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So we got going on Saturday, made it through security and down to the park and through the gates when they opened. A lot of folks were wearing halloween stuff and it was a amazing. A lot of ooohing and awwing in line. We got our selves to the hotel line and into tomorrow land at our time. We hit Space Mountain and the Astro Rockets before rope drop. Then we hit our list (more on that later)and this was kind of our day both days.

We did head into DCA that night for getting on Guardians Mission Breakout after Dark. The line was long and we were told at 7pm the line was 120 minutes. While inline they shut down the normal line for the night so fast passes were all they were taking. Guys in line with us had started a timer when we got in line. We made it through in 62 minutes and the ride was hella fun. Tivan's collection has broken out and Rocket wants your help to distract the monsters while he rescues baby groot. The lights through the queue are weird and red and the video screens keep glitching showing fuzzy security footage of the guards and the assistants running and fighting things in smoke. We got in our gantry and we were in the front row. I was on the edge of the gantry and I did not look down the shaft. The usual ride has nice fun drops and good story bits in between but this one was fast and seriously we had so much airtime out of our seats that ari's water bottle escaped and hit her front teeth before she caught it. It was wild, scary as heck and so much fun.

Also, they had a headless horseman you could interact with with your magic band... which was amazing.

We headed back into Disneyland and did a few things on my bucket list which was watching the fireworks show and then we got to see Phantasmic. I had watched/red a bunch of blogs/videos to help us get things like where to see things. So we headed through the park, avoiding a parade and made it to Its a small world just as the parade was moving past so we were able to get seats right at the corner on a curb with a nice fence for a back and sat watching the most amazing show. Then we headed over to Rivers of America/French Quarter to go see Phantasmic. We setup at the corner as you head into Pirates and a castmember went up to the guy standing next to me and asked if it was just the 3 of us (him, me and ari), guy looked to me and said nope is the 4 of us (including his buddy). The castmember was "I got you." and pulled us to a reserved section dead center for the show. It was standing, not leaning against the wall of pirates but omg was it cool. Like seriously, how do you hide the Columbia in the fog? But it was fun. And to close out the night we went on Pirates.

So Ari and I had a bucket list and then we just started adding all the things we did to document things. It was a fun way to track things and make sure we did the things we wanted.

So the list:
Rides
~~Peter Pan never made it while it was open or had a good wait time~~
~~Storylandboats at drop sign book~~ under refurb
After dark guardians
Ride the railroad all the way around (ari had never seen the backside dioramas)
~~Ride the ship not mark twain~~ no longer available
Tiana’s
Cars race
Space mountain
Matterhorn
Astro rockets
Mickey Runaway Railway
Haunted Mansion
Roger Rabbit
Mickeys house
Alice in Wonderland
Pirates of the Caribbean x3
Canoes
Snow White
Finding Nemo
Treehouse
Ariel’s ride
Goofy’s Sky School
Soaring’
Luigi’s Roadsters
Mater’s Jamboree
Grizzly Rapids
Monsters inc
Monorail
Indiana jones
Smugglers run
~~Pooh Bear~~ it went down when we wanted to go on it.

Other things
Saw ofrenda in the plaza familia
Disneyland Band performing in Frontierland
Seeing paint the night parade
See Phantasmic
See the fireworks show always at Its a small world

Food
Blue Bayou Lunch
Apple cider donuts at Daisy Mays omg! always get donuts here
Ate ridiculous food at Pyms Kitchen (big and little chicken sammiches...both on the same size bun)
Lamplighter bar on Pixar pier for brunch (best wait staff)
Ate at Belle Terrace
Ate at the Craftman Grill dinner
Churro from Frontierland
DoleWhip
Beignets on our way out on Monday from downtown disney

Characters
Met Count Mater!
Met Jack when he scared the crap out of ari
Saw Jack and Sally
Met Tianna
Met Eeyor
Met Mulan
Saw Lady Tremaine and the Sisters
Saw Capt American Wilson

Due to both our food allergies I think for future eating dinner in DCA is easier. More adult style food options that aren't just fair food. We also got kinda nerfed on things due to Oogie Boogie Bash being on Sunday night so we couldn't be in DCA after 6pm. We managed to leave it at 245pm while soaking wet from the river rapids. We did have a nice time in DCA. We got there and first rode Ariel, and then Goofy's Sky School and we had fast passed for Radiator Springs Racers but the timing was a bit later in the AM so we meandered around and happened upon Tow Mater dressed up as Count Mater and got the photo. We rode both of the other cars rides and explored the halloween version of Cars. The Cosy Cone motel was so fun for the season and then we got brunch at the Lamplighter on Pixar Pier. If I could have drunk Mimosas the Mimosa flight would have been perfect but I had a Beermosa with OJ/Orange beer from San Diego. So good. The staff was awesome without allergies and we had good noms. Then we did some shopping, waiting way to long for Monsters Inc but we've done it and now its off the list. We went back to the hotel to drop off things and change into clothes we didn't care got wet and hit the river run. We got on with 4 teenage boys and their aunt/uncle and us. Adults on one side, kids on the other and the weight distro made it so all the boys, though we got wet too but not like them. It was fun. We then headed back into Disneyland cause the lines for Oogie Boogie were insane and we had fast past into Indiana Jones and we took the monorail and when we saw the lines it was nuts. We really got the hang of the fast pass on Sunday. For what we wanted to do on Saturday it wasn't much of a thing but I think we did well on Sunday. You just have to get things early and then push times as your stuff changes. We just had a nice time in the park and hitting all the things we had missed. We hit Smugglers Run with a family who can't fly but Ari and I kept that ship going well.

It was nice and easy on Sunday and we had dinner at Belle Terrace with a wonderful server. We then tried to hit Winnie the Pooh but it went down just as we got there and so after a bit of a meander we hit Pirates and then we got stuck...on pirates....for like 15 mins. We were sitting for so long that I figured out we were missing a parrot in the area we were in cause they were singing counter point but were no where. So we were under the bridge almost looking at this pirate for a while. We got done and then were just DONE. We had to circumvent a parade on our way out and hit the last gift shop and a cast member asked us if "we like characters" and we said yes and walked into a side area and there was Mickey and Goofy!!!!!!!!!!. We got pictures and that was so awesome. So we hobbled back out of the park and did a bit of final shopping in Downtown Disney (legos and print shop) before collapsing into our room.

All in all it was a good trip. We needed it. Next time 3 days much easier but man we really really packed a lot in. We were both were sad to have work on the Tuesday but it was okay. And that was our trip. Link to full album here

Thursdays pack up was pretty stressful. We were all tired and I was kinda in a manic mode. I really really did not want to go. Another week or so would have been perfect. But with Benton's school dates set we really couldn't. So, tonight after work will be getting him a cell phone and shopping for clothes, and a new back pack. I'm dreading the phone. We had hoped to only get him a flip phone for calls and texts but I guess we don't get to pick that. Sighs.

But with him riding the bus and friends etc it will be nice to get a hold of him but he really doesn't want one either. Lol.

But the packup and doing things around the house was exhausting and I was over tired and didn't get to bed until way too late but I was still asleep before mel came to bed even later. We slept in until 630am...had wanted 6am but with that 1am ish bedtime it was a no go. We got things loaded with a good clip and cleaning out the fridge meant some wild life will be living large on the offerings we left at the edge of the woods. But things went into our two coolers Though because of how we packed we didn't have the coolers accessible except when we stopped but that was okay. I drove the first leg to just into Kansas. We did get Taco Johns for our last taste of midwest texan mex food in Grand Island Nebraska. We arrived in La Junta Colorado 730pm local time and after we unloaded the cats and go bags we hit up Boss Hogg's It was basic and we had the local beer Tivoli's Outlaw Light. Its a light beer but perfect after the long drive.

We got back to the hotel and chilled watching Twister and then part of mummy returns. Mel crashed the hell out on the bed fully clothed. I got Benton to shower and got ready for bed and lights outed us at 11pm. I set the alarm for 7am but I was awake at like 615am. At some point mel had gotten out of driving clothes and properly into bed but I slept okay. The cats were snuggling at our feet here and there or on Mel's hip. My only complaint about holiday inn express is that the beds have a gap under them at the back that cats can get into. And Tasha was being a PITA to get in the carrier. But holiday inn breakfast, and easily accessible ice machine and on the road we went. I drove us to Albuquerque where we got lunch at 5Guys. Feeding the teenager has been "a thing" and with his meds he doesn't realize he's hungry just angry and snippy. So we've made sure to get "double" meals for things like a shake with his burger and fries and a quesadilla with his big burrito. Mel was still tired when we was taking over so I got him a coffee shake at 5 guys and that got a big thumbs up from him and he drove us all the way home to Tucson. Now we were a bit squirrely at the end but we did take some good walk/potty breaks so that was good too. Got home, got unloaded, and we noticed the center support on the middle shelf of the fridge was cracked. Mel pulled the shelf out and was cleaning the glass when it shattered. ooops.

Luckily I got online and found the parts we needed and ordered them but am currently on hold with the company since there was an issue and the order is on hold? But it should be an easy fix. Hopefully. I was hopeful on Saturday night but we shall see. Anyhoo. Mel got that cleaned up (with the use of the shopvac cause glass was into the disposal. I ordered pizza from Mod and headed to pick it up. We were all hungry but tired and warm. The house only gets down to like 83 when its 100+ out. So we had food, a few beers and then we were all in bed pretty early cause time zones are a thing. I awoke super early on Sunday 6am and just read on my phone for a while. My back was not happy with me and I was AWAKE. So I got up and out into the family room to ready and sit up for a while. Mel got up a bit later and made coffee. He was all about putting things away and I was just a lump but I got up after my first coffee was done, got dressed and started puttering. We got benton up and headed to Joe's for breakfast.

It was old home week literally, Mary was back in town and all of the waitresses that have known us for decades came to chat. Our waitress was like "well obviously you must be regulars" and "I'm new". We explained we weren't as regular as we used to be but we still come in from time to time. The food was good, chatting with Mary and catching up on things was good as well. We got back and then I started on my puttering to get things put away a bit. My back was unhappy when ever I got up from sitting down. I wasn't too worried since I had smartly scheduled a massage for that afternoon but boy was it angry. My massage was only 60mins and my body fought it but it did loosen and then I did a bit of walking to shop at Daiso and Petsmart and Ulta which were across the parking lot from my massage place. We will soon be getting a Bed Bath and Beyond there too which is nice. The walk did wonders for me as did when I got home I put all of my clothing from the trip away, picked up my studio and set it to rights for the work day and just tidied. Mel made potato/carrot mash to go with the cooked pork chops we transported from SD and we had a nice evening.

I slept well once I reconfigured to a big stiff pillow for my knees and that helped my back tremendously. But we will be shopping for a new mattress cause yeah. Today I've been walking a bunch around the house and once my afternoon meetings hit I will do standing desk as well. But its hot in the house and I have my fan blowing on me but not much more that I can do since its evap cooling and even though the humidity is stoopid low its 104F.

So tonight will be shopping with Benton and then heading to scriptorium. I've missed the girls and I need to start working on laying out Cael's scroll. The stones we've picked up aren't big but that means I need to get working on detail. I'm hoping we can flatten one a bit if not I will head to the stone places and find a nice piece again. But the fact we roadside geology things is part of the fun.

While I've been poking away at writing this I got two death notices:
1) My stepbrother was found dead in his room near flagstaff. Autopsy today. My eldest stepsister called me to tell me and that was all the info they had. He would have been 49 in October. I had not seen him in 19 years (his dad's funeral) and had no idea had had moved to Arizona.

2) Arsenda passed at dawn this AM. I had left messages and I hope they were read to her. This fucking sucks. I've since now texted her partner and got hugs in return on text. He was my cousin Baron so long love there. Sighs. This sucks so hard.

We all managed to get out of the house (fully loaded both vehicles cause Becca and Rob were leaving to SC from the war). We stopped off in Canton to get Taco johns for lunch (nom nom) and then the easy drive to Wisconsin. What was weir was the GPS took us on back roads to I-90. It meandered between SD and Iowa and then back to SD before doing the last 7 miles was a straight north county road that had 3 states from SD, IA and dumped us out in Minnesota just before the interstate. That was fun. And honestly it super quick but a bit of a meander through pretty country. We had a pitstop in Albert Lea MN and then onto site. We were setup next to Authentic Camp and that was nice We got the french bells setup and the boys got their modern tents setup but it was warm and buggy and we were hungry and realized we had forgotten the bug spray and lanterns and the food truck only took cash. So we divided and conquered to get food and things. Becca and I got tablecloths (also forgotten) and lanterns, and a few more small things and were back in came with rain coming down. My cell service at site was abysmal. But the rain wasn't too bad but I still worried. The port-potties were the best I've ever used. they had solar powered night and motion lights and were clean and new and better than the flushies at the bath house.

We got to bed late and the kids were zonked. Had drinks while it rained but everything was a soaking with things ending about 1am or so. I slept okay and then we got up in the AM, I made breakfast and we all kinda lazed about. I did get dressed and meandered to see Mel on the field and Benton had missed the kids archery for the day. Did a bit a meandering around the merchants and I ended up buying a mug and a foldable stool from Du Puy. I love their work and they are great merchants and we needed another place to put a butt since we don't have household benches here and I don't want folks standing when they can have a spot or a place to put your drink. When I showed mel he was like "nice, I like their stuff" so all good. It rained quite a bit in the evening but we had drinks and friends and hung out under the canopies. Folks were a bit surprised I was mixing drinks with a good bar. I have skillz. though we did run out of limes and lemons cause becca only heard "pack a few oranges and limes" versus "pack a few oranges, and the limes/lemons" the comma matters. But Samii was awesome and got us more on his trip to Aldi early Saturday AM. The rain stopped overnight and again, no damage, no wind nothing like last year. The temps were great and not hot.

Mel and Becca and Rob hit the field for fun times. Becca did an early tourney, Rob and Mel a later one. Benton fought and won the Kittens versus Lava tourney for the youth combat.
The stove had been finicky when I was making breakfast and I've had it 25 years with like 10 years in storage. So after shopping and a shower and hitting up the fiber guild it would not light no mater what I did. Mel tried and we figured out the pressure pump mechanism died. So we pivoted and got dinner to walk into court with from the food truck. Luckily Becca and Rob were not sitting with the Northshield B&Bs so we just hung out in court watching stuff and ate our dinners. I may have made my drink mostly gin...ooops but it was a nice court and we then got to help hand out gift baskets to the cousins and heirs. They had forgotten to bring up Rob and Becca. It was okay and then we chatted with a bunch of folks and helped clean up the hall. I met a friend of Clint and Jenn (Cathal and Genevieve) who is also a Jennifer. And a Knight from Midrealm who did the toy box run. We then got back to camp to pick up drinks and head to the torchlight/equestrian tourney where the Wisconsin Air Force was mighty (mosquitos) so it was a run back to douse ourselves in bugspray and return. We had a nice time and there were pom poms. Mel and Becca and I chatted with a cool tablet weaver and we all had a nice time and then it was back for mixed drinks for way into the night. I finally called it and changed into pjs. Becca had just had mel make her a drink and even he was done. Lol. Needless to say we all had hangovers in the morning and had to get up and not have coffee due to broken stove. So we packed up and we re-tetrised the coolers to get it down to one and I found the canned cold brew and we were awesome. We got everything loaded and packed and hit the road to Denny's by 1140am. though we now have a note in the stuff for next year to "denny's is never the plan" cause last year we walked in and they were closed for a water leak, this year they were not taking folks cause they had only one cook. So we ended up at Perkins with the best waitress who was at first not tickled to have a 7 top with 3 kids and when we were polite and had simple orders without a lot of fuss and knew how to pass things around the large table and say please she was so happy. We also made the bussers job easy by stacking everything for easy retrieval. And then we all had pie after breakfast. While I was in the bathroom and Rob was paying we found out she had discounted our meal with a BOGO offer for locals. Wow. It pays to be nice.

We then said our goodbyes and headed home. :( More details, a random geology side quest, and pictures tomorrow. There were pretty things.

Last week was a slog at work with a huge intensive training/exercise for the factory and our deliveries. It was a lot, it was loud, and peoply and I was drained each day when I got done and still had stuff to do. I managed to 1) get teh shawl blocked, 2)get calligraphy on the Knight scroll Poe did, 3) did all the laundry and put it away and 4) hit the gym on Tuesday. Everything else was a blur. Mel was not sleeping well or even going to bed on time. Which made him super crabby on Wednesday when I got home from knitting and ugh. boys.

But Thursday I finished work early (I had the time in) and managed to get home to finish/start my packing. I had been setting things aside to pack but had not packed in earnest. With Benton's help we got things settled and I think we were in bed about 1130? Mel had come home from the dojo and we had a long chat on things so that took time but meh.

Friday we got final loading and then lost 20 minutes finding Tasha to throw in her carrier. Sighs. she was under the piano. But we got on the road and honestly the trip was pretty good. We did take the "longer" way by going through Alamogordo to visit Pistachioland. Lol. We got snacks, potties, and the boys got ice cream. All good. Arrived about 830 in La Junta CO. Our hotel was the same friendly folks and we got the go bags and cats settled, grabbed Sonic dinner and then were asleep very early. We were all tired. The cats were happy and we all slept well. Had an okay breakfast (benton was being squirrely) but we got on the road and headed out with Mel driving. We switched off in Kearny NE got Runza for lunch. Then a good drive into SD. Though the GPS was nerfed and said we were in teh state before we got to the river. Lol. The GPS kept bouncing between which route was quicker (Vermillion or Irene) and we settled on the straight shot. The worst roads were Hwy 46 from Beresford to our turn. Looks like that project finished in November but I will have to do detours to get to Beresford which is what we did last year when the road was washed out or under construction.

The house is good. The weather has been good and we only turned on the A/C on Sunday night. We've had some really good thunderstorms the first was Sunday AM and then Monday afternoon. Benton has been running around barefoot outside. I finished mel's hat Sunday. I got my wheel up and going last night and spun while Mel was out gathering mulberries for the first harvest off the tree in the side terrace. I think he and benton will be going to pick them in the thicket this week. Other than that we may hit the shire archery practice tonight and I need to plan on when we will have our neighbor Ruby over for dinner. She's still coping with the grief of losing her husband suddenly last fall. She sounded like mom in a way with "the nights are the worst" and I think that is what led to mom not really sleeping at night. But we will have dinner and chat and catch up.

We have about 2 weeks before the Hucks get here and that is also okay. We have some work to do with the boys bedroom and things to fix like a water drip in the main shower and getting the dishwasher running. I think the shut down procedure will be to get it turned off at the panel cause the same thing happened last year I think.

So I promised photos of the shawl and calligraphy last post.
Shawl laid out on the couch after blocking

Shawl on to see how long it is on the front Ignore my crazy eyes focusing with bifocals on phones is hard. :P

Full scroll with hand for scale

Text closeup

The design and painting were done by Poe, she learned that size and spacing for calligraphy are important as are good framing margins but the commission was pretty open and the horse is amazing.

Washed and blocked
On Mel

Sunday was good and I made good time heading back up to San Jose. I stopped off at "World Famous Garlic World" in Gilroy and got some spice mixes. The drive was nice and took like 30 mins to get to Fillory Yarns. What I didn't know was that it was the Bay Area Yarn Crawl. If I had known that I would have made a different schedule to hit a few more but I made do. They had a few trunk shows including A Needle Runs Through It. Their bags and notions were so cute...I may have overindulged. I also got a set of yarn for a shawl in hot pink/black. I also picked up some berroco for Mel's new hat.

I made my purchases and then headed off to get gas and then hit the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. If you know anything about Rosicrucians it didn't get culty until the last exhibit on alchemy. I was running out of time so I made sure to just skip the creepy AI Thoth...cause that isn't effing creepy. And their claims of science is alchemy and how it will be the future...uhm no. But I had a nice time and here are the Sunday Cali.

I got to the airport without any issues and made my way through security. It didn't take too long but the girls in front of me totally didn't do a lot of travel and were a mess. I had plenty of time but I was tired and sore. My heel/ankle were not great, the skin on my heel had started to split Friday at the Mystery House, and it was making me walk funny which then made my knee and ankle unhappy and the Kia Soul and stop/go traffic wasn't teh best for my elevating my ankle etc. anyhoo..I was hurting. I bought some advil (I was out) and hit the Trader Vic's for a cocktail and lunch. They mix a potent cocktail but it was tasty. I got on my flight to Los Vegas and normally its easy but the airport was HOT, I was tired, I hurt and I killed a few hours drinking beers and having tacos. I did get a drunk guy who I watched loose like $6k on a game betting on his phone. The man was way drunk but bought me a shot. The servers were nice and made sure he wasn't been skeevy...he wasn't just drunk. He left for his flight and I had time to chill. I did lose money at the slots which was not my usual but it passed the time. Next time I will not spend 3 hours at that airport. Its too long. The flight to Tucson was okay. I read and started "Whispers of Death" by my friend AJ. Its a bit darker than I'm used to but while its a bit faster in the action than I expect but that is okay. I'll hopefully finish it up this week and get back to the normal TBR pile.

Last week I was tired and run down from the weekend. It was a lot of travel and not sleeping enough etc. Plus work was ugh. So much going on but bob was back from his honey moon and I missed my snark buddy. I had grand plans for the weekend and only managed to hit my waxing appt, haircut, eyebrows. My massage was canceled which sucks cause my knee did a weird snap thingy in the early hours of Saturday. grump. I did get the bathroom cleaned up and the front room/family room decluttered of my stuff. The boys did the same so it helped. Mel got the carpets all scraped and then vacuumed. I was just so tired. Sunday I still had the headahce I've had most of the week and now its yellow season here. So not surprising it was a migraine and I took a 3 hour nap and felt kinda better? I could just sleep for a week right now. Stoopid Spring. But I will attempt to get my ass back to the gym and doing things if my body stops revolting.

Boo hiss....

My weekend in San Jose was amazing and fun and I'm still tired. Lol. Early mornings, late nights, lots of drinks, lots of walking/standing and chatting.

So, I got up a bit after 5am on Friday to get to the airport. Everything was super smooth from pickup at the parking, to bag drop, to security. My bag did get pulled for the jewelry and the gent who did the inspection asked nicely if I wanted him to repack and I said I would take care of it and he said thank you. I was able to get to my gate and have coffee and donuts before my flight. I relaxed and finished my book #4 for the year "The Lights of Prague", #3 was the previous weekend and was Captain Carter: Woman out of Time Graphic Novel, on the flight and at my gate in San Diego. I got a beer at a bar. The gates were packed but it was nice to relax with that. The flight to San Jose was nice, I started #5 Dark Arts and a Daiquiri by Annette Marie which was awesomely fun. I finished it on the way back.

Anywhoo...arrived in San Jose, the airport was nice, got my luggage, got my rental car easy peasy. Though the Kia Soul I got was base model but it had Carplay which I've never used but was super helpful. The first stop on my trip was Winchester House which has been a bucket list item for me since I was little. Its kitschy in the right ways, well maintained and the staff was all super nice, very well informed, and did a wonderful job talking about the house/history etc. I had a nice burger for lunch before my tour. The tour was nice, we got to see 110 out of the 160 rooms. The seance room was way smaller than I realized and I also didn't realize that none of the original furnishings are with the house. Also, when the 1906 earthquake hit Sarah closed the front 30 rooms of the house for damage and they were sealed until about a year after her death and preserved as they were with the damage. They did repair the fireplace in her bedroom which had had the 5 story chimney collapse in it and fall through to the basement. There are other areas around that have black painted supports/covers which is repairs/restorations later for structural concerns from earthquakes etc. My pictures are here.

I then traveled the 44 miles in 2+ hours (gods I hate California) to my hotel. I dropped things off, hit a super mercado for snacks/dinner/lunch. They had a taqueria attached so I got a torta for dinner and a burro for lunch. When I got back I ran into Zippy and Siobhan(from Sweden). We then ran into Tullia and Thorfin and we made a plan to all travel to the vigil. There were predrinks and the like and then I drove the girls and then boys had their car. It was hilarious. Cassandra had no idea that Siobhan was going to be there. So we had to hide her and the screeching was hilarious. We stayed and partied till quite late. I got home with Tullia at like 115am. oof. And that is where we will leave things until tomorrow.

Friday was very slow at work in some ways but busy with others and I needed other folks brain power on finance stuff and they were toasty so today will be more of that. :P We got on the road at 4pm and after a frustrating stop at a Sonic in Deming, NM (seriously messed up our food and then finally got it right after a complete reorder) we arrived at the hotel in El Paso a bit after 8pm. Mel and Benton were zonked so Ari and I went to the lobby to hang with SCA folks. It was so nice and the hotel staff were very gracious. We of course are nice and always pick up things and are clean and not obnoxious so I think that helps. I brought my knitting and a beer and that got other folks to bring our projects. We had 3 knitters, one embroiderer and a crocheter working on things and chatting. Catching up with Nikki was wonderful, seeing folks I haven't chatted with in a decade was great, Duke Irel. She was nervous since her last reign was 20 years ago and she was worried she wouldn't know what to do. I giggled at her and said after the oaths...it just comes back. Which it did and they did awesome! But Ari and stayed downstairs until about midnight and then back to the room for bed. The boys were snoring and I slept okay. The wind was howling outside and the weather was clear but cold when we woke up.

The site was 7mins away so we had a nice breakfast with all the SCA folks down in the lobby and then up to finish getting ready. Got to site, unloaded and got our seats for court. The local group didn't realize the amount of folks coming from out of kingdom, we had I think 20+ of us from Atenveldt. but a lot of folks (ivan included) were hanging at the back. The hall was a bit community gym room of a church with concrete floors so I spent the morning very cold on my feet and legs. Im very glad I brought my new hood and my cloak. I should have worn leggings...stoopid missing veins. But it was fine. They had a coffee truck come in the morning and they were wonderful. I hope we all tipped well, they had really good coffee. Morning court was nice but they didn't do like Atenveldt where the transition happens and then we break for lunch. They transitioned and then there was a lot more court so lunch didn't happen until 2pm. I headed out to get burritos at a place Zachariah suggested and OMG. This place is amazing. I got carne asada burro, got the el pastor for Ivan and got the carne fries for Benton. Mel's comment was "I didn't know I needed that food experience in my life, I'm changed". Yes, it was that good. Benton was outside in the cold either drawing with Sophia (walrick and Cecilia's daughter) or playing boffer with all the kids. Which included 2 packs of feral children who were not watched well by their older than Benton brother. But he did good, ate his food without comment and played through all of the courts and time. One things the Outlands does is meet with the circles the day of and I did not attend though the Laurels would have been fine. Going to my first, as a Pelican, Pelican circle would have been weird out of Kingdom. Mel went to the 3 mins Knight Circle. When things ended about 430 we made the decision to not stay for feast. The Aten crew wanted quiet and steak and had a lovely time in small packs at the Cattle Baron. Good steak, tasty salad bar and nice beer. And attentive service. We got back to the Hotel and dropped Benton off (he was crashing after food) and went back downstairs with crafts and booze. Some folks had doordashed or gotten pizza and beer back to the lobby and it was a lively affair until about 1230 when we cleaned up and left it cleaner than we found it.

Mel crashed immediately, I got my make up off after Ari hit the bathroom and then my brain was on so I read for a while. I'm about 40% complete of Gospel of Loki which is delightful. I slept well until about 7am and then was up. I got the first shower and we all mosey'd through our morning. Benton was super hungry at breakfast (no surprise). We chatted with the last two SCA folks there who were going to the crazy fabric store in town before the drive to Farmington NM. We finished up packing and got on the road a bit before 11am and arrived home without incident at 330pm. So good travel weekend. Very much a cup filler for the heart and am now prepped for doing things this weekend while Mel is away up north.

Today is work, crafting, ignoring socials/news, getting that temp crown replaced with permanent and then a pedicure. I have a sock to finish and maybe some time on the shawl. The magnet board really only works well with one sheet of paper and that is disappointing.

I figure a wrap up of things would be good. Lets see what I can remember.

Knitting/ Crochet:
I finished 14 projects mostly Chickens but I started the year on a Dead Fish Hat for my nephew Viktor. I did one pair of socks for Mel, 3 pumpkin pillows including the giant one for Mel, 3 large emotional support chickens and 5 mini chickens for other folks. The last project I just found while looking at my camera roll and I made a cowl/shawl thingy in June with handspun form Shanda and I just found the pattern which is Agnes which is nice and I need to upload finished photos of it. Oops.

Scrolls:
I finished 4 full scrolls and 3 painted scrolls: Laurel scroll for Magdalen, a Court Baronetcy with a fun Theme and 2 Guardians of Atenveldt. I have 3 more Guardians to put the text on that I painted/inked.

Spinning: plied a bunch in SD and spun some more. I have documented it on IG, need to do better to add to my rav stash or put here. I also spun on my purple at multiple SCA events (drop spinning). I also taught spinning to a few folks at the A&S Collegium and one of my students then won the quarterly Arts of her barony with the article she made from the handspun.

Travel: January was to SC/NC for my SIL/BIL investiture, February was War of the Phoenix, then in March we did Disney for Benton's Birthday, Then in May I went to NOLA for Linnet's 21st, July was SD, October Trip to Prescott for Arts Collegium, November was Washington State for Thanksgiving, December we stayed home thank goodness.

Clothing/Sewing:
Ran a clothing weekend for the ladies of the house to get Fiona clothes which was successful.
I finished mom's quilt project which is documented here. I finished a pair of fighting pants for Ivan which I need to upload a photo of and I made my clothes for my elevation. I also made a pair of pants for myself in SD for SCA which I didn't photograph except one picture of the 1951 singer and the fabric. I also made two new under dresses and a hangerrock for Jan/Feb and Made Benton a coat.

Books:
I read 31 books which isn't too bad. I had hoped to get to 50 but got depressed in Sept/October and my reading shoved off.

So I guess I was productive and busy though I felt work ate my brain but for an average person this would be amazing productivity?

Gym time was not consistent and I'm trying to get myself back to that starting next week. This week is for rest and figuring things out.

Last week was exhausting for the work side, I wasn't enthused about packing for our trip but managed to get things done by 11pm the night before we left. The cats traveled okay. Spicy was more whiney this time but I think that was more that she was bored. Willow whined her normal amount and Tasha was non-plussed about it all. They are enjoying running around the house, watching bird and bug TV. Becca Rob and teh kids arrived about 30 mins after us which was nice. We were all dog tired and ended up having Taco johns for dinner, didn't do grocery shopping, and had beer relaxing and crafting. We all slept in on Sunday cause reasons and the adults were slow to do anything. Becca and I managed to start to town at about 1230pm. We hit joanns cause guess who forgot her SCA pants for the camping event we are going to in a week or so? So we got fabric and got things to make a sewing kit here. One cause I moved the 1951 machine here and two cause I forgot my travel sewing kit and three mom's sewing box was last used in the early 1980s. Though she did put every single button she ever got from any clothing into the box....so now we have a small grandma button stash.

After joanns we hit Ace hardware for a few things including a waffle maker for the house. We then headed to Costco and did two trips there. the first was for computer monitors, camp cots, and camping sundries. Then we grabbed hot dog lunch and ate it on the bumper of the van with the gate up for shade. Then it was into for the food. Which was not too much in strife. they had different things than we are used to and we forgot a few things but we have limited storage with teh fridge here and I have not plugged in the coffin freezer so it will be fine. The unfortunate thing is the highway between here and the quick to get to small town with amenities is closed. That road needs it but oof that is a PITA. Especially with the hardware store. That Ace is nice and has almost everything we've needed in the past but the boys will just have to either take the weird detour or head to Sioux Falls.

I'm working on knitting an emotional support chicken. The pattern is wonderfully written and I pulled lots of stash yarn to make it colorful. Mel, Becca and I all brought 7 spindles for our trip each. Lol. spinners gonna spin. Plus I brought my wheel so I plan do to some spinning but need to get fabric washed and cutout to get those pants done. Lol. But plenty to do.

The house did well overwinter but the dishwasher may have finally died. The boys are looking at it today and to replace faucet in the kitchen which we had figured out was leaking late last summer. The boys will also be replacing door screens for the patio with aluminum mesh so the cats don't go thru and maybe some of the windows too. I have a few hours to make up to be able to take off Friday and I have plenty of work to do that so hardworking mornings with coffee will be my jam tomorrow and Wednesday. Today was slow cause I was setting things up and realized I did not have a few things to make my life easy. That is okay. amazon order was placed.

The weather is glorious and we've had light rain and cool 60s this morning. The boys are playing in the big garage during the rain since I'm in the downstairs at the big desk. I have the patio doors open and a lovely breeze. so its nice to have the house open and relaxing while I work.

Crown March 2nd
When last I wrote I was heading to crown with the family. Mel was sickish and I got us there on time and with the gear which was a pop up, a table and our chairs and water. It wasn't pretty but it was the only thing that would have fit since the area around the list field was tiny. The site was dusty AF and the owner (a former crown and yeah...lets leave it at that) wants to use it for WotP. Yeah no. The current site is lovely since it drains...this site is just a dust bowl which has been closed for wet conditions before. So no thank you. Anyhoo, I sat and knit and watched the fighting with Ari and Willa. Mel didn't stay put like he should have but we all managed to enjoy the day. Benton was filthy from playing with the other kids and running around like good kids. He kept them inline and not underfoot. Though seriously folks....sunscreen your kids and check in on them from time to time? Yes it takes a village but you still have to effing parent.

The day ended with Baldrich winning for Hürrem (aka Jules who I've know for 20+ years). We had a lovely Roses circle for the Shield of Chivalry. I made sure that Sir Helga was there too since she was visiting. I think she was flattered that we included her since 1) she's out of kingdom and 2) I don't think the Westie Roses treat her well. We are all inclusive in Atenveldt. Then came the traditional Knight's Circle, which after I asked on the KW Discord I see that its weird and cruel....as I've always known. Basically, that circle goes until they are done leaving the non-combatants to tear down and wait for closing court. It was well over 90 mins. I got everything but our chairs loaded in the truck. And we waited and waited. Ugh. I was livid. Elzbieta was also livid and she had gone to stare at the circle to hopefully get them to move things along. So I will be sending a new letter to the crown about that...cause they can do it another time or keep it to 30 mins. Cause hostage dinner theater is not what I want when I'm tired (got up at 530am and drove 3 hours, spent all day in the sun and now want to go home or at least get dinner and drive home. Ugh.

So we sat and waited and finally had closing court. We got packed up and had a plan for dinner (Cracker Barrel) and after changing clothes and washing off all of the dirt/dust it was nice to have a tasty dinner. Yes its a chain but its consistent and good. Plus their gift shop had things like a Griffin stuffie Ari had to buy. Got home just before 10pm. Ugh. We were not going back Sunday and it was a rest day for everyone. I did errands and did yoga.

Pictures from Crown click the pic for the album:

Work Week March 4-8th
The work week was okay. I finished #10 Nettle and Bone and I started #11 The Twisted Ones also by T. Kingfisher. This one is a creepy story and I wasn't sure how I was going to do but honestly, it was okay. I think this was the most self-insert story from Ursula cause man it felt like I was reading her twitter feed at some points. But I'm ahead of myself. We had trailer unpack on Saturday the 9th and I was worried it was just going to be me and Mel and Dominique but we had a good crew show up. We brought more home than we took but that was repairs and stuff that will not be going back on the trailer. Dominque and all of us were ruthless on the purging of things and that was okay. We got home and it was a struggle to get Benton to pack. He did not take his meds and didn't come with us to the trailer thing and yeah but we all got packed up and ready for the early am.

Disneyland March 10-14th
We got on the road on time and did make really good time getting into LA. We took the southern route where you drive west to almost San Diego and then up the coast. I really like it and its less crazy traffic and directions. We did manage to not get into too much bumper to bumper and got to La Brea by 3pm. I was having breathing issues outside when I could smell the asphalt + LA and yeah I had to hit the inhaler a few times. But the museum was well done though not a lot on display compared to what I thought we would see. It is an active dig site though and you can tour the pit they are currently digging so that was cool. I also had not heard that they were reclassifying the Dire Wolf from Canis dirus to Aenocyon dirus So that was cool to find out. We had fun and then it was an hour drive back south to get to the hotel and when you have a full concierge hotel..use the damn bellhops Melvin. Sighs. He didn't want to and then waited in teh lobby with our stuff for me to get back from self parking which was an adventure and I had to park in the new pixar hotel's parking garage. Sighs. I had told him to get us checked in and he did not. Sighs. So I had to wait in a long line that formed while I was doing things. Le sigh. But it was okay. The hotel room was nice, not as big as the one I had at Disneyland Hotel but we had a balcony with a partial view of California Adventure which was super nice. We could watch the light shows and see the park and get fresh air. The beds were so comfy omg.

So we got unloaded and then headed to Downtown Disney...which was thwarted by Mel having his pocket knife even though I said we were heading through security. But we got moving and went to Ballast Point for dinner. Sat on the patio and had good noms and good beer. Then we did a bit of looking at Downtown Disney before retiring to our rooms. We started the day early and then realized we couldn't get early entry into Disneyland on a Monday. sighs. But we got in at rope drop and headed to Space Mountain. We had a to wait a bit and it was fun. Benton's second rollercoaster ever and he liked it after he had minute to settle. We then did Star Tours which was lots of fun except the part where we were on Hoth and fell down over a cliff. Oof. I then made the boys go on Its a Small world, Benton's Comment was "that was creepy and I hated it" We hit Autotopia which was fun and got Benton his own driver's license. We also did the sub ride for Finding Nemo which was cute, then we did the tea cups and had churros. We then climbed up in to the new Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and stood in a line for Pirates which the boys loved. Then it was on to Indiana Jones, Thunder Canyon Railway, and a ride on the Mark Twain and then on the monorail before dinner at the Storyteller's Buffet. We then headed back into the park for Star Wars time with Smuggler's Run and Rise of the Resistance before we all were tired and headed back to the hotel for drinks and watching the light show from the balcony. The boys drifted off well and I was up reading before sleeping the sleep of the dead.

Woke up on Tuesday and we couldn't enter California Adventure early since it was a Disneyland day. UGH. The boys were not happy with me but luckily I knew where to get coffee when we could enter. We did the Zephyr, Goofy's Flying school which is crazy fun, we did the big swings. The Bourdin tour was fun and smelled so good and then the boys were toast and headed back to the room for a rest. I got a boozy drink and early lunch (curry in a bread bowl yum). After a break the boys decided they were done with California Adventure and wanted to go back to "star wars land" and Benton wanted to build a droid. I scheduled that while I enjoyed the quite of the park and my meal. I met them back at Galaxy's Edge just in time for the droid build. Mel headed off to take the Tour of the Grand Californian (which I had signed him up for) while Benton and I tooled around, got Dole Whip and I tooks him onto Tom Sawyers Pirate Island to run around like crazy. Then Benton really wanted to go to to the pool and I said sure. We met Mel in the lobby with his tour guide and then Benton got changed and Mel and I got shaded patio loungers and a waiter and drinks while Benton had a ball playing in the pool and waterslide. It was nice. We then got cleaned up and headed to our dinner reservation at Belle Palace which was tasty. The ducks were zooming between tables looking for snacks. The food was excellent and I had a wonderful Blackberry Mule. We rode pirates again I think and then made sure to head over to California Adventure for the fountain show which was amazing. We'd watched it from the balcony but on the waterfront it was the music timed correctly and so pretty. We trooped back and hit the gift shop. Benton picked out the hotel ears which have acorns and wood rings and are lounge fly Can you belive it?! and it was an early bedtime for us after showers etc.

Wednesday we were a bit more leisurely and the boys wanted back in California Adventure so we changed our ticket plans and headed in for more of Goofy's ride, the Inside Out ride, Soarin' California and then the raft ride. We all got soaked and then headed back to the hotel room to get changed into dry clothes. We then did Webslingers, Mater's Jamboyree and got stuff at teh animators studio before heading back into the Disneyland to ride teh Matterhorn before our lunch reservation at Blue Bayou..the restaurant inside pirates of the Caribbean. Good drinks and food and OMG the vegan creme brulee! The vegan desserts are on point at the resturants let me tell you. We then did fun things like the sword and the stone, the carousel and Mr Toad's Wild Ride. We also toured Sleeping Beauty's Castle before we headed onto Pirate island and the canoe rides. We then headed back to Galaxy's Edge where Mel found an awesome hat. We had a bit of a meltdown from Benton...honestly, I'm surprised it took that long but he wanted to buy something to just have something and that wasn't cool. We all had a nice long talk about that. As a family we went back to Star Tours after mood bettering Mickey Pretzels. The boys road it twice in a row since the line was super short. I dinked around the gift shop during the second trip since I was not up for that any longer. We got a porg stuffy for Benton and a Disneyland Hoodie...they have all of the big hoodies this year unlike last year where I found the one I bought. We had dinner at Ballast Point again before getting sidewalk seats for the light show which was projected on the castle. OMG was that cool and the music was awesome. We then got Benton back to the hotel and tucked in while Mel and I walked over to Trader Sam's and got walk in service. Woot. Two very strong Tiki Drinks later it made for a very nice ending to a nice trip. We walked back to our hotel the back way and home to showers and getting ready for the drive the next day.

We slept in a bit and packed up and were on the road by a bit after 9am. Traffic was pretty smooth, we got gas and food in Mission Viejo and then stopped in Yuma for a pit stop before stopping off then at Loves on just after getting on the I10. We were home a bit later and were happy to see our new tent had arrived from Panther (sniff sniff). The cats were very happy we were home and we all collapsed into our comfy places. I did not stay up very late at all. Mel had gone to kung fu and I got Canes for dinner.

Pictures of Disney, click the picture for the album.

Friday and the weekend
Friday I had to work, mel slept way in and then did laundry and packed for his trip for the Wushu Nationals. Paul picked him up about 1230. I got through until about 2pm of work and then called it I was tired and I took a large nap. Benton was engrossed in his lego build and I got us Panda Express and I enjoyed rum and limeade. Nom.

Saturday I tried to sleep in but didn't ugh. I was not good Saturday. I dunno...brain had weasels...over sugared, bad food? I dunno. Brain wasn't happy and I napped most of the afternoon. Felt better and made dinner and Benton and I watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Then I finished Moon Knight...omg. So good. And then I slept in better Sunday. I had a plan and relaxed with my boozy coffee and my book (#11 Twisted ones) and finished that up. Benton and I cleaned up the house and put things away and I got dinner in before his friend arrived for a play date. And that was good. Mel got home about 8pm and we chatted for a few hours before we needed to go to bed. I had started book 12 which is Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire. OMG that is so hard to put down.

So I managed to sew a lot over the weekend. Not finished where I wanted to be cause everything took effing forever and then I nerfed things and then I was being picky and then....yeah. I also managed to make Benton a coat (still needs neckline binding, hems and a button loop). Which is good honestly. So things I need to finish by Thursday night:
1) hem on apron
2) straps on apron
3) trim on apron
4) hem on underdress
5) Finish Benton's coat
6) find yarn for travel knitting (mitts for Sir Justin)
7) Gather things for gift basket
8) Pack for trip to SC

Benton is off school today and I'm making him take down the tree and I will help him put things away. I have to pack the house lights away which is rearranging things in the laundry which is okay. Its just things I haven't gotten to and then am too tired to do. But I'm back in the sewing groove though and the featherweight needs to get a service...its skipping stitches. I pulled out my kenmore and after I oiled it its still kind of rough So when I finish things for the war I will take them in for service.

So I sewed, I slept and I read this weekend. I finished Iron Widow which was excellent. Fast paced and epic with giant robots and Chinese/Korean mythology and feminism. Its a wild ride. And the clincher at the end is oooh boi. Plus a very cute poly trio.

Now I have to pick a book to read and have books for travel so I will need to see what is on my Kindle queue and if I have paperbacks to travel. I only have hardcovers on my TBR by the bed right now. Those suck on airplanes.

While I'm tired and my shoulder hurt from hunching at my sewing machine I feel good and accomplished. This is good.

Have I made it to the gym or to yoga? No...I'm okay with that...the month before war is always nuts. I'm giving myself some grace.

50in2024 -
#1 Squirrel Girl Universe
#2 Iron Widow

So work was nuts before I went on PTO. Friday got there and on my morning call I said I was having problems with my sight. I stated "I can't see myself working past noon" which was fine since I had to pack and do laundry and things. It was very nice to take things slow though so even though I was panicking it was a slow panic. We got up at 4am and to the airport for our 6am flight and it was all fine. We made our connection and our gate was right next door to our landing gate. We got to SF and I texted Rob and Becca. They were getting some gloves etc for the boys and then got picked up, played suitcase tetris. BTW, the Pacifica has way less space than my Grand Caravan. We got lunch at Taco johns and then to the house. We had issues getting the water working again. But the local water folks were awesome and helped us figure that out. Becca and I did the grocery shopping and made it easy for use to make dinner that night. Or well for Mel to make dinner. Rob did the dishes. The boys were ecstatic to be able to play in the snow. They dug fox holes and built walls and just had a good time playing in the snow until it got too cold. Sunday we started working on clearing out closets and doing some other shopping. Mom had clothes she had not worn that were $300+ dollar silk Anne Taylor suits she got for less than $10 at Macy's/Daytons. She had an entire dresser full of new socks. She had a closet full of creams and hair stuff and like unopened. Wow. Luckily, the family (Me, Becca, Mel and Rob) had all done the clean out at Grandma Doodles. We have a rapport and a way of doing things that gets all of teh snark but this time we all knew the clothes mom wore or things we found and it was special. I know that doing it by myself that would have not worked well. Rob was awesome and got a load to goodwill taken while we were out on Monday. Sundy was just general things around the house and we got visited by Aaron and Ali.

Mel and I met with the funeral home and the church. It worked well and we got things settled for the funeral and the funeral director John was so pleasant. I had brought the kit from Eterneva. He would return it at the funeral all filled and ready for Mel and I to send off. We still need to decide what stones we are getting. But One will be a ring and the other will be a solitaire stone necklace. yes its spendy but well, I might as well. I've inherited things and she loved the idea of being a gem. We got groceries and hit Ace and did a few other errands before we got home. We had Ellis visit for the afternoon and that was so nice to catch up.

Tuesday Gretchen and I attempted to get the land stuff taken care of and the bank is reading the wills with a very conservative approach. We are trying to get ahold of the original executor for her dad's estate and I will talk with Tom. So that was a bust. Got home in time for mel to get his suit on and me to put on makeup. Gretchen was awesome with getting the luncheon. All of the boys, including Paige and GRetchen's played foos ball in teh church. The service was good. Pastor Chris did a nice sermon about mom. Sue's speaking was good and I'd forgotten some of the stories. I got a recording of it all including my ( Eulogy. )

Then we headed out into the very cold snowy weather to do the graveside service. Her ashes were interred with a cross that she had been given by Diane. It was a quick service and Benton had a bit of breakdown at the end which I completely understand. I was teary too. I don't think I ever looked at her shared gravestone with Jerry but he side had cats on it. Benton got lots of hugs and I told him i was so proud of him and how well he did. This is his first real loss and we spent time talking about it before I noticed we had all of the college crewe show up. Aaron and Ali, Chris and Karla, and Kim and Zane.

We got down to the luncheon and I quickly ate while I chatted with my Aunt Shirley and Aunt Linda. I did learn that my mom's first husband was best friends with my Dad her second husband....huh. That was interesting to note. I knew something had happened to get mom to divorce her first husband and come back to the states to marry my dad but wow....that was crazy. I then mingled with everyone and chatted and part of her funeral we had put out angels for folks to take from her collection and people loved that. It made me very happy to give people a momento to remember her by.

After the luncheon we headed back to the house and the college crew followed. WE had food and talking and the kids played downstairs in the family room there. One thing we will be buying for the house is more couches/love seats and chairs for the dining room. But I think we have a plan for our dacha aka summer house. It was very nice to have folks over and see people and relax. I did go to bed pretty early...I was just so plum tired. I slept way in on Wednesday which is when the blizzard was in full effect and then I took a 2 hour nap. I was tired. Emotionally exhasted etc. I felt like a lump but Mel, Becca and Rob were like...dude, relax...we got this. Thursday Rob was able to get out and snowblow after we figured out you had to plug it in to start it. lol. Thanks mom! But he and I got out to run the plethora of errands. 5 towns, 4 banks, the courthouse, the lawyer, goodwill drop off, and truck service. oof. The roads in the county were fine, the roads in Canton/Alcester and Beresford were fine. The main roads in Sioux falls were weird. And secondary/tertiary roads were dicey. Was glad I still have the knack for driving vehicles on snow...every great big trucks with no weight in the back. We took the interstate back and that was good cause it proved that the oil road wasn't going to be good for Becca and Rob to take to get to the airport on Friday morning.

It took a bunch to get us all packed. I kept forgetting I wasn't packing for a flight and we got things settled and folks got out the door about 930am, we stopped off in Beresford for gas and to drop off a tax form. And then we were on the road. The roads were really good and we stopped seeing snow as we got into Kansas. At that point we started angling towards the SW. We ended up in Dodge City for dinner and then pushed on to Amarillo, TX. Got into the holiday inn express at 1130 and were up and moving and on the road by 745am. We were tired but that was okay. Stopped in Alamagordo NM to see the World's Largest Pistachio and grab lunch. We got home in Tucson about 530pm and that was great. We had pizza for dinner and weren't up late.

So that was our trip....it took me days to write that up and then the work week was nuts and then we had a huge SCA event and road washout drama etc. But that is another post.

Not dead...seriously, tried to write multiple times but here is the quick recaps.

After coronation I had a day of work and then it was the fraught with annoyance trip to NOLA. Seriously, they kept moving our flight back and we sat and drank margaritas for hours and then were late in Denver and then we got in at like 300am to the hotel. It was dumb but okay. Traveling with Ari was nice and the airplanes weren't too full. The NOLA trip was full of sites, sights, food, booze and fun. Seriously, we had such a nice time. I really didn't want to leave.

All pictures are here:

Got back from NOLA and work has been nuts. We have startup funding for our pending contract, I have classes to finish before they switch requirements for a certification I want. We cracked the whip on lots of things and finally got to the week of Thanksgiving and that Monday Benton's class got sent home. They had 3 positive cases of Covid and then the school decided that the three days after break were also virtual. Tuesday I started to get the worst headache I've had in a while. It progressed and mel had been feeling crappy too. Well, we both had the flu over the holiday and into the next week. It sucked for the holiday but we had a few pies, we had green bean casserole and sausage stuffing and cranberry sauce. mel got the turkey on and nice rolls as well. Tasty and good. But sucky that we were sick and Benton was taking the brunt our grumpy. We are still feeling crappy. Yes, we did get COVID tested and area all negative on the rapid. Still waiting on the PCR results. While the 3 days of virtual happened the school had more positive cases and they have now moved to full virtual to christmas break. So a lot not what we planned for teh last two weeks or what we had planned coming up with now having Benton home 24-7. Sighs.

Its disappointing but at least Benton has been well this whole time. He had a bit of a sniffle but nothing bad and he gets his second shot on Sunday for the Covid Vaccine. Once mel and I are feeling better we will get out flu shots and boosters.

Project wise I've stagnated. I have one shawl on the needles and its at a broken stage. I have a hat on the needles and its slow and I have a toy on the hook that I need to get back to but it was hard on my hands. I've been reading a lot which I guess is good.

I finished #19 Blood lines and then I read The Pricess Diarist which Danabren had gotten me a few years ago. It was not what I expected it to be...it was okay but odd. Now I'm reading #20 Night Season by Eileen Wilkes. I did get a few books while in NOLA so they have been added to the TBR pile.

This weekend I need to finish a program management course to finish that cert. I need to wrap and pack stuff for shipping to family and start to get xmas up and going. Sighs. I don't think i have the energy for that but we need to do it. Gonna ask Benton for all the help I can. he loves to decvorate for holidays But I may do the lights a bit lighter this year on the house. We shall see. I'm just so tired.

When last I wrong almost a month a go. Things were progressing at work on things, the porch project had progress and my shawl was back on track. The now status is the last month has been busy and so short! Well, On the reading front. I finished #17 Mortal Danger which was a re-read from a long time ago and it was fun. I think read #18 Squirrel Girl and the Great Lakes Avengers which is comic pack of all of the SG and the GLA. So much fun in that...OMG. Then I started #19 Blood Lines by Eileen Wilkes and that is been okay thus far. I've been sucked back into some really long fanfic.

Mel and I managed to get packed and rolling to GWW with only forgetting one thing and that was the banners. Oops but of all of the things to forget that was one of very minimal impact on our enjoyment of the war. Lol. We took a very different route than we used to and it did not involve crawling up the I5 for hours. It was nice and through country we haven't seen before. It went up the 215 and then onto back highways to meaner north and west to the I5 which we were on for like 15 miles. It was nice. Found out our site with Gullibursti was in the same spot we always camp. The rest of Atenveldt was over on the other side. It was nice and having flushing potties and sinks right next to us was awesome. Well, the ladies had that. The men's room was out of order and they had a priv and handwash station. I brought projects to work on and money to spend and that was my plan. We had a really nice time camping with Roger and Rochelle. Their new little storage trailer with integral kitchen was super neat. Our camp was nice and period looking and just cozy. Without the banners folks couldn't find us but meh, it works okay.. It was so nice to sit and chat with people. I hit up the fiber area and taught Rochelle to spin. The class lists weren't much of anything I wanted to learn or didn't know and that was okay as well. I bought a new necklace from Maggie that has period beads in it. We got trim and things at White Wolf and Phoenix. I picked up a few pairs of earrings from Mistress Morgan and just a lot of other things. We had breakfast and lunch in camp and then hit merchants for dinner. The meat pie vendor...OMG.from Oscar's Meat Pies and wow. We ate a lot of them.

I managed to help marshal the field and castle battles on Saturday. We were there for Bjorn's knighting and they were short marshals and well, I'm authorized and can marshal its all good. It was a good time and very weird being on the Caid side of things. I did get to yell at my husband for fighting around a corner and explain very nicely to archers that no, you can't fire across the field in the direction they were since it was into spectators.(head desk). The scenarios were not complex we just had to remember when archery was and the shooting conventions. Keeping it simple which I really like. Sat and chatted with lots of folks and just enjoyed being at an event with no responsibilities and no requirements to do anything. It was so good. I put in 4 hours for marshalling and then handed my volunteer tickets to a newcomer who was there to find out about the auction. :)

All of my photos are at 2021 GWW Album

I had fun with some night photography and just in general had a nice time.

Got back and the porch project is now done except for minor cleanup and painting. Woot! I did have a very down week though last week. Not sure if it was allergies (fuck california) and the let down of fun times or hormonal or moon stuff or mercury being mercury? but I was off last week. Better now but still annoying cause I was doing good before that. So we shall see how this week goes.

Coronation is Saturday and we drive to Prescott Friday. Should be a good time.

First off the family vacation was really nice and not as stressful as I expected it to be...at least when I finally got Mel to sit down while we were at my mom's and plan the rest of the trip and hotels etc. It was good. We had a really nice time. Found our travel limits, got to sight see and give money to local places we had missed. I also got to see my Aunt Judy when we stopped in colorado and that was so awesome. Got back and had a huge work task that involved a lot of brain power and public speaking. I spent two days taking with very upper level people, getting information and then presenting to large groups to accept some hardware. I think of it as being in Queen mode and its exhausting....by Thursday I wasn't feeling great but I managed to finish the day with a call to my doc to get in the next day. My right tragus was swollen and i couldn't touch it and it was going into my jaw. I have an ear infection as best as they can tell and got put on antibiotics...so I spent the weekend being a lump and playing video games, watching Ari's cats when I was not being hostess and photog for the dojo black belt dinner. Roxie handled the food and I got folks lined up and posed and took photos and then watched the cats and then came home and went to bed early.

This week of work has been finalizing the stuff from last week, working on our proposal and trying to concentrate. The antibiotics are working but my brain is off and my ankle is being a PITA and so I just want to sleep. I'm sure part of it is vacation let down....stress from work and the weather has been MONSOON! so the house is sticky and warm but the storms have been nice. So, life is better than last I wrote but I'm honestly thinking my meds need a change. It does not help that my gym activity for almost a month has been nill....but that is what it is with work and travel. So I hope to kick this funk and just get back on an even keel

Photos from the trip: www.flickr.com/gp/ianuk/9x9bJa

2 weeks ago I was looking forward to our trip to the KWHSS in Pittsburgh with the BFF. I had done well and packed almost everything/staged it on Wednesday so I could leisurely figure out what carry-on I was taking on Thursday night and then get a good nights sleep before the 514am flight.

But....a certain Duke, wished us luck on flying.....he jinxed our travel through and through.

( KWHSS )

To say that was the end of my "exciting times" for the week would be an understatement. I slept and was groggy Monday and couldn't work from home since key hardware pieces were still at work or locked in my car which was with DH at his location. Without said key hardware I really couldn't show up at DH's plantsite to get my stuff. Sighs. So I did laundry, put things away, picked up the little boy from camp, made dinner and rested. The whole day to myself was actually good cause being Queen Ian'ka for 3 days straight without a lot of being not Queen was good.

The rest of the week was a scramble and then we had a supplier issue that ground my work to a halt for 12 hours of work time. This was a major issue and well, there are consequences for our supplier and now we have more procedures to handle things that the supplier was well versed in to start with. To add to that we had other major issues (failing hardware) and my deputy was gone and that left me and our new guy. Sighs. Plus, I had to deal with a guy who does everything in his power to not do his job and having to deal with that which is also a hot issue I was totatly crispy by the time Friday rolled around. I was so fragile it took effort to get out of my car in the parking lot and mentally I was panicking. But good people and awesome coworkers and everything worked out okay. I got hugs from a few folks and honestly that helped.

So Friday we took things easy, I got a 1.5 hour massage and that did more awesome for my mood. Saturday we got up, got going and out the door by 9am to get to Twin Moons Investiture. The day was great. We had a really good time. The courts were a bit long (not ours) but the awards were good from the Barony. Just before we invested the new B&B we had some fun with a peerage offer. Ivan handled it and we called up Iona and he talked about her hospitality and how even if we didn't have a ME dance community, she'd make one and be successful at it. He commented that "and this is peerlike." The audience gasped and our herald called forth the Laurels and she was clueless for about 30 seconds and then the light bulb hit. It was awesome. The rest of the investiture court was good. The funniest two things were a rap ala Vanilla Ice for the final lead in for the stepping down folks and the new Baroness who is a metal caster giving her Largess Coordinators a pair of cast bronze "LARGE "S"'s. I'm still cracking up on that pun.

We got out of site with plenty of time since there was a hard deadline of 5pm and we had dinner at Uncle Bear Brewing and then home. We were home in less than 12 hours which never happens. YAY!

Sunday I felt like crap and read/slept most of the day. Benton and I let Mel sleep in and got him coffee and his father's day stuff. Then he made us waffles but yeah, most of the day I was meh. I got my armor all conditioned up for Tuesday and then Monday night we had to build a new leg piece.

Monday was weird at work and I'm still trying recover from all of the weird. I got such a bad headache I just went home, cleaned up the house for scribble (the boys had done a ton so it was my personal pickup and put away) and then mel and I worked on my leg armor.

Tuesday night after a very stressful day of work I left and got martial arts stuff for Benton (cup and pads), picked him up at martial arts and then home to dinner, change and get ready for fighter practice for the whole family. But we did it and off we went. I was nervous. I'm out of shape and much heavier than 15 months ago when I last put on armor but I did it. The new leg piece worked okay but I need to suspend it differently and I have and idea for that. Benton did okay as well and his armor needs some work but he's looking good. Got changes to make but I think we can manage. All good.

When last I wrote I had just crashed my car and was in the final frantic stretches of prepping for our Coronation. I was panicking and then I realized I'd made a cutting error on the caftan sleeves for Mel. I lost 2 days fixing those sleeves. Note to self: handwoven fabric requires AT LEAST a 5/8ths seam....my life would have been so much easier if I'd had that but since I only had scraps of fabric left oh well. So we spent the rest of the week sewing and sewing and me handing things off to people who were awesome. Seriously. Plus I didn't rush, I didn't botch anything else and we looked awesome. Things were not ironed when we arrived to site on Saturday the 5th but I had brought an ironing board and iron and had many Hrafn ladies to help with that. My student Ai'sha knocked it out of the park on my under dress and tunic for ivan on Sunday as well. We looked so sharp.

I will have to sit and write more later on the whole day but here are the highlights:
1) My SIL flew in as a surprise to see us from Atlantia and only pounced on her brother as he walked down the aisle after crowning himself king. And then she surprised me!
2) We had a Master of Arms swear fealty to us and us alone. The cover of the June Southwind is not a flattering photo of us but it shows that moment and its importance. I'm still tearing up on it.
3) Benton is not a ham and is kinda embarassed by being heralded into court by his well meaning uncles. He was cute but kept biting on his wooden spear head like a berserker chess piece. Lol.
4) I had 25 contenders in my Queen's Champion in 106°F weather. Go me. And one of my household won it. Yay! Go Lord Mathurin!

So, the family photo, a bit blurry but cute.

Close up of the clothes during the transition:

Benton intensely watching the archery competition.

Us at Champions:

So, we got home from Coronation tired but fulfilled. Monday we took a "rest" day where we hosted scribble and relaxed with people and then Tuesday we started the car hunt cause in the interim they totaled the car. $5k in damages on a car worth $4300 due to age and high mileage. Tuesday we test drove the new 2018 Fits which we did fit into...they'd changed them since the last time. It was fun and we looked at the new Civic hatchback but Mel didn't want to test drive it...more on that later. Wednesday we test drove a Mazda 3 which Mel liked and I didn't. I stalled it which is the weirdest thing for me and well, it was stiff etc. Fun to drive but I wasn't sure I wanted that. Thursday I went back to Honda and test drove the Civic and fell in love with a car. Wow. Friday we had the day off so we dropped Ben and Mark at school (Ari was gone for the week at her work Summit), had breakfast at Bisbee Breakfast Club on Broadway and then headed to test drive Hyundai, Subaru and have Mel drive the Civic. Hyundai was okay but they had no manual transmissions in the state. :( Subaru was odd since we really liked the look of the Impreza and Crosstrek but Mel didn't fit in the back seat. His head hit. So we test drove a Forrester and really liked it. Talking price etc we realized that its in the same size class as the Xterra we used to own and well, we had to think about it. Went over to Honda and Mel got that shit eating grin of his the minute he shifted into gear. The reason he hadn't wanted to test drive it was that he knew he was going to like it too much. We talked and agreed that the Subaru was too much car for my daily commuter and the 22-24 mpg wasn't going to be good for our pocket books in the long run. So I knew talking to a few Phx dealerships that there was a Red civic in the sport edition we wanted and the Autonation here in Tucson drove up and swapped cars with them to get us the Rallye Red we wanted. Here she is without tint.

Sunday was Mother's Day and I knit and had breakfast out and had a nice day.

Yeah, things slowing down at the end of the year? Who am I kidding.....well, since I last posted here we've had Southern Crusades, Thanksgiving Break in South Dakota, Ben's Holiday Concert, way too many scrolls needed and my leg surgery is Friday. oof.

Also during that time I think I've determined that I'm going to take part in the Knitmore Girls "Grinchalong" which is basically...don't make holiday gifts from Dec 1 thru December 24th. The only thing I was going to make is socks for mel and I can do that after the holiday. Plus I want my MIL to pick our fabric for her dress I'm going to make her and we can start sewing after the holidays. So, there...grinchalong engaged!

So, Southern Crusades happened and it was weird and good. Weird since it was at the Estrella site, weird that I was there for setup and Mel wasn't...he had training and was picking up all of the kids. But I got to pull out the big camera and take pictures and that was nice.

Click the picture to be taken to the album:

Got done with that and a short bit of work and then it was teh weekend again. I stayed home from A&S for lots of reasons...mainly to just be home for once and I had to get my haircut so that was also good.

We left 2 days later for South Dakota with my Mom. That was good...much better than last year..not as much drama though we had some plumbing issues that mom got fixed after we left. We got her a new tv for xmas since the old one was 23 years old and fuzzy. We got her a Vizio 1080p 40" LED and got that setup. I had to fix the wire issues from the folks who did their surround sound 15 years ago. What an utter mess. But it works and I only had to run to town once for longer cables since we put things on a swivel extendable mount. Mom is now hookedup with netflix etc. Click the link below to see the album...I'm still editing photos.

Thanksgiving 2017 Album

In all of the travel mel's phone and laptop decided to basically die. The phone would only sometimes charge but we finally got him settled this weekend with a new one. I also got a replacement ipad and he's still figuring out what he wants for a laptop. We shall see.

So I only have 7 days left working for the year. Ugh..so much to do but I'm taking time for myself and knitting for me! Thus Grinchalong. I am doing the Jimmy Beans Wool Craftvent thing where you get an advent calenar with yarn, notions etc and you make a shawl by Xmas Eve. So far I'm on track. With my surgery on friday for varicose vein removal I should be good to sit and get through the day 8 knitting. I'm also making progress on my long lingering daybreak shawl. I also have the Old shale Shawl .

Plus I have my Halloween Socks to finish as well. Sighs. Lots for me to finihs.

Well, the trip we thought was cancelled for Mel is back on and he will have 48 hours home before he goes overseas again. We hope they can just leave him in Europe for those days but we shall see. What that means for me is that I'm basically single momming it from Saturday night through Thursday and then the following Sunday through next Thursday. Sighs. Benton starts school next week so we will have to do the meet and greet plus the first day of school stuff and figure out after school care. I think I'm going to have to have him at school until we get mel home and then get it worked out. Not ideal but we shall see. Just not what I had intended.

All things will work out it just makes me aggravated.

So, got done with work and then headed to sushi with Ari where we got a few surprises. 1) they didn't have sake cups (WTF? a RAMEKEN?) and 2) they served the hot tea in a glass irish coffee cup.???? Since when?? The food was good and if you ever order the spicy avocado roll it is GINORMOUS and should be an appetizer not a roll and very tasty. I was stuffed when we went to knit night and I managed to make a good dent on the annoying scarf of annoying. I'm going to finish that thing and get it out of my house. Once I finish the yarn ball its done and crochet eats yarn so maybe another 6 inches to go which is about 10 rows.

Got home and attempted to craft. I was tired and making mistakes but managed to serge the edges of the blue sleeve flounces and when I went to pin the white lace to the bottom I was all thumbs. I had almost snipped the purlice of my hand with my snips trimming threads. So I was good and got a beer and sat down back to the crochet until bedtime. I think that was smart.

Tonight I will get things done. There had been an offer of movies but Benton needs time with family before his daddy is gone. And it will be nice. I think will be drag things into the family room and pin and then hop back to sew etc so mel and I can watch something at home.

The only thing I have done on the to do list is start wearing my new contacts and who knew I really need to start packing my reading glasses. Sighs. Oh, and I've misplaced my sari skirt and my cheerleading skirts. They are together but where...I don't know. Sighs.

Click the picture to go to the album.

Ian'ka and Cecil's Trip to KWHSS2016

Highlights:

Good coffee shops and good beer finds all over SLC.

Good yarn shops.

I've become that person who knows a lot of people in the SCA.

I got picked up and swung around by the King of a kingdom I've never visited. It helps we've known each other since we were m'lord and m'lady and the fact he taught Ivan the off body so long ago.

Lots of good beer!

Heralds are a strange bunch.

Scribes are a strange bunch.

Met up in person with

aliskye which was awesome!

Good food!

Amazing yarn store, Blazing Needles visit.

Got to see cool manuscript facsimiles.

Learned more about drawing acanthus and doing Fleuronnee Penwork

Got told i looked like I stepped out of a saga! SQUEE!!!

I think I got some of my mojo back for making SCA art.

Lowlights:

Tweaked my back thursday bending an inch to get my pjs out of my suitcase and am still paying for it.

Lots of good beer! Which I felt was my need to finish before I left. I hate hangovers. But had a faboo convo with the apprentice.

Came home to a very sick hubby and a somewhat sick kiddo and stayed home yesterday to take care of them.

Scrolls for Coronation are done minus typing up the words for the heralds.

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Entries tagged with travel

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Been busy Further disney update

Travel for the first home...complete

Warriors and Warlords 2025

Ensconced in the Dahka. Loving it...

final day of the trip and then this last weekend etc

Why is this week so long?

Lovely SCA weekend

Compiling 2024

Travel is exhausting...

Catching Up....

Productive weekend

That was only a week of my life...oof

Okay, I meant to post but things have been busy....

the last few weeks have been good I think....

a month later and things are better/not better?

Uffdha! That was nuts....

Crazy few weeks....

I really thought things would slow down.....sighs.

So tired and bleah....

KWHSS