Experimental archaeology leads to sore muscles
The purple dress I wore on Saturday was made of a light wool gabardine lined with a light cotton broadcloth (I know, I know... I didn't have enough of the correct fabric). However, my dress was extremely heavy due to the volume of fabric in the skirt. My shoulders and back ached after wearing the ensemble for only six hours. I am, obviously, unused to wearing this type of garment.
The purple dress also has a moderately-sized train to match trains depicted in period artwork. I have learned how to walk with trains and overly long hemlines; although, going up stairs is still problematic. What I marvel at is how these ladies of the past were able to navigate the narrow stair bridges of Venice in these voluminous gowns. Plus, they were tottering about on chopines and getting in and out of gondolas and the period equivalent of vaporettos. The mind boggles. Or at least mine does. I'd have been in those canals more often than Lord Byron, I guarantee.
In other news, I made my back and shoulders ache even more and added my thighs, butt, and abs to the chorus of "ow" with the 40-minute advance workout on the Valarie DVD. I did about 35 minutes of the workout -- there were five minutes of squat- and lunge-jumps that I just can't do yet -- and didn't feel like I'd die. So, that's improvement. In all honesty, I did pause the workout a few times so I could catch my breath, blow my nose, or gulp some water. But, I did the majority of it. I'll do the 20 minute workout tonight, take a break tomorrow, and do the 40 minute killer again on Wednesday. There are two cute, spring skirts hanging in my closet that I purchased four years ago and I've never been small enough to wear. I am going to wear them this spring.
The purple dress also has a moderately-sized train to match trains depicted in period artwork. I have learned how to walk with trains and overly long hemlines; although, going up stairs is still problematic. What I marvel at is how these ladies of the past were able to navigate the narrow stair bridges of Venice in these voluminous gowns. Plus, they were tottering about on chopines and getting in and out of gondolas and the period equivalent of vaporettos. The mind boggles. Or at least mine does. I'd have been in those canals more often than Lord Byron, I guarantee.
In other news, I made my back and shoulders ache even more and added my thighs, butt, and abs to the chorus of "ow" with the 40-minute advance workout on the Valarie DVD. I did about 35 minutes of the workout -- there were five minutes of squat- and lunge-jumps that I just can't do yet -- and didn't feel like I'd die. So, that's improvement. In all honesty, I did pause the workout a few times so I could catch my breath, blow my nose, or gulp some water. But, I did the majority of it. I'll do the 20 minute workout tonight, take a break tomorrow, and do the 40 minute killer again on Wednesday. There are two cute, spring skirts hanging in my closet that I purchased four years ago and I've never been small enough to wear. I am going to wear them this spring.