Hasta Luego Thursday, May 31 2007

31 May 2007

Another day of recovery for Kyle–I’d do anything to help him feel better.  I was hoping the antibiotics would have kicked in by now . . .

Another day of errands and such for me.  Today was dogs-to-the-vet day . . . and that was not a cheap expedition!  But, we got it done.  All up-to-date on everything.  And the timing was good, since Tia has just developed a nasty little hot spot on her back.  So, we got baths, and she got meds.  I’m somewhat amused that both Tia and Kyle are on antibiotics this week.  So, neither one of them should be drinking alcohol for a few days! 😉

I also have a clean truck in the driveway for the first time in a long time!  Oil change and wash and vacuum—and boy, did it need the vacuum!  And while it was dirty, I’d almost forgotten how very . . . red . . . it is.  As I said when I bought it, and I told Kyle today—it’s that multi-syllabic, come and get it “raaaaeeeeyyy-ed.”

The photo is of the pretty window above the door at the Tex Mex restaurant next door to the car wash where I like to grab a margarita while the vehicle is being serviced.  On your way out the door, you see the words that mean, “so long.”

~MB

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Carved Fleur de Lys Wednesday, May 30 2007

30 May 2007

As I sit down to write this post, the thunder has begun . . . again.  The long-range forecast shows thunderstorms in our future every day for another week!  I really am beginning to wonder about gathering the animals two by two . . .

This fleur de lys is one of two—the other one is the same, but upside-down—on the front of the china cabinet that I shot a couple of weeks ago.  The fleur de lys were the reason I had to buy the antique piece in the first place, many years ago.  So, while this photo is part of my little series of architectural adornments, it might just have to also be the first in a series my friends would easily have predicted—of fleur de lys.

The fleur de lys or fleur de lis, comes in many shapes and variations, all basically consisting of a stylized version of an iris–or literally translated: flower of  the lily.  It has been used for centuries, by many a civilisation, but has primarily become a symbol associated with the French—and by way of the “auld alliance” has made its way into many a Scottish heart as well.  The Caruthers coat of arms is three golden fleur de lys divided by chevrons.  Kyle can recite the proper emblazon; I only know I love it!  I have always loved the symbol, but upon becoming a Caruthers it took on even more meaning.  I would hesitate to even guess the number of these things that can be found throughout our house. 

I suppose, with only seven of the twelve months behind us, I will indeed find other photogenic fleur de lys to capture for the KRuMB.  I humbly apologise in advance!

~MB

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Linen Press Wednesday, May 30 2007

29 May 2007

Wow.  This picture is just about as exciting as my day.  And, for that I am grateful.  I needed a day off.  Bedtime—I located my camera and took a few pictures of this pretty little piece of furniture in our bedroom. 

A little bit of paperwork is about all the accomplishment I can claim for the Tuesday after our three-day, Memorial Day Weekend, closing weekend at Scarborough.  I’m toast.

Tomorrow, perhaps I’ll have the energy to do email or something!

~MB

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Singing in the Rain Tuesday, May 29 2007

28 May 2007

Memorial Day

Rain again.  Or was it “still?”  Yes, I think that’s better—still raining.  Three day weekend.  Three days of rain.  Three days of mud. 

This is a photo of the beautiful and talented Queen Anne’s Lace, joined by the future opera star we all know and love as “Just Matt” Young.  The girls were on the stage, performing one of their afternoon shows, when the heavens literally opened up and the bottom fell out of whatever was holding the water in the sky.  It began suddenly, and rained hard and fast for about an hour. 

Final day of Scarborough Renaissance Festival’s 2007 season—and if we weren’t ready to be done anyway, we certainly are after dealing with that final weekend of rain and mud.  Oh, so much mud.

It’s been a great season—East Wind Games did very well in its second year at faire. We are so proud and look forward to the future.  Pendragon Costumes, too, had what I believe was a record season for Scarborough!  Woo Hoo!  And we love our mulch!  Did I mention there was mud? 🙂

~MB

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Twig Tuesday, May 29 2007

26 May
This is Twig:

A kindlier, more gentle, more beautiful fairy you will never meet. There is not enough positive to say about this delectable creature. The current girlfriend of one of my dear friends, she always sheds light & laughter whereever she goes. Certainly she entranced my young niece who was with me as I took this photo. In fact, Twig was kneeling to play for McKenna at this moment. Amazing.
Cheers.

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 58 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction

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Ghostly Blue Tuesday, May 29 2007

25 May
Friday night. I was still sick, out-of-sorts and generally unhappy. I was unable to keep my dinner in me, but still I had to be at faire for final weekend.
We arrived, unloaded and I was just thinking about calling it a night (try to get a good nights sleep, you know?), when it occurred to me that I’d yet to take a photo. I went back downstairs and tried some long-exposures of the faire site at night. But there just wasn’t enough ambient light to make them work. Therefore, I grabbed my little flashlight that I keep attached to my keyring and did this:

A bit ghostly (or should I say ghastly as that’s how I felt?), a bit surreal but groovy in final execution.
Cheers.

Camera: Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Exposure: 15 sec (15)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 2 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

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Rescued Tuesday, May 29 2007

27 May 2007

This fun photo of Mary with a butterfly on her hat is just one of the cute photos I got of her and her new friend.  She’s very photogenic!  As for the butterfly, it seems he was the victim of a brutal air attack by a spider.  Mary watched the spider knock the butterfly out of the sky, saw where it fell, and quickly shooed the wayward spider away.  Silly spider didn’t seem to know we only allow them to live in our space with the understanding that they attack and kill the mosquitoes!  Anyway,  Mary coaxed the stunned butterfly onto her finger, and eventually onto her hat, where he stayed all afternoon, all evening, and actually was still there the following morning!  Alive, but perhaps not well—he will at least have the chance to live his final days in peace, with his rescuer, Mary.

For the record–day two of Memorial Day weekend at faire.  More rain.  Yuck.

~MB

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Much-loved Quilt Tuesday, May 29 2007

26 May 2007

Rain.  The rain we didn’t get in Arlington during the week—apparently Waxahachie did!  The faire site was a mess already when we arrived Friday night, making unloading the vehicle very special.  And, despite the fact that Mama and John and William and McKenna were in the RV in the parking lot, we opted not to walk out to have an evening visit with them—because of the mud!  Instead, we went upstairs, thinking we’d call it an early night, and discovered we had to completely remake our bed—and deal with a leak.  Yep.  Wet futon—not fun.  Brand new roof.    Grrrr.

So, anyway, after a busy, busy day, and a wonderful visit in the pouring rain with the family as they tried bravely, to experience the faire with us, the only picture worth posting is this interesting shot of the quilt that was on our bed until we had to hang it to dry!  The quilt is one of two that Kyle’s grandmother we call Nonie, made for us–this one’s actually his–and we have used them and used them and loved them almost to pieces! 

We really did enjoy our time with my family—it was just way too brief.  I’m hoping a July visit to Florida can actually happen for me.  After my mama has just spent a month with her beautiful little granddaughter, I’m thinking she’ll be lonely, and a visit from me might be a good thing!

~MB

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McKenna’s Zipper Purse Monday, May 28 2007

25 May 2007

Friday Madness made a little more interesting by the presence of my family.  But, I wouldn’t have traded having them here for anything!  I even squeezed a completely frivolous shopping trip to Chico’s into the afternoon of banking and such.  Mama and I have a bit of a tradition of shopping together at a Chico’s store whenever possible, and this time we hit two stores in two days!  Wa-hoo!

After Kyle got home from work, we all went out for pizza before taking off for the faire site.  This photo was taken at the pizza place, and although it’s a rather poor snapshot, it captures the memory of my niece McKenna unzipping her little purse into one big, long zipper strip, and having it stretch across the restaurant!

~MB

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Edelweiss Friday, May 25 2007

24 May 2007

Not just a pretty song from The Sound of Music—Edelweiss Restaurant in Fort Worth is one of the best places to enjoy German food, and usually very fun, very campy oompah style music.  Tonight, when we got there, however, we were greeted by the owner who apologised for the lack of air conditioning and electric lights!  Apparently a lightening strike took out a local transformer, and the restaurant was operating with generator power!  Fortunately, the kitchen there is equipped with gas for cooking and the food was as amazing–or maybe even moreso–as ever.  And we enjoyed it by candlelight!

Kyle and I had been looking forward to an evening at Edelweiss for about a year—since we last took Mama and John there and they enjoyed it so much!  Tonight was a unique evening there, and with no sound system, the accordian player made his rounds to all the tables, and played for each group of patrons, chatting and making the experience completely unforgettable!

I wish Kyle had been feeling better tonight.  I turns out he probably should not have gone to work today, after all.  He’s still feeling pretty poorly, and I think was feeling worse tonight than last night!  Hopefully, he can make it through a workday tomorrow, but the weekend is going to be rather hellish for him.   Thank goodness for good friends who will pitch in and help run East Wind Games.

~MB

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