Thursday, January 24, 2008

You know you're a Reenactor IF...


You might be a reenactor if...

Author unknown
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You might be a reenactor if...
...you've ever been chased out of a GAR meeting for "Spreading lies about our glorious forefathers!"

...sleeping outside in the rain and mud is your idea of a fun Saturday night.

...you can identify a regiment by the curses heard from their camp. (Son of a who?)

...you can't sing without a mug of something in your hand.

...you can spot oznaburg linen at 30 yards.

...you have ever spent over 300 dollars on clothes that went out of style over 150 years ago.

...you have ever replayed Ken Burns' "The Civil War" 25 times in a row just to get a glimpse of your foot in the left-hand corner of the screen.

...you've ever uttered the phrase "only 68 more days 'til (pick an event)!"

...you've ever fondled your musket lovingly.

...you consider life's essentials to be black powder and booze!

...you've ever gotten laid under canvas

...your employer says: "Oh, are you going out to play that war crap again?"

...your dinner guests see one of your uniforms and exclaims "Are you in a theater production?"

...your neighbor's dog is barking due to the high frequency pitch of the bugles and drums playing in your back yard.

...you've stockpiled lots of candles by the back door as a reminder not to forget them.

...you travel over 2000 miles to sleep in tent, at an historic site.

...used your musket to kill something to eat. (or Mountain Howitzer for my friends in the unit!)

...spent over $1000 for a gun that has to be DeFarbed.

...have slept with your weapons.

...put on your "Real" clothes just to look at yourself in the mirror.

...don't participate in games that encourage the throwing away of your weapon.

...you've sat in a theater with your friends and puzzled the audience by laughing through most of "Gone with the Wind".

...you drive by some open land and think "What a great place for a battle!"

...for Men: You're at the beach and a young beauty passes by in a thong swimsuit, and you fantasize about how great she'd look in "a corset and cage crinoline."

...you know by heart the lines to: Zulu, Zulu Dawn, The Four Feathers, and ANY Monty Python skit.

...you've repeatedly worn wool when the temperature tops 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

...you and your spouse are in direct competition over who gets to wear more plumes. (for us Confederates, not so much)

...you've received powder burns, pan flash burns, pulled off ticks, been infested by chiggers, gotten poison ivy, and still look forward to camping out every time.

...if there are a couple of cannon balls on stairs.

...if your house needs a coat of paint.

...if on holidays half the bowls and cups on the dinner table are hand thrown reproductions.

...if there are two or three muskets stacked in the parlor corner. (ours are in the living room)

...if there are half completed sewing projects decorating the parlor furniture.

...you've made a career decision based on its impact on your weekends.

...you've made a vehicle purchase decision based on how well it accommodates your kit and gets into and out of lost fields

...your neighbors talk about how your house smells of rotten eggs on Mondays.

...on Monday your business associates comment on the funny tan/sunburn line that ends at the hatline.

...no one will attend a war movie/historical costume drama with you.

...your reenacting wardrobe is more valuable than your business attire.

...your $30,000 car sits out in the weather so your $200 tent can stay in the garage.

...you have more reenacting shoes than 20th century shoes. (not quite, but I'm working on that)

...you spend more on a pair of reenacting shoes than on your "dress" shoes.

...you earn a good salary, but are always broke.

...your mailman stays confused (what the heck rank are you in the Reserves anyway?)

...your kids can correct their history teachers.

...you fly strange flags.

...your vanity tag gets lots of comments.

...your business associates are afraid to walk into your office. (Is that grenade on your desk real?)

...your freezer is full of candles (makes 'em burn longer - really!)

...you have more closet space devoted to costumes than "real" clothes.

...you get the "flux" on the way back home.

...in the middle of summer, you dread wearing a short-sleeved shirt in your air-conditioned office, while you can't wait to get to the next event, where you can dress in a long sleeved shirt, with a vest, wool coat, hat, and carry around 40 or 50 pounds of bulky gear on your back, while firing away with your musket, and then relaxing next to your cookfire.

...you have ever been asked at a gas station if you are Amish.

...you have ever assessed road kill as lunch meat potential.

...you win Halloween costume competitions - hands down.

...if you answered any or all of the following questions from the public; Is that a real fire?, Is that a real baby?, Is that real food and do you eat it?, Did you sleep here last night?, Do you sleep in that?, Is that a real sword?, Can that gun shoot?, Do you use real bullets?, Aren't you hot?, Do you get wet if it rains?, Is that hair real?, What did they use for toilet paper?, Are you from the North or the South?, Asked by a kid after a battle: "Did you really die?"

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Now Aidan is 2 months old

I realized that I hadn't posted any pictures of the baby boy in awhile now on the blog. I post on facebook usually, so if you're so inclined, just join over there and send me a friend request and you'll be able to see all the pictures. This is Aidan at Great Nanny and Poppa's house where he met and enchanted one of his two sets of Great Grandparents!
This is his first visit to Buffalo Wild Wings which is one of the favorite places of his mom and dad and grandmom and grandpa. :) The noise of this sports place didn't bother him at all and he slept while we were eating.
This one was when he and his mom got back home to Hawaii...I love this smile. You don't think I'm too proud of a grandmother do you? haha Aidan's 2 month birthday was January 17th.

A cold Saturday

We met at the meeting place for our Unit Annual meeting to go to the Lee-Jackson Day parade and Service. The day was cold and overcast, but I had on layers and layers of clothes, plus a bonnet and fur muff to add when we got downtown. I'd made the overcoat for the Remembrance day parade in November, but since Jenn was busy having her baby the day of the parade, I didn't get a chance to wear it until yesterday. I had my short paletot and a quilted sontag on underneath. It was quite cold.
The parade was on the street just in front of the Baltmore Museum of Art on the Johns Hopkins campus. There were various organizations represented at the parade, the Sons and Daughters of Confederate Veterans (quite a number of chapters of those), Historical Socieites from Maryland, Veterans of other wars, descendants, and reenactors that represented both Confederates and Union soldiers. Our own unit has a Union sister organization from Pennsylvania so we had a "Blue Coat" with us yesterday too.
This is a view from behind the ranks where I was standing of the Flags and the Statue. This statue is absolutely beautiful and for all the time I've lived in Baltimore, I never knew it was there! It depicts Robert E. Lee atop his horse, Traveler, and Thomas Jonathan Jackson on his horse, Little Sorrel. There were speaches, prayers, and presentations of wreaths on the occasion of Lee and Jackson's birthdays. These southern gentlemen were fantastic role models of gentility and honor. There were no political agendas, just a rememberance and honoring. There was one bicyclist that yelled things as he rode by, he just showed his ignorance of history by what he said.
This is the colorguard that was on the dias for the ceremony. The SCV provided refreshments in Shriver hall afterward and some warmth. I think the high was probably only in the low to mid 30's F yesterday. We went back to our meeting where we conducted business for the unit and enjoyed socializing and eating with our dear friends and extended reenactment family. It was a great day! :)

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Quilting progress by default

Long story short, Mark and I flew to Moline to visit with his mom and dad over the end of the holidays and to spend time with Jen and Michael and Aidan. While we were there we had a monster snow storm that delayed us 2 extra days in getting home. By the time we were able to leave, I started feeling badly (Nanny was already sick) and by the time we got back to BWI I knew I had a full blown cold or flu. I spent lots of time in bed and ended up with completely blocked ears, a raging sinus headache that was at times pounding, but sometimes I had times when I had less pain so I decided to make some room in my sewing room and work on the quilt.
The quilt is 6x6 blocks, this is row #3 of 6 blocks that I've made since I've been home. I've enjoyed working on it but since each block doesn't take that long, I've often been ready to go back to bed by the time an individual was done.
I got the sashing done today and sewed it to the other 2 rows as well. I really need to get cleaning as Jon came home for the holidays (and we very much enjoyed his visit!) and took his dresser out of his former room which is now my office and he and Mark took down the loft bed so I can make a part time guest room in my office and clear some space in my sewing room. I'm so excited.
I got to experiment with a bunch of new colors of fabrics that I'd been picking up when I went to Gettysburg and I did some new blocks for me as well as some favorites that I'd done in other quilts. I enjoy using scraps from some of my civil war dresses in my quilts too.
I'll have to wait until I'm feeling up to moving things around and leaning over to pick up things that are now on the floor while I organize. That's ok..one step at a time. I also made a nightgown from some of the Hawaiian fabric that I sent home from my last trip to visit Jen.