| Fair report |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|09:50 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
Saturday was a total wash out. We couldn't open; it was so wet that it was dangerous just to walk around, never mind trying to fight or dance. Sunday it rained in the morning, but then cleared, and we were able to clear enough of the water away that we were able to have fair. It actually turned into a nice day in the afternoon. It started to cloud up at the end, but the rain held off until we left the fairgrounds. We got some people, but I'm really hoping that we get a bigger crowd next week. The weather looks to be much better next weekend. Even with the grounds drying up pretty well, we still had an injury caused by the mud. One of our wenches slipped in the mud and broke her foot. There were parts of the grounds that were like chocolate pudding.
One funny thing is that something I predicted to happen did. In the Shakespearean Idol show, I play a contestant who is more than a little off. I do the three witches scene from MacBeth, and use a dead rabbit (really a mangled stuffed bunny), and a turkey leg with eyes attached as my other two "weird sisters." I baked a bunch of turkey legs last Thursday night, and wrapped them in foil to be used as the third witch. After the show, I finally had time to eat lunch, so I took off the eyes, and sat at a picnic table with the turkey leg and some bread and fruit. As I suspected might happen, someone approached me and asked where I had purchased the turkey leg! LOL! I told her that I didn't know what the food vendor had; he might have some, but I had made it and brought it from home. I didn't tell her that it was my prop. As it turns out she had been to the food vendor, and they didn't sell turkey legs. I fully expect that someone will ask me every day where I got my turkey leg. I'm seriously thinking about telling the next person that it isn't a turkey leg, but she's my sister, and I'm doing her in because she caused me to lose the Shakespearean Idol show! tee hee!
Sadly, I don't have enough vacation time to take off every Monday after fair, so I'm in work today, but VERY tired. Oh well, after this coming weekend I'll be off for a week's vacation. |
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| Live goes on.... Plans for after fair.... |
[Jun. 17th, 2009|08:42 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
I will be taking the week after fair off. During that week, we'll be taking a trip down to Brick Township and Mike will be trying out fishing kayaks. I've done some research, including searching on eBay and "watching" some kayaks that I think he would like. I showed him some this morning, and I think he's in love with a certain model that is really nicely rigged for bay fishing. We'll see how he fares when he tries one out. A lot will depend on how stable it is when he gets in and paddles it around. AND it comes in white! So we should be able to make him an Enterprise! Yeah, we're such geeks.
So, his late Father's day present will probably be this:
He woke up coughing today with some fluid in his lungs, and we have to address it, so he's on his super diuretic pill, and taking the day off. We'll have to watch his salt and blood pressure much more than we have been.
Not only that, he had a leetle extra stress this week. Monday he took care of NJ state taxes--meeting with the tax man, and then he gets a call from me that Dimitri died. He has been buying lunch instead of bringing it, which means extra salt that he doesn't need. And, he's been short on some of his meds, and not taking the right dose on some. He planned on taking Friday off to help on the land for the fair, but I put the kibosh on that. Instead, I told him to switch his vacation day to Monday, and use that day to recover from the fair. Happily, he is listening to me...the coughing was a wake up call. I've emailed Marijah to let her know that he will be unavailable.
This weekend is fair. It runs only two weekends this year. Then I'm on vacation for a week. I'm looking forward to getting Mike his kayak--then we can go out on the bay together. Or just noodle around in Farrington Lake or even closer to home. The exercise will do us both good. Now if we can just get some nice warm days.... |
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| Dimi is gone! |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|09:49 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  distressed | ] |
My sweet Dimitri who was our gateway cat died tonight. He fell off the table edge (like he had hundreds of times before). Michelle went around to see if he was ok. Normally, she sees him sitting there with a "I meant to do that" look on his face. But he fell badly, and probably broke his neck at impact. He was laying still on his side and breathing quickly, and she only had time to pick him up and tell him that she loved him, and he was gone.
She is inconsolable, because he was her baby, and I'm almost as bad. He was the one who walked into our house one November night three years ago and adopted us. He was the cat who turned me into a cat person, after being a dog person all my life. He would come into my sewing room and put his front paws up on the back of my chair to get attention, and loved belly rubs.
Sonja, my little red cat misses her big brother, and is moping around the house. I'm hoping that Vlad will befriend her and help her over the grief.
Here is a picture of him hanging on the top of the cat tree with his little sister Sonja.
Rest In Peace little friend. You take a big part of our hearts with you.
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| Rain, rain, GO AWAY! |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|08:35 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
I'm really getting tired of the rain this season. I just looked at the weather website I go to, and there's rain or a substantial possibility of rain for the whole next week! I know we needed some rain this spring because the Northeast coast had a dry winter...but ENOUGH ALREADY!
I can't go out on the water in the rain, and it's starting to really bring me down. The ONLY saving grace is that it's been okay most weekends, but I'm starting to get sick of it!
Wish I had some weather Mojo I could use.
Bleah..... |
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| Not much happening... |
[Jun. 3rd, 2009|11:00 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
Weather's been iffy, so I haven't been able to go kayaking this week yet. I'm hoping to slip in a little tonight or tomorrow night. If I make a chicken breast meal tonight it should be quick enough to squeeze in at least 30 minutes on the water. I got the laundry and grocery shopping done, and the only thing I need to do this week outside of rehearsals is to make the muslins of the bodices.
I was able to find some WHITE outriggers, so if Mike can get a white or light gray kayak, we can do the Enterprise thing--tee hee.
We go on the land this Saturday, so we'll finally see what the new site will be like. |
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| Mike is a CONVERT! |
[Jun. 1st, 2009|08:17 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  bouncy | ] |
He took Chiquita out on Saturday with the outriggers. He came back in from a quick tour around the near part of the lake with a big smile on his face, and quoted Will Smith in Independence Day. "I have GOT to get me one of these!" tee hee! So we will be looking for one for him. But before we look around for a good deal, we have to figure out what is a good brand for him to use. So we'll take a trip to Jersey Paddlers in Brick Township after fair is over, and have him try out different brands.
And Gods! We are such geeks! I came up with the idea of a white kayak, with white outriggers. Put a red plastic ornamental cap on the front of the outriggers, and put NCC-1701 on the front of the kayak. It's an Enterprise! Tee hee! He wants to go for it. So we'll see what we can do. I don't know if we can find a white kayak, we may have to settle for light gray, but we'll see what we can do.
We went for a quick reconnaissance to find Farrington Lake on Sunday. It wasn't off Ryders Lane like we thought, but I looked it up on the internet and found directions. It's a little bit of a drive, but it is a beautiful lake to kayak on. I'm looking forward to exploring it this summer, after fair.
This week I've got to finish the muslins of the bodices, so I can fit them on Friday night. Then I'll be able to finish them next week. Fair is a'comin! |
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| Chiquita has her training wheels |
[May. 29th, 2009|02:31 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  enthralled | ] |
Mike and I attached the outriggers last night. I can't wait for the weather to clear so I can try them out. Hopefully, I'll get some nice weather this weekend, and will be able to try them out in the bay. I also ordered from eBay some vinyl letters to apply to the transom with her name. Now all I have to finish is drilling a hole in the scupper cart so it doesn't deform when I try to use it. Mike figured out that if we drilled a hole in the cross pipe, we can keep it from slipping. So now all I have to do is find my vice and drill out the hole. I've purchased the bungie cords for attaching the cart, so I'm good to go.
In a few weeks, when things are not so tight financially, I'll probably buy a pop-up downwind sail for her. I found a nice one on eBay that looks like I'll be able to handle it. I'm also looking forward to maybe taking her to Farrington Lake in East Brunswick. It will be a really nice place to spend a morning or afternoon, noodling around and fishing. |
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| Weekend report |
[May. 27th, 2009|01:43 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
I took Chiquita (the Sweet Banana) the kayak out on Saturday and Monday. I didn't have the time on Sunday because of rehearsals. I'm starting to get the hang of getting in and out of her--the easiest way is to wade into the water at the shallow end of the lake and just sit in her sideways, then swing my legs over. When I paddled my way up the lake on Saturday I found out two things--1.After the bend in the lake there are several fallen trees that block the way going up further; I'd have to portage around them, and 2.There is a huge bass on the far side of the lake. No one has caught it yet because there is no access for fisherman on that side. The side it's on is all brush, trees, the railroad tracks, and houses. I'm looking forward to taking an ultralight pole and some lures and having a grand old time catching it. I'll probably just weight, measure, photograph and release it. Bass that big are rarely really good eating--they tend to get muddy tasting.
We also went to the fishing pier at Laurence Harbor several times. We didn't catch anything, but some of fishermen around us did. Mostly snapper blues, although one or two larger ones were caught. It was interesting seeing the mix of people. Most of them were Spanish speaking--Puerto Rican, Columbian, Mexican. There were one or two from Eastern Asia and the Mideast. We were the only Americanos on the pier. But that was ok. We all spoke fish.
Tonight I get my outriggers, and I'm hoping that Mike can help me put them on tonight. Then he can noodle around in the kayak. I also plan on trying her out in the bay this coming weekend. The weather promises to be nice so it shouldn't be a problem. I just have a few modifications to make to the scupper cart so it doesn't deform when I try to flip the kayak over. I'm adding two T-joints and a cross bar to brace it and keep it rigid. Then I'll get two bungee cords to keep it attached to the kayak, and I should be ready to go.
I also want to go to Farrington Lake with Chiquita. I've been told it's a very nice place to go kayaking. And I may make a trip to someplace where there is a swimming beach. I really want to learn how to reboard after flipping. I know that there is a good possibility that I might go over once or twice, and I'd really like to practice how to get back in. I know what I need to do in theory, but theory and practice are sometimes not exactly the same.
I still have to put the elastic in Davide's fair pants, and make his shirt. I also have three bodices to do for the fair, as my share of the preparation work. I got the measurements and the material, so by Friday I'll have some muslins done so I can fit the women I'm making them for. |
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| My kayak arrived! |
[May. 20th, 2009|02:01 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
We took the Sweet Banana out last night for the first time. (We have a tradition that all named boats in our family begin with an S--Serendipity, Silver Lining, etc.) It took about a minute to get used to it--it felt like a small fiberglass canoe I used to have. If you tried to sit on the seats with a cushion, it flipped RIGHT over. If you knelt on the floor with your butt leaning against the seat, you were fine. After I figured out what I had to do (keep my center of gravity low and NOT overcorrect), I was fine.
Mike couldn't use it, because men have a higher center of gravity than women, and he couldn't move in it at all. He went about two feet from the dock and was so shaky that he just came back in. So, I've ordered outriggers for it. That will give it stability enough for Mike to use it, and also make it easier for me to get into. It was very shaky trying to get into it from the dock...when I take it out by myself I'll have to walk into the water with it and step into it that way. Once the outriggers are attached, it will be much steadier, and I won't have as much trouble getting into it. I also think that outriggers will be a necessity in order for me to take it into the bay. The little lake we took it to was smooth as glass; I don't think I could have kept from flipping if there had been any waves--and the bay usually has little waves in it. Outriggers will also make it possible to get back on board the kayak if it tips and I fall out.
Also, as I lose more weight it will have more freeboard and be steadier for that reason too. It was fun once I got the hang of it--I skimmed around the lake and had a blast. And I must admit that I'm kind of glad to have it to myself for a while. Mike will probably go to a kayak dealer and try out several different brands and sizes until he gets one that he feels is comfortable and stable for him. And we'll probably get him outriggers for that one (or as he calls them--training wheels). Tee hee! |
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| What's goin' on.... |
[May. 14th, 2009|09:36 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
Well, I've got the pieces of the two layers of faire vest sewn together, and just have to marry them tonight. They should be far enough along by Friday to get approval. I'll bring them in, but the poofy pants will be sure to be approved. The only thing I wonder is if they'll approve the white linen for the shirt, or insist on the unbleached muslin. I'll be making both, so which they want doesn't really matter.
I went through the cabinets last night in the downstairs kitchen and weeded out four more boxes to be sold at the NJRK garage sale. And threw out two more large bags of garbage. I'm on my way to more space and a usable downstairs kitchen. WHEE!
Wanna see my birthday present? Thought so!
I can't wait until it arrives and I can go out after work at the local lake, or in the bay on a calm day. |
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| Faire outfit progress |
[May. 11th, 2009|04:11 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  geeky | ] |
Well, it's all cut out, and I've hand sewn the jacquard ribbon trim onto the vest collar and vest shoulder wings (on the black linen side). Tonight I want to sew the black gimp onto the collar and shoulder wings onto the gray brushed cotton side. That's all the handwork needed for this outfit, so then I can start assembling the pieces. I want to finish this up before Friday, so he can take it in for approval. I also have some minor repair that needs to be done to the Irish dress so I can wear that this fair year.
I'm hoping to get to the West Windsor fair this coming weekend. I'll run down right after wench rehearsal, which is over at 1:00. It's only about a 45 minute drive, so I'll have plenty of time to walk around the fair and see the vendors and what demos I want to see. I think I'll wear my teal Italian dress for this. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get some pictures of me in it. It's supposed to be a nice day, and not too hot. Then I can send off the photos and finish my submission to the Italian Showcase. |
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| Weekend plans |
[May. 8th, 2009|04:09 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | content | ] |
No rehearsal tonight, so I'll probably finish up sewing Davide's fair outfit. If the weather is nice, I'd REALLY like to set up a photo shoot sometime this weekend so I can get pictures of my teal Italian ON ME. Then I can finish up the posting for the Italian Showcase. And I'd like to get pictures of me in my Elizabethan loose gown, and pictures of Mike in his William Cecil outfit. And maybe a shot of "Lord and Lady Burleigh."
I'd also like to see the new Star Trek movie. Don't know how I'll fit that in, but I'm gonna try.
I've got the start of learning the tunes of the Psaltery for fair. I LOVE Youtube--I can find almost any song being performed there. I'm not a good enough musician to totally sight read--it's much easier if I know how a tune is supposed to sound before I try to play it.
Everybody have a nice weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all moms! |
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| Davide's fair outfit |
[May. 5th, 2009|02:41 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | busy | ] |
He will be getting a pair of black linen poofy pants, a cream or white shirt, and a vest. The vest will be a gray brushed cotton on one side, trimmed with black gimp. The other side will be black linen with a black jacquard ribbon trim that has red/orange/yellow flames on it. I've got the vest and the pants cut out. I want him to choose the neckline for the shirt before I cut it out. It could have a large poet blouse type pointed collar, or a band collar that is small and laces up the front. Either is fine with me, he just has to choose which he wants.
I'll probably be wearing my gray Irish dress this year. It's easy to get in and out of, and it's plain enough for a villager. I'll wear a coif and straw hat on my head, and my gilly shoes. |
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| Not much happening.... |
[Apr. 30th, 2009|01:44 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | chipper | ] |
I've cut out the doublet muslin and made the first bit of linen tape for trimming the doublet. Mike has decided that he wants the teal doublet trimmed with burgundy tape matching the Venetian briefs instead of the narrow teal/burgundy/gold woven ribbon trim that I used on my teal Italian. I'll just use a little of the narrow trim as a hatband on his hat.
After fitting the doublet, I have to take a break to put together a fair outfit for Davide. He doesn't have any garb of his own, and will need some, since we will be showing up in garb for the parade at the beginning of the day in Clinton.
Mike has been roped into doing something for fair, but it's a task that I DON'T object to. He'll be using the van to shuttle fair people back and forth from the Hampton Inn parking lot to the start of the parade route. Since he'll just be driving in an air conditioned vehicle, I don't mind him doing that. |
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| And now for something completely different.... |
[Apr. 20th, 2009|02:26 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | working | ] |
My next project is Mike's teal doublet so he can match me when I wear my Teal Italian outfit. If I can find some linen the right color, I might also make him a pair of short pants in burgundy to coordinate with my cioppa, which is burgundy linen. I probably have enough of the burgundy linen left, but I don't think men wore pants made with floral embroidered material, so I'll look to see if I can find some plain burgundy linen.
I'll use the doublet pattern from the William Cecil outfit, but I will be refitting it to him, as he's lost about 40 pounds. I plan on using one of the trim patterns from the 12 doublet article on the Extreme Costuming website. I just have to have him look at them and decide which he wants. |
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| PICTURES! I have PICTURES! |
[Apr. 19th, 2009|10:31 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | bouncy | ] |
The kirtle, loose gown and tall hat are finished! Here are pictures of the materials, and the finished product.
Cut to save my friends pages.
( Read more ) |
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| Finishing the hat.... |
[Apr. 17th, 2009|10:23 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | busy | ] |
I feel like George Patinkin in Sunday in the Park with George. This hat is taking FOREVER. There are multiple layers, and it all has to be sewn by hand. I'm almost done with sewing the red wool onto the brim, and then I can marry the brim and crown pieces. Then line it and then finally I'll get to the fun part of trimming it. I'm hoping to kick this whole project to the curb this weekend. Rehearsals for wenches and rogues start this Saturday.
I got some new BBC versions of Jane Austen films yesterday. I really prefer the BBC versions; there's something about the British character that the American screenwriters just DON'T get. And since they are usually muli-part productions, they can cover the story in more depth. And a big point for me is that the BBC really expends the effort to get the costumes right. I'm really starting to think about making an early 19th century outfit for myself. |
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| Weekend |
[Apr. 13th, 2009|10:07 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | artistic | ] |
This weekend I worked on the tall hat.
WARNING! To anyone buying the Margo Anderson accessories pattern. The second edition that I just bought is MISSING parts of the pattern. The three pattern pieces that should be used to cut out the plastic mesh to make the hat frame are NOT printed on the pattern sheet. The pieces missing are 1D, 1E and 1F. Luckily, I finally found the OLD pattern that I previously had misplaced--the first edition. The pieces were printed in that one. I'm going to email Margo today to let her know, as this is a serious problem. The pieces of the frame are considerably smaller than the pieces you use to cut out the lining and fashion material, so you really can't make the tall hat without them.
At any rate, I got everything cut out, the millinery wire sewn to the brim, and the crown top attached to the crown side pieces. I then sewed the felt padding onto the top, and I'm currently sewing the felt to the crown sides. That's where I am now. I'm hoping to finish the tall hat this week, and start on Mike's teal doublet.
There is just one thing I have to redo—when I sewed the trim onto the front panel of the kirtle, I managed to bubble up the damask on the flatlining just a little. I tried pulling up the damask at the neck opening just a little, and it totally takes care of the problem. So I’ll be taking the bias tape off the neckline and redoing the neckline to get rid of that bubble. Michelle says I’m being a perfectionist, but it bugs me to see that bubble of fabric. And it’s so easily fixed, that I’m going to fix it. |
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| Hem is done, and sleeves bands shortened. |
[Apr. 10th, 2009|09:11 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
I finished the hem last night. Then I cut down the sleeve bands. That's another thing that Margo should mention in her pattern. If you're not doing the scalloped edges, the sleeve bands are WAY too long. I just cut 2 1/2" off, and turned the edges in 1/4". Then I finished them off with the piping like I did on the hems. It gives a nice finished look to the sleeves. I didn't have enough of the wide beaded trim to finish the sleeve bands, but the piping looks very nice. It's a nice finish, but not too much. I got one almost completely sewn, and the second one pinned. So I should be able to finish the hand sewing of the sleeve bands this weekend.
Now if only the accessories patterns would come in, I could start on the hat. Oh well, I can always use the time to work on Mike's teal doublet. I'll have to refit it on him, since he's lost about 40 pounds since I made the last one. |
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| A hem.... |
[Apr. 9th, 2009|09:11 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
Last night I put the kirtle and loose gown onto Tillie and pinned up the hem. I decided to finish the hem edge with the burgundy/gold piping as I had done with the kirtle. Tonight I'll sew it--I was falling asleep after pinning it, so I decided to turn in early.
I've decided that I will cut down the sleeve bands, and I'll finish those edges with the piping I have left. That should completely use up all of my stash of that piping. |
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