8 March 2010

This is the brocade that I referenced recently as being in such short supply. It will eventually be an under-doublet for John, but here it is, as I’m using it as the guarding at the bottom of BeaJay’s skirt.

It’s that time of year, when many, if not most of my photos are going to be of fabric, trims, buttons and sewing machine parts!

~MB

7 March 2010

At one point in the middle of a rather lazy, rainy Sunday, I snapped this photo of Cormac while he and ‘Tia played some form of “keep-away” with the kong toy.

This is such a sweet face. How grateful we are this little dog came into our lives.

~MB

6 March 2010

Yay! North Texas Irish Festival! We look forward to this event every year. It’s not as amazing as the Milwaukee Irish Fest—that’s the biggest Irish Festival in the country. But, we have the second biggest one right here in Dallas, and it has grown into a truly fabulous event.

For a while, I had become less than enthusiastic about it. Our favourite band had broken up and it took the wind from our sails, as it were. Then, came my personal realization that when I don’t know the people on the stage, I am much more likely to be somewhat bored by what’s going on up there. Even when the music is good. Call it a side effect of my very minor ADD tendencies, I guess. I just need something else to do while listening. And, despite my love for music, it doesn’t play the huge role for me that it does for Kyle. For example, right now, I am sitting in a quiet house, enjoying the sounds of the birds and the wind chimes. And, of course, March was always a difficult time financially, what with my income being seasonal and starting in April. The more financially responsible we became, the less money we felt we should be spending at the festival, which meant I couldn’t really shop and truly enjoy all the wonderful artisans and vendors.

That’s when I decided it was time to start to volunteer! I got my TABC certification, and I started working the whiskey tasting. I loved it. In my second year of doing that, there was a severe shortage of folks to pour beer, and I got transferred to a beer tent—and I loved that, too! So, this year, I worked my fourth year of the whiskey tasting and my third in a beer tent. I did two shifts, which earned two admissions and a free t-shirt. I still got to hear a couple of really wonderful bands, I got to walk through the vendor areas, but didn’t have enough time to spend money, and I had a blast. Kyle pretty much spent the day at the giant, outdoor “rock” stage, with dozens of our friends coming by to see him, and sometimes spending hours there with him. After the final show (which I got to see over half of!) we were part of a group of eleven or so that descended on a Chili’s restaurant on the way home. We had a delightful time winding down from the day before heading home to two wonderful dogs that were really glad to see us. I think it was a perfect day for both of us!

I snapped this photo between my shifts, as the sun was starting to set and the light was really nice.

If you haven’t been to Fair Park lately, it’s worth the trip. The grounds have been somewhat refurbished over the last few years, and this year’s big project was the long reflecting pool between the main buildings. Complete with dancing water fountains coordinated to music, it’s a lovely, sensory addition to the park. Nicely done, Dallas!

~MB

4 March 2010

This is a fabulous piece of fabric I picked up a while back, during a fabric safari with BeaJay and John. At the time, I think John was underwhelmed with it, but I’m hoping it will grow on him! The fabric he really wants for his under-doublet is one I already had, and there is very, very little of it. I have enough for the project, but not enough to allow for any sort of screw-ups. So, I thought, since I’m experimenting with a different sort of pattern for him, it would be good to try it on something I have in plenty. Ironically, this amazing chenille brocade is gonna be it. If my new pattern works as planned on this one, I’ll go ahead and cut the other fabric. So, he’s gonna get two separate under-doublets. And, assuming he doesn’t hate this fabulous fabric once he has it on, I guess he’ll get two sets of sleeves as well. Hmmm … I guess I should be sewing instead of writing!

~MB

4 March 2010

This photo represents an early test of what will eventually be awesome new shirts for the Pub Guys!  Ronnie and Mike translated Kyle’s logo design into embroidery and voila!  I am so excited, I just had to share.

I know the guys are looking forward to having Pub Guy branded shirts that they can actually wear to work.  And, once that’s done, the sky’s the limit!  Baseball caps, computer bags … we can have the logo put on almost anything!  Woo hoo!

The visit from Ronnie that brought me these samples was just one productive aspect of my day, today.  Lots of East Wind Games phone calls and emails; sewing, of course; a little bit of laundry; some exercise and playtime with the dogs; and … an appointment got made for me to visit an acupuncturist!  I’m pretty nervous about it, but the good news is the appointment is tomorrow—it’ll all be over, soon, so the stress can’t get too bad!  In an effort to reward myself in advance, I convinced Kyle to take me to Fuzzy’s for dinner.  Yay!

~MB

~KR (Written on 4 March 2010)

Listening to:
The Bell Hit by Howling Bells
from Howling Bells

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

3 March 2010

As I write this, we are still sitting at the Firehouse Grill in Mansfield. The Pub Guys show went well, tonight, despite the fact that Bryan is sick and Terrill is on watch duty at the hospital with his wife. The three that were here did a great job. Kat and I had a good time, but I think we were the smallest PG1 crowd, yet. Where was everybody?

I took this shot as the guys were packing down all their equipment and about to order another beer.

~MB

2 March 2010

I snapped this photo of the big sign at Lincoln Court, the local shopping plaza that is home to No Frills Grill. It is Tuesday, after all.

~MB

~KR (Written on 2 March 2010)

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

~KR (Written on 2 March 2010)

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire