Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Talk About Tuesday

 

Happy New Year, Y'all!


And just where have I been since October?!?!

Buckle up, Buttercups!

So, you might've noticed that I utterly failed my art challenge this year. That triggered an Apathy episode - I stopped caring about doing art, to be honest. I'm getting back on the horse, but man, I was super bummed. And then I started doing Christmas-Related Stuff, and that... well...

I finished my gifts at 4AM on Christmas Day.

Again.

So yes, I have been working hard the whole time I've been gone...

Except for the end of December/into this month.

My family rang in the New Year by my mom & younger sister plus her husband all contracting COVID.

Since I live with my parents, this meant that I've been quarantining.

And I'm sure you've all guessed it - it's hard to focus on anything except COVID when you're quarantining because one of your household family members - the one who basically keeps everything running smoothly because she's basically a superhero - has COVID.

I've basically been in a constant state of Anxiety for 3 weeks.

Because that's about how long it's taken for her to test negative. I know. It's not fair, and she deserves far better.

Thankfully whatever strain she & my younger sis + husband caught, it was symptomatically mild.

Unfortunately, I had pretty much all the symptoms the entire time, but consistently kept testing negative.

So it's been a weird and uncomfortable start to 2024.

On the other hand, I got some fantastic gifts this year - Z got me that cool wooden shoulder bag that's been so popular (I had one on my wishlist, and he nabbed it for me!!!). I'll be using that with some of the watercolor paints & papers I was given by my folks! I got gift cards for Dunkin and a local bookstore, some of the crochet books I've been lusting after (I GOT THE ONE WITH DRAGONS I'M SO STOKED), flannel sheets, thick cashmere blend socks, and an unforgettably wonderful Christmas with my family.

It's no one's fault that the dumb virus got its claws in some of us. I'm so glad it wasn't worse.

That said, this storm tonight and tomorrow is going to test me.

I HATE power outages, and we're almost certainly getting one. Our wind band is somewhere in the 60-80mph (96,5-128,7kph) gust range, which... alarms me.

I still remember what the roof sounded like when it was torn off by that windstorm so long ago.

I still remember the panic of trying to find things to put under the leaks as they formed on the ceiling.

It's not comfortable, man.

And I feel for my dad - the siding is broken on his side of the house and it's going to spend all night slamming around.

I feel for my mom because this is the first night she doesn't have to feel like a pariah in her own house... and it's during a shitty storm.

I went and got myself a bunch of snacks - Doritos (BBQ and Sweet Chili), Cokes, Nerds (did you know their serving size is 1 Tbsp?!), and Skittles.

I still have the onion I bought for Z right after Christmas lol.

Basically, I am just going to be a little anxious until the storm ends. And possibly beyond, because let's be real, that's what I do. I worry.

At least I have a zipper repair to worry about and keep my mind off of things. I'll have to find a smaller, sturdier needle than the one I started using because it's just hurting my fingers and my stitches are... not great.

And yes, I'm trying to sew it by hand. Our sewing machine does not have good tension and I'd take just as long with that as I do by hand between the snapped threads and the cursing lol.

I might post again tomorrow if we have power/internet. I honestly haven't even begun to think about goals for this year.

Until next time, though,

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which The Horse is 20 Hands High
And I am 5'3"


They tell you when you fall off of the horse to get back on. I am usually very good at this.  This month, however, as mentioned on Tuesday, I'm just kind of... not feeling it.

That being said, I did manage to finish one digital piece based off of one of the first week of Cozytober's drawings that never made it onto the blog. You'll get all 31 pieces by Halloween, I promise. I want to see these images come to life!!!

Anyway, here's Prompt #5 - Cabin

"5 - Cabin"; Digital; 2023

I went for something of a storybook/illustrative look for this one, and I'm actually... quite pleased with the result! The original sketch was awful, I'll admit. Barely more than some scribbled lines that vaguely looked like a lop-sided a-frame cabin with a beagle puppy that looked more like a tamandua posed woodenly in the doorway. This at least looks like it's supposed to be a bit more sketchy!

I have... so much more art to do this week. I'm catching up, but it's only 5 days to Halloween, and I want to be finished completely. There's some great prompts to play with.

As for tonight, I'm going to work on at least one more sketch before turning in. The last few days of cat-pilling have taken their toll and I am pooped.

That's it for tonight's blog, sorry!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Don't Even Know, Man...


I have not felt like doing much of anything lately. It's not laziness - laziness is a delicious and hedonistic desire to stay still, and what I've been feeling is absolutely not delicious or hedonistic.

I've been stuck.

I'm back to chugging too much coffee, back to losing time, back to being tired all the time, back to losing interest, back to anxiety at weird times when nothing's wrong.

In short, I think I'm having a very annoying depressive episode.

I'm not in any danger, though. No Bad Thoughts or anything, just... meh. Not feelin it, lately.

I'm pretty sure it started when I realized at the end of September that my wrists ache. There's a feeling of stiffness and soreness just above the knob of my wrists, and it's worse on the left than the right. I started feeling a little melancholy - mid-30s is a bit early for arthritis, and there's no inflammation or swelling. They're just a little stiff and sore. They've always sounded like they've got gravel in them when I rotated them. Same with my ankles, though they're not sore yet.

The discomfort isn't too much, but it does interfere with my art and crochet, so I'm very behind on Cozytober and haven't done too much crochet lately.

Aching wrists aside, we're fixing the deck this month, and I absorb other people's stress like a sponge. The deck repairs have not been going well, and there's been a lot of upset on my parents' part as they work to make sure it's both sturdy and good-looking. It does look very nice, so at least all that hard work has been worthwhile! Still, that's been stressful for me by transference.

It's been raining a lot since I got back from the Ren-Faire, which makes it very frustrating to get around and do things, so I've been stuck inside.

And then Evie got sick again. It's a chronic infection, so we were given the same antibiotic as last time and we're pilling her at both 8 AM and 8 PM, so that's been fun.

The most recent demotivator has been the fact that pretty much every time I venture outside something goes poorly for me. My local fiber circle canceled this month's meetup and I didn't find out until I'd already crossed town. On some attempts I made at being social, I was chased by hornets. When I try to go outside and get some sun on the few days it's here, I'm buzzed by my neighbor's honeybees. Heck, I've even been hearing more people yelling rude stuff while I'm out walking! It's a residential neighborhood, you weirdos, don't yell at the preteen girls who are jogging past me that they'd better keep going or you'll kill them!

Seriously, don't do that. If you try that again, I'll unhinge my jaw and eat you. I'm getting grumpier in my middle age.

The weather has been nice and chilly, at least, which I prefer to hot and sticky. I just wish there had been more nice days that I could go down to Main Street and paint.

It's going to be too cold for that, soon, and I'll have to switch to sketchbooks. I really should get a soft-cover drawing pad with detachable sheets - it'd be fun to be able to sell sketches as I work.

But hey, enough morose nonsense - I do have good things to talk about!

I made iced tea this week! I've never made iced tea from teabags before! I dumped 7 Meyer Lemon teabags in a pitcher full of cold water and left it overnight in the fridge. The resulting tea was just a touch sweet, a touch bitter, a touch sour, and incredibly pinkish-orange. The Meyer Lemon tea I have is made with rosehips and hibiscus, so the pink was expected. What was unexpected was how freaking delicious it was with a splash of Cranberry & Elderberry juice to sweeten it. The color deepened to a regal purple-red and all of the sweet/bitter/sour notes soared. Just lovely!

I also got to have my first taste of cider for the season, which was also delightful. Early apple cider is better than winter apple cider and I will fight you on this. It has none of the mealy undertones of a winter cider.

And when I say cider, I mean the pressed apple kind, not the alcoholic variety.

I'm being needlessly pedantic sorry lol.

Oh! And today, after years of trying to fan-cast a new Kolchak series, my guy & I came up with the perfect new Kolchak - Bob Odenkirk. I dare you to disagree. You'll be wrong lol.

Anywho, I am still planning on catching up on my missing Cozytober pieces, despite having missed... a lot, so I'm going to need to get back to the drawing pad.

Go Enjoy Something, folks!
FC

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Talk About Tuesday

 
In Which I Promise I Have Been Working On Stuff

So uh... it's been a hot minute, huh.

I have been a bit caught up in my Cozytober prompts, and I've neglected taking pics of anything like the two dragons I'm crocheting, the Autumnal cardigan I'm crocheting, the approximately 7k cups of coffee I've consumed, etc.

In fact the only reason I remembered to do anything relating to this blog today was that I... had a bit of an accident.

See, I have this table easel.

It's not the most robust thing - not like a proper pochade box or a full sized easel, but it's great for holding stuff up and letting me get a sketch down.

I don't have a dedicated place to put it. I don't have a whole lot of dedicated storage, to be quite honest. It generally gets put on top of my dresser or on the corner of my desk. Unfortunately, I stack a lot of things in these areas, including a tiny little squirrel-sized picnic table my dad made for me.

My dumb butt thought laying the easel down on top of the mini table was a good idea.

Gravity and me trying to fish some socks to sleep in out of the drawer directly under the table disagreed.

Somehow something got wrapped around something else and levered the easel in such a way that it launched itself at my face and came down on my glasses. Hard.

Which means that I just essentially punched myself in the nose with my glasses with a bunch of extra steps.

And since I can never ever resist telling the world about the increasingly bizarre ways I hurt myself, here we are.

Like I mentioned, I'm working on a bunch of Cozytober stuff, I've crocheted a few things since last we met, and I've been keeping busy by guzzling coffee and cuddling my cat (she wanted to be held like a baby today and wouldn't stop pestering my folks til I scooped her up and snuggled her in front of them lol). I will continue to do these things after tonight, probably with a stupid bruise on my stupid nose.

Just thought y'all deserved to know about this nonsense lol!

For now, though,

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I... Am Playing Catch-Up.


Let's be real, I struggle mightily with keeping up with... literally everything. I actually have done a bunch of crochet! I actually have drawn a bunch! I just really have not had the energy or concentration to write in the ol bloggerino.

It's October!

Which means that it's time for me to try and mostly flub an art challenge! This year, I've decided to take on #Cozytober!

Since I'm unhinged, I also wrote out a list of 31 animals and am slowly, carefully, trying to work my way through the prompts with a different critter for each day!

I... am not done with today's prompt.

Turns out it's very hard to draw a cabin.

"01 - Leaves (Colin the Wombat)"
Brush pen & pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL, PLANT]

"02 - Pumpkins (groundhog)"
Brush Pen & pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL, VEGETABLE]

"03 - Home (kangaroo)"
Pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL, LOCATION]

"04 - Scarf (lop-eared bunny)"
Brush pen & pencil on sketchbook; 2023
[ANIMAL]

Today's prompt was "05 - Cabin (beagle)", and I have only managed the vaguest of outlines, so faint that it never showed up on the photo I took lol.

I'll probably have it done by midnight. Maybe.

Regardless, I'm enjoying this challenge!

And I hope I have enough oomph to write more next week.

For now, though, I'm gonna get back to work on that beagle - if for no other reason than so I can show it to Z lol!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which The Universe Is Trying To Tell Me Something...


It was a very wet, very hot, very crappy summer here. My whole goal this year was to paint outside once a week.

I've done it maybe three times because the weather has Not Cooperated.

Today it was gorgeous out.

Puffy white clouds, slightly hazy sky, not that humid, gentle breezes, approximately 75℉ (23,9℃)...

I had to try it. I had to go for my stupid little walk for my stupid mental health! It was now or never!

Well, the walk was pleasant enough - traffic cooperated, I managed to check the produce that gets left out for free at the library (just kale and a few random peppers, but that's on me, I should've headed out before noon), and I even felt comfy enough to shed my flannel shirt.

Main Street was the kind of bustling you get from off-season tourists who just want to see what a small New England town is like when there are no cruise ships or leaf peepers (spoilers, it's cozy but largely boring unless you're into art and relaxation). I hopped onto a bench outside one of the bigger galleries and set up my clipboard and watercolor palette, sketching out a very sloppy view. My goal was to try out some brushwork ideas I'd had, practice glazing, maybe figure out how to do impressionism with watercolor if I was very very ambitious.

A gentleman set up near me with a violin. He had an interesting song selection that he was playing with speakers. Dunno if he was legit or one of the scammers, but that was besides the point.

The point is that this is when I started to get a familiar feeling in my gut that something might go wrong today.

I ignored it, because I'm anxious, so I feel that way a lot.

I mean, sure, I'm anxious because when I feel like something is about to go wrong, it does, but that's besides the point. People aren't supposed to give in to anxiety, right? So I keep painting.

I'm adding a bunch of dabbed brushwork leaves to a tree when I realize there's an older fellow in a western-style shirt standing close to me, watching me work. Okay, that's cool, he seems to be just watching my paints, trying to see what I see. It's a first for me, but I've seen other plein aire artists have this happen.

No sooner does he start asking me questions about my art (which I was really excited about, because this is new! People don't often take an interest in what I do in the real world!), than a yellowjacket starts hovering around me. We both remark on it and laugh it off.

Then it's joined by a friend, who lands on my thigh and starts moving... oddly.

And then they're both joined by a third yellowjacket who zooms aggressively towards my eyes. I hastily packed up and headed for home. I wasn't about to run because I know that a fast-moving target with hornets, bees, or yellowjackets around it is a stung target. I apologized for my quick departure to the baffled art enthusiast and trudged home.

The weirdly persistent bugs followed me.

They followed me for almost a half a mile.

They continued to aim for my face.

I finally lost them by leading them past a bottle redemption place with a whole swarm of drunken hornets outside. My stalkers decided that the booze was far preferable to my face, so they stuck around the pallets of broken beer bottles and crushed Mtn dew cans.

I bought myself a couple of 69 cent cans of soda at a nearby shop and went home, defeated.

Some days the universe just tells you "No, you're not allowed to enjoy yourself outside." This was apparently one of those days.

It's a frigging bummer.

No one has ever talked to me about my art on Main Street without prompting from someone who knows me.

Never.

So of course the one time it does, my stupid stinging-insect-attracting powers have to activate.

Heck.

Anyway, here's the watercolor sketch I was working on:

"God Said Stop Painting"; watercolor on paper; 2023
[ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, LOCATION]

As you can see, I was trying to use a flat brush and fill in the foliage of the tree I was looking at...

Those five dots in the sky are pigeons. Same with the dots on the background building.

And the buildings you can see are a secondhand store, a bakery, a movie theater, and a contemporary art museum.

I've probably just doxxed myself. It's been that kind of day.

Is this the universe's way of telling me not to freaking paint outside anymore? Telling me I'm not allowed to paint at all?

I feel pretty defeated, to be honest.

Weird crap happens every time I try to do anything like this.

Nature just likes to mess with me I guess.

Last time it was a freak rainshower. The time before that, a cruise ship arrived and I felt like I had to leave so that other people could sit down.

I want to sit somewhere with shade and paint.

Apparently the only place I can do that is at home.

That sucks.

Anywho, if you want me to make some art for ya, I'm happy to do that - you can commission me via Ko-Fi, DM me on Twitter (it's Twitter, not X, Elon's a doofus), if you're an IRL person I know, you can reach me via Facebook.

If you just want a say in what I post next week, feel free to drop me a small donation on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category you want to see (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Food, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll make it for next Thursday!

I'll just probably be painting or drawing it either at the local library or in my backyard.

Probably the library, to be honest, because last time my mom sat outside, she was swarmed by bees.

What the heck.

Anywho, Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Talk About Tuesday

 

Buckle Up Kids, It's Been A Few Weeks


So.

A few weeks ago I stopped updating.

I can explain.

So much has happened! I mean it! A lot!

At first, I wasn't posting because I was busy busy busy prepping for King Richard's Faire and the road trip leading to it! So much crochet! Tea-staining! Planning! Packing!

Then I was on the road. That will be its own section, trust me.

Then I was at the Ren Faire! So much fun! So many exciting things!

And then I was on the way home!

And then I was home, but exhausted!

And then we had a tropical storm!

And now here we are!

So first things first - Ren Faire prep was hectic.

I had two pouches and an undershirt to crochet, tea-staining to attempt on one pouch and the undershirt, frantic packing and repacking and unpacking and repacking again (I really did try to travel light and still ended up with two bags plus a tote full of snacks), and yes, anxiety, because I cannot enjoy anything without nature's caffeine (adrenaline) making my heart squeeze and pound.

Turns out I was maybe a little right to be anxious, because it turns out RVs hate me just as much as any other electronic.

We were maybe 2/3 of the way to our campground when the skies opened up, pounding heavy and hard on the car with raindrops so frantic and oversized I was convinced they were hailstones for a hot minute. That would've been fine, honestly, if the RV didn't quickly stop working, causing us to coast to a stop along I-95, where we would not be able to move from for over 8 hours. Turns out that Good Sam's RV Insurance isn't worth the half second it took for me to type their name. They left us disabled and stranded for twenty four freaking hours. The Massachusetts State Troopers, on the other hand, got us moved in like an hour.

So yes, we missed our campsite. And my poor friends, who were in charge of all the logistics, had to spend nearly the whole 24 hours we were stranded desperately trying to get a hotel, a rental car, a tow truck, etc. And fate and crappy call centers fought them every single step of the way.

Shoutout to the exhausted, overworked AVIS/Budget guy who ended up having to rent us what we strongly suspect was the van he had been using for his own family, because that poor guy got just as shafted as we did, since the dorks at the call center rented us a vehicle that did not exist on his lot. In fact, no vehicles existed on his lot. Hence the probably-was-personal van.

That being said, while waiting for the tow truck to take the RV to get fixed, we went on a little road trip to a mall where we tried Mochinuts for the first time!

A Three-Pack of Oreo, Fruity Pebble, and Matcha mochinuts

A fried mozzarella stick with French fries

Mochinuts are, apparently, donuts made with mochi flour, which makes them delightfully crisp & chewy and just all-around tasty. The Oreo was my favorite - it was intensely chocolatey on the top, not overly sweet, and that chew was super satisfying. The Fruity Pebble mochinut was also fantastic, though the cereal was a bit dampened (big surprise, it was like 86% humidity that day and hot as hell). Unfortunately the matcha mochinut was... stale-tasting, which disappointed every one of us.

The fried mozzarella sticks were practically a religious experience, though.

See, they're called Cheesedogs, because they're the exact same size and shape as a corndog (which they also sell and are also delicious). Which means they're BIG. Yes, I was murmuring Big & Chunky in my head the whole time I was eating the one Z got for us to share. They can come with different toppings - the one shown above has French Fries and my buddy T got that one. Our friend S was the one who got the mochinuts! But Z & I had a cheesedog with crushed ramen noodles on it.

100000000/10 strongly recommend. I went from feeling exhausted, overheated, and ill to feeling deeply satisfied and happy in only 4 bites.

You know what's not satisfying?

Spending six bucks on this junk.

I like cotton candy as much as the next fatty, but these kiosks are a waste of your time (something like 7 minutes) and money. It was roughly the size of a tennis ball when it came out, screwed up several times, and tasted like chemical farts.

Minus five stars.

After the trip to the mall, we picked up J, who had taken the task of making sure the tow truck came for the RV, and we all went to a motel. It was a nice little place just outside Carver, and while there was a little nonsense with the showers, it was very very good to not be stuck on the side of I-95.

We even drove to a place for some shaved ice!

The views in Marshfield, MA were spectacular

100 flavors!!! 

If Z & I hadn't been 100% stuffed with mochinuts, cheesedogs, and Sweet Frog frozen yogurt (and pineapple Dole Whip), we'd have tried a lemon-lime ice or possibly a plum-grape ice. As it was, T got a Pretty Princess and it looked fantastic (it was pink & purple!).

We finally retired for the night in fine spirits, ready for our adventure at King Richard's Faire the next day!

The Faire....

My God, that was the Faire to start with, in my opinion. None of us had ever been to one, and among the five of us we had T in a cloak, S in a lovely black dress & cloak, J as an absolutely precious gnome (we're talking full-on, unintentional Nana cosplay from David the Gnome, 100% homemade), me in my emerald green Torvi top from Holy Clothing (plus crocheted accessories), and Z in his shockingly comfy outfit of a cream-colored cotton top and a pair of white linen pants with very thin gray stripes (plus the crocheted bag I made him!).

Of the 5 of us, I think Z was the most comfortable the whole day - it was upper 70s and 86% humidity.

None of us got heat exhaustion, however, because 1) we all hydrated obsessively (don't use the tap near the Mud Show, it's rusty, use the ones near the Privies near the Queen's Stage!), 2) most of us were wearing at least one breathable garment, and 3) the whole of King Richard's Faire is in a forest (except for the jousting field).

The temperature difference between the sun-soaked parking field and the pine-shaded Faire was nearly like air conditioning.

If you've never been to a Ren-Faire, King Richard's is... a great introduction. You enter through a portcullis after being greeted by the Royal Court, and you're immediately in dappled shade with what feels like a true medieval village! There are permanent buildings for every shop, some done in that Tudor architectural style that everyone thinks of when they think Ren-Faire, and others in adorable fantasy shapes (a kiosk shaped and painted like a mushroom was selling tails, ears, and other costuming supplies; one hut was shaped like a witch's pointed hat with the tip curled slightly and had a stained glass window with the Hylian crest on it!). 

If you're into leather, there are at least 3 shops there to cater to your needs. If you want weapons and armor there are several places, including a working blacksmith! If you like pottery I saw a few spots for it, including one that let you do your own Raku pottery! You could hatch your own dragon egg to win a prize in a little house that had a dragon shop in it! You could have the Washing Well Wenches help you find missing party members! Do you want elf ears? There's a lady who has every kind of ear known to fantasy. Do you want an ocarina? There's a very sweet lady who sells ocarinas (you'll know her by her excellent playing and the Triforce branding on her signs).

And of course let's not forget the food.

My god, the food.

So I'd heard that the turkey legs were huge.

We were undersold.

Our turkey leg probably weighed at least 2lb
And was mostly meat.

I 100% recommend the food. We didn't have anything that wasn't delicious - the turkey legs are sublime (they truly do taste somewhat hammy, but there's still that turkey undertone and they're meaty as can be!), the bloomin onion was crispy and hot, the Cobbler's Corn is a Mexican Street Corn that Z & I each had an ear of and could have easily eaten six or seven more lol. S got a caramel apple with all the fixings and it was a whole, cored & sliced apple in a bowl with hot caramel in the bottom instead of being a sheet of sticky stale caramel wrapped around a stale apple on a stick like I'm used to. We also had some candied nuts (The King's Nuts), and those were delicious - we had cashews & almonds.

The food is pricy, but... not as bad as at the Maine Lobster Festival, to be honest. You get good value for your cash, and the water taps are free, so you don't even need to pay for water if you don't want to.

Pro Tip: Don't buy your food tickets at the gate if the line is long, there are plenty of kiosks in the first few hours where you can pay your cash to get your food tickets. Each ticket is worth $1, and turkey legs were 17 tickets, so be prepared.

Still, that's a 2lb in-character meal for 17 bucks, so uh... worth it in my estimation.

After you eat, you should definitely check out the many shows in the area - Jacques Ze Whipper was at the Faire when we were (in fact, that vid was taken while I was there!!!) and his shows are always worth the while!

Yes, He's cracking a flaming whip.
Yes it was incredible.

He's got a friend named Ses Carny who runs the Torture Show on the Queen's Stage, which involves knife-throwing and fire eating, and that was a great show, too.

I had a very sore throat on Monday because of screaming "TORTURE!!!" back at him lol.

I Am A Great Photographer LOL

Now, after Ses's Torture Show was...

A dog trainer.

J really loved the dog trainer's show, because he had very cute Jack Russell Terriers.

Z & I were in awe of the guy's show for... entirely different reasons.

I'm sure he's a great guy. He went to Clown College around the same time as Penn Jillette! He's been training dogs since the 1970s!

He's the reason Z & I were paralyzed with giggles for an hour and a half that night.

I do not recommend hysterical laughter.

Sure, we both felt some catharsis from the giggle fit, but uh...

It's scary when you cannot. stop. laughing.

Anywho...

We were all excited to see the Jacques Ze Whipper/Ses Carny Secret Show but...

The sky had other plans.

We received a deluge reminiscent of the one that disabled the RV, forming ankle-deep puddles in minutes. I'm pretty sure almost everyone fled the Faire at that point, and we were soaked 100% of the way through. That night I learned that, yes, Holy Clothing does indeed bleed. Fortunately it didn't bleed onto Z's white shirt and pants.

We voyaged back to the hotel in shockingly high spirits, Z & I were overcome by the giggles, we slept, and then we went back home.

The ride home was shockingly smooth for having to drive over 220 miles (365km or more) before 4pm.

It was close, but we made it (after quickly dropping Z & I off at my house so that the van could get to the AVIS/Budget center nearest us).

And thus I was home.

And I crashed.

Boy did I crash.

I crashed so hard that I basically did nothing until recently when Lee decided it wanted to try to visit.

And boy do I not like rain now.

We overprepared for Lee, I'll confess. We bought batteries, we battened down the hatches, Z & I planned to spend the day on the internet until the strong winds inevitably killed our power and internet.

And then Lee was a delightful little wet fart for us.

It was loud, it was damp, but it was not the 70mph gusting, 3 inches of rain spilling nightmare we feared.

Sure, there was storm damage around town (and yes, someone died, unfortunately). A tree landed on a house I walk past. Another tree landed on a car. But our power never did more than flicker briefly, our internet stayed strong, and we had a long day of watching YouTube videos together.

And now here I am, staring down at some soft yarn that I'm hoping I can find another skein or two of (I think it's Red Heart Soft in a dark brown color, I legit cannot remember?). I am trying to make an autumnal hex cardigan.

I'm also trying to get up the gumption to do art tomorrow.

We'll see how well I do!

For now, though, I'm still somehow sleepy, despite it having been 9 days since the Ren Faire. And despite having dozed all day.

It's just that kind of day.

The plan for the week is:

Art for Thursday.
Something crochet-related for Monday.
Blather for Tuesday.

I... think I have pics of when I was tea-staining everything? At the very least I'll talk about that next Monday.

For now though, it's time to relax.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC














PS: Z, I know you're reading this.

Please, Peppah, just one more jump! Please! We gotta pay off the car loan! Just one more, Peppah, please, oh god....