Just a quick note to thank all of you who came, sent messages of good will or otherwise acknowledged the BIG day. Picked up my lady friends, Cathy and the other Robin, on friday at the airport. Had done the Trader Joe's and Costco runs just before. The frozen foods arrived in dry ice via FedEx around 3 pm. We prepped the necessary foods. Took a break for dinner. Then a quick run through of the set dances. Crashed early on Friday.
Saturday started with a trip to the Farmers Market for flowers and good eats. Picked up the cake. Had to wait a few minutes as they were finishing the decoration. Chocolate cake, with ganache filling, and ganache icing.
The ladies did the flower pots. The husband packed the cars and we were off to the hall. Managed to get everything decorated and set up in 1 1/2 hours with a little help from the family. 6 pm - Start the music and the evening was off. Ate lots of good food -- all managed by Cathy and Robin. Danced lots. Laughed lots. Spent time with friends. The wine, beer and champagne flowed. Lots of fun. Several of the guests stuck around to the end and helped us take down. Out of the hall by 11:30 pm. Home - tired - happy!
Sunday we got up. Dropped Robin off at the airport. Then off to meet most of the family for Dim Sum brunch. Then home again to crash. I've been well birthday'd.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Thursday, September 22, 2005
50
Yesterday was the "big 50" day. It came in with a gentle snuggle from the husband, cats curled up on the bed, and a lovely card. The present actually happened on Sept 10. We have a September Gem and Jewelry Show which with an anniversary and my birthday in September, works quite well. It is a lovely black opal pendant in a white gold and diamond setting made to invoke the sea, the stars and hearts. It is by our favorite jeweler - Frank Lau. His work is art and this is exquisite and a perfect gift. I've found time and again, that he has the perfect item for me (and before me my mother), even when I'm not looking.
I've been prepping the house for the big party and running all sorts of errands. Ordered the cake - Monday. Got the hair cut in San Francisco on Tuesday (can't believe I've been going to Daniel since 1983). Done all the laundry and picked up most of the den. We put in 4 bookshelves to replace all the piles on the floor. Now that I'm organized, the test will be to see if I can find anything.
Tuesday evening was making the final lists and checking them twice. The front hall is filled with the party supplies all neatly bagged or boxed (beer, wine, champagne) for loading. Ordered the food yesterday for Friday delivery since they don't do Saturday delivery. Will do the final Costco and Trader Joes runs tomorrow along with airport pickups. Think the music is handled and will do a walk through of the set dances Friday evening.
Then just to make things interesting, I put in an offer on a duplex. Will find out today if I got it (I hope). It seems that everytime I buy property I'm in the midst of doing something big. For example, I was closing on my last house the weekend I met the husband. We bought our current house on my birthday in '99. The universe is funny sometimes.
Went to see Dead Can Dance last night at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. It is a beautifully restored Art Deco movie palace. We were in nearly the last row, but at a "rock" concert, I think back is better or at least easier on the ears. Friends came down from Sacramento to join us for the show. Arrived home around midnight. Snuggled in with the husband and cats. It was a good day.
I've been prepping the house for the big party and running all sorts of errands. Ordered the cake - Monday. Got the hair cut in San Francisco on Tuesday (can't believe I've been going to Daniel since 1983). Done all the laundry and picked up most of the den. We put in 4 bookshelves to replace all the piles on the floor. Now that I'm organized, the test will be to see if I can find anything.
Tuesday evening was making the final lists and checking them twice. The front hall is filled with the party supplies all neatly bagged or boxed (beer, wine, champagne) for loading. Ordered the food yesterday for Friday delivery since they don't do Saturday delivery. Will do the final Costco and Trader Joes runs tomorrow along with airport pickups. Think the music is handled and will do a walk through of the set dances Friday evening.
Then just to make things interesting, I put in an offer on a duplex. Will find out today if I got it (I hope). It seems that everytime I buy property I'm in the midst of doing something big. For example, I was closing on my last house the weekend I met the husband. We bought our current house on my birthday in '99. The universe is funny sometimes.
Went to see Dead Can Dance last night at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. It is a beautifully restored Art Deco movie palace. We were in nearly the last row, but at a "rock" concert, I think back is better or at least easier on the ears. Friends came down from Sacramento to join us for the show. Arrived home around midnight. Snuggled in with the husband and cats. It was a good day.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
More Bloggers
Have discovered a whole world of SCA bloggers over at Live Journal. It will be interesting to see if we managed to do any cross chat. Live Journal is a whole world within its own world. They have networks of "friends" that cross blog. Very interesting to the psychologist in me to see the cross over happening. It is also interesting to see the networks of people I have only met online and continue to interact with on a semi-regular basis. I am guessing that such networks are just the beginning of another layer of social structure that the computer is enabling. I see more Phd theses in the future.
Could not resist this "test" since I am a big fan of old movies. Unfortunately it doesn't provide code to just drop into a blog so hope this cut and paste transfers.
Katharine Hepburn
You scored 28% grit, 19% wit, 47% flair, and 23% class!
You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 50% on grit
You scored higher than 0% on wit
You scored higher than 87% on flair
You scored higher than 50% on class
If you liked my test, send it to your friends!
The Classic Dames Test http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=4621123663119520922
Could not resist this "test" since I am a big fan of old movies. Unfortunately it doesn't provide code to just drop into a blog so hope this cut and paste transfers.
Katharine Hepburn
You scored 28% grit, 19% wit, 47% flair, and 23% class!
You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 50% on grit
You scored higher than 0% on wit
You scored higher than 87% on flair
You scored higher than 50% on class
If you liked my test, send it to your friends!
The Classic Dames Test http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=4621123663119520922
Friday, September 09, 2005
Back Home
Well mostly back home. The trip to Oertha was wonderful. The hospitality, as always, was the best! It is really very nice to be wanted. I was quite honored when I found out that I was only the 2nd person they had flown up to teach and the first was a well known (as in across ALL the Kingdoms) Duke/Laurel/teacher.
The classes went well. Felt I wasn't always "on", but everyone who took the classes eventually worked their way through the techniques. I had 3-8 students per class. The most amazing was a young lady (?13-ish) who picked up some of the stuff faster than the others. She was quite shy and quiet, but by the end was joking with the rest of us. Hope to see some of her work several years from now. She is really quite amazing.
We stayed in a very nice house, complete with cat. We were the only ones staying there and our hostess took very good care of us. Of course she did take us around on Friday to several tempting shops and yes I did spend money. The first was a yarn shop that carries QuViuk which is wool from the underbelly of a muskox. It is THE softest wool I have ever touched. You knit it lacey so that it holds air. It is extremely warm. Of course it is also VERY expensive. Ah well. The shop was in a 3 story - log cabin house out in the woods. The lady also carries a wonderful variety of products including some I'd never seen before. Very dangerous place.
Next was a stop at A Weavers Yarn. Susan who runs the shop is a delight. She is excited about new products and really works to support the interests of her eclectic customers. I left her with a list of websites and products that I was introducing to the group so she could followup if there was interest. The shop is a mix of spinning, dyeing, weaving, needlework, and other textile products. I bought a carved horn awl (local product), a couple books, and a kit on African embroidery. She gave me some silk cocoons and introduced me to some new paternayan yarn on the market. It is a bit rougher and I think will work well for our kneeling carpet projcet. She will act as procurer for us.
Then off to another shop - The Spinning Room. Marnie does beads, dyeing, spinning, and weaving classes. The shelf of threads she has dyed over the years is wonderful -- a whole dyeing history and colors that make my fingers itch for a needle. She is currently into doing the fused glass and some metalwork. The back room has several large looms and she should be very proud of the beautiful weaving she has done.
Fairbanks is large, but not. It is hard to explain. It covers miles, but it is not densely populated. There is a Lowes, Walmart, Home Depot, Michaels, JoAnns, etc. The stores are huge. It takes maybe 15-20 minutes to cross town. The air is dry so with the weather in the 50/60's it was comfortable. Nights dropped to 30's and they had had their first frost just before we arrived. The trees were turning gold and it was a lovely sight to see. Had some Northern Lights on the flight up, but just green, white, yellow. If you like open space and quiet - Fairbanks is a nice blend of civilization and edge of the universe.
Now back to reality and finishing the project portion of my column. Finished the column and submitted it before going, but didn't finish the stitching. Need to do that today, so off to stitch.
PS I'm trying to add a ticker, which I found courtesy of In a Minute Ago, to lead up to THE party.
The classes went well. Felt I wasn't always "on", but everyone who took the classes eventually worked their way through the techniques. I had 3-8 students per class. The most amazing was a young lady (?13-ish) who picked up some of the stuff faster than the others. She was quite shy and quiet, but by the end was joking with the rest of us. Hope to see some of her work several years from now. She is really quite amazing.
We stayed in a very nice house, complete with cat. We were the only ones staying there and our hostess took very good care of us. Of course she did take us around on Friday to several tempting shops and yes I did spend money. The first was a yarn shop that carries QuViuk which is wool from the underbelly of a muskox. It is THE softest wool I have ever touched. You knit it lacey so that it holds air. It is extremely warm. Of course it is also VERY expensive. Ah well. The shop was in a 3 story - log cabin house out in the woods. The lady also carries a wonderful variety of products including some I'd never seen before. Very dangerous place.
Next was a stop at A Weavers Yarn. Susan who runs the shop is a delight. She is excited about new products and really works to support the interests of her eclectic customers. I left her with a list of websites and products that I was introducing to the group so she could followup if there was interest. The shop is a mix of spinning, dyeing, weaving, needlework, and other textile products. I bought a carved horn awl (local product), a couple books, and a kit on African embroidery. She gave me some silk cocoons and introduced me to some new paternayan yarn on the market. It is a bit rougher and I think will work well for our kneeling carpet projcet. She will act as procurer for us.
Then off to another shop - The Spinning Room. Marnie does beads, dyeing, spinning, and weaving classes. The shelf of threads she has dyed over the years is wonderful -- a whole dyeing history and colors that make my fingers itch for a needle. She is currently into doing the fused glass and some metalwork. The back room has several large looms and she should be very proud of the beautiful weaving she has done.
Fairbanks is large, but not. It is hard to explain. It covers miles, but it is not densely populated. There is a Lowes, Walmart, Home Depot, Michaels, JoAnns, etc. The stores are huge. It takes maybe 15-20 minutes to cross town. The air is dry so with the weather in the 50/60's it was comfortable. Nights dropped to 30's and they had had their first frost just before we arrived. The trees were turning gold and it was a lovely sight to see. Had some Northern Lights on the flight up, but just green, white, yellow. If you like open space and quiet - Fairbanks is a nice blend of civilization and edge of the universe.
Now back to reality and finishing the project portion of my column. Finished the column and submitted it before going, but didn't finish the stitching. Need to do that today, so off to stitch.
PS I'm trying to add a ticker, which I found courtesy of In a Minute Ago, to lead up to THE party.
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