The Busiest Two Weeks Of The Year

Today may have been my peak day in the seasonal cycle of Spring, which masqueraded as Summer today, being in the 90’s. As usual, the yard and gardens have turned into a jungle. Michigan likes to dump endless rainstorms, laced between heat waves in the Spring. This is very annoying to gardeners, but the plants sure seem to like it. A little too much if you ask me.

This weekend has been a good one for taming the growing beasts. And of course, since I am lucky enough to have not just a First life, but a Second life too, there’s a huge convergence of activity all across both Terra, and the Grid.

Next weekend brings World Steam Expo. We’ve enjoyed both previous years of this con and are *definitely* looking forward to round three! I am not by nature a con-person. I am not blase about these things, I don’t go to heaps of them, I don’t know con protocol… I’m the happy clueless steampunk who just loves going down to Dearborn and soaking up the fun with people that feel ‘right’ to me. The first year, I threw together random bits of clothing and just bumbled along. It didn’t matter, I wasn’t looking for a best-dressed honor. I got to meet some Second Lifers and I had a great time. Last year my costuming skills grew a bit, I wore an actual Serious Corset (fake alligator skin, brutal boning, loved it anyway), a pith helmet, crafted a skirt and a butterfly net and SteamEarthMomma’d my way through the con.

This year I’m aiming for a ‘casual steamish pirate’ look. I handmade my corset (yep, the entire thing, it’s doubled thick yarn single crocheted to be very firm, thick cord X-lacings up the sides and spine, seven sweet little metal cloak-clasps attempting to tame my belly), acquired shiny accessories, such as my brass compass which I cannot stop playing with and a silly little pirate gun – and of course a battered old tricornered hat. My logic was that I love corsets, but driving 90 miles in one is not very fun, nor is trying to sit for long spells with boning jamming my thighs. So we will see how this goes. Life is an experiment!

Anyway… with Expo coming, and lots of crafting and plans for that – and the Annual Yard Explosion – and a need to be out of town on the coming Tuesday – there’s a lot to do. It’s been one heck of a weekend and it’s nowhere near done yet. I’m just taking a little breather (insert mandatory dwarf joke here) with a cool drink and thought I’d babble a bit.

I noted SEVEN, yes SEVEN events in Second Life I would have loved to attend today. The Home and Garden Expo is underway and you REALLY need to go enjoy that – especially Prim Perfect’s sim, which I’ve been lucky enough to help a bit with from behind the scenes. Go see! It’s lovely, and based on a wonderful conceptual binding theme. I am very proud of everyone involved! We’re hosting a full series of “Meet the Designers” talks all week long. Some of your favorite designers will be there and you know you want a chance to meet them and hear them speak their minds. Follow the Prim Perfect Blog for all the details through this amazing week of the Home and Garden Expo.

Well, there’s a bit of sunlight left and I shouldn’t waste it. But here’s a little view into what sort of gifts Spring gives me, and why I am happy to sweat and ache and burn the calories every spring, out here in some very beautiful countryside – and also why I’m happy the internet reaches out into little cowtowns like mine.

Harvest:
Fresh rocket lettuce to compliment tonight’s crab and pasta salad
A HUGE bundle of fresh spearmint stalks, tied and hanging from my herb-hooks in the kitchen to dry. Smells amazing.
A bundle of catnip stalks up on the hooks. Have I mentioned I grow my own teas?
Chamomile flowers in bloom, which I will go pick as soon as I post this.

Kitchen Therapy:
Crab, Pasta and Veggie salad
Brownie Bites (mini muffin pan FTW)
Fresh strawberries sliced and sweetened to go over brownies
From-scratch lemon-limeaide (did I mention it’s 90 degrees out?)
Lemon Poppyseed muffins
Huge breakfast yesterday of cheesy eggs, sausage, and from-scratch hashbrowns

Second Life:
I have snuck around the Expo under cover of darkness. And I love love love it.
Am very gratified by the success of Armada’s Treasure Hunt. Tis just a handful of stops, maybe a dozen? – you can do that! And you’ll enjoy getting to know our city built on the bones of boats. The hunt runs till the end of the month.
I plan to watch the lanterns for peace be released one night this coming week. You should too. Read this amazing, touching explaination by Alchemy Immortalis to see what it’s all about.

Crafty Therapy:
Finished the pirate corset since my cloak-clasps arrived in the mail yesterday
Experimental crocheted boot-cuffs. May be a Fail. Maybe not. Will see.

And off I go again…. dinner will be late, as  sunlight is precious and must not be squandered.  I’m going to seem very scarce through next weekend, but be assured I’m not really very far away.  And with any luck I smell like mint. 🙂   Or gunpowder, arrrgh.