It's Going to be a Busy "Day Off" and the Eclipse, of Course!

I'm always grateful to hear from my online friends, and yesterday, one of my friends was posting photos they took when they experienced the eclipse at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - one of the largest venues in the stripe of darkest totality. It was absolutely magical for her and her wife, an experience of a lifetime. She said they were even able to lie down on the speedway track to watch the moon eat the sun, and during totality they were able to pull off their protective eyewear and see the sun in its' glory. Thanks for sharing, Liz! Much appreciated! 

There are some things to look for in a full solar 
eclipse - Bailey's Beads are one of those, and you 
can barely see those around the sun in this photo 
from CNN. Stunning, isn't it? 

How did you spend the eclipse? I'm afraid we were totally overcast here - nothing to be seen at all. Friends watched on television - I caught bits and pieces. It was quite remarkable. I remember other eclipses from younger days as being equally amazing, and I have never yet been in a totality. I rather doubt I'll actually be able to experience that darkest strip in my lifetime since I had to miss this opportunity, but I'm so happy for those of you who were able to view it in person, instead of on a television screen. 

Another thing that people specifically looked for 
during the solar eclipse was the "Diamond Ring". There 
is one on the ascent of darkness, and one on the retreat. 
Did you all see the guy in Vermont who proposed to his 
girlfriend just as the diamond ring was appearing for 
the second time on their viewing of the eclipse? It was 
truly magical for everyone, and they were a very 
happy couple. What a story to tell their children. 

Today will be a busy one. I'll be cooking, paying bills, doing laundry (load number one is washing right now), and of course will start the day out at the gym. Yard waste pickup starts today for us, and DH worked in the yard for most of yesterday, cleaning things up and marking areas off where he has bulbs coming up. The crocuses are getting eaten - deer, we suspect - but the rest of the bulbs seem to be coming up pretty well. He had a bucket full of yard waste ready for the weekly pickup, and another wheelbarrow filled for next week's pickup already. 

Except for the colors (all of our buckets are blue), this 
could be our curbside today. Trash, recycling and yard 
waste will all be collected today. I'll need to get the 
trash and recycling buckets out to the curb in about 
ten minutes here, so it's time to wrap this up. 

Today is my "day off" and I'll be filling it with cooking and housecleaning, laundry and maybe a serious dust. I also have a stack of things at my computer that need to be taken care of. *sigh* no rest for the wicked, I guess. I'll head out to the gym shortly and hit the pool. I really need a good swim today, and I'll be sharing the lane with Meg - my neighbor from down the street. She does spin on Tuesdays, but I share the lane with her on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We've managed it for quite a while now - she's a much better/faster swimming than I am, but we rarely get in each other's way. It's a dance that we all do with other people we interact with - in the water or on the ground. Life is a series of almost-accidents that don't happen because we all dance that intricate dance of "Keep Away" well. When we don't do it well, we bump into people. Oops! Sorry! LOL Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Totality - Are You Lucky Enough to See the Eclipse?

Happy Totality Day and also Happy Birthday to my Mom who would be 112 years old, if she was still living. Of course, she died long ago, but that doesn't mean I don't think about her often with (mostly) positive thoughts. No relationship in this world is totally black and white. There are grey areas of disagreement and challenge. Some relationships grow stronger during those periods of grey, others break apart completely. The stresses felt by one pairing are going to be experienced by others, with different results. That's because we're all very individual people, and we're all going to react to events differently. 

Today is my Mom's birthday. She's been dead 
for decades, but that doesn't stop me thinking 
about her with great fondness. There certainly 
were times when we butted heads - we're very 
stubborn people. But we truly loved each other 
too, and managed to work things out every time. 
Happy 112th Birthday, Mom! 

Today is also Totality Day for the solar eclipse that's moving across a vast swath of the USA today. Unfortunately, it's looking like clouds will impact the event for much of the Northeastern states area, which will be a total bummer for my friends in that part of the country. Clouds will be a possible problem throughout the path, but that hasn't stopped people from around the world flocking to Texas and Oklahoma and other states along the pathway in hopes of seeing "Totality". The next time the USA will have any total eclipse will be on August 23, 2044, and it will only touch the far northern states of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

This map shows the small strip of totality viewing for 
today's eclipse. Of course, if you include the total area 
where parts of the eclipse will be visible, it takes 
over most of the continental USA. 

DH and I spent yesterday morning in the rain (fortunately a gentle rain, not a pelting down rain), collecting shrubbery, vines and weeks that he had pulled away from the fenceline. Although I set up an appointment to meet with the fence people on Tuesday, I'm going to have to reschedule because DH has a doctor appointment that we were unaware of, and it's one he can't miss and can't easily reschedule. So, I'll be calling the fencing company today to get our on-site look, estimate and quote done later this week instead. Maybe I'll get lucky and he can come by later on Tuesday. I'm hopeful, but I'm also a realist. I'm sure his schedule is tight. 

I thought we had a good time for the appointment with 
the fence guys, but DH ended up with a doctor appointment 
that will make it VERY tight for him to be at the house on 
time. I'll have to get the fence guy rescheduled. 

With the exception of clearing up the fenceline and taking all of the sticks, branches and dead vines to the compost dump, we had a relaxing day. I had ribs in the crockpot for dinner (super yummy), and we only needed to make whatever side dishes we wanted to go along with the meat. I love ribs days - it's so easy to do. Just put the ribs into the crockpot with the different Bar-B-Que sauces, turn it on, and let it cook. It doesn't get a lot easier than that - LOL. 

Up here in the Frozen Northlands, we're getting a 
70%-80% view in the Twin Cities, farther north 
in the state, they're at a 60%-70% vies. Almost all 
of the continental USA will be effected by the eclipse, 
however, so be careful if you're outside and WEAR 
ECLIPSE GLASSES if you're out during the event. 
Better safe than sorry! 

So, I'm heading off to work. I'll try to catch up on some of your posts before leaving the main computer for the day. I hope all of you have a wonderful Eclipse Day, and that if you're in a position to actually see it, PUT ON YOUR SPECIALIZED GLASSES. Don't risk your vision by watching it unprotected. Effects of direct viewing often don't show up for a few days, but are irreversible damage. Be cautious and be kind to yourself. Use proper eye protection. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Random Thoughts on a Super Blue Blood Moon Day

I was hoping to see the Super Blue Blood Moon (check out this link to find out more) this morning, but since it's currently snowing, that's probably not going to be happening. Oh well, instead of watching the moon, I'll be getting a little more exercise as I shovel the driveway before heading off to the gym. Not really what I had planned this morning, but not the end of the world either. 

I was hoping to see some of today's Super Blue Blood Moon, but
since we're snowing, it's unlikely that I will see anything but
clouds. Oh well! 

I am assuming that some of you in the USA were good, politically savvy people, and watched the "State of the Union" address last night. I have to admit that I watched other things. If I hadn't watched Super Bowl commercials and "The Curse of Oak Island", I would have buried my head in a book. I decided that I didn't need to hear a lot of empty rhetoric and promises. I'll probably read a quick synopsis of what was said today sometime, or not. I've been in this country for a long time now, and SOTU addresses have rarely, if ever, actually had a direct impact on my life. 

I'll read a synopsis and analysis of the address sometime today. I
just couldn't stand listening to the propaganda last night. 

On today's agenda, aside from the usual multiple loads of laundry, are two necklace repairs for customers and maybe trying to get the fax portion of the new printer hooked up and operating properly. I rarely bother with this aspect of printers, but I have a couple of suppliers where orders are preferred to be submitted by fax, and every so often I need to use one. The fax machine I have at the shop died last year, so it's either get this attached and functional, or ... well, I can live without it, but I'm curious about whether I can do this successfully or not. Looking at the basic directions, though, it might be easier to just email the purchase orders to my suppliers. Ick! 

It's not difficult to attach the printer to the phone
line, but I don't want to receive a bunch of crap
faxes either. I might skip doing this after all. 

Of course, attaching the fax portion will entail cleaning one more cubbyhole in the computer room. Maybe that's why I want to do this. It could use a clean-out, and I'm always happy when one more part of my life has been re-organized. Of course it is adding work, but what the heck. It's my "day off", right? LOL

So, on that note, I hope many of you have better luck seeing the Super Blue Blood Moon this morning than I will have, and that you have a tremendous Wednesday. I'm going to wrap this up early, grab a snow shovel, and see what progress I can make on my driveway. 

Eclipse and Renaissance Festival Changes

Did you get a chance to see the eclipse of the sun yesterday? I managed to see it on the television, but our threatening clouds became a full and thick blanket by the time we would have been able to look up and see anything. It wasn't raining (yet), but that arrived soon too. I know friends who were driving to different areas in hopes of seeing something, so I hope they were more successful. From the TV feed, it was quite spectacular.

There were some fabulous photos of the eclipse, but I really liked
this one from ABC News. The "diamond ring" effect was stunning. 

So, on to Renaissance Festival, which opened last weekend. There were a lot of changes - new tenants in booths and old favorites now gone. There were a few that caught us totally off-guard.

No Niche's! For years we've been enjoying the food of Niche's, who grew
from a single food truck during Highland Festival and Irish Fest, to a
permanent location. It was THE place for breakfast, and their banana cake
with cream frosting was to die for! They did a great business. But no more. 

First of all - notice anything different here? Yes, it says Scotch Eggs and Meat Pies, but it's no longer Niche's meat pies. I don't know where Niche's went, but they are no longer on the Festival grounds and they were sorely missed! The new purveyors have overcooked Scotch eggs, a truly inferior bangers and mash (with tasteless potatoes and a lackluster brown gravy) and a meat pie offering that I didn't see anyone taking advantage of. We tried their bangers and mash. I'll need to find something different to eat elsewhere this week.

Pendragon Chainmail had been one of the original vendors at Fest when
it started back in 1972. To see their space vacant was a shock that stopped
both of us in our tracks. Wow! 

Pendragon's Chainmail has been in it's prime location across from the Queen's Pub since the Festival opened in the early 1970's. They still exist, they're still selling at shows across the USA, but their large, two-story venue was suddenly completely empty. It was a shock.

Lady of the Lake Silks has been in business now for several
years in a small location near one of the food alleys. They
have now moved up the hill and have a lot more space. 

Up the hill from Pendragon, closer to the Main Gates, was a black and white pottery purveyor - lovely goods, but I never really did more than just wander through. It wasn't my style, I didn't need any more pottery, and even though I really liked it, I didn't want to own it. However, they had been there a very long time. They're gone and their space has been taken over by "Lady of the Lake Silks". Merlin and his girlfriend's painted silk scarves used to be lower down near the food and the small hidden entrance/exit. They now have a much larger space and, hopefully, better sales too.

The annual Longbow Competition will take place this weekend
and we'll be there to watch. We always enjoy this, even though
we either seem to bake or freeze over the several hours of
competition. 

Those three changes were ones that stopped me short. There were many more old friends and familiar shops still where they had been, but there was a change in the air. The crowds were surprisingly sparse for an opening weekend despite glorious weather and the Highland Games. I'll be interested to see how the attendance is for this coming weekend. The theme for the upcoming weekend is Fantasy - Steampunk, fairies, unicorns, etc. and the Longbow competition is the draw for us. We'll be baking in the sun (or getting damp in the rain) as we watch the men and women whittle their numbers down in front of the targets and hay bales.

So enjoy your Tuesday. Supposedly our paver stones, all 3000 of them, have arrived. I get to phone the store and schedule their delivery among other tasks for the day. Oh joy! LOL

Total Solar Eclipse Day for the USA

Today is August 21st and features a total solar eclipse passing over the United States during the early afternoon. This is a BIG THING, and is the first total solar eclipse where the totality is appearing only across the United States since the year of our nation's founding - 1776. I live in an area of 0.8-0.9 totality viewing, but we're also predicted to have cloud cover, so there may not be visibility for me at all. The next total solar eclipse for the US will be across the southern states in 2024, not quite as close. Want to see the totality at 100% occlusion? You'd need to be in Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Western Kentucky, Tennessee or South Carolina.

The full power of the eclipse won't be on display here
in the Frozen Northlands, but it's only an 8-10 hour drive
either west or southeast to get to prime viewing locations. 

Tours and buses and a variety of viewers left the Twin Cities for the west - usually Wyoming - and south - most often Missouri yesterday afternoon and evening. If the cloud cover forecasts are correct, Wyoming may be the better choice of the two closest locations, but there are never guarantees when it comes to weather.

How much shadow will the nation be under? Actually, quite a lot across
the contiguous 48 states. The eclipse cuts directly across the nation,
getting the maximum amount of coverage directly over us. It's quite cool. 

I am quite fond of maps, and if you're very fond of them too, you might want to check out the website GreatAmericanEclipse dot com for the awesome maps created by Michael Zeiler, a cartographer and total eclipse nerd. I didn't put in the direct link, but I'm sure you can figure this one out. All of the maps, except the very first one on my blog today, are from his website. NASA has a rather nice website as well, with specific pathways for each of the states affected by the pathway of the full totality. Those can be found at nasa.gov under the subheading of eclipse.

From my area, without traffic, a person would be looking at an eight-hour
drive to perfect viewing position. With traffic, it's probably closer to ten
hours on the road. A lot of schools and smaller groups were planning
to just make a long 24 hours trip from it - drive down overnight,
watch the eclipse, then turn around and head back home again. 

I will NOT be looking out at the eclipse today, I have to work. I suspect I won't have people in the store at that time, though. I know a lot of people who purchased special glasses to watch what they could, and if the clouds stay away or part at the right time, the streets, yards, and parks will be full of people looking up at the skies with wonder and amazement.

REMEMBER - You MUST protect your eyes if you want to look directly
at the eclipse. Also remember, keep your animals indoors. Their eyes can
also be affected if they happen to look up at the wrong time. 

The world isn't diving into the old superstitious beliefs of dragons eating the sun or the end of the earth (then again, maybe we have since we elected a ludicrous President a few months ago). I think it is nice to be reminded that there are things that are beyond our petty short-sighted abilities to influence and/or alter. I'm off to the pool, so have a wonderful eclipse-filled Monday and I'll be back tomorrow with a report on opening weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

Romance and the Moon

Yesterday was "Wine, Chocolate and Romance" weekend at the Renaissance Festival, and the weather couldn't have been better. Although the wind was high in the parking lot, in the Fest grounds it died down and was filtered by the trees. It was an abnormally hot autumn day, the sun was shining from a blue sky and it was just about perfect! We had a great time stocking up on chocolate from our favorite chocolate purveyor, watching his team win their game, and wandering the grounds. One weekend is left and the trees are turning. Fall is here and I'm hoping we get one more exceptional Sunday.

One of the big draws at our Fest is the armored jousting. We usually don't
watch it (it's in the sun and I'm sun sensitive), but it can be quite exciting. 

We purchased our Season Tickets for next year yesterday, so we're set for another year of fresh air and costumes. We both love going to Ren Fest, so we always make sure to get our tickets at the lowest possible rate as soon as they go on sale.

We also have a very popular mermaid exhibit with
several mermaids in a watery grove (that's GROVE,
not GRAVE). The little girls go crazy for them. 

Last night we stood in the back yard for more than an hour, watching as the moon of the century was eaten by the dragon of the earth. It was a clear sky, a super moon and a full lunar eclipse, and it was all visible from our back yard. This late in the season, mosquitoes aren't a problem, so we stood outside and watched as the shadow of the earth covered the full moon. So wonderful!

It was a beautiful eclipse last night and I'm very happy we were
able to see most of it. I had to eventually give up on seeing the
re-emergence because I had to go to sleep, but I saw the moon
get eaten and that was wonderful. 

All in all, Sunday couldn't have been much better. Additionally, my football team won its game while I was watching the eclipse, so that put a perfect cap on the day. It's rather sad to have to get back to a "normal" schedule today. Here's hoping everyone has a great Monday. I'll be continuing to work towards having the shop ready to go for the Bead Shop Hop which starts on Thursday! ACK!!!!