What I Did This Weekend

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

1. Skipped the game (they won - but this opponent at least managed to score.)
2. 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.
   
3. Decided she's old enough, and dressed fancy enough, not to need the apron. So we have a chunk of white fabric left.
   
4. Never got Kelly into the corset - we'll try again next weekend.
   
5. Installed Filemaker Pro Advanced but didn't get any farther with it.
6. 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

What do I want to accomplish this weekend?

1. Watch my niece cheer for the Raiders. (These Raiders are undefeated!)
2. 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.)
3. Figure out how to adapt the adult apron pattern to fit her.
4. Take in my sister's corset (and probably her jacket as well) - a loss of 15+ lbs will seriously affect the fit.
5. Install Filemaker Pro Advanced and get started on my kitminder project again.

That should keep me busy - just a little!

Words to Live By

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

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!

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

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

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.