Omniscrapper

What I Did This Weekend

2006-10-23T01:15:00.000-07:00

Well - I didn't do too badly as far as my weekend goals went.

Skipped the game (they won - but this opponent at least managed to score.)
Finished the pantaloons and camisole, made the undersleeves and collar, and got the bodice and oversleeves cut out. Forgot how long it can take to match plaids - also forgot, on Friday, that the plaid is red with orange and purple instead of predominantly orange. We won't cut out the skirts until we get her hoops to measure over.
Decided she's old enough, and dressed fancy enough, not to need the apron. So we have a chunk of white fabric left.
Never got Kelly into the corset - we'll try again next weekend.
Installed Filemaker Pro Advanced but didn't get any farther with it.
Absconded (with permission) with Meagan's shawl, since I don't have a knitting project right now and the colors she picked out in Aug are a perfect match for the plaid she chose last weekend. Nice easy pattern - knit til you reach the end of the row, knit the last two together. Repeat until you're out of stitches. Perfect tv-watching/audiobook-listening knitting.

Oh - and they took me out to dinner for my birthday. If I work this right, I may get one more dinner this month in honor of my birthday. At any rate, I still have almost a week to work on it!

Five for Friday

2006-10-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

What do I want to accomplish this weekend?

Watch my niece cheer for the Raiders. (These Raiders are undefeated!)
Make "Miss Kitty's" dress for the Dickens Faire (we found a great orange/purple/red plaid last weekend, plus all the lace and ribbon we needed.)
Figure out how to adapt the adult apron pattern to fit her.
Take in my sister's corset (and probably her jacket as well) - a loss of 15+ lbs will seriously affect the fit.
Install Filemaker Pro Advanced and get started on my kitminder project again.

That should keep me busy - just a little!

Words to Live By

2006-10-06T04:13:00.000-07:00

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes. Desiderius Erasmus

I have always liked this quote: I happily live by it. (Alas, rent has to come out first...)

The only rooms that aren't lined with bookshelves and laden with books are the bathroom (steam isn't good for them, you know) and the kitchen (ditto - and the cookbook collection is in the dining room where there's room.)

Furthermore, one of our long-standing family jokes is the answer to the question, "What happened in 1492?" The 'correct' answer is, "Erasmus became a priest."

So you can imagine how delighted we all were when Kelly, putting together "On Your Birthday" trivia for my 40th birthday, found out that Erasmus and I share a birthday - October 27th.

The Sounds of 4am

2006-10-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

Mostly, I can hear the soundtrack to "The Lord of the Rings" - I'm up to the end of "The Two Towers" right now, the track entitled "Samwise the Brave."

Behind that, the first rain of the season! Very light, as it was all day, just going drip, drip, drip.

Beyond that, the very occasional car going by out on the road.

One thing I'm not hearing tonight are any catfights in the backyard. They've obviously found someplace warm and dry.

Oh, and I'm listening to the click of the keys as I type.

Undeniably a Night Owl!

2006-09-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

I am, without a doubt, a night owl! I come by it quite honestly, Mom & Grandma are/were too, although I have the worst time getting up in the morning. And I firmly believe it's innate - like being left-handed. Why would I choose to be out-of-synch with most of the world? I can get up and function in the morning when necessary - but it's not natural, and I can't do it well for very long.

I was first really aware of this when I was in junior high - the effort to get me up and moving in the morning was miserable for all concerned and falling asleep any time close to when I went to bed was almost impossible. I told myself a lot of stories, waiting to fall asleep. My senior year of high school, I worked the closing shift as a fast-food place - and had an absolutely dreadful time staying awake in 1st period English. I tended to lean against the conveniently placed wall and drift.

One of my smarter job choices was night auditor at a motor inn - 11pm-7am Sun-Thurs. Perfectly natural hours for me. I'd go home, have breakfast, and go to bed and then I'd be awake in the evenings when my friends were home from work.

Someone recently said he thinks he's on a 26-hr schedule. I can relate. I've been working from home/unemployed/a student for most of this year, and my sleep-patterns have shifted forward around the clock for much of it.

And since this is part of it - I love to sleep. I especially like the dreamy, drifting state between being awake and being asleep. I can sleep through almost anything - as various pets, sisters, niece, nephews and Mom have discovered.

Dining Out

2006-09-06T04:12:00.000-07:00

I love eating out - I just don't get to do it very often on my own account.

My favorite places to eat? A toss-up between Roberto's and the Pelican Inn.

Roberto's is a nice neighborhood Italian place my parents eat at weekly. So, everyone knows them, the bartender brings Mom's martini in a special glass, and there's a lot of teasing and flirting going on. The food's very good, too. Start off with sourdough bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then a Caesar salad - best one I've tasted, and I've tried plenty. For the main course, I usually choose the rosemary steak. Sometimes a fish dish, and occasionally pasta - but usually the steak. It's got a wonderful rosemary and red wine sauce - mmm. Once in a great while Mom & I split a dessert, but usually I finish with vanilla ice cream.

The Pelican Inn is definitely for special occasions. It's out on the coast, and it's for all the world like a 16th-century English country inn (which is, of course, what St. Alban's guild runs at the Faire!) We go out there when Kage gets a fat royalty check and Kathleen wants to treat the core members of the guild. I favor prime rib here, and hard cider. They specialize in British fare, of course - Beef Wellington, shepherd's pie, bangers & mash. We haven't, yet, attended in costume - but there are plenty of other reenacting groups in the Bay Area who have, and do, on a regular basis.

Home Sweet Home - for Better or Worse

2006-08-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'm living in the town I grew up in - so that's a Good Thing right at the start. My parents and one sister are here in town, and the other sister's only an hour away. Growing up, we were only a few hours away from the grandparents in opposite directions.

The climate is ideal - no snow, for a good start. When it gets hot in the summer, it only gets really hot for a few days or maybe a week at a time and then the fog comes in. And, especially since I got the new roof, I love the winter rains. The hills turn bright green then.

As to my specific living arrangement, I own my own 2-bedroom mobile home. Enough room to spread out in (although I'm trying to de-clutter and arrange...) I very much like having my own space, without roommates. I like not having a neighbor just the other side of a wall, floor, or ceiling so that I don't have to worry about playing music or a dvd at 3 in the morning.

What's not to like? I am not a gardener, and by myself, the yard runs to weeds and neglect. And speaking of the yard, I have three mightily tall palm trees in the backyard (far too big for the small space) and one tree at the front of the space that's pushing up the corner of the house and breaking the driveway.

The mobile home is over 30 years old. So almost everything in it is that old as well - the avocado green bathroom, the harvest gold panels in the other bath, the heater, the oven, the green linoleum in the kitchen, the front porch. I've painted most of what can be painted, replaced the washer/dryer, the roof, the stove, added a dishwasher.

I'm in California, so prices for everything are higher than almost anywhere else in the US. Most noticeably, gas. Always amusing, in a sharp sort of way, to hear that gas prices in the US may get above a certain point - that we've already passed.

I'm at the far northern edge of the san Francisco Bay Area. So, while there are lots of living history and dance events in the Bay Area, almost all of them are at least two hours away, and on the other side of a toll bridge.

Fantasy Camp - Elizabethan Village

2006-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love working the Renaissance Faire - but it's over too soon and there are many things that you just can't do at a Faire.

So - I would love to spend a week or two in an Elizabethan village. Actually brew the ale we serve at the Inn. Tend a kitchen garden, cook over an open fire, bake bread. Re-learn how to use a drop-spindle. Feed chickens and pigs. Sit and gossip with the neighbors, sing and dance in the evenings.

So, there would be a few less pleasant aspects of this. Getting up much too early. Outdoor privies. Slaughtering and plucking the chickens. Dealing with men who think, just because legally they're in charge, that it actually works that way in daily life.

Since this is a fantasy, after all{g}, I would naturally be able to take all my Faire friends with me - and more than a few of them are good practical historians with hands-on experience with most of daily life.

In fact, some of them already have full-scale plans for just such an establishment. Alas, that land prices and local zoning make this far too much of just a fantasy.

My Favorite Thing

2006-08-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing would have to be a book. I've been in love with books and reading since kindergarten, I think. I certainly don't remember learning to read, I just remember reading. I can find a touch of romance, swashbuckling adventure in fantasy, the excitement of the unknown in science fiction, the certainty that right will prevail in mysteries. Then there are all the volumes of history, fascinating to see how we've changed, and how much has stayed the same. I also love a good how-to book, whether I'm ever going to actually try what they're teaching or not.

If I had to choose a single book, I'd probably say The Lord of the Rings single volume edition. Adventure, friendship, romance, fighting the good fight, humor, travel, the triumph of good over evil - he fit so much into his story. It's such an inspiration to imagination - so many corners you can turn and ask yourself "what if?" But it could also be because I just re-read them, just re-watched all three movies, and I'm currently listening to an unabridged version of The Fellowship of the Ring.

I think I'd best stop here. I can't imagine being without my computer or my camera. I have furniture, photos and keepsakes from my grandparents and great-grandparents that I greatly treasure. But my first, instinctive response was - A Book!

Accident-prone

2006-08-08T05:09:00.000-07:00

I've had a few accidents over the years, mostly when I was much younger, but nothing close to being serious.

[Roughing the listener warning] I once tripped over a stepping stone set in concrete, slid, and completely pulverized and removed a thumbnail. After the shock, and the trip to the emergency room, it was more of a nuisance than anything. The great huge bandage got in the way when I went camping with the Girl Scouts that weekend.[/warning]

A year or two later, I ran down the driveway, across the sidewalk, and fell into the street. Result: a greenstick fracture of my right arm. The doctor was kind enough to set it with a slightly wider than usual angle, so I could still play my clarinet in band. I drove the substitute teacher wild, because I was still playing volleyball. What could I do to the arm? It was wrapped in plaster!

I had a few major run-ins with poison oak, specifically poison oak smoke from camping trips in the fall when the leaves have fallen off and the twigs look good for the fire. My face swelled up until I could just see, and I lived on Instant Breakfast milkshakes for several days. I have, at long last, learned to avoid the pernicious stuff.

Our biggest accident was a group project - coming home from vacation the summer I was between high school and college. We were in a little Chinook camper with two sailboats trailered behind. The wind caught the sailboats and flipped them over, and the camper followed. We three kids were in the back, tumbling around like clothes in a very dusty dryer. But even here, we came out okay. My poor sister Kai had the worst of it - her shoulder scraped along the pavement, losing a good bit of skin, and she had a small cut on her thigh. Dad and Mom both had minor cuts on their hands, and Dad was going in and out of shock. Kelly and I were fine - to the point that all the emergency people kept leaving Kelly out of the count of victims. And we had lots of help - we had two doctors and a nurse stop in short order. We all spent the night in a tiny, empty hospital and a friend of Mom's came down in her station wagon and took us all home the next day.

The serious ones, well. Dad's gallbladder surgery which landed him in the hospital for much too long - but that was my first semester in college and I was at the other end of the state and it wasn't quite real. Grandma's Alzheimer's. But she went so gently that it didn't feel like a tragedy.

We've been blessed.

Before I Turn 50... Update

2006-07-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

I've made a start on two of my objectives!

7. Get curtains on all the windows and recover the sofa.

I've gotten the rings sewn on the curtains for the office AND I've gotten them up.

8. Learn to knit and make myself a sweater.

I haven't started the sweater yet, but I have learned to knit, I've finished a (very small) baby blanket and I've got a good start on a scarf. And I have a dozen or so little swatches where I've been trying out different patterns.

Advice for a Younger Me

2006-07-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, High Schooler! Learn to flirt - Mom can do it, Kelly could do it since she was in a stroller, you can do it too! And that means talking to boys occasionally. Now is an excellent time to start dating - now, when everyone is new at it too.

High School Senior? You want to apply to colleges that have a history dept that specializes in British History. No, they don't all have that! And transfer into the AP English class now - Mr. Daniels' class will drive you mad, even if your best friend is in the class too.

Wherever you decide to go to school, live on campus as long as you can. Maybe even try out for Resident Assistant. Moving off-campus is distracting. Oh, and take a computer course or two and buy a Mac. Macs are lots of fun, and you'll absolutely adore being able to revise your essays right up until you print them. Bonus: they'll give you something to talk to guys about!{g}

30 Questions

2006-07-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
Nope. Pulled over for expired tags, and once for speeding, but that's it.

2. Do you close your eyes on a roller coaster?
Oh, no! I need to see where we're going.

3. When's the last time you've been sledding?
Oh, good heavens. High school?

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
I'm far more accustomed to sleeping alone...

5. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes. *I* haven't felt them, but I have friends who have.

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
I do. Not wildly creative, but definitely creative.

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
I don't know.

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? (silly, I know ... but very "now")
Who? Why?

9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics?
More than I did a few years ago - I've done a lot of website/blog reading since then.

10. Do you know how to play poker?
Sort of - I understand the hands but can't wrap my mind around the betting strategies.

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?!
36 hours, definitely. 48? Probably. I'm liable to read all night, then if I have to be somewhere...

12. What's your favorite commercial?
Hmm - any of the "Great Cheese comes from Happy Cows. Happy Cows come from California" ads.

13. Who was your first love?
Matt - I had a crush on him for most of school.

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light?
Nope.

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
Of course.

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Wrong coast.

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
I'm not at all good at it, but I have tried it. Just not recently.

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Several times a month. In particular, when I've woken up in the morning and then gone back to sleep.

19. What's the one thing on your mind?
Generally, books.

20. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Oh, yes! Dad made a habit of bringing home accident reports (he worked for an insurance co.) I don't take those kinds of risks.

21. What talent do you wish you had?
Music. I can twiddle with a tune on the piano or recorder, and I have a decent singing voice. But I greatly admire and envy those with a gift for music.

22. Do you like Sushi?
No. Very un-Californian of me, but there it is.

23. What do you wear to bed?
Nightgowns or pajamas.

24. Do you truly hate anyone?
No.

25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
No, thank you.

26. Do you know anyone in jail?
Someone who was in jail, yes.

27. What food do you find disgusting?
See #22.

28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
A little. But generally no more than we do as teasing face to face.

29. Have you ever been punched in the face?
No.

30. Do you believe in angels and demons?
I'm not sure.

Grandma Chatham's Sugared Walnuts

2006-07-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Favorite family recipes for Christmas? There are so many to choose from! Especially since Dad & Mom's birthdays are the 23rd and 24th and we celebrate with traditional dinners both nights.

But the recipe I'm sharing is a revival. Grandma Chatham would bring a mincemeat pie (Mom's favorite - actually made with meat! - in Grandma's case, neck of venison) and sugared walnuts. I was never interested in the pie (they made pumpkin for us kids) but I loved the walnuts. The combination of the flavored sugar over the sharp bite of the walnut is wonderful.

I've had the recipe for years and years, but was afraid to play with boiling sugar. Then I started experimenting with different recipes for the Faire, and discovered hot sugar wasn't that scary after all. And so I dug out Grandma's recipe and was amazed and delighted with how easy it was! She flavored hers with cinnamon, or with orange juice and zest, or lemon juice and zest. Since I make these for the Dickens Christmas Fair and Kathleen is allergic to cinnamon, I use allspice.

Martha Chatham's Sugared Walnuts
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons honey
4 cups walnuts
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Bring sugar, water and honey to a boil. Cook 10-12 minutes until sugar sheets between the tines of the fork.
2. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon. Cool 1-2 minutes, then add walnuts. Spread on parchment and separate nuts.

Notes: The first time I made these, I dipped the fork in the mix as soon as I started, so I could see the difference between "not done" and "done". I've also eliminated the honey on occasion (I don't always have it in the house) and the recipe works fine.

Historical Reality Shows

2006-07-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

I don't have cable at home, so I've only caught snippets of Survivor and other reality shows over the years. But I've had friends and family describe one particular variety - the historically-based ones - The 1900 House, Frontier House (set in 1880s Montana), and Colonial House (set in the 1620s). Since we spend a lot of our free time researching, discussing (and actually doing!) Living History, these shows caught the attention of those of us with cable. The general consensus has been "Man, that looks like fun!" followed by "Good grief, don't these people know anything?" The conclusion was that the producers prefer the totally clueless for the "entertainment" value.

I have no doubt that I could handle the historical challenges - cooking over an open fire or a wood stove, dealing with long skirts and corsets, housework, etc. I certainly have a better grasp of the mind-set of the period than most of the contestants. Of course, getting up so early would be a trial, and the loss of chocolate and books (in most cases) would be unpleasant.

What I don't have is the competitive edge, or the exhibitional bent suitable for confrontational tv. I just wouldn't create the sort of situation that anyone would want to watch!

Good Advice

2006-07-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hmm - advice. I either don't remember it, or no one offers it much!{g}

When I went off to college, Dad gave me several bits of advice. About the only one I remember - or listened to! - was, "Memorize your numbers." Now, that definitely doesn't qualify as earth-shattering - but after 20 years I can still remember my student ID number. And my SSN. And my current library card number! Made it easy to keep track of various passwords and IDs for various bosses over the years, too.

Another good bit of advice from the parents was, "Move back to Northern California." Very glad I followed that. It got me out of a nothing job and back into school (Round 2 - Sonoma State.) AND back to the end of the state where my family is. Being able to spend the evening with Mom (Dad goes to bed much earlier than she & I do.) Being able to drop in on Kai & Chad for an evening of gaming. Being able to go spend the weekend with Kelly & her crew. All priceless, and only possible because I'm not a 10-12 hour drive away.

I try to follow Grandma Chatham's advice. She'd tell me not to worry, that some day I'd meet the right man, and that I'd know it when I did. I take comfort in the fact that Cousin Marilyn was older than I am now when she finally got married.

Provisional Proposal

2006-07-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a few propositions over the years, but only one that came close to a proposal. A college friend once told me that if he had to get married, I'd be one of three women he'd consider asking. I was as much flattered as amused - Aaron's mind just worked that way.

I read a lot of romance novels, so I've read a lot of proposal scenes. Then again, friends and family have set a high standard as well. Two of my brothers-in-law made courting gifts: Mike wrote Kelly short stories, the other Mike made Kai a dagger (to wear with her Renn Faire costume.) Giova gave Shannon a box of letters, she could read all of them but one. We were working the Dickens Fair the weekend he let her read the last one which was his proposal, so Kathleen had the pleasure of presenting her newly-betrothed "daughter" to "Queen Victoria"!

My ideal proposal would be along these lines - something theatrical, extravagant. In the company of friends and family, so we could share the joy immediately.

Exercise? Grr!

2006-06-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Do I exercise? Not much. Not nearly enough.

But in the last several months I've started taking walks in the evening. Sometimes once around the mobile home park (15 minutes when I started, closer to 10 now unless I wind in and out of all the cul-de-sacs.) Sometimes across the schoolyard behind me and around the long block. The last couple of times I've explored some of the sidestreets around here. I've been thinking that I need to do "field trips" now and again and go walk along Santa Rosa Creek, or in one of the parks. I've found it feels good to move, and I get a lot of thinking done.

I've got a lovely "bribe" set up for it too. Every time I walk, I drop fifty-cents into a pretty glass bowl I have by the phone. When I've walked enough, I'm buying an iPod - and walking some more! The bowl says I've taken 48 walks so far. I was looking at iPods (my sister Kelly and her husband have a pair and several accessories) and realized that I'm never out of reach of a CD player - one in the car, one in the living room, one in the computer. The only time I'd use an iPod would be outside the house. So the deal is, by "earning" one by walking, I'm proving that I actually have a use for one. And I'm looking forward to it - I bought a cheap portable CD-player to tide me over, and if I start walking too fast it skips. Besides, the geek in me really likes the iPod-as-gadget!

I found the local Scottish country dance group online and they take a break for the summer. So I'll be joining them in September for socializing and exercise - to some of my favorite music! And while the style may be very proper, I know I'll be working up a sweat glow! A good Scottish reel is a lively dance!

And my sister Kai has started at Curves and invited me to join her. It's not in the budget right now but maybe soon.

So, I'm doing more than I was last year, and maybe I'll be exercising even more soon.

Laughter - All in the Family

2006-06-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

We held the June Celebrations at Mom & Dad's this weekend - Norma's birthday, Devon's birthday, Sydney's birthday, Father's Day, Kelly's birthday and Kelly & Mike's anniversary. (Mind - the only people who get individual parties are the ones with birthdays in Dec/Jan!) Kelly only had Patrick there - Garrett was off at scout camp, and Meagan had been invited to a party/sleep-over which sounded like more fun. But Kai's son Devon is up for the summer, so we had two boys about.

After presents and before dinner, Mike, Patrick and Devon started roughhousing on the lawn. Now, Patrick tends to put his head down and charge (and gets scooped up, flipped over, and tumbled!) Devon, on the other hand, takes a more strategic approach. He convinced Patrick that if he (Devon) gave him (Patrick) a push, he'd have more speed and be able to take down Mike! So, Devon was "launching" Patrick at Mike, and Mike was "bowling" Patrick back to Devon. Kelly and I were standing on the deck, trying to take photos and laughing like crazy!

So - here's Patrick's approach, followed by Devon's!

Coffee Rating

2006-06-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well, if you change "coffee" to "chocolate" this might apply! Except that chocolate is not a breakfast food! I do not like chocolate cereals, chocolate donuts, chocolate pop-tarts, chocolate chips on my waffles. Chocolate milk or hot chocolate are possibilities, but not favorites by any means. (For breakfast! Any other time of day, they're more than fine.)

The way I deal with mornings is to ease into them - several swats at the snooze button (the one where the lettering has worn off!) then hit the computer and catch up on email and DSP. Then breakfast. Then maybe I'm ready to face the day.

I can, when absolutely necessary, be out of the house in 15 minutes, but I'm much happier if I can take 45 minutes to an hour to prepare myself.

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable

At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty

You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it

Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Naming Names

2006-06-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

I don't even remember the first time I got to name something. I was 3 when Grandpa gaves us the basset hound, and I named him Snoopy. (My guess is that's the only dog name I knew!)

When I was in 5th or 6th grade, we had a lovely calico cat move in on, I mean with, us. Happens she was extremely pregnant! I named her Lady, but someone else named her Hobie-cat (we were very active with the local sailing club, and a Hobie-cat is a catamaran.) When she had her five kittens, we got to name them too. I named the little calico Honor (it gets involved - if her mama was a lady, that would make her the Honourable Miss - therefore, Honor.) And I'm pretty sure I picked Treasure for the golden tabby. We got to keep those two. We found homes for Hobie and the other three kittens. The other kittens were Scamp (named after the b&w Tramp that Grandma Skold had had), Jack (the grey tabby - one of his eyes opened before the other so he was One-Eyed Jack for a few days), and Patches (a little tabby, a little calico, a little?)

My own lovely tabby came to me, from my boss, with the name of Austin. I changed that to Austen in honor of Jane Austen.

I don't have any children to name, but I've named myself a few times! I worked as a Girl Scout camp counselor for three summers and my camp name was Sonoma - the county I grew up in. It had a nice soft sound to it.

When I started working at the Renaissance Faire, I needed a good English name so I chose Constance Parker. I wanted a first name that was period but not too common, and the last name is the most English of my ancestors' names.

When I joined the Irish, I needed a new name yet again. I chose Neassa (pronounced Nessa) because it was uncommon, because if you saw it written you had a fighting chance of being able to pronounce it (unlike, say, Maeve which is traditionally spelled Medh) and because it has a great story behind it.

There was a widow-woman named Neassa who had a son. She married one of the Irish kings, and when her boy became a man, she convinced her husband it would be a grand thing if he let her son be king for a year. She wanted to be able to say her grandsons were the sons of a king. Well, she got him to agree. And then spent the entire year whispering in the ears of all the nobles, "See what a fine, strong king he makes! See how devoted he is to the task. He wouldn't give up the responsibility of the kingship to any other man." And at the end of the year, the nobles supported her son, and her husband had lost his kingdom. Mother love at its strongest! I can never remember the son's first name, but he was called MacNeassa after her.

Fortunately, I really like Neassa, because most of my Faire friends call me that all the time. That first year in Irish there was another Kristen and another Kris in the guild already, so Marnie decided I should always be called Neassa for clarity's-sake. When I left the Irish and joined the Inn, I kept Neassa and added Parker back to it. We're part-Welsh at the Inn, so a Celtic name is plausible. And while I tried to use Great-Grandma's name for Dickens Fair, I could never, ever hear Hannah-Maria so I'm Neassa there as well. My "sister" answers to Ariadne, so clearly Mama was a romantic.

Fun with Static

2006-06-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

I just thought of this and decided I'd best capture it before it flitted.

Growing up, we'd go up to Redding to visit the grandparents several times a year. Two of the trips were usually winter trips: once in early-mid December for Grandma's birthday and to get the Christmas tree, and once in late February to celebrate Granny's birthday.

Now, it wasn't unusual for a good strong North wind to be blowing. Not only did this clear the air so that you could see everything, it also generated a tremendous static charge everywhere. We'd shuffle through the house sock-footed, and then touch each other. We'd build up enough charge to give a good snap!

But what I really remember is that after going to bed, we'd play with the sheet and blanket. If we pulled the blanket straight up in the air quickly not only could we hear the crackle, we could see the sparks! And sometimes we could get the same effect from our nightgowns.

I haven't thought of this for years, and try as I might, I can't follow my train of thought back to the last station to figure out what triggered it today.

Since I Turned 40, I Have...

2006-06-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Gone back to school. This is apparently a Big Deal for me - I keep mentioning it{g}! Well, and it is.
Taken up crochet again. I learned when I was in elementary school then played with it again when I was first in college. But I picked it up again last Fall and I've finished (what a beautiful word - Finished!) two baby afghans since then.
Started working for Phyllis. I deliberately put myself in a position to be asked to be her assistant. Knowing that she is an incredibly creative, active, outgoing, unorganized, egocentric Wonder. I had a blast. (Well, actually, this started a little before my 40th, but it leads to step 4...)
Stopped working for Phyllis. I recognized that 18 months with her was enough. I found her a replacement, and turned in my notice. This was important because I didn't let myself get caught in "what will she do without me?"
Started teaching classes at DSP. I like to help people and I like to be an "expert" - so this is perfect!
Vacationed in Hawaii! It was never on my list of places I wanted to visit (the British Isles dominate that list) - but it's now on my list of places I want to go back to!
Gotten my handwriting fontified by Suzanne. There's good reason why DSPKristen is described as a great font for journaling "tweens" - my handwriting hasn't changed/improved significantly since 6th grade! But I decided that I should include my writing in my layouts sometimes, and if other people find it useful - great! I'm not trying to hide it anymore.
Been interviewed on tv and in the paper! Pure fluke - apparently showing up at events in costume will get you noticed{g}! Once at the Commemoration of the 1906 Earthquake, and once (with Mom) at the Re-creation of the 1906 Memorial Day Celebration.
Held - and scanned - an old family photo album that included photos of our Civil War soldier! Mom & I had no idea this album even existed, until one of her cousins brought it over.
Visited Disneyland with my sister and her family. Not as big a deal as if we lived in, say, North Dakota - we do live in California, and though long, a drive is possible. But still, only the second time we've taken the kids and it'd been 5 years since the last time. We had a wonderful time!

Before I Turn 50, I Will...

2006-06-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

Go back to England again. Ideally, with friends and family who are as fascinated by the history as I am.
Finish the Book! Any book, really. A romance, or a scrapbooking book, or a cookbook. I've got notes and chapters and ideas for all of them.
Get another cat (or two.) Since I'm determined the next housecat really will be a house cat (not an outdoor cat), this is waiting on...
Getting my house in order. I'm fluttering quite slowly a la FlyLady and matters are not progressing much at all. I have a lot of "stuff" I'm not ready to label as "clutter" and I have issues with routines. Other than that, I'm doing fine!{g}
Get a piece of paper from an institution of higher learning. Right now, I'm working on certificates from the local junior college. And then get work in that field! Websites and databases - grand fun!
(Start and) finish the Chatham and Skold heritage albums. Mom and I are getting everything scanned, but I haven't even started to think about the albums. I need to trick Dad into telling some of the Skold family stories when I have the digital recorder in my pocket{g}
Get curtains on all the windows and recover the sofa. (I looked up at the windows by the computer - one is draped in a huge flannel sheet (sort of curtainish) and the other has a bath towel blocking where the setting sun wants to shine on my monitor this week. The curtains just need the rings stitched to them and one more hem finished.) The front windows all have blinds, so I just need something decorative for *my* side. When I can get close enough to them to do something (see step 4.)
Learn to knit and make myself a sweater. Although I crochet, I'm almost the only one in my immediate circle of friends who doesn't knit (including a couple of the guys). I've decided it's time to remedy this.
Get published in a magazine. A layout, an article, a review - anything. Grandma Skold was regularly published with short stories in children's magazines and historical articles in all sorts of other magazines. I can do this too.
Start dancing again. At one point I was dancing weekly - Irish, Scottish and English. When I moved back to Santa Rosa, I fell out of the habit. I know there are contra and Scottish groups up here - it's time to find them. I ran into an old morris dancer friend, who must be pushing 70 by now - he's still going strong!

I'm a Student Again!

2006-06-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, technically I was a student again on Monday, but that's an online class so it didn't feel special. Today, I got up much earlier than I usually do, managed the parking thing, was only a little late (both the city and the campus are in the throes of major "remodeling") and sat in an actual classroom, listening to a real live teacher!

The blog topic about school a few weeks ago got me thinking about this. And the pain of job-hunting convinced me that some upgrades to my web development skills (and a certificate or two) might be a good idea. So this summer I'm taking Telecommunications I and Beginning Dreamweaver and by next Spring I should have my Dreamweaver certificate. All the better to find a job that doesn't involve the phrases "Cash or credit?", "How may I direct your call?" or "Do you want fries with that?"

Starting to Scrap

2006-06-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

My sister Kelly got into scrapping before I did - then again, she's the one with the kids! I started scrapping digitally first, though, and she's just starting that.

I began to think about scrapping when we cleared out both sets of grandparents' houses within about 6 months and I ended up with the photo albums and stuff. Funny - except for the memory album my sisters and I created for Grandma Skold's memorial service, I really haven't done anything with all of this. Mom and I have gotten lots of it scanned, but scrapped? I can't get a handle on it yet.

Most of my scrapping, like most of my crafting period, has been given away. We made the memory albums for Dad and Aunt Roz. Kelly and I and a friend have scrapped albums for Renaissance Faire and Dickens Fair - and given them to our guildmistress. Designing by committee is a very interesting way of doing an album! But we did each have our specialties - and we took turns pushing each other to handwrite the titles and journaling (unless I could convince them to let me do it on Kelly's computer!)

I have several half-done albums lying about - both paper and digital. That issue with finishing things, again...

20+ Years of Computers

2006-06-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

I first played with computers in high school - we had a brand-new computer lab with Apple ///s. But I ignored them all through college except that the last paper I wrote at UCI was on someone else's computer. I decided them that being able to make changes to the first paragraph when you came up with a great idea when you reached the last paragraph was pretty cool.

Somewhere in the late 80s I inherited my sister's Apple IIe when they upgraded to a MAC! I puttered with using it for writing, but didn't find it very user-friendly. And I got really frustrated when I tried to play games on it.

After that - the big break-through! Grandma & Grandpa Chatham gave us each a good chunk of money one Christmas in the early 90s and I bought a used car and a Mac Powerbook. I was working graveyard at a motor inn and was bringing the computer to work with me. I got online with AOL (or as much as you could get online with AOL then!) I found the romance writers group and the needlework group. (Funny thing - I was a moderator for the needlework group - still have the t-shirt, even! See a pattern?) Then I discovered webpages. And that you could write them yourself. The tools were barely more than plain text, which gave me a good solid understanding of html. My first site was A Regency Repository, a directory of anything of interest to Regency Romance writers and readers, posted at geocities. It's still out there, several revisions and a move or two later.

And learning html lead me to go back to school and specialize in Multimedia Studies. I sold my laptop and bought a Mac 7200. In the labs at school, I learned to work on PCs too, which was very good, because my first job as a web developer was for a company that worked on PCs. So I added a PC to my collection. It's since been replaced with a newer, more powerful Dell.

Currently I have my Dell, and the iMac and PC from the web design company. Friday (after 4 phone calls and 2 tries) a local company that recycles computers came and picked up the Apple IIe, 3 antique Macs, 2 printers, and a box of software for the IIe. I'm slowly, very slowly, decluttering - and I haven't touched any of these in years, even decades. I kept thinking I'd get the IIe up and running, just to see if I could, but it never happened.

Teacher, Teacher

2006-06-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

I had lots and lots of great teachers all through school but, considering what I spend my days and night doing, the most influential was Capt. K - Mr Koppelman, who taught geometry and established the first computer lab at Santa Rosa High in 1980. We had Apple IIe computers. I learned to run the crossword puzzle-making program, and also programmed a pair of computers to play the Masterpiece Theatre theme in harmony. I didn't follow up on it immediately, because Computer Science required much too much of the wrong kind of math. But when the Mac came out, I was ready to experiment. I knew computers could be fun, because I'd had so much fun in Capt. K's classes. He didn't steer me wrong!

I was just thinking - I was a History major in college but my history teachers in jr high and high school were probably the worst teachers I had. I was just that determined to learn more.

First Memory

2006-06-08T02:21:00.000-07:00

This is still fairly fresh - I just journalled it for the current Book of Me challenge.

It's a odd little snippet, that Mom doesn't remember at all. I just very clearly remember reaching up and cutting my hand on the lid of a green plastic trash can at the side of the house on Yulupa. Which would make me about 3 1/2 because we only lived there a short time while our house in Rincon Valley was being built.

Other early memories are Pamela the White Rat at nursery school, and taking my baby sister to kindergarten for Show-and-Tell. Pamela was incredibly patient, to deal all day every day with 3- and 4-year-olds. And I remember we all sat in a circle in kindergarten and Kelly crawled around on the carpet. Not quite so early, but another great show-and-tell time - I got to bring Grandpa Skold's bearskin into my 3rd grade class. That would have been 1972-73. Can't imagine doing that now! Mom, spoilsport that she was, wouldn't let me keep it for my bed.

Favorite Childhood Book(s)

2006-06-08T01:52:00.000-07:00

I read so much as a child, it's hard to say I had a favorite. The first books I owned were from a horse book club - Misty of Chincoteague, etc. I need to see if Mom still has them and if Meagan would be interested.

I read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys checked out of the school library. Also, a series of biographies written for grade-schoolers. I remember reading about Dolly Madison (First Lady,) Luther Burbank (Plant Wizard,) Daisy Lowe (founder of Girl Scouts,) and Clara Barton (founder of the American Red Cross.) I still read a great deal of mystery and history.

I read my first fantasy novels in elementary school - it's an easy shift from fairy tales to tales about the Fair Folk. And in junior high I followed several friends through the school library there. The check-out cards with our names were always in the front of the books. If Clare, and Kathy, and Winnie had read them (especially if they read them more than once!) I knew I had a winner. I discovered JRR Tolkein, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, and Andre Norton there. I still read Tolkien and Norton, and I'm giving my sister's kids Cooper and Alexander (and reading them again myself when I visit!)

The two books that stand out, though, are two that I can't find. Or rather, one I still can't find and one I finally did. The one I found at long last was a children's picture book Mom brought home from the county library once when she was helping the school librarian with reading hour. It was about a dog who thought he was too plain and ordinary, so he started to wish he had the neck of a giraffe and the trunk of an elephant, etc. And when he got his wish, he got chased away from the house and ended up in the circus. He finally managed to wish himself back to normal and got home to his boy. The other book is one that belonged to my mom. It had four fairy tales in it and the most gorgeous illustrations. The stories were Cinderella, a Chinese tale about a couple who wished for a baby and got a moon princess, Rose Red and Snow White, and one about Roland. I can even remember the verse from the Roland story:

Withershins left, withershins right,
Withershins open Dark Castle tonight.
Sun in the East, Moon in the West,
Open the door for Roland the Guest.

The book was probably published in the late 40s or early 50s. I can't imagine that Mom gave it away, but I haven't found it in my stuff, or Kelly's, or at Mom's.

Cousins Party

2006-06-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Mom's right now, and the cousins just left. They're actually Mom's cousins, plus one of her aunts. We got together to share and scan old family photos, tell stories, and not have any husbands or kids hanging over our shoulders going "Can't we leave yet?"

I have over an hour of story-telling on digital audio - I have absolutely no idea if I'm going to be able to get anything useful off it, since we had eight of us here talking all at once! Aunt Betty and her three girls were here, as well as Auntie Regina's daughters Lyda and Myrna. So we got a lot of sister-chat: "That didn't happen!" "Do you remember..." Also cousin-chat: "Auntie Elma would never have let us get away that!" Lots of fun!

Last night Mom and I carefully dismantled a Victorian photo album and scanned all the identifiable photos. The newest photos were 1890s - the oldest were tintypes from 1859 and the Civil War. Someone, alas, had carefully taped them in place, and labeled them by writing in ballpoint pen. On the upside - they did almost all get labeled so we know who they are, and the photos are still in good condition.

I scanned lots more photos today from the albums they brought. We picnicked out back, and Gail made strawberry shortcake in honor of her mom Betty's birthday. We're already planning the next get-together, probably in Sacramento this time.

Once and Future Student

2006-06-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

For my 4th time around (you've noticed that I've mentioned a problem with finishing things, right?) I'd like to finish the Multimedia degree I started the 3rd time around. That was going on ten years ago, and so much has changed so much during that time. (No broadband, so websites needed to be very simple. No Flash animations. Certainly no video!) I've kept up with most of the advances, but it would be nice to know I'm up-to-date on everything.

Beyond that, I want to take lots of hands-on classes.

Cooking - I'd love to know a great deal more than I do right now.
Sewing and design - I took a one-semester class in high school and everything else has been self-taught.
Photography - a natural for a scrapbooker, I think!
Drawing, painting, calligraphy - I don't think I have any natural aptitude for any of these (especially the calligraphy since I'm left-handed) but I'm curious.
Almost anything else crafty - polymer clay, stained glass, quilting, knitting, lace-making.

And at some point I'm going to go back and finish the History degree I was working on Rounds 1 & 2. It never occurred to me, and no one thought to mention it, that not all college history departments offer lots of classes in all eras of history. Neither college I attended had a good English History department. I'll have to be more careful the next time - even if it means moving for a while. But this won't be any time soon.

I Got Tagged!

2006-06-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Faery-wings tagged me, so here we go!

5 things in my fridge:
2 gallons of milk (this is for just me!)
Enough spaghetti with meat sauce for 5 or 6 more meals (happens when you start with 1lb of ground beef and are only feeding 1!)
2 lbs of strawberries (one for eating with breakfast, one for experimenting with an Elizabethan sweets recipe)
3 half-empty bottles of wine from various cooking projects, since I cook with wine but don't drink it
1 jar of bread machine yeast which needs to come out to play next week - it's been too long since I've made bread last

5 items in my closet:
closet organizer system - finally installed one last year
sheets for a mattress size I haven't owned in 7 years
parts to 3 different historical costumes
a briefcase (hand-me-round from a sister) that I've never had a job that required it
5 pairs of shoes I wear and 15 pair I don't

5 items in my purse:
chocolate (although this is getting potentially messy as the weather warms up)
kleenex
table-top tripod (it's about 6" high)
owner's manual for the work lights I bought for Suzanne's Home Studio Lighting class
receipts from the last 3 months of grocery/book shopping

5 items in my car:
candy wrappers
CDs
something under the driver's seat that rattles occasionally and probably should have gone to Goodwill early last year
more than one paperback
my corsage from Shannon and Giova's wedding (it's pinned just above the rear-view mirror)

At Long Last - I Gave Blood Today

2006-05-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

I'm ashamed to say it's taken me 20+ years to get to this day. My parents and younger sister have donated blood for years. Kelly does it in spite of the fact that the sight of her blood makes her woozy. One of the bitterest fruits of my procrastination.

Last year some time they had a blood drive here at the mobile home park that I actually went to, but my iron level was just too low to qualify. Did you know that drinking tea with meals can interfere with your body absorbing iron? I now drink milk or water with dinner.

At any rate, I got a phone call this morning asking me to come in, and this time I added it to the end of my list of errands. Went in, they checked my iron level - solidly in the middle of where they wanted it to be. I got settled on the recliner, got my book open, I'm good to go.

It took 3 nurses and holes poked in both arms before they found a vein they could tap. I seem to remember that Kelly presents them with the same problem. Other than that, no problem for me. I've stabbed myself almost as badly with sewing pins. I don't turn woozy at the sight of blood. I just need to remember that they're serious when they say not to lift more than 10lbs afterward - I was shifting antique computers around the house expecting a pick-up any time in the last hour and a half (I think I've been stood up!) and had to sit down a while in the midst of it.

I need to make sure I get in to donate as frequently as I can now to make up for all the years I should have been donating.

About "The Book"

2006-05-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Since "The Book" is mentioned in the description of this blog, and since I just wrote about the "Put Your Heart in a Book" t-shirt, I thought it might be time to Go Public here with my ambition.

I was, and will be again, a romance writer. Only finished one book, written in collaboration with Nonnie, who did manage to finish other books of her own and has published two Regency romances under the Nonnie St. George name. But I enjoyed the process and the community and will return to it again.

My current WIP (work in progress) is Omniscrapping: Computer Techniques for Paper Scrappers. It hasn't advanced much beyond the outline stage and I need to seize this time, after my first class for DSU and before the next New Kids to get some serious work done on it. I'm using a theme album Family Faces to experiment with. I have scans of two posted here at DSP and I'll try to post the rest of the batch this evening.

A Room to Create In

2006-05-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

I have a two-bedroom mobile home to myself, so when I moved in I decided that I'd sleep in the smaller bedroom and use the master bedroom for my computer/crafting room. It's worked out very well - by having a small bedroom I have mostly managed to keep just bedroom stuff in it. This was very important to me when I moved in because I'd been sharing houses with friends before then and mostly trying to live in one room - bed, books, and computer altogether.

This is a close-in shot of the computer corner (in an attempt to hide most of the clutter!) It's mostly a U-shape, between the windows in the corner. On the right is the printer stand with all my various papers, labels, etc.In the center is the computer table. It's generally well-piled with papers, CDs, tapes, Post-it notes, earrings, pens, a couple of water glasses - stuff. Up top, mostly hidden right now by the stacks of CDs and tapes, I have two of my gryphons and a galileo thermometer (one of those with glass balls filled with colored liquid that rise and fall with the temperature. )

And tucked down under the monitor is a little green-and-yellow bird - with teeth! - I made when I first got my hands on polyclay.

This triptych hangs over the computer table. It's special for three reasons - Grandpa Skold took the photos and assembled it (I can see his handwriting in the title,) they're photos from England (Westminster Abbey) and it's a symbol of the link between me and Grandpa - photography. He was an avid, and good, amateur photographer and as I've gotten more interested and active with my photography I think of him often.

Next to the artwork is a pink t-shirt I bought at a romance writers convention a few years ago (you can just see the edge of the sleeve there.) The front says "Put your Heart in a Book" and the back, the side I've been displaying, says "Finish the D* Book!" I just turned it around - we'll try positive reinforcement awhile!

On the left, under the window, is a short bookshelf with the scanner on top and my font and kit print-out binders down below. I have 4 binders right now with kit print-outs and almost 20 font binders (they're sorted by category so some are quite small.) Next to the bookshelf is a table that currently has the iMac on it, as well as stacks and stacks of papers, 2 mugs, 3 books and the camera.

The rest of the room has more bookshelves for books and magazines on scrapping, quilting, sewing, and computers, 2 crafting tables, a couple of short filing cabinets, the ironing board, lots of plastic tubs full of fabric, 4 rolling plastic drawer systems full of crafty things, and most of my tape/CD collection. It's in serious need of a clearing out, but I'm working on the living room first.

Memorial Day Celebration

2006-05-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

Mom and I dressed in our turn of the (last) century finery (because we could!) and attended the Memorial Day Commemoration at the Old Rural Cemetery. The Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery Association along with the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War recreated the Memorial Day Service from one hundred years ago. The one only weeks after the 1906 earthquake destroyed much of Santa Rosa.

Between the opening and closing prayers, we had a recitation of the Gettysburg Address, a poem to the unknown war dead, a reading of the names of local Civil War veterans dead and alive, Union and then Confederate, followed by the names of veterans of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. And a fine, impassioned, and remarkably short speech originally given by a schoolteacher-attorney turned judge. This was followed by the singing of My Country 'Tis of Thee and America the Beautiful, including verses to both I'd never heard before. The final touch was the firing of a volley and the playing of taps, provided by members of the American Legion.

It was a remarkably well-done and nicely attended ceremony. Listening to the speakers, making reference after reference to the Civil War and to those who willingly answered the call to arms for the preservation of the Union made me consider how important it is that we citizens be ready to make necessary sacrifices. But it also made me think about how important, how vital it is to make certain that the cause is worthy of such noble sacrifice.

(And reading that last paragraph, I realize how easily my language slips into the patterns and style of other days...)

On a lighter note, should anyone want to know how to get interviewed by local media, the answer is to show up at events in costume! Mom & I were taped and interviewed by the local tv station, and photographed and interviewed by the local paper. Mom is a docent at Luther Burbank's Home & Gardens and they do a Christmas Open House and other events in turn-of-the-century costumes so she already had hers - a green brocade walking skirt I made her and a green-striped blouse. I borrowed her white blouse, wore a long black skirt, and pinned my hair up in a Gibson Girl style. We both had lace parasols (a big hit - everyone asked where we got them. Mom picked hers up in Gettysburg, I got mine at an historical event in San Jose.) And I just realized I have photos of most of the speakers, but didn't think to get one of us! We'll have to see what the paper prints. Maybe next weekend I can talk Mom into getting dressed again for a photo opp.

Book Report

2006-05-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

If you're thinking of reading Truth or Dare you need to pick up Light in Shadow first. This isn't so much a prequel-sequel thing - the story of the romance takes two books to finish.

They're both heavy on the mystery/suspense elements. The hero is a private detective. And the heroine is psychic. She feels the residue of strong emotions trapped inside rooms.

I'm a serious Jayne Ann Krentz fan - I have two shelves of her books written not only under the Krentz name (contemporaries), but also Amanda Quick (historicals) and Jayne Castle (futuristic.)

First Thoughts

2006-05-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

My first thought was "Turn on the light." (The bedside light is the only one in the room and is on the switch by the door. But when I read at night, I turn it off at the lamp. Which means crawling across the bed in the evening to turn it back on - unless I remember when I wake up.)

Next, "I shouldn't have finished the book last night. It's later than I wanted to be getting up." Followed shortly by "Did they tell us they were turning the water off today?" The park has old pipes and they were working on them yesterday, too.

The book, however, was almost worth oversleeping for. Jayne Ann Krentz's Truth or Dare, a romance with suspense elements and I had to find out who-all done it. She had several different threads running, and added one more just as I was thinking about putting it down for the night.

Happiness is a Warm Puppy (or Two)

2006-05-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

I don't remember getting our first dog. I would have been 2 or 3 at the time, it was while we were living in the little house on Yulupa. Apparently Grandpa Skold decided it was time for us to have a dog and gave us a basset hound. I got to name him, the only dog name I knew - Snoopy! There's a great photo somewhere of him sprawled on his back in the chaise longue in the yard.

I remember when Grandpa decided we needed another dog (just not exactly when that was - I was probably in 4th or 5th grade.) We went down to Los Gatos to visit, and tied to a long rope, out back with Grandpa's German Shorthaired Retriever, was a beagle. I think he came with his name - Barney. I have no idea if my parents knew about either gift, but how do you tell your little girls that they can't have the dog their Grandpa just gave them?

Both dogs were outdoor dogs. The first morning we had both of them at home, they got into a fight and Snoopy tore open Barney's paw pad. He was in bandages and that horrible protective collar for far longer than he wanted to be. After that, when The Beagle was in trouble, he'd look at you with those bright brown eyes and raise his paw. "Remember, I was hurt! Don't be mad at me!" And then he'd blow it by switching paws. "Wait, was it this one?"

They used to chase each other around the back yard - or rather, Snoopy would chase The Beagle. Now, you picture a basset as a sleepy dog, maybe meandering from one good nap spot to another, right? Not this one! The Beagle would take off across the deck and launch himself off it into the sand box. And Snoopy would be right behind, ears flying! The chase would always end in the dog run. The Beagle would find himself trapped in the back, out of sight. We'd hear a yelp, then Snoopy would come trotting out. A little while later, The Beagle would slink out, and that would be the end of that.

The Beagle was something of an escape artist. After discovering two or three different ways to go under the fence, he then discovered a way to go over the fence. If he stood on the railing at the west end of the deck, he could leap from there, over the fence, and land on the top of the wood pile. From there, it was all downhill - literally, he always headed down the street. Dad finally nailed a piece of plywood to the top of the fence to prevent this.

Just because he couldn't go over didn't mean that Snoopy never got out. Someone would leave the gate unlatched and he'd be off and away too. And he was much harder to get home. The Beagle you could pick up and carry. But you couldn't carry the basset, and your back got sore bending over to hold onto his collar. Snoopy also held the record for distance. Mom got a call one afternoon from the volunteer fire department, a good 3 or 4 miles away. They'd found him standing on the median strip in the middle of Hwy 12!

Both dogs died peacefully in their sleep. Since then, Mom has had two cocker spaniels - the kind of dog she grew up with. I've had cats. Kai had crazy Siamese, and something large and furry and Northern - Husky or Malamute. Kelly has cats and a Great Dane, but they're looking for a basset hound now.

Sweet Smell of Home (and other nice places)

2006-05-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

The scent I was thinking of when I suggested this to Meg is actually part of a complete-senses package.

My grandparents owned 10 acres of property backing onto Cow Creek out East of Redding. Grandpa always had a dozen or so head of cattle grazing on it. When we'd go up to visit, we'd always play cowgirls and go out and help Grandpa move them from the upper field to the lower, or vice-versa, walk with him when he turned on the sprinklers, go out and check the line of pines and firs along the road.

But the strongest scent-memory was part of falling asleep. In the summer, the bedroom window would be open. We could hear the wind in the trees, the creek tumbling over the rock dam we'd build for Grandma, the sound of the logging trucks down-shifting up on the highway. Mom and Grandma in the living room talking about relatives, Grandpa's clock ticking over the fireplace. And the sound of the sprinklers - whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. And the ones close to the house that didn't go all the way around, they went part way and then back again - whoosh, whoosh, click-click-click-click-click. The weather is hot, so we're barely draped in sheets. It's either the hard little love-seat the folds flat (and throws your pillow on the floor because there's nothing to stop it from sliding) or sharing the hide-a-bed (with the bar right under your hip and your sister stealing the covers and kicking you.) And filling all of it - the scent of wet alfalfa, still warm from a day in the summer sun and smelling so sweet and green.

My sister has Grandpa's denim jacket in her hall closet. It was supposed to be for Mike to wear - but we can still smell hay and dust and cows on it, and Kelly won't let Mike wear it while we can still smell Grandpa on it.

Grandma and Grandpa Skold's house smelled of photographic chemicals. Especially the back porch, which always felt chilly no matter the temperature. And Grandpa's den which smelled of dust and leather and whatever taxidermists use.

I've worked at the Renaissance Faire for years and years. Faire smells of dust, and dry grass, and fire retardant, and fresh paint, with a little lavender or rosemary mixed in (I wear them on my bodice or on my hat.) Even after faire clothes have been washed, they still have the faire scent in them.

My sister's family and I work the Dickens Christmas Fair each year. It's held in the Cow Palace Exhibition Halls, and before this last year the Grand National Rodeo was the last event in the hall before we moved in. We joke about how the scent of cow manure makes us want to sing Christmas carols!

Five Bestest Words

2006-05-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Only five? That's the challenge here. There are so many lovely words in the world.

Pachyderm This was the first word Dad taught me. I got my love of words from him - I have an entire layout (someday to become a 2-page spread) of his favorite words and phrases. Sprint, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, figurese (Spanish for Imagine that!) Growing up, our dinners frequently ended with either the dictionary or the atlas out, looking up something that Dad said that we couldn't quite believe.

Family I'm blessed to have my family near, my parents and both sisters and their families. Mom was an only child, but her Dad was one of eight. The Chathams have nearly all stayed in Northern California, and though we've lost more than half of Grandpa's generation, The Cousins still get together occasionally for picnics. And then there's my Faire Family - the folks I've worked Renaissance Faires and Dickens Fairs with for over twenty years. Whether it's the Irish tuatha (pronounced tu-ah, meaning clan) or the family running the Green Man Inn, the feeling, the connection (and the occasional squabble) is all family.

Book The word's a little plain (tome is so much more romantic) but I've been in love with books for longer than I can remember. I don't remember learning to read, I just remember, even in first grade, finishing my schoolwork so I could go pick out a book and read. Fantasy, Science Fiction, History, Romance, How-To, Cookbooks, Computer Books, Biography. My house is filled with them and the word Book means pleasant company, new ideas, new skills.

Crimson (see also Scarlet, Puce, Bloodred, Burgundy, Maroon) I love rich reds, and I love the word Crimson. It feels royal and romantic. It's a Crimson velvet gown on a court lady, a Crimson cloak on a loyal knight, a noble steed caprisoned in crimson and gold.

Zia This is the Italian for Aunt. One of my nephews is half-Italian, and so I decided I was going to be Zia rather than Auntie Kris. Especially since Kelly's kids have several other "aunts" among the Faire family, being Zia is unique and special.

Just Like Grandma Made It

2006-05-17T04:44:00.000-07:00

There are lots of foods that have emotional connections - Grandma Chatham's lemon meringue pie, Dad's Swedish pancakes, even foods like turkey and brownies that bring to mind Grandma Skold's "challenges" in the kitchen.

But the ultimate comfort food is peanut butter and jelly on graham crackers.

We used to have this at Grandma Chatham's. Occasionally, Mom would let us have these at home. My sisters and I have this now and again when we're all together.

Now, you need to have Honeymade graham crackers.

Skippy peanut butter - it's easier to spread if you get the smooth but crunchy is an option too.

The hardest part to get these days is the blackberry jelly. Grandma used to make her own - we'd pick the berries for her from the patch over by the pond. Nowadays, we're stuck trying to find it in the stores - and generally stuck finding a jam with the fewest seeds in it. Maybe this summer, since we're not working Faire, I'll have time to find a pick-your-own berry patch and we'll see if Mom and I can make some.

To accompany this, you need milk, potato chips (not ruffled, just plain), and dill pickles. When Kai visited me in college, we bought the pickles and left the open jar on the kitchen table between us, even though neither of us eats pickles. Mom and Grandma did, and you need the scent for the setting to be complete.

A simple indulgence - but just filled to the brim with memories.

Sooner or Later I'll be Punctual!

2006-05-17T02:45:00.000-07:00

I have to go with the most "popular" bad habit - procrastination.

I have no sense of how long something should take, so I procrastinate doing it because I think it'll take too long. My timer and FlyLady's "you can do anything for 15 minutes" is starting to help some, but...

Sometimes it's the opposite - I'll put off doing something because I think it won't take long. And it does.

Even when I *know* it takes one full hour to get to my sister's, I don't get out of the house on time. I am always at least 10 minutes late. At least.

Someone posted a list. Taxes - check. Car registration - check. Driver's license renewal - check.

I'm also perfectly capable of putting off fun things too. A trip out to the coast to take pictures. Sewing. Watching movies on the big screen. Going to see live theatre. Whatever the mental kink is, it's comprehensive.

If I could change one thing about me, that would be it. Anything else could be tackled with persistence, determination, time-management - whatever it is that I lack. It's not strictly persistence or determination. I've taught myself html, and enough cgi to make major modifications to scripts. I can spend hours, days, tinkering with programming to get a website just right. I've learned digital scrapping the same way.

But much of my life is made more difficult by this mental/emotional block to starting, and finishing, all sorts of projects.

Bad Daughter, Good Sister

2006-05-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

To start with, I just realized I was a Bad Daughter and forgot to call Mom yesterday! We're getting together for the Santa Rosa Rose Parade and (probably) barbeque next weekend, and we're still trying to find the right weekend to take all the moms and daughters (6 adults and 2 girls) out for Tea (best guess on a date is sometime in late July or August!) So, mentally, I guess I was thinking "Mother's Day stuff is later" despite all the media and DSP attention on it. Minds are funny that way - or at least mine is! I'll call and apologize today. Alas, she won't be surprised...

What I did do this weekend was go and spend it with my sister Kelly (Mike was off at a sword symposium learning to fight with cutlasses on shipboard. Without the shipboard, they didn't get permission to go play on whichever local sailing ship they'd had in mind.) Saturday she helped me get the diffuser frames built for Suzanne's home studio lighting class. And Sunday she let me rearrange her living room and spend two hours taking pictures of her, the three kids, and two of the four pets. I managed to get some nice shots, and got some ideas for improving matters next time. I'm very fortunate that all three kids are willing, and two are very eager, to pose for me! I'll get some of the photos cropped and all and posted much later today.

The other thing we got done this weekend was to buy PSE 4 for Kelly, and I got it installed on her computer. (She's more than capable, she does computer training and troubleshooting at work, it just happened that I was at the computer when I thought of it.) I hope she'll have time this week to work through the First Page tutorials and get her first layouts posted. Don't be confused - the faces will look familiar since most of my layouts feature them - but the kids are actually hers!

Timin' It

2006-05-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Have you read the Dragonriders of Pern series? Dragons can go between - somehow step "outside", and get anywhere on the planet in the time it takes to breathe three times. To be able to get anywhere, that quickly and easily - wow! To be able to pop over and have lunch and a good bookstore-crawl in London. Go and meet all my Internet friends. Better still, gather all my digital scrapping friends together for a convention! That's the ticket!

But what Pernese dragons can do that I really need, is the ability to "time" it. They can arrive somewhere before they've left. Go back in time, and be in two places at once. I am always, always late. Ordinarily, I'm 10 minutes late. But that can certainly stretch to ridiculous lengths. And since it's uncomfortable and distracting to be in two places at once, that might convince me to finally figure out how to leave on time!

Time Off for Good Behavior

2006-05-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

If I could take tomorrow off from work, I'd probably spend the day alternating between the computer and a good book or two.

But if I were determined to make it something out of the ordinary, I'd grab my camera and head out to the coast (it's only 20-30 minutes west of here.) The last time I was out there, I filled a 64M card. Now I have a 512, and I'd do my best to fill it, too!

Or maybe I'd head into San Francisco, visit the zoo with my telephoto lens and without the kids. Go up on the headlands beyond the Golden Gate Bridge - I've never made the time for that. Go to Fort Point - it fascinates me that there's a Civil War-era fort parked under the GG bridge! Ride the cable car downtown and then walk back along the Embarcadero.

Hmmm. No particular reason why I can't do this tomorrow... Hmm.

Decorating Done - For Now!

2006-05-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

Okay - it's obviously been way to long since I got in and messed around with code! I've been having a blast getting this just the way I want it. At least for now, of course!

I started with the elegant Scribe template. And then I started tinkering. I decided the outer frame/background layer was just too dark and drab. So I created the red-and-gold tile in one of my favorite color combinations, uploaded it to my website, and linked to it. Next, I figured out how to shift the sidebar over to the right. And how to get the About Me section in to the sidebar, instead of sprawling across the top. I think I added an extra divider below the About Me section, too.

The Scribe template comes with a set of sidebar headers (like the Recent Posts and Archives headers) in that lovely script. I need to go through them next, and figure out how to add some of them in as well.

Here I Go! and Optimism

2006-05-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Meg, you've provided the last little nudge to get me to play with blogging (can't get too far behind the cutting edge!)

Your prompts, and the Book of Me memory jogs, have shown me I'm ready to do some writing again.

I'm optimistic I'll be able to keep this up - we'll see!

I'm generally optimistic, and I'm generally right to be. Right now, I'm optimistic that I'll be able to make a living without getting a 9to5 office job or working retail. Anyone who's met me in an early-morning chatroom while I'm on my way to bed will understand that 9to5 would only work for me if it were 9pm to 5am!

Well, I want to get this first post up and then see what I can do about making myself at home here. A little decorating - this'll be very nice!