So when I had lunch with my (birth) cousin and (birth) half-sister last week, they both gave me two photos of my birth father...


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I need to do something about my anxiety.  I can't function.  Maybe some classes at the gym.  Maybe punch some things. Or at least wear myself out trying.  

Like a moth to a flame, I can't help myself when it comes to buying costume books on Amazon.  I particularly like the classics that have held up for decades, but it's also great to see the resurgence in the craft - no doubt thanks to reality tv shows, comic cons, cosplay, etc. over the last decade.   The great thing about a growing industry is that ( Read more... )

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Since my costume degree was incomplete, I'm aware of some of the gaps in my skills....  I've picked some up along the way,but it's kind of hard to describe my skill level - advanced beginner?  Intermediate with gaps?

I bought Draping by Karoly Kiisel because - well, primary it was cheaper than the Joseph-Armstrong book.  It's new, so there aren't a ( Read more... )

Anyone good at this?  Like really good?  I've been stumped for months on my mom's maternal grandmother, my namesake.

I can not confirm her maiden name or her arrival to the U.S.  Her sister arrived from Prussia (Germany) a couple years ahead of her, but was already married and it's her married name on the books.

My great-grandmother was Minnie ( Read more... )

Blah.

So we leave Saturday for New York, and on to Iceland on Monday to hopefully see some Aurora Borealis. So far it's been a weak solar maximum and the weather is looking to be shitty the entire week. Whatever, it's still Iceland. That's cool enough in itself ( Read more... )

Dr. Kaplan was concerned that Ovarian may not be the primary source of her tumor, so on Friday she gets her GI scoped. My fear is that if there is more going on than initially assessed that things are at a much more advanced stage. Perhaps months instead of years. Mostly, I find it all so frustrating - how she's isolated herself for decades and ( Read more... )