Hey, I jumped into the new Blogger Beta!!!!!

I have converted my template, and have played around a bit with the editing features. I did not change my template, mainly because I like this one, and didn't see anything really new. I like the archive organization, and the method for adding links to the sidebar is nice.

We'll see how this goes... so far so good!!!

I can even upload images directly!!!!

"A ha!" Moment

Never good when you realize, the night before you need to leave on a trip, that you have forgotten to purchase some important items, such as dress shoes for your son, and a shirt and tie for the same. Oh, and that you did the wrong load of laundry, and he has exactly one clean pair of boxers that fit, and seven clean pairs that are too small (these were already clean, just in the wrong basket in his closet, and I mistook them for the right-sized ones... time for them to go away!!!!).

I have no idea how I am going to get ready in time to leave tomorrow night. I really want to leave tomorrow night, as I want to spend some time with my family before the wedding. I want time to goof off! I supposed I could take a load of laundry with me, to do tomorrow night, but I try to avoid that at all costs, just because who wants to do laundry when they go visit parents?

I am going to try to do as much as I can over lunch tomorrow. I have to run to Wal-mart for the shoes (I need to replace the ones he wore to the renaissance faire, as mud does not come out of suede very well, and he ripped a seam as well). I would prefer to go to Target for his shirt and tie, as they have better-made clothing, and better jewelry.

Anyway, among the other things I forgot to do tonight: take movies back to the library. Now I get to get up 30 minutes early, so I can run across town to return them. (Okay, just renewed my DVDs, but I can't access my son's account, because he never signed up for a pin #).

I guess I got out of my list-making habit recently. I usually have a list in my purse that I work from for errands. I spend a bit of time every day double-checking, and adding to it. Things get done when I do that.

So anyway, I now have a rude reminder of why my list-making was so important. I have conflicting things that need to be done tomorrow, and not anywhere enough time to do them.

However, I do know one thing - I will make it to mom and dad's tomorrow night.

Trying to resist the pull of the nap....

I really, really want to just take a nap right now.

However, I have laundry to do, as I would like to leave early for my parents' house. So, I may let myself take a 30 minute nap, then do the laundry. Or, I could sort laundry right now, get it started, and then take a 25 minute rest while it washes.

Decisions, decisions...

Damn, my iPod Shuffle's battery is wicked cool!

I found my Shuffle under a small pile of papers and a DVD on my desk. Since I can't remember the last time I actually used it, I was rather amazed to discover that when I turned it on, instead of an amber light telling me it needs to be charged, I got a green light. 30 minutes of listening so far, and it is still on the green. The thing is, I know it's been sitting there for well over a month, because the last time I listened to it was at work while cleaning to get ready for the start of the sememster back in August.

Very cool.

Listening to Dean Gray right now... excellent mash-up album. Music helps everything.

Right now, I need it. My grandma is in the hospital again. She passed out on Sunday, and they have been running tests to see why. Still not anything conclusive. I am escaping back into music again, just like the spring and early summer of 2004.

Hey Quark Support...

I can hear you playing video games in the background...

And it would be helpful if you posted a list of common problems, so that I didn't have to call for a simple fix...

QLA... urg

Trying to reinstall quark license administrator. Reinstall failed, said to check install log. No install log found anywhere. So, I tried to just remove it, in order to reinstall cleanly. It failed again...

Because it was trying to remove /Library !!!!!!!!!!!!

In MacOS X, /Library is critical, and NO APPLICATION SHOULD BE ATTEMPTING TO REMOVE IT.

Back to the drawing board...

Hmm...

I sat down on the couch after I got home from work, and within three pages of the book I was reading, I fell asleep. My son woke me at 6:20, because he was hungry for supper. I could have slept hours and hours longer.

I don't even remember dreaming, I ws asleep so deeply. Weird.

Tomorrow is a new day

Hopefully, this week will go better than last week.

Last week was a struggle at home, at work, everywhere. I was depressed, worn out, sick, and just plain tired. I felt like I was constantly in a bad mood, which is weird for me. I had so much to do, but I didn't want to do anything. Wednesday through Friday at work, I was so busy that I barely had time to think. When you smile, you feel better, so I just tried to smile as much as possible, and to enjoy the people around me. It did help for quite a bit.

What has really helped, though, is being able to spend some time working on the normal, everyday things. I did laundray and cleaned this morning. I made a real dinner last night (chili!). I got to spend time with my mom today. We were able to go shopping, and I had no deadlines to meet, no guilt about not being chained to my sewing machine. I was able to just enjoy being bored tonight.

I took naps!!!!

Of course, since I took a nap this afternoon, I will never be able to sleep before midnight tonight, but hey - I got to take a nap!!!

So, things are looking up for this week...

Shop 'til you drop...

My mom called at 8:00 this morning. Normally, phone calls at that hour on a Sunday are cause for alarm. However, this one was good.

"How 'bout I come to Ames and help you find something to wear to the wedding, and you can help me find a pair of brown pants?"

Heck yes!

She got hear around 11, and we took my son out to lunch (he picked Culver's, of course). We went to Target, and we grabbed a pair of pants and a matching jacket for me to try on. I was a little luckwarm about this one, just because I wasn't sure if I really liked it, and it was brownish. Mom found a pair of pants to try on, and as we were walking back to the fitting room, I saw a pair of charcoal gray pants with ivory pinstripes. I grabbed a black shirt to try with them, and from the moment I put them on in the fitting room, I knew I had found what I wanted to buy. Very cute. The shirt ended up being great, too, although a little big. Mom is checking at the Target in Fort Dodge on her way home, to see if they have a medium. Within 15 minutes, I was done with my shopping! yay!

Mom took a little longer. The pants she picked out did not fit correctly at the hips, so we went on to the Mall. It took well over an hour, but she found a pair in Maurices that fit pretty well, were the right color brown, and were reasonably priced (as in, not $60).

We had a great time! And yes, shopping wore me out just as much as corn-picking did yesterday... but I had more fun shopping!

Bored

It's funny how I was so looking forward to this weekend. I mean, besides the corn-picking fund raiser today, I did not have anything at all scheduled for this weekend. We left the fund raiser at the lunch break, due to the fact that my back hurt so bad I could hardly stand (should have worn my corset - the last three weekends, I had no back problems, just leg pain). I had a nap when we got home, then I made chili for supper.

And now I am sitting, with nothing to do.

I could work on a new doublet for my son, for the St. Cloud thing. I probably should, since we are portraying late 16th century, instead of mid-16th. I get to play Lady Elizabeth (Bess) Throckmorton, who eventually managed to marry the notorious Sir Walter Raleigh. Interesting story there. Basically, they are both lucky to have kept their heads at the time, and eventually, Sir Walter ended up losing his.

In any case, my son, even as our squire, should be better dressed. I may drive to Hancock Fabrics tomorrow, as they are having a sale.

In addition, I am planning two new gowns (planning, designing, not making just yet, too expensive). One I would like to make out of blue silk (obviously not a faire dress, except during very dry days with absolutely no chance of rain). The other, black corduroy, in the doublet style (which would be very nice and warm for this October thing).

The funny thing is, the black doublet dress I could probably have ready for October, except that I have a wedding to go to next weekend. I could wear my yellow forepart and sleeves with it, and just do very minor amounts of trim. and lots of jewelry. It wouldn't be very practical for faire, either, however. Too warm most days, although, the last day of the faire was fairly cold and windy.

In any case, I think that if I wait for sales, and use my JoAnn Fabrics coupons carefully, I could easily make two more dresses by next year. It's more that I am wanting something to do with my free time, than out of need. Of course, who knows if the Court will do more events between now and next September, so it might be wise to have some alternative gowns. I also want to make more pearl jewelry...

My baby is growing up...

Okay, so he hasn't been a baby for a loooonggg time....

When i was a girl, one of our slumber party games was truth or dare. Sometimes, the dare was to pick a boy we liked, then we had to call him.

Last night, around 8:30, the phone rang. When I answered it, no one was there. I could hear something in the background, so I said, "Hello," again, and someone asked to speak with my son. I handed the phone over to him, he said, "hello," and repeated it a couple of times. Finally he turned and looked at me and said, "they just laughed and hung up!"

"That's weird," I said.

...

...

"Oh my God! A girl likes you!!!!" It had finally dawned on me what just happened!

"WHAT?" he said, incredulously, then he started smiling.

Inadequate

Is exactly how I am feeling lately.

Gray Day

Went to the dentist this afteroon. No cavities for either of us, and my son got a flouride treatment. We may have his back molars sealed next time, as a precaution.

After the dentist, we went to the library and paid our fines (gee, something about not having any free time to even run to the library because you are sewing every waking second...). I got a couple of books about Queen Elizabeth I, and one about Elizabeth of York. I also got two ROMANCE novels. Yum!

We also checked out a bunch of DVDs, since we will actually have time to goof off for the next few days. We are going to watch "Spies Like Us" in a couple of minutes.

Bonding!!!!!

Okay. One load of laundry done.

Going to relax a bit now...

Errrrrrggggggggg

I would like to thank the asshat who poured dry soap into the lint filter of one of our dryers in laundry room. Since the other two dryers are being used, I am stuck waiting for anothor forty-fraking minutes for a damn dryer. This, after waiting 30 minutes for a damn washing machine.

I am pissed off beyond reason right now. I am tired, I still have a headache, and I have spent the last fraking hour and a half trying to fRAking get my laundry fRAking done. ONE FRAKING LOAD!!!!!!!!!! WTF????

Okay, this is TMI, I know, but don't get between a girl with PMS and her laundry, especially when it's a load that HAS to be done so her son can have clean jeans tomorrow (he has only two pairs that fit).

NOT happy.

A is for Apathetic, L is for Lazy

I had so many plans for this week... so much that I was going to get done around the house.

Right.

Well, I did pick up the living room, kitchen, and dining room, including vacuuming (*shock!*) Monday evening. It looked really great. The bathroom is mostly clean, too.

It's the laundry that I can't quite get motivated to do.

I am giving myself a 20 minute break, then I am going to do two loads of laundry.

Smart guy, that Teddy R...

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt

okay, maybe not a migraine...

I woke up with a bad headache again this morning. I decided to stay home from work, and get some rest. When I woke up at 10, thanks to the FedEx person, who actually had dropped off something pretty important (I'll explain later), my head still hurt.

That's when I realized that my throat hurt, too, and that getting something to drink did not make it go away. I think my glands are swollen under my jaw, too, and I have a very slight fever. I am trying to decide whether or not to go to the doctor, or to wait and see if it gets worse. I didn't expect the sore throat.

In any case, I'm going back to bed. I really don't want to be sick now. Too much that I want to do now that the faire is over...

Struggling today...

I am having a hard time today... I feel like I can't do anything right, and that I should just quit all outside activities because I suck at them anyway.

No, these are not rational thoughts. I have a headache, and that is probably most of the reason why I feel crappy about everything. Just feeling sorry for myself, I guess...

Just a little "off" today...

This morning, I woke up in a bad mood. Maybe it was seeing the mess that was left behind after we got home late last night from the faire, or perhaps that it was cold, or maybe even that my legs still hurt.

The fog continued at work this morning. Then around 11, my fingers started tingling and getting numb, and I figured out why I was feeling a bit off.

Migraine.

I spent the last nearly four hours sleeping, and it seems to have helped a bit. It is time for more tylenol. I would just go back to bed for the rest of the day, but I have a meeting tonight that I can't miss. I am worried though, as my fingers are still numb. Not a good sign...

End of the run...

The Faire is over. The good-byes have been said, sung, hugged, and otherwise completed.

It has not yet sunk in, and when it does, I am sure I will think of about 30 more people that I wanted to bid farewell and didn't see before they left.

Three weeks until our next event. Three weeks in which to get the house back into shape, get organized, fix garb, and get my research written up and memorized (I am going to talk about clothing and construction methods. I feel very underqualified, but I will do my best).

Next Sunday, I get to sleep in, and I will fully take advantage of that luxury. It will be the first day off we have had in weeks...

Fantastic day!!!!!

My legs hurt, I've breathed in more dust than I care to think about, and I am probably sunburned, but today was absolutely gorgeous!!!!! We could not have asked for better weather! Tons and tons of people, including my parents (poor Mom - the dust was playing havoc with her eyes, so they had to leave after just a couple of hours). We had an incredible parade at 12:30 - our best yet!!!

I am exhausted and trying to stay awake long enough to finish the laundry for tomorrow (the fallacies of my son having only one set of garb are well known, won't happen again). We had three weddings today, and had only one long break for lunch (45 minutes), and a short break at 2:30. It will be better tomorrow.

That is, of course, providing it does not rain.

As it is, we are under a tornado watch until 4:00 am, and the radar is quie colorful (although it seems to be sliding off to the north diagonal to us).

Just about time to throw the clothes in the dryer, and then I can take a bubble bath, drink more water and diet pepsi, perhaps have something chocolate, then go to bed so I can do the same thing all over again tomorrow.

I am sad to think that tomorrow is the last day of the faire...

If you haven't already been, get yourself to the Des Moines Renaissance Faire!!!

This is the final weekend of the Des Moines Renaissance Faire. Our theme this weekend is "Romance, Rogues, and Revelry", so there is no excuse to miss out on a romantic and fun weekend that looks to be perhaps a bit drier than usual.

Pertinant info:

Located on Dean Avenue, at Sleepy Hollow Sports Park, in the Festival Park area (brand new!!! First new permanent faire location in the midwest in 25 years!!!). Opening gate show is at 9:45. The faire runs from 10 am to 7pm, and is packed full of entertainment, food, and shopping!!!

Adults: $13.25 for a one-day pass (two-day passes are available)
Children 7-13 : $7.50
6 and under are free!!!!!!!!!!!!

Join us in our beautiful new town, Canterbury on Sherwood!

We have pirates invading Pirate Night at Jeanie's Bottle in Des Moines! Pirate Karaoke folks, what more could you want!!! Go party with the pirates, pick up a flyer, then join us for the weekend!!!

Chewing through the list of stuff to do tonight.

My to-do list was quite lengthy today. I managed to get one item crossed off over lunch (washing my poor yellow forepart for the billionth time). The rest had to wait until after work.

I went to Hobby Lobby to find tack-backs for a couple of pins that needed new ones. I got distracted wandering through the aisles, and found a beautiful broach to put on my skirt tomorrow (like i needed more). I finally found the tack-backs, and managed to get out of the store only $5.52 poorer.

I was starving. I had planned a nice dinner at home tonight, everything homemade. However, I decided to surprise my son, and bring home Culvers, including onion rings.

As we were eating, my sister Nan called to update me on my niece's situation. She has been having problems recently, that started when they came home to visit my grandmother in the hospital. These problems include going through 9 diapers a day, and a box of diaper wipes every two days. Needless to say, it's pushed back the potty training. She is scheduled for tests on the 9th, but they also ran some other tests and found that she had a bacterial infection. She probably picked it up from the hospital, is what they think, since the timing is right. She is on a pretty hefty dose of anitbiotics right now, but is otherwise fine. No complaints, no pain that they can tell. We are hoping that is all it is, and are praying that it is not the "C" word.

She is an amazing child. Her mother spends a lot of time playing with her, reading to her, and going through flashcards with her. She will pull flashcards out of the pile and tell her parents what they are. She told me that she had pizza last night, and "oli-oli" for lunch yesterday. This is a little girl who would not even touch table food, not even with her fingers, at the beginning of the summer. She had brought her mother her toy Horse while we were talking. She won't be two until December.

In any case, back to the onion rings...

Nan and I were talking about this weekend being Romance weekend at the faire, and all of sudden, I started feeling really sick. I ended up having to say goodbye quickly. Later, I took some medicine for the problem, but I stil felt awful. I took a nap (so I won't be able to sleep now until midnight, dang it). After I woke up, I was able to go out and get groceries, but I am really hoping I feel better before tomorrow. I knew I shouldn't have bought fast food. I should have stuck to the health meal I had planned that had absolutely nothing that would have made me sick. My son, of course, had not a single problem. My stomach is just too sensitive.

So, I still have this list of stuff I wanted to accomplish tonight. I am going to prioritize, and do what is absolutely necessary.

After all, I won't be able to sleep until midnight anyway.

How to gaurantee it will be sunny, and 80°F this weekend:

I finished my son's black flannel cloak.

This post is not about laundry.

:)

But it will be later...

My problem tonight is that I really, really want to take a nap. However, if I do that, I will not be able to sleep until late tonight, and since I have had a problem getting to sleep lately, that is not a good situation.

I was going to make another large dinner tonight, but the energy is not there. Nor is the appetite... If I did not have a child to think about, or plans for the weekend, this would be a night when I would just go to bed without dinner, and get up early in the morning. Instead, I will attempt to keep myself awake until around 9:30, and try to sew my son's cloak.

I feel guilty about this, but I am just going to pull some chicken strips and French Fries from the freezer for dinner tonight (the emergency stash). I can handle putting things into the oven.

Whew.

The skirt appears to have survived with no damage other than a section of a seam on the waistband pulling loose.

!!!!!!!!!!

I honestly expected to see bits of the trim stuck to the side of the washer when I opened the lid...

At Patience End

I swore I would not do this until after the faire, but I couldn't NOT do this.

After a vain attempt to wash most of the faire site dirt out of my hems, I gave up. I took it down to the laundry room, used the hand wash sink to rinse the worst of the mud off, then...

and here is where you may want to not read if you are at all sensitive to shock...

I threw the damn skirt in the wash on the delicate cycle.

I know that the trim will probably fall apart, but I am willing to sew more on tomorrow and Friday night in order to not have to try to wash it by hand.

Some of you know exactly what it means that I have come to this point.

And I will add more to the significance of this event: I cannot find more of this material in Ames. They may have it in either Fort Dodge, or Des Moines, but I don't have time to make another skirt even if they did have it.

My fingers are crossed that this gamble will payoff...

Change of Plans

Tonight, I made a really nice supper. Grilled steak, baked potato, corn on the cob.

I could not finish my dinner. No biggie.

I cleaned up the mess, and had just finished loading the dishwasher when I suddenly feel like I ate waaayyy too much.

I had planned on cutting out my son's cloak tonight, but I may end up going to bed early.

Neverending

I am in laundry overload right now.

I spent my lunch hour scrubbing, by hand, at the travesty of justice that was my son's white renaissance shirt. I let it soak in bleach water (with Clorox 2, Tide with Bleach, and a healthy dose of Spray and Wash) all morning while I was at work. I drained the water when I arrived home for lunch, squeezed water out of the shirt, and filled the sink again with warm water, clorox 2 and tide. I took my scrub brush to the sleeves, and other soiled areas. When I had spent all the time I could possibly spare scrubbing at the ground in dirt and muddy water stains, I drained the sink, and filled it with cold water, clorox 2, and tide again. I let it soak all afternoon, too.

Meanwhile, in the tub, his tabard and black pants were soaking. Too much mud, coupled by the fact that I had somehow zoned out on the fact that he had put them into a plastic grocery bag when he had changed Sunday night, meant that they also needed serious soaking. I emptied and filled the tub three times over lunch as well. I also let them soak all afternoon.

When I got home tonight, I surprised my son with chinese food from Hy-Vee. I was not up to making and cleaning up dinner. It also means I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. After dinner, my energy level bottomed out, and I sank into the couch, and promptly fell asleep for about an hour.

When I awoke, I realized that I really had to go to the fabric store and search for fabric for cloaks for the two of us. It is getting colder out, and we need to stay healthy. I did not find anything that I liked at Hobby Lobby, Joann Fabrics, or Wal-mart. I did find some black flannel for my son's cloak. I think I have enough of the fabric I used for his tabard to line it. He should stay nice and toasty warm with it. I would use flannel for mine, too, but I need something more rich looking. I could not find any wool, which would be expensive, but would be very durable and warm. I want to find the wool at Joann Fabrics, because I have a 40% off coupon.

After I returned home, I started the real laundry. I added the pieces I had washed by hand, and the flannel. I was surprised that my son's white shirt is actually somewhat white again, even if it is still a bit dingy.

Gee... I wonder why...:

Having a ton of fun!

BTW, in this photo, my son's sleeves are relatively clean. Shortly after this, he was playing in the mud, and dragging his sleeves through the muddy water. He spent all day soaking wet, then complained when I made him take a bath when we got home. "But I just got dry!!!!!" A comment by one of our fellow cast members: "He is all boy." In addition, I never heard even one of the cast children complain about the weather. They had a blast! How often do parents let their children play in the rain??? And to top it off, he is still healthy as can be.

So, despite the neverending chores that come with the Mom-territory, and trying to basically have two jobs with no days off whatsoever, we are really enjoying ourselves. The only drawback to this hectic schedule is that I rarely get to see the rest of my family. I miss them terribly, and am longing to go home for a weekend. I will get that chance at the end of the month, when my cousin gets married, so I am holding out until then.

I also don't get to talk to my good friends as much as I would like...

Mixed Feelings...

Five years ago, it was the most beautiful September day. The sky was a gorgeous blue, with very few clouds. I remember waking up, and going to work feeling like it was going to be the perfect day.

That feeling lasted until I got into the car to take my son to school, and the radio came on.

For months afterwards, I ate up all of the information I could get on what happened. I was glued to the television set when my son was asleep, or in another room. I read countless stories from witnesses, survivors. I had to assure myself that people DID survive. That they all weren't wiped away in an instant.

And then I stopped. I can't pinpoint when it happened, exactly. I just didn't want to see it anymore. I didn't want to hear about it. Or read about it. Sometime in the last four years, probably.

In any case, I woke up this morning, strangely rested, and in a good mood. It was a full two hours at work before I remembered what day it was. I mean, I knew the date, but it didn't hit me.

I went to a forum that I used to participate in, and did a search for the threads that were started that day, as we desperately searched for information on other participants. Everything from 2001 was gone from that site. Nothing at all left. Apparantly lost in a crash. That was really the only thing I wanted to read today, to remember the closeness and outpouring of concern that we all shared. When I found out that the files were gone, I shut that door in my head, and decided that I would not go any further into that corner of my memory today.

That is, until in the car on the way back from scouts tonight, my son asked me about it. His memory is fuzzy, and he says that none of his friends can remember anything about it. I think it is more that they can't separate what they remember from what is shown on television. He was very concerned, and I realized that by my denial to allow anything 9/11 related, I was robbing him of what he needed to fully comprehend and start healing.

I went through something similar when I was about the same age, with the Manson tornado, June 28, 1979. Of course, there are no handy VCR tapes, or DVDs from that time to help me put together what I remember with what really happened.

We have that resource.

So, we are going to sit down with a DVD/book that Dan Rather put together, called "What We Saw." I purchased this when it first came out, watched it once, and it has been on the book shelf gathering dust ever since.

I am doing this so that he can see for himself, what really happened. I owe it to him.

Most wanted product for my bathroom.

BoingBoing had blurb on Glo-in-the-Dark bubble bath.

I want some.

Now.

Because I am chilled and ouchy from being on my feet all day and getting rained on.

I will settle for the fruit scented bubble bath I currently have, but Glo-in-the-dark would be so much more fun!

Two things that suck

1. It is supposed to rain. I can see storms to the north on the radar, and the tall clouds from my window confirm that it is going to rain somewhere in Iowa tonight. Hopefully, it will not rain in Des Moines tomorrow or Sunday. I am not holding my breath.

2. I have had a stuffy nose for the last couple of days. Today, in the parking lot of Target, I suddenly realized that I have a sore throat. When I tried to eat a piece of pizza with my son, I confirmed the fact. I grabbed the last remaining can of chicken noodle soup, and a Sudafed Severe cold tablet (the only thing I had for colds. It's not the loopy sudafed, though, so I should be fine).

My throat sort of feels better after the soup, but I can tell that tomorrow is going to be interesting. I think it was having the window open the other night that did it (I fell asleep with the window WIDE open, and it was COLD). In any case, I have my underskirt and farthingle in the wash right now, so as soon as those are dry, and the farthingale rebuilt, and the suitcase packed, I am taking a hot bubble bath and going to bed to read and drift off to sleep.

I can't wait...

I'd like to thank my neighbors...

That 4:00 am party that you had was quite interesting. Nevermind the fact that I need to rise early to go to work.

You suck.

My hands are dyed pink.

SOMEthing wasn't colorfast.

I gently worked the dried mud out of the hem area of my overskirt. The water was muddy then, but not too bad as far as dye bleed.

So, after cleaning out the tub (yeah, no machine wash for this until after fest), I filled it with cold water, and more laundry soap. I ended up with pretty pink water. It was to be expected. I had already washed and dried the fabric before cutting into it, but reds are really prone to bleeding anyway.

The rinse ended up being pretty pink.

More like red.

I think it was more the trim bleeding than anything (I hope).

And then I washed the forepart and kicked myself for lining it in black. What was I thinking??? Oh yeah, I know... I had already washed this black fabric, and it hadn't really noticeably bled. Of course, now it did. I think I rinsed it well enough that not much was left on the gold brocade.

I am hoping anyway.

I knew I should have priced the dry cleaning, but I just know it is going to be horrendously expensive. I need to keep my options open, too, as once you dry clean something, you cannot just wash it ever again.

Now the trick is to see if it will dry before tomorrow night, so I can fix that pesky hem, and iron it...

Cosmo Moment

Now, normally I do not read Cosmo magazine, but when I walked past the newstand today while picking up groceries, the cover made me stand up and take notice.

You see, Cosmo has

Headlines like this: "101 --- Tricks to Try before you Die!!!"

and "The Certain Kind of --- He's Thinking about 24/7"

and such jems as "Brave Chicks Share their Hysterical --- Bloopers"

So, of course, I had to buy it.

Living vicariously... very interesting articles, actually...

* Alternately replace S****E***X*** with Food and it's even more hilarious...

Quiet evening at home

For once.

I am currently doing laundry, and instead of madly sewing while waiting for the loads to wash and dry, I am reading, and listening to my son.

It's been a loooooong time since I have been able to do that.

Every sentence has been about his science class, caterpillars, and other insects. He wants to plant lots of plants that will attract butterflies and caterpillars next year, so he can study them. He's been drawing pictures of different types of butterflies, and was telling me how to tell a male from a female monarch, and the interesting fact that he got to see two butterflies mate in class.

I am so happy to be able to listen to his conversation, even though it is making it hard to follow the story in my book. The book will be there forever. My son is growing up and soon won't want to tell me things. I am going to enjoy these moments while I can.

Highpoints of the first weekend of the Des Moines Ren Faire

• Bread bowls with soup. Those of you who had one know what I am talking about. 'nuff said.

• Excellent jousting! I was wincing at the pounding these guys were taking. We were pretty up close and personal in the Royal Box. And the sword fighting was fierce...

• The entertainers!!!! I love how they were changing words to some of the songs to incorporate characters at the faire.

• Getting the giggles during closing gate on Monday, thanks to the Horsemen. You know who you are, and yes, your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. ;)

• The scotsman fishing in the puddles...

• And the one who informed the Queen that yes, he had been going regimental. TMI!!!!!!!!!

• The pirates, kidnapping the princess....

• And bringing her back in less than a minute.

And too many others to share! I am going to have to write all of this down. Way too much fun this weekend!!!

Day one!

We are home after a full day of faire. Aching feet, aching cheeks from smiling so much (we had a blast!). Many memories, and it will only get better!

Yes, it rained, but not until nearly 5, so no 5:00 joust. I am too exhausted right now to write much. I am doing laundry because my son could not seem to understand that he had to NOT lie on the ground. I hope that the Spray-n-wash, the tide with bleach, and the Clorox 2 can make a dent in his sleeves of mud. We may have to wash it twice...

So, those of you in the area - go to the Des Moines Renaissance Faire in the new, lovely Festival Park (located on Dean Avenue, attached to Sleepy Hollow Sports Park. If you can get to the State Fairgrounds, Dean Avenue runs immediately south of the grounds. Turn east, and just follow the road, around the curve, down the hill, and you will see Sleepy Hollow.

Come in garb if you like! We'd love to see you!!!!

T-minus 17 hours to opening!!!

I just finished our pouches. My son's costume is 100% done!!!! I have to sew the pearls to one of my sleeves yet. Then, I have to tack the facing on my skirt, and put the broaches back on. I'll iron my forepart, and touch up everything. Oh, and sew hooks and eyes to my farthingale and underskirt.

Then, I can SLEEP or relax!!!!!

I had better check my list of things to do again...

I have to be missing something...

Google Books = Heaven!!!

(you can download out of print books!!!)