Adventures in Living!

Signposts

Always, in life, there are signs. A lot of them are subtle -- most of them, probably, because life is like that -- and some of them announce themselves with a blaze of highway-safety orange or neon green. I realized, this morning, as I rounded up items for a Goodwill donation, and papers to shuffle and a list of places I needed to stop, that over the recent days, the landscape of our life has shifted. Just a bit. But like erosion on a cliff face, one day you notice how much is changed.

Last weekend, we moved our youngest child out of his crib and into a "big-boy bed" (a twin mattress and box spring on the floor). He is going to be three in November, and well, it was time. Wren had already been moved to a bed by this age, primarily because Noah was on his way and we needed the crib. Now, the crib we bought secondhand when Wren was coming is in pieces stacked neatly in the closet in Noah's room. I washed and folded all the crib sheets and stacked them in the closet, too, along with the crib skirt, the changing table pad and covers, and the crib toys.

.......shift.........

This morning, I rounded up a huge bag of small toys. Some of them were infant toys obviously no longer needed, some were the dreaded Happy Meal toys that seem to multiply their uselessness endlessly, and some were things that the kids just didn't play with anymore. I also donated the smallest of the three riding toys we had in the house. A good portion of our Fisher-Price Little People toys have now moved upstairs to the kids' rooms. The great room no longer looks like a badly-kept Toys R Us store. I am *this close* to knicknacks and candles and antiques and things of value on display again.

............change......

Kira is coming home this weekend for a couple of days. I haven't spoken to her in two weeks, but I know she is okay and hopefully having a great time on her dad's farm. When fall rolls around, she will be starting the seventh grade. We will have to go shopping for school clothes, and find a dress for the Christmas dance.

I am buying my daughter dresses for dances.

With her, as with Noah, I am constantly torn between wanting her to grow up, and wanting her to stay little. part of me hopes she will come home from the summer with a new interest in fashion (even a little bit), and some additional maturity for handling social situations. but part of me wants her to stay little, stay young, and be out of reach of the understanding of things like money, stress, disaster, and human nature.

In three years, Travis and I will have been married ten years. By that point, Kira will be steadfastly a teenager (15), Wren will be starting the second grade (halfway though elementary school at age 8), and Noah, who is a little like Peter Pan, always my little boy, will be six. All of that in three short years.

............grow..............

The clock in my kitchen is ticking the seconds away. I can't stop the passage of time, nor can I slow it. I can savor the moments, take a million pictures, and know that we are raising three fine human beings. My living space is a little bit neater (sort of), and the equipment and supply needs for my children are a lot less, but I know that there will be even more signposts to read on this road, and I am enjoying the ride, looking out the window, and sharing the time with my most favorite human beings in this world -- my family.

Independence Day

It was a full weekend, full of friends and good food and fun times. We celebrated the USA's birthday in typical style, with lots of people and tons of food, and fireworks to mark the occasion.

It was hot, though. That part kinda sucked, frankly. But there was beer, to be sure, and watermelon, and the pool for the kids and sprinklers, so we survived. Barely.

Of course there was food....this is OUR house.....

I think I made everyone aware of the utter fantasticness of Zweigle's hot dogs, from Rochester, NY. My very very favorite from since I was a little kid. I love them burned to a crisp on the outside. Apparently everyone else loved them too, because I didn't get one! :( Thank GOD there is a Wegman's only an hour away so I can get more!! Oh, and Travis smoked a pork loin, too. YUM.

What would the 4th be without a flag cake or dessert?

This one has jello under the Cool Whip yum.

The kids played in the pool, and the sprinkler. Yeah, we had to drain and refill that poor pool at least once.

We had beer and sodas, of course.

There was much hanging out.

 
Kids loved the hammock.

This is the only picture I have of me...took it (poorly) with the self-timer. **Note to self: In the future, remember to ask people to take the camera and photograph YOU, too, Chris.**

We got all 15 kids (yes...fifteen...13 under the age of 12..) lined up in their chairs for some fireworks.

Sparklers, first, though.

All Dads Must Light And Monitor Fireworks.

I think it's an unwritten rule.

Two-thirds of my children stuck it out for a little while, but retreated because of the excessive noise....Wren found some comfort with out friend Dominique, and Kira just beat it indoors. Noah, however, the one who tells us frequently that things are "TOO WOUD, MOMMY!", was delighted.

(this was actually taken the night before, during some 'preview' fireworks)

All in all, it wasn't the best party I've ever thrown....it was so terribly hot, and there were some glitches in the overall situation, BUT I *think* people enjoyed themselves, and I was certainly glad to have everyone together. We really missed a few folks who were unable to make it, particularly our friend who got stuck working in the Midwest.

The evening ended on a more sour note than I wished. We hadn't made enough of an allowance for our three dogs, and by the end of things, the fireworks noise, the kids, the constant commotion and screaming, AND being outside in the heat all day all led to Quinn attacking Ruby and leaving her with puncture wounds in her neck. Ruby got her pound of flesh, though, as Quinn received four wounds in her right foreleg and by this morning, her leg was swollen and she was having difficulty walking on it. Some antibiotics and $200 later, she is on the mend. Ruby is going in tomorrow. Our poor credit card is getting a workout. We must take better care next time to give the dogs the space and peace they need during a party. I feel badly, but Quinn and Ruby seem to be friends again, so that is good.

Today was chock full of nothing, except I drove Kira back to her dad's for a couple of weeks. It was too damned hot to do anything else except vegetate in the air conditioning. Of course, we're old, so an all-day cookout party pretty much took everything out of Travis and I. The kids are going to bed on time tonight, and I plan to dump myself on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and the book I'm reading (Traveling With Pomegranates -- really REALLY good!).

Tomorrow....the kids go to summer preschool! I am trying not to be TOO excited; after all, I have loved having them around, but I am dying -- DYING, I tell you! -- for some solitary creative time. I feel my Muse hanging around and whispering to me, and I really need to answer Her. My torch needs to be set up again, and there is wire to bend and make into things, and several magazine articles to write, and work to be packed and sent off to editors, and a book proposal that isn't going to write itsdamnself!

Tomorrow morning, back on the bike at 5:30, too. I've had my holiday splurge, and now it's time to remember that 'discipline is freedom'...

Summer

Good Stuff I Cannot Discuss (sort of)

So, this has been a weekend of all kinds of goodness!

Thursday evening, encouraged by another artist friend of mine, I wrote a query letter to a magazine and sent in a couple of photos of some work I have done. It's kind of a big deal, these magazines, and I didn't expect much to come from it. Boy, was I surprised late Friday night when I received an email from the editor of that magazine telling me she thought my work was fabulous and wanted to feature it in the next issue! Yow!

Unfortunately, I can't really tell you (right now) which magazine, or which work of mine they will have.

This makes THREE national magazines that will show my work this year, along with articles I have written. (I can't really tell you the names of the other two magazines, yet, either) Writing for magazines has been something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I am a decent writer, I think, and I know my style leans more toward the journalistic side of things, so non-fiction work is perfect. Plus, it generally pays at least a little something. My dear, sweet, very talented husband is also a writer, but his work leans way more toward the creative side of things. I have been telling him, though, that a number of blog entries of his have really been outstanding in the 'personal essay' genre, and he should think about shopping them around. Right now, he's working on a book. I can't wait til he is recognized for his talent by a publishing house.

Speaking of Travis, he was working most of the weekend, unfortunately, so we didn't get to spend as much time together as I would have liked. :(

Also on Friday, I ended up picking a gallon of sour cherries at the home of my ex-husband. I drop Kira off at his farm on most Friday nights, and in early June, the sour cherry tree in the front yard is usually bursting with fruit. I adore the color of the cherries, and spent some time Saturday pitting them and admiring the crimson red. They are actually the color of one of my favorite glasses, Creation is Messy's Sangre.

Isn't that just a lush, gorgeous red? There's definitely a pie in our future.

More goodness on Saturday....a trip to the South of the James Farmer's Market was a HOT and scooterific affair for me. I took my scooter over to pick up our weekly share from Victory Farms. It was unbelievably hot; I could not bring myself to put on jeans, so I must confess to riding in shorts. I did wear my helmet and gloves and sneakers (ALWAYS), and I put on my (black) riding jacket, figuring if I crashed, at least the top half of my body would stay decently protected. Heh.

I couldn't figure out why some guy was honking at me at a stoplight, until I realized my riding jacket is long enough that it covered my shorts when you saw me from the side and front. D'oh! Longer shorts next time...

I wrote a post on my ScooterMom blog about my market run, and a local neighborhood blog picked it up and featured it in THEIR post about the market this weekend! They even used one of my photos and everything! (they credited me, so it's ok). Go here to check out the article!

Lastly, today after church, we took the kids and went to the Richmond Greek Festival for lunch. It's a huge deal here in Richmond, and we love love LOVE some Greek food, so we try to go every year. The festival is so big, they have a drive-through lane for food orders, so if you don't want to walk around the festival and you just want some food, you can do that! It being ridiculously hot today, we opted for the drive-through. Yum! Souvlaki, pastichio, baklava, galaktoboureko and dolmades....oh, it's heaven!

Now, I am washing clothes and writing, and doing some work, and setting up the coffeepot for the morning and deciding whether I am going to walk or do the exercise bike at 5:30 in the morning tomorrow.

Summer schedule has started for this household; no more preschool for a few weeks, so not a lot of free time around here for the Mommy. Gonna have to cram all my extracurricular writing, glassworking, jewelry-making and metalsmithing into the evening hours and naptimes. Yikes!

The Good Stuff, though, is that there is lots of time to be with my kids. And that is a Very Good Thing. Love that bunch so much!

Oh and What a Weekend It Was!

There's really nothing like an inadvertent party to remind you how interesting and fun life can be.

Our Memorial Day weekend was supposed to be a little lower-key, but after all was said and done, it really was an awesome time. I love that our friends want to come here and see us and be with us, and that we can offer our hospitality as we do. I just wish I hadn't been sick for most of it.

Friday afternoon, our friend Don Downie, who is a jeweler, came down to spend the weekend. It being Memorial Day, this is the weekend for Sapphire Joust, an annual event for our local SCA group, the Barony of Caer Mear. Don has been making the prizes for the tournaments for just about 20 years now, and even though he now lives in Pennsylvania, he always delivers the prizes himself. (Another great thing is that lately when he comes to visit, I get metalsmithing and jewelry lessons!) Kira was home this weekend, so I didn't have to go anywhere Friday night. We hung out and chatted and played with the kids, which was nice.

Saturday morning, Travis stayed home with the little ones, and the rest of us (me, Don, and Kira) went out to the event for the day. It was odd going to an event by myself and with Kira. I am so used to going with Travis, and it has been forever since I was at an event. Last September's Journey to the Crusades was the last event I went to, and that was small and local. Not the same. Even so, it was nice to see folks, many of whom were astonished by how much older Kira is now. I was astonished by how much tighter my green linen cotehardie is now. Ugh.

Mistress Iseulte lent her the gown she is wearing (it fit perfectly!), and upon arriving on site, we watched court and the investiture of the new Baron and Baroness.

Bryce and Melisent process into court

Augustin and Aine process into court.

After standing around for court, we went for a bit of shopping. Kira immediately recognized the awesomeness that is The Crafty Celts, and chose a wolf pendant, with which she accessorized her gown.

I was disappointed to find no Spanish peacock, because I had been hoping to procure another lucet and a nice drawplate.

Thankfully, Mistress Iseulte offered us (and Don) space under their dayshade and we sat and enjoyed the youth combat tourney and some of the various heavy fights going on in the list. Iseulte and I went walkabout to chat up people along the field while Kira sketched in the shade. I was happy to see and talk with Syr Justus, Mistress Genevieve, Mistress Thjora, Mistress Isobel, Duchess Padraigin and Duke Cuan and their wonderful little boy, Benjamin, and a number of other people I have only seen on the internet in the past year or so. 

I don't really know the sitting or incipient royalty, so no hanging out in the royal area. :)

Along about 3:00, Kira was very done with the heat, and so was I, particularly since I had been feeling so bad all day. Blah. We collected Don, got changed and blasted ourselves with air conditioning all the way home, where apparently a party had broken out!

Four-fifths of the Elkins family, Travis's brother Dale and his daughter Liberty, my kids and husband, Don, me, Richard and Ddot and baby Roman....was there anyone else? Everyone was here, and despite the heat, we had a lot of fun. Don can really pick out good Greek dessert wine, and he and I went on an epic ice cream run. Dale and Liberty ended up staying over, and the little girls finally passed out around midnight.

Sunday was breakfast, people leaving, and Don teaching me the basics of raising a copper bowl from a sheet of 16ga. The initial efforts look like this:

There's still a lot more work to do on it, but my elbow is complaining, so I haven't done anything for a day or two.

I napped for three hours after this project was attacked. It was joyous, and I felt MUCH better.

The rest of Sunday was spent on the couch, watching movies and relaxing after the kids went to bed. kity stayed over, and Monday was us buying a new grill....and taking Moe and Kitty around to check out rental properties in Richmond for their upcoming move.

The Grill of Hotness:

Yeah, baby! That thermometer goes up to 800 degrees!

The kids literally spent all afternoon outside in the pool.

And ate watermelon.

And we inaugurated the grill.

And after that, it was a rapid succession of eat-clean up-herd the kids to the bathtub-jammies-marshamallows-cartoons-stories-BED....and we collapsed in a heap on our sofa.

Whew.

It was a great weekend, but I need another one right now in order to recover from it!

A Recap, Some Comments, and Some Musings

So, my birthday was last week, and the big party and gathering of friends was last Saturday, spearheaded by the best husband any woman could ever want. I know I've thanked him already, but it never hurts to hear it again....Travis, you are awesome, and thank you for making my 40th birthday truly something special. I love you.

Now, some pictures...

The Cake! My favorite....white with white frosting. I am not a chocolate cake fan.

Some of the thirteen kids in attendance try desperately NOT to touch the cake!

I am forty years old and I still love the whole "Birthday Song" thing...with candles.

We had a large number of friends and family come from all over...and both of my parents were here, which I don't think has happened for my birthday since I was in high school, so that in and of itself was fantastic. Unfortunately, my brother --with his two little kids-- decided to leave early, and they took my mom with them, which I wasn't happy about, but what can you do? ANYWAY...a good time was had by all. My oldest was even home for the weekend, thanks to the flexibility of her dad in swapping a weekend. I even got presents, and that was not only unexpected, but more than generous from all of my good friends. Thanks, guys. (I need mailing addresses so I can write you all thank-you notes!)

So, as I said, many of our friends were here, and that was just beautiful. I know some people could not make it for a number of reasons, and those who did not come, well, we missed you.

I had a long portion of this entry here about friendship and about how things change as you get older, but it was turning into a long, rambling blahblahblah with less of a point than I had hoped to make. So I deleted it. Thus I have made my comment for today. :)

I just got finished with an extremely busy couple of weeks, and I am exhausted, both mentally and physically. Pretty much my life consisted of wake up- Get dressed- GOGOGOGOGOGO!!! -- stop -- GOGOGOGOGO!!!--sleep. Life around here is usually kind of crazy as the norm, but this was really nuts. I am glad it is mostly done now, and hopefully I can relax and do some other fun stuff.

For some reason I have been in an almost bitter mood today. I'm chalking that up to the vagaries of stress and overscheduled-ness, but after I got my torch work done this morning, I really felt in need of a pick-me-up. In these cases, I would go for the HUGE hunk of Italian Cream Cake that is leftover in the freezer, but I was trying to do something less detrimental to my hips. A trip to Barnes and Noble is always enjoyable, and I picked up three magazines and a book on Romanesque art and architecture that was on sale for $9.98. I need to get the Gothic one, too, and maybe the Baroque. A whiz through the local Target for cheap jeans for my hard-to-fit oldest daughter, and a brief stop for an iced Caramel Macchiato (tall, nonfat), and I was happier and on my way to get the littlest ones from preschool.

The kiln is running, Kira is home from school, and I am about to go read some new magazines. All is well.

Spring Dance

The middle school that Kira attends held their spring all-grades dance this evening. There are usually three dances, and one exclusively for eight graders, during the year. Kira opted not to go to the Christmas dance, but I persuaded her for the Valentine's dance, and then she was all excited about tonight's dance.

She looked beautiful, as always, even as her pre-teen insecurities showed -- about the length of her dress, her hairstyle, who would be at the dance. She posed, dramatically as always, for the requisite photo after we got her all dressed and made up.

Of course, dear Wren, being of the four year old Princess type, was just enamored of the whole "going to a dance" thing, and had to have her share of Mommy's sparkly blush, and some lip gloss, and some glitter spray for her hair, too. She wanted to go SO BADLY to this dance, wanted to dress up and put on makeup and dance, but alas, like Cinderella, was left at home.

She definitely wanted to pose for her own pre-dance photo, though, so she asked me to take her picture, too.

Travis told me after I got home from delivering Kira to the school, that in the time it took for me to get Kira in the car, Wren had run upstairs to our room, changed her shorts for an old white tutu of mine (with gold sequins!), found a pair of my high-heeled shoes, and ran back downstairs, out the door, and on to the deck, calling "Wait! Wait for me!". Her little face fell when she saw us pulling out of the driveway, "Oh." Travis explained that she would be able to go to a dance someday when she's older, but it still broke his heart to see her all dressed and ready and trying so hard to be big.

When he told me the story, I nearly cried. .Poor Wren. She wants SO BADLY to be big.

She will, someday, and probably way sooner than I would like.

(Kira had a total blast at the dance. When I arrived to pick her up, I had to wait a couple of songs til she finished dancing with all her girlfriends! THAT just about made me cry, too. She IS so big, and it's killing me...)

It's MY Birthday, and I can do whatever I want!

In the latest news, I turned forty years old today. F-O-R-T-Y. 40. J'ai quarante ans, aujourd'hui.

While I am happy about remaining on the planet (consider the alternative!), I still have to ask the question...How the hell did THIS even happen!? I mean, seriously? Me? Forty? WTH!?

Nah, it's all good. I was all bummed out about it for a long time, and then earlier this week, I just....was all right. It's all all right.

Today was a fantastic day, all around, and I documented it in pictures.

First, I dropped the kids off at my friend Sara's -- so she could take them to preschool while I ran downtown to pick up our first share of the season from our CSA, Victory Farms.

Oh my goodness, the salad I am going to eat....with radishes and carrots and spinach, oh my!

After that, I went out with my friend Sara. We indulged in some real estate eyeballing. THIS is definitely a dream house for me:

And then Sara treated me to my very first pedicure! (and Padraigin, I know you can't believe it)

I chose the brightest, sparkliest, shiniest RED lacquer they had.

It was wonderful. I think I could definitely do this again.

Then we got lunch at Jersey Mike's....the turkey and provolone sub is YUM.

And then, we picked up the kids from preschool. Once mine were safely ensconced in their beds for naptime, I retreated to the hammock for some blissful napping in the sun.

Later, we had dinner at Famous Dave's (YUM) and brought home a ton of leftovers.

After bath and bed for the little kids, it was time for me to run an quick errand and take the scooter out for a birthday spin.

It was an awesomely fun ride, and I even fit all the things from the store in the topcase!

Once I got back home, I ended my day thusly....

I'm watching the new episode of Supernatural right now, and it is a great one. I love this show!

It's been a really fantastic day. Honestly, one of the best birthdays I have had. When I was almost 30, a therapist said to me, "How do you want to remember your 30th birthday?". I made some decisions about that, and now that question prompts me to celebrate every year. 

Since my 30th birthday, I have bought and sold a house, moved to a different city, married a wonderful man, gave birth to two more absolutely precious children, left my career, obtained a motorcycle license, started a jewelry and glass art business, and taken my oldest daughter to my alma mater, Niagara Falls, Walt Disney World, and the ballet. So much to celebrate! And even more to look forward to.

It's true...."the best is yet to be..."

I think I'm doing pretty good for forty.

On the SCA

(Balynar and Leofwynne, Sapphire Joust 2006. Photo by Ursus)

Yesterday, on my Facebook page, I posted a status that I missed the SCA. Thanks so much to all my wonderful friends who posted replies urging us to come back, pointing out how there are so many children around now, and talking about how we can get together with others and share kid duties. I appreciate that.

It's true, so many of us have all had children recently (or in the last 2-5 years) that there are abundant numbers of parents participating both at the local level and at the kingdom level. And I am sure that it really does help to have a collective of parents getting together to share kid-wrangling and eyeballing and entertaining. I guess the point in my status was that I miss the SCA as it used to be for me (and Travis).

(Here is where I wax poetic briefly)

Before, going to or getting ready for an event meant I sewed a new gown (usually), and we got our stuff together the night before we left for site, usually after I dropped Kira off at her dad's, since we tried not to go to too many events on weekends she was home.

We'd travel, and spend a really nice time in the truck, chatting (or arguing on occasion --that wasn't nice, but it happens). At the event, we only had to worry about ourselves, and if the weather was poor or different than expected, suffering it yourself isn't that difficult. While Travis was Baron, whether he fought or not, I usually participated in other areas of the event, or hung out with my A&S friends or watched Travis on the field. I always carried (and worked on) a handcraft. Packing up and getting out was easy enough, and taking a nap/shower/grabbing some food after getting home from a grueling event was always an easy option for both of us. Nights camping at events meant hanging out by the fire, drinking beverages, enjoying the peace and the fun times with people singing and telling stories, and then going to sleep in our tent or in a cabin or whatever, with no extreme rush to get up and get offsite.

It doesn't work like that now...going to an event means bringing a bunch more stuff and dealing with a whole different set of parameters. Diapers, clothes, shoes, sippy cups, toys, blankets, etc. Is there enough food? Enough water? Do we have enough diapers and first aid stuff? Are the kids dressed appropriately? How much is our 'kid stuff' impacting the look of the setup? I don't have the inclination to work hard enough to make everything more "period" and so I feel conspicuous and out of place with modern kid stuff. If I opt not to bring the kids, we have to work really hard or impose on family members in some way to have someone keep the kids for us. My mom is an hour away and Travis' mom is 4 hours away. There is no Camp Grandma. Those of you who have it, I hope you fully appreciate how much easier it makes your life. And, really, I enjoy spending time with my own children, as difficult as they may be from time to time.

Having two preschoolers at an event means I ( or we) run after them (literally-- have you met my kids?) all day. If Travis fights, or is otherwise engaged in Chivalry business or some other "official" thing, then I do it by myself. I expect no one to watch my kids for me, and frankly, I prefer to keep tabs on my children myself. I despise parents who allow their kids to run all over an event alone, getting into other people's tents and food and toys and stuff. Sure, the SCA and events are safe enough, when you are near people you know and trust, but there are plenty of unsafe situations everywhere, and a number of people I do not really want interacting with my little kids on a personal basis.(that is a separate rant for another day)

Since my kids still nap, or at least have a couple hours of "quiet time" each day, by afternoon at an event, everyone's nerves are frayed, everyone is tired, and the kids are losing their minds. They are bright, capable, insanely curious and active children who will not just lay down at the back of the tent and snooze or play quietly.

I don't mind saying that all of this is too much for our family right now. I know I could obtain more "period" toys and supplies, I know I could attempt to teach them to stay on the carpet in the tent, or whatever rules you set up for your kid, but mine just don't work that way. I know I could teach them to love events and the SCA, get involved in service and all that, but I really don't have the desire or the energy. And that is okay. Yes, Travis and I could trade off doing "our" thing at events -- one, he fights at and I chase the kids, and another, I do the A&S thing and he chases the kids, but it never works out that way, and truthfully, I like being with my husband. I know there are many solutions to the issue, but I have not found one that works for us at this time. I guess it's all just not that important to me anymore. That fact alone has taken some time to fully realize. I had hoped to go further in the SCA before getting to this point, but it has not been possible.

Anyway, the bottom line is, I miss something that was, maybe even mourn slightly for it, in the way you look back on a wonderful time in your life and wish you could do it all again. Nothing will ever top the fantastic-ness of the marathon 2-week Pennsic odyssey of 2004.

I have a fantastic family life, which is as rich and full as ever I could have imagined. We've got a lot going on at home. Maybe I am missing some of my friends, especially the ones I only see at events, and the ones I thought we were close with outside of the SCA, and I definitely lack for kid-free time to spend with my husband doing things we like to do, but the rewards are greater with my family. We sure as hell have a LOT less drama and interpersonal stress in our lives now that we don't have to deal with some of the more dramalicious personalities in the kingdom. That alone is worth something.

I know some people will probably be offended by this statement, and I apologize for it, because I surely don't intend to offend, but sometimes I feel like the concerns of the SCA, a make-believe history group, are petty compared to the concerns of my life and my kids.  Opinionated? Sure. Do I 'look down' upon those who are fully engaged in SCA-As-A-Lifestyle? I'd like to think not. I hope I only recognize their choice as something I could not and will not choose for myself, but more power to 'em for making it work.

Anyway, I don't know why I felt compelled to explain myself, but I haven't written on the subject a lot (or written a lot) lately, and it was all weighing on my mind. This si still my blog and I can still write what I want! ;)  I still have nothing but abiding love for medieval and ancient history, and for the history of glass. I still do research and try to make historical examples. In fact, I'm working on a modern jewelry line right now that draws from ancient Roman and Greek symbolism. I love love love my garb and wish I had occasion to wear it more often. I am slightly envious when I see the pictures people post of events, but I also realize I haven't read too many "this event sucked ass for me" stories lately. I am so glad that good and great things are happening for people I know and love who are still playing -- a number of peerages have been bestowed, awards given, and reigns completed over the past four years that we have missed.

As people always say whenever anyone decides they need a break from this hobby, "The SCA will always be here, so go, and come back when you are ready." That's true, I imagine. So far, the SCA hasn't died out around here yet, and it's been four years for us. Someday we might be ready to get back into it, and someday we may decide we are permanently done. Who knows?

Ponderings

Some days are just hard. Some stretches of days are just hard. Oh, I cannot wait til the weather is warm and I can throw the kids outside and let them play in the pool all morning and all afternoon.

Soon.

March can be an incredibly fickle month around here....sunny, warm and full of promise one day, rainy, cold and dreary the next. Ugh. We're currently in the rainy, dreary downswing of the month. The good news is that my crocuses and daffodils are blooming, so real spring, honest-to-God spring can't be much further off.

Travis is taking a couple of days off to go through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's basic course. He's got the awesome bike, now he needs the license to go with it. It'll be so much fun for him, I know. Even though is it all drizzly, nothing could be worse than the 19 degrees with 15mph winds weather I took the course in! (I am woman, hear me roar!)

My first art/craft show of the season is coming up this Saturday. I'll be downtown for the Saturday Stroll on Broad Street, and I'll be set up with other artists near Quirk Gallery. I hope it's a decent show; it's the first time they have done it with Saturday Stroll, so we'll see.

I'm still pondering the mysteries of the universe, still thinking about art and what I can do with it. I desperately need a metalsmithing class. Desperately. It's hard to teach others to do what I do when I am doing it with old leatherworking tools, plumbing tools and a bowling pin. Don't ask. I'm not giving up my secrets!

In other, other news, the cheapo five-dollar candlewarmer that I bought at Wally World is the BOMB for keeping my coffee warm over the course of my usual morning! Whereas I used to despair that my coffee was cold, cold, cold by the time I got halfway through the necessary cup, I now can hang on to that warm cup for a couple of hours! Happy coffee'd Mommy makes for a much smoother morning.

Gratuitous photo......

My little man. Love him.

Have a great week, everybody!