Rejoicing with the Truth

Well, that's something.

2017-07-14T04:26:27Z

It's been a mild summer so far (I've noticed, not unusual after a mild winter). We haven't officially even broken 100F, though 99F at least once. It's been a little more humid than usual.

But it's still hot. Today, for example, the heat index was at or above 95F for 9+ straight hours. It was the same yesterday, and on Tuesday it was over 95F for 11+ hours. That is a really long time to be that hot on a daily basis.

For what it's worth, the daily low comes at about 7 AM. Today it was 79, heat index 82. At 8 the heat index was 87, at 9 it was 90, and by 10 it was 95. Where it sat until 9 PM. (Heat index is still above 90 right now, and it's after 11 PM.) There really is no kind of relief from the heat. Ubiquitous A/C makes for temperature shock entering and exiting any building.

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New Skills

2017-05-28T03:27:16Z

Apparently I'm now going to teach myself how to work with wire and solder. The Bagration tiara copy I bought has bits that project below the tiara band.

I popped it on for a brief time on International Tiara Day. It was very uncomfortable after just 10 minutes. Not good. Unfortunately it's the one I plan to wear for the Gala, which means roughly 5 hours.

Of course, there is a solution: the tiara frame. (All pictures are links.)

A frame is a wire foundation, not mean to be seen. It helps a tiara to float above the wearer's hairstyle, keeping decorative lower elements from being hidden.

Often the wire frame is covered in velvet to match the wearer's hair. This both softens the feel of the tiara on the head and helps grip the hair for greater stability.

A frame can also be added or removed to convert a necklace to a tiara, or vice versa.

And finally, a frame can make a difficult or painful-looking tiara wearable with comfort.

That is the primary reason I will be making one. The 1860s hairstyle does not allow for any kind of padding at the top of the head, so I simply must make some kind of frame. The other reason is that the tiara doesn't fit my head quite right! I haven't tried again with the pliers, but I have misgivings that I'll be able to bend the short loop ends in closely enough to hold the tiara at the right angle. I think with the frame I will be able to fill in that gap. Here's hoping!

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Working on getting the Flickr/phone stuff set up

2017-05-18T03:43:44Z

Not done yet, but making progress! I'm keeping the same painting, of La Reine Hortense, here and on Flickr and on Pinterest. I really love it. Such a beautiful setting and landscape, and the perfectly detailed figure of the queen. Dating to 1813. A very unusual type of portrait.

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Tiaras came!

2017-05-16T03:59:20Z

I could not make an ultimate decision, so I ordered both the Braganza and the Bagration tiaras. Same seller, very good prices. I LOVE them. Good sturdy weight, lots of detailing, and spectacular sparkle.

The Braganza is the easiest to wear. The frame wire ends are a little long, so with two pliers I could easily curve them in a bit to help fit my head. (Two pliers to avoid putting any tension on the actual tiara part, which is cast and not flexible.)

The Bagration has shorter wires, so it was hard to get a grip with the pliers in the same way. The frame may also be a little stiffer than the Braganza, too. I'll work on it some more.

Both tiaras tilt forward correctly, so they look really good at a normal angle on the head. The Braganza is so nice and high! I love the delicacy and intricacy of the design; it does not look like a pageant tiara at all. The Bagration is a lot less subtle and not quite as tall. But those of you who voted for it are right - it's got the sparkle power and big stones necessary for balancing the Coronation necklace.

I haven't worn the Bagration yet. Those adjustments to the frame are necessary, since my skull is narrower than the frame and it just keeps tilting back. So far that's been true of all three tiaras I own, these two and the cameos. But I did pop on the Braganza. Posted a picture on the LJ Costumers group on FB... and kept wearing it all evening. Through laundry inside, and pruning flowers outside. Yes, outside. I don't think the neighbors saw me... not sure about the cars driving past or the guy walking his dog. :p

(I will figure out this Dreamwidth picture thing eventually! I need to figure out how to do it on the phone.)

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Interesting

2017-05-15T00:04:24Z

Apparently my backyard is infested with bugs. Just now I saw a robin, a mockingbird, a starling, and multiple grackles all chowing down at the same time. More power to them, I say!

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For Opera Fans (... or not)

2017-04-29T03:25:55Z

Tuppy:   Guess what! I'm going to the opera tonight.
Bertie:   Opera, Tuppy?
Tuppy:   Cora's singing in the, um, Barber of Figaro.
Bertie:   Is that the one about the pyramids?
Barmy:   Sounds like it is, from the name.

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Extra exhausted

2017-04-18T03:20:35Z

Dress rehearsal tonight was super intense. Wow. It's hard to work to sing the way Dr Taylor wants us to sing! It's going to be a great concert.

I've got lots of things I want to work on, but that won't happen until Friday because of other stuff. That's okay. It will happen. :)

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Tenebrae is done.

2017-04-15T04:41:53Z

It is good. It is one of the most emotional things I sing for.

Next up, Easter morning. I have some errands to do after rehearsal tomorrow morning, but hopefully I can take it easy after that. And not stay up late.

They did a live stream of the service, which I forgot to post about. It may be available later, but I'm not sure. It's only audio, no video this time. The service is rather dimly lit and it doesn't work will on video. Tenebrae means The Darkening.

Sunday morning will be live stream, however, here. There's a bunch of services; the ones I'm singing in are at 7, 9:15, and 11 on Sunday morning (CST).

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The hat is finished!

2017-04-03T02:26:13Z

It pretty much looks the same as before, so no pictures for now. I added the lining and some plain ribbon ties. I am rather pleased with the curve I got in it, though.

It's a regular flat, round straw hat. I marked both the center points and the side points inside the crown with thread. Then I used a hot iron and steam to press curves into the sides. The top silk cover is carefully fitted to the curved shape; it's smooth, almost taut front and back, but fully loose enough on the sides to enable the curve to stay.

The lining, per reine_de_coudre's suggestion, is a single piece. (No point in separately lining a 1/2" deep crown.) However, I couldn't just sew in the round piece on the edges; it would either be totally tight and unwearable, or it would want to sag like the headliner in an old car. So the first thing I did was to tack it into the crown on top of the front/back and side points. Then I could pin it around the edges, again smoothly to the front and back, and with some tension on the sides. Not enough to make the profile look weird, but enough to help keep the curve. I'm very pleased with it!

I just realized some of the ease of this was using silk broadcloth instead of taffeta. It's the same weight and quite stable, but it was easier to fold on a curve than silk usually is.

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Well...

2017-03-31T23:33:44Z

I don't think sewing will happen tonight after all. But that's okay! I had to run a few errands after work, which took up the end of the afternoon. And now I need to go do some yard work, and the rest of the evening is taken up with hair-washing and setting.

It's supposed to storm Saturday and Sunday, I'll be out of town next weekend, after that it's the mad rush of rehearsals going up to Tenebrae (Good Friday) and Easter services + seminary chorus concert the Tuesday after. Grocery shopping may be tricky enough in that time - the lawn will be even less likely! (Especially since it's storm season and I can't mow wet grass.)

At least it's not too hot! And there's a nice ~~breeze~~ blustery wind.

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Nearing the end of a long work week

2017-03-31T03:35:53Z

This weekend's plan is for hat finishing. It hasn't gotten anywhere since I stuck feathers on it that time, since I was a lazy bum last weekend. :) But I'm going to get on it Friday after work!

I'm not going to have a new cap, though. I have a small one that won't fit over the big wig. I just won't be able to pattern it and hem all the pieces in time. *sigh* I hope to redo at least the back of the wig, though. Or maybe the whole thing. I'm not a fun of the angle it had at the Georgian picnic. So hard with my head shape.

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Marya and I survived the storm

2017-03-30T04:20:04Z

It was a bit of a humdinger. The wind and blowing rain woke me up right after 2 AM. It was heavy but totally blown into heavy spray. I watched for a little while, then went back to bed. Just as I hit the sheets my phone went off with an alarm. Tornado warning! I stumbled out to the TV to see details. The radar indications they were seeing were about 10 miles south of me and moving northeast, so I was already in the clear. Another one started northeast of me (as the "bow" of the storm complex continued to move east). At that point I went back to bed. No closet camping this time for me. And I did get about 1" of rain, which is really good.

(FWIW, the civil defense sirens by me went off, but per usual I cannot hear them without silencing the TV and listening carefully. I'm between 2, about 1.5-2 miles apart. I don't know why they're not more audible to me. It may be the lay of the land; it's a bit hilly around here.)

I didn't see any damage, but I did hear that there are some fences and branches down. A lot of people elsewhere in the Metroplex lost power as lines were down, but probably no actual tornado, thankfully. No hail either. But winds were over 70 mph.

One of the meteorologists posted a radar movie of the entire storm formation as it developed in West Texas and moved through here. A full 24 hours (sped way up), from 8 AM Tuesday to 8 AM Wednesday. It's interesting to see how it just spontaneously arises, but then coalesces into a defined bow or shield formation. That is a typical pattern for springtime severe weather.

https://twitter.com/wfaaweather/status/847071673438359552

Next chance of storms, Saturday!

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Storms coming through tonight

2017-03-29T03:37:53Z

Likely severe. The first round is roaring through Oklahoma right now. "Our" storms are just going through Abilene and San Angelo. You can see it in motion right here, or here's a still. Yellow boxes are Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, and green boxes are Flash Flood Warnings. (A Watch means that a condition may happen; a Warning means that a condition is happening.] Red boxes are Tornado warnings; there aren't any here, but there were some in Oklahoma earlier.

Our tornado risk with these storms is pretty low. I think hail is, too. The main risk is for strong winds (50+mph), so I hope Marya will be okay. She probably won't break (she's a pretty short, young tree) but her roots are pretty much still in a ball. A strong enough wind can knock her crooked! We did stake her down pretty nicely. Everything that can be done has been done.

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Monday Again

2017-03-28T03:25:51Z

*yawn*

Rehearsal was exhausting tonight. We worked hard again, most on the Requiem. It's not a short or simple piece! It's coming together really well, though.

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It's really windy!

2017-03-24T02:51:10Z

This was just the regular hourly recording of conditions, not the max.

It's a lot of work to walk into 30+mph steady winds, much less when it's gusting over 40 mph. It makes highway driving a little more exciting, too!

And you know how usually the wind dies down after sunset? Nuh-uh. It's still booming around the chimney. Probably won't die down until the cold front moves through tomorrow morning. (That's what's driving the thunderstorms in the forecast.)

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Anyone else noticed that Pinterest is on the fritz?

2017-03-21T03:20:28Z

I can't scroll through my boards. It keeps jumping around and I can't look at all the pictures.

Their Help section is pathetic, so a lot of people have taken to Facebook. LOTS of complaints in the last week and next to no response. Grr.

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Somehow I keep ending up with non-stop Saturdays.

2017-03-19T04:04:52Z

Today I got a late start because I slept until almost 9. I had to fluff the feather bed, do laundry, clean the kitchen, load the dishwasher, make breakfast, get myself put together for the day, trim/toss the fresh flowers from a week ago, and THEN go get some groceries. It wasn't my big trip; an interim one, so at least didn't take too long. I was really tired, though. But had to keep going. Put groceries away, trim the new flowers, make lunch. And the laundry is a day-long ordeal. Then I planted the rest of the flower seeds. I sure hope they come up! Cornflowers, sweet william, wallflowers, scabriosa, and pinks.

Then it was another couple of long hours in the kitchen. It really went pretty smoothly; I poached some cod in a creamy sauce with parsley. Very yummy. I just didn't have quite enough fish, darn it, so that's a bummer. I tried to double the recipe but didn't read carefully enough. I should have finished with six portions, not four.

And then it was on to wash and set my hair. Whew! Full day. It was quite warm today - 85 locally - and will be in the 80s or upper 70s for the next week. Possibility of severe weather Thursday night, so that season's starting. Anyway, it was more than warm enough to keep the windows open all day (and had to keep them open after dark to help the house cool off). It'll be too warm to do that tomorrow.

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Surprise visit to the symphony tonight!

2017-03-18T04:46:02Z

Some friends had an extra ticket. Yay! I sat 6 rows from the front - pretty spectacular to be able to see that much. And it was a very good concert. A Mozart violin concerto, which was just delightful. And then, Shostakovich's 11th symphony,"The Year 1905." Very intense, "film score without the film." An incredible experience in person. The principles were breaking bowstrings left and right. I'm so glad I went!

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My mommy is very nice to me.

2017-03-16T03:15:29Z

She's making me a coat for Easter!

I found the pattern and bought the fabric (light blue wool from B&T [that coincidentally is the same color as the pattern drawing]), and she's making it for me! Isn't that awesome? :)

Easter here can be cooler (and wetter) than Christmas. I certainly remember more flurries and sleet on Easter Sundays than on Christmases. And although Easter may end up being very nice for the afternoon meal, I'm always at the church before dawn when it's as cold as possible. So an Easter coat is actually an appealing idea.

And I get to wear gloves with the bracelet-length sleeves! The early 1960s were so sophisticated.

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1860s Ballgown Plan

2017-03-14T04:09:37Z

I put this in a comment earlier, but it's worth documenting in an entry.

The dress I'm inspired by is this one at the Met:

British, silk, 1860-64, C.I.37.46.7a, b

I really like the amount and style of trim on this one. Unlike a lot of my CoCo stuff, this one will be geared for appropriateness at good reenactor balls. That means it would not be appropriate to copy Princess Alexandra's white dress! (Yet. I still want to. Why must white silk be so expensive?)

Anyway, this example has very clean lines with enough detail to not be rigid, and does not rely on un-obtainable trimmings or hideously expensive materials. Essentially it's a doubled row of layered trim: box-pleated pinked material, bordered on each side by white and black blonde. (Blonde is silk lace, and ordinary "blonde" was actually slightly off-white, the natural silk color.)

I don't do ivory, beige, tan, or brown, so I'm thinking of the slipper pink Kaufman Radiance silk/cotton satin. I haven't used it before, but reine_de_coudre has, so it sounds fun to try.

That should be a similar-enough "weight" of tone to have the right contrast with both the black and blonde lace.

The box-pleated trim looks like a coordinating taffeta; it's not the same as the main dress fabric, though very close. I doubt I'll be able to find a silk match without going to L.A., so I'm thinking of a darker pink, maybe the pink of the sash I wear with the Romney dress. A rich rose color.

Lace will be fun to look for. Antique black chantilly net lace is readily available on ebay and Etsy. I figure I'll find something similar in a soft white after I source the black.

And it looks like there are shoulder bows, in another nearly-matching ribbon color. That can come later. :)

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Ooh

2017-03-11T05:25:45Z

I found a new dessert to try. With a sugar substitute (or even none at all, possibly), it's the perfect low carb dessert. It looks super easy, too, and easy to vary up a little bit with flavors.

Panna Cotta (Epicurious)

Panna Cotta (The Kitchn)

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Pinterest misspelling of the day

2017-03-09T03:48:36Z

(it's like shooting fish in a barrel, I know)

"... gown by Parisian courtier Worth..."

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Feeling a little headachy again

2017-03-08T04:08:36Z

I just have to make it to the chiropracter tomorrow. Then it should all get straightened out.

I'm thinking about pulling out the Star fancy dress for the Gettysburg masquerade. Which means a star tiara, of course! I've found a couple of good ones. My most pressing need may be for shoes. I still have a lamentable lack of evening footwear for most periods. The white satin ballet slippers were adequate for Costume College, but I'd rather have real shoes.

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Fun!

2017-03-04T05:24:44Z

They announced the musical choice for this year's show at my church. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! It sounds so much fun! theladyrebecca, I would love to hear the low-down on differences between the show and the movie.

(For those of you who don't know, my church does an all-out musical show once every two years. I say it who shouldn't, but please don't think of typical "church musicals" when I say this. They are full scale, with large casts and orchestra. And a lot of really good talent, including direction. It's a joy and a challenge to be part of - a lot of work for an excellent result.)

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Yikes, almost forgot to post

2017-03-01T05:11:59Z

February's going out with two 80-degree days, and March is coming in with a cold front. Figures! Not a frigid cold front, but it gets us back close to average.

Lazy evening again. I forgot about the dishes I hadn't done. Oops.

Trying to find an Easter dress. It's surprisingly hard!

And I have a new default icon. Isn't it pretty? The lady Hortense Bonaparte, Josephine's daughter and Napoleon I's stepdaughter, herself previously queen of Holland, and dates to 1813. I've seen it before but assumed it was just one of the fanciful later 19th century romantic paintings. Not so. :)

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