Sisterly affection...

Surprise, Surprise. Janessa got a new camera for her birthday. Happy Birthday, love. :) We were messing around and had some fun. Enjoy. We did. :)

PS: My hair has since changed. Again. So for the record I don't look like that exactly. :P

Monday, Monday, Monday.....(said with a deep voice that rumbles)

So yes, I have a long post comin' your way today, cause it's Monday. :D Which happens to include pics. Huzzah!

1. KA trip.

Which was awesome. Here's some stuff from it.

Me, trying to get some last minute editing done! I like this pic. It's funny and cute. And my hair looks awesome. :P In case you were wondering, yes I cut it. Again. I can't help it! I love it short!

Lunch on Saturday, I have the grey hat on. Oh, how I miss you guys!

Some of us goofing of as Pirates vs. Ninjas. XD I was a Pirate!

Samii, StoryGirl and me! *Sorry SG! I forgot your name! Eyi!

2. A new book.

Yup. And you have to buy it. It's just too amazing. Here's a vid on what it's all about.

This book has changed my life, and I'm only in the third chapter. Here's a tid bit for ya.

It's easy for American Christians to forget how jesus said his followers would actually live, what thier new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the sake of the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily....

But who do you know that lives like that? Do you?

3. Discussion

Last night Mom, Dad, Janessa and I had some powerful discussion on what we (as a family) believe as Baptists. It was challenging, encouraging, and heartening to be fed the truth. Time after time, we pulled out our copies of God's Word and checked what we believe to what we know the Bible says. How amazing is it to know that God has an answer to everything? Whether or not he decides to make it known to us...

Here's a bit that was especially powerful for me.

God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

Romans 8:28-30

I don't know how to keep going on miscellaneous things today. Today is just too thoughtful to fill with random musings. Last night's talk left too big an imprint on me to be spouting off about Sharpies and shopping sprees....and after that video..I don't know if I want to. God has a bigger calling on our lives than the best deals at the grocery store. Are we responding to it? And I leave you with this. A video that did more than change my life...it's changed my future.

Changes, changes...

Some of you may have noticed the changes on my blog. Well, a lot is happening to do so.

1. If you want to keep up with my re-enactments, go to it's own specialized page, newly made for your convenience!
2. I am a writer, so my blog might be a little more literary minded this school year. Including my study of Shakespeare's works for my Brit Lit cred. :D
3. The new name. Don't worry, the url is still the same. But I've come to a realization this summer. God has equipped me with a talent for words, and I intend to use it to tell stories of grace, hope, forgiveness, and sacrifice. Some times that means I have to dip into the real world for examples of sin, despair, cruelty, and deprivation. Understand that this is real writing. Not some fairy tale. Not a lovey-dovey story that makes you feel good and your innards warm. As a friend of mine once said, "I want to be God's frying pan and go around whacking heads. People have got to wake up." Wake up indeed.
4. Pictures.....ah yes. Those lovely things. Weeel, the laptop crashed, so posting pictures is difficult now and editing them is near impossible. I'm working on that. ;) Re-enactments are hard to come by in the summer (when it's 99 degrees for a week straight). But trips aren't! :D And I have plenty of those coming.
5. Sewing Projects!!!! I have yet to update that page (or develop it for that matter. ;) ) I have several projects done, and finished, that I would love to post and talk about! Check out that page soon for some awesome stitching!

To keep you all up to date, here's a look at what this year is bringing:

• NC trip (#3 of this year) and trip to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.
• Several re-enactments. Including the Fall Encampment, Red River, Yule Fest, Daniel Smith Days, and possibly Fort Loudon, which I am especially excited about.
• The usual Thanksgiving Trip to NC.
• A "talked of" Christmas trip to....Texas? O_o

And in addition to:

• School!
• Novel deadline (August 15th at midnight)
• New novel!
• Graduation! O_O There's a shocker for ya. ;)

Some updates on my life:

1. The Kansas trip went great and I had a blast! Learned so much from the people there and can't wait to go back next year.
2. Contacts?
3. A new impersonation for re-enacting. Drumroll please!!! : It's a young widow. Hoohoo! There's gonna be some fun with that. :D
4. This is a little more serious. I have felt God leading me into the mission field after (and during) college. For quite a while he has placed the people of Europe on my heart, where religion there is a culture, not a relationship with God Almighty. Please pray for me as I find out what God has planned for my life and prepare for His calling.

So, anyways. Lotsa going on. And more to come. ;) (Don't worry, patience isn't a virtue I possess either. XD )

Spring!

Sorry guys about all the background changes. I've been messing around with some different themes and tidbits. I finally decided on this one, it's nice and fresh and I love the color. A Few things to check out:

I have pages now! YAY! I'll posting all my sewing projects and statuses in "Under the Needle".

Causes and projects I support are in "Do Something About It". And lastly, all the people and blogs I love are in "From Their Fingertips".

And now for some fun! Despite the rain from the past few days, I've managed to plant my herb garden for the year and I'm so excited about it. Everything's so green! I've got some pics, and I hope you enjoy!

Herbs I planted: Basil, Chamomile, Cilantro, Fennel, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Taragon, and Thyme! Not all are planted, as some I have to do seedlings, and others I have as cuttings in mason jars in the kitchen window sill. :D But, here are the few I did this afternoon.

Back view of it. Daddy built me a bed alongside the fence with all these lovely flowers behind it!
Frontal view. That's Dad in the background with the straw hat. XD
Sage!
Mint!

Note: I apologize for the sad state of the photos. Due to my camera not allowing me to load pictures to the comp, I've had to use the camcorder. I'm working on saving for a much better one. But until then, well, deal with it. :P ;)

Updates galore! Part 2

Oh for the love of butter! Well, Spring Encampment was a blast and my main employment was in the making (and cleaning) of butter. Sam and her sister Marci were my main helpers. Here's how it works.

I churned the butter for about an hour. Depending on the temperature outside, it takes anywhere from 15 minutes to and hour and a half (from my own experience) to make the butter separate from the butter milk.
Luckily, I had plenty of friends to keep me company while I churned. The giant apron I'm wearing was made with the sole purpose of making butter with it. It's wide skirt completely covers my petticoats and the bib keeps the butter cream from splashing up on my jacket front. Making butter isn't the cleanest occupation. ;)

When we finished, I scooped the butter out and ran water over it in the colander, until the water drained out clear. We then filled the bigger mold (in the background) and began to fill the smaller mold which Sam is holding. The bigger one can be seen in the background. The bowl in front is an 18th century pottery colander. We used it to wash the butter.

Pushing it out!

Popping the larger butter cake out of the mold. Marci was such a good helper!

Releasing the first mold. This one was kinda messy as the larger mold wasn't as good quality as the smaller one.
Getting the second layer out of the mold. This one was trickier because the suction was better. Sam's other sister, Vanessa is in the foreground.
Putting the two layers together...
Molding the butter.
Rubbing the two butter cakes together...
Picking up left over pieces of butter to fill in the cracks...
Here Sam explains to Marci how the butter mold works.
Smoothing extra butter around the edges...

Marci learned a lot about churning that day..

TADA! Butter! Here we are draining excess water off the plate before replacing the butter cake.
Getting all the butter off our hands...
Cleaning the butter molds. That's Lee in the background.
Washing the dishes...and ourselves! :D
Drying off our hands on my huge butter churning apron...

Mumsie had made several loaves of bread in the bake oven and between my butter and her bread, we fed plenty of people that weekend! By Sunday, the butter was entirely gone!

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed that little instruction as to 18th century butter making!

I'M AN AUNT!!!

Yesterday at 12:26 am Jared Gregroy ***** came into the world! We've waiting long for this and now my adorable nephew has finally decided to join us! Here are some pics.

Peplum Jacket

Well, I finally got around to making my peplum jacket for Spring Encampment. After getting lucky with a gorgeous piece of fabric, I decided against making another polonaise (having too many, and chose a fitted jacket, with peplum. I love the peplum and it looks wonderful flared out over petticoats.

So far, Mumsie and I have made the mock up. Unfortunately, the pattern made the jacket terribly small in the waist and way to short for myself with a longer torso. Altering the pattern, and then combining it with another, I drew up the finished idea on butcher paper and hope to attack it tonight.

But, since it has been a while from the last time I posted, I thought I'd give you a little tid bit. Here's the mock up, and my lovely fabric! Enjoy!

I took the pics with my webcam, so I apologize for the poor quality. Also, I went ahead and wore my shift, then pinned the jacket to it so you could see how it fits. The edges are raw, since it's just a mock up, and we didn't line it like we will for the real thing. The jacket is supposed to laceacross the front over a stomacher. Here is the back. Notice the peplum in the middle and at the sides.

Here's a side view. I wanted to include a pic of the sleeves, because they are different than any I've ever done. They cup over the elbow, ensuring modesty in the 1700's. ;)

Here's a side view. Notice the slits and peplum on the sides. This gives it a smooth finish over the torso, while keeping it flared over the hips.

And lastly a front view. See how open it is in the front.

And lastly, my lovely fabric. It's a red and blue cornflower on a cream background. Some friends of ours were renovating a house, and the curtains were made of this lovely Williamsburg print, 100% cotton, and ten yards of it!!! I squealed so much! They let us have it...since they had no better use for it and were going to throw it away. Thank goodness we spotted it!

So, hope that keeps you satisfied until I can post the final product! Until then!

Steampunk anyone...?

Recently I've become fascinated by a type of fantasy costuming called steampunk. I thoght I'd give a try at it, and came up with this. It's a mannequin, as a friend of mine calls my drawings (since they are usually minus a head and hands). I'm hoping to actually make the costume to wear for a thing I'm hoping to go to this summer. Hoever, the jacket and blouse can easily be worn with modern clothing. Enjoy, and hopefully I might have posts soon of the construction!

Forgive the funky whiteness in the background...my attempt at compter erasers didn't turn out as planned. ;)

Catch Up Part 2

Okay here is the Ball and my new polonaise. Not many good pics of the dress, but bear with me.
Janessa, Lissi and Me.
Me...again. ;)

Me and Elijah, Lissi's brother dancing. This is the best shot of the dress.

Catch Up Part 1

Okay here we go. I'm gonna dive head long into this, because we have a lot of ground to cover. Starting with: Red RiverAwesome pic by Lissi. me in the background.

Another by Lissi.

Dadio. Our cook for the weekend.

Me and Sam, serving at the resturaunt.

Me, Sam, Evan, Janessa, and Lissi.