in which I try not at all to recreate the post that blogger ate

Yesterday, I wrote a perfectly lovely post all about how excited we are to be expecting our first child- it even had really cool photos and  I waxed poetic about morning sickness, and told an amusing story about why we're refering to the baby as "The Dragon", but blogger ate it & I decided that I have way too much end of first trimester fatigue to try to recreate it, so you all get to read this instead.

I will post the pic of the vintage pattern I scored on etsy for The Dragon's first Renaissance garb:

Sorry,

I'm really alive- I swear it!

So, I know it's been ages since I posted, so this begs the question:
"What happened?"

Let's see...
Most Saturday's in July I was working at "peasant camp", which is also known as our space at the Renaissance Festival. We purchased a 3rd space, so we were knocking down walls, removing concrete fountains (possibly the best-built item there!- we had to use a jackhammer!) painting, etc.

Fest started in August and ran into October, so I was there every weekend in addition to working  my "real job" all week.  This part of my hiatus is pretty much a blur. Tons of fun at Fest every weekend (including using a CO2 powered confetti cannon to launch marshmallows in an all out war)

In October, I was pretty focused on Breast Cancer awareness- I managed to wear pink to work *everyday* all month long as part of our company's campaign and I also walked in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, raising over $200.

And now it's November.  Wow. is it any wonder I'm exhausted?
  

Cherished Collections

 

Welcome to everyone who is visiting from Elegant Musings for the Cherished Collections Bog Tour!
I'm having so much fun seeing all the wonderful things different people collect and I hope you are too!

I'm going to share with you a collection that happened somewhat by accident. I collect silver and silver-plated compotes.

What's a compote?  

A compote, or compote dish, as they are sometimes called, is a footed dish, often used to serve sweets or nuts. 

So, how did I end up with this collection?  It started with one piece that had been a wedding gift to my in-laws and they had never used it:

I brought it home and polished off 30 years worth of tarnish and added it to my small Revere bowl, which is a shape I've been enamored with since I was a child.  Slowly the collection grew.

I have tall ones, short ones, simple ones, fancy ones, pierced ones and some that aren't technically compotes because they don't have a pedestal and foot, so they're really bowls, but I love them just the same. Each one is different and I know exactly which ones I already have at home and refuse to duplicate even if it's a really good deal. I've become pretty discerning about adding to the collection and a new one has to be pretty special and priced just right to make it, which is why I've been holding at 11 for a while now.

I love that they add a little touch of drama to everyday. The tallest one in the photo above came from the estate sale of the husband and wife who founded the theatre I work at. I think it's kind of neat to have it. I have a few that were gifts from very special family members, including one of the little bowls (it's just peeking in at the lower edge of the photo) that was originally a gift to my husband Joe's grandparents on a significant wedding anniversary.

A little part of me cries every time I see a lonely compote at a thrift store because I know I could give it a good home, but I am NOT the Angelina Jolie of silver compote adoption! I have learned to say no. 

I polish them pretty diligently, except just before Halloween when I let them tarnish a bit to add to my creepy decor!  The photos were taken in December & yes, those are disco ball ornaments- I always glam them up a bit during the winter holidays! 

Be sure to visit the other blogs on the tour by visiting Elegant Musings

Natural mosquito relief

Mosquitoes LOVE me!  Actually, all bugs seem to: mosquitoes, gnats, if it's biting, it's biting me.
Case in point, this past weekend, I ended up with MASSIVE red welts on my legs, my arms, my sides even directly on my spine and the all *itch* like crazy!

Even the After Bite that I've known and loved for years isn't cutting the itch. But I have a new secret weapon.

Plantain.

Not the kind of plantain that looks like an overgrown banana, but this stuff:

It's also known as Plantago Major, Snakeweed, Che Qian Zi or White Man's Foot and although many people see it as a noxious weed, it really helps to take the sting and itch out of bug bites!  It's also great for other skin irritations.  You can use the plant leaves by picking some and either chewing them a little or tearing them and applying them directly to the bite (I don't recommend this if you don't know for sure that pesticides and fertilizers haven't been used on it) or you can do what I do & buy it at a co-op:

  

This is an extract, similar to the vanilla extract we all grew up knowing about, so yes, I could eat it, but it doesn't really have much taste.  I prefer to put it on my skin.  For bug bites I bought a little roller bottle and just glide some directly on the bite.  For other skin irritations (like the evil rashes I get around my eyes when I get what I think is a demodex outbreak), I mix the extract with jojoba oil.  Jojoba isn't really and oil, it's actually a liquid wax, but it's a nice thing to use because it closely mimics skin's own oils and it doesn't go rancid like some other oils do.

I have *super* sensitive skin (allergic to aloe sensitive) and I'm in ♥ with plantain.

I've heard that lemon balm soap is a very good bug repellent that smells nice to us and works pretty well. I'm going to have to try it out sometime soon, but I'll start small in case I'm allergic!