Slug Crossings: January 2013

Hooray for holidays! (Maybe not...)

Yes, I put up a tree this year. And the nutcrackers.

Confession: They are still up.

Pictures?

Tree. My phone doesn't do so good, but there it is. Fruit, misc family ornaments, and a bunch of nutcrackers.

Nutcrackers 1.

Nutcrackers 2.

Nutcrackers 3. I seem to remember that I now have 52.

Grendel, marshaling his troops.

There was also this little event called Twelfth Night...

It was here in Portland, so we got some cool photos.

Here's some that I did not take and I don't remember who did:

Our new King and Queen, UlfR Blodfotur Fallgrson and Caoimhe (Keeva) ingen Domnaille,

Bringing back the Emblems of State,

The Chivalry swearing fealty,

Crowning the King (Vik had fantastic step-down clothes!).

King and Queen of the West, our Guests, coming into Court.

I made a new outfit, since I hadn't made anything really nice for awhile. Here's some process:

The colors here aren't quite true, but I had silk shantung in a vibrant red-orange, and orange-gold, and teal. Unlikely, but they *worked*.

There was also banding on the sleeves, and hem.

Before banding on sleeves and hem.

After banding on sleeves and hem.

Eh. Hanging in hallway.

And me at the event? Only two pics, both not-so-great:

Me, presenting a Laurel candidate. You can only see a little of the gown. I look so OLD. And Luciano looks sooo bored...

Iurii caught me, and I was telling him "No you don't!" He snapped it anyway. I look very orange. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Next event- Adiantum Midwinter's, teaching a class on Frankish Culture. Heh. After that, Kingdom A&S, presenting at Laurel meeting again. And Phil and Annie are hoping to be there too!

That's it for now!

And the girlieez are TWO!

I am finding it hard to believe they are two, maybe because I missed so much of their early days (Grrr... that woman!), but they are home and I get to see more of them. So some pictures!

This was taken Tuesday, 1-22. They LOVE their books and love to have them read! They are constantly pulling them all down too- you can't keep them on the shelf. I guess there are worse things.

They also love their butterfly wings, and wear them a lot. they are absolutely darling in them!

At Phil and Annie's wedding-Anastasia, wearing her usual sweet and winsome expression.

And Ilyana, in her default mischievous face.

Ilyana, probably thinking up trouble...

Anastasia, finding it (she was putting sticks and pinecones through a knot hole in the fence).

One of my favorite pics. Out on a family picnic with Grandpa.

From the same picnic.

A tree-hugger already!

Driving Grandpa's car!

I has a stick, Sis! (They call each other Sis.)

Anastasia knows her name- she will tell you it is Ana. Neither of them can say Ilyana's name yet- L's are hard. But this week Anastasia called me Gam-ma! That made me feel SO GOOD!

They're good little girls. And except for that they don't like my casserole (barbarians!) they eat yummy things that are good for them, love their baths, and like to go to church with Grandpa. I think we will try the eventing again this May.

More pictures in the next post!

And just when you thought I was gone...

All right, I've been busy. And sucked majorly into Facebook. Which is the same thing, right?

We had a wedding! Phil and Annie had a lovely wedding here in Portland. We had an election. (THANK *GOD* THAT IS OVER!) I had a birthday. (meh.) There were Holidays. And then Twelfth Night. Joy. And now there will be a short period of rest before the next round hits. Ready? Ok. Well, that was a nice little rest, wasn't it?

I baked a lot of brownies this fall, for Jefferson Smith (that really is his name, and he ran for Portland Mayor) and for some guy in Washington DC with a weird name and a decent jump shot. Jeff lost, sadly. (Next time, dude!) And the President got another four years. I guess the time off for good behavior gets to happen in 2017.

Some pictures:

Wedding- 9-29-12