Of Corsets and sleep

My two consuming passions this weekend were to a) sleep, and b) research and start work on a corset. The sleep thing is easily understandable, but the reasoning behind the corset thing is that I’m going to be attending Faire in a few weeks, and then will be a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding. For someone with ‘lumpiness’ issues like me, a corset is an obvious solution! I found a lady who will make custom ones on eBay that looks promising (and reasonably priced!), and I also drafted a corset pattern for myself on Saturday afternoon. I cut out a ‘trial’ fabric piece out of nasty cheap chetengi, and was pleasantly surprised! I want to try using green bamboo as a stiffener, and if that one works well, I’ll make a shell to bring home and stiffen with a great idea I found on-line: heavy duty zip ties! Of course a third option would be to buy a corset at Faire, but they aren't cheap. Of course I understand about being handmade, steel boned, and lovingly assembled, but that doesn't make it much easier to fork over a wad! I think I’ll see how my version pans out, and then go from there. At the very least, I can now say that not only did I draft my own farthingale pattern, but I can do corsets up too!

Speaking of Faire, I have a hankering to try an authentic knotted hair net. I have lots of black floss, so I just need to see if I can find some suitable elastic for a base. So many ideas…so little time!

Happy Year of the Snake!

As Sunday was Chinese New Year, I thought I would light up two Chinese lanterns in all their dangerous REAL LIT CANDLE glory. I found candles that fit the oddly shaped holders inside, and very carefully closed them up and hang them from a coat hanger (those things give off a lot of heat through the top!). I had never tried anything other than the suitably non-dangerous sort, so I was tickled to see how much light the candle gave off compared to the fake LED candles I had tried in my other lanterns the other night. I was amazed at how well the lantern sheltered the flame (meaning from the angle I was sitting at to get the pictures I had a hard time blowing out the candles!), and at how well designed they were. It would take some real stupidity or high winds to set the lantern on fire; not what you would expect when you talk about putting a candle into a paper ball! Makes me want some sesame chicken… Only two more months till I touch down in Texas!

So I've been playing with a fun little knitting project--origami style purses! These are really easy to make, and even though I am 'special' and managed to sew one side on wrong, it still works quite well! Here is is all folded up:

And this is what it looks like when it's open. As you can see, I had to use my Soak bottle to get it to stay up--that blocking really convinced it to lie flat!

To former students: Your past does not have to rule your future, or be dwelt on negatively.

To the school: The past which we were not a part of does not have to be apologized for, or seen as the ultimate evil that if it can only be avoid will guarantee that we are a good school.

Half-term Triolet

I'm always trying to come up with a 'creative' way for the kids to write about term events, so for this half-term I dug in my rhyming dictionary, and found a form that looks easy enough for my kids. So, this morning I scribbled my own triolet as an example, and thought I would inflict it on you!

Gliding down the river

In sunlight and cold water,

The drops make me shiver

Gliding down the river.

Dragonflies a-quiver

My dog I'm glad I brought her

Gliding down the river

In sunlight and cold water.

Roman Reading

During the term my reading tends to follow what my kids are learning about, with some ‘escape from school’ reading on the side. This term, as we are studying ancient Rome, there are lots of things to interest me and help me have a deeper sense of the material I’m going to be teaching the children. So, here are three books that I’ve read quite recently that have been amusing and helpful in my study of ancient Rome.

The Ides of April by Mary Ray combines a murder mystery in ancient Rome with a compassionate look into the life and lot of a slave, as well as a gentle hint at the spread of Christianity. The senator is dead, and it’s up to his son in law and secretary to find out who did it and save the household slaves from execution. I’m currently reading this to my kids as their historical fiction novel for the term.

The Flames of Rome by Paul Maier was a book that greatly exceeded my expectations. I have very high standards for historical fiction, and this book met them all. There were great references to Paul, Pricilla and Aquila, and Peter, that didn’t spout a chapter or two of Acts at you. Nero was made totally real in his odiousness, and the main character, the ‘mayor’ or Rome did not get saved in a gushing scene at the end, but as an afterthought we are informed that he too did eventually believe after all the things he had seen and read. The ‘ick’ of ancient Rome is dealt with in a tasteful manner, and you leave wishing the book hadn’t ended!

Trunk Road for Hannibal by John Hoyte has been a interesting way to look at Hannibal—in the summer of 1959 a team of people crossed the Alps from France to Italy with an elephant to test out some theories about the route taken by Hannibal, and the reliability of the ancient record. Quite an interesting read, and leaves you wanting to procure a pachyderm and wander over the Alps yourself! We think this person might have been a relative of the Hoyte family of missionary fame, but aren’t quite sure how he is related. While out of print, this was well worth the read!

Bits n' bobs

We're studying The Phantom Tollbooth in literature this term, so I decided that I would finally get around to making those roll-out cookies I had wanted to try, and allow my kids to 'eat their words.' My first idea was to cut out their initials and put them on a large cookie, but that quickly became impractical. So, I just stamped the letters, and worked better than I thought it would. The larger cookie I chose as the background? Texas of course!

My poor cat is recovering from being spayed--yesterday she looked so pitiful! She's doing better today though; much more like herself. I'm having to giver her liquid anitbiotics three times a day, and Java is appreciating it less and less. At least it won't be for long...

I've been thinking a lot about what I'll be telling people back home about life here; there are so many little oddities that I just take for granted now! This made me smile this morning:

Why yes, those ARE ketchup and mustard bottles in my shower!

You can't get travel bottles here, so this was the best solution to the huge bottles I had been sent on the container.

By the way, Paula Dean's sugar cookie recipe is pretty good!