threadwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
threadwalker) wrote2005-09-19 11:53 am
threadwalker) wrote2005-09-19 11:53 am
Coronet and Labels
It was such a lovely weekend!
Well, F is sick, but not so sick he needs much in the way of supervision or stroking his fevered brow. He spent the weekend resting and I took the kids with me hither and yon, which allowed him to rest.
I took the kids to Coronet. I didn’t realize how long the drive was going to be, but the kids were great travel companions and the scenery was beautiful. I am constantly impressed with all the natural beauty in California and how with only a few hours of freeway driving, you can see so many different climates and regions. I told F we needed to go back to the Russian River and spend a weekend exploring and wine-tasting.
Coronet was very picturesque. If you could get out of the wind and manage to navigate the bumpy ground, it was ideal. There weren’t a lot of people and it felt smaller than Coronet used to be about 12 - 15 years ago when we attended all the time. I’m not sure if it was smaller or if it’s my memory playing tricks. Like when you grow up and discover the great, big bear-like Uncle wasn’t really super huge, it was that you were so young. A lot of people seemed to bug-out after finals, too.
Kid Costuming Blah: Fortunately, I packed wool for the kids. Nicholas wore his new red, wool houppelande with the shank buttons. I also packed his 16th century German stuff, but I’d forgotten how big he’s gotten, so, he couldn’t wear it anyway. Ironically, Evie latched onto some of his German clothing. She turned her nose up at her 15th century kirtle and she insisted on wearing her brother’s 16th century white shirt with the blackworked collar and cuffs. I almost put her in the slashed leather pants, but I didn’t have any hose or leggings for her to go under it. But then she wouldn’t wear the 16th century coat over it, she insisted on the 15th century houppelande/coat that went with the kirtle. I think it’s because the 15th century coat had shiny buttons. My fashion sensor and inner-control freak were tweaking out at the mix-and-match era thing, but my calmer inner- mom prevailed and I focused on being glad that they both consented to wear the wool clothing without having a power struggle with me.
Lesson learned: If I want to make sure the kids dress in one consistent period, then I should make sure I only pack that period.
I, on the other hand, discovered my outfit needed repairs from the last time I wore it. Thanks to Stacey for having some handy safety pins. I should just sew the shoulder straps down now that I’m not nursing anymore.
I remembered to pack my three C&I projects to show to Eliska and Richard dC. They both dubbed me “warranted” and capable of working on AoAs unsupervised. Wow! I’m totally flattered. Two of the pieces have knot-work and E asked me if that was the period I preferred. I took art classes in college and my mom was always shoving art pencils and sketch pads at me, so I’m comfortable with black-and-whites, but I’m completely intimidated by color. The reason why I did knot work is because it’s the closest I can come to paint-by-number because there’s no shading involved. I told her I’d like to learn how to do flowers and vines and she made some suggestions. For now I’d rather do my first AoA with knotwork. (Did I say “first” AoA?) She said she’d help me find someone who wants that sort of art.
I passed out cookies and class catalogs for Collegium. It is such a great way of meeting people, “here, learn about an upcoming event. Here, have a cookie while you’re reading.” I added two more classes and got some corrections from other teachers. Neat. People seem to be getting excited and a bunch of new-comers were interested, too.
I took the kids to Fredi’s b-day party on Sunday. The park was beautiful and had a really cool play structure. The kids loved the party, the park and all the snacks. Two little energizer bunnies playing with all the other energizer bunnies. I recognized most of the people there, but met Vicki for the first time. She had three very well behaved daughters and was early enough that we had a chance to chat before the rest of the mob showed up. We introduced ourselves, noted we were both in the SCA, but I couldn’t figure out who she was, even when she said she was “Duchess Y…”. There I am with a blank look, “Ahhh. Well, I still don’t know who you are.” Then she mentioned who her husband/king was and it clicked. What a dork I am! I think it just proves that I am very involved in my corner of the SCA and I don’t get wrapped up in most Kingdom level politics. V was very nice and impressed me with all the stuff she does in 4-H with her daughters. And her kids were well-behaved, which reflects favorably on the parenting.
On setting limitations on ourselves: I am not a domestic goddess and I have no interest in winning any home-making awards. However, I am capable of a lot of things and I don’t worry about pigeon-holing myself or creating labels for myself or putting up artificial boundaries on my areas of interest based on what others expect from me. If I want to fight, I fight. If I want to sew, I sew. If I want to cook, I cook. If I want to trench the back yard to put in a brick border, I pull out the pick and dig the trench. (Which I will do after it starts raining and the ground softens up). Apparently I confounded Artos while we were at Fredi’s party. I was asking for the time and it was about 4pm. I blurted out that I had to get home because I had a roast in the oven. Artos froze in place with the oddest look on his face and then started laughing. Why is that funny? He said it was just so domestic and he was having a hard time picturing it.
I happen to know a lot of women with diverse areas of interest that overlap things that are traditionally male oriented, traditionally homemaker oriented, and typically girly-girl oriented. Artos is a splendid guy and I wasn’t annoyed with him, but he voiced a common message, which is that once people mentally classify you as tom-boy, girly-girl, domestic goddess or whatever, they never expect you to redefine your own role. I’ve been fighting this “labeling” -mentality all my life because of the choices I’ve made.
My first internal response was, “How dared anyone pigeonhole me?” What I actually said was, “I’m a woman of many, hidden talents. You obviously didn’t get any homemade cookies yesterday.” And he didn’t.
In the long run, people will make whatever judgements their experiences have taught them to expect and I can’t get upset about that. However, maybe I opened his eyes just a little to the trap of labeling people. More importantly, I had a quick insight that I know I am teaching my children to not label themselves or to let others limit them the same way. I am showing them that they can try whatever they choose to try and succeed at whatever they set their minds out to do and care enough about. And that makes me feel good because regardless of all the other baggage, that is one of the good things my parents did for me. I think I need to call my mom and thank her.
And I'm reading a good book, The Historian. It's been sitting on F's side of the bed for months and I only picked it up about a week ago. It's pretty good. Turns out that everyone else seems to already know about it because (they tell me) it's on all these best-seller lists. But if you live a busy-busy life and don't have a chance to track that sort of thing, I think it's pretty good, too. Thriller, mystery, vampire thing. Well written, too.
On the other hand, I'm about ready to dump, Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister. Good story line. Good setting. Bad writing. I may skim it to see how it turns out, but I can't waste any more time actually reading it.
Well, F is sick, but not so sick he needs much in the way of supervision or stroking his fevered brow. He spent the weekend resting and I took the kids with me hither and yon, which allowed him to rest.
I took the kids to Coronet. I didn’t realize how long the drive was going to be, but the kids were great travel companions and the scenery was beautiful. I am constantly impressed with all the natural beauty in California and how with only a few hours of freeway driving, you can see so many different climates and regions. I told F we needed to go back to the Russian River and spend a weekend exploring and wine-tasting.
Coronet was very picturesque. If you could get out of the wind and manage to navigate the bumpy ground, it was ideal. There weren’t a lot of people and it felt smaller than Coronet used to be about 12 - 15 years ago when we attended all the time. I’m not sure if it was smaller or if it’s my memory playing tricks. Like when you grow up and discover the great, big bear-like Uncle wasn’t really super huge, it was that you were so young. A lot of people seemed to bug-out after finals, too.
Kid Costuming Blah: Fortunately, I packed wool for the kids. Nicholas wore his new red, wool houppelande with the shank buttons. I also packed his 16th century German stuff, but I’d forgotten how big he’s gotten, so, he couldn’t wear it anyway. Ironically, Evie latched onto some of his German clothing. She turned her nose up at her 15th century kirtle and she insisted on wearing her brother’s 16th century white shirt with the blackworked collar and cuffs. I almost put her in the slashed leather pants, but I didn’t have any hose or leggings for her to go under it. But then she wouldn’t wear the 16th century coat over it, she insisted on the 15th century houppelande/coat that went with the kirtle. I think it’s because the 15th century coat had shiny buttons. My fashion sensor and inner-control freak were tweaking out at the mix-and-match era thing, but my calmer inner- mom prevailed and I focused on being glad that they both consented to wear the wool clothing without having a power struggle with me.
Lesson learned: If I want to make sure the kids dress in one consistent period, then I should make sure I only pack that period.
I, on the other hand, discovered my outfit needed repairs from the last time I wore it. Thanks to Stacey for having some handy safety pins. I should just sew the shoulder straps down now that I’m not nursing anymore.
I remembered to pack my three C&I projects to show to Eliska and Richard dC. They both dubbed me “warranted” and capable of working on AoAs unsupervised. Wow! I’m totally flattered. Two of the pieces have knot-work and E asked me if that was the period I preferred. I took art classes in college and my mom was always shoving art pencils and sketch pads at me, so I’m comfortable with black-and-whites, but I’m completely intimidated by color. The reason why I did knot work is because it’s the closest I can come to paint-by-number because there’s no shading involved. I told her I’d like to learn how to do flowers and vines and she made some suggestions. For now I’d rather do my first AoA with knotwork. (Did I say “first” AoA?) She said she’d help me find someone who wants that sort of art.
I passed out cookies and class catalogs for Collegium. It is such a great way of meeting people, “here, learn about an upcoming event. Here, have a cookie while you’re reading.” I added two more classes and got some corrections from other teachers. Neat. People seem to be getting excited and a bunch of new-comers were interested, too.
I took the kids to Fredi’s b-day party on Sunday. The park was beautiful and had a really cool play structure. The kids loved the party, the park and all the snacks. Two little energizer bunnies playing with all the other energizer bunnies. I recognized most of the people there, but met Vicki for the first time. She had three very well behaved daughters and was early enough that we had a chance to chat before the rest of the mob showed up. We introduced ourselves, noted we were both in the SCA, but I couldn’t figure out who she was, even when she said she was “Duchess Y…”. There I am with a blank look, “Ahhh. Well, I still don’t know who you are.” Then she mentioned who her husband/king was and it clicked. What a dork I am! I think it just proves that I am very involved in my corner of the SCA and I don’t get wrapped up in most Kingdom level politics. V was very nice and impressed me with all the stuff she does in 4-H with her daughters. And her kids were well-behaved, which reflects favorably on the parenting.
On setting limitations on ourselves: I am not a domestic goddess and I have no interest in winning any home-making awards. However, I am capable of a lot of things and I don’t worry about pigeon-holing myself or creating labels for myself or putting up artificial boundaries on my areas of interest based on what others expect from me. If I want to fight, I fight. If I want to sew, I sew. If I want to cook, I cook. If I want to trench the back yard to put in a brick border, I pull out the pick and dig the trench. (Which I will do after it starts raining and the ground softens up). Apparently I confounded Artos while we were at Fredi’s party. I was asking for the time and it was about 4pm. I blurted out that I had to get home because I had a roast in the oven. Artos froze in place with the oddest look on his face and then started laughing. Why is that funny? He said it was just so domestic and he was having a hard time picturing it.
I happen to know a lot of women with diverse areas of interest that overlap things that are traditionally male oriented, traditionally homemaker oriented, and typically girly-girl oriented. Artos is a splendid guy and I wasn’t annoyed with him, but he voiced a common message, which is that once people mentally classify you as tom-boy, girly-girl, domestic goddess or whatever, they never expect you to redefine your own role. I’ve been fighting this “labeling” -mentality all my life because of the choices I’ve made.
My first internal response was, “How dared anyone pigeonhole me?” What I actually said was, “I’m a woman of many, hidden talents. You obviously didn’t get any homemade cookies yesterday.” And he didn’t.
In the long run, people will make whatever judgements their experiences have taught them to expect and I can’t get upset about that. However, maybe I opened his eyes just a little to the trap of labeling people. More importantly, I had a quick insight that I know I am teaching my children to not label themselves or to let others limit them the same way. I am showing them that they can try whatever they choose to try and succeed at whatever they set their minds out to do and care enough about. And that makes me feel good because regardless of all the other baggage, that is one of the good things my parents did for me. I think I need to call my mom and thank her.
And I'm reading a good book, The Historian. It's been sitting on F's side of the bed for months and I only picked it up about a week ago. It's pretty good. Turns out that everyone else seems to already know about it because (they tell me) it's on all these best-seller lists. But if you live a busy-busy life and don't have a chance to track that sort of thing, I think it's pretty good, too. Thriller, mystery, vampire thing. Well written, too.
On the other hand, I'm about ready to dump, Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister. Good story line. Good setting. Bad writing. I may skim it to see how it turns out, but I can't waste any more time actually reading it.
no subject
I thought Confessions was better than his Oz thing, which bored me to tears. I liked Confessions' backdrop of Tulipmania, but that was about it. Historian has gotten an interesting mix of reviews, but I'll wait until I find it used. I still want to read Norvell's book, but not until I can find it used. Too cheap.
no subject
I like the setting for Confessions - reading "1632" got me hooked on researching the Low Countries, etc. But the writing is not keeping my attention. I just got to the part where Catherine de Medici is visiting with her godson for the ball, so I'll probably skim the rest.
The Historian, however, keeps me riveted. I love the style of blending two story lines - now and then - and how they unfold in parallel.