only hope it works. 

I'm gonna feel a bit silly in Roman with merrels and wool socks (no, I don't have time to nalbind a pair of socks for my Roman persona just now), but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to keep warm. As far as projects, I still need to add the clavi to Alan and Bob's tunicas, and sew up the sides. I've also got a little hand sewing to do on Alyce's tunica, but other than that, she is ready to go. Also, have to run by the storage unit tonight to put the Prince and Princess stuff in storage and see if anything else needs to come to Coronation. 

I need a nap.
Somewhere it is warm preferred.

Today Normal Wacky Gen is replaced by Pirate Gen! Arrggghh!  Alas I had to leave the wheel lock, cutlass and parrot at home. Gonnes and swords not being allowed on a college campus, and the parrot would greatly hinder work productivity, as well as create a mess on my shoulder. I do have both the Pyrates Royale playing as ambiance in the office, as well as the Backyardigan's A Pirate Says Arrr! in my head.  Whoo hoo!  You can hear the Backyardigan's here on YouTube, but ignore the video (which is funny but NOT the Backyardigans) as I couldn't find it free elsewhere.

Arrgh.

So a bit of a cop out as the pirate costume is left over from Lost Cause's Xmas performance, but it is still applicable and works for today.  Interestingly enough I've gotten both smiles and giggles and not an eyelash batted at my outfit today in the office.  I wonder what would happen if I dressed up as a pirate every day? 

Last night, on a whim on my way home from the storage unit, I swung by a Giant to grab more rubber bands for braiding my hair, essential to any pirate outfit. While I was there I grabbed a couple of cute small pie pumpkins. So instead of carving one giant jack-o-lantern, I carved two itsy cutie jack-o-lanterns, while watching Corpse Bride. Let me tell you, they are really really precious. Alas, I mailed my digital camera back to the manufacture for repair this weekend since the lens was malfunctioning, so I have no way to share pictures of it.  Perhaps I'll ask AoD to bring over her camera tonight to capture their cuteness.

I think I am prepared for the onslaught of urchins this evening, and happily the Angel of Death is coming over to help me hand out candy. Afterward the plan is to join folks out for dinner post fighter practice.

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!