The rain has slowed some stuff up but I'm still making headway with lots of help from Jayson, Melanie, Kim, Theo, etc. Wish I remembered how to do strike throughs...

New Sword. - has to wait until it stops raining or Friday morning, whichever comes first. I really don't want to run the sander in the shop. That makes a major mess.

Re-tape short sword. - That's a friday night project.

Wash fighting clothes. - Done! My poor gambeson is falling apart though. Very sad (and this is the new one...)

Polish armour. - Done! Thank you Keebler Elves!

Strap left elbow. - Done!

Sew patch on gambeson. - Skipping this since both holes _should_ be covered by armour now.

Make Vambrace. (Tandy run?) Cut, dye, assemble.

Vambrace is done except for the dying and waxing. I expect to get two coats on it tonight and hopefully Kim can wax it on friday night.

Spear: drill hole, nail on head. (get K’s permission) - Permission is granted, now I just need it to stop raining so I can sand a bit. I also need to drill a hole in the shaft and the head and put a cut nail through it and clinch it off.

Super Secret Project: - Is on line for today. Cabacons are a major issue. K could only find white ones as her green ones have disappeared. The acrylic ones she got last night aren't up to my standards. (Byram: "I want gaudy NOT tacky!!!" ;-) )Bri hasn't contacted me about the green ones that she has so today I am going out in the rain to Bangles and Beads and see what they have discounted. Otherwise, this is going to have a lot more painting involved than I had planned. But I has Keeber Elves! All is well!

In other news, it's raining. A lot. Feh. Here's to unflooded basements!

I spent the majority of my day off yesterday trying to reclaim my house from its current status of "pit of despair". In that time I managed to go through the littlest boy's clothes and realized that every single thing in his drawers was too small. Some of them were two sizes too small!

This necessitated a trip up to the attic which I normally dread, but because of the storm it was quite pleasant up there and if it hadn't been quite so breezy, I would have seriously contemplated hanging out to listen to the rain on the tin roof since the insulation means we can't hear it on the second floor.

I dragged out all the size 5's only to realize that I have no pyjamas left in that size. Trip is very hard on clothes and I will have to add PJs to the list of things he can no longer pass down, along with winter coats, polo shirts, socks and underwear. I suppose the time will come when Chris will require a whole new wardrobe when he outgrows the one he has.

I was also able to clear up the foyers and the living room. They aren't clean, by any means, but I can now open the door without worrying that someone might call Social Services on me. I started on the dining room, but ran out of steam when the laundry distracted me.

Thinking I was coming to work for a welcome break from housework was silly. Our new building is dripping from every window frame. The new carpet, paint and furniture is all wet. This is the first time we've had sideways rain since we moved in but we told the contractors months ago that the windows leaked. They were supposed to fix the problem. At least I filed all my work away in interior rooms before I left on Tuesday.

The roads here are pretty much underwater and it's not high tide yet. Not sure how I'm going to get home. Maybe if I take the highway I can avoid the worst of the flooding. Of course, we are in the only building without a generator so we might get lucky and lose power. Schools are closed and so are most of the roads and bridges.

Our yard is a lake. I sort of wish I had galoshes because my shoes are soaked from wading to the van. I haven't seen so much standing water since hurricane Isabel and the wind, though not hurricane strength, is incessant. I think we may lose the tree in our front yard. Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't land on the house.

Moe has a job interview today. Hopefully he can actually get to the place. So far, the HRBT is open and not flooded so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good travel and a successful interview.

I'm really trying to keep this journal alive over here...

So fought in my turnshoes and the leather greaves last night. Fit was better than I expected and they weren't too annoying in that regard. It has been a VERY long time since I fought in those shoes though.

More disturbing I realized this morning that my orthotics are tearing apart near the middle of the pad. This is BAD. Insurance didn't cover them when I got them and they were about $350. I don't have the money to replace them. They might get a duct tape fix up here soon because I don't want them to tear more.

Otherwise I found out that the greaves are def. for Pas or fancy fighting only, at least as is. I.E. no knee fighting. There isn't enough play room between the back of the knee and the ankle so they 'lock up' and don't allow me to drop my butt onto my ankles, which is crucial in knee fighting. It's possible that if I found a way to raise them up an inch they wouldn't be too bad.

I do love them though and they got lots of compliments on them (thanks Ullieag!).

I didn't get the bucklers before I armed up so I didn't get to fight in the left elbow. (Didn’t want to scratch it up behind a shield) so I will have to wing it on that front. The extra padding just wouldn’t stay in so I think I will have to wing it there. The gambeson will help. (Need to find those linen scraps!) Still need a low profile elbow sleeve for that, since one of mine is missing.

A lot of stuff is missing in fact. Celric says he returned the fakey mail to me so now I have to figure out where the hell that is. My new rocking coif that Gianetta made me is missing from Crown. I hope it was just balled up in my surcoat. That is what I remember doing with it. If not I have the old one.

The forecast is calling for rain the rest of the week and that is going to screw up my sword making plans. I will adjust of course.

I'm going to Tandy (I’m going to go with eyelets rather than the hated straps) to buy a few things I need for the vambrace and to look for some more strap leather for one of the new guys. I have to stamp that vambrace tonight before Grace goes to bed, or it isn't going to get stamped. I hope I can get it to dry better than the demi or staining it is going to be a bitch. Maybe I can dry it in the over after I tool it? I know it will shrink, but maybe a lot heat to help get the water out?

Maybe I shouldn't soak it in water before I stamp it? Leather workers out there, what do you think? It sure stamps a lot easier when wet....

Balin and Mel are suppose to be coming over for a bit tonight to help with projects. I need to print out a stencil today. Hopefully my paint pens are working right. I know I have super glue for the cabochons. Didn't get the extra ones from Brianna last night and Kim can only find the white ones of hers so no green, which sucks. I'd really like some more color in this project. Maybe Bri will swing by with them.

Washing of the fighting garments and polishing begins tonight. I need to start making lists.

Just a quickly before I head out the door.

Tourney of the Lily stuff is progressing....slowly.

Last night after dinner with the folks I got my left elbow strapped up. It just doesn't feel right. Going to try it out tonight assuming the bucklers come and give it a shot.

Started on the vambrace. Whew boy, did that suck. Perhaps it was from trying to cut it out in a lazyboy, while drinking beer and watching House and Lie to Me. Very rough looking cuts, even after beveling and slicking. This is what I get for taking someone else's plastic pattern (mine has mysterious gone missing...crap!) and trying to transfer it to leather. I have some thoughts on how to fix it but the easiest solutions aren't going to be all that easy. I also need a tandy run, ASAP.

I figure I will finish it, use it for the weekend and either give it away or remake it. Or something. I think I have about $5 in leather invested right now.

The elbow grease on the other hand...my damn tendonitis is killing me with this front moving in. That and my sinuses DO NOT inspire me to fight. But fight I shall, because, if for no other reason, it is Tuesday, and that is what I do on Tuesday. I will persevere because of my routine.

The super secret project is on hold until Wednesday night. Hopefully I will get some more pieces and parts tonight at practice....

Also, I hope against hope that my fakey mail is in the bottom of that coffee can that I gave to Pam a couple of weeks ago. I will find out tonight for sure.

Testing out the greaves tonight as well, and wearing my tourney shoes. Should make for an interesting night, especially if the buckler comes out.

I did something this morning that I generally try to avoid doing. I murdered a spider.

Now I’m usually a “live and let live” kind of person when it comes to most household pests. There’s a few I don’t like inside the house and will work to eradicate if they invade, like ants, wasps and mice; but for the most part I’m pretty friendly to the arachnid population. After all, they help me out by taking out some of the less popular pests and I’m all for that. We even have a sort of a pet spider that hangs out by our back door. I named him Jack. Jack is darn cool for a spider and may have more intelligence than our mailman although that argument might not fly in a court of law or anything. Jack is awesome – just sayin’.

This morning I was getting ready to stumble into the shower when I saw a great big daddy long-legs hanging out in a fold of the shower curtain. Now if he had been on the outside, all would have been fine, but he had picked the wrong side of the curtain and I did not fancy taking a shower with ole leggy. I shook him down into the tub and tried to encourage him up and out, but he was being stubborn. It was like he was staking out the joint or something.

Well I am stubborn too, and not the least bit inclined to share my morning ablutions with the arachnid of the day so I turned the shower on figuring that he would run from the water. Nope, dude started to swim! As soon as he got free from the encroaching tide, he parked his little spidey-ass like he was enjoying a day at the beach. And it was this point, I am sad to report, that I lost my mind and bashed him to death with a shampoo bottle.

Yup, I am a spider-smashing biotch when you come between me and my shower. That is my only 10 minutes of solitude for the day. All who get in my way shall tremble!

Crown tourney was an absolute blast! I have never been a consort before and it's been so long since I've been to an event that I wasn't working, that even though I was "on" it was incredibly relaxing. I can't thank my household enough for the work they put in preparing for the event and taking care of us for the day. I don't feel remotely deserving of such devotion. bdeb looked dashing in our colors and I couldn't help but giggle a bit when he heralded in another couple while still wearing our household surcote.

I wish that I had had more time to visit with people I see only too rarely. Fortunately, lots of people came to visit our pavilion and share our hospitality (red velvet cake and hot coffee for the win!)

I'm terribly busy at work, but I'll try to write more later and link to some of the pictures that people have posted.

I am still alive, I promise. Work has jacked all my free time during the day and plans for Crown Tournament are using up all the evening hours that I can squeeze out - meager though they are.

There have been lots of doctor's visits for every member of the family over the last month. October was insane for co-pays and I'm about at my end limit with that mess.

For my part, I am simply not on the computer much. My eyes have taken a major turn for the worse and it's been kind of special trying to get the right combination of lenses/prisms to allow me to see. Using the computer has been a challenge. I live on advil, which they tell me is bad. I was hoping that having the netbook would help, but I'm really only using it to keep up with the office at the moment. *sigh*

Anyway, it's not that I have any less love for you all, but I'm not really reading OR writing much these days, or knitting for that matter. But things will get better. They always have.

So...

I'm a tenan for Tourney of the Lily.

I asked Kevin if he wanted me in Rene style stuff (14/15 c) (impossible now anyway) and he replied that he would rather have me wear my spiff 12c stuff than half assed 15c, which I agree with, BUT, I hate getting jarred out of a moment at a Pas when everyone else is wearing the right stuff, and there is always "THAT GUY" who is a couple of centuries out of date. I know this is the SCA and that there will be venans that surely will be out of period in thier armour and appearance but...

It still bugs me.

Anyway, the latest I had gotten advice on this was whiether to wear my personal arms or to wear the baronies colors. Most sage advice I got was to wear the baronial colors based on what certain barons/great lords did in mediveal tourney.

That being said, costumes have been a big part of the tourney since the 14c (I'm dying to do the one where the 12 defenders dressed up as the Pope and the college of Cardinals! :-) ) espically pretending to be 'historical' figures.

What if I attempted to be a historical figure? It would require a little sewing that I could most likely sub out but would be a ton of fun....maybe one of the Nine Worthies..Godfried would be very easy to do with my rig...

Anyway just things to think about....

Perhaps some other historical figure to explain the dated armour? Thoughts?

Yes, I am reading Barber and Barker each night before bed, why do you ask? ;-)

Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14348284@N08/

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bdebdmm#p/a

Nap time soon after Curious George then dressing up and the Trick or Treating begins. Tinkerbell (TINK!) has won out over Pooh.

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The last couple of weeks have been horrible. I need this.