If you didn't catch it, I also added a back-dated entry for April 21-25.

Thu May 25 - I'm out for a quick dinner, sitting in an IHOP near my apartment. One of the nicest thing about where I live is that there are *so* many stores and restaurants within a five minute walk from my front door. In the last several weeks I've had meals with friends at most of the local joints, and so this evening I decided I just wanted to go back to a quiet sit-down old standard. I didn't bring any books with me to read during dinner, but it dawned on me that I had my PDA and keyboard in my purse (at all times) so I could spend some time writing to all of you.

Earlier this week Caterina, Lot, and I finished painting the silk banners for Giacomo's vigil this weekend. I drove the silk up to Thousand Oaks and dropped it off with Philip and Rebecca. They have a business out of their home now, selling the materials for silk banner workshops, and they purchased a commercial steamer to set the dye into the silk. So part of the cost of buying a kit from them includes the steaming service.

They steamed the silk and sent it overnight to me at work, and I received it today. So far this evening I've finished the sewing repairs on the "kitchen" pavilion, and Lot came over to pack it in his truck. A quick dinner, and I'm headed back to finish the rest of the silk project. I have to hand-wash it to remove the last of any dye that might not have set into the silk, rinse and rinse and rinse until it's completely clear, then hang it to dry. A bunch of friends are going to a midnight showing of the 3rd X-Men movie, so I'm not certain if I'll have time to iron the silk first or just leave it to dry over night. I'd like to get it ironed and cut apart before the movie so that all I have left are the hems. The kitchen pavilion repairs took a little longer than an hour, so I imagine the hems might take between 1-2 hours in the morning. Then I finish packing and shopping, and head to Potrero.

With the Memorial Day holiday and requesting Friday off work, I'm planning to enjoy a lovely long weekend with my friends. I'm slightly bummed to miss my sister's bbq/picnic on Monday, but I wouldn't want to miss Giacomo's vigil.

G has been offered a Laurel (which is the highest award possible in Arts & Sciences) for his research into Historical Sword-fighting and his teaching from the translated manuscripts of the swords masters from our historical period. And since he's part of our household, we're hosting a big party for his vigil on Saturday. We'll have the "Coffee Bar of Splendoor" plus a Dessert revel, along with hosting all the people coming to visit G and offer him congratulations and advice.

Then on Sunday I'll be performing in two different Bardic concerts, so I also have a lot of memorizing to complete before Sunday night. (yoikes)

I'm also looking forward to this camping event because our household encampment will be larger than usual. Both of Alan's siblings are coming, and I enjoyed meeting them so much at Alan's birthday party that now I'll get a chance to know them better. Dan and I have been emailing on and off since the birthday party, and he's an absolute hoot. He seems to enjoy my emails too, so this will be a treat to spend time hanging out around the campfire.

So, back to the apartment now to sync my PDA and computer, copy & paste this entry, and get to work on the silk. If I get a chance to jot a few notes over the weekend, I'll load them when I return. If not, you'll know that I'm just enjoying myself too much to interrupt my history with the modern technology of my journal. *grin*

Take care, and have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend everyone.