Fred Meyer had the coolest thing ever at their store the other day:
First of all, I’m not a ‘mug person’. I don’t drink coffee or tea (really the only thing I drink regularly is plain old water!), so you KNOW how much I had to love this to buy it. And I almost bought two, just in case one broke! The skull and crossbones was created by leaving part of the mug unglazed, which adds a lovely tactile sensation to the mix.
I’ve had hot chocolate FIVE TIMES in the two weeks since I bought this mug – an all-time personal record for me!
BBC America has announced that their broadcasts of the new series of Doctor Who will start on April 17th. The date has been reported in the Hollywood trade paper Variety, and has been confirmed on BBC America’s website and Facebook page.
The start date for UK broadcast has not yet been officially confirmed. There are reports that a trailer has aired with the date of April 3rd, but this may have been broadcast in error. The BBC’s official position is that the series will debut “at Easter”.
I’ve mentioned (possibly longer than a year ago) that we were planning to get a few backyard chickens. Due to one member of the family being a coop-planning perfectionist with dreams of glory, we’re only now breaking ground.
One day, it will be gorgeous! Right now, it has a moat, since rain has filled the foundation ditch with water since I took this picture!
Mom and Jacks out deepening the moat….
Jacks is supervising (while keeping a sharp eye out for earthworms):
And meanwhile, what’s the cat doing to help?
When the coop is finished, here’s the sign for the outside:
I’ve already chosen the breeds we’ll be getting, a selection of 8 or 10 different varieties, mostly all heritage/old-fashioned breeds. Here’s the first on my list, the Silver Cuckoo Maran.
The babies look like this:
What’s notable about the Marans, is the deep chocolate color of their eggs:
As I’ve mentioned before, I went to FaerieWorld’s Winter Celebration this January. It was held in Eugene OR, which is a loooong drive from where I live. So long, in fact, that we decided to take the train. Amtrak was late arriving (as bloody usual) making us about two hours late getting in to Eugene. It was 7:30 when our hotel shuttle picked us up at the station, and guess what? The Good Faeries Ball began at 7:30. Not good. The shuttle guy offered to drop us at the theater and take our luggage back to the hotel, but we were starved, exhausted, and not in costume. So since none of the performers at the Good Faeries Ball were especially exciting to us (we were mostly going for the Bad Faeries Ball), we decided to skip it.
The next day, we hit the daytime Faeriewords events, which were slightly underwhelming, but I did have the whole ‘celebrity experience’ – everyone gathering around me like I was famous and wanting to take my picture, so it wasn’t a total loss! 🙂 This steampunk outfit I put together is definitely one of my most popular ever – and people adored the wings.
I call it the “Mistress of Time” aka the Time Faerie, because it has all sorts of time-y details: watches, bottles of the ‘sands of time’ and all sorts of other awesome things. For more pictures, and a making-of, you can check out my other blog: Dragonfly Designs by Alisa. This costume is on the page called “Black and White Steampunk”.
My brother Jon, who came with me, also had his costume. I made the half mask and the goggles. The goggles are ‘Captain Robert’ approved; when I met him after the show, he complimented Jon on the goggles! I’ll be putting the half mask up for sale; if anyone who’s reading this is interested, leave me a comment!
The second evening went much better; in fact it was pure fabulous fun! The ‘Bad Faeries Ball’ was the real reason we’d gone to Eugene in the first place. There were two bands that performed. The second, Beats Antique, was awesome. I didn’t take this video (Jon forgot to bring his video camera!) but here’s the sound:
Dancing to their music was Tribal Belly Dancer, Zoe Jakes, who was awesome. I love the tribal style, and Zoe was as good as any of the big names, like Sharon Kihara or Rachel Brice. And since I was right up against the stage (I could not have gotten any closer) she was right there. When she danced with a huge pair of feather fans, she touched my face! Again, this is not my video, but here she is dancing:
But before Beats Antique, there was….Abney Park. I could not love this band any more than I do. Their sound is so unusual, and the member themselves are so creative. The lead singer, “Captain Robert” not only makes all the band’s awesome steampunk’d instruments, but he also made his own striped pants with tape and spray paint! What costumer couldn’t love a guy like that??? 🙂
I met Daniel’s daughter, Lilli, before the show. She’s so cute, and she loved my wings. During the song where the guitarist/violinist Nathaniel needs someone to hold his violin (he trades back and forth rapidly between the two instruments) Robert pulled Lilli up onto the stage.
She (not surprisingly) was more interested in watching her dad than in watching for Nathaniel’s cues!
Afterward, she danced with Robert’s wife (keyboardist Kristina) while Robert looked on and smiled.
Then the two guitarists had a battle (Nathaniel and Daniel)….
And I think Nathaniel thinks he won….
Robert became jealous of Nathaniel’s coolness and tried a bit of air/mike guitar:
This was the first show I’d seen since their fabulous dancer/backup singer quit, so I was slightly nervous about how I’d like the new girl, Jody Ellen. I shouldn’t have worried. She was perfect for them, so full of energy and fun.
Robert and his family had only just returned from several weeks’ vacation, and I think he still had a bit of ‘vacation brain’ happening, because he brought along a cheat sheet of lyrics for ‘Aether Shanty’ – which has, in his words, “really long words”! Really long words didn’t explain why he also forgot the lyrics to “Airship Pirates”. He stopped midsong, laughing, and asked for a volunteer from the audience to help him out. Turns out, that the volunteer (though very excited to be on stage) didn’t know the lyrics either! Not my video, but here’s the song as it turned out:
After the show, I met the band, got a CD signed for my friend Bonnie, and introduced myself to Robert as the fan who sculpted him in miniature. His “action figure” as he called it! He remembered me, said he LOVED it, and grabbed the rest of the band to tell them that “This is her! She’s the one who made it!”
So I got a picture with him (which unfortunately didn’t turn out well – but hey, that’s only an excuse to snuggle up with him next time, right???)
Out of Eden 