Weekending Stuffs

The Renfaire was awesome. I actually kind of like the new layout, which gives it far less of the "long single winding street" feel. Unfortunately, one of the vendors I was planning to stalk and purchase from, the Gilroy garlic booth, was not there. :( But, Sound and Fury's new show "Hamlet and Juliet" is just as great as "Testacles and the Sack of Rome," the one-man show "The Wit of Will," which I think has gotten renamed since I last saw it, was likewise great in its attempts to make Hamlet more approachable, and Wonderful Husband and I ended up walking out with Circa Paleo's entire CD catalogue. The Poxy Boggards were also good, though they weren't projecting very well during the performance we caught. And I go again this weekend, and next!

Saturday morning I did my usual round of estate sales. One was sufficiently "how the other half live" that I felt uncomfortable (and poor, and badly dressed). On the other end of the spectrum was the sale that was a packrats' house. Where for the first time ever I ran into canning supplies that scared me. Picture this: in a dark shed on the side of the house, canning jars in water-rotted boxes, their lids coated thick with dust, some with preserves floating inside, some empty. Visions of botulism dancing through my head, I backed away quickly. That said, I did come away with half a dozen 1950s sewing manuals, which are proving to be absolutely fascinating reading!

Damn Kids! Get Outta My Garden!

Edited another ten pages for classmates. Stopping at page 276/617, and 124,534 words. Finally in dragon country! And a scene setting based on my two visits to the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.

Watered the potted plants tonight. Discovered that placing the heavy potting bench in front of the broken gate and putting a potted rosebush in the gap on one side and a tomato in its cage on the other still isn't stopping neighborhood kids from worming their way through and using our yard as a thoroughfare to the park behind us. There's a footprint in the mulch and the cage is bent, support pole knocked astray.

Fortunately, I have a plan. We can't replace the gate yet - the post it hangs from is part of a going-to-come-down-in-the-first-good-quake cinderblock wall between us and the neighbors - but I can sure as hell shut it permanently. I have zipties.

For now, though, I go poke at the Singer 101 and see how difficult it will be to get it working.

Success!

This is a triumph. I'm making a note here - huge success.

The 101 works. It needs cleaning inside, and I need to locate a source for Tri-flow grease, but I can sew on it. Now to work on the green petticoat - I refuse to pick out a fabric to be a skirt for the Faire garb until I can see it in true colors tomorrow morning.

ETA: Ha, or, you know, NOT. Machine runs fine, except for the part where the bobbin winder is frozen. Which, whatever, I can work around that. What I can't work around is the upper thread not actually picking up the bobbin thread and making a stitch with it.

I have a suspicion that this, like the 401's presser foot, is something I can fix myself given time. Just, right now time isn't something I have enough of. Mom, may I borrow your portable?