maudeleyn

Let them know it's Christmastime

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:56:41 GMT

Being a child of the '80's, it probably wouldn't surprise you that I like the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?." I mean, who wouldn't love some of the most awesome pop/new wave entertainers from the UK? I've heard a lot of people complain that the song is kind of a downer. I'll admit, it does tend to make my eyes moist and I develop a catch in my throat while singing along. It was created to inspire people to help end world hunger, but I've always felt we could apply to first part to many situations. If you've forgotten the beginning, here it is:

It's Christmas time
There's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time

But say a prayer

Pray for the other ones
At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you
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I've been sort of melancholy this year about the state of the world. Okay, really, what is different? The world has always had war, and poverty, and hunger, and fear, and hate. Maybe it seems there has been such angry rhetoric and fear-mongering recently. I'm a political junkie, but I almost can't pay any attention to it lately because there is so much venom out there.

I understand that this has been a really tough year for a lot of people. People have lost jobs and homes, lost friends and family to disease and war, or random violence. Even though my family has been spared most of this, I've watched friends struggle this year, and I ache for them.

What I wish for the world is that we can all find a bit of compassion for each other. I realize how hard it can be when you are struggling. Those of us who aren't as much, I hope we will reach out to our friends, neighbors, strangers. Please, let's all do something to help. Contributions to charity are down this year, as poverty rates change. If you can't do something tangible, be kind. A little more kindness in the world would do a lot to alleviate suffering. Let's try one day of not hating, too.
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I don't want this to be a "look at me" kind of post, but I can only speak of what I know. A couple of years ago, we decided to stop buying presents for the grown-ups in half of our family. Every one of us has more stuff than we need, and it seemed buying the presents was just a chore, trying to find that thing for someone who "has everything." We now make donations to charity. This year, the M-, J-, P-, F-, combined family is getting a water buffalo. I like Heifer International. I find it fun to let people know that they've bought something so interesting, and it is a gift that will keep on giving. Personally, I'd rather give to a charity than get another pair of gloves, or some iTunes. I hope those of you who can will find some charity you like.

I'm embarrassed to say for the last couple of years we haven't bought toys for charity. I've been meaning to do this with my son, and I hope he will learn compassion. The last time we did anything, it was a couple of years ago when I went a local church to drop of a bunch of winter coats we had used for a show but didn't want or need to keep at the theatre. When I got there, they were setting up for a "store" they had for parents to come pick out free toys for their kids. I noticed that I didn't see any toys for boys the age of my son. As I walked back to my car with the student worker, we were pretty quiet. As we drove back to school, we passed a store that sold toys. I said, "Do you mind if I stop?" She said if I didn't, she was going to come back after I took her back to school. We stopped and bought some toys. It wasn't much, but for me, I couldn't imagine some little boy, the age of my son, not having any toys. I know that toys aren't food or shelter, but they can bring fun into a life with probably more cares and worries than small children should have.

Today I picked up an Angel from a tree for the foster children of our county. As a family, we are going to go shopping this weekend. I must admit that looking at the wish list for the 2 1/2 year old boy has deeply touched me. I think of how it must be to be 2, to not have real parents (of some kind, not in foster limbo,) to not have a warm coat, to want a horse toy and a motorcycle toy. It makes me feel so lucky that we have each other and do not want for anything. I hope my son will feel some empathy as we shop. If we teach him nothing else, I hope it will be kindness.
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Anyway, I hope your are all enjoying your preparations for the coming holidays, whichever ones you celebrate. I hope the next year is better to you than this one. I wish you peace, and joy, and love, and shelter, and food.

Magna Faire, as usual, very cool

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:25:40 GMT

And literally so. Lovely snow on Saturday morning. Just enough to make it pretty. Of course making it squishy later maybe not so great. Of course, I was up until almost 3 talking in the hall, so the snow was no surprise in the morning.

The one thing that was sad is that the site seems to continue to decline. I'm not a fan of the doorways cut in to connect the cabins. Hard to have 'quiet' or social cabins without bothering the other. (I got up at 6 on Sat due to the talking, laughing, and singing in the cabin next door. Of course I was right by the new door so I heard everything. I'm not opposed to talking/laughing/singing, but I wish they could have waited until after the heralds woke folks up.) The shower was basically like a misting tent, and the kerosene heater wasn't on. Oh well, nothing so bad it couldn't be lived through.

I had my first Textile Arts Construction entry with my sprang. It was a good experience, and I got a 17, which I was really happy with. Nothing on the comments surprised me because they were pretty much what I thought was wrong with the entry. I did a trial of the Q & A documentation. I think it can be really helpful to first time entrants, or to those frightened of writing papers. I did have to argue that I wasn't a novice entry, just because I haven't entered that category before. I understand how A & S entries work, and I've done it enough that for me, I just can't consider myself a novice. Maybe if I did Chinese dance or something, but I'm not even sure then.

Even though I didn't get the Live Arts judging sheet cobbled together before the event, Kojin, Rydderch and I were able to agree on what we thought we ought to comment on. Mikkolai (sp?) with Francois as his 'pell' did a great job. We asked Corbin, Ysabel and Feodor as MOB members to help us judge it. It was wonderful, and those Laurels who watched and scored it were VERY enthusiastic about it. I hope to see more of that kind of entry.

The meetings went pretty well, and I am no longer the Laurel Cat Wrangler, I mean , secretary. Actually, I loved the job and really felt like it helped me get to know all the active laurels. I think it would have taken a lot longer to if I just went to meetings. However, even the most fun job can still be a job, and I was happy to hand it over. Una brought mimosas and I brought chocolates and cookies for the meeting to celebrate. I had such a rough first meeting, not because of the meeting per se, but because of the projectile vomiting I was doing at the event before the meeting 2 years ago. That night, after my friend drove me home, I had a fever of 102. That was quite a rough way to begin, which is why I wanted to celebrate at my last meeting as secretary. Plus, give laurels food and drink, and they tend to be happy laurels.

The OVO meeting was cool too. Kind of a quiet bunch, which was funny to me, because the laurels aren't so much quiet. Ever.

Fittings went well. TRHs have been great to work with.

Court, although long, was awesome. I'm sure I'll forget someone (and spell names wrong), but Enricx and Fionnabhar got elevated, which was so wonderful. Ailleagan, Nuala, and Aislinn got OVOs, Raim a Bough, Feodor a GOA, Doughal QC, and stuff I can't think of. It was an evening of 'well done' for a lot of people. I wish I could say who won what in the Faire, but Gwen and I were sitting on the floor and had trouble hearing. Gwen won something, don't know if it was costuming or the special category. I'm not sure if she knows.

Feast was tasty, and even though it was 5 courses, they moved at a nice pace. Just as I was done with one course, the next one was being served. I appreciate the excellent timing. No need to send out anyone for BBQ in the middle.

I left after feast. I was just wanting to get back to the guys. I didn't actually leave site until midnight (I got into a longish conversation at the door) so I got home really late and slept the sleep of the dead. Well, the snoring dead. Apparently I woke David up at 5:30 sawing logs. Poor man had to move to the couch.

My only true regret was not having enough time to talk to everyone I wanted to.

Amazing weekend

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:12:12 GMT

So, back from Crown List and I had a great weekend. I'm sort of tired, so let me sum up some things:

-Our new Heirs are great. I'm so happy for them, and I think they will be a fabulous King and Queen.

-I'm so proud of my friend Mordan. He fought a beautiful list, and I was very honored to be there for it. The finals were so wonderful, and it rates up there with some of the most wonderful moments I've had in the SCA.

-Ailleghan had a great new outfit. And how wonderful to have a hubby who can make great jewelry (oh, and had a pretty nice list himself.)

-Nuala also had a great new outfit. I give her two thumbs up!

-Although I didn't get to talk to them much, Heatherlee and her lord, who have the coolest clothes on newbies I've seen in a long time.

-I love my rapier buddies. Good going to Thomas as both the QRC, and a nice job in the list. I'm glad they talked me into entering the tourney, even though I wasn't in it for long.

-Khalil for going above and beyond in the "support" of his Laurel (make sure to ask about that)

-David for being the best husband and Dad in the world. How I ever got along in life without him I'll never know.

-Getting to have breakfast with Caroline and Allan. I treasure their friendship and guidance.

-Making funny faces at Margaret. I'm not sure if it is a complement to say this, but girl, you can make some silly faces.

-Asta, Megan and Lorelei Keeping rhys entertained and supporting me when I thought I'd faint from excitement.

-All the awesome people in the SCA who work hard, and are kind and courteous. You make everything fun, but also humble me with all your greatness.

If I have more energy later, maybe I'll go into detail later.

You know you are a rapier fighter . . .

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:42:01 GMT

. . . when you see a bumper sticker that says "Bucklers Live Longer" and you think, "Well, kinda, but a dagger would be more fun."

And it takes you 1/4 mile to realize it was a car safety message.

I suspect it isn't the message . . .

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:00:30 GMT

Really, I try to leave off the politics here. Mostly, things have gotten so silly I can't even be bothered to comment. However, being at home all day yesterday, I discovered that there is a major issue flooding the waves.

I think a lot of people out there are getting just too paranoid. They see the boogie man in everything.

I'd just like to quote one of my least favorite people, when this issue was raised under George H.W. Bush:

Then-Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., defended the speech, asking, "Why is it political for the president of the United States to discuss education?"

It was stupid then and stupid now for all this fuss. Whether you like/agree with/hate/fear the President, he's still the President. I've lived through Presidents I didn't like, or found a little scary. The world didn't end, even though it was predicted it would.

Everyone just take a deep breath and calm down.

I'm glad to get this off my chest.

SCAdians as sources

Mon, 04 May 2009 19:56:15 GMT

I was looking through my students research files for a millinery class and found a picture of peteyfrogboy.livejournal.com in a hat. Thankfully, I didn't have a mouthful of diet Dr. Pepper.

Goth will kill us all

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:45:19 GMT

Wow. Who knew the vinyl would cause such trauma? We may have caused the death of the SCA.

'Cause one themed party will be seen world-wide.

You'd think the use of polyester, coolers, folding camp chairs, pop-up day shades, tennis shoes, duct tape, etc. might be more objectionable.

Oh, that and people spending all their time opining on-line, vs. actually attending events and stuff.

Sorry.

Less of me to love

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:49:14 GMT

Well folks, some of you know I've been losing weight. As of today, I have reached my first goal- to get back to the weight I was when I found out I was pregnant with Rhys.

I'm very excited.

The first 13 or so pounds was easy, the last 5 took forever, thanks to holidays, birthdays, conferences, and of course Gulf Wars will throw me off some, but I'm really happy about this.

I'm now on to my next goal, which is to be at my end-of-grad-school weight.

Legal and deadly . . .

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:54:19 GMT

Okay, at least legal, not so much the deadly-yet. Mainly just safe enough not to hurt myself or others.

I authorized yesterday for rapier. Luckily, Ursus from Vulpine reach and a very nice young man (Leopold?) came to Sewanee in the snow since I can't make the big war practice next week-stupid work! We went to the studio theatre and fought for a couple of hours.

I can honestly say I was very nervous. It has been awhile since I had to take a test.

Yay!

My first kill

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:48:50 GMT

Okay, I really am enjoying my rapier adventures. I wasn't sure about it at first. I figured I would sort of suffer through it- not hating it but not loving it.

I faced what I was most afraid of last night- actually trying to fight someone. The drills were fun, but I thought I wouldn't be able to think on my feet fast enough to do anything but parry.

I knew Corbin would kill me. Hey, he's good. The other guy (Peter) who is fairly new at this too, but not as new as I am, I figured he would kill me too. Gwen, as she is more aggressive, I figured she would take me down as well. Gwen and I are funny- pretty evenly matched, but totally different in style. Well, except for the one time we both attacked and parried in the exact same manner. That made us laugh in the middle of our bout (do heavies do that too? Laugh at themselves in the middle of a bear pit?) Okay, and we did have a double-kill, but other than that we just really move differently.

I move slow. I am content to let the other guy make the first move. Not so much because I'm cool that way, but I'm not sure what to try for at first. Plus, if I'm not dead, I can still keep going. I worry about staying alive first, then killing. I still have trouble going from defense to offense. But, about the middle of the night, I decided to just go for it. I lost my fingers a lot, and I got killed a bunch, but finally, in the last bout of the night, I saw my opportunity and went for it. Stout jab to the head. I was amazed. I thanked my opponent, apologized for what I was about to do, and then did a happy dance.

That was fun. Even getting killed was fun. Seriously, I've re-enacted the whole thing for my student worker this morning and now she's interested (the thought of using your hand or things like daggers really excited her.)

Look, I'm not a physical person. I HATE anything that resembles exercise. I enjoyed this. I didn't mind be ing sweaty, and that is not my thing.

I like rapier. I know there are all kinds of hang-ups out there about SCA rapier, and lots of baggage surrounding the whole thing. I understand there lots have bad tastes left by the behaviors of jerks in the past. Let me say this- so far everyone I've met has been very kind, and extremely knowledgeable about what they are doing. I am super impressed, bowled over, excited beyond words. I know it isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea- I think it is much more interesting to watch now that I know better what is going on.

My plea to all of you who have had bad impressions of rapier is to take another look. Maybe be a little more open to it. I realize I am a bleeding heart, but it seems that the SCA is a big enough tent that we can maybe relax a little bit and enjoy something of a slightly different flavor.

I'm not a tagger, but if you really want to know . . .

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:39:30 GMT

So I've now been tagged by 3 people on Facebook with this 25 random things, and I not all of the interesting things I can think of I want to post there for students to see. Also, I'm just not a tagger. I will always break chains too.

Hey, then . . .

1. I've never responded to a chain letter by sending it on. I'm just not into them.
2. I can blow air out of the corner of my eye if I hold my nose and try real hard.
3. I'm fascinated with things that scare me- sharks, airline disasters, frozen disasters, etc.
4. I once slept in the same bed with one of the Barenaked Ladies. Ask me the whole story, I'll tell you. Not nearly as sexy as you might think.
5. I link to Kevin Bacon through Gary Sinise and Michael Unger.
6. I'm not terribly sentimental about cards. I usually throw them out about a month after I get them.
7. I love puns. I know they are the lowest form of humor, but there you have it.
8. My favorite pair of pjs are flannel with gnomes on them.
9. I cry easily. I mean really, really easily. I cry sad, happy, angry.
10. I get #9 from my Dad.
11. I've never read a single Harry Potter book, and have only seen part of a couple of the movies.
12. Although I am in the SCA, I read virtually no fantasy or science ficton. Murder mysteries are my thing, and I really get annoyed if my mystery really turns out to be some lame romance disguised as a mystery.
13. I'm very tactile. I love to touch things. I have to stop myself from touching things in museums. I can't 'see' fabric without touching it.
14. I don't believe in anything supernatural. No ghosts, demons, higher powers, etc. I do occassionally knock on wood or throw salt over my left shoulder just in case I'm wrong.
15. Even though I don't believe in things in #14, I love ghost stories (I visited the grave of Alice, who is a famed SC costal ghost and walked around it 13x backwards,) have let people 'cleanse' my apartment of an evil presense, and went to new age stores with a friend who had a poltergeist to find some help. I think it is perfectly okay if you believe in pretty much anything, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.
16. When I was 7 I set up a voting booth in my front yard for the 1976 presidential election. It was only open to the neighbor hood kids and the mailman, because he always bought lemonade or whatever we had a booth for. Jimmy Carter beat Bob Dole 7-2.
17. I can't eat sushi. I really can't stomach the though of raw fish. I don't really even like most cooked fish. I can sort of fake my way with the stuff only containing vegetables.
18. I had a part-time job in college doing singing telegrams.
19. I really did have a pony when I was a child. For a while when I was young, my parents had a 72 acre farm where they boarded horses and my mother trained them. It was my mother's dream, unfortunately it didn't work out. We started out pretty poor, and ended up even poorer.
20. I was raised by my grandparents after my parents divorced.
21. I don't really like the way I look. I am improving on the weight, I'm not sure how far I want to go with the other things I don't like. It's not really the focus of my life or anything, but sometimes I look at beautiful clothes and wish I could wear them and do them justice.
22. I do my best thinking in the shower. I don't know why, but when I'm struggling with a design, I get my best ideas then. It works for other problems too.
23. I've run naked down the Blue Ridge Parkway.
24. I was married before David. My first husband was one of the coolest guys I knew in college, and extremely good-looking. He turned out also to be lazy and sort of a thief.
25. I love Godzilla movies.

Selfishness

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:22:45 GMT

So after reading Gwen's posting this morning, I feel compelled to spill my guts.

Before I start bitching and whining, let me say that I love (most) of you.
I love my Kingdom.
I consider it an obligation to do the things I know need to get done for my friends, my household, and my Kingdom. If something needs to be done, and I have the skills to do it, I fell like I must.

But man, am I tired.

At this point I feel like I have just enough energy to do all the things I have committed to up to the first weekend in April. Then I have to, have to, get a little selfish.

So, if you win Crown List this Spring, and you aren't Seth and Gwen (close family), or Gareth (who did so much for me when I was a newbie), or Robert of Auk (who I owe a tunic for an Incident at Gulf Wars Last), or are Moradan (fighting for me) please, please don't ask me to head up Coronation garb for you. It is not that I don't love you as much as the other folks I've worked on, I'm just burned out. I realize I do feel an obligation to many of you, as you have helped me in many ways over the years. I wouldn't mind helping, but I can't do the planning again for a while. And if you do ask me, I will probably say 'yes,' because I am weak. I can't resist a personal plea. But for my sake, please spare me for the next couple of years.

If you have some really great idea for something arty, please pass me over for the next couple of years. I've just passed on the deputy position from the costume guild, which over the past 3 years has turned out Herald's tabards, RUM robes, and are starting on Sable Sword cloaks. For all of those projects, I have researched and bought materials, made patterns, and cut out all the pieces. I've even sewn a tabard, sewn 4 RUM robes and 8 of the hoods. I plan on sewing one of the Sable Sword cloaks. But then I need to be done for a while. Again, if you ask me, I will probably say 'yes,' because I am weak. I won't mind helping with projects, but I can't be in charge of anything for a while.

For the love of all that is holy, someone please take over leadership for Meridies of the Gulf Wars Open A & S Faire. I helped birth this baby, so I am very much in love with it, but my actual baby will start school next year, and who knows what my schedule will be like in the future with Spring Breaks and such. If I am at the War, I will certainly help with it, I will even donate to the prizes.

When I finish the projects I am working on for people I have traded with, I'm done for a while. I still have to finish things for Max, Alexander, Lyn, the guy at fettered cock, and I think someone I can't remember right now. I've had to put so many of these on hold when some of the above has had shorter deadlines, but I feel like I have a ton of stuff hanging over my head. This is part of why I want the above things to change.

What brought on this whining? Last night I was quickly trying to whip something up for this weekend. It is something that I've been wanting to make for a while, but I didn't get to spend much time thinking about it, or doing really nice finishing touches. For about the last 3 years, I've not had time to really dive wholly into a project- it has been get it done as fast as possible. Even some of the things that might appear to the observer as great, I know secretly is a major disappointment to me, like the recent Saxon dress. Over the years I've made some great stuff, mostly that I have given away, but haven't had time to do stuff for me, or David, or Rhys. Of course, I'm sure you've noticed that none of us has been naked, but everything has been so rushed. I only have one silk veil, and it is getting yellow and hole-y. I've make at least 20 over the years, but I've given them away. I have made several cool pouches, but I don't have one. I don't have anything that I've embroidered on. I don't have anything that I've done tablet weaving for except a 4" piece that I did to break in some wooden cards, and the hairpiece and net. I haven't even made what I wanted to sew it on. I've had so many plans for cool clothes for David that I haven't been able to finish.

Mainly, I'm feeling selfish about doing really cool things for me.

Sorry to whine, I just had to get it off my chest.

My Pennsic Vacation I

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:07:18 GMT

Okay, so we've been back a week, but I've been on a laundry and coronation garb fest and am just getting around to putting my adventures down.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, and after trolling in I decided to let an acceptance of "Pennsicland" wash over me. I was not going to let Tuchux or pirates or belly bunnies ruin my fun- I was going to revel in the oddities. I would pretend I was a 'Marco Polo' who traveled to strange and exotic lands with their own unusual customs.

I've recently been fascinated by the Tuchux culture. I just don't get it, but I really want to understand what the appeal is for the 'dogs' and 'wenches.' Funny though, I really didn't see as many as I have in the past. Of course, there were about 3,000 less people at the War, so that may have been part of it.

We had a nice dinner on Saturday night, cooked by Mistress Rosemounde. It had a 'Dracula' theme. (This year, all dinners we based on dictators or tyrants. Get over it- we are geeks and we like it that way.) Did a walkabout after dinner. Settled down a little after midnight. I know that sounds early, but we had a long day with little sleep the night before. Of course it was crazy all around us in the bog, but I can usually sleep through most of it. Now, these days I just can't make it through the night without needed to go to the bathroom. This is always a rough thing for me as I really hate porta-potties, especially ones that have been visited all night by drunk folks with bad aim. So I always aproach the 4 am potty trip with some fear. Anyway, I stumble out of camp towards the potties, and what do I see but a banana waiting to got to the potty. I rubbed my eyes, but it was still there. The Banana and her friends were unsure if she could fit in the potty, but she was sure she could. She went in one, me another. When I came out she was discussing how she had been waiting all night for a friend. Hmm. I went back to the tent and woke David up to tell him that I saw a banana at the potty. I really don't think he believed me. As I lay back down on the bed, and for the rest of the night, I would hear people talking about the banana. Wow, I had been ready for Pennsic land, but not walking produce. Are bananas even period? Honestly, I have no idea-maybe late?

Okay I'm getting tired of typing, I'll try to continue later in the week.

Okay, what I've read

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:43:45 GMT

Some of these I just can't remember, especially if they were for children. I may have just seen some of them as movies or on TV. I remember everything as pictures, so sometimes I can't remember if they are the ones I made up in my head or someone else's. So, I've tried to only star the ones I can clearly remember reading.

*1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
*2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
*3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
*5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
*7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
*8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
*10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
*15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
*16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
*18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
*20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
*21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (really, not just the movie)
*22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
*24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
*25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
*27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
*28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
*30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
*31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
*32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
*40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
*41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
*48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
*49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
*54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
*57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
*58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
*60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
*65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
*66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
*70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
*71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
*72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (maybe, can't remember- don't really like Joyce)
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
*79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
*81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
*83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
*85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
*87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
*89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
*91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
*94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
*97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
*98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Note- using my mother's computer to do this, can't figure out how to do some things, so you just have what I've read. Books I love: 5, 22, 25, and 79. # 44 isn't my favorite, but John Irving is one of my favorite authors.

Do you know any?

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:06:26 GMT

I'm not dead yet!

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:44:17 GMT

For all those who had to witness my horrible vomiting and strange behavior, I'm sooo sorry. I have never, for any reason, including overindulging in alcohol and food, thrown up at an SCA event. Until now.

By the time we got packed up, I was delirious with fever. My poor friend Beth- her first event and she misses feast AND has to get directions home from someone slipping in and out of consciousness. (For those who know that David and Rhys arrived at the event just in time to turn around, David couldn't lead the way because he had to stop to get dinner for Rhys, and I wasn't willing to wait.)

Anyway, Sunday was a feverish semi-conscious day. Yesterday was better, I was able to eat some noodles but pretty dizzy. Today is about the same. Fever is within livable temps finally.

There is hope that I may live after all.

Work, work, work

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:00:15 GMT

You know, really, only part of the 'work' I'm feeling overwhelmed by is the kind I get paid for . . . hmm, hobbies are running my life. We will finally be doing all the paperwork and stuff to get our house on the market, so if you are looking for a 3 br in Winchester, let me know.

This week I was able to get 5 of the little stick ponies done. They really don't take that long so I don't know why it seems like I'm really dragging on this project. If anyone is interested in making some, let me know and I'll send you a pattern.

I have gotten NOTHING done this week on the pourpoint. I'll keep you updated if I get anything done on it.

Okay, you are all making me want to do a Tudor for Magna Faire. I have some fabric that I could use. I'll probably take something straight out of Tudor Tailor though, since I am pressed for time.

I've been mulling over something for a couple of weeks, and I don't really want to get into it here, but there has been a whole lot of discussion flying around about what gets put on blogs. Okay, yes, this is my blog and I get to say what I want. If you don't like it you don't have to read it. But, since this is not a private place, I haven't locked it to keep the general blog reading public out, I have to realize that something I say could have consequences. Even the casual reader has the right to be mad at me if I say something they might construe as hurtful. If I want to rant about someone, I'll lock my blog to only my closest friends, not use vague descriptions of people so I can't get called on it (and I'm not buying the legal angle, you can't be sued for calling someone an ugly name, unless you are accusing them of doing something illegal, so "b****" or cow is okay, that's an opinion, but 'thief' would be iffy.) Anyway, just needed to get that off my chest.

Oh, there has been some meme or such going around soliciting opinions of garb. Is there a period you haven't see me do that you think would be attractive on me? Let me know.

Snort!

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:25:33 GMT

You have got to watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN2VqFPNS8w

That's all I can say.

Hate! Cowardice! Apathy!

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:40:53 GMT

Okay I don't really have any of that on this post. I realize I am one of the worst bloggers ever- no pictures, no music, nothing that flashes, no quizes, no rants except about banks- so I'll do what I can to 'sexy' up the place a bit.

If you are wondering about the title of the blog it is what I could come up to be the opposite of Love! Valor! Compassion! which is the name of a play. I like the play okay, but what a great title. I thought by changing it around I would have a dynamic line to draw you in.

About blogs, I'm not sure that I will be a better poster. When I used to have diaries as a child, I would be real good at writing for about 1 month, then never again. I don't really think this will turn into an on-line diary but I realized after a question from someone on e-mail I might need to document some things more closely-like art projects and such. I was asked how I did something months ago and now I can't remember what I did! Oh, and I make you this pledge-no rants against anyone not famous, rich or working in an institution that drives me crazy, like certain banks.

I'm glad everyone listed as my friend (at least I think, haven't checked in a while) is someone I actually, personally know and not some random person on the internet I don't know.

So, to keep up with projects:

At the top of the list right now is the Charles de Blois pourpoint I am working on for Max- oops, maybe I shouldn't use his name. I've been told it is tricky to use people's names on the internet because they might sue. What can I say, I'm so blog clueless. Let's just call him "M." Okay, I realize if I don't say something bad he isn't going to sue. Anyway, so I'm working on the pourpoint for M. It is of purple linen, padded with wool, lined in white linen. So far I have put the top and bottom of the back together and sewn the shoulder seams of the purple layer. I'm putting the gussets into the sleeve by hand- it just seams easier except I realized the other day that I put one in backwards. That makes me crazy.

I am also working on some 'stick' ponies to give to "L" to give out at Gulf Wars. My goal is to make 50. Maybe I'll figure out a way to post the pattern somewhere so any of you can put some together too. I thought it could be a fun way to promote the newest Kingdom badge.

I'm also working on a herald's tabard for "A" and a cotehardie for my jewelry making friend. And I'm looking at Tudor. And dragging out an old embroidery project.

I'll write more on other projects later.

Regions is Lame Update

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:52:59 GMT

Just an FYI, I sent an inquiry on their website about the $5 fee. The website stated it would be answered in 24 hours. We are now past the 48 mark.

Regions Bank-Worst Ever?

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:24:27 GMT

Okay, sorry if any of you are big Regions Bank groupies, but I have just really had it with that bank. The worst has been the Sewanee branch, which has really nice tellers, but if you have to go higher up on the food chain for something, I've had the WORST customer service in my life. Worst than other big banks like First Union and Wachovia (although they came close.) Oh, and of course they are the ONLY bank in Sewanee.

Hey, you know, I grew up in Charlotte, NC. We have have a lot of banks there-banking is one of the biggest industries in my hometown. I've been the customer of many a mega-bank, and I understand that banks everywhere are changing and that customer service seems to be the thing to go. No one knows you at your branch, so I guess they have to assume you are a criminal and make you jump through all kinds of hoops, but sometimes you still can't get help.

So here's what set me off this morning. I am no longer a Regions Bank customer for many, many reasons, but I was written a check by someone who has a Regions Bank account and since I don't have a local branch of my bank in town (Redstone Federal Credit Union- and let me plug credit unions. They seem to actually treat their customers like, well, their customers. They like to help you, at least in my experience) so I thought I'd just cash this check. Now, I admit it has probably been a while since I've cashed a check this way, but when I used to do summer theatre (and would be out of state with no branch of my bank around) I would often take my paycheck to the bank the theatre had an account with and cash it. Yes, I had to do stuff like put thumbprints on the back of the check under my signature, but it was never a problem.

This morning, I was told there would be a $5 surcharge for this. What? When did this happen? Maybe I'm naive, but I can't remember ever such a charge. I know that banks have gotten really charge- happy, but come on. That's one of the reasons I left Regions-so charge happy for every little thing. That and the fact that I had to work really hard to prove that someone had stolen my account number and did some funky things in GA-like they let this person cash a check written to me (name misspelled, plus she misspelled it on the back where she signed it) on a Friday afternoon at 5 pm with no ID . . . for $1,200. I was basically told at the Sewanee branch that I would have to wait for my statement (I had discovered it while balancing my checkbook over the phone.) Luckily I was able to find someone at the Winchester branch who was able to help me and had it straightened out in 24 hours.

I feel better now. It was just another little irritating thing to happen here at my local branch to make me blog.

Go Credit Unions!

Van Halen

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:29:17 GMT

Van Halen is being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:04:46 GMT

Ah, I think I'm getting old. I was driving home the other night from the shire meeting, and instead of listening to talk radio (which I'm not sure why I do that, I really hate all those guys. I realize that as an academic and an artistic type I sort of live in an ivory tower of liberalism, but it really blows my mind that people, apparently lots of people think that way) I decided to be happy, so I played 'radio roulette.' You know, you keep hitting the 'scan' button until something you like comes on.

I was amazed to discover that I will stop on just about anything from the 80's. Yep. I've become way too nostalgic about high school. Really, it could be complete crap and I stopped to listen. Like "Elvira" from the Oak Ridge Boys(?) or 'Open Arms' by Journey, which I really loved back in '82 or so but I have to admit is really, really sappy. Of course, I did get a bit misty-eyed on that one. I remember slow dancing with my boyfriend Robbie Something-or-other who really loved Rick Springfield, but being depressingly in love with Dustin Hofsess who probably was a Van Halen fan.

Of course, there was a Van Halen song on, but I couldn't remember the name of it. I'm pretty sure it was either on the "Diver Down" or "1984" album. Then I thought "Yeah, this is with their original singer. Oh, what's his name? The goofy one-gigolo guy." It took like 20 miles before I could remember his name-David Lee Roth. I'm not sure what that says about him, especially since I once went to see him solo when I had free tickets to the show-awful, by the way. He was fat and balding, and still trying to be a gigolo. I know, however, what it says about me. I am not only old enough to be nostalgic about any old crap from the eighties, but I'm having trouble remembering the name of the lead singers of one of the bands my friends used to love. Heck, I had both 'Diver Down' and '1984.'

So, in honor of forgetting, a poem by my favorite living poet, Billy Collins

Forgetfulness

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

MGT exit

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 14:43:56 GMT

Just thought I'd let everyone know that we hate to have bugged out and left Sat. night, but we were so tired- tired physically, tired of spiders, tired of chasing little guy to keep him from killing himself. We figured after feast, which Rhys didn't eat much of, he was sooo tired, that waking up in our own beds would be best-plus we could see that we were going to make the revel at this point. The little guy had started coughing a lot (in fact he has a full blown nasty little cold) and since he would sleep the whole way back, it just seemed the best strategy. Rhys was a great kid all day, but the logistics of traveling with him is beginning to make us question how to do long (more than 3 hours) trips. We may not be able to do that as a family for a while. That makes me sad.

hello?

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 18:35:27 GMT

Just curious to see if anyone even checks to see if I post anything. I probably won't since I'm just not a good journal keeper. Never able to keep it up longer than a week.

Okay, well "Hi" to all the people out there I know, and if I don't know you, I have to wonder why you would read this.

Maudeleyn