• California apparently requires very explicit warning signs when smoking is allowed somewhere. My hotel had signs everywhere saying "Smoking is allowed on this floor. Smoking is known to the State of California to cause cancer." There were similar signs warning about chemicals in use in the facility.
  
• I am in awe of the teachers I met with in Fresno. They are working in very difficult circumstances (a district that's 80 percent ESL, and in which 70-90% of the students in each high school represented are on free or reduced-price lunch, and where there are few financial resources), and are clearly very dedicated to what they do.
  
• I visited King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks one late afternoon/evening. (They're technically two parks, but they're managed as one park.) I took some photos that I haven't uploaded yet; unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots of the deer I ran into in a couple of places. (It was twilight, and I didn't want to use the flash so as not to frighten them, so it was hard to get clear pics.) The sequoias really are magnificently tall, though they don't have the bulk of the El Tule tree I saw in Oaxaca. It was lovely to get in some mountain time. Admittedly, it's probably rather foolish to go walking around the woods, in a place where there are bears, alone, at twilight, when no one on the planet knows where you are -- but it was good for my spirit anyway.
  
• Speaking of bears, I saw one at the ToV site on Sunday afternoon when I was getting my car.
  
• If you like a good burger, I recommend the Dog House Grill in Fresno. (Technically in Clovis, the next town over, I think.)
  
• Now that I'm out of the knee brace, I desperately need a pedicure. I may wait till the mosquito bites from last weekend fade somewhat, though.
  
• Also now that I'm out of the knee brace, I'll finally be able to wear the new sandals I bought! (I have the bronzey-colored ones.)
  
• Also also now that I'm out of the knee brace, it's time to get back to the gym.
  
• Man, decent-looking LARP armor is expensive. The new character I'm toying with could probably use some, but yikes. I also doubt much of what's out there would fit me (that's what comes from being a plus-size woman with some serious curvature). I particularly like the look of brigandine, but I don't have the money to throw at the good stuff. I may just go with my leather bodice thingy, which would work for leather armor.
  
• I should really clean my house.
  
• I suppose, even out of the brace, I should probably wait a while before I try tap dancing again. :)
  
• I feel very spacy at the moment. Some combination of heat, post-LARPishness, post-travelness, and general lethargy, I suppose.
  
• It's nice to be surprised by someone you wouldn't have expected doing something nice for you. Makes you reevaluate your expectations.
  
• Memo to self: stay out of ditches and watch your footing. You don't want to do this again.
  

I just finished making this doublet to donate to ToV. I'm rather pleased with the result. I don't do a lot of "real" sewing; most of my own LARP costuming is simple stuff like T-tunics. But this was more substantial. The one thing I didn't do was real buttonholes; I have a 50-year-old black Singer sewing machine that's a treasure, but the buttonholer attachment is a pain to deal with.

Behind the cut is a closeup of the neckline. (Like this photo, it's a bit blurry, because I took the photos with no flash -- the flash was too shiny bouncing off the velvet.)

( Closeup. )

• My new bodice for Legends (or anything else I decide to use it for!) came. No pics of me in it yet, but it's this one in forest green. Maybe should've gotten a size up; it's pretty darn snug. I mean, I know they're supposed to be snug, but breathing is good too...
  
  
• I got feedback on the first batch of math problems I wrote for my current freelance project. There were a few little things to fix, but the e-mail began: "Thank you for the terrific manuscript. We are very happy with the items." This makes me happy, especially because they're paying me $30 a page, and a page only has a few problems on it, so it's quick money.
  
  
• I found out I got cast in the MIT Community Players' summer show. This is the first time I've even auditioned for non-musical theater since about ninth grade (well, there was that one SCA play in grad school, but that hardly counted). The show is a set of five short one-acts. I'm playing a small role in one of them. So not a huge thing, but I'm glad to be part of it. And it's a great little play, called "The Perfect Thing," about a guy who wakes up one day to discover that he can say exactly the right thing to get anyone's attention. I know the author from the National Puzzlers' League, which makes it even more fun.
  
  So now I just need to get some more work done, and it'll be an even better day.