Open Book

Harley and Scooter at home.jpg

2009-01-04T02:38:00.001-05:00

Where did the time go?

2007-12-15T03:06:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I let this go for so long. So much has happened that it's hard to catch up now. How about if I hit the highlights:

Ren Fest was great and I have lots of pictures and videos that I hope to eventually get posted one day.
Maria has moved in with us. She came for a three week visit and one thing led to another, and she decided to stay. There were no jobs available in Carbuncle, or wherever it is her parents live, and there are lots here. She worked at CVS for a few weeks and now it looks like she's going to go work at Kelly Press with me. We'll be able to use the carpool lane and everything.
I bought a new psaltery, a custom made one. The place is called Phantasy Psalteries and you can see pictures of it here, here and here. It is gorgeous and has a beautiful tone, but I sent it back for adjustments because the sustain was too much. Its sound isn't as crisp as the one on my Unicorn Strings psaltery, but it's unique because it is strung with overwound strings and so it is a tenor psaltery and not a high soprano. It sounds beautiful when Maria and I play together, her on the higher one and me on the new one.
I caught a virus in late October, right after Ren Fest got over, and I'm still sick. That is seven weeks now. I'm beginning to think I'm never going to get well. I wouldn't mind so much, but the people at work act like I'm a leper. Idiots. It's not as if I want to be sick, or did anything to make myself sick. The girl who gave it to me is being the biggest yahoo about it and I've lost my patience. I don't have much to begin with.

I know there are lots of more important things I could be posting about, but it's three in the morning and this is as good as it gets. My mom just reminded me that the shuttle will be here any minute. I need to shower and get dressed. We are leaving for a week in Puerto Rico. Maybe I'll finally be able to shake this stupid virus. I'll try to get lots of pictures and post more when I get back.

Rennaissance Festival 2007 - Day Two

2007-08-26T19:14:00.000-05:00

Renaissance Festival Pictures

I arrived at Ren Fest at 10:05, just in time to hear the King order the gates of Revel Grove open. I just wandered and window shopped for about forty-five minutes. I got a couple of good pictures of King Henry and the dancers but nothing else much happened until I got to Unicorn Strings. There I bought a new book, Big and Easy Songbook, and spent some time chatting with Gene about Harley and dogs in general. Ashley, the new girl, asked me to teach her to play Amazing Grace, which is the only song I play reasonably well on the psaltery. I did, but she's having trouble with playing three notes as one. She'll get it soon, I'm sure. Gene is a great teacher. I hope they don't mind me hanging out there. It keeps me from getting lonely or bored when I'm there all alone for nine hours a day.

Gene told me about a book he recommends, Pattern Recognition by William Gibson, so I pulled out my Blackberry and ordered it from Amazon. I would have gotten the other one he recommended, but it was too expensive, so I just emailed the name to myself and put a hold on it at the library when I got home tonight.

While I was there, I got out my psaltery and played until my hips started to hurt. Then I sat down on the bench across from them and Princess Anne, King Henry's new prospective wife, stopped to listen to me! I get really fumblefingered when someone is listening but I managed to make it through Amazing Grace with only a couple of mistakes. She was very gracious and it was fun to be part of the show for just a few minutes. It's funny, I know these guys and gals are just normal people playing parts, but (maybe it's my history in that online roleplaying game) but I can't treat royalty like commoners. I have even met King Henry out of character and know his real name, but to me, at Ren Fest at least, he is the king. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun if he weren't.

After a while I packed up my psaltery and walked down to get chicken on a stick for lunch and watched the Rat Man show while I ate. He is so corny and funny and shameless. I wandered toward the Globe Theatre, picking up a couple of pewter trinkets and then chatting about writing with the guy at the chair store. I sat outside of Bullseye and played for a few minutes before making my way to the Globe Theatre. I watched lots of shows today, and my back is hurting from the backless benches, but the shows were all good. I was glad to see that the regular "Other Guy" from Bloody Drama Comedy Show is back. I like him a lot, not as much as Bob, but that's a given. Shakespeare Skum was in rare form today, something about the heat probably. Then, I hadn't planned on watching the Washington Revels, but they sort of guilted us into staying after Shakespeare Skum, and I'm glad because they were good.

I have been tempted to cheat on my diet this weekend, but have not done so. I had a few too many almonds today, but nothing else that I shouldn't have. I was tempted a few times, either by smells or by habits from last year, but I resisted and I am so proud of myself. I really hope to lose weight this fest, rather than gaining like I did last year.

I ended my day at Unicorn Strings, picking up my new book which I hadn't wanted to carry. Gene tells me that he is designing a new version of his psaltery, using CAD and computers to do the cutting. I don't understand it all, but I can't wait to see the results.

Unfortunately, I realized as I was talking to Gene that somewhere after the Globe Theatre and before Unicorn Strings I had managed to lose my purple and green flogger. I went to lost and found, but it wasn't there. I am losing way too much this year, which is odd because I didn't lose much of anything last year, just a pin and a pendant. I can't really replace this thing, because Leather Rose doesn't make those anymore. It's not like I NEED a whip, it's just a prop for my garb, but it was one of my favorite parts of my look. Bummer.

Tomorrow I leave on a corporate jet to visit the Xerox offices with my boss. Ooer! Don't I feel important. I guess I'd better get some sleep. Only five more days until I can go back to Fest!

Rennaissance Festival 2007 - Day One

2007-08-25T16:34:00.001-05:00

Rennaissance Festival Pictures
I arrived at Ren Fest at 9:45, just in time for the opening banter and arrival of the king. This year they have a special entrance for season (fairever) pass holders. It was funny how many of those are the Rennies in garb. There were very few folks on our side of the wall in mundane clothing. The same guy who has been here for the last two years as deputy is playing the sheriff this year while the cute deputy, Roper, is gone. :( King Henry arrived on horseback and in we went.

The first couple of hours were all about replacing and repairing so it went like this...

Leather Rose: New hair slide and hair stick. Thanks, Big Rob for putting in my new purple slide. Hair slides are lengths of leather lacing strung with beads and they hold your hair into a kind of braid, keeping it neat and off of your neck.
Hope's Journals: New pen with leather and copper wire wrapping with a green feather at the end.
Milestonne: 3 leather laces, one for my bodice, one for tying my chainmail balls to my belt and one for extra.
Somewear Beyond: Replacement for my dragonfly/jester coin that was lost last year.
Tideline Salvage: One titmouse (which I later lost), one bodice rat with pirate hat (hat lost almost immediately) and one shoulder rat. I have no luck with these guys. The pirate one I had last year got eaten by Harley! I've got to figure out how to keep one alive for more than a day or two.
Catskill Mocassins: Just mooning over custom made, custom fitted boots. They start at $429 with design elements starting at about $200 and up. Guess who is NOT getting a pair of these boots! Thanks, Linda, for letting me try them on and dream. Maybe if I win the lottery...

I finally finished shopping around 11 or 11:30 and wandered down to the Globe Theatre to see what was playing. I decided to skip the Pirates Royale and kept going. I stopped by to say Hi to Heather at the juggling school. She said I'm doing better, but I'm still lifting my hands too high in the air. I played for a bit and then got on the move again.

I stopped by Unicorn Strings to see Gene and meet his new employee. I've forgotten her name and I didn't think to write it down. I'll ask her next time I see her. Gene was busy selling, but he waved when he saw me and told me that Mary and John didn't come back this year, which is a bummer, but Sarah will be back, she's just sick today. It turns out that the new gal is Big Rob's (Leather Rose) girlfriend. We chatted for a bit and she's from Last Vegas, too. I didn't stay long, though, because I didn't want to interfere with Gene's sales.

I went looking for the laser woodcutter who makes those great pins. He has had a guest booth the last two years, but he's not there this weekend. I need to replace my chaos symbol pin, the one that fell off of my psaltery case last year. That reminds me, I need to solder the other pins closed this year so that I don't lose any more.

I ran into the "hippie" couple from church and we chatted about the heat, which was considerable... high nineties and it felt at least ten degrees warmer thanks to humidity. I also ran into Jack Sparrow and his lady and I got a picture!

About 12:45 I found myself at Bullseye, which is the clothing store that has the great wooden shelf that is always so shady and comfortable but has a great view of three corners. I sat and rested with the new fan I had gotten and juggled a bit. A russian family sat down around me and their three young boys had lots of questions about my chainmail juggling balls, my unicorn shoulder pet and the bird that perches on my staff. I thoroughly enjoyed their company and was sorry to see them go. I sat there and rested as I wrote in my notebook. My new pen ran out of ink, though, so I had to go replace it.

After doing that, I headed to the Globe Theatre. I got there just in time for As You Like It to end and got a great seat for the first Shakespeare Skum show of the year. They did Richard III and it was fun, not as good as Romeo and Juliet, but better than King Henry the V from last year. The actors kept forgetting their lines, but they're so good at what they do that it just made it funnier. After them was the Bloody Drama Comedy Show. They did the soothsayer bit and one person in the audience asked, "Who would win in a fight, Picard or Kirk?" The soothsayer (the two new guys in one robe) said Kirk. About half the people booed and half cheered. Bob (everybody's favorite guy) said, "No fighting, we're all geeks here!" Which, of course, got a big laugh and a cheer, because indeed, we ARE all geeks, and proud of it.

The final show I saw was this year's King show, which was infinitely better than last year. It's still a little unsatisfying, because it's only part of a whole, but King Henry gave a funny and warm performance in a very short period of time. The young girls next to me kept saying, "Poor King... I want to hug him and make him feel better" I wonder what Fred, the video editor our company uses on our videos who also happens to play King Henry, would say to that.

Suddenly at 3:00 I realized I was lightheaded from the heat and humidity and decided to come home early. I stopped to get a bubble wand for Harley and headed for the TinkTerra. It was a good day, but I was no longer having fun. Besides we're celebrating my Dad's birthday today, so there was a good reason to come home early.

I had a great day today and I'm glad it's just day one and I still have 18 more to go!

Ren Fest Begins

2007-08-25T07:13:00.000-05:00

It's here!

I leave for Ren Fest in less than an hour. (I guess I'd better get dressed, huh?) I'll have my mom take a picture and maybe, if it turns out ok and I don't look too froglike, I'll post it.

I have no real plan for today. I have a couple of things I want to do when I first get there, things I need to get. I want to replace my jester/dragonfly coin that I lost last year. I want to get a new leather braid thingie and I want a new titmouse. Harley ate my last one. I'll probably watch a few of the Globe Theatre shows... Bloody Drama Comedy Show and Shakespeare Skum. I will wait to see As You Like It until Maria gets here, because I'm sure she'll want to see it. It's supposed to be hot today, so I may just find a quiet corner and play my psaltery. Although, I may not even take it today. I hate carrying a lot of stuff when it's hot. I need a little wheeled cart for all of the stuff I want to take in with me. I wonder where I can buy one of those.

More later!

Out of the Blue

2007-08-15T20:54:00.001-05:00

I was driving home from work today and out of the blue I decided to call my cousin, Maria. Maria used to live with me until about 20 months ago when she went to Estonia on a mission for our church (LDS/Mormon). I haven't spoken to her by email for months and by phone since she left. We kinda kept in touch by email until I got mad at her this spring and stopped talking to her. Suddenly, maybe because she likes Ren Fest almost as much as I do, I got the urge to call her and I did.

She seemed happy to hear from me and one thing led to another and guess who is coming to visit for three weeks in August/September. She'll be here for seven days of Ren Fest, so I'm ordering her a Fairever pass so we can spend as much time there as possible. It was great to talk to her again and I'm ashamed of myself for the estrangement. I think I need anger management classes.

Arguing

2007-08-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Dad and I went on another walk tonight, but on the way to the B&A trail we got in an argument. He insisted that we had walked north yesterday while I had spent most of my lunch hour looking at maps of the trail and knew for a fact that we had gone south. The trail runs from Annapolis to Baltimore and we walked south from the Marley Station Mall to Jumpers Hole road. However, the simple, hand drawn map I had printed showed the mall south of Jumpers Hole road and Dad kept insisting I had to be wrong. I finally blew up at him after explaining less and less patiently that the map was wrong... that I had looked at three official maps for an hour that proved I was right... that logically it was impossible for us to have gone North... etc, etc, etc. I was really rude finally, and I am sorry about that, but I think I know why I overreacted.

Everyone who knows me, knows that I will NOT argue about facts unless I am 100% sure I am right. I have had too many unpleasant experiences with siblings who love to make me feel stupid if I'm wrong, to ever take a chance arguing about stuff I can't prove. But my own father doesn't know that about me? That bothered me. I don't care about the map or the facts, I knew I was right all along, but that's not the point. If he knew me half as well as my most casual acquaintance at work he would know to trust me if I state an absolute fact. He could have trusted me over the crappy map, but he didn't.

Sometimes I don't think we have a good relationship at all. I love him and I know he loves me, but we don't seem to connect like Mom and I do. I wish we did, he means a lot to me. It's not just because he's a guy that we don't connect. Most of my best friends are men and I never have a problem connecting with them. While I was growing up my dad was a fabulous listener. Whenever I would be really upset my dad would be the one to listen to my problems and offer advice or comfort or both. But now he just tunes me out. Can you love someone and still not care about them? I wonder.

Walking with Dad

2007-08-13T20:19:00.001-05:00

With Ren Fest only 11 days away, I have got to get serious about getting ready. I dropped off my Ren Gear at the cleaners (I couldn't face all of that ironing) and I'll pick everything up next Thursday. They might as well store them instead of me, right? I have my Fairever pass and I psaltery all ready to go. I need to practice the psaltery and juggling, but it's not the end of the world if I don't.

Mostly I'm worried about all of that walking, up and down hills, for 18 hours a weekend. I have been sedentary for the last year and I'm not sure I'm up to it. So Dad and I and Harley went walking on the B&A trail tonight. We did almost 3 miles and I didn't get tired at all until the last half mile. That's not a bad start. I'd like to go every day this week and next so I'm as ready as possible for the 25th. Then I'd like to keep doing it almost every day until my birthday because Harley needs the exposure to strangers, bikes and other dogs before his new obedience class starts. Isn't it great that his class starts on my birthday? Tomorrow I'm going to carry a water bottle and a spray bottle. A water bottle for drinking and a spray bottle for Harley. I can't seem to get his attention off of the bikes and other dogs, but I am sure the spray bottle will do the trick. Besides, he got a little overheated tonight, so it won't hurt him to get a little wet. Not that he'll see it that way...

Harley's Profile

2007-08-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

This is what I wrote in on the Student and Dog Profile for Harley's application to the Dog Owner's Training Club of Maryland beginning obedience class. Do I sound like a wacky doggy mama?

Harley is an extremely bright dog and knows lots of tricks because he's so much fun to train. Unfortunately he is not obedient, being too spoiled for his own good. His sit/stays are solid, his recalls are not. He walks well on a leash but doesn't heel. He likes people once he knows them but he is hand shy and prefers not to be touched by strangers. He is dominant by nature but knows I am the boss, although he runs roughshod over my parents. He did well in the Petsmart class we just finished. I only put him in that to accustom him to other dogs while I waited for your classes to start this Fall. We can't wait!

So, what do you think?

Two weeks and counting

2007-08-10T14:37:00.000-05:00

Ren Fest starts in two weeks and a few hours. You can check the counter to the right, if you need to know the exact number of hours, minutes and seconds. I paid for my Fairever pass today and should get it back in plenty of time. I had to email them my information and then call to pay over the phone. I know this is all about history and times of old, but c'mon people, get Paypal! I worked it out, by using the Fairever pass and going every day, of course, I am only paying $4.21 per day. That's an unbeatable bargain, isn't it?

With Ren Fest so close I pulled out my Unicorn Strings bowed psaltery so I can start practicing. I am so rusty it's scary. Not that it matters much, because I overtightened a string I was tuning and broke it and now I can't get it replaced. No one I have talked to has strings small enough and even if they did, none of them will even try to replace it. I tried, but I broke the string I had both times I tried and now I have no string left and can't replace it. I know I can get John to fix it at Ren Fest, but I didn't want to have to wait that long. He's going to be so disgusted with me for not practicing. Well, maybe not disgusted, but definitely disappointed.

This weekend I'm going to pull out all of my Ren gear and try it all on. I've lost some weight, so the stuff that was getting tight should fit again and I have new pieces to mix in. At last count I had something like five skirts, four or five chemises and two bodices. I also have a couple of gypsy hip scarves. With all of that, I should be able to do some really creative mixes. Maybe by the end of Ren Fest I will have lost some weight and the smaller of my two bodices will fit again, but in the meantime there's the one with the steel boning. I like the smaller one because it doesn't flatten out may top, but both of them are nice. I show a LOT more cleavage in Ren gear than I ever would otherwise, but that's not a bad thing, right?

My sister and her youngest son, Josh, were here for a couple of weeks and just left Monday. Harley and Josh became best friends and Harley has been moping around since he left. I know Josh hated to leave him behind, but there is no way on this earth I would let Harley leave me.

Speaking of Harley, he has his obedience class graduation tonight. I gave him a bath this morning so he would look his best in his pictures. It's all a little silly, but will make a great scrapbooking opportunity. It reminded me that I wanted to sign him up for the Dog Owner's Training Club of Maryland beginning class. I downloaded the dog profile and sign up sheet and sent them off with my check today. I probably sounded like a crazed doggy mama with my long notes about him but I wanted to be sure they knew what he is like. Maybe I'll type that up in another post and you can tell me if I sound nuts. I know I AM nuts, but that doesn't mean I want to sound that way.

Sorry it's been so long between posts. Look for more about Ren Fest in the next few months.

Too Fat For Yoga

2007-07-18T12:14:00.000-05:00

I found a new dance/fitness place that is just opening in my favorite mall, Savage Mill. I was so excited about taking classes there that I immediately signed up for one. Because I have a lot of bulk around my middle and have been really sedentary until just last week, I decided to start with yoga. I have arthritis in my hip and need all of the flexibility I can get.

I went to the first class last Thursday and everything went well, or so I thought. I was the only student in the class since this place is so new, and my only complaint was that the teacher was babying me too much and I actually prefer less attention for the teacher rather than more. Anyway, towards the end of class the teacher excused herself, supposedly to use the restroom.

After the class I felt nice and relaxed and all stretched out. The teacher and the owner of the place and I chatted about stuff like Ren Fest and the owner's plans for the studio. Then, just as I was about to leave, she asked me to stop and talk with her about something.

She sat me down and told me that I am TOO FAT FOR YOGA!!!

I was so shocked and angry that I could feel my eyes filling up, so I grabbed my stuff and left instead of telling her what an idiot she was right then and there. Needless to say, I dropped out of the class and will not be going back. This is the same woman who told me, during my tour of the facilities, about a student she has who is mostly blind, half-crippled and 70 years old. My weight is high, but I am NOT crippled, or mentally handicapped, which is how she spoke to me.

I know that women practice yoga all through pregnancy until they actually give birth. Is she saying that my stomach is more of a handicap than that? I firmly believe that they just didn't want an unsightly fat person in the class. If I had been skinny and just as uncoordinated and sedentary, they would never have said anything.

I probably should have fought them and insisted on attending the class since they saw me when I signed up and I actually asked them point blank, "Is this class for fat chicks, too," but I wouldn't want to give them my money. I found a new yoga class just down the street for less than half the price. I'll let you know if they say I am too fat for yoga. Somehow I doubt it.

I get so angry at the prejudice people of my size get in this country solely because of our current fitness level. It's not just that we get less whistles from men, we get lower salaries, reduced respect and insensitive remarks from people who either would not or could not do the same if we had any other difference. People of minority races and the disabled are protected from this kind of thing. Can you imagine being told, "You are too black for yoga?" "You are too stupid for yoga!" "You are too short for yoga." "You are too deformed for yoga." See, don't those sound ugly and horrible? Then why is "You are too fat for yoga" acceptable? It shouldn't be and hopefully some day it won't be. In the meantime, I'll watch and wait for this studio to fail. With an attitude like that, they are bound to.

Broken Arm

2007-07-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

I finally finished my project at 1 minute until 2:00 today. My boss told us we could go home at 2:00, so my timing was perfect. I called my mom on my way home and told her I "might" get off early. I like to surprise her so I don't always tell her I'm on my way. She told me that she might not be home when I got there because she BROKE HER ARM! She fell on the front step, probably tripping over Harley's leash, and broke a bone just above her right wrist. Did she then do what any normal person would do, and go to the doctor/hospital? Oh no, she went grocery shopping! That woman is nuts. Anyway, she's at the emergency room now. What terrible timing, with the Fourth tomorrow. We were going to go swimming, and now she can't. She'll probably insist we go over there anyway and she'll just watch while we swim. What a bummer.

Happy Monday!

2007-07-02T11:44:00.000-05:00

I have to start blogging more often because I have too much to say for just one entry a week.

First, the good news, my big project launched successfully today. Yay! This is the one that has kept me at work for 12-13 hours at a time. The one that I thought would never get done. There is still a lot to do, but those things can be done post-launch. I'm so happy.

This weekend was nice and quiet. My parents were busy on Saturday with my dad's brother, so I took the day and used it for all of the errands I have been putting off, combining them with shopping, of course.

Back in December I bought four pairs of glasses at Penneys so I could use up my whatchamacallit money that had been deducted from my paycheck for medical expenses. I should have used that money for the dentist or doctor, but I put it off too long and I really did need new glasses. Unfortunately, out of four pairs of glasses, four of them were defective. So, I took them back to be fixed and she was able to fix two pairs on the spot and will send the other two in for repairs. While I was in Penneys I went in and got my hair cut, something I've been putting off for 6-7 months. It's nothing special, she just cut off a couple of inches of split ends.

I was way overdue for an oil change on the TinkTerra, so I stopped at a Jiffy Lube near the mall. While they changed my oil I walked over to a bookstore nearby. It wasn't really my kind of bookstore, it had all of this weird new agey stuff, but I found a ring and bracelet I liked. I can shop just about anywhere.

Mom had given me a message that the game I had ordered at the game store had come in, so I drove over to my favorite mall, Savage Mill, and told them that I didn't know what I had ordered, but whatever it was, I wanted it! They checked their records, but I hadn't ordered anything since the Shut the Box game I bought for Dave (coworker) for Christmas. Turned out later that it was the Game Stop store calling about a Nintendo DS game, not the Savage Mill game store. It worked out ok, though, because I finally managed to be there on game night and I played a game with some total strangers. The game, whose name I can't spell, was a lot of fun, but the people were annoying. Still, I had enough fun that I might go back.

While I was at Savage Mill I ran into the woman who owns the dance studio where I've signed up for a yoga class. She gave me and a couple of other women a tour of the studio. It's beautiful, I can't wait for class to start on Thursday.

Sunday was quiet in comparison to Saturday. Mom, Harley and I went swimming at a friend's pool in the afteroon. Well, I swam, Harley doesn't like it and Mom didn't feel like it. In the evening we played a new game I bought at the game store on Saturday. It's a card game and it's called Showbiz Shuffle. The object of the game is to produce movies while giving each other production problems like tempermental stars and drinking problems. I liked it, but it's going to take time before I am completely comfortable playing it. There are a lot of rules to remember. Dad was having trouble reading the fine print, but seemed to enjoy it, ok. I think we'll try it again. I should have bought the game I played at the store, but I had already gotten the card game and didn't want to spend any more money.

Just so you know, Harley did great at obedience class. He sat, he walked on his leash without pulling and he actually played with one of the other dogs. I told Mom that we ought to think about getting him a little sister, but she wasn't excited by the idea. We did agree that if we did get him a sister, she would have to be called Scooter. I'll wait a year and then we'll see. I don't really want another puppy until Harley is fully trained and I'm sure I'll have time to spend with a fourth dog. I offered to give Indiana to a good home, but she didn't think much of that idea, either. You never know, maybe I can get Scooter for my birthday next year.

Finally, for now, my diet is going really well and I've posted a hefty loss for the first week. Double yay!

It's a Monday

2007-06-25T20:01:00.000-05:00

Harley is better, which is a huge relief. He's still not back to 100%, but he's better. I was up for an hour in the middle of the night cleaning up after him last night, so I'll be happy if I can just make it through the night tonight. I have my writing class tomorrow and I need my sleep.

I stuck to my diet all day today, and even harder to believe, all evening, too. I'm craving carbs in a big way, but I'm committed and I will NOT cheat. What I didn't stick to today was my plan to write more on my book. I got a page or two dictated this morning but this afternoon neither I nor my laptop were working well, so I gave up and listened to one of Diana Gabaldon's books on tape, instead. "Lord John and the Private Matter" if you're interested. I liked the book just fine when I read it but the man who did the audiobooks is awful. I remember he ruined another book for me, too. He makes the book almost unlistenable and that's saying a lot for one of my favorite authors.

I've almost finished my big project at work. Considering it was supposed to be done and in testing mode a week ago, that's not anything about which to brag, but at least it'll be done in time for the deadline. I just would have preferred more time to test and debug before it went live. Too late now, unfortunately. I have a huge pile of projects that have been waiting for me to finish this one, so I can't finish it quickly enough now.

I need sleep!

Harley is sick

2007-06-25T05:43:00.000-05:00

Harley ate something that didn't agree with him or he picked up something at the obedience class Friday night. He's had the runs since Saturday night and is getting dehydrated. He felt well enough to play with bubbles yesterday but then was sick again during the night. If he's not better tonight, I'm taking him to the vet. There is no vomiting and he has a good appetite, so I am trying not to overreact, but it's hard not to when you love a dog so much.

In other news... I plotted out twenty or so new scenes to add to my book. Some of them aren't true scenes, just extra bits and pieces, but I think they'll round it out a little bit. I'll start working on the writing of those today on the way to work.

And finally, I'm restarting the South Beach diet today for real. I have "restarted" before but didn't make it past day three. This time is different. This time I am fully, 100% committed to it. I am going on Phase 1 and won't go off until I've gotten rid of these crazy carb cravings. I know how to lose weight, I just haven't cared more about losing weight than I did about my next chocolate or fast food fix. I appreciate any support or prayers you have to give. I know exactly how hard it will be, I've done it before. But, I also know how rewarding and exciting it is when my weight starts to drop. I have too many reasons to lose and only one reason... addiction... to cheat. Wish me luck.

Quiet Saturday

2007-06-23T20:20:00.000-05:00

Today was the first Saturday since the first weekend in May when I didn't have anything planned. I woke up at 8:30 this morning and thought "8:30 is good, but 9:30 would be better." Five minutes later, my arms were asleep and I had trouble seeing my watch. It was 9:30! It felt more like I passed out than like I went back go sleep. Usually when I sleep late I have vivid dreams, but not this time. I needed the extra sleep and I'm just glad I was finally able to get it.

I kind of goofed off until about 11:30 and then I started cleaning my room. The bed was covered with all of the clothes that fit while my closet was full of clothes that are too small. I hauled out and boxed up the smaller clothes so I could put away the ones I have to wear because I can't seem to get back on the South Beach wagon. I didn't toss out the smaller clothes, they're in a box in the basement just in case, but I'm losing hope that I'll ever need them again.

One of the plans for today was to take out the old air conditioner and put it in my dad's office and put the newer, better one in my bedroom. I'm super sensitive to heat and I can't sleep at temperatures over 75 degrees. Unfortunately, when I opened the window, I lost my grip on the a/c unit and it fell in to the bushes below my second story window. Oops, sorry Dad! We won't tell him, maybe he'll never notice. He's been in bed all day because of his cataract surgery yesterday. I don't blame him, if I had an excuse to sleep all day, I'd take it, too. We got the new a/c unit in my window and I put my room back together about 6:00. Mom and I watched Freedom Writers, and it was ok. Kind of depressing for most of it, but it had a happy ending so it's not all bad. Movies like that are like broccoli... you know they're good for you and they're full of all kinds of good things, but you would rather be eating ice cream. I am a junk food movie addict. I like things like Pirates of the Caribbean or Pirates of Penzance or pretty much any movie with pirates in the title, actually. I want to laugh and/or be scared and end up in smiles at the end. I don't want to have to think too much. I felt sorry for the husband. I can relate, that woman would make a saint feel selfish and unworthy.

I'm heading to bed in a few minutes. I have to work on my book tomorrow and I need to catch up on more sleep before work starts again on Monday. Seriously, I need a vacation.

Obedience Class

2007-06-22T21:23:00.001-05:00

Harley started obedience class tonight. It's long past overdue, but at least we're finally starting. The teacher is so young! He's in his early twenties and seems like just a kid, but he's good with the dogs and has quite a bit of experience. Harley liked the food he kept handing out, but wouldn't let the guy pet him. Harley did pretty well until my parents stopped by to say hi. From that point on all he would do is look around for them. We were in the Petsmart (not my first choice, but the only class I could find for right now) and every passing shopper became a distraction. I have no intentions of telling the teacher that I have been training dogs for ten years before he was born, nor that I taught obedience for five years. Let him think I'm an idiot, it will be less embarrassing that way. Harley is a lot of things, but obedient he is not.

He struggled a little bit because I've taught him so many tricks that he has trouble with the simple stuff. Just last night I was working on hand signals for all of his tricks. Many of them he already knew, but I added a couple of new ones. By the end of ten minutes he was doing all of his tricks with hand signals alone. However, in class, he wants to do his tricks instead of simply learning how to watch me.

It's going to be a tough class for me, because I am used to the old school methods with slip collars and leather leashes and sit and heel and so on. This deal of feeding the dogs to keep them quiet and having to treat them with food for every bit of attention from them just bothers me. Using a piece of food to teach a trick is one thing. Using food for obedience is something entirely different. I will go along with it and give it a fair shot, but it's not my style. I prefer the methods I learned 20+ years ago. Does that mean I'm getting old?

Random Dog and Cat Pictures

2007-06-20T20:46:00.001-05:00

I bought some Halloween costumes on sale from Disney. Not for me, of course, but for the dogs. I couldn't wait four months to see how they looked, so we tried them on and took pictures. When I uploaded them to the computer I found some other shots of Harley, of course, and some of my mom's siamese cat, Caelidh, and even some pictures of my cat, Bugsy. He's the long haired gray one. My favorites, though, are the ones of Dad sleeping, surrounded by half the household.

Random Dog and Cat Pictures

Duckling and Puppy

2007-06-17T20:07:00.001-05:00

I thought this was adorable. Sorry, not very original, but so true.

Duckling And Puppy - The best bloopers are here

Sleepy Baby

2007-06-17T19:37:00.001-05:00

I thought I was tired!

Sleepy Baby - The most amazing videos are a click away

Long Week and Even Longer Weekend

2007-06-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

I have a big project going on at work this week and I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. I had actually hoped to finish it and I'm only about halfway done, so that's not good. I can't think about it now, though, because it's the weekend and I have homework for my writing class to get done, I have to finish reading my novel and rewrite a scene from the book. I also committed to 20,000 new words, don't forget and I'm not sure if rewriting counts, so I have to get some new stuff written. Then there is Father's Day on Sunday and I've done now shopping for my dad, yet. I'm a terrible daughter. We are going shopping in the morning, I just hope I find something.

I have three web sites to start and/or finish this weekend and I'm restarting the HTML class I'm teaching on Wednesday so I need to prepare for that. My workspace and bedroom are in truly awful shape, but I won't get time to clean this weekend. I would like to get out my new art supplies and play with them, but that's not happening either. I also have a ton of new scrapbooking supplies which won't be coming out for a while.

My friend, Alice, has a weaver's and spinner's guild meeting at her house on Sunday and I've been dying to go see all of her stuff, but I don't know if I'll be done with everything in time for that.

With all I have to do, I'm still taking time to blog. Aren't you proud of me?

New Writing Class

2007-06-13T20:01:00.001-05:00

A couple of years ago my dad and I took a memoir writing class at the college. We enjoyed the class and the other people in it so much that we all formed a writer's group that has been meeting monthly ever since. The teacher from that original class is part of our group and now she is teaching a class called Advance Your Fiction. Dad and I signed up for it and I went to the first meeting last night. He couldn't go because his forensic locksmithing organization has their convention this week. It turns out that the lady next to me is another Ren Fest geek and we kept getting into trouble because we couldn't stop talking.

Our teacher, Susan Moger, asked us to set a goal for the four week class. I wrote down on my paper that I was going to read my rough draft, all 100,000 words, and then add 10,000 words to it. But the one guy in the class other than my dad said that he was going to write 15,000 words so I scratched out the 10 and made it a 20. The ren fest gal said, "You're not competitive at all, are you?" No, of course not. I just like to have a bit of a challenge!

My project at work is foundering. I am doing my best, but I don't know if it will be good enough. We have a meeting about it tomorrow and the whole thing might take on a completely new direction. How frustrating. At least the uncertainty meant I could come home on time with a good conscience and I'll deal with tomorrow when it gets here. For now, Harley and I are going to bed!

No Rest for the Wicked

2007-06-02T20:16:00.000-05:00

Let's see, on May 5th I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The following weekend was my three day camping trip to Virginia. The weekend of the 19th my mom and I went shopping and saw Spidey 3 and Dad and I went to our writer's group meeting. Last weekend was four days of Balticon 41. That's a lot of busyness for an entire month of weekends. You would think I had earned a rest, right? Not hardly.

Today we went into DC for Learning and Product Expo: Art! DC 2007. They had a juried show with one of my mom's pictures in it. They didn't have the good taste to give her an award for it, but it was an honor just to have a picture in the show. It's not my favorite of her pictures, but you can judge it for yourself here.

I bought a lot of art and scrapbooking supplies and we took a watercolor class together. I was actually enjoying the class until the end. The teacher asked me to take my picture to the front of the class so he could demo something on it. I was so flattered until he took out a spray bottle and splattered all but a tiny spot with blue paint and then splotched a couple of ugly purple flowerlike objects on that one spot. It was horrible. My mom knew immediately that I was very angry and leaned over to reassure me that she would help me fix it, but it was too late. The entire picture is ruined. It wasn't good before he destroyed, but now it's hopeless. I would think I was just being picky, but one of the other students and I talked afterwards and she gave me her sympathies because she was appalled at what he had done. It was the very end of the class and I think he got in a hurry and just didn't care what he did. He's probably so used to slopping these things together that he forgets how much work this is for students. Idiot.

Tonight I got out my new colored pencils and pad of paper and tried to do the first of the exercises in one of my books. It turned out pretty badly. I guess I should have saved my time and money and done a little computer art instead. At least with computer stuff you can always hit CTRL-Z and undo the mistakes.

I'm ready for a break, but I won't get it anytime soon. Next weekend I'm meeting with my accounting client to talk about his website and his bookkeeping and one of the guys from work wants me to redo his website. In the meantime I'm working on a complete solution for the 30 Stories in 30 Days website and I still need to rewrite my novel and figure out whether or not it's salvageable.

Anyone want to guess why I haven't been blogging lately? LOL

New Pictures

2007-05-28T23:27:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend at Balticon 41, a science fiction convention in Baltimore. It was great, and maybe I'll write more after I get some sleep. In the meantime, I've put up several pages of new pictures for you from my camping trip...

TinkTerra
Camping
George Washington's Birthplace
Westmoreland Berry Farm

Camping - May-13-2007 PM

2007-05-13T16:24:00.000-05:00

Pictures of George Washington's Birthplace

I have never been to Mt. Vernon to see George Washington’s home, but I have now seen his birthplace. I’m not a big one on heroes, but I’ve always liked GW. I am so glad I took to time to go there. I almost didn’t, but after getting up so early and breaking camp before 9 am, I had lots of time to kill. The lady at the visitor’s center (her name was Pocohantas – she said her mom wanted to give her an unusual name) told me that last night's rainstorm was even wilder than I had realized. It didn't just seem bad to me in the tent, the visibility was so poor that it took her three times as long as normal to get from her daughter's house to her home. See, it wasn't just me, that rain was crazy.

I got a private tour of the spinning and weaving shed, which was the highlight of my visit. The tour guide/ranger lady had only been at this site for a few months so she didn’t know much about the equipment. I got a special thrill out of identifying several niddy noddies and drop spindles. She even let me try a couple of the spindles. They were just replicas, but fun nonetheless. It made me wonder how much more fun the blacksmith, cooper and other craftsmen’s tools would be if I knew anything about using them. It’s funny how knowing what something is and how it is used turns it from just a dusty, strangely-shaped hunk of wood into something fascinating. One of the other highlights of the tour was when one of the other guests sat down at a replica harpsichord/spinnet and played a minuet for us. He knew a lot about the colonial period… more than the tour guide lady. All in all, a lot of fun.

It was so early and cool from the rain that he was perfectly happy sleeping in the TinkTerra while I walked around.

Berry Farm Pictures

I took him in with me when we went to our next stop… the berry farm. We went back for another strawberry shortcake ice cream combo and a flat of berries to bring home. I really need to do something to make that dog behave better in public.

The rest of the trip was just a long drive home. It wasn’t that long, really, I was just so tired from the rain the night before that I could hardly keep my eyes open. We got home about 2 and I just now got finished unloading the car. I still have a lot of stuff to put away. Now I am blogging and Harley is sound asleep in his bed beside me. It was a lot of fun, but now I need to go back to work so I can get some rest. (cliché, I know, but true)