A bheil sibh 'g iarraidh a dhanns?

(Would you like to dance with me?)

I am sufficiently recovered from all the revelry of this past weekend; it wasn’t the most relaxing games event on record, but everyone agreed that it was plenty of fun.

This year, the weather was not particularly cooperative- the temperatures remained over 100°F, with a fairly high humidity for this area, for all three days- but of course, being rugged Scots, we didn’t let that small inconvenience hold us back. Chris had four days off, so he went in to set up the stage & snag us a parking pass for the weekend. The rest of the group met up at the fairgrounds around 5:30 Friday evening for dress rehearsal (sans the “dress” portion- it was just too blinking hot) & were mercifully done by 7:30, with only one minor casualty- a teenage girl doing double-duty with both adjudication sets, who didn’t heed hydration warnings; but after a couple of dunkings into the ice chest & a banana, she was set back to rights. Afterwards, we went to dinner at a local pub with our friends Sam, Tracy, & their two daughters; it was warm & noisy, but we always have a good time with them, plus I had the best parmesan-garlic fries! There must have been 12 cloves of chopped garlic in the one basket; fortunately, Chris, Sam, & I shared them, so no one was gassed out on the ride home (though the cats were conspicuous in their absence from the bed that night & Poppy gave me pained look when I kissed the top of her head)

We were there from open to close Saturday & Sunday. Most of our time was spent between the clan tents, the shopping buildings (air conditioned, thank the Good Lord), & at the dance venue. Adjudications were held on Saturday- Sam’s group in the morning, & my group in the afternoon- & the prime-time demo performance & audience participation on Sunday. The youth set was invited again to dance in the closing ceremonies- third year in a row! I did manage to slide in to listen to my favorite group, the Browne Sisters & George Cavanaugh, twice over the two days & Chris even had them dedicate a song to me on Sunday, in honor of our anniversary (all together now…Awww) I would highly recommend picking up one of their albums since they only play on the West Coast; they sing Irish, Scots, & modern folk songs, with sweet, lovely harmonies, & George is not only easy on the eyes, he has the kind of deep baritone voice that makes my insides turn to butter & toes curl. (Hey- Chris is a prince among men & the love of my life, but the man can’t carry a tune in a bucket with two handles & a shoulder strap!)

One victim of the extreme heat was my bank account- OMG, I did some serious spending this year! Here is what went home with us:

Two kilts (not the full 8 yd wool- rather the 5 yd poly-viscose, much more sensible for this area)

Two white polo shirts with chest embroidery (on sale $10 each)

A sporran for Sam (the pouch worn on the front of the kilt)

Two sets of sporran clips (kind of like suspenders, but hanging down from the belt)

A set of flashes (the little flags worn on at the top on kilt hose- purchased 10 minutes before Sam’s adjudication set, as he couldn’t find his)

A Forbes clan tie for Sam (it was the closest to our family tartan on the 50% off rack)

Two yards of 21^st Century Tartan (Mama is finally getting a plaid skirt)

A cinnamon brown/camel paisley ruana

Of course, this didn’t include food, my seat for closing ceremonies, or "donations" to the multitude of pubs; it’s a good thing Chris had 45 hours of overtime on this upcoming check & it was time for my semi-annual “extra” paycheck (we are paid bi-weekly, so I budget for 24 pay periods, when I actually have 26).

We had dinner in the camping area with the Fraser/MacLachlan clans both evenings (good folks & great food), sampling everyone’s homebrew, tall tales, & food offerings- we were the lightweights, heading home by 9:00 pm for cool showers & comfortable beds. No injuries, no heatstroke, and no sunburn- I think we can call the weekend a success.

Monday was satisfactorily quiet & uneventful; we all slept in past 8:30, had a leisurely breakfast, & then did a little housekeeping- mostly laundry & vacuuming that couldn’t be ignored any longer. The boys watched some movies & the John Wayne marathon, while I did some shopping for necessities, like hair conditioner& cat food (buy two, get one free- score!), before stopping off at the fabric store for the Labor Day sale. I’m quite proud of myself- I purchased only project-completing items, 2 way cheap patterns, & got out of there for under $25. The evening was spent knitting (Sam asked me to make him some fingerless mitts, but with specific caveats: “No fuzz, no shine, no sparkle- must be black” *sigh*) & watching a wicked funny new-to-us Brit comedy on PBS called “The Vicar of Dibley”; I have a feeling this will be a new Monday evening regular.

Oh, yes- my second new camera this summer arrived on Thursday, just in time for the Games; I bought the same model as before (& paid $60 less *hmmph*) & even figured out how to take video clips. I did one of the kids dancing in the closing ceremonies; if I can reason out how to upload clips, I’ll post it for a while.

And Guinevere- I haven’t forgotten your instructions on posting the completed WIP’s; unfortunately, the shawl is turning out to be a long-term project (6 weeks in & I have only 8 of the 70 inches needed done, I’m almost out of yarn & the one I need is on back order until the middle of October) so you’ll have to wait for that one, but the mitts should work up pretty quickly.

BTW: I just missed it (as I was a little busy this weekend) but Sunday was my one Blogger Birthday; I've enjoyed my time here & have met some wonderful new folks, in addition to my old Space friends I followed over.