A weekend report
Oct. 23rd, 2006 10:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoWell, beyond that irritating thing on Saturday, already noted.
After that, I really wanted to just stay home, especially since I was afraid that going to any other crowd attracting event might increase the likelihood of running into those same obnoxious people. Gary, however, wanted to go to the Trail of History, which only happens for one weekend. And he wanted to go visit a small renfaire where he is supposed to perform next weekend, mostly to get a feel for the flavor of it and also to learn how to get there.
Feeling like I haven't been doing enough with him, I acquiesced and we headed for Glacial Park to see the Trail of History, an educational reconstruction of early settler activities in the midwest. We found it (no thanks to Mapquest, I think their directions to places are really getting worse all the time) only to discover that the event had been cancelled. It is outdoors, and there was rain early Sunday though it was sunny and dry when we reached the park. There was a cold wind, however.
So we headed on from there to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, the site of this tiny renfaire. Deciding that lunch was in order, and allowing my utter distaste for fast food, we stopped at the first real looking restaurant off the Lake Geneva ramp. It was called the Red Geranium, and was a little more than we expected. The staff were all attired in whites and ties, and the overall presentation was a bit on the snooty side, but the clientele were dressed as we were, quite casually. Food was rather overpriced in my opinion (in fact, Gary looked at the menu and said "Oops" but it wasn't that bad.) The quality was in fact considerably better than what you get from an ordinary American style diner. Still, we aren't likely to stop there again, because the stuffiness and the prices just weren't our style. (An aside: We both heard our waiter introduce himself as "Bear" which seemed a bit out of character for the place. He had unruly red hair and a gold cuff on one ear that was rather incongruous, but the service was certainly attentive if a little fussy.)
Onward to the faire. Well, as it turned out, "tiny" was an understatement. It was smaller than many SCA events I remember from decades ago, and we arrived just as everyone was packing up. They had decided to cancel due to the cold weather. A carload of Gary's friends was just pulling out, and we went into Lake Geneva with them for lunch, in spite of having barely finished breakfast. The place they selected was known to them and was much more casual, a bit too much so. Slow and unfocused service, like bringing bowls of soup and forgetting the spoons, seemed to be the norm there. However, it was unstuffy and unbusy and no one tried to hurry us along, so we had a good long visit and a very complex check to untangle at the end.
From there we headed back home. So from my point of view, I attended three events over the weekend and all of them were busts. I would have done better to stay home and work on my own projects. Oh well. Next weekend I should be able to do just that.
After that, I really wanted to just stay home, especially since I was afraid that going to any other crowd attracting event might increase the likelihood of running into those same obnoxious people. Gary, however, wanted to go to the Trail of History, which only happens for one weekend. And he wanted to go visit a small renfaire where he is supposed to perform next weekend, mostly to get a feel for the flavor of it and also to learn how to get there.
Feeling like I haven't been doing enough with him, I acquiesced and we headed for Glacial Park to see the Trail of History, an educational reconstruction of early settler activities in the midwest. We found it (no thanks to Mapquest, I think their directions to places are really getting worse all the time) only to discover that the event had been cancelled. It is outdoors, and there was rain early Sunday though it was sunny and dry when we reached the park. There was a cold wind, however.
So we headed on from there to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, the site of this tiny renfaire. Deciding that lunch was in order, and allowing my utter distaste for fast food, we stopped at the first real looking restaurant off the Lake Geneva ramp. It was called the Red Geranium, and was a little more than we expected. The staff were all attired in whites and ties, and the overall presentation was a bit on the snooty side, but the clientele were dressed as we were, quite casually. Food was rather overpriced in my opinion (in fact, Gary looked at the menu and said "Oops" but it wasn't that bad.) The quality was in fact considerably better than what you get from an ordinary American style diner. Still, we aren't likely to stop there again, because the stuffiness and the prices just weren't our style. (An aside: We both heard our waiter introduce himself as "Bear" which seemed a bit out of character for the place. He had unruly red hair and a gold cuff on one ear that was rather incongruous, but the service was certainly attentive if a little fussy.)
Onward to the faire. Well, as it turned out, "tiny" was an understatement. It was smaller than many SCA events I remember from decades ago, and we arrived just as everyone was packing up. They had decided to cancel due to the cold weather. A carload of Gary's friends was just pulling out, and we went into Lake Geneva with them for lunch, in spite of having barely finished breakfast. The place they selected was known to them and was much more casual, a bit too much so. Slow and unfocused service, like bringing bowls of soup and forgetting the spoons, seemed to be the norm there. However, it was unstuffy and unbusy and no one tried to hurry us along, so we had a good long visit and a very complex check to untangle at the end.
From there we headed back home. So from my point of view, I attended three events over the weekend and all of them were busts. I would have done better to stay home and work on my own projects. Oh well. Next weekend I should be able to do just that.
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no subject
Date: 2006-10-23 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-23 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-23 03:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-23 03:58 pm (UTC)I knew I could count on you to recognize it and know the name of the thing. I have to agree it was cold. They are exposed with little shelter from the wind chill. The still air temperature was about 48 even at 2 pm, and with the wind chill I imagine it was closer to 42. That may be OK for playing football, but it's hardly suited to less active pursuits, and even the hardiest of musicians gets stiff fingers in that.
Mama said there'd be days like this...
Date: 2006-10-23 05:46 pm (UTC)Happens to all of us. Cancellations, bad restaurants... and work.
Of course, last Thursday I used Pro-Seal, a smelly two-part yucky gooey stuff that normally sets up very tough. Many aircraft use it for various important things like.... holding the wings on to the fuselage and, of course the classic use is gooping the insides of floats/pontoons to stop incessant leaks.
Should have set-up overnight. Key parts for the machine I am building to crimp aluminum edges for aircraft skin. But by Friday it had not yet hardened and today, all excited and ready to go back to work on the machine, it was STILL gooey. So, spent half the morning prying the parts apart and using the most gawdawful substance known to man, Methyl Ethyl Keytone (glue sniffing anyone?) got it all cleaned off and mixed up a brand new batch with more than normal hardener and clamped it all back together again with heat lamps to hopefully speed the curing process. Basically, half a day's work wasted plus.
So came home a bit early out of both frustration and, well have you ever had a booger stuck deep into the inside of your nose you cannot possibly pick it out and yet it not only drives you crazy, it actually hurts. Four days now. Of course I have just trimmed my hooves and, besides, my big ol' hoofies cannot possibly do the job. So here I be with this very irritated left nostril beginning to turn red not from picking at it but from the pressure and soreness inside.
See?
I love the song...."It's A Geat Day", by Paul Thorn, a big, black ex-boxer now comedian. Here we go.
Ever have one of those days, when nothing goes right?
My wife starts bitching about whatever it was
she was bitching about last night.
So I escape into the bathroom, just to sit there on my throne.
But after I finish my business, the toilet paper's gone.
Oh it's a geat day, to whoop somebody's ass.
It's a bad day, so you better get off my back.
You might get cold-cocked, if you cross my path.
It's a great day, to kick somebody's ass.
Well, I was running late for work, so I poured me some coffee to go.
But just before I had the flat tire, I spilled it over my clothes.
As the police car pulled up, I thought that help was on the way.
But when he saw the tire tool in my hand, he shot me with pepper spray.
Oh it's a geat day, to whoop somebody's ass.
It's a bad day, so you better stay off my back.
You might get cold-cocked, if you cross my path.
It's a great day, to kick somebody's ass.
I finally made it to work, but was fifteen minutes late.
I told my boss about the flat tire, but he fired me anyway.
So here I stand out in the parking lot,
just waiting by his Corvette.
I'm gonna give him a good-bye present,
he never will forget.
Oh it's a geat day, to whoop somebody's ass.
It's a bad day, so you better stay off my back.
You might get cold-cocked, if you cross my path.
It's a great day, to kick somebody's ass.
Grin.
Imp
Re: Mama said there'd be days like this...
Date: 2006-10-23 05:53 pm (UTC)About the nose thing, you can get a plastic spray bottle with saline solution in it from WallyMart for about $2. It's made for just that kind of problem, softens up the thing without stinging like plain water would. A q-tip or two will probably help after that. The saline is often sold in drug stores under the brand name "Ocean" but you don't need to pay extra for the fancy logo. Get the generic one they sell under the "Equate" name at Walmart or "All America" at Kmart...
Hope your batch of Pro-Seal works this time, and it wasn't that the whole container was bad for some reason.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-23 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 02:35 am (UTC)At 60 degrees farenheit, Floridians turn on the heat. New Englanders plant gardens.
At 50 degrees, California hospitals are choked with hypothermia victims. New Englanders sunbathe.
At 40 degrees, English and Italian cars won't start. New Englanders drive with the windows downs.
At 32 degrees, distilled water freezes. The water in Moosehead Lake thickens.
At 20 degrees, Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and hats. New Englanders throw on a flannel shirt.
At 15 degrees, New York landlords finally turn on the heat. In New England, they have the last cookout, "before it gets cold."
At 0 degrees, Miamians die - or return to Cuba. New Englanders close the windows.
At 10 below, Californians illegally emigrate to Mexico. New Englanders think about breaking out the winter coat.
At 25 below, silicone freezes in Hollywood starlets. Girl Scouts in New England sell cookies door to door.
At 40 below, Washington runs out of hot air. In New England, the dogs get to sleep inside.
At 100 below, Santa abandons the North Pole. People in New England are "wicked pissed awff" because "the cah won't staht."
At 459 below (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale) all atomic motion ceases. New Englanders start asking "Cold 'nuff for ya?"
At 500 below Hell freezes over, and in New England... (drum roll) the Red Sox finally win the World Series
no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 10:02 am (UTC)