24 April 2007
When Kyle and I are in the bedroom, moving pillows, turning down the bed, brushing our teeth—that seems to be when Artemis is most interested in human interaction. She wants to play. And, of course (dogs have owners, cats have staff) we usually oblige her whim.
I snapped this (and a few others) while Kyle was playing with her and before she got so worked up about it all that she hissed and ran under the bed. Crazy cat.
~MB
14 April, 2007
I’m still playing catchup. Three posts yesterday, perhaps I can get three more in today, the 24th of April.
The 14th of April was a very, very cold day at Scarborough Faire but without the joy of snow as we had the previous Saturday. It was just cold, miserable & joyless.
It also appears as though I somehow messed up on the sequence. The last photo I posted yesterday; the one of the feather, was actually taken on the 14th, not the 13th. While this photo I shall post now, was taken on that Friday the 13th. I’m not sure how I made the mistake since I specifically chose a fantastical subject for a fantastical day.
This is one of numerous guardians we have scattered through our lives. Obtained from Donna who once owned the shop I now call East Wind Games, this young dragon hangs peacefully from the ceiling at our house. Donna’s product is delightful with a fantastical, whimsical element that is hard to beat; in short they are a beautiful addition to the family. This one is named Jade.
Cheers.
~KR (14 April, 2007)
Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/3.1
Focal Length: 32.2 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction
23 April 2007
A wonderful evening with wonderful people. We gathered at Ginger’s for dinner tonight—Chinese delivery— and a few hands of Mah Jong with George before he returns home to Wisconsin tomorrow. We love to play this game, and tonight we taught Laura to play! And now, tonight for as long as I can last, and tomorrow all day, I’ll be continuing work on my order for our friend “Big Bill.” He’ll come for a fitting tomorrow evening and by Thursday or so, his outfit should be all done!
~MB
13 April, 2007
Friday the 13th, triskadecaphobics beware. Luckily, I’m no such creature. Born on Halloween, I’ve always been aware of and amused/amazed by superstitions and those who fall prey to such; but I’ve never been one myself. So, I met the day with nary a glance and certainly no fear or trepidation.
This photo is of an amazing feather that my very (I miss you) dear friend Kelly procured from me. It’s amazing and fluffy and natural; it is quite unlike most of the hat feathers that vendors at Renaissance Festivals the country over try to stick in your hat. Kelly was of the opinion that I should have a fluffy feather, so there it now resides comfortably ensconced in a fabulous leather tricorn. It is lit from above by track-lighting that we installed a couple of years ago at the shop; yes this photo was taken at Scarborough Faire where we spent a very cold night in preparation for another day at East Wind Games.
Cheers.
~KR (13 April, 2007)
Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
12 April, 2007
I have no choice but to post numerous times a day to get caught up. It’s difficult, at the best of times to accomplish this, but on occasion the small sacrafice can be made; that is push something to the side momentarily while I retake the task to get my photos & words online.
This photo was taken on 12 April and it, too, is being posted on 23 April:
This road retreats from one of my primary driving arteries into an area that, despite lack of rainfall, almost always has some vestiges of water remaining. Enough water, in fact, that many of the local fisherman in the area take sport & solace down this mostly abandoned and overgrown road.
Cheers
~KR (12 April, 2007)
Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 21.3 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
11 April, 2007
It’s so easy to get behind. Between dead-batteries, unfamiliar cameras, business-trips, entrepreneurial endeavours and trying to have a life of some sort, it’s just so easy to get behind. So, here I am on the 23rd of April, making a post that should have been up on the 11th (my Mother’s birthday). Happy Birthday, mum!
They’re loud, they’re obnoxious, they’re irreverent and have no sense whatsoever of the real world. They’re ill-behaved, screaming children and they infest my street; but they do make decent photographic subjects. Headed home that 11th of April, the sun was just starting it’s disappearing act silhouetting these two children as they romped with abandon in the busy street. I stopped and took the photo hoping to capture a little of the beauty of youth that these children so frequently do not display. It’s not that I dislike kids overmuch, it’s that I despise these kids. They torture my dogs, throw eggs at my house, tromp through my yard and wake me up screaming at 6:30 every Saturday morning. But, when silhoutted by a setting sun, they can even appear peaceful.
Cheers.
~KR (11 April, 2007)
Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 58 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
22 April 2007
East Wind Games, our little shop at Scarborough Renaissance Festival, occupies a cute little building that has a past of belonging to folks who were a bit more “green-thumb” oriented than we are. We are proud to have some really pretty blooming plants in our little garden areas–this one in particular is amazing! It’s a little rose bush—and by this, I mean the roses are little—and it puts out probably hundreds of blooms! And the really remarkable thing is that the roses are not all the same colour! Each rose tends to be a beautiful pink/peach/orange sort of colour—but some are almost totally pink. Others are almost totally orange. It’s a truly lovely little bush, and we think about our wonderful predecessors every time we gaze on it.
~MB
21 April 2007
The photo didn’t come out quite as well as I’d hoped, but I’m very proud of the subject matter. This is a threesome of wonderful people—Craig, MaryAnn and Doug—best known to Scarborough Faire-goers as “The Rookes”—The Lord Mayor, his lovely lady, and his brother the Lord High Magistrate.
I had the pleasure of outfitting MaryAnn a number of years ago, and she still wears that ensemble beautifully. This season I have had the further honour of creating the coordinated look seen here on these two fine gentlemen. It was an interesting challenge—making the two outfits very similar, but also distinctly different. We worked to choose four primary fabrics that I then used to different purposes in each of the two outfits. The result was just what I was hoping for—and I believe the brothers are pleased as well. And, that is what really makes me happy!
~MB
20 April 2007
Every spring, Kyle and I try to attend for at least a few hours, a wonderful event that takes place in downtown Fort Worth—the Main Street Arts Festival. In the early years of attending, the event took place anywhere from a week to a month prior to Scarborough Faire beginning. So, we had little to no conflict and going was easy. Then, I started doing a lot of sewing for cast members and my deadlines began to affect my freedom to attend this event. And, finally, just a few years ago, Scarborough Renaissance Festival moved its dates back three weeks, so that now, the Main Street Festival happens after faire is already in full swing. So, between sewing and weekends committed to faire, going on the Friday night is pretty much our only option.
This year, Kyle was actually able to take a holiday from work—a much needed one for him, I think—and we were able to go downtown earlier in the day than we frequently do. Although, my sewing still kept us home later in the afternoon that I’d hoped, we got there well before dark, and had a wonderful time walking and viewing fabulous art. We got to see a couple of shows and finally head home to do our final packing and pick up the dogs to head to faire.
This is the last photo I took all day. I took a few pretty nice ones of buildings and stuff during the day, but this one ended up being my favourite of the day. Taken from the sixth floor of the parking structure we tend to use, it is a pretty, yet only partial representation of our city’s skyline. It makes me remember fondly the days of the eighties and nineties, when every major building downtown was edged in pretty white lights and the whole city was lit 365 days a year! I miss that, but of course, with today’s energy costs, it would be so expensive it would seem irresponsible. Kinda sad, isn’t it?
~MB
19 April 2007
At nearly 2 a.m. I left my workshop to check on things in the house, and this is what I found. The soccer game was still playing on the TV (Arsenal v. Man City) and my dear husband was fast asleep, somewhat buried under the cushions of his chair! I stayed up working quite a while longer, but he moved his tired self to the bedroom at this point. Working seven days a week is bad enough, but add to that a cross-country business trip on a Wednesday, and a wife that keeps you awake with her work and lights and noise, at all hours of the night when you’d rather be sleeping, and it totally sucks!
The photo isn’t very good–I was really trying not to wake him up! But, in the background you can see all the boxes of new East Wind Games product that he had gotten all checked in, and priced, and entered in his inventory before falling asleep.
I got the queen’s sleeves all done, though!
~MB
