Ready to hit the highway!

And I feel like one of the Beverly Hillbillies! lol It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle but Tom manged to fit everything I wanted to bring except one wooden chair was swapped out for two camp chairs. We are planning to spread the 6 and-a-half hour drive to Pennsic out over two days with lots of pit stops for me to get out of the car and move around. We joked that if I buy anything at an antique store it has to fit in my lap. Some people had recommended that we wait and buy food after we get there using the insides of the coolers as packing space but I went with the opposite aproach of buying food here then using the cooler space to bring home the stuff I plan to buy there!

Another Pennsic Prep/To-Do List Update

We've gotten a few more things done so the the list is nearly complete now. :) The main thing is that Tom cut all the pieces for the tables yesterday then brought some hole saw drill attachments home from work today to cut the designs in the leg braces and assembled the front legs. I applied Howard Feed & Wax to the table legs and our bed frame and used Howard Butcher Block Finish on the table top.


We pretty much followed the construction detailed at Golden Lyon with a few minor changes. We cut the front legs from 1x2 lumber and the back legs and cross pieces were cut from 1x4 lumber because we had bought too much for the chests. When we put the table up we discovered that the 1x4 cross pieces weren't stable enough so, since we had made two sets of legs and are only bringing one table with us, we doubled up the cross pieces. Next time we'll just use 2x4's. LOL The other thing we did differently was to use hole saws instead of a jigsaw to cut the designs. the upper design was cut with a 1.5" hole saw and the bottom was done with a 2.75" hole saw.
Now that that project is finished the To-List looks like this:
TO DO:
*make an anniversary card
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*make a scrapbook page to complete the July ScrapFreak challenges
*grocery shop
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs

ON HOLD:
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE I've uploaded what I have done and bought the papers I needed to finish but have set the project aside to finish after we get home.

Pennsic Packing

I hauled everything to the dining room today and reorganized it to fit into the car. I ended up putting the feast gear and cooking stuff in the smaller chest after discovering that the Coleman stove is too tall to fit.This will be loaded in the car as is. The Coleman stove, beverage cooler, and non-perishible food will be housed in the larger chest once we are on site but it will be broken down for transport. I took our bedding and throws out of the tub they were in and divivded them between three stuff sacks so that they can be crammed into nooks and crannies in the car. Our clothing is fitting into three tubs- one for Tom and two for me. :D Add to that three chairs, two rugs, a tapestry, a table, the bed, and the tent and it will be a challenge for Tom to load it into the car! And lets not forget the BIG ASS food cooler. Speaking of which, I was wrong about being done with the sewing projects because I had forgotten about the coffin cover/cooler cover that I had cut out at Ermas' class. So I spent the late afternoon & early evening getting that done.
The updated To-Do list looks like this:
TO DO:
*make scrapbook pages for Get Meaningful lessons 19 & 20
*make an anniversary card
*apply beeswax finish to the rope bed frame
*apply butcher block finish to the table tops
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs
*color my hair

IN PROGRESS:
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE

DONE:
I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room on Monday (7/20)
*order Kacie's birthday cake
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish to the chests he's working on
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring
*then cake & ice cream at home
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic
*make grocery list
*apply butcher block finish to wooden feast gear
*make a scrapbook page for the Get Meaningful lesson 18
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make at least two partlets
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me
*bring the camping gear and garb up from the basement so Tom can figure out how to pack it in the car
*sew cover for The Big Ass cooler

I think I'm done sewing and ready to pack!

I finished the rolled hem around the top of the green chiton this morning and sewed on the buttons. The front and back panels are both 56" wide. The back neck opening is about 12" and I gave it an extra 6" of drape in the front for 18". For the openings down the sleeves the back edge has an inch more than the front between buttons which allows for a nice gap. For the purple chiton I cut the front panel to 44" and back to 40" giving it a 4" drape for the front neck and equal amounts front and back between the sleeve buttons. I think I prefer the extra drape I get with the green.


In addition to the two Roman tunica/chiton and pale seafoam palla I will be packing my old blue Italian dress (the first dress I made for myself):

and the two Campi inspired Italian dresses I made this spring:

I'll be bringing several pair of sleeves to mix and match with the Italian day dresses.
I'm bringing the black zimarra in case it gets chilly in the evenings and to wear as "housecoat" for morning coffee.

I'm bringing eight camecie/smocks, four partlets, ten pair of socks, plus two petticoats and two pair of bloomers as extra layers for chilly evenings.
I'm also bringing a non-period warm snuggley polar fleece ruana.(I really don't mind heat and humidity but cold and damp makes me hurt.)
I'm not sure if I'll have room but I would like to bring my Florentine gown:

Time to start carrying everything up from storage to the dining room to see if I can make it fit in the space that I have allotted myself for garb.

Still Working on the To-Do List

I can mark one more thing "done". I worked on them all day Friday and got got two more partlets done.

TO DO:
*make scrapbook pages for Get Meaningful lessons 19 & 20
*make an anniversary card
*apply beeswax finish to the rope bed frame
*apply butcher block finish to the table tops
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*bring the camping gear and garb up from the basement so Tom can figure out how to pack it in the car
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs


IN PROGRESS:
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me NEEDS TO BE HEMMED AND HAVE BUTTONS SEWN ON

DONE:
I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room on Monday (7/20)
*order Kacie's birthday cake
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish to the chests he's working on
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring
*then cake & ice cream at home
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic
*make grocery list
*apply butcher block finish to wooden feast gear
*make a scrapbook page for the Get Meaningful lesson 18
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make at least two partlets
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th

Check off one more!

I spent some time after dinner applying butcher block conditioner to all of my wooden bowls, plates, and spoons. For one thing I was a little surprised by how many pieces we have. (The photos show the pieces I'm packing for Pennsic which is only about a third of the total.) For another thing I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the wood looks.

To-Do List Update

Got a few things done. Added a few things to the list since Monday. :sigh:

I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room on Monday- DONE
*order Kacie's birthday cake DONE
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish or milk paint to the chests and tables he's working on DONE
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom WILL USE CARDS PREVIOUSLY MADE
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring DONE
tagging along when Kim takes her to get a tatoo- POSTPONED
then cake & ice cream at home DONE
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic DONE
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic DONE
*make grocery list DONE
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE
*make a scrapbook page for the Get Meaningful lesson 18 DONE & EMAILED
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me
*make at least two partlets- one with gold lace trim
(the plan is to do the machine sewing on Thursday then do the hand finishing on Friday when Rebecca comes over)
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*make scrapbook pages for Get Meaningful lessons 19 & 20
*make an anniversary card
*apply beeswax finish to the rope bed frame
*apply butcher block finish to the table tops
*apply butcher block finish to wooden feast gear
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*bring the camping gear and garb up from the basement so Tom can figure out how to pack it in the car
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

My baby turns 18 today. At 10:17 this evening to be precise. I feel old.

Whew I'm tired!

I did manage to get a few things accomplished today even though I wasted a few hours with silly stuff this morning. :D
We have an exterminator coming tomorrow to help us deal with some critters that have taken up residence in our kitchen. It's all I can do to keep up with the main living areas these days but I didn't want them looking at this sty and thinking "no wonder these people have bugs!" so I worked on cleaning up some of the peripheral areas today. I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room. The good news is that I offered a few things on freecycle. The bad news is that I am exhausted and will probably fall asleep any minute now!
Upadating the to-do list:
*order Kacie's birthday cake DONE
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom WILL USE CARDS PREVIOUSLY MADE
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring, tagging along when Kim takes her to get a tatoo, then cake & ice cream at home
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me and possibly...
*buy trim for the chiton so that I can get away with machine sewing the hems and disguise the machine stitching
*make at least two partlets- one with gold lace trim
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic DONE
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic DONE
*make grocery list DONE
*make an anniversary card
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish or milk paint to the chests and tables he's working on DONE
and the bed frame

Silly Timewasters

I've been awake since 5:00am but rather than doing anything productive to whittle away at that to-do list I've been wasting time on line. Doing stuff like this.

You Are an Ice Cream Sandwich

You are well grounded, reliable, and very balanced. You love to work hard, but you also know how to take it easy. People might be surprised to know you have a very goofy side to you. You like to let loose and have fun. You just don't let yourself go too crazy!

What Frozen Treat Are You?

You Have Your PhD in Men

You understand men almost better than anyone. You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well. Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful.

How Well Do You Understand Men?

You're Totally Sarcastic

You sarcastic? Never! You're as sweet as a baby bunny. Seriously, though, you have a sharp tongue - and you aren't afraid to use it. And if people are too wimpy to deal with your attitude, then too bad. So sad.

How Sarcastic Are You?

Kim and K *really* need to take this quiz. :wink:

Pretty Damn Spiffy

Aren't they! I just wasn't feeling motivated to sew or scrap this afternoon so I went out to the garage and started waxing the small chest as Tom finished assembling the larger one. The lids still need to have the finger holes cut but Tom plans to do that at work tonight because they have better tools there. The plan is to use the larger chest to hold our cooler of beverages and snacks while the smaller one will hold the Coleman stove, propane bottles, and pot & pans. Tom used robyyan's instructions.



Our large food cooler is going to have a coffin cover that Ermas helped me cut out. I forgot to add sewing that together to my previous to-do list.

13 Days

Thirteen more days before we head to Pennsic and so much to do between now and then!
Nothing has been accomplished the past few days with Norm's visitation, rosary service, and funeral mass plus me being in the midst of an arthritis/fibro/whateverthehellitis flare-up and feeling too tired and brain fried to do anything productive. So the to-do list includes:
*order Kacie's birthday cake
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring, tagging along when Kim takes her to get a tatoo, then cake & ice cream at home
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me and possibly...
*buy trim for the chiton so that I can get away with machine sewing the hems and disguise the machine stitching
*make at least two partlets- one with gold lace trim
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic
*make an anniversary card
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish or milk paint to the chests and tables he's working on and the bed frame
Okay! I hope that's everything!

Done with Tom's Tunics!

Woohoo! These things are just so boring to work on that I am happy to finally be done. I did the brown and the green back in the spring so he had something to wear then set them aside. I pulled them back out and finished the navy tunic then set them aside again. I finally made myself finish the rust and the teal tunics so that, along with his ren faire shirts, Tom will have enough garb to get through Pennsic. Next up are a couple of coifs so he won't burn his bald head then his garb will be done and I can get back to sewing my things.

Mathematically Challenged!

Last night I needed something to occupy my brain after receiving some bad news so I sat down and worked out a cutting diagram for the camping tables (We can cut four leg braces and a 3'x4' tabletop and a 3'x5' dining table out of one sheet. Woohoo!) and made a list of the materials we needed to buy today for the tables and the break down chests. It didn't take me too long to figure out that the 5' (60") of 1x4 I thought we needed for the chests was not right. What I read as 60 inches was actually 60 FEET! LOL

Dyeing to be Roman!

I finally finished up the Roman tunica that I had started months ago and set aside. It is made of light cotton with a woven stripe pattern including metallic threads. I know. The fabric is completely unperiod but at the time of purchase I didn't care. (I could argue for the use of cotton but have my doubts about the metallic stripe. :D )It started out wider (for full arm coverage) and longer (to be bloused at the waist) but that much fabric was just too unflattering so I cut it narrower and shortened the hem so that the sleeves are not quite elbow length and and I can belt it under the bust with very little blousing which I feel looks better and is more comfortable to me. I picked up a couple of very sheer gauze scarves and turned then into a palla wrap. Ideally the palla should be wider but I couldn't justify the expense of four scarves nor could I find such sheer drapey linen by the yard.


After discovering how easy to make and comfortable to wear this Roman garb is I made the decision to make myself another tunica for Pennsic instead of another Campi dress. I'll still be from the same area I'll just be going back in time several hundres more years! I found some lightweight linen on clearance for $2.50 a yard but it was bright sunshine yellow. I'm not too fond of yellow. So I purchased a packet of Dylon ocean blue dye and dyed my yellow fabric green this morning.:) As soon as I finish up Tom's tunics I'll be making myself a tunica from my pretty green linen.
original yellow

preparing the dye bath

after 15 minutes

after one hour

after rinsing and drying

Another Project for Tom

I've been working to get ahead on my scrapbooking projects this week so I can get back to the Pennsic prep next week. I still need to add the neck facings to and hem two more tunics for Tom and whip up a couple of partlets for me. I plan to make another dress, too, but might not get to it 'til the following week. While I am sewing Tom will be tackling the wood working projects. In addition to the table posted previously he will be making a pair of chests. I found instructions to make two chests from one sheet of plywood and five feet of 1x4. Here's what the chests made by Greydragon look like.

I intend to use the larger one to hold our beverage cooler and the smaller one to store the Coleman stove and cookware. Sunday I am attending Lady Ermas' class to make a fabric cover for our larger food cooler.

I am Cindy- fat & sassy!

I gave you a little peek at my page for the Get meaningful Lesson 16: Then & Now and, now that the lesson has been posted, I can reveal my layout.

I'm also participating in an All About Me page swap with some of the girls at ScrapFreak. I created my pages (12 of them) using some of my favorite scrapping products and techniques- hand cutting, inking, stamping, rhinestone bling, Thickers alphabet stickers, and my favorite color. While I didn't handwrite my journaling list I am handwriting my name, screen name, and the date on the backs of the pages.

Today's "Deep Thought"

Time for a computer break and something to eat. I just finished my sample for the next Get Meaningful lesson and I have to say that I am loving it! I am so glad that Bree asked me to do this. The lessons really make me think about my life and what is important. I think 20 years from now my grandaughter will be more interested in knowing that I was a real person than what we all got for Christmas, kwim?
I've always felt that journaling is a very important part of scrapbooking. I want the people who look at my albums to learn something about me and my life. I don't just want a pretty photo album. I like that the Get Meaningful lessons make me dig just a little deeper. Lesson 16: Then & Now will be up soon but here's a little peek.

Senior Year

My baby girl will start her senior year of high school in September and I think it's important for her to record her memories of this time in her life so I created a mini album for her using the format from the free class mentioned in my previous post. The cover will hold three wallet sized poses from her senior portraits. The inside pages are designed to showcase two 2.5"x3.5", one 3.5"x5", or one 4"x6" photo each month. Each pocket insert has three 3"x5" blocks that can each hold a photo or journaling as she choses. I used products already on hand and mixed and matched whatever red, white, and black papers I had. (You can see more images in my ScrapFreak gallery.)

Free Class

I'm really having a hard time being disciplined and continuing to work on my sewing projects when I am just itching to get started on the album for Bree's free class at ScrapFreak!