Kicking back and relaxing
Sep. 7th, 2005 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jjmaccrimmonI had a great weekend. I decided to set aside my angst about the Gulf disaster, the ridiculous gas prices and my exercises in creative stress management (financial and scheduling issues), try a lighter schedule of mirth and mayhem this weekend.
Saturday, I journeyed to the SCA Shire of Al Sahid (Victorville, CA) to run the rapier (fencing) activities for Highland War (group activity or event). I’d been serious debating whether to make it a weekend and camp with the kids. The forecast was for beautiful but hot weather. Given some further plans and hopes, I elected to only daytrip and return home that evening.
We had a surprisingly large turnout at the event. Overall there was probably 650+ attending and for once we had enough people to run some really fun scenarios. Starting at about 10am, I kicked off the Shakespearean themed rapier activities. The scenarios were all based on Shakespeare’s classics: Henry V (The Siege of Harfleur), Richard III (Battle of Bosworth Field), Julius Caesar (a new take on the assassination), and Romeo & Juliet (the duel between Romeo and Thibault). In each case, we made allowances for the numbers and experience. Overall everyone seemed o have really enjoyed them. I can post the actual scenarios if people want to see them but I won’t here for time and space.
On the way home from the event, I made an unplanned stop at an abandoned roadside shop deep in the middle of nowhere. I shot nearly a roll of film there and Brenna got a bunch of shots too. The place had a really calm and peaceful vibe to it. I think it might be a great setting for future photo shoots if I ever find someone to model. Either way, I have more pictures to develop and more to reformat - ::SIGH:: I have gotten two rolls worth of pictures from our random desert wanderings last week and they hold more promise than the prints initially indicated. The one set of prints were badly washed out. The digital transfers from film weren’t so much so. I haven’t looked at Brenna’s to see how they came out yet. Oh, the other reason some of the photos appear to be washed out badly was the film I used. I can not recommend Kodak Ultra Color 400 speed. Their regular 400 or High Def is good, but this stuff did not work for outdoor shots.
Sunday was nice. I stayed home and actually slept in till nearly 9am. I would have slept longer but Brenna and Chris kept opening and closing the door to the spare bedroom. Why, they were playing with her new pet. I bought her a Hotot Dwarf Rabbit earlier in the week. It’s a youngster and terribly cute. So far, so good. There have only been a few minor scratches from bunny claws. She’s actually very affectionate and curious. I think we made a good choice.
Sunday afternoon, Brenna’s friend Diana came over for a sleepover. Chris and I did the only sensible thing, we left. Actually I had a date and I didn’t want to leave him at the mercy of the two girls. Brenna alone isn’t too bad, but I was concerned that leaving him with two girls would lead to friction. We drove over to Sylmar, hooked up with the wonderful, sweet lady in question, had dinner and watched movies at her home. I certainly had a great time. Chris got to play with her dogs and we had a great time getting to know each other. Without a doubt, having a 5 year old chaperone can seriously slow down things. I was seriously amazed that he managed to stay awake till midnight and simply couldn’t get sleepy with all the potential distractions there. Next time, I shall have a babysitter!
Monday was a very late morning, and again I managed to get more rest. Brenna and friend were up surprisingly by 10am. Chris up at around 9am, which was even more surprising given the late hour of his bedtime. After about 11:30, I managed to get everyone in gear and we went to the Antelope Valley Fair. I’d promised the kids that I would do so and Monday was the last day of the Fair. Given a minor twisted ankle on Saturday, I was probably tempting Fate and she responded. We wandered the last day of the fair and were blessed with very light crowds. Unfortunately, within an hour or so, my ankle was sore enough that I was limping, so I slowed down considerably. The new Fair site isn’t as shaded or colorful as the old one. In fact we saw everything there and did a few rides in the Midway by 3pm. We left at around 4 pm and headed home to rest, recover and recharge.
Saturday, I journeyed to the SCA Shire of Al Sahid (Victorville, CA) to run the rapier (fencing) activities for Highland War (group activity or event). I’d been serious debating whether to make it a weekend and camp with the kids. The forecast was for beautiful but hot weather. Given some further plans and hopes, I elected to only daytrip and return home that evening.
We had a surprisingly large turnout at the event. Overall there was probably 650+ attending and for once we had enough people to run some really fun scenarios. Starting at about 10am, I kicked off the Shakespearean themed rapier activities. The scenarios were all based on Shakespeare’s classics: Henry V (The Siege of Harfleur), Richard III (Battle of Bosworth Field), Julius Caesar (a new take on the assassination), and Romeo & Juliet (the duel between Romeo and Thibault). In each case, we made allowances for the numbers and experience. Overall everyone seemed o have really enjoyed them. I can post the actual scenarios if people want to see them but I won’t here for time and space.
On the way home from the event, I made an unplanned stop at an abandoned roadside shop deep in the middle of nowhere. I shot nearly a roll of film there and Brenna got a bunch of shots too. The place had a really calm and peaceful vibe to it. I think it might be a great setting for future photo shoots if I ever find someone to model. Either way, I have more pictures to develop and more to reformat - ::SIGH:: I have gotten two rolls worth of pictures from our random desert wanderings last week and they hold more promise than the prints initially indicated. The one set of prints were badly washed out. The digital transfers from film weren’t so much so. I haven’t looked at Brenna’s to see how they came out yet. Oh, the other reason some of the photos appear to be washed out badly was the film I used. I can not recommend Kodak Ultra Color 400 speed. Their regular 400 or High Def is good, but this stuff did not work for outdoor shots.
Sunday was nice. I stayed home and actually slept in till nearly 9am. I would have slept longer but Brenna and Chris kept opening and closing the door to the spare bedroom. Why, they were playing with her new pet. I bought her a Hotot Dwarf Rabbit earlier in the week. It’s a youngster and terribly cute. So far, so good. There have only been a few minor scratches from bunny claws. She’s actually very affectionate and curious. I think we made a good choice.
Sunday afternoon, Brenna’s friend Diana came over for a sleepover. Chris and I did the only sensible thing, we left. Actually I had a date and I didn’t want to leave him at the mercy of the two girls. Brenna alone isn’t too bad, but I was concerned that leaving him with two girls would lead to friction. We drove over to Sylmar, hooked up with the wonderful, sweet lady in question, had dinner and watched movies at her home. I certainly had a great time. Chris got to play with her dogs and we had a great time getting to know each other. Without a doubt, having a 5 year old chaperone can seriously slow down things. I was seriously amazed that he managed to stay awake till midnight and simply couldn’t get sleepy with all the potential distractions there. Next time, I shall have a babysitter!
Monday was a very late morning, and again I managed to get more rest. Brenna and friend were up surprisingly by 10am. Chris up at around 9am, which was even more surprising given the late hour of his bedtime. After about 11:30, I managed to get everyone in gear and we went to the Antelope Valley Fair. I’d promised the kids that I would do so and Monday was the last day of the Fair. Given a minor twisted ankle on Saturday, I was probably tempting Fate and she responded. We wandered the last day of the fair and were blessed with very light crowds. Unfortunately, within an hour or so, my ankle was sore enough that I was limping, so I slowed down considerably. The new Fair site isn’t as shaded or colorful as the old one. In fact we saw everything there and did a few rides in the Midway by 3pm. We left at around 4 pm and headed home to rest, recover and recharge.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-09-07 01:04 pm (UTC)The cute! It burns! *grin*
Glad you had a great weekend. Mine was much more boring and consisted of me sitting in my hotel and doing whatever I wanted to do. I loved it.
Moving on
Date: 2005-09-07 06:08 pm (UTC)whew
-=McB=-