Off to Indy Blooms

Why is it that, even when you are ALWAYS up early and very used to it, that when you must get up to go somewhere, it's hard to drag yourself out of bed?? Yep, that's me this morning.

I'm heading out for a day of fun with my friends and my sister at the Indy Blooms show. I'll try to post some pictures in tomorrow's blog if I am up to it. (I'm a little afraid that by the end of today I will crash and then have to spend tomorrow letting my body recuperate.)

In the meantime, enjoy some "Indy-ana blooms" from my own back yard. 

Our cherry tree and redbuds are spectacular this spring!

Wish me luck!

Paging the 2nd April Give Away Winner!

Hey, Jennifer Cole! 

You won the second April Give Away and I'd love to send you your Racing Corgis haversack! Will you please send me your mailing address? Your prize is all packed up and ready to be mailed to you!

Thanks!

Lynn (horsiemama 8 @ gmail dot com)

Moving On to the Next Thing!

The virtual seminar is all sorted, clipped, and has notes to accompany it. It's been sent to Mountain Mama Jessica and she will begin putting it all together into one cohesive video today. 

I love teaching, I love sewing, and I love models. Creating a virtual seminar hits all three of those loves. But doing one is a lot of work and I am tired.

Of course, there are always things that you find that make you laugh. Not only did Nashie make his way around the baby gate we'd put at the bottom of the stairs and interrupt filming, but another visitor photo bombed us.

As I was previewing the film clips, a sudden streak across the window in one video caught my eye. I rewound the clip and a bird had flown across the yard outside the window! 

It was small, but very distracting. It's been removed. (Unlike the time that Craig strolled across the yard with the dogs in tow to do their business that was caught on camera. I didn't catch that until I was watching the finished video at BreyerFest!)

My next step is to watch the draft that Jessica sends back to me, make any requests for changes (if needed), watch it a final time (including for what is going on outside the window, LOL) and then send the completed video on to Breyer.

Now I move on to my next project - finishing preparations for Indy Blooms. The swap meet is this afternoon, but I won't be there. 

I went last year and had good sales, but I wasn't using a walker then. Hauling in and hauling out Friday night, then repeating that for the show next day, plus a long day of showing... I don't think I am up to that this year. 

I went through my downstairs china cabinet yesterday and pulled out some pieces I am considering taking to the show. 

My real love is collectibility, and this year the show doesn't have collectibility classes as it has in the past. (There are a few decorator classes at the end of each division, but there is much more to collectibility than just the decorators.) And, I am less and less inclined to bring my really valuable or old chinas - the risk of breakage is just too high.

So, between no collectibility classes and those pesky lifting restrictions I am still under, my show string is small. Some tried and true plastics and (less valuable) chinas, a couple decorators, and that's all.

But I'm okay with that. I've been showing for years and the best part for me is seeing my hobby friends and making new ones. Plus, Leslie is going with me and we will get some sister time as I show.

It's going to be a great day.

Filming with Some Friendly Help

We did it - we got my BreyerFest seminar filmed. I cannot show you the finished drape, its fabric, or any photos or videos from the filming itself. But, you can see the aftermath - my sewing room is a wreck!

We were filming in three different spaces in the sewing room, and as we moved into one space, we'd clear it out quickly, usually by throwing everything onto the bed or the sewing table.  ("Don't worry; I'll clean it up later," I reassured Lisa several times. Not looking forward to that today!)

We moved the furniture around and even brought in some to accommodate the camera needs. 

My iron got knocked to the floor several times as we hauled it around but fortunately did not suffer any damage. (I always have a spare one, just in case. Just as I use my sewing machine almost daily, I use my iron just as much. No iron, no sew for me. It's essential.)

I'd gathered fabric samples and models to use and they were all neatly laid out beforehand. Now they are tossed about in piles. Well, everything except the models. They are all over the room at the moment, but they are either lying on a pony pad or in a safe spot.

Meanwhile (left to right), the stunt coordinator, assistant director, script supervisor, and costume director were all a little miffed when they were not allowed to be present for filming and had to wait with the best boy when filming began. 

Always adventuresome, the stunt coordinator did make a surprise appearance by using his talents to get past the gate at the bottom of the stairs, charging up with a happy grin to offer his services. ("Cut!! Nash! What are you doing here, buddy??")

Anyway! Filming is done and as I watched the segments (there are 25) last night, I was really happy with how the seminar is turning out. I'll go through them very closely and start collating and making notes for Jessica about what to cut out, what to speed up, etc.

When I'm done (hopefully by the end of the day) I will send them to her and then she will work her magic.

Oh, and in case you are wondering about Lisa's water heater, Craig is going to go to her home this morning to meet the water heater repair person. Hopefully it will not need to be replaced. 

Stay 'tooned!

Filming the BreyerFest Video - Rescheduled

 Second Post of the Day

For several weeks, filming this summer's BreyerFest virtual seminar has been planned for yesterday. Lisa was going to drop by after school and film me teaching.

Well, we all know what can happen to plans, right?

I was ready to go.

The sewing machine and sewing tools I would need were in place. (Much more neatly than they usually are when I am sewing, haha!)

I knew I would be doing some standing and walking back and forth as we filmed, but I rarely use my walker in the house so I gathered most of the things I might want to use to minimize that:

an assortment of models to use to demonstrate the show drape,

and my sewing cart which I filled with some fabric samples that I might want to show.

Finally, I'd set up a display area with those things close to hand, changed into the clothes I wanted to wear, slicked on some mascara and fixed my hair, and was ready.

It just took one water heater that refused to heat to upend all those plans and preparation. Lisa's water heater, not ours.

I have a lot to do right now, so the delay is upending those other plans. Today I'd planned to process the film clips and then send them on to Mountain Mama Jessica who compiles the final film for me. I was going to begin packing models for Indy Blooms which is this coming Saturday. And there's an 18th century bedgown cut out and prepped to stitch.

Lisa insists that we try again tonight despite the fact that she has no hot water. I lost the argument when I told her I could wait another day. Having filmed these virtual seminars for me before, she understands the process and knows that we need to get it done soon so that I can send it to Breyer on time. I appreciate her thoughtfulness, but... 

Stay 'tooned.

Sleeve Buttons at Hartwell Tavern

First Post of the Day

Right after Kalamazoo, I was contacted by LS, a woman in Massachusetts who wanted to buy two pairs of sleeve buttons. She's an east coast living history participant and not someone Leslie or I knew. (Perhaps she'd found my Facebook page, Jolis Chevaux?)

LS knew exactly what she wanted.

My favorite pair, the beveled oval clear "paste" set in gold,

and Leslie's favorite pair, the blue "paste" set in rhinestones. What are the chances that she'd choose the ones I was actually holding back for Les and me?  Luckily, I had the supplies to make more.

If you're lucky, sometimes the customer sends pictures of themself wearing what you made. LS sent me some this past weekend.

"This is the 250th of Battle Road. [I'm] in the Hartwell Tavern doorway and yes, I have those GORGEOUS sleeve buttons on!" she wrote. "Hopefully you can zoom to see!"

I didn't get a clear view, but I could see them and tell that they were some I'd made.

Better yet, I could see that the fit was exactly right. There were no gaps between the sides of the cuff where they met. (To make them, I'd worked from photos of extant sleeve buttons in collections; I'd never seen a pair in hand before.)

Hartwell Tavern, a "witness house" to the battle on April 19, 1775. I'm more than a little excited that something I made was actually inside that historic home.

Totally by coincidence, I have a picture to send back to her.

Leslie just posted this photo of something rather familiar that was found during one of the archeological digs at Fort Ouiatenon,

A blue paste stone!

Perfect documentation for the other pair of sleeve buttons that LS bought from me!

I'm going to send that picture to LS later this morning with a note that she now can document this pair of sleeve buttons to the 18th century. 

To many re-enactors, that is quite important; to others, not quite so much. After looking at her photos, my guess is that she is in the first category and will be happy to know that her second pair is historically correct.

I'm glad, too.

An Isenbarger Family Easter Celebration

A fairly new tradition for our family, and a VERY popular one, is to head up to Leslie and Rick's farm in Brookston for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

All the local family comes and brings a dish to share, while Rick and Leslie cook a ham or turkey and hide 100+ Easter eggs. (After stuffing each one chock full of candy.)

Steve, Eric, Cindie, Vanessa, Curt, Lukie, Ian, Lisa, Mila, me, Rick, Jenny, and Craig. A very happy Eddie sits in front.

Leslie and Rick convert their cheesemaking room into a dining hall where we all gather together for dinner.  

Jenny, Leslie, and Ian all have birthdays in April so we also celebrate their birthdays on Easter. 

Gathering in the kitchen before the buffet opens. Lisa, Jenny, Curt, Vanessa, Ian, and Leslie.

The meats are being cooked out in the shop and aren't on the serving table yet. (Where are we going to put them??) Craig, Cindie, Eric, Lisa, Jenny, Curt, and Vanessa.

Steve and me. He's a good big brother. (Although I still haven't forgiven him for the Creepy Crawler spiders he made and put in my bed when we were kids...  Traumatized for life!! LOL)

Next up after dinner was the annual family Easter egg hunt. There are two divisions: adults and kids. (Craig asked if he could have a senior citizen division; nice try, honey!)

This year's prizes for the winners was gourmet carmel corn from local candy shop, Wolf's.

Needless to say, everyone was all in for those two prizes!

Jenny especially hoped to win, so she lined up in a starter's position next to Ian, ready to beat him to the hidden eggs. (She does have long legs and is pretty fast...)

"C'mon! Call 'go'! My knees are starting to hurt!" (But those knees! Ouch!)

Three acres of the farm are fenced off from the horse pasture, and that is where all the eggs are hidden. Everyone spreads out as they take off.

It takes a while but eventually we find most of them. (Although Les and Rick will find more that were missed in the coming weeks.)

Methinks Curt is eying his kids' bags of eggs and hoping for a handout...

Once all of us are up by the house again, we count our eggs and determine the winners - whoever has found the most gets the prize. Lisa and Mila were this year's winners.

And then, since we are all starved (::cough cough::) we open some of the eggs and eat what we like or trade for something we'd prefer.

Lukie was pretty happy with his haul!

"You beat me?? I still have my Creepy Crawler machine, Lynn..."

Despite having had dinner and then copious amounts of candy, there is yet another round of food to come - dessert. (Yeah. I know.)

We have birthday cakes and Hershey Pie to nosh on. (Hershey Pie is such a big tradition in our family, I found out later that evening that all six of our kids had made it for their own Easter celebrations! Here's the recipe.)

We also had another old family favorite - Whipped Cream Stack Ups. (Recipe: whip cream until very firm, sandwich between vanilla wafers, refrigerate, eat. Easy peasy. Stacks of 3-4 vanilla wafers work best, but have at it if you wish!)

After the birthday celebrations, we are all stuffed and sleepy. 

Lukie had cuddled up against me and was nodding off, but he awoke just as our picture was taken.

Eddie opened his eyes and sat up in time for one last picture and then we all packed up and left for home.

He was fast asleep almost immediately.

It was such a fun day. And even better, guess who has a piece of Hershey Pie in the fridge? 

It's what breakfast is all about!