Sickly and Sewing

We hadn't even got over the business of Grandma's funeral before Presbytery came. Presbytery gets to be more fun every year, because after seven years of attending there are more people we know and look forward to seeing again. Except I came down with a weird flu bug before presbytery, and a cold afterwards. I was so disgusted with myself, I was considering flagellation. When we got home Mom said that she and Dad were going to strictly do nothing all next week, and then she promptly came down with the flu. So I guess she really meant it.

Uncle Sam

Over at the costume shop I'm currently working on a three-piece suit in striped sheeting for an Uncle Sam outfit. Personally, I think it looks like a pajama set. It's one of those outfits that the Woman of Energy says "It looks spectacular!" and I'm thinking, whoever wears that is going to look so stupid.

Wedding Dress Cape

The Costume Shop recently purchased a large load of formals and old wedding dresses that are too worn to be resold and too many to be rented, so the Woman of Energy told me to cut some of the skirts down into capes, to be dyed and sold at Renaissance Faires. They were actually turning out pretty well, until the Woman of Energy stormed in today with an emergency order for four adult dinosaurs. I'm not looking forward to that, because there is no way to make a human look decently like a dinosaur!

The End of all Things

Monday was Memorial Day and our last day in Virginia. We the drove the two hours from CW out to Mt. Vernon and visited that famous estate.

 George Washington's Mansion. Once again, it was hot, we were tired, and it was crowded, but it was still worth the trip. I think that it's pretty clear George Washington was Providence-sent for America's well being.

The gardens were beautiful. There was also a huge museum with several theaters and interesting displays. We even got to see Geo. Washington's famed dentures.

There were a few costumed interpreters at the farm, but otherwise there were hired actors. We "met" Martha Washington.

Tuesday we drove through the Blue Ridge Mountains on our way to Presbytery. It was a long, winding drive with lots of trees and while it was beautiful, I for one am glad to be back in the non-forested midwest. Trees smother people, and whoever said that we need to save the trees was misinformed. Anyway, the most culturally interesting moment of the day came when we stopped just off the latest scenic route(Mom again: We spent an hour on the back roads) and bought local barbecue for lunch.

 We were at Presbytery from Tuesday night through Saturday morning. It wasn't a particularly large camp, which was nice for the parents of small children. And there were lots of small children. Children outnumbered adults seven to one, and when combined together they made a chaotic swarm of screaming miscreants, so it's good we were isolated. The camp was rustic; so rustic that tent camping would have been an improvement. I'll just let you imagine how bad that was.

 Not being a sporting person, I sat in on most of the Presbytery meetings and got a lot of quilting done. I was, however, shanghaied into a canoeing voyage that meant paddling for six miles of river(ohhhh my back) and we saw a whole bunch of cute turtles that looked really good to eat. My fearless skipper and I managed to navigate turbulent waters and our vessel only got turned backwards twice.

So Presbytery is done, vacation is over, and we'll be home by Monday. I'm looking forward to it!

Travel, the first weekend

Our first day we drove through various states and ended up in Tennessee. Driving always puts me in a lethargic state and during the twelve hours I only read one novel and watched three episodes of Once Upon A Time Season 3; which was very unmotivated of me when I have a huge book on investing to read and a quilt to finish. Though after my car gets through at the shop this week I may not be investing any time soon.

TN Church- makes me miss living in the country.

As guests we got to stay in the pastor's parents-in-laws' currently vacant but very, very large and fancy house. The boys were thrilled with the heated towel rack and the motorized recliner and the fridge that tells you how many ounces of water it just put into your cup. And that was all before the sun came up and we saw the lake and the pool in the back yard. I got to stay in the Nautical-themed bedroom with a huge four-poster bed that had ten pillows, which took up way more room than I did.

I call it, "Nautical Room With Pillows"

Sunday we had church, lunch, more church, a nap, dinner, and dancing. There were a lot of tired toddlers by the end of that day!

Guys, this is the lookout from the guest house deck. This is the pool..

 ...and there's the lake. Not a bad view!

Last post about California, I promise

The Prince.

The Invisible Photographer.

The Church Elder.

The Darling Boy.

The Marchioness.

Still life from CA

This counts as a still life, right?

Ok kids, who here knows who the Sweet William is named after? (hint: he wasn't sweet)

Lilies at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens.

Trees: don't let the bedbugs bite.

A tree and a hill: Yosemite defined.

I guess I'm getting away from still life here. This is the "small" falls at Yosemite.

More Snapshots from California

Rest stops can be interesting places.

Sunset on the beach(alternately titled freezing to death at the campgound)

They sure grow funny lookin' trees over thar

The thinker at the Legion of Honor museum.

Also the Legion of Honor museum.

San Francisco in three days

Pier 39: we can do it. We saw the stores, ate seafood sandwiches, toured a WW2 submarine and an arcade museum. Ghiradelli Square and the Maritime museum, which wasn't worth it.

We went through a big park super fast.

There was a small Shakespeare garden as part of the larger park.

We walked around the Legion of Honor museum and lawn as well as the botanical gardens, visited Japantown, and generally drove all over the large, steep and crowded city of San Francisco.

Presbytery 2011: The Trip

Driving to our campsite in CA took two sixteen hour days of driving. I can now honestly say that I would never choose to live west of NE.

At a rest stop in Wyoming, just before it started to snow.

Watch for snakes and scorpians!

Standard lunch fare for the traveling circus.