Albreda

Doors

albreda — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 02:25:04 GMT

O just told me a retake on an old adage, namely, when one door closes, another one opens. The bit suggested opening the closed door, since that is how doors work.

I like the agency that suggests; that we don't have to passively take whatever door happens to be open to us, or accept the closing of doors that we would prefer stay open. We can instead open the damned door ourselves. I countered that sometimes the door is locked, and in those cases there is no sense pounding on that door forever if there is another one open (even looking up from our fight with the locked door is hard). That said, knocking on a locked door might get someone to come to the other side and open it for you. Not directly using our agency on the door, but still asking that it become unlocked. Note that pounding on the door is more likely to scare off anyone on the other side, rather than enlist their cooperation.

Nice metaphor.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.

Birthday wishes to two very feisty folks!

albreda — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 01:18:03 GMT

Happy birthday to hakerh and calygrey !

Pictures from NRWC 2013

albreda — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 02:55:59 GMT

My photos from Northern Region War Camp 2013 can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13925392@N02/sets/72157634582927059/

They highlight the heavy list fighters, Court, the vigil of Countess Alethea Eastriding, various protege and household ceremonies, and, obviously, the lovely people of the SCA.

Please feel free to use my photos in any way that makes both you and the people in the images happy. :)

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albreda — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 23:55:21 GMT

So. Yeah. Just when I think my life must have run out of other shoes to drop, up it shows with booty from a raid on an outlet mall.

In short, this can stop *anytime now*. Rolling with so many things in a row, in so many areas of my life, I'm starting to feel a little bit like a one-woman avalanche, but I refuse to tiptoe through my own life, you know? I just want the damned thing to finish falling already! Gah!

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The Matter of Love

albreda — Wed, 29 May 2013 18:42:06 GMT

Today I am loving, and honoring, three very different men. One is is a gas, and needs someone there to help hold him together, so I'll be there, week in and week out, trying to help keep him from drifting away. One is a liquid, flowing from shape to shape, trying things out, changing again; a little uncertain, but trying to be clear, trying to find his flow. I'll bear witness to that, and be present to him and to his experience. I might even dip my toe in sometimes, when I'm invited. The last is solid, and recently chipped. He's trying to figure out where his edges are, and my being close to him right now might block his view of himself, and might get me cut on shards besides. I need to stay away while he does what he needs to do, and I wish him well in smoothing out what sharp edges he finds.

My experiences with these three men at the present time are totally different, and the love I feel for each of them is different, but the love I feel for them; the connection I honor with each of them, regardless of the distance from which I do it, is real. That love, that honoring, matters.

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Unpacking

albreda — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 15:18:57 GMT

Yes, there is physical stuff that needs unpacking, and since I am in VT, boxing stuff, there will soon be more, but I'm writing today about mental unpacking.

I've been unpacking a box of previously-overwhelming guilt-connected to-dos this week, and I'm feeling really good about it. Stuff that has just sat there and made me feel bad about myself for too long is getting dealt with. Yay! Even better, I have momentum going, and am committed to continuing to deal with the other items on the list: I'm looking for work, and am systematically developing more skillsets to up my employability. I'm getting my financial house in order, which includes getting this VT house ready for sale. I'm thinking about my friendships and other relationships, looking at the roles I play in each of them, figuring out which ones feed me in some way, and which ones don't. I'm looking at my life, figuring out what is most likely to help propel me forward, and doing it, and most likely to hold me back, and ditching it.

I'm unpacking my life, figuring out what goes where, and getting on with living. I refuse to live out of boxes.

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Holiday prep

albreda — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:55:16 GMT

Change of plans: NOT going to Vermont this weekend, no matter how badly I need to, since I know it totally wouldn't feel worth it to me to blow Christmas plans because I was exhausted just to get another load of stuff out of the house.

SO: my new place is blessed with a ludicrous amount of flat surface, including tons for both baking and wrapping. Anyone who might be interested in a Baking and Wrapping Palooza Party on Sunday?

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Chinese Blessing and Curse

albreda — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 23:41:16 GMT

You know that Chinese blessing/curse that is purported to say "May you live in interesting times?"

I think it has a corollary: "May you love interesting people."

Can be SO incredibly hard, but is SO incredibly worth it.

albreda — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 02:47:51 GMT

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I got to light the candles with Freya in Montreal this evening.

Chag Sameach! Happy Chanukah! :)

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albreda — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:55:36 GMT

Happy birthday, TradArcher! May your year ahead be filled with health, friendship, and gifelte fish! ;)

Movement

albreda — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:07:38 GMT

My college roommate was a physical therapy major, and I remember one day she came home all excited with a new paradigmatic insight: walking is controlling how you fall so that you travel in the direction of your choice.

I've been in one place for more than few years now, between kids and health issues. I got pretty good at reaching out, at being flexible enough to twist and turn from my hips, to bend my knees when I needed to lift something.

Now I'm moving my feet. Controlling my fall as I move in a chosen direction feels wonderful.

Bodyspace

albreda — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:38:02 GMT

I ran out of spoons last night. (Go here if you have no idea what I'm talking about...)

This hasn't happened in a year or more, so it caught me off guard. I have an assortment of chronic health conditions that aren't going anywhere, and I tend to pick up a new one every few years, too, but I am at the healthiest RIGHT NOW that I have been in 15 years. I've lost enough weight that I didn't recognize myself in a picture taken recently, I'm off not just pain-killers, but all daily meds, and the fact that I have no idea where my crutches are brings me no panic whatsoever. My headspace is even pretty consistently good.

Suffice it to say that my body (aside from this new stupid thing with lactose) is being able to do pretty much everything I reasonably ask of it these days, and I'm mighty happy with that.

Here's the interesting part, the part that makes me write today: when I ran out of spoons cleaning last night so quickly that I almost had to ask for help getting down the stairs safely, *I was not mad at my body, nor was I mad at myself for having the hubris to expect to be able to do things 'normal' people get to do.* I certainly didn't like feeling like I might tumble down the stairs, but there was no resentment in what I was thinking or feeling, and there would have been even just a year ago. (I didn't even realize it was missing until I was reading something by someone else with chronic conditions this morning.)

Don't get me wrong - I FOUGHT to get better, to get answers and workable treatments from my doctors, and to come off my pain meds each time I had to go on them. I still want to up my muscle mass again, now that I can get some exercise without it being a Devil's bargain paid in pain. I'm hoping this lactose thing goes away, I still hurt every day, and I have a freaking PhD in Spoon Management. My issues aren't getting better, but I am.

The difference is that now I've got momentum going, and while my health issues continue to slow me down, even frequently, they rarely actually stop me. I feel capable of managing my spoons not just because I have no choice but be good at it, but because I actually am pretty good at managing them after all these years, and, mirabile dictu, the number of spoons I have has been a happy surprise more and more often lately.

I'm loving it, and yes, I know *precisely* how lucky I am. :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Note: I've left this entry public, which I rarely do, so it can be shared around if others are looking for folks who have actually found light along the tunnel that is life with chronic health issues. Please comment, if you so desire, but please omit personal stuff you know about me from interactions other than this public entry. Danke, and Enjoy! ]

Free e-book for urban fantasy fans!

albreda — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:49:56 GMT

Ryan Blackwell tries to escape his nascent magical skill by enrolling in a military academy in Northshield, Vermont. Little does he know... military magic, monsters and mayhem ensue, and there are many more stories to come!

My husband Owyn Claerwyn, known in the rest of the world as Kevin O McLaughlin, writes about Ryan in his Blackwell Magic series, the first of which, By Darkness Revealed, is available FOR FREE on Kindle this week, and he'd be delighted if you would take him up on this offer, and bump his book up in the rankings by doing so.

Thanks for your time, share this offer around if you would, and get ready for a thrilling read!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005G8L3X4/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=swordandstarf-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005G8L3X4

Hrim and Eura class: newly updated to save my sanity

albreda — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:51:06 GMT

My week is being much more insane than anticipated, so my Eura dress class this week will highlight making the garment for babies, toddlers, and girls, not women, although I'm happy to talk about some of the noteworthy points of scaling the pattern up to accommodate a grown-up figure.

Many thanks to the folks who responded to my call for measurements yesterday - I will draw up patterns for you, just not for this weekend. :)

See you Saturday!

Attention Norse and Hrim Scola folks!

albreda — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:12:27 GMT

I'm teaching a class on constructing the Eura underdress at Hrim Schola (in Central Massachusetts) this weekend, and want to have done the math ahead of time for a few different body types/sizes, esp relating to bust, hips, and height. The dress hangs from just above the bust, so hip measurements are for clearance only. ;)

I've got my own measurements to work from, so if you are about my size (5'5", bust 40", hips 44"), thanks, but no thanks, for now.

I could obviously make up patterns for imaginary women, but it would be more fun (and hopefully useful) to make up patterns for women that might actually attend the class and/or be interested in having them.

If you are interested, I'd like your measurements by this Tuesday night, so I can hopefully work them up and make copies before I leave for Boston on Thursday. (Crazy short notice, sorry - I only just thought of asking here!) Not promising that I'll make up patterns for all measurements I receive, but I'm certainly happy to make up patterns for folks at a later date if I don't end up using them this weekend. You can send measurements to me at AlbredaA at aol dot com. Please indicate if you will be at Hrim Schola this weekend. Thank you!

Measurements that I'd need from you, all in inches, please:

height from desired hem length to armpit
width around body under armpits *with bra on or off, depending on how you plan to wear the dress*
bust, with bra on or off, depending on how you plan to wear the dress
length of sternum (at armpit height) to spine (at armpit height) **going over the shoulder**
length of arm from neck to wrist
measurements of areas you find hard to fit, if you have any - esp full or narrow hips, upper arms, prosthetics/braces, offset shoulders, pregnant belly, etc
if nursing: how far below that armpit line is the fullest part of your bust? Also, width, across fullness of bust, from where breast meets ribcage to where breast meets ribcage. (This is where I position the seams for nursing access.)

Please feel free to repost, but note that I'd like measurements by tomorrow night (3/13). Thanks!

Nut-free Marzipan, now in brown that I can't get rid of, courtesy of Calygrey and Pale-chartreuse!

albreda — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:59:27 GMT

Marshmallow Fondant" (i.e. Fluff Play Dough)

Warning; the is no dignified way to make this recipe
1. Grease a mixing bowl, the spatula, your hands, and any surfaces or loved ones
2. Put one large container of Marshmallow Fluff, (16 oz.) into the bowl.
3. Gradually mix in 1 pound of confectioners sugar. This can be a bit challenging. Don't try to use a mixer, it just makes even more of a mess.
4. Gradually knead in another 1 pound of confectioners sugar, a dough should form.
5. It may still be a bit sticky at this point. So, depending on humidity and temperature, you may need to put in some portion of a third pound of confectioners sugar in, until the dough is no longer sticky but not stiff.
6. At this point you can separate the dough into smaller balls and knead in food coloring, one color for each ball of dough. Flatten the ball and fold and knead until the color is worked through.

Store dough wrapped in plastic wrap. Left to dry it may get a bit stiff, like old Peeps. Don't refrigerate, the moisture will bring back the stickiness.

You can add flavoring to the dough, but it's already sweet enough to make your teeth ache, so I never saw the point. There are also versions that start from melted marshmallow puffs instead of Fluff, the gelatin in the puffs. I haven't done this, I assume the the dough would be a bit more plastic.

I got this from Women's Day magazine, it's the trick to a lot of their DYI cake decorations.

Looking to sell your van?

albreda — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:54:30 GMT

Anyone have a minivan they are looking to sell? We're looking for something around 70-85K miles, in the $8-10K range, and can pick up anywhere in New England. Don't care if it has dents or is three different colors, as long as it can pass inspection. More miles + lower price is possible, too. Let me know!

EK conference call on Lawsuit

albreda — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:55:12 GMT

The East Kingdom is NOT asking its member groups (shires, baronies, etc) to contribute 18% of their funds to cover the $95K that is the EK portion of the settlement.

That said, groups are invited to LOAN money to the Kingdom so that the EK may LOAN money to other kingdoms that are struggling to come up with their portions of the settlement. If local groups want to make loans, they will be repaid before Kingdom will when/if either the other kingdoms repay the East, or when/if the countersuit SCA corporate has against its non-paying insurers comes through in May. Individuals (or households, etc) wishing to make tax-deductible donations may do so, but they will not be repaid.

If folks have questions, I was a party to the meeting, and I'll do my best to answer them.

I'd also personally like to hear from anyone in other kingdoms about how they are handling this: are your kingdoms struggling to meet your contributions? Are your local groups being asked to contribute? Is this posing a major hardship to groups you are aware of? Thank you.

Hey, Brain Trust! (Notably those in Carolingia!)

albreda — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:37:31 GMT

When I rode the T with the kids this last summer, D wondered aloud about the organization and logistics of the track, namely is it all one track with pullouts for trains going in opposite directions to pass one another (maybe doubling as station stops?) or it it two tracks (likely each with their own pullouts) that converge only at terminal stations like Alewife, our homebase when we travel by subway.

I can't seem to find info on this online (security issues, probably), but I'm hoping that someone might have either factual or inferred/experiential knowledge that they might be willing to share with us. Curious kids want to know! Thank you!

Too fun to miss!

albreda — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 23:47:47 GMT

So, my lack of productivity this week is, in significant part, brought to me by gryphon2k . She was talking about fanfiction (again), and I was bemoaning my not getting to go see HP Part 8 with my best girlfriend, so viola - a weeklong delve into Harry Potter Fanfiction was born. I've read some sappy romances (My Twin, on HarryPotterFanFiction.com was pretty good), and cringed at a few premises (Harry/Draco? Hermione/Snape? Really? REALLY? Oi), but stumbled into a real *gem* of a story yesterday that I want to tell all of you Scadians about:

Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC, by Aaran St Vines. (You can read the beginning of the 100K+ word tale on HarryPotterFanfiction.com, but some of the chapters surpassed their limit, so it was moved to Phoenix Song instead. http://www.phoenixsong.net/fanfiction/story/2383/ )

The tale finds Harry helping Mr Ollivander, the wand maker, do his yearly inventory, and telling Harry the history of his family, all the way back to the founding of the city of London, the creation of magic as seen in the Potterverse, and the very first wands. Celts are seen in a rather alarming light, and some of his archeological leaps are a bit of a stretch, but his "historical notes", written in the voice of a modern wizard, are lovely in and of themselves, and the whole thing holds together compellingly, even if it could use the services of a decent editor.

Enjoy!

Post Palio di Stonemarche report

albreda — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:06:58 GMT

1. You all missed out on a really great time. Fun for all, literally. Serious fun. Sense of humor required!

2. You KNOW you are all having a really good time when a full day of rain and 2-3 inches of standing water in everyone's camps doesn't send *anyone* packing.

3. The warm companionship of the Shubelka clan is matched only by the warmth of their generously lent woolens. We had a blast folks, thank you!

4. Absofreakinglutely knackered, but happy to report that first SCA camping trip as a single parent was a huge success, in no small part due to the Contrada Hippocampi and Shubelka clan. Thank you!!!

5. Yes, Freya, that means we're on for GNEW. Get packing, you! >:)

Morbid fascination and funny, too

albreda — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:28:41 GMT

MyParentsAreCrazierThanYours.com

Seriously, go read, and start at the beginning, back at the end of January.

She's 40, Jewish, single, unemployed, and has a broken arm. She is a poet, and, on the day she started her blog, moved back in with her parents into her childhood home on Long Island.

So unbelievable I hope it's fiction.

Full day kindergarten?

albreda — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:49:37 GMT

Hi folks -

Just wondering what folks' thoughts/experiences are/were about full day kindergarten. I promised myself that I'd go take a look at the program the girls would be in if we went the public school route, and they are only full day.

Anyone? I'm leaving this post public, if folks know others who might want to comment here.

Thank you!

Yo, Arianna! (and other science loving folk!)

albreda — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 15:48:35 GMT

http://primaxstudio.com/stuff/scale_of_universe/

Fun!

Hey Hivemind!

albreda — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:52:03 GMT

Anyone know anything about digital video editing?

I'm looking for frame by frame editing, for home movies and some stop motion work, and I'm trying to decide between the following three products:

* Pinnacle Studio HD 14
* Adobe Premiere Elements (latest)
* Vegas Movie Studio HD 9 (Note: NOT the most current edition)

Any feedback would be enormously appreciated!

Note: My camera has a weird format, and I've been on the phone with Canon support about it. These (plus Roxio) are the suggestions they gave me for software they KNOW works with my Canon's format. (ACVHD .mts, for the record)