June 2019

I am working on several projects right now.

I was going to go to Pennsic this year (Pennsic is basically Renaissance fair summer camp please have a look at this video if you want to see it)

One of the rules/traditions of the camp is that you have to be in costume, anything from 600-1600. I am working on learning to sew a bog dress. A bog dress is a copy of an iron age dress found in a bog and appropriate for lots of heat.

I am nearly done. I am most proud of the pleats.

Here is what  it looks like pinned on. I am hoping to finish it up before this years pennsic is over.

So now much of my old lab is off to greener pastures. We had goodbye meals for Kelsey and Mariam.

Its just a bad situation and I am glad they are out of it but sorry it all came down to it.

I took Kiernan to archery practice.

We had an adventure over at Mariam's place cutting a large dead snake out of her garden netting.

I took a class at Haven on Sumi.

Megan had a fun end of school year paint night with her Girl Scouts. 

Megan did something very sweet. We were at Safeway and many of the plants had been blown down. She asked me if she could fix them. It took several minutes but she got them all upright. Then she joined me in the car. A man walked over to tell me how she was good and that he appreciated her. He said it almost angrily he was so wound up about it. 

I went to my first SCA event. It was called Highland River Melee. I brought my new arrows and wore the costume I bought as a reward for speaking up to my manager and director at work back when I worked at Qiagen.

I made some beads to go with it.

I wore my earrings that I got in the Viking Ship museum in Denmark and an historically accurate big floppy hat.

Then I went to Hagerstown and pitched a tent and showed up at the kitchens that I had volunteered to help.

Earlier in the year at a Bardic night at Haven I'd raised my had to help out in the kitchens as a way to force myself to interact with new people and actually show up.

So I went into the kitchens and stayed there all day. I cooked some and washed dishes quite a lot.

So I didn't see much of the event itself but I went and I joined a cooks guild and I was rewarded with a delicious meal.

It got stormy that evening so i struck camp and drove back home because camping in a thunderstorm terrifies me.

Next time I will try my hand at some of the events.

The kids got off of school.

I got some stubby glass slides and worked on playing a few middle eastern sounding scales.

I joined a running group. Its the same one I ran with last year. I decided to try to join the mid-speed pack this time.

Krishna came over and shot a bit and played with the kids and it was wonderful.

Megan bridged from Daisies to Brownies.

She was very proud.

We played with Snapchat filters.

She loves this one.

Here is David as a woman.

I tried to recreate the SCA feast and it turned out really well.

I started printing out parts for a few Herdy Gurdys.

This type is called a Nerdy Gurdy.

It takes abit of 3D printing and a bit of laser cutting.

For Fathers-Day we got David a cool tiny amp.

Megan and I got fancy and went with mom to an arts festival.

I made a very nice strawberry rhubarb cheese compote for a very nice cheesecake. 

Megan and mom and I also went camping.

Michelle joined us for a night as well.

I am trying to learn how to cook in a dutch oven. The only recipe I know I learned at a Cub Scout event.

In the middle of the camping weekend Meg and I had to go down to Baltimore to Davids company picnic.

This sleepy kid had a nice long car ride to rest up.

The Baltimore Zoo is fantastic.

It was brutally hot but really neat.

The picnic was fun and the free treats were hats and sunglasses.

Some people were more interested in pictures than others.

We went back to the campground and I had at my one recipe.

You can see here that I put the wood too close to the side of the oven.

We went back and forth to the pool.

Megan loved it so much and it was perfect for the heat.

Half of the Cub Scout cobbler was good.

The good half was tasty.

Then there were marshmallows.

We had such a good time camping that we reserved another cabin for August. This time when we go it will be with Krishna and Michelle and Kelsey and maybe even Mariam.