Category Archives: Home Life

On 14th Century Attire

I have a new obsession. I wonder how long it will last. Oh well, whatever. In the meantime, I’m having a blast. (Hey! That rhymes!)

As any casual reader of this blog might notice, I have some interest in medieval times and the age of Chivalry. There’s a fascination with swordplay, knights, and the lives of the royals in their magnificent castles. I’ve always been interested in these things, but of late I’ve rather allowed my interests to ‘fester’ into a full-blown obsession. Maybe it isn’t such a great thing, since I’ve been buying book after book on this topic (spending more money that I should) and have been struggling to actually do what I’m paid to do because I’d rather think about medieval Europe.

But hey, it’s not all bad. With my thoughts and focus on topics outside of the daily grind, I’ve rediscovered myself. You know, that person I was when I was younger and didn’t need to worry about mortgages or child care. My relationship with my husband has improved and I’ve actually lost a significant amount of weight. I actually feel pretty damn good! And I’m still accomplishing my daily tasks at work, it’s just the ‘extras’ that are suffering a bit. It’s all good.

So to celebrate my self-rediscovery and my 10-year anniversary, my husband and I will be attending a renewal of vows ceremony at the local Renaissance Festival. And I, in my brilliance, decided that I would prepare period costumes for my husband and me. (I thought it would be less expensive. Yeah, more on that in a moment.) I decided to go with the 14th century, as this was the peak of knightly virtues and tournaments, of kings and castles, but preceded the advent of muskets or the discovery of the New World.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, 14th century costumes are complicated. Well, not so complicated as 15th and 16th century costumes, but still complex. There are layers, and layers, and only a limited suite of textiles to choose from. The first two layers I managed to make with period materials or close facsimiles. The outermost garments, however, would require materials that I would have to special order and would be obscenely expensive, in addition to being hot, heavy, and potentially rather plain.

I finally decided to make the outer garments with 14th century style, but 21st century materials. They’re lovlier, anyway, with a silky sheen or a soft pile, and should wear better. They’re still just as heavy and hot, but they are much, much less expensive! And speaking of cost, I’m sure I’m over $200 into this project with fabric alone. Then there’s the books (gotta know what I’m doing) and the tread and the pins and the marking pencils. And I need buttons, yet. And accessories, too. We need hats or hoods. Gasp! It goes on and on.

But stay posted. The renewal of vows ceremony is on July 23rd. I have a few weeks yet to finish the costumes. So far, they look great (even if that is only my opinion). I’ll post some photos when they’re all done.

Wish me luck!

 

On weekends and weakness

Like, I mean, lately my weekends have been seriously weak! What do I do? Laundry, cleaning, shopping, wrangle Mini-Me, and sleep. Then I think about all the things that I’m not doing, like writing a new column, or finishing my Faculty Activity Report, which is due on Monday. And what about that manuscript I’m supposed to be wrapping up? I think I’d rather be in the office.

Weekends: I’m doing them wrong.

On weather celebrity

Sometimes weird things happen. Such things can be entertaining; some can result in considerable work; some are a bit of both.

So last Friday, January 1, I got this text message from a dear friend of ours. He’s a weather enthusiast. OK, he’s kind of a weather nut – but the weather our here is fascinating, what with the bizarre effects that our proximity to Lake Ontario can have.

Our friend is a weather spotter (forgive me if I have the exact terminology incorrect). One thing he does is, during snow events, he goes out every six hours and measures the snow depth. Then he clears whatever surface he was measuring on, and comes back in six hours to see how much more snow has fallen.

Aside: this explains why all those years I’ve wondered why snow totals reported by the local weather stations seemed to be so much more than what was really on the ground. See, by measuring every six hours, then starting with a fresh surface, compaction of the snow is eliminated. So, 26 inches of snow, measured every six hours, is about 20 inches if it’s just left to pile up, because of compaction.

So he texts me Friday evening at 7:30 wondering if it was snowing yet. Of course, I didn’t know it was supposed to be snowing, but I knew there was something in the works (meteorologically speaking). And, lo, it was snowing – those cool, big, puffy, lake effect flakes. Groovy. It’s just started snowing.

He asks me if I’d be willing to measure it every six hours, just to see what sorts of totals we get here. Well, OK. It’s a three-day weekend. How long can this snow event last, anyway? I start measuring diligently, every six hours.

Sunday, he texts me, wondering what the total is. I do some quick math. 26.5 inches.

‘really?!’

‘yeah, unless I did something wrong. Here’s some photos’ I picture message him some photos, and while I’m at it, I take a few photos with my better camera (but not with my best camera, not that it matters).

Then a flurry of texts, picture messages, and e-mails. Apparently his friend, a meteorologist on channel 10, is interested in my numbers. Crazy. Oh, and can meteorologist buddy use these photos on the air? ‘oh sure,’ I say.

Well, the rest is history. My photos showed up on the six-o’clock news. Gotten a few e-mails and messages about it. My reported snow totals have been reported to the National Weather Service. And, oh, can you please keep measuring? This event is going to last a few more days.

So, it’s fun and exciting. But it’s also a lot of work. After all, I have to trudge out into the snow at midnight and 6am, as well as at noon and 6pm. And, oh yeah, I need to go back to work now. It’s Monday and I haven’t been to the office in two weeks. And classes start next week.

Huh. I guess I’ll just wing it.

Anyway, snow totals are now 43 inches (from Friday night ’til now, Monday Night)

Our driveway is now a canyon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paleololigo/4242807458/

Our wood pile and cars are now buried: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paleololigo/4242799676/

Our holiday lights, though still working, are completely buried: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paleololigo/4242806318/

I like the new archway over the driveway, though: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paleololigo/4244742026/

Gotta love the winter.

On the merits of a ‘home office’

It’s 6:24 AM. It’s a work day, but I’m at home. Over the past few months I’ve constructed for myself a home office of sorts. Our home came with an apartment over the garage. It’s part of a 1935 addition that added our current kitchen, laundry room, and two-car garage. It was so full of ‘stuff’ when the house was for sale, that the agent didn’t even include it as a room in the house; nor did he include the fact that there’s a bathroom up here. Not that it’s a functional bathroom, mind you. Maybe in the spring we’ll be so bold as to turn the water on and see what happens.

But I have an office. It also functions as my model train room, the craft room, and the camera storage room. It’s barely insulated, so I need to keep a heater running full-time to keep it in the comfortable 60’s fahrenheit range.

Having a home office is great: It affords me the opportunity to work at home during snow days or on days when the things I need to accomplish can be done remotely so I can save myself 1.5 hours of commuting time. Plus, no one can just pop in for a chat. (I love such chats, to be sure, but they are a bit of a time-vacuum.) The office is pretty far removed from the rest of the house, so it’s relatively distraction-free.

The down side: work comes home with me. I like to keep work and home separate, and here it is slapping me in the face. Some days, having the office at home makes me not want to spend time with my family and they get blown off.

Well, right now I need my home office. I have reviews to write, a proposal in the works, and a manuscript I need to finish. And then there’s the matter of planning a new course that I’m teaching this coming semester and preparing for another week-long course for high schoolers that will also be happening this semester. Nothing has gotten accomplished at work for a few weeks, what with finals week, the holidays, and the usual associated chaos. Working at home means I can get my creative juices flowing and I can get into the writing groove for several hours straight.

My foci will be on the reviews and the proposal. Much as I don’t want to, I need to abandon the manuscript for the time being. My goal had been to have it submitted by the end of 2009, but that’s simply not going to happen. It’s disappointing, but I really need to move on. Maybe once classes have started and the proposal is submitted.

Well, back to it. Writing this has got my fingers set for some serious typing. Proposal, here I come!