Back in the great state of Texas

I love my home. I can feel it when I start getting close to Austin. There's something about driving through the Texas countryside that just puts me at ease and melts all my stress away. Oddly I got that same feeling on the roads driving North of Guelph to my Laurel's house. I'm thinking it's because it was driving Ontario back roads like those that got me to my husband's place back in University when we were dating. London doesn't give me that feeling. I'm thinking it might be because high school was pretty shit on the whole and there are just too many places there that can bring me back to those things I'd rather not remember. Nothing hurts like it did back then, but it's still vaguely uncomfortable. And to be honest, I never really liked London that much. Still not as depressing as Windsor though. Man that place is a hole.

Anyway, the visit home was a whirlwind. Sunfest was very enjoyable as usual and I have some great shots of the family hanging out there on a blanket. A shame none of y'all made it out there as it was a grand afternoon. Georgia enjoyed the music and outdoors just as much as I thought she would. She was also pretty pleased with the AGO show about art and the theater. Baby appreciated the pretty ballerinas and their live performance. She also enjoyed being toted around in her sling for most of the show. Nothing makes that girl happier than time in the sling. The beach at Grand Bend was good for the half hour or so Georgia and I were awake there. The nap we enjoyed there for several hours was much-needed as well. I was sad to see when driving in to town that the restaurant Jason took me to right on the water had been torn down and was being replaced by condos. I have this socialist idea that the beachfront property should be public places like parks and restaurants overlooking the water, not housing for the elite. But as always, what the money wants the money gets.

The trip to Tangwystl's place was a total highlight for me. An afternoon chatting on her porch with the breeze blowing past. Watching her take the sheep out to pasture when the evening brought cool. Walking out to see the "longhouse". Letting Georgia pet a month old lamb. Listening to her squeals of delight as she encountered horses for the first time (and later having to scrub horse snot out of my hair because I apparently smelled delicious). I wish I could do that more often (the farm, not the snot).

While we were gone Georgia mastered cruising. She really liked my mother's relatively small and stuffed full of furniture family room as it gave her lots of surfaces to transition between. She also learned how to say "Dada", which Jason finds endlessly thrilling. She has also decided that all veggies are evil. She's not terribly impressed with bread. She will now only eat eggs, cheese and fruit. Mostly fruit. She has earned a new nickname... the little fruitbat.

Since getting home I've been pretty violently ill with some sort of cold or flu. Lots of body aches and snot and a headache that made me want to drive a spike into my head. Hopefully I'm starting to turn a corner as I don't feel as vile today as I did yesterday.

I've almost got us all unpacked and the laundry is coming along. Got 2 loads done on the day we came home and another two the day after but then came down with the ick and everything has stagnated since then. Now it's on to Pennsic prep. At this point I have just a little over a week to get everything done and it is quite the monumental to-do list.

Tasks divided by category and listed in decreasing importance

Sewing:
- 2 apron dresses for myself (both started)
- 1 apron dress for myself and 1 for Georgia out of cloth that I still have to dye
- 3 Eura dresses for myself in various stages of completion right now
- 2 more Eura dresses for Georgia, not yet started
- 1 or 2 shirts for Jason
- a couple of coifs/hoods for Georgia (she probably will just pull them off but I can try)
- Coat for Georgia
- Coat for myself
- Embroidery on Eura dresses (something to do in the car perhaps)

Woodworking:
- apply finish to cart and install the last few pieces
- apply finish to the new bed (purchased from Ikea - yay)
- apply finish and some sort of paint job to Georgia's toy box (likely won't get done this year)

Packing:
- launder all of Jason's costumes to freshen them up
- locate various lost camp items

Miscellaneous
- Finish the piece of weaving I'm working on now and pre-wash the trim I plan on using
- Dye fabric for apron dresses
- Do a dry-run on both the tent and the bed to ensure I have all the pieces and that everything is in good repair
- clean the entire house and have it prepped for a guest as my sister arrives the day we get back and I know I won't have the time or energy to deal with it then

We've decided to leave the neighbour girl in charge of the dogs while we're gone. We'll be paying her about half of what a kennel would have cost and she'll be most of the way to a new laptop when it's all done, so win-win. Also means I don't have to deal with packing their crap or driving them to a kennel and picking them up. Might be boring for them having to spend most of the vacation in their cage, but that's what happens when you chew and dig.