Miscellany of a Cheshire Cat

I took remarkably few photos this year, but I relaxed a great deal. The rather small, full set of photos is on flickr.

A few snips in no particular order:
I love my camp.
This was the Pennsic of “I Forgot”. Certain tarps didn’t get packed and Lisa and Julianna SAVED PENNSIC by getting us extra tarps from Home Depot!
The yurt went up quickly this year, probably because we lost the instructions.
We cooked in camp the first week. A casual, group effort! It was fun, relaxed and yummy. (Despite this, the food court food still got boring by the end of the second week.) Veggies on sticks were a huge hit along with grilled meat, especially spicy sausages.
Julianna and Autumn make kick-butt pork loin.

Artisans Row is the best new thing at Pennsic since pre-registration. I’m not sure if I’m using hyperbole or not!

Autumn and I went to the glass bead day and got very hooked on working with hot glass. Ivy, Siana and I went to the wire weaving day and were equally hooked. The Fiber day was good but more demo than hands-on (at least when we stopped by), but there was an impressive table full of dyeing experiments to paw over. I went back one more day and had a lovely, informative discussion with a man doing some serious card weaving work. To everyone who made Artisans’ Row happen, thank you so much! I hope it happens every year!

I did take classes this year too. I need to write a thank-you note to the teacher of the archeological evidence of norse clothing class. Not only was her lecture and Q&A excellent, the hand-outs are well-organized and composed (rather than just photocopies of other articles) and the bibliography is 2 pages! I took a couple of glass classes too, thanks to Autumn’s encouragement and morning support, including “make your own bead release”. I should be up and running with my torch by the end of next week. Can’t wait!

Merrick had an apprenticing ceremony one fine evening. It was beautifully spoken and he was presented with his new, shiny, green belt as the sun started to set. I’m very honored to have been invited and glad I didn’t miss it!

I did not make it up to the list fields or battlefields for the first time in ages. This means I missed the Fop cleaning dispatching someone in 17 seconds flat during Rapier Champions, but I’ve seen the video like a dozen times now. It was a good year for relaxing!

I love my camp. It was a really enjoyable year for us as a camp too.

There was heat. There was rain. The threshold for the yurt’s light-weight canvas roof is 2.5 inches of rain, at which point it starts to drip lightly on the uphill side. This wouldn’t be a problem if our bed weren’t on the uphill side. I’d be even less bitter about it if the drips didn’t fall predominantly on my side of the bed this year. (Among the tarps forgotten was the nylon tarp we usually throw over the uphill side of the roof when it rains profusely.) Ah well.

I love viking garb. I love linen.

Cardiac hill is easier but not easy after several months of working out.

There were projects that didn’t get done and some that did. There’s a list of projects and things to not forget next year conveniently located in the notebook I always plan with.

Readjusting to the real world and work has been … challenging. My old trainer dumped me just before Pennsic so I’m adjusting to a new trainer this week as well as trying to get back in the exercise and work groove. So far? He’s kicking my butt. Hard.

Next year, I’ll take more photos!

Laundry is on-going. Hopefully it’ll be done in time for Pennsic next year. ;)

artisans row, beads, glass, lampwork, pennsic, sca, vacation

So back at the beginning January, I got a terrible, terrible cold that basically took me out for 3 weeks. I was mostly better by the last week of the month but still easily tired out, coughing, and terribly behind at work.

The last weekend of January was fabulous! We drove up to NH for my birthday dinner at the Best Mexican Restaurant Ever (Hermanos in Concord, NH). My brother, Kirsten and the fabulous Juli joined us and riotous time was had with pitchers of white sangria. Birka happened to be the same weekend, so my birthday trip included shopping and medieval fun. Saturday night we went back to Hermanos with another bunch of people, though not the full bunch we expected due to Birka deciding to that Ian should spend the rest of the weekend in a weakened and miserable state. He recovered admirably, but missed out on the best Mexican food ever. The intrepid cat wrangler, Violet, took over the felines for the weekend. It was a fabulous weekend!

Why, yes, we do go to New England for Mexican food.

February brought work and snow. Lots of snow. There are still itty bitty little snowbanks around as evidence. I had a great time shoveling, feeding the wee little electric snow blower and generally frolicking when I had time. Clearing the driveway was fun. Without a good place to put large piles of snow, I ended up packing the snow into some serious fortification walls between the driveway and the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the aforementioned January sick put me behind for work and having to spend serious time moving snow during the week took away from my time even more… which turned out to be okay because the developer is behind too (mostly due to our requests, I’ll admit) and while I could have used another week to get documentation done, it was done in time for training.

Yeah, that was pretty much February – snow and work.

Training was this past week. Monday night I was at Staples at 9 pm making copies. I was delighted to learn that particularly awesome photocopiers have the option to 3-hole punch your copies automatically for you. This saved some serious time! Tuesday we flew off to the Sales meeting in Florida, which was not as warm as anyone expected. Down right chilly! And populated with people 2-3 times my age. I delivered some training for the Sales team, and while, I would have preferred a little more focus, everyone has seen the material now, has a really detailed User’s Guide and can probably pick things up quickly once we start using the system.

Also, I could very easily get accustomed to working in a villa with a view of the ocean. The photo here I took from my iPhone from the balcony of our room. (There are more, from a better camera, but this one was handy.) I saw a dolphin one day while I was prepping for training. I love watching seabirds nose-dive into the water for fish too. Certainly beats the view of the church.

Airport security is indeed still a joke. An old, annoying, stupid joke told by someone who has drunk the kool-ade.

I have almost finished my first pair of socks for adults. (I’ve made wee baby socks before, but not adult-sized socks.) They’re far easier than I expected, despite having messed up the heel. I’m smart though! I messed up the first heel and realized it, and then messed up the heel the same way on the second sock. Perhaps I’m feeling overly clever about that but go me!

Somewhere along the snowy way, my sleep schedule has been reset. Probably the exhaustion from all the snow removal. I am now going to bed before midnight again and getting up around 8. Without an alarm. This is unheard of for me! Of course, it could be a sign of the apocalypse. I wonder if that means I’m one of the four horseman… which one of them wakes up at 8 am without an alarm?

concord, hermanos, knitting, nh, sca, sleep, travel, vero beach, weather, work

“There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.” —Charlotte Brontë

Today I accomplished 2 out of the 3 things on my to-do list.
However, during the day, I completely forgot I’d written a to-do list.

I haven’t been grocery shopping in 2010 yet. I’ve run out for milk, tissues and cold medicine, but no real food shopping has occurred between being sick and being slammed at work after being sick slowed me down for 2 full weeks. My little part-time project has exploded in ways that just increase my workload. I’m ending some of my days completely fried. I guess my work life is back to normal, right?

The mini-cats are growing up. They are now truly more mini-cat than kitten. We get glimpses of kitten but their features are growing into cat features. They still haven’t learned that my desk is not actually a wrestling ring. In fact, quite the contrary! And when I’m on the phone my desk is even more appealing as a wrestling ring. Luckily they also like to nap on our desks so we get calm kitten time as well. Tasha is quite the little love bug when it suits her, which is rather more often than it suits Abby. They are still quite content to sleep attached to Tennyson, much to his chagrin. The Monster Cat Containment Systems are getting quite the work out too. We have witnessed many sleeping cat-piles and have wondered many times, “How can that be comfortable?”

I am, indeed, ready for some winter again. Birka is this weekend!!! We’re leaving Friday morning so we can get to NH in time for dinner with my brother, Kirsten and Juli Friday night. This time holiday traffic will not bog us down! This time the drive will be the appropriate number of hours! Right? For anyone going to Birka, we’re in the main hotel and will see you this weekend!

This is all assuming I can survive the week and get to Birka. Piece of cake if nothing else major explodes. Fingers are crossed.

cats, health, kittens, photographs, work

So we went on a cruise the first of November. It was the first time either myself or the Fop had gone on one. Overall I’d say it was a fun experience and something I’d consider doing again in a few years. Going with a bunch of friends definitely improved the experience! SPF 70 (applied 3 times) did not prevent me from getting sunburned at Cocoa Beach. The Bahamas are rather nice though their pirate roots do show. I had a great tour guide in Nassau (while the Fop was off snorkeling) and learned lots of cool things and was generally amused by staircases and flamingos.

The culture on the boat was not what I was expecting. There were some things that definitely could have been improved. The nightly parade through the professional
photographers and their jazzy backgrounds was something I’d totally not expected. Sure, maybe on the formal night but the whole cruise? I guess you’re on a boat and you have the photographers so you might as well make them available. Still, as someone who views formal photographs as something best left behind along with the rest of high school, it was odd. However, now I have a cheesy 8×10 of the Fop in a suit. He’s adorable. It’s already in a frame.

Assigned seating for dinner on the boat? Not a bad thing for our group. We got a table to ourselves, all the better to reduce the trauma to other passengers, and had excellent service from the dining room team. Arriving to a cabin decorated for your anniversary?
Totally awesome! Towel animals in the cabin each night? Frickin’ adorable.

The food for the dinners was pretty yummy – feta and mint go great together on salad by the way. I don’t know why I’d never tried it before. There were a lot of tasty things that came across our table! We also, as a group, ordered a lot of the infamous chocolate melting cake. The food at the steakhouse on board was amazing. The rest of the food on board was average at best. I admit it: I’m a food snob. The pizza wasn’t pizza but it was tasty warm bread with melted cheese and sauce. The coffee was horrible but I fear that I started to get used to it after a couple days. Luckily the lemonade was quite tasty!

There were some problems… cabins weren’t ready when we boarded so we had to sit
around a crowded deck with our luggage. Open seating the first night at dinner when we’d all planned to meet up at our assigned table was a bit of a problem. The questionable competency of the Carnival representative we all used to book our cruises was cursed quite a bit… Personally, I’d love to go on a non-smoking cruise. Even with designated “smoking sections”, plumes of cigarette and cigar smoke made for unpleasantness.

That said, it was a pretty fun trip! I’ve decided that cruises are like road trips on a boat (and on the ocean) where everyone gets to hang out together and even drink (since we don’t get to drive the boat) and generally have a good time.

I love road trips.

I really liked the Bahamas. A startling amount. Perhaps it was the tour guide who himself was so enthusiastic about the Bahamas. Perhaps it was something they put in the popcorn. (Oh the fabulous popcorn!)

There are more photos over on flickr. No, I did not scan the cheesy photo of the Fop. I was tempted though. ;)

carnival pride, cruise, travel, vacation

August 22nd, 2009, I had the pleasure and honor of attending a wonderful wedding of two wonderful people! Photos have been sorted and posted!

The wedding was beautiful and gorgeous. There’s nothing like a powerful thunderstorm and deluge of rain to make a ceremony more intense. We all got wet. Most of us took off our shoes.

We had a bit of a manic photography session at the after-party fueled by the giddy energy of being together in rare combination. There was a lot of connecting and reconnecting energy in the air. I had a great time at the wedding and the after-party. We made ice cream at the after-party (probably to burn off the fabulous pizza!)! How often do you do that as party of a wedding day? It was great!

(My flight home that weekend was on-time, which was a big plus after my flight up on Friday had been delayed 7.5 hours… as seen in the first photo in the set… everything was delayed.)

eskridge wedding, photographs, travel

…for muffins. Yum.

I spent the weekend at my parents’ house in Maine. It was lovely. The weather was gorgeous and considerably cooler than down in PA. The company was entertaining. The blueberry muffins were divine thanks to Mum’s blueberry wrangling skills. I consumed tasty Italian sandwiches (Real Maine Italians, thank you very much) as well as steak as thick as my arm from Dad’s grill. We also made a boatload of peanutbutter cookies for the boys. Yes, they are spoiled.

Saturday we saw a Tasha Tudor exhibit over at a little museum in Bridgton. Tasha’s art is really tiny! Perhaps it’s because Tasha’s images were omnipresent in my childhood that I have this weakness for simply but intricately depicted scenes and illustrations. Totally worth the drive. We also stopped at Korner Knitters on the way home where I got to impulse shop some lovely and some silly yarn. (It was so nice to meet you, Darrin!)

I did not impulse buy a lake house, not that it was really a realistic option, but I was tempted. There are a lot of For Sale signs up in the Lakes Region. There are even some For Sale signs on some curiously tempting classic cars. Again, I was tempted.

Oh and the driving! The Clubman and I did not get any tickets nor were we even stopped! I’m pleased to announce that we can get get from the house in PA to the house in Maine on one tank of gas. Just barely, mind you, but it’s a huge mileage improvement over the Subaru. The Mini does like to speed though… I’ll refrain from mentioning numbers here because my mother reads this blog and will scold me. I will say I am very grateful for its visibility (super-duper fog lights) and maneuverability. On multiple occasions I got to zig and zag out of the way of impending stupidity. Why is it that people in New Jersey don’t look before changing lanes?

The drive up to Maine on Friday took me probably 8.5 to 9 hours. I hit traffic in Connecticut and accidents in Massachusetts. The drive back to PA on Monday took me 8 hours. I hit a little traffic in CT where 91 dumps onto 95 and a bit of an accident on the Garden State Parkway, but other than that it was a pretty easy drive. Totally worth it for a weekend in Maine. And while the drive tired me out each way, I think I recovered fully on each with a good night’s sleep.

Except that I’m reading books again (as in novels as opposed to short stories) and not getting to sleep as early as perhaps I should.

I blame you, Miss Juli.

blueberries, driving, maine, mini clubman, photographs, travel, road trip, books

Just reassuring you I exist beyond providing regular doses of Monster Cat. ;) This is one of the roses from out front. I cut the all the blooms off this bush and put them in a vase in the kitchen to save them from the painter guys who are supposedly painting the porch. The kitchen has smelled of roses all weekend!

Summer is totally here. It’s hot. I finally got my seedlings into the raised beds out back. It’ll be a late harvest I should get some tasty peppers. I also planted some mint, basil (less than last year!), cukes and peas. We’ll see if the latter 2 come up. They’re going to be very crowded where I put them but hopefully I’ll end up with tasty snacks. Next I need to start splitting the houseplants … the houseplants that reside on the sun porch… in the sun… in the hot summer… oofa.

I have a new contract that was in place for a whole week before it changed rather radically. Never a dull moment, right? It’s interesting and different than past problems… but kind of the same too. Everything always seems to come down to communication.

Monster Cat himself (because it’s hard to exclude him, ever) has been through lots of cat scorn-provoking tragedy lately. He seems to be on the mend now but he spent a very expensive weekend at the vet’s last weekend. Don’t tell but he’s going in for a follow-up Monday morning. He will adore it.

Speaking of last weekend, while my cat was howling away at the hospital, I went up to NH and MA for a wonderful bridal shower book brunch! (By the way, if I’d thought of the book brunch bridal shower thing before I got married, I might have not ducked out on that part of the tradition!) The loveliest ladies attended and it was indeed an elegant affair. I had a great time at the brunch and hanging out with the fabulous Juli throughout the rest of the weekend. Juli, for those who don’t know, has the best shopping karma on the planet. She shares it. She rocks. I have a great little black dress with flowers embroidered on the hem as well as some other lovely things from our escapades. She also sent me home with a stack of books to add to my “To Read” pile. What a wonderful weekend!

gardening, photographs, roses, travel

After a week of sunshine and heat and allergens (fought off by sunblock, shorts and drugs to varying degrees of effectiveness), we are back home. Hilton Head was lovely and not quite too hot. There were considerably fewer dead jelly fish on the beach this year. More excitingly there were tons of sand dollars. In the previous two years we’ve gone, the Fop found me one sand dollar. This year I could have picked up hundreds. The fabulous lisaf accompanied us for a week of relaxation and doing very little on a very loose schedule. The best part about this vacation is that it’s so low impact. We meander about, eat really wonderful food, walk on the beach a lot and soak up the fact that there is no demand on our time other than our own whims. Which of course means I got nothing on my hypothetical to-do list for the week actually done. It was awesome.

Invisible-stealth alligator accompanied us all home. Well, when we eventually did get home. There was a delay getting into Charlotte but apparently not getting out because our connecting flight took off early. It was an interesting experience being on standby for a later flight and watching the airline explicitly prioritize on-time departures over customer service. I can’t say I’m stunned, but I was a little surprised it was so blatant from 15 feet from the airline counter at the gate.

Miss Evil and Tennyson were glad to see us though we were not met with the usual protestations that we’d be gone forever and they’d feared we were never coming back. This means violet_amy did an excellent job as the cat-sitter extraordinaire! I suspect she spoiled them so much they didn’t have time to notice we were gone. (Thank you, Violet! You are fabulous!)

Travel, airports, hilton head island, vacation

Court was long but I was kept from insanity by the delight of two dear friends getting awards as well as some strategic crocheting. A lovely woman behind us fed us snowman cookies about 2 hours into Court. She should be sainted. I didn’t take many photos, which is rather unlike me when I actually have a camera at hand, but here are some of the best ones.

The Queen’s hat rocks for many reasons but I love that it has her favor motif on it. And I don’t know if it was an accident or not, but throughout court the heralds (in the case of the photo here, the bearded man in purple holding a folder and standing between the two seated people) stood in a spotlight that provided a certain ethereal effect… Clever heralds.

I had a great weekend – totally worth the 14 hours of driving. We stayed with my brother who got us addicted to Weeds. We ate well all weekend. I saw lots of people I hadn’t seen in ages (possibly because I’ve not been to any events in ages). Spending time with dreda and rising_moon was wonderful and of course makes me miss them even more. Stupid geography. The roads were blissfully calm Sunday afternoon thanks to a certain sporting event. (The outcome of which I remained ignorant of until Monday around 5 when I mentioned to slyppi that I still didn’t know who won and she told me!)

birka, court, mongul hats, sca, stonemarche, travel

Just in case you were worried, the asparagus fern continues to flourish almost to the detriment of the purple passion vine in the pot with it. There will be dividing in the spring. Again. I like this photo because the afternoon sun is blazing on and through the plants but the outside world is cold and white. I do love our sun porch.

Today was fun. Well, yesterday technically at this point. A bunch of the usual suspects (meaning of course: Berrick, Lissa, Siovhan, Merricke, Mark and the Fop along with myself) ended up at the Melting Pot to celebrate my birthday with fondue. We’d been meaning to go for a while and the stars aligned for both an excuse (my birthday) and an easy menu (restaurant week, which may or may not have turned out to be a discount). As often happens with such a combination of people, amusement was had. I am the Princess of Asparagus, by the by. I believe everyone paid tribute to me with their spears of asparagus, which was pretty much awesome since I love the stuff. I’m glad no one was in a hurry because we were there over 3 hours. Fabulous people also gave me treats of books, yarn and maple sugar candy… Thank you all for the company and the wonderful evening!

I also now have a combination camera and laptop bag the size of a semi trailer thanks to the Fop. I now have more bag than I have camera, a deficiency I’d like to remedy.

I am not yet fully packed for Birka. This should surprise no one. (Though I will point out that the Fop’s swords are already in the little car.) I did locate all the jewelry I want to wear Saturday. And I picked out the garb too. I just have to go put it all in the same bag. We are driving up tomorrow and staying with my brother in Concord – so those of you who will be there this weekend, see you on Saturday I hope!

And now? I should go finish packing.

asparagus fern, birka, birthday, friends, packing, photographs, plants, purple passion vine, sca, travel