Today was gardening day. Or, destruction of the mess formerly known as the front yard. Yes, I had done some work previously, but the rains and lack of time means that things got away from me. The weeds were 10 inches high. So was the grass. Argh! I started working around 8am. Once I figured out the weed eater’s quirks, I began to trim around bushes and plants. I figured that it would be good to do so before Dan began to mow.
I took a break around 10am, and Dan was working on a video. Just as he started, someone began mowing. Much to our surprise, our neighbor had brought out his “bush hog” mower and was cutting our grass and weeds! It was wonderful, and considering all that we had to do, a life saver.
After lunch, Dan and I worked on making the tree out front happier. When the tree was planted, they put big rocks and gravel around it. It was Not Happy. So, we pulled all the gravel back, moved the stones and then added more dirt. It is now a much happier tree. The other one is trying to come back as well.
I worked on two side beds and a few other bits while Dan mowed most of the back yard. We are exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.
Well, at least my hair feels like it is on fire. The first weeks have been crazy!
At the house, we have been fine tuning bits and pieces. Where do we hang this pic? Why doesn’t this door close well? What is that in the rose bush? (two trees) Make a trellis for said rose bush. Find a couch… replace the couch… organize this, that and a few other bits. Plus, we’ve actually been working here! You have no idea of how great a feeling it is to have someplace to work without interruptions! We’ve been trying to spend at least one night a week here as well.
At my mom’s we planted the big garden. Same size as last year, but a few new additions. We are trying eggplant, two new squash and potatoes. 🙂 Plus, the layout is a bit different.
Then there is our um… social life. I am taking two SCA classes. Beledi dance (belly dancing) and bobbin lace. Both classes are in Pueblo, so we have to make sure that everyone gets fed before we leave and that we have all of our gear. It’s a bit daunting at times, but oh it is fun!
And… there is the regular stuff. Housework, cleaning the yard at 203, and meetings! School board, DAAC, the Wellness committee, Celtic Music Fest, etc. It’s enough to make me want to run away. Or, at least lock all the doors at least once a week.
Our neighboring shire, Aarquelle, was hosting it up in Canon City. We, Villaleon, were part of it too, as we were going to sell Outland Waffles! With ice cream, fruit and plum syrup. Yes, we are crazy, but… there were these waffle irons. They make waffles with stag heads on them. And… The kingdom’s emblem is the stag… so we just had to do it. 🙂
Coronation was a three day event. We left Friday late morning, after much craziness. To avoid the craziness, all of our SCA gear will now be stored in one place. We filled the subaru with waffle irons, clothes, food supplies, etc. We stopped in Pueblo to pick up the eggs and milk, and were just heading out when we had an accident on Northern and Pueblo Blvd. A fender bender. Ours!
No one was hurt, except the car. So, we were about an hour late getting to the Abbey in Canon City. We were camping in the gym, and after setting up and changing clothes, we went out to see what was happening. 🙂 Lots of fun. I worked on a new piece to my Viking outfit. An apron. Around sunset, it started getting cold. The Animal Fights were just starting. (knights as animals fighting other knights) We went to get our coats and discovered that our air mattress had died. So, in garb, we headed to Walmart, about 2 blocks away. We knew court would be after the fights, so we didn’t worry. Silly us!
We got back as quickly as we could, but obviously not quick enough. Court had started. So, we ran to court. Just as we got there, I heard someone say, “They’re here.” Ut-oh… Sure enough, a moment later, we were called into court. King Bela and Queen Anna gave us that look… “Have you been avoiding US?” “no your majesties…” “Do you owe us Taxes?” “no…” “ask her, she does the books”…. They teased us for a few minutes and then gave us our Awards of Arms. Apparently they had been trying to give these to us since January. So, we are now Lord Lothar and Lady Unna. 🙂 Of course, I had to tease him as we crawled into bed and say that I’d never been to bed with a lord before…
The next day was crazy busy and cold in the morning. Coronation! The last court of Bela and Anna and the first of Kolgrimr and Danielle! It was great! Kolgrimr called his wife into court to crown her, and she said that she would sing for him as she walked down the aisle. Just as she opened her mouth to sing, the church bells began to ring. Oh my! I got some good pictures. One of them is going to be used by the SCA media. 🙂
The rest of the day was spent making and selling waffles, attending a grand feast and just having fun. We did our third Walmart trip, and bought syrup and waffles for breakfast the next morning.
Sunday saw waffle making, court, heavy and rapier fighting and finally, time to head home. We were so tired, that we stopped at Greenhorn to eat lunch and take a 10 minute nap. We partially unpacked and were in bed by 8:30!
I swear, one minute life was okay. Next… wow! I feel like I haven’t had a minute to breathe. Oh wait… yeah.. last Tuesday between meetings.
Since last I wrote, I’ve attended 8 or 10 meetings. School board, Celtic Music Fest, District Accountability, SCA, and a few others. Some of them, more than once.
We’ve had really cold weather. In fact, nearly a foot of snow.
We had plunged back into winter.
Then, a few days later, it was cool, but more like Spring. On April 30, we attended Aarquelle’s Newcomer’s event in Pueblo West. I hauled out the warm SCA clothes we’d worn to Viking Vinter Vonderland. It was a great day and the after party at THL Generica’s was grand.
It snowed on May Day. The next day it was warm enough to work in the garden at 203. I removed trash, plastic under the dirt, trimmed various plants, lifted rocks, etc. Wore myself out! But… the yard was looking better. Silly me, I did it again the next day. I even got my nephew to help.
May 8th, Mother’s Day. We had fighter practice in Trinidad. 🙂 We even had a local cop stop by. He wanted to take pics and one with him in it. We obliged.
Steph armoring up
Lothar (Dan) and the local policeman
The Fighters
The fighters plus the policeman
The next week was Hectic! Why? Well… because it was Spring Coronation! More on that in the next post.
We spent the night on Friday! It was lovely. We hope to do this more often.
Saturday I worked on various projects upstairs while Dan continued to sort through stuff in his office. He was suppose to have a meeting, but it didn’t pan out. I’m starting to actually work on projects too! I’m switching printers with Dan so that I can use the scanner and copier to make patterns for various things.
Sunday I got a lot accomplished while Dan was off working the Tannahill Weaver concert in La Veta.
I started off the morning working on the guest room. Reorganizing the closet was first. It now is home to 8 tubbies of SCA gear, holiday tubbies, and odds and ends that I just don’t know what to do with at the moment. I put a few things up on Walsenburg Freecycle too. Then I moved tubbies to our room. Photos, family papers, etc. I organized the closet to hold things a bit better.
Tackling the desk and paperwork was next. I didn’t realize how disorganized I’d gotten during the crazy “box up everything and stuff it in storage” move a year ago. I sorted papers, threw things away and filed other papers in logical spots. I wrote up minutes, and updated a few websites as well.
Last of all, I refurbished three stools that were left her. I spray painted over nasty green paint and then tung oiled the tops. I think that they will look pretty good in the studio or library.
At some point last night amidst the snow, thunder and wind, a tree fell in the back yard. My nephew went to let the dog out around midnight and discovered it. Luckily, it missed the house and the tiny Viking longhouse. Once the snow melts and the ground dries up a bit, we will be cutting it up with the chain saw.
Yesterday it was 70. Warm, sunny and lovely. Dan and my nephew moved my desk into the studio, and I continued to unpack boxes and put things away.
reassembling the desk.
Easing on the rolltop
Clunk!
All dressed up and ready to go.
They forecast snow for today. Yeah… Every time they have done that, we’ve gotten a dusting. Well, this morning we woke up to snow. About 6 inches. It snowed hard, and we now have about 14 inches of snow. Wet heavy snow. After a trip to the store and Dan fishtailing into the fence which cracked a taillight, we went over to 203 Walsen. There, we discovered there was no power. The heavy snow had broken the lines. We did a few things and came home. Maybe tomorrow…
It has been a while since I last posted. We’ve been busy. Between meetings, trips to Pueblo and work, we have not done as much work on the house as we would have liked. However, All the painting upstairs is done. All light fixtures, sockets and switches are repaired. Even better, we have unpacked boxes and decorated!
One of the first things that we have noticed is the lack of furniture. We have 3-4 chairs that need repaired, but the rooms are just a tad empty. It isn’t a bad thing, as it will allow us to find those gems that should go in the house. On our list are more book cases, a washer, a fridge, a mattress and box spring and a stove. We’ve been promised a stove and it may arrive this week. It’s propane, which will require a bit of reworking of the pipes, but it will be nice.
This week we have also started working on the back yard. We are organizing the trash to haul it off and our neighbor is giving us a bunch of dirt, as he is widening his driveway. 🙂 One corner of the yard will become a compost pile and oh will it be full by the end of the month.
Here are the latest pictures. Some of the rooms are sort of difficult to photograph.
Okay. Weather or progress. Hmmm… Progress. Yesterday, we got all the cupboard doors on the cupboards! This was in spite of the fact that some of the hardware was missing, and that we had to buy some new hardware and juggle other bits. Then I got to put dishes away!!!! Yes, I’m a little enthusiastic. However, you have to understand that other than book boxes, kitchen boxes are the most numerous.
Pantry
Pot rack
Left side cupboards
Right side cupboards
Today I continued to work on the kitchen. I pulled boxes out of the guest room and reorganized a bit. I even had empty boxes to put in the guest room! I pulled boxes from the living room as well, putting them where they belonged. I’m in the process of emptying the living room in order to paint it.
Now for the weather. We woke up this morning to about an inch of snow. Between making the bed and breakfast, the sky opened up and dumped six inches! By the time we headed over to the house it was eight. When we left the house this evening around 7pm, there was over a foot of snow!
I finished up putting everything in place today. PHEW! It felt so good to get everything in that room put where it needs to be. The only thing not there is my desk, which will go on the wall were the table is leaning against the wall. I won’t be moving it until we have internet at the house.
Here are the pictures. Dan needs to cut me a piece of board to mount my cutting mat on, and then I will be able to layout fabric. The first two pictures is what the area looked like before we cleaned. The last pictures are what it looks like today.
