Laurensa

Well crap

2009-03-09T11:34:38Z

I thought I had managed to avoid this horrid cold everyone else has had.

No such luck. I'm not talking today, I'm croaking.

I'm sick. And I'm crabby. But I repeat myself.

Aaaah

2009-02-26T00:01:55Z

I just ran a search through my email. Searched for messages I HAD have for one reason or another, messages from my dad or sisters with info I need (such as new phone numbers) and sorted them into subfolders.

Then I hit Select All on everything left in the InBox, and hit Delete. Over 4,000 messages, gone. Poof. I've been promising myself I'd get them read, and it just isn't going to happen. I refuse to stress over email anymore, that's just dumb.

It's just the wind..

2009-02-12T21:17:09Z

We've been having wind gusts last night and today of up to 60 miles an hour. Last night was trash night, and by the time I got outside to reclaim our recycle bin, at eight this morning, it had vanished. Poof. Gone. Nowhere along the sides of the road, not in the back yard, just gone. We generally put out a pretty full bin each week, so I called the township to find out how to go about getting a new one.

In order to get a new bin for free, I would have to go to the regional police, and file a report that it was stolen, then take that report to the township office. Isn't just a total waste of time? Are the North York Regional Police going to arrest the wind?

Alternately, I can go to the township office and pay $5 for a new bin. Guess which option I'm going to take.

laurensa @ 2009-02-06T19:02:00

2009-02-07T00:03:46Z

Note" eating dried pineapple is like eating sunshine.

Also note, a Wii Fit is an instrument of torture. :-)

laurensa @ 2009-02-03T08:48:00

2009-02-03T13:53:10Z

on my new and quite possibly all-consuming new quest.

I was Googling Sir John Brockett, in the hopes of finding a copy of his portrait, and found an entire BOOK about the Brocketts of Brockett Hall, available as a PDF on Google Books!

AND it specifically mentions the ancestor Donna had found, Thomas Reade. When I first found Brockett Hall, where Thomas Reade had died, we assumed he must have been a servant there. Turns out he OWNED the place, through marriage to Sir John Brockett's daughter. And Thomas Reade was a knight as well!

The book includes a picture of the portrait I seek, but sadly not of his wife. I shall have to continue my research. Woe is me, however shall I bear up under this burden?

New Project Glee

2009-02-03T12:32:03Z

So. My sister has been tracing our family tree, and she's been focusing on the British branch, if only because she doesn't speak or read Norwegian. I've ben contributing as I can, but most of my "help" has been squeeing over bits of information.

The other day, though, between the two of us we uncovered a connection to the Brockett family of Hertfordshire, and we appear to be direct descendants of Sir John Brockett and his wife, whose portraits hang in the staircase of Brockett Hall.

Hence the new project--these portraits were painted by Antonio Moro, and depict the couple in clothing "of the Flemish style". My mission is to find images of these portraits, and recreate those costumes for myself and my husband. I like Flemish garb anyway, and how cool would it be to know that your garb is an accurate copy of something worn in a portrait by your own ancestor?

Now the problem--these portraits are apparently not considered among Moro's most important works. Apparently portraits of people like Queen Mary are just a tad more interesting to other people. So I'm on a hunt to find pics somewhere, anywhere, of the portraits. I've written to Brockett Hall asking for information, but since it's now a hotel and golf resort, I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope from them.

I love Son #4

2009-01-31T04:20:34Z

Really, I do. He's cute and funny and charming and he's just in the best of moods right now, all giggles and non-stop talking and rays of bleeping sunshine.

But it's after eleven, and I want to mop the kitchen floor before I go to bed. And he's popped out of bed and come running through the kitchen, into the sewing room, at least six times the last 90 minutes. He's a jack in the box.

If I could bottle that energy, I'd be richer than Bill Gates. (And my kitchen floor would be clean.)

I've said it before

2009-01-19T03:00:09Z

And I'll say it again.

FabricDragon is an evil, evil woman. (But in a good way.)

I saw her at a local SCA event last weekend and somehow came away with 12 yards of the most delicious tropical weight medium brown wool. It's already been washed and dried and is sitting in the sewing room percolating. I know half of it wants to be another Italian working class dress, but I'm not sure of the other half.

Although it would make a gorgeous 15th century kirtle, and I have been wanting one of those. Hmmmm. With a red open hood. Yesh. Yesh, I think we might have to period hop a little bit. It's only one century, after all.

I hate sleeves

2008-12-29T23:19:52Z

hatethemhatethemhatethem

I spent part of today making a linen smock. Using the Tudor Tailor design, with gored sides, gussets in the sleeves, faced neckline, the whole nine yards. (Well, okay, about 3 yards...)

Everything was going swimmingly, zipping right along, till I came to the sleeves. Now, granted, I haven't sewn a stitch for quite a while, but I know how to set in a sleeve, right?

Wrong. I sewed the blasted thing in inside out. Thank goodness I hadn't finished the seam by the time I noticed it.

Grr. grumble, grouch, swear. Rip it out. Pin it back in the RIGHT way. Start the seam. The bobbin runs out. Change bobbin. Put seam back under presser foot. Jam a pin into base of index finger just deep enough to draw blood. Oh, well, it isn't finished till it's been bled on, right?

I'm done for the night. I have learned when to make a judicious retreat. If I attempt any more tonight, I'll really screw something up.

Apparently

2008-12-29T12:22:20Z

I repeat myself to the kids more often than I realized. I also have a smart-alec for a son.

Me "HOW many times have I told you NOT to eat in the living room??"

Jimmy "699,723."

Reflections over the kitchen sink

2008-12-29T01:49:21Z

on the passing year.

It's been an odd one. Tough, on the whole. Very tough financially, but frankly I'm used to that. I'd be more surprised by a year that was financially flush.

Doing the dishes is a mindless activity, and I was spending the time thinking mostly of missed opportunities and unpleasant or sad things--my father in law's illness, the sudden death of a friend, and my own failures, from failure to lose the weight I always promise myself I will lose, things left undone or unsaid, to things said in anger that hurt someone I cared about. I thought to myself "I need a do- over on 2008"

And then it hit me. In just a couple of days, I will GET that do-over. A new year stretches in front of us, with unspoiled days full of promise. As the days lengthen into spring and summer, they are filled with fresh opportunities to get that project finished, Do that research. Read that book that calls your name from the shelf.

Make that phone call. Tell someone you love them.

And have a GLORIOUS 2009!

Oooh yummy

2008-12-12T20:06:41Z

I just had the most delicious lunch. (It's actually been a delicious day in general, as I have been allll by myself all day and that's a rarity.)

I bought a Spring Mix salad mix, with romaine, tango, and radicchio, then I added in a whole diced tomato and a tangerine. And then I put ordinary everyday Italian salad dressing on it and it was WONDERFUL! I'm having more for dinner tonight. Adding the tangerine really made it perfect.

What will I do when tangerines are out of season again? Such a brief season, and they are so delicious.

And now the teenager is home and wants the computer, and I am going to go mix up cookie dough so the kids and I can bake Christmas cookies together tomorrow.

I also make up a batch of No Bake Cookies for the station's Toys for Tots Marathon tomorrow. I made them a batch last year, and Dave Crockett, the poor deprived soul had never had them before! He declared them to be positively orgasmic, so I think he might like some more. They are so tired by the end of 12 hours on the air, they deserve some goodies. If anyone on my f-list is in the York/Lancaster PA area, it's the Mad Dog and Dave Crusade for Kids Marathon and they will be in a store at the West Manchester Mall in York. They could really use whatever you can give.

SNOW!

2008-11-21T13:06:57Z

Okay, just a teensy bit. Enough to show on the ground, not enough for even York PA schools to close, or even have their beloved two hour delay. And finding gloves for the kids in my Fibber McGee coat closet was a hoot. (There was an alligator in the closet. And a gorilla. No, really. I have boys, you know)

But it's SNOW! YAYAY! (flailing Kermit arms)

laurensa @ 2008-11-21T08:03:00

2008-11-21T13:04:47Z

Happy birthday kuzu no ha!!

laurensa @ 2008-11-18T16:33:00

2008-11-18T21:44:37Z

This entry is overwhelming. If you have any free time, extra supplies, a little cash, **whatever**, you can make a difference.

Pay it forward. It doesn't hurt at all, your ears don't bleed, your pancrease doesn't explode, you clear out a bit of stuff that you've been holding for no particular reason, and you get to feel good about it. Use up those spare beads for a rosary, that scrap of fabric for a neck cooler, those new socks you never got around to opening, smaple packs you got in the mail, that hank of yarn in that color you'd never wear for a scarf (a scarf takes an evening or two to make, just bang it out).

Pay it forward, yo.

GET IT BACK (From marymont)

The Rules:
Step One

- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.

- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ.

Step Two

- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. See above for one option. There's also a LJ group "holiday_wishes" where folks post lists like this) And now here's the important part:

- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

I'd like

1.Sims 2 expansion packs--these are the ones I want

1. Open For Business
2. Pets
3. Seasons
4. Free Time

2.Kass McGann's (Reconstructing History)Tudor gown pattern

3. my paid LJ account renewed

4. a new external hard drive. Mine committed suicide by flinging itself off the desk. It was a sad thing.

5. A musical talent. Any musical talent--to not be able to sing or play an instrument is one of my greatest regrets

6. Enough money to pay the bills. Don't wanna be rich, just want enough to pay the bills and maybe someday buy a house

7. Doctor Who toys, A Ten figure in the long overcoat would warm the cockles of my little heart

8. Most important of all--a job for my husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I miss my sisters, my dad, my oldest friends. I miss swimming in the lakes, the riots of wildflowers along the country roads, the sun setting over trees coated with ice and making them look like they are covered with crystals. Stars sparkling on a coat of crunchy snow that sparkles as if it were covered with diamonds. Cider mills. My god, how do you survive without cider mills? Is it not a moral imperative to take your children to see how cider is made, and then sit outside on a crispy fall afternoon and devour fresh apple cider and warm cinnamon doughnuts? Greenfield Village. Mackinac Island. Ded Bob, the funniest, snarkiest, bawdiest ventriloquist act I'e ever seen,
PA is gorgeous but it's just not home.

Writer's Block: Wild Rumpus

2008-11-14T12:28:11Z

Heh. I AM a character from a kids' book, albeit an invisible one.

I am Max's mother, from Where the Wild Things Are, and my son Steven IS Max. "The night that Max wore his wolf suit, and made mischief of one kind and another.."

This has always been my absolute favorite children's book, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I read that first line, looked at Steven, and giggled. I can just hear him calling out "Let the wild rumpus begin!"

His little brothers, of course, are the monsters on the island, swinging through the trees and stomping up and down in their dance. :-)

Happy Birthday Momito

2008-11-11T13:52:31Z

We miss you.

I Voted

2008-11-04T17:57:06Z

And it was good.

Even if the lady at the polling place was snippy. Hey, old bat, if you don't want to DO the job, don't TAKE the job!

There were no lines, but they said it had been steady all morning.

They asked me for my ID (I hadn't brought my purse) and the woman writing down names really got snippy. She said it was to speed things up. Now, I ask you, how is waiting for me to fish out my ID and you copy it from the small print any faster than me spelling it for you? I did remind her that PA law says you only need ID if you are a first time voter, and I have voted at the same polling location for YEARS. Greg had my old DL, though, so I don't know what she would have done if he hadn't had it. If she had tried to turn me away, you would have heard me three states away.

(Yes, it would have been faster to have it with me. But we weren't planning on going anywhere else, I've never been asked for ID at the polling place before, and the law says I DON'T NEED IT)

And then we went to McDonald's for breakfast, where I found a hair in my eggs. Now, I know shit happens, so I tried to be discreet when I took it up to the counter. But first they made me wait (when I had already had to wait far longer than is usual), and then they asked me to repeat what I had said. So I said, loudly, "There is a HAIR in my EGGS!"

Got a refund, AND a replacement meal. Which I inspected verra verra carefully before touching. Easy to do since they repaid me with a serving of eggs about half the usual size. At least the OJ was still just as good as ever. :-)

laurensa @ 2008-10-29T15:22:00

2008-10-29T19:23:22Z

Gakked from a few people...

Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.

I won't have time for this

2008-10-29T11:30:29Z

before Halloween and I'm not normally into papercrafts anyway

but this is amazing and I really want to build one for next year

http://www.ravensblight.com/Bella.html

A life size mechanical bat. Made out of paper.

YAYAYAYAY

2008-10-16T15:45:47Z

(flailing Kermit arms of joy)

FIL's cancer has not spread. Chemo and radiation to begin soon, followed by surgery late next month.

Song Meme

2008-10-05T22:34:20Z

Gakked from ladypeyton

This is mine and DH's wedding song, Julia Fordham's "Love Moves In Mysterious Ways"

There are two songs that rather aptly describe our relationship. This one, and Billy Joel's "You May Be Right". lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRK5IvxDyUw

Stolen from kuzu no ha

2008-10-05T00:27:13Z

who understands...

http://sweetwatervisions.com/Pages/exhibit.html

Gawd I want to go home. I think it is the most beautiful place in the world.

Asking for Prayers Again

2008-10-01T12:03:39Z

Found out last night that Greg's dad has cancer.

Please pray--that he will recover (he is only 68, but not in good overall health) and that Greg will find a d*** job in Michigan so that we can be there for his family, no matter what the outcome may be.

It's READ in America Day!

2008-09-27T16:31:44Z

It's a day celebrating my family! Here's to all the Reads in America!

Oh..you mean it isn't about my family? Oh. (Sorry, Dad.)

What do books mean to me?

My favorite quotes of all time

"A room without books is a room without a soul"

"So many books, so little time"

"I like reading because it turns on pictures in your head"

I grew up in a family of bookworms, raised by parents who were bookworms who had been raised by bookworms. No one ever had a more fitting surname. My books are my cherished friends, the one constant in my life that has always been there. They are piled in every room in the house. My children (thank God!) are all readers, and are gleefully adding to the stacks of books around the house. It's isn't Christmas or a birthday without at least one book as a gift.

I deeply pity those who brag that they never, ever read. They have no idea what joy they miss.