December’s Do’ins

December kinda ran by me without stopping, not that I could have stopped it anyway.  Two co-workers retired earlier this fall and more resigned for other employment, so “short staffed” took on a whole new meaning.  I had 2 days off early on & still ended up with over 37 hours of time & a half OT pay.  This was all well & good for the diminishing of debt but very poor indeed for seeing friends & getting enough sleep.  Did someone say Free Holiday Concerts?  Not this year dearie.

I was able to get together with the Urchin for a nice Birthday/Christmas celebration.  She got me the checkbook cover for my birthday & had me pick out a purse for Christmas.  I had thought to get one like hers but this small shoulder bag caught my eye.  Its got a zippered pocket with 6 credit card slots on one side, a flap closed pocket with an ID window on the other side & a center zippered compartment with places for my cell phone & merchant discount cards plus space for a multi-tool.  I love this purse!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to my Wonderful Thoughtful Urchin!

My friend Gypsy Jane & I also managed a trip together to Lynchburg  which included a birthday dinner.  We found an excellent Oriental Buffett with truly superb fried oysters & got various things done that GJ needed to do.  I also finally found a Melita coffee pot & drip cone set, the exact thing I’d spent all day searching for in C’ville, only to find it at the one coffee vendor I hadn’t visited -  Foods of All Nations. 

P.S. It has been decided to call my Chevy 2500 Express Van Dan’ll, as in Dan’ll the Van’ll do it. 

November Plots & December Plans

 

Back in the days when I was raising a school age child the months of November & December were – in a word – frantic.  Halloween to New Year’s Day was one event after another with multiple practices for all of the above, shopping for presents for St. Nicholas Day & Christmas (both calendars) squeezed in here & there, cooking both vegetarian & not in abundance plus the usual hurley burley of running a one adult household & dealing with the Urchin on a 2 month long sugar high.  January 2nd was the best day ever in my book.

I though the Urchin going to college & on into her own adult life would bring quiet to my life.   The fall OVPR Rendezvous, then a restive Advent , a bit of Nativity decorations around the house, a present or two to acquire & a small gathering of friends for a festive dinner.  WRONG!  So much for my illusions.  There may be less to do, but there is still too much to do & not enough time to enjoy doing it.  Plus my current employer is generally short staffed in November & December, so OT cuts into my personal time.  Extra money is good, but the time taken to get it is not so good.

I was able to visit the Urchin several times during November & we had a lovely weekend before Thanksgiving to go shopping, visit a used bookstore & just hang out.  It was during the T-bird visit that The Grand Plot was Hatched.  It seems Don had a Nook but Dolores didn’t  & sharing an e-reader works about as well as sharing a book.  So the Urchin & I asked Carly & Dean if they wanted to go in on getting Dolores a Nook reader.  They were game, we called Don to make sure Dolores hadn’t gotten one already & he joined the plot.  With 5 of us, we had enough to get Dolores the reader she wanted plus a gift certificate for a cover. 

For the next 2 weeks Don kept his wife out of Barnes & Noble as well as anywhere else that sold Nook readers.  Meanwhile we planned a nice St. Nicholas/Hannukha/Christmas dinner & present exchange at a local oriental buffet.  The buffet proved to be closed for renovations but a nearby Chinese restaurant worked out just as well.  A wonderful dinner was had by all (with various eating restrictions met nicely), & the Nook for Dolores was the surprise we all wanted it to be.   Sometimes the hurley burley of the season is really really worth it.

Rita’s 70’s Party

No folks, that’s not the party’s theme, its Rita’s age – she has made the big 7-0!

Rita’s just blown out the candles here.

Rita & Steve

Sondra, Bill, Rita, Lorraine, Judy & Lisa

(oh for a slightly wider angle lens or somewhat bigger room!)

The Rathbone Party Pooch, George & Steve

Urchin 1 & Urchin 2

(otherwise known as Darriel & Kat)

The food was wonderful & the singing was even better.

The Quiet Work of Winter

Well the rendezvous and motorcycle camping season for 2011 has come to a close.  Oh there will be days spent in the woods and solo rides from time to time, but the time for organized events for this year is past.  For the next four months I will be spending most of my non work days quietly at home working on house and gear projects.   I’ve got more than enough of both types of projects to keep me very very busy, enough to make a beaver look down right lazy in fact.

Currently I’m working on tying up loose ends on various projects already in progress as well as getting various small projects done.  I’ve finished the red stripped petticoat, repaired several seams and reattached some loose buttons on my attire.  The small wood boxes the Urchin and I used when we did Civil War events have been cleaned, had hinges and hasps attached as needed,  gotten the CW markings removed and been repainted flat black.  Now I’ve got a box for my iron stakes, a box for kitchen utensils and a box for candles, fire starters, fat wood and matches.   Two days were spent making fire starters so I’ve got a goodly supply of those in store also.

Most recently I’ve been working on belts.  The white belt is a 18th century buff leather military belt (yes it’s real buff leather).   It just needed its buckle sewn on and holes punched in it.   The black belt next to it is a belt I got from Barkertown Traders and it was originally medium brown.   I shortened it to fit me, dyed it black, stitched a new movable keeper for it,  sewed the buckle on and punched the holes.   I intend to use it to hold my match cote in place.  The brown belt next to it is another military belt that just needed its buckle sewn on and holes punched in it.   I have a French infantry belly box to reassemble to go with it.  The belt will be an even brown color once the Neatsfoot oil finishes soaking into the leather.  The last item is my blanket carrier.  I originally made it too long but that’s been fixed too.  I also worked on some powder horn straps but need to get some D rings to finish them up.

The routine house cleaning in the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are done and the rendezvous gear has been unloaded from the van.  I found some stock interior trim fasteners at Lowes that fit the 10 holes in the van floor from whatever cargo racks the previous owner had in my van.  They makes things look finished and block insects from coming in the mounting holes.  I also took the van to the car wash and got the rest of the EPR mud removed. 

Time to kick back and watch a Big Bang Theory episode or two.   And contemplate a name for my Chevy Express van.  Suggestions on a van name are encouraged.

2011 Fall OVPR–October 27-30

Its October and time for the OVPR !  A-Ho !  After the mudfest of the EPR I was more than ready for a four days in the 18th century woods with my friends.  Its time for Shining Times !   I was able to get to camp Wednesday evening just in time for BBQ pork dinner (which was most excellent), but then had to scurry around to get my camp set up by nightfall. 

Here’s my camp all unloaded from my mule Chevy and ready to be setup once I return from dinner.  The mule is already in the corral for the duration.

Here’s my lodge all setup.  I had to wait until Thursday morning after breakfast to take this shot.  Flash photos at Vous are down right disrespectful.

The fall OVPR traditionally has a pumpkin carving contest.  These fellows were out and about by Thursday afternoon.   The rain Friday and Saturday seemed to limit the carvers but there were still over 18 carved pumpkins around for the kids Trick or Treat on Saturday. 

Gypsy Jane had to work so she didn’t get to the Vous until Friday noon.  Here’s our lodges, the fire ring has been moved just under the fly so we weren’t cooking out in the rain.

Thursday was wonderful – sunny and warm.  A great day to be camping in the woods.

Friday and Saturday were nippy to the point of cold but still a great day to be camped in the woods.  The rain was steady but there little wind except up on Trader’s Row.

Nothing like good hot homemade stew to warm one’s inner man.

The rain meant a fair amount of folks put up side walls to their flies. There wasn’t much wind but it was nippy. Ah, 3 old friends just hanging out around the fire at Feather’s lodge. (Feather’s the guy in the middle.)

Another family keeping warm around their lodge fire.

Back from a Good Day on the Range.  The rain made it hard on the shooters but a goodly number competed anyway.

A watched pot may not boil, but when you’re having Shinning Times, who cares ?

Of course Hootie Owl saw that all was well at the Tavern.

Dulcimer Dave and Preacher Ken entertaining at the Ladies Social.

And me, Ballad Singin Sue trying to keep warm.  Under the hunting shirt I’ve got a wool vest over a flannel shirt.  The pants are 14 oz. wool.  The hat is NOT for sale.  Yes I’ve had offers to buy it right off my head.  If you want one, Jas. Townsend sells them in both black and gray wool felt.  The feathers you have to find for yourself. 

Eastern Primitive Rendezvous– 9/23 to 10/2

The Living History Foundation of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association sponsors several regional rendezvous around the country.  The largest of these is the Eastern Primitive Rendezvous, which is generally held in a mid-atlantic state.  I went to my first Eastern 15 years ago when it was held at Oak Ridge near Lovingston VA and my second 4 years ago at Muddy Run State Park near York PA.  Other sites for this event have been in West VA, Ohio and upstate New York – all too far to drive to easily.  So I was one excited skinner when it was announced that the EPR was returning to Tidewater Virginia !  And twice as happy when my old friend Marijo asked what it would take for her to come too – besides getting here that is.  So I sent Marijo patterns for a woman’s petticoat, shift and apron and began plans with Gypsy Jane for a 3 or 4 person camp.  (Jane had a friend who was to come also, but she ended up not making it.)

Thursday the 23rd saw me putting the last of the gear into my mule Chevy and buying the food I was responsible for bringing to camp.  Friday morning I took Sophie to the kennel, Marijo and I hopped into the van and we were off !  Off to an hour and 10 minute dead stop wait on I-64 in the rain due to an accident up the road a piece.  Oh well, we were dry, the gear was dry and the company was good.  Not for the first time during the EPR I was very glad I’d bought the Chevy Express van. 

We got to the EPR site, passed the skinner parking which looked very wet and muddy, drove into the participant entrance road, slipped a bit in the mud until we got on firm sand and got in line to register at 3:23 PM.  Except the gate was closed for the day due to over a foot of moving water making the entrance road impassible and the registration tent flooded.  So we rearranged the van and set up house to camp until the morning.  All in all there were 9 vehicles in the pre-vous.  One group set up their dining fly and brazier to cook dinner, 2 other groups built small fires right on the wet sand and did the same.   I hiked into the site and found Gypsy Jane’s lodge pitched in one of the few dry areas of camp.  Not surprising, this wasn’t her first rodeo.  .

The majority of the camping area was mud, mud and more mud.  This road was one of the better ones – only ankle deep.  Many were much much worse.   All in all 29 inches of rain fell on this site in September.  That’s 60% of the mean annual rainfall for this area of Virginia.

But the morning were gorgeous with warm fog blanketing the camp, then moving through in drifting banks before slowing burning away altogether.  This is the Commons, where various activities and seminars were to be held. 

It truly seemed a place out of time, even with various modern vehicles mired here and there around the site. 

This fine fellow was camped next to Gypsy Jane.  He loaded us his 4 wheeled cart which I used to help bring my camp into the site.  With Jane’s help plus some pushing from other skinners to get the cart through the mud and a gator ride for Marijo we were finally rendezvousing.

So was the rain.  It rained at least once every 24 hours, with a storm surge and hail added in Wednesday afternoon.  The entry road stayed impassible, although we were able to get the vehicles parked there into the handicapped parking area late Saturday.  The hooter and water trucks couldn’t get in to service the hooters and water buffaloes so they were moved to the fence line where they could to serviced.   And people adapted.

The only good way to move things in camp was by horse.   This is a Canadian, a breed indigenous to France that was brought to Canada by the early French colonists.  The Union Army imported over 250,000 of these horses during the Civil War, a situation which nearly bankrupted the breed’s breeding stock.  This fine fellow has a wonderful disposition but only understands French. 

These folks were giving carriage rides as well as helping folks haul their camps in or out of camp.  The head gear is to keep the flies from bothering the horses ears.

In spite of the mud and standing water everywhere shinning times were still had.  The lady on the left is Missy Clark, she loaned my friend Marijo several short jackets to complete her garb and so she could stay warm when it got cool at night.

Most folks just made the best of it all.  This fine camp had goopy mud under the fly and a couple of inches of standing water in the marque.  So they put down straw to help soak up the water.

The western plains skinners were out and about too.  Don’t let the picture fool you, there’s a foot of standing water in each of those lodges.  These folks ended up staying in local hotels and hiking in each day.

Monday was too muddy for the school tours but Tuesday was dry enough to take them on guided camp tours.  Here they’re at one of the blacksmith’s camps.

The Scottish games were also held – after all what’s a little mud and rain to a Scot ?  The games were opened by the piper and these 3 fine ladies are about to compete in the haggis throw.

This throw was a good one – the lady didn’t go over the branch on the ground or put her foot down until her man had caught the haggis bag.

Here the judge is making sure the her man catches the bag without going over the log at his end.  The other fellow is getting ready to toss the caber.

Of course more private celebrations were held too.  Henry and Deborah threw a birthday party for their grand daughter (the one with the big grin).  Fresh cherry cobbles was had by one and all.

On the morning of the Thursday 29th it looked like we could pack up but we wouldn’t be able to leave until Saturday or even Sunday.  Since I was to work Saturday and Sunday nights I was getting seriously worried here.  I called my daughter to see if she could check on my pets etc. and instead she volunteered to come and get Marijo who was having a hard time of it with the site conditions.  That occurred without a hitch.  Friday they cleared out the handicapped parking so I was able to load up and leave.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to leave a rendezvous.

But for all that, it still was a good time.  We sang at John’s Music Emporium, a marque setup for the sole purpose of providing a good place to pick and sing.  We watched stunningly beautiful sunsets and a spectacular hour long lighting show one night in the distance.  Marijo was able to get together with Deborah and help her with her tatting.  The camp feast went on as planned with yummy chicken and BBQ pulled pork.  Old friends were visited and new friends made.  In short – it was Shining Times my friends.

In 2013 the EPR will again be here in Virginia, at the same farm but at another area of the farm. 

New Wheels & Face Book Friends

This is my Faithful 2008 Canyon pickup. I bought it with 2247 miles on it and a full factory warranty shortly before the 2008 Memorial Day weekend SLR Rendezvous. We had a great many good times together. It got me to work, took me to rendezvous, went camping with me at the IWLL and generally helped me travel through life. It has even helped me move my Urchin’s stuff a time or two.

It suffered through the heat of summer and the snowstorms of 2009 – 2010. A gutsy little truck with a solid manual trans, Line-X bed-liner, monogramed mud flaps and Hello Kitty floor mats.  It even had a snazzy after market radio with an iPod line-in.  Its only real flaw was a wimpy 2400 tow capacity, a side effect of its manual trans and engine size.   In 78400+ miles all it ever needed besides routine maintenance was a water pump.

So I wasn’t really looking to replace my Canyon when I went to the multi-dealer car sales fest at the John Paul Jones Arena.  Gypsy Jane and I went there Friday afternoon to look at trucks in general.  I wanted to compare extended cab midsize pickups with regular cab full size pickups and get a better idea of just what was out there and at what cost.   Which I did, with occasional moments of profound amusement.  Somehow I can’t see me with a DVD player so my guitar and clothes can watch “The Last of the Mohicans” while I drive to a rendezvous, or leather seats which adjust electrically every which way and have an air cushion to boot (wonder how much it costs to fix when it breaks), or even a built in tool box in the pickup bed (it wasn’t all that large).  Clearly Charlottesville was not the place for serious pickup comparison shopping.  

On a whim I decided to check out vans on my way out of the display lot – I figured vans would be way out of my price range unless they had seriously high mileage.  The first 2 vans I passed confirmed my cost assumptions, both were out of my price range even though they also had over 90,000 miles.

Then I saw this 2004 Chevy Express cargo van with 33,733 miles for less than I paid for my Canyon.   A cargo van with full windows and no racks.  A very clean cargo van with a 4.8 liter engine that can tow 6400 pounds.  I went home, I thought it over, I went back Saturday morning and traded my Canyon for an Express van.  I even got more for my Canyon in trade than I owed on it. 

So now I’ve got a vehicle I can camp in or pack for an event and have my gear in dry, lockable storage.  A vehicle that can tow a horse  or 2 motorcycle trailer easily.   There’s even enough clearance to carry a motorcycle in the van, although I’d need to install proper tie-downs and get a  loading ramp to actually do it.   To sum it up, I’m one very happy camper.  And I’m sure someone out there will be very happy with my Canyon. 

Of course a new camping vehicle  means one has to go camping.  So after the paperwork got done Saturday I loaded my modern camp into the van and drove to IWLL to stay with Gypsy Jane.  She had left my place for IWLL the evening before in part to greet a FB friend named Chopper who was due to arrive there around noon.  Well he got delayed but Chopper and his lady did finally find the campground.

Choppy &  Lady

We had a grand time, the weather was most accommodating and sleeping on an airbed in the van worked out just fine.  (I do plan on making curtains with magnets for the van over the winter.) 

Madison Street Fair–Labor Day Weekend

Usually I’m at Belle Grove Plantation with the Shenandoah Long Rifles over Labor Day Weekend for one of their rendezvous, but this year the finances said that a trip to the lower Valley just wasn’t in the cards.  The Canyon decided it needed a water pump and my check book said I couldn’t do a water pump and a ‘vous, s-o-o-o, no ‘vous for me.  But that meant Gypsy Jane & I could go to the Madison Street Fair, which I usually miss ‘cause I’m off ‘vousing.   The fair is mostly a craft fair with a vintage car show, live music and various other displays related to the history of the town & county. 

The local Civil War unit had their encampment set up and the Historical Society museum was open.

When I was in high school I wanted an MG like this but in British Racing Green.  They’re not exactly in by price range & ya need to marry a mechanic to keep it ready to roll, but it was a nice dream.

Ah yes, the ever popular Hill Billy Pickup.

I really really liked these baskets.

Gypsy Jane really really likes all the jewelry.

A serious thunderstorm moved through right about 2 PM but otherwise it was a fine day to wander around, get lunch from a street vendor and otherwise just enjoy the day. 

Since I wasn’t off in the Valley I got various projects done here at the house.  The project motorcycles have been moved onto the driveway so I can get at the trim on that side of the house to clean & paint it.  I’m going to need a scaffold for that project but at least the area is ready whenever I am.  

I also got the rest of the gravel put where on the strip of dirt outside the kitchen door.  The table & chairs are Gypsy Jane’s, they make for a very nice Bistro as long as the weather holds.  I also got the yard beat back into shape – all the rain had conspired with my work schedule to produce long shaggy grass that was a real job to mow.  The back soffit and eve painting is also done.