31 March 2007

In a quick escape from the house for a burger, we encountered a wonderful surprise.  In the parking lot, was the beginning of a gathering of “auto show” participants!  I snapped this photo of two pretty rides and had a nice little chat with the driver of the red car.  By the time we left an hour or so later, there were rows and rows of beautiful antique and high performance and specialty vehicles.  I wish we’d had the time to park and wander around gawking, but we did not.   There was too much work awaiting me in the workshop.

I’m still there, now.  Working on Michael’s doublet.  I took a detour to alter a couple of skirts for Wendy—she and I had a great visit and Bill and Kyle watched the hockey game.  And her skirts have a new lease on life for the new faire season.

~MB

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30 March 2007

It’s almost three a.m. and it just stopped raining.  It pretty much rained for two days straight.   The scary severe, tornado-producing weather that was forecast never really developed—it was just a great couple of days of thunderstorms and fairly gentle rain.  Right up until we wanted to go out for dinner tonight!  Kyle was actually driving home from work, when the downpour let loose.  It rained cats and dogs and a few pigs and geese, too.  We almost didn’t go out, but since we’re out of milk, and we have a personal policy of not ordering pizza when it could be dangerous to deliver it, we had few options for eating without going out.  Then we decided we’d be doing No Frills a favour, ’cause no one in their right mind would go out in that rain!  They’d be glad for our business and we’d have a quiet dinner.  My photo was taken while riding in the car, driving through the pouring rain.

Well, there were a whole lot of left-brained folks at No Frills tonight.  In fact, first time ever—we didn’t stay.  There was actually not one empty table when we got there!  And I think it must have been some sort of March Madness final on TV, ’cause the place was hopping!  So, we trundled back to the car, pretty soggy by this time (in all fairness, Kyle did drop me at the curb, and then go and get the car to pick me up) and we headed to Taco Cabana.  I enjoyed my meal there with Da recently, and Kyle hadn’t been in a long time. 

We had just ordered our food, when we ran into Robert and Kathleen, and their girls Rachel and Ariel—folks I know as pet patrons at faire, but Kyle actually knows Kathleen as a co-worker at American Airlines.  Anyway, they suggested a table for six, and we had a delightful visit with them.  Once back home again, it was back to work for me. 

I finished the pearling of Emily’s sleeves tonight!  Wa-hoo!  And then I cut out three doublet skirts, and two complete sets of bias trim for the last of my Scarborough orders.  Feeling pretty good about all that, I answered the call of the cat alarm at just after two o’clock. 

I’ll allow myself to sleep in tomorrow, and then I’ll spend a good ten to twelve-hour day in the workshop.  Sunday we’ll be at the faire site most of the day, setting up both East Wind Games and Pendragon Costumes.  The final countdown begins . . .

~MB

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27 March, 2007

Keys to the house? Not likely, certainly not my house anyway. Although I’d sure love to have the door which those keys actually fit. I can only imagine that it’d be as old and grandiose and rustic as these keys are.
Definitely there can never be made the case that we don’t have interesting things surrounding us. These keys hang on the front porch just outside the door. They’re hanging from a candle-holder that until very recently held a candle. But in our neck of the world, an outdoor candle doesn’t make too much sense.
Cheers.

~KR (27 March, 2007)

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.8 sec (4/5)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

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26 March, 2007

I’ve lived in Arlington for a very long time; 27 (or so) years. I’ll admit to having never noticed these two stacks before. I like to think that it’s simply because I’ve never been driving by the Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in North Arlington while they were burning off, rather than that I’m inattentive. I certainly have looked for this every day since to no avail.
I’m not overly happy with the photos; next time I’ll get out of the car and get a closer look at things, but the fence and the guard scared me off.
Cheers.

~KR (26 March, 2007)

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 58 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

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25 March, 2007

There’s noone that can say I don’t like beer. I have many great passions in my life, but beer is one of those that seems to always sit in the first chair. When my local closed a couple of years ago (R.I.P. O’Dwyers), Tom, the owner, sold off a great majority of the decorations he had acquired for his wonderful pub. I acquired this one (along with a number of other very cool items) for a song. It now hangs proudly in the doorway of my office at the house. It’s a wonderful memory and reminder of some good times.
Slainte!

~KR (25 March, 2007)

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.1
Focal Length: 16.9 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

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29 March 2007

These three pretty things are handblown glass tumblers that I made!  Every summer for the past three years, Ginger and Kelly and myself have had the wonderful opportunity to study under the amazing Shannon Jane Morgan of Girl Glass. Shannon is a mostly self-taught, extremely talented glassblower.  We consider her a master, although she will sometimes argue that.  She has generously given us the gift of her time and her studio and her supplies, and we have tried to be the best apprentices we can be.  It is after all, the opportunity of a lifetime.

Somewhere along the line, I developed a particular love for the use of glass “canes” as colour in a piece, and I’ve chosen to make a number of items using them.  I made Kyle a blue one that he keeps at work, then the pink one for myself, in 2005.  Then, in 2006, I made the purple and green ones.  What I’m crazy proud of is that these three are so similar in size and shape.  They sit now, on the little shelf over my kitchen sink, and I get to look at them every day.  Every day beauty. 

Today, another full outfit left my possession to go home to its new owner—Leah’s burgundy and ivory ensemble is complete.  Woo Hoo! Tonight I worked on sewing more pearls onto Emily’s sleeves.  And now, I’m going to get some sleep—I’m in bed before eleven for the first time this week.   Heck—I’m in bed before three a.m. for the first time this week!

~MB

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28 March 2007

Early in the day, I got a wild hair that I should take a photo of this necklace to send to my dear friend Allyson.  She is a very talented jewelry designer and creator, and has herself made some of my very favourite pieces.  This one she did not make, but I am desperate to have a cool pair of earrings that matches it!  I know she can do that!

To see some of Allyson’s available designs, check out her website–Persimmon Jewelry.

There was never time today to take any other pictures.  Another day of work, work, work.  In fact, the self-imposed deadline I was trying to meet tonight—still not met.  It’s four a.m., though, and I’ve got to get a little sleep.  I will finish all this hand sewing tomorrow! 

~MB

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27 March 2007

Happy Birthday Mama! 

Of course, I know she’ll never read this, but it just feels right to say it.

Kyle and I were on our way to dinner when I realized I now have pretty little purple phlox in bloom in the garden.  The poor, neglected garden, where I haven’t even had time to pull weeds or take up last fall’s leaves.  Just a couple more weeks of working seven (or eight) days a week, and I’ll start to have time for such things.  I really look forward to doing some gardening!

So, anyway, when we got home from dinner, Kyle disappeared and I caught him coming back inside the house, camera in hand.  I have no idea what photos he was taking, but it gave me the idea to try to shoot the phlox.  It was dark, so the flash washed too much colour out of my photo.  Kyle then volunteered to hold a flashlight for me!  So, he held the little torch he carries in his backpack, and I desperately, and not-too-successfully, tried to hold my camera still enough to get a decent photo.  Sadly, this is the best of the batch. 

The purple and white phlox are part of a work in progress—all the flowering plants in that garden zone bloom white or purple, and nearby is the TCU spinner, a giant horned frog resin sculpture and a “horned frog crossing” sign.  Someday, I’d like to have purple and white blooms in there the year ’round.

~MB

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26 March 2007

This one’s for Leah.  I’ve been working on beading her underskirt a couple of hours at a time, for three weeks.  It’s gonna be yummy!  Ivory damask with pearls and little gold beads.  And the bodice and overskirt are this beautiful, fancy geometric brocade, trimmed in a custom-made gold fabric trim.  The sleeves are big, hanging sleeves that have a soft, sexy, curved shape and end in a point.  The whole thing ought to be done within the next day or so. 

~MB

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24 March, 2007

One, Two, Three, Four, Five…Five Stop Signs…mwahhh, hahh hahhh haaaaa!
I guess TXDOT (TX Department of Transportation) REALLY wants people to STOP at this junction. The composition isn’t what I would normally strive for, and perhaps some day I’ll go back and re-conceptualize the photo. As is, it was taken from the driver side window of my car as I waited at the cross light. This area is under a massive amount of construction right now as they are completing a bypass that circles around to the South of Midlothian. Sadly, it seems that downtown Midlothian businesses are suffering from this new highway. In fact, the only reason I even got to take this picture is due to the side-trip we took to get food at a fantastic little Mexican food restaurant in the downtown area. Sadly, it’s closed up and gone so we continued on our saddened way. It’s then that I saw this row of Stop Signs. WTF?? I took the photo.
Cheers.

~KR (24 March, 2007)

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 58 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

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