Then You Get Up And Have Breakfast

mellyflori @ 2009-11-04T17:15:00

2009-11-04T22:15:34Z

Tomorrow Steve has to spend the day in staff training. Apparently it is no longer called "multicultural education.". It must now be referred to as "education that is multicultural."

File under 'I couldn't make this shit up.'

mellyflori @ 2009-11-04T17:15:00

2009-11-04T22:15:34Z

Tomorrow Steve has to spend the day in staff training. Apparently it is no longer called "multicultural education.". It must now be referred to as "education that is multicultural."

File under 'I couldn't make this shit up.'

mellyflori @ 2009-10-26T18:13:00

2009-10-26T22:13:51Z

Steve just made a Punky Brewster joke so foul I can't even repeat it. I love that man.

mellyflori @ 2009-10-19T11:20:00

2009-10-19T15:20:36Z

My darling darling girl, have the happiest birthday possible. May it bring you every great thing.. except for yard shorts, I have those. Hee! Happy Birthday, alex_wench!!

Scrub 2sq feet of the living room carpet
Sweep kitchen

Mop kitchen

Scrub that crap off the bottom of Steve's sneakers so they quit marking up my nice clean floors goddammit.

Laundry

Gymv
Recover dining room chairs

Scotchguard dining room chairs

clean off desk

Tidy bedroom

Tidy nursery

10 minutes of wax removal from the carpet (we had an incident with gravity and a candle)

Divide up chicken packs into portions
Tag the last few consignment items

Double check electrical tape on all hangers

Second layer of scotchguard on couch

Second layer of scotchguard on loveseat

mellyflori @ 2009-10-05T08:26:00

2009-10-05T12:26:48Z

Plumbing with toddlers, lesson 1:

When you have tried Drano, Drano Gel, and Drano Crystals, do not ask yourself "What on earth will cure this slow drain?!?". Rather, ask yourself "Where is my other bath glove?"

mellyflori @ 2009-10-02T14:04:00

2009-10-02T18:04:46Z

I have reached the point in the Project SuperClean stage where I'm in the public areas of the house (dining room as opposed to coat closet) and I'm just moving the piles of "I should do something with this" into a smaller and smaller area. I hate this point. On the positive side, lunch is a new episode of Bones and leftover date and fig fritters from the feast. Nom!

Today's List:

~~Clean out under armoire~~

~~Clean out shelves~~

~~Dust shelves~~ Bin up some books from living room/hall

Vacuum rug

Scrub walls

Scrub doors

Scrub baseboards in hall

Scrub hall floor

Clean front door

mellyflori @ 2009-09-24T09:05:00

2009-09-24T13:05:35Z

I picked up "Reading Lolita in Tehran" on a recent library trip. I don't know if it's just that I'm reading it on audio book or what but.. It's just not grabbing me.

For those who read it, is it worth sticking withand when might it start picking up? Or should I drop it off and move on?

mellyflori @ 2009-09-22T11:10:00

2009-09-22T15:10:53Z

Horrible accident on the way here, on the other side of the highway but enough to make me pause and take stock. I'm so lucky to have you all and I treasure every one of your little 100x100px selves.

mellyflori @ 2009-09-21T18:02:00

2009-09-21T22:02:01Z

Dear Library Thing Users,

Anyone have a barcode scanner they wouldn't mind loaning me for a week or so?

Love,
Mellies

mellyflori @ 2009-09-18T07:29:00

2009-09-18T11:29:35Z

So part of my plan lately is to remove excess stuff from my life.. And I'm staring at this wall of movies that I love but which takes up so much space.

Has anyone had any real success copying VHS movies to DVDs that will play in the DVD player and not just your computer? I know it should be possible, I've seen tons of conflicting how-to pages, I'm just looking for some real world confirmation.

Help?

mellyflori @ 2009-09-18T07:29:00

2009-09-18T11:29:35Z

So part of my plan lately is to remove excess stuff from my life.. And I'm staring at this wall of movies that I love but which takes up so much space.

Help?

mellyflori @ 2009-09-15T09:21:00

2009-09-15T13:21:17Z

I've been meaning to say something to those among us mourning, whether it be for mentors or family or icons of our youth (Patrick Swayze could have put me in a corner any day). I love you all so much, and now more than ever I'm glad we have each other.

If there is anything I can do, you know where to find me.

mellyflori @ 2009-08-31T17:48:00

2009-08-31T21:48:46Z

During dinner.

Me: Once upon a time there was a princess called Chloe. She lived in the castle with her mommy and daddy. One day she climbed up to the top of the hill and looked around and she saw....

TBD: Grass!

Me: Yes, grass. And..

TBD: Horses!

Me: That's right. And one of them had wings. And she walked down the valley until she got to the horse with wings and she climbed on his back and they flew off into the sky.

Steve: And that's how Chloe got her epic mount. And the Horde rejoiced.

Me: ... I hate you.

mellyflori @ 2009-08-31T10:01:00

2009-08-31T14:01:56Z

Is it art, or is it just life on the farm?

mellyflori @ 2009-08-10T11:09:00

2009-08-10T15:09:18Z

It's really sad when my internet connectivity is better in a field in Pennsylvania than it is in my living room. We came home to find that our internet is out and the earliest appointment they could get me is Thursday. As Lala would say, "benches!"

After seeing the weather forecast for Saturday night and realizing that I didn't want to pack up wet canvas again, I hustled along my packing plans and hit the road late Saturday afternoon rather than Sunday. Good choice, too. We had our traditional this-food-isn't-good-but-I-didn't-have-to-cook-it-myself dinner at the Garden Gate and then as I was pulling on to the on-ramp to I-79 the passenger tire of the trailer just exploded. I have a jack but no lugwrench for those really oddly sized bolts (13/16ths) so I was on the phone with AAA when Kostuch pulled up in front of me. Gen pulled up not long after and between the three of us we got the trailer jacked up and the spare off but still couldn't get the flat off the trailer. B stopped by with his socket set and all was right with the world. The rest of my trip home was slow but uneventful and I even threw in a load of wash before falling face-first into my bed at about 2am.

Since then it's been laundry, laundry, unpacking, laundry, bitching at Comcast, laundry, and occasionally laundry. I put on my Karma Kiss apron and use the pockets for the clothespins as I hang the wash to dry on the line. It makes me feel positively homey.

Lessons learned list to come, just for my own benefit, and then possibly a nap over lunch. I miss my tent, my neighbors, the fire, the pub, and even my office for the last two weeks at Mystic Mail, but waking up to Chloe's sweet voice this morning makes coming home worth it.

How are you guys?

mellyflori @ 2009-08-07T10:37:00

2009-08-07T14:37:49Z

The lovely folks here at Pennsic have a place set up, it looks a bit like a combination of a hitching post and a power strip, with a wee little roof. It's actually a charging station for mobility scooters, CPAP machines, and other kinds of rechargeable medical or disability equipment. It's discretely out of the way while still being easy for those in the scooters to reach. And I think its' a really nice service. Having spent a year with Cait when she needed golf cart transport home on more than one occasion I know how those things can be the difference between being here and being at home feeling miserable.

In addition, the lovely folks here at Pennsic put out a daily newspaper. It's mostly catchup information about the battles, reviews of Arts and Sciences displays, human interest stuff. There's also a lovely personal and classified ads section. Sometimes the entries are a little mockable, as I'm sure you can imagine. But this morning there's a real gem:

TO PERSONS UNPLUGGING MY WIFE'S MOBILITY CART: COLLECT YOUR CELL PHONE/IPOD AT N05 (blocks are numbered and lettered), ASK FOR OG OR WULFGANG.

I don't know about you guys, but I'd get a new phone and iPod.

mellyflori @ 2009-08-04T15:13:00

2009-08-04T19:13:18Z

Things I've gotten recently:

The chance to tend bar two nights in a row. Awesome-sauce. Especially since Concorde made his special "Old Abbot's Mulled Scrumpyjack." Which, in actual reality, was powdered mulled apple cider mix, red wine out of a box, cream soda, mojito mix out of a bag, and some of the cinnamon cordial off the bar. As he says "It's not for everyone." Really though, it's not for *anyone.*

The feeling of satisfaction you get when you finish reading a really epic fic that maintained "good" from start to finish.

A whiff of some guy who thinks "medieval camping" means you don't have to shower. WRONG!

A mosquito bite right under my bra strap. Grrr. On the plus side? It's been so long since I had a bra that fit really well that I'd forgotten how astounding my rack can be. Seriously, I look like a naval figurehead.

An offer to taste something in an unmarked bottle that the owner referred to as "Weasel Squeezin's." Really.

Fantastic fellatio lessons from Lalita's really astounding Kama Sutra class. She also taught Courtesans of the World and except for the flaming bitch who thought she was teaching the class it was lovely. Lalita is getting to be like Duchess Mel, I'll take any class she's teaching just because I like her personality and teaching style so much.

Poison ivy. From my hammock. Bah!

Prescription anti-itch cream from Courtney. Yay!

Not nearly enough sleep.

Things I am about to get:

More fabric. Shut up!

A nap. Hell yeah.

How are you guys?

mellyflori @ 2009-08-03T15:50:00

2009-08-03T19:50:33Z

I'm totally a fuddy-duddy now.

Here's the thing.. I've been in the SCA for a while now, and I know that it's a big tent and I love that. There's room for everyone. Take the Tuchux, they're not techncially part of the SCA, they're doin' their own thing, and within the confines of their group there are rules about how to do it and they're all pretty good about obeying their own rules even if they don't obey anyone else's. But that's their own thing.

Within our "thing" though I've reached the point where I just don't agree that a sports bra should count as a major item of outerwear. And it's not that 90% of the people wearing just a sports bra are having a major violation of the Insufficient Fabric For Body Type statute, it's more that ... c'mon people, that's not even remotely garb. The book says "a reasonable attempt at pre-17th century." I know shoes are hard, I don't begrudge anyone their modern shoes, you do what you gotta do and period shoes are expensive, hard to find, and often don't work well with modern foot/back/leg issues, rock on with your Reeboks. But you can't tell me that you looked at yourself in the mirror wearing a sports bra, a sarong, and a cowboy hat and thought "Yeah, that's medieval. Hell yeah."

This goes also for bikini tops and men who think their entire upper body clothing should consist of a large studded dog collar. And don't be all "But it's hoooooooooot. And I'm sweaaaaaty." It's called linen. Look it up. Sure, part of me is jealous of the ones who could get away with it but I'm not sure I'd wear just a sports bra even if I were one of the people who looked good like that. If you want to go bare midriff knock yourself out... 5th century Indian, for example. But the lime green string bikini you sewed bells to? Bitch, please.

Also? What's with this music these days? And in conclusion: Get the hell off my lawn!

Really, I'm having a lovely time. :D I'm just irritated about having to work the whole thing. I am not, however, irritated with the paycheck. Woot!

How are you guys?

mellyflori @ 2009-08-03T10:44:00

2009-08-03T14:44:33Z

I'm sitting in <a href="http://www.mysticmail.net>Mystic Mail</a> and I've sharked my favorite corner spot and I even remembered to bring over the padded chair. It's comfy enough and there's awesome food right outside the back door. Speaking of which.. huh... I haven't had breakfast. Anyway. I'm checking voicemail, running conference calls, answering IMs, and updating my LJ. At the same time I'm wearing my linen Viking dress with the turtle brooches that are a cast of a grave find. I'm also embroidering my new linen kerchief with linen embroidery thread in a medieval stitch pattern. Because that's how I roll. I'm also exhausted. Our party was last night and I was behind the bar most of the night . I saw some lovely people, got lots of hugs and lots of tips and at 3:30 I went to go fall down. Now, of course, I feel like something's run over my head. Ah well, back to work. And for those keeping count? I've bought 38 yards of fabric so far. Woot!

mellyflori @ 2009-07-31T13:59:00

2009-07-31T17:59:55Z

The sun is finally coming out for a few minutes. I'll tell you, my yellow rubber gardening clogs were a *great* idea.

Chloe is off with Aunt Gen, I think they're at the zoo, how awesome is that? Steve is teaching the first in a series of 3 combat archery classes and loving every second. Me? I'm in the internet cafe with my feet up listening to a cutover call. I'm also looking around at the other people in here and thinking "Dude! Shirtless does not equal medieval. And you should stay home and wax. Put your damned clothes back on."

I'm looking forward to my day of relaxing and hanging out tomorrow and some awesome classes on Sunday. I'm not so much looking forward to working again next week but we do what we gotta, eh?

Ok, more work to do.

mellyflori @ 2009-07-30T11:34:00

2009-07-30T15:34:18Z

So I'm tucked in at Mystic Mail and ... I have to tell you, there are some complete computer morons out there. Seriously. I watch them come in and fiddle with the buttons and try to get to their mail and I weep for them. You know at home they just click the "internet" key and it's all done. In the mean time the BYO Laptop guys and I have so many power cables coming out it looks like there's a small seamonster taking over the table. I find that without the opportunity to get up and wander around I'm being incredibly productive. I'm really quiet on conference calls, but that's just polite. I'm hoping that for two of my calls today I'll be a total tourist.

I tended bar last night and enjoyed my spot and my people and watching some of the drunken antics. But mostly I loved crawling into my incredibly comfortable bed and getting some good sleep. Chloe is going to Camp Grandma on Friday afternoon and I think Steve is going to toss some of our funkiest funky mcnasty laundry into the wash. Having more than one undershirt for him is great.. but having more than two would be better. ;)

The weather is mostly good, it rained all day yesterday but seems to be drying out and we're due for scattered thunderstorms for the remainder.. which is about par for the course in the area where we are.

My favorite fabric merchant is open today, I'm going to see what kind of damage I can do.

How are you guys?

mellyflori @ 2009-07-27T12:58:00

2009-07-27T16:58:14Z

So it's Pennsic.. but it's oddly not Pennsic because I'm working the whole time. Still, there's a nice duke from the Midrealm sitting next to me at the Panera and he's working the whole time, too. Perhaps I'll have a work buddy. In the mean time the Panera is comfy, if a bit loud, and I'll get to pick up ice and stuff before I go back.

I miss my girl and I'll be happy when I'm back on site and I can hug and kiss on folks and enjoy the good weather. Camp is probably 100% set up by now. When I left this morning there only remained one line of sheet wall and some futzing in the kitchen. We have a hot shower and a comfy bed and Chloe seems to like her little fort. Maybe I'll bring her grilled cheese for dinner.

I miss Cait but she would have loved this year so far.. super early landgrab approval, super fast setup, cool weather, lots of hugs.

Sorry, this entry is kind of a list of random thoughts at this point. I'm going to stop now and go pay the rent on my chair by getting myself a sammich. You guys hang in there.

mellyflori @ 2009-07-17T13:58:00

2009-07-17T17:58:39Z

Overdue but just what I needed today. :)

Pennsic classes I'd take (or not) based just on the name:Pennsic classes I'd take (or not) based just on the name:

16th Century Limp Binding - It's ok, it happens to all guys. We can try again later.... you want to just cuddle?

Playing With Fire - We're in a hobby that involves large men getting overly testosteroned up, putting their heads in big metal pots and standing in the sun until their skulls become EZ Bake Ovens, beating each other with sticks, and then rehydrating with beer. You think we're not already playing with fire??

German Mounted Combat - The follow up to How to Mount a German Like a Reasonably Intillegent Saxon.

Lost in Translation - "I said 'I give excellent neck rubs." "And *I* said piss. off."

Sword Choreography to "Layla" - Here's a preview apparently in this choreography you are *both* on your knees *and* beggin' darlin' please. Craziness.

Menage a Trois: Hope Springs Eternal - Seriously. This is the name of the class. Sometimes the jokes write themselves, people.

Stained Glass and Blood: Too much red wine, folks. Know when to say when.

Close your Clothes! - Please, I'm fucking begging you. You're not medieval, you're just half naked and I really don't need to see that much of your hairy, pale, dimpled man boobs. I'm trying to eat here!

Diary of an Old Fat Archaeologist - No mocking, straight up interest. I would absolutely take this if I weren't going to be working.

You're Chancellor of Minors... Now what? - My suggestion? Invisible Fence and shock collars. But that's just me.

The Submission Process - I know people who pay good money for this .. oh.. you meant heraldic submission. Nevermind.

Come Waulk With Me! - It's like a homonym for wok and walk! (This one's just for Gen. And somewhere she's going "HEY! Not funny!"

A Ball from 1503 - And a tit from 1812.

Oops I Ruined My Scroll, Now What? - Have a beer. Seriously.

The Ins and Outs of Heys - And for our club queen crowd, The Ins and Outs of HEEEEEYYYYS! (It's not as funny when you write it out. Damn.)

Mother Goose: The Stories Behind the Rhymes - It's remarkably similar to Behind the Music. The Def Leppard one. Mother Goose comes out with only one arm but she still ROCKS!

How to Re-Head a Djembe - Hint: cover your teeth with your lips.

Pennsic Fools Parade - Otherwise known as "The Line for the ATM at Midnight Madness."

mellyflori @ 2009-07-17T10:37:00

2009-07-17T14:37:33Z

Some things:

Chloe is about to turn 2. OMG DO NOT APPROVE!

Pennsic starts next week so... sewing sewing sewing. New cotes for Steve, linen undershirts, hose, and some Turkish coats for me.

The first queen I ever knew in the SCA passed away this morning after a nine year struggle with breast cancer. She was just wonderful and really something special and I hate this fucking disease so much. I hate it so much.

It is map approval time and packing time and last-minute sewing time and there is this huge aching physical hole in me where Caitlin ought to be. By now she would be bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet going "Pennsic Pennsic Pennsic!" and calling me every 5 minutes to say "Is it Pennsic yet?" We will sit in that field on landgrab morning and I will remember her in her fuzzy leopard print bathrobe, so excited to start the process that she *ran* back from the barn at a full tilt, laughing almost the whole way.

Of course, I'll also remember that she hit a gopher hole about 30 feet from her car and went down like an antelope in a nature documentary, and there was this loud crack and then she got up, hissing, swearing, and limping. She wrapped her leg in an ace bandage and got on with the day. She diagnosed herself with a bad sprain and refused to let it ruin her good time. She'd stop by the point to get her leg re-wrapped daily and she would medicate with cider and friends and the just pure absolute joy of being smack in the middle of her happy place. Amusingly, when she went in for her initial bone scan just after her diagnosis the tech said "When did you break your ankle?" And she and I both said "Ooooh." Bitch walked around the whole time with a broken ankle. Bitch was hard core.

I love you guys. I'm sorry I've been so quiet but I've been incredibly busy, jobs upon jobs upon jobs and appointments with my medical team, and a toddler, and school, and occasionally sleeping.

Wednesday I sent cussata and traveller the rudest joke I've seen in years and they both laughed. I'm totally considering using it as my litmus test for friends. Hee!

List of Pennsic classes coming today. Woot!

mellyflori @ 2009-06-22T21:57:00

2009-06-23T01:57:34Z

Me: What's that fifth taste? It's sweet, sour, salty-

Steve: Semen?

Me: I hate you.

(it's umami, btw)