Almost ready!

My sewing is done and I'm almost all packed. In 24 hours I'll be on a plane heading south for a week in stays and petticoats.

Eric bought me a little present to take with me. Since this trip is more about research than shopping he decided I needed more than my little Moleskine notebooks and picked this up:




The smallest size is just right to fit in my haversack (what passes for a purse in costume) and the pages are blank so I can sketch pictures of stuff if I need to. Not that anyone but me will recognize what I'm drawing, but it's my research so it's all good!

The thing I'm looking forward to the most right now (besides the warmer weather) is surprising my friend Peggy. I told her I wouldn't be coming this year, back when I wasn't going, and I haven't e-mailed to tell her my plans changed.

I hope to have some stuff to auto-post this week, but if I get into a time crunch and don't get to it, y'all behave and I'll see you a week from Monday!

Run-by posting

As usual, it's either full speed or full stop around here. I've been in full speed mode the last couple of weeks. I haven't quite figured out why, but all the fun things cluster on my calendar, causing me to have to work around things or decide what I'd rather do and what I'll have to miss. This is one of 'those' weeks.

This afternoon I'm working at the church for our youth fund raiser. Since I'm a Youth Group Parent, I'm expected to help out with the fund raiser. Lucky for me, the Day Job has done the appetizers for the last few years (most of us go to the same church). Appetizers get us in and out before the dinner gets under way, so while other parents supervise serving or clean up, we get to pack up and go out for a drink!

Tomorrow is the big Dudley's Rush concert we've been preparing for since November. It's part of the Fine Arts Series our church does every year. We've tried to tell them we're not exactly 'fine arts'; more like Arts and Crafts. The board insisted that they wanted us this year, though, and we're happy to oblige.

The timing could be better for me, of course, because if it weren't for the other obligations I'd be on my way to a rendezvous in Georgia right now. Not that I want to set up in this lousy weather; it's stormy all the way from here to there right now. This is the first rendezvous we're doing without Dad, so I've had to be very diligent about packing. I've also been working very hard to fill out Eric's wardrobe. He had enough costumes for a long weekend in warm weather. He needed more clothing to be out for a week, and he needed warmer clothing since it will be cold at night and potentially cold during the day. After my week in Florida this year I've learned the value of wool and layers. Anyway, we'll leave as soon as I get home from the concert tomorrow and stop in Chattanooga overnight so we can get into camp before lunch on Monday. We'll pull stakes next Saturday and get home Sunday. The camera battery is fully charged and I'll have a camera phone with me, so hopefully I'll have more pictures to post this time.

All that, plus the day I lost to a migraine this week, is why I've been scarce around here lately. On the plus side, I've proven that peppermint essential oil rubbed on the temples relieves headache pain. I should be back to full stop soon so I'll be around more. I hope...

The games are beginning

Now that we know where Alex will be going to school we've begun to think more seriously about how to pay for it. Tomorrow we'll make the trek back to Western so he can interview for an ROTC scholarship. If he gets it, about half of his expenses will be paid all four years and he'll have an Army service commitment when he graduates. He's fine with that. I'm steadfastly not thinking that far ahead. It's better for all of us if I stick my fingers in my ears and sing, "La la la!"

The other game is that we're getting ready for a rendezvous in Georgia in a couple of weeks. I'm sewing like crazy to make sure Eric has warm clothing (thus ensuring that it will be 85* the whole week) and sorting the gear we need to pack. I'm cautiously looking forward to it. Yes, cautiously. I've had enough plans fall through over the years that I'll believe we're actually going when we hit the road!

On my way

I'm heading for the 18th century shortly. I have everything packed, even breakfast for tomorrow morning. My flight leaves at 6:20. Yes, a.m. Some of you are spewing your favorite beverage on your computer screens, aren't you? I'm so not a morning person but I have to be in Florida early in the day, so the early flight is a necessary evil.

I have the new camera we got for Christmas and will have photographic evidence for you in about ten days. Y'all behave while I'm away.

That time again

I'm getting ready for my annual pilgrimage. I'm heading to Florida this weekend to camp with my dad. I haven't gone into great detail here about the rendezvous, other than to post a few pictures, but the concept is based on the gatherings of fur trappers. Periodically, they would all meet in one place to socialize and resupply. Our modern version isn't so different, other than the lack of horse racing through camp and drunken duels. We meet periodically to socialize; resupplying is less of an issue. In fact, we try to leave camp with more or less the same amount of stuff we arrived with. It changes forms, that's all. We arrive with full coolers and leave with little or no food but other toys we've picked up along the way.

This rendezvous will be more traditional for me. We're looking at going to another rendezvous in the spring and Eric will need warmer clothes. My mission for this trip is to buy clothing or fabric and patterns to get him outfitted in something other than knee britches and shirts. Of course, when we showed him pictures, he liked the brocade waistcoats and frilled shirts more than the utilitarian clothes he has now. That's fine with me; I like them, too, but they'll be more of a challenge to my sewing skills! My favorite fabric supplier will be there again this year and I know she'll be happy to fix me up with whatever I need to make my husband into a dandy. :-) He usually cringes and asks me how much I spent at 96 District Storehouse; this year he gave me our Christmas money and told me to go see Peggy! This is going to be fun!

Breathing space

The reader manuscripts are all out. My first sewing deadline has passed. My schedule finally has some flexibility, for a little while at least. The kids start summer school on Tuesday, so I'll have a couple hours of quiet time a day.

I went to the Spring Rendezvous at Fort de Chartres today. It's about an hour from here, and my favorite fabric supplier was there. I got her critique on the Empire dress I made, bought some fabric, and checked trade blankets. I didn't find anything else (I did a lot better at the Fall Rendezvous last year) but at least I got to visit with some folks. I've been back into rendezvousing for three years now, and I'm finally running into people I know. Really, though, there are no strangers at a rendezvous--just friends you haven't met yet. That's one reason I love it.

Projects for the near future:

Assess what we'll need for the rendezvous in July and start sewing. (If the rest of the family doesn't need anything, I'll just have my second dress and one jacket to make. I'll be out there ten days this time.)
Edit Rogue Pawn before the Boys come for the 4th of July
Finish my current herb class
Work in the garden. We finally have lettuce!

New boots!

Last spring, I was at the garden, and had discovered that someone had left the soaker hoses on. It was a mucky mess and in the process of trying to get weeds out, the sole of one of my favorite boots came loose. I was pretty well crushed; they were brown leather Double H lacers, about as multipurpose as you can get and still look cool. I took them to Mom's when I went a couple weekends ago and showed them to Dad and my brother, both of whom do leather work. As I'd feared, there was nothing to be done. I did buy new hiking boots before we went to Kentucky last summer, but my Double H's were my rendezvous boots.

I came home and set about trying to find another pair of Double H's. Of course, our western store closed, so I went online. I found Double H's, but then I found these. I'd never heard of Oak Tree Farms before, but they caught my attention with their 1800's Frontier and Wedding Boots collection. Oooh, pretty!

Costume-wise, they're a few decades later than they should be, but they're a lot closer than my lacers were. The lacers had the basic style right, but with rubber soles. We don't have period nazis in camp, though, and when it was cold or wet enough to wear them nobody was paying attention to my feet.

They came in yesterday and fit like a glove. The angle of the pointy toe is just right; when I took them out of the box I thought they'd be toe smashers. The only bad thing is the slick soles. I'll have to rough them up on concrete or I'm going to go tail over teakettle. I like my new girly boots, though!

Heart strings

Part of the reason I do Living History is that we did it when I was a kid. As a little girl I was as comfortable in a chemise and petticoat as I was in jeans and a t-shirt. I still am, for that matter. These days, it's a thing I do with my dad and, most times, my kids. Some dads and daughters fish together; some work on cars. My dad and I dress up in 18th century clothes, sleep in a tent, and choke on wood smoke while we try to brew coffee.

I was reading over breakfast this morning. I'm back to 'Breath of Snow and Ashes'* after the hiatus to read 'The Fiery Cross', which I accidentally skipped. I had just finished my peanut butter toast and was working on my third cup of coffee when a sentence fragment grabbed me by the heart: "...hid his tear-stained face in Ian's buckskin shirt." Instantly I could smell the warm leather, dust, and sweat, and I wept right then and there. It's the same reaction I have when I watch The Patriot. When they get to the part right after Gabriel's wedding, when he and Benjamin are heading back to the militia, and Susan runs after them, crying, "Papa, Papa, don't go! I'll say anything you want!" I cry every single time because I know how it feels: strong, protecting arms, the smell of warm wool, scratchiness against my face. Very few things move me to tears on a consistent basis, but that does.

Since I turned 40, I find myself thinking about things differently. For so many years I've been focussed on my kids and home. Now the kids are nearing adulthood; I have four more years before Vicky is legally an adult. More and more often I think about my parents, and I wonder how long it will be before I get the first phone call: Your parent needs you. Come right away.

I remember when Mom got the first call. I was about 17, and Grandpa had a stroke. She was gone the next morning. Grandpa was all right, but he was never the same. In some small way, none of us were.

I'm so grateful to still have my parents, to have time to get to know them as people, not just as Mom and Dad. I'm grateful that I live within a reasonable driving distance and at the same time, I wish we were closer. Modern conveniences allow us to communicate easily, and distance is nowhere near the issue that it was even fifty years ago. Still, long distance communication is no substitute for strong arms and the smell of warm wool.

*From Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. Of course, Dad recommended it!

Back without a sunburn

Gooooood vacation!

I got back last night. I'm newly relaxed and unscathed except for some stiffness from tearing down camp yesterday and one fire ant bite that I just found. I'll also be hacking out campfire smoke for a few days, but man was it fun! Since I was in period costume all week, the only physical evidence I have of my week in Florida is that my freckles are a little darker! I'm amazed I didn't get burned when I usually do at the summer rendezvous' but I guess that's because in the summer I sweat off my sun block. I did the whole week with SPF 25.

The weather started off very warm, turned cold, and then warmed back up quite pleasantly. One day was in the high 8o's, another might have touched 60 for a few minutes when the sun peeked through the clouds, and the rest were around 70. It rained a couple of nights, Saturday night being the least convenient, and again yesterday morning, but the wind picked up and the sun came out so our canvas was dry when we took the tent down. We were glad of that--wet canvas weighs a ton!

Dad made the comment the other day to a friend that he and I hadn't been out camping on our own since the Bicentennial. I guess I never thought about it that way, but we both agreed we maybe shouldn't wait 30 years to do it again! I'll have more detail later and hopefully some pictures this week. For now I have to assess the damage to last week's lesson plans. Back to the salt mine.

Saddled up, movin' out

Wouldn't you know it? It snowed last night. There isn't much, maybe an inch on the lawn if I push the ruler down, but it appears to be bona fide snow. The good news is there is no sign of a red sunrise* and the airline website says my flight is on time. (For now. If it's going to change, it will be in the next hour, when I'm en route to the airport.) I know it started snowing a lot earlier at the airport, so I should maybe check road conditions, too. Anyway, if nothing appears here for the next week you'll know I made it safely to the 18th Century in (hopefully) sunny Florida. If I don't make it, I'll apologize now for the language I'll be using! Y'all behave while I'm gone.



*"Red sky at night, sailors delight, red sky in morning, sailors take warning"--that's what my Grandma always said, so it must be right. Never mind that she wasn't a sailor.

Airline restrictions

I'm packing for the rendezvous next week. Because it's in Florida, I sent the bulk of my gear ahead with my dad and will fly down so I don't have to waste half of my precious vacation time in transit. Most of the carry-on restrictions are well-known by now, but I checked the FAA website to see if there were any changes. I was quite dismayed to find that I can't take a cattle prod or tear gas! Drat!

Why would anyone think it's OK to take those on a plane? Also prohibited are meat cleavers, spear guns, fireworks, brass knuckles, and ski poles (although skis are not listed, so maybe they're OK?). Knitting needles are permitted, which surprised me, and so is whipped cream, as long as it's 3 ounces or less. Whipped cream is so expensive; it just makes sense to take it along instead of buying it when you arrive. Obviously, the (not-all-inclusive) list was compiled for the people who need warning labels telling them not to use a hair drier in the shower.

Nowhere on the list did it say anything about gingerbread loaves, so I guess I'll take a chance. If they can't go on the plane I'll just give them to the screeners for doing a job I wouldn't want.

The first step to recovery....

I may have mentioned that I've been doing some research about authenticity of my rendezvous gear, costumes in particular but other gear as well. Rendezvous are not as picky about authenticity as re-enactments, but (like my father before me) I do like to be as accurate as possible. Part of what I've learned recently is that the preferred fabrics were wool and linen. They were cheaper to make and raw materials more available than cotton in the 18th Century. Cotton was imported and, therefore, quite expensive. I have also learned that cotton insulates, where wool and linen wick moisture from the body and keep one cooler. I would like to have know THAT before we went to Iowa! So what are all of our costumes made from? Cotton.

I have progressed somewhat in my sewing skills and sallied forth to locate new fabric. Linen is generally available only in the spring here, and what I did find amongst some upholstery fabric was $15.00 a yard. I just can't justify $30.00/petticoat. Wool is just as bad, being a fall fabric, and most of what I found of both were blended with synthetics. I'd rather not have a fire hazard in camp, thank you.

I'm not sure what made me think of it. Maybe it was sheer frustration when I popped over to E-Bay to have a quick look. You have to search with the right key words, but they do have a respectable amount of linen and a bit of wool, and there seems to be enough competition to keep the prices down. Just this week I bought 10 yards of linen for $6.50 a yard, and I put in a bid on two yards of wool which, if the bid stays the same, will shake out to about $4.50 a yard with shipping. I should have enough sewing to do through the winter to keep me out of trouble! I have two shirts in progress and a short gown (for me) and a waistcoat (for Eric) planned, plus I want to experiment with ladies cap patterns. Oh, yeah, and a couple of chemises, too. Can't forget those.

Now let me put this in the proper perspective. I was doing the Snoopy dance at getting $6.50/yard linen. Six months ago, I was buying my cotton at Walmart from the dollar tables when I could find solids or appropriate patterned fabric. I hesitated to spend more than $3.00 a yard, and I only did that on rare occassions.

So now the question becomes, am I becoming a fiber junkie, an E-Bay addict, or a glutton for punishment for sewing all these clothes that will be worn no more than four times a year? (Did I mention I'm doing mostly hand sewing?) Sometimes it's hard to say.

fabric!

I've been doing research on the 18th Century, both for writing and Rendezvous, and one of the things I learned recently is that linen and wool are the preferred fabrics for authenticity and comfort. Go figure--every costume piece we have is cotton of some form!

It's the wrong time of year for wool, and linen is tough to find without something blended with it, but I did manage to find some on E-Bay. I won the auction, paid, and waited, and finally, it got here today. I have enough white to do a chemise and a shirt, or maybe two chemises if I skimp on the length a little. There is a lovely brownish color that will soon be a shirt, and several yards of a rougher brown that I have yet to decide what to do with.

While I waited, I popped into a fabric store and stumbled on a partial bolt of green linen. To be honest, I was too impressed with the shade. Baby snot (pre-ear infection) came to mind. Still, it was 100% linen, and there were seven yards on the bolt, so I bought it all. It washed beautifully. It must have been somewhat jaundiced in the flourescent because it's quite a yummy shade of celery, and I should have enough to do a petticoat and a short gown if I'm careful.

I get to sew this week!

Now I just need to find more linen, some tropical weight wool, and order a pattern to make stays...