Civilian Symposium 2016 Day 2

I started Day Two of the whole thing by helping Kay with her seed bead workshop. Little do you know, but I REALLY like untangling knots. And teaching. I'm all about that teaching!

Afterwards, my Mom and I took a horseback tour of the battlefield through Hickory Hollow trail rides. The weather was fantastic! About 70 degrees of fresh spring air accompanied us. The leaves were just buds, so we could see a very far distance. My horse Vickie kept nipping at the leader, while my Mom's, Splash, walked at a snail's pace. 

Afterwards we checked out the museum. I'd visited this past summer, but my Mom really didn't know about the battle. The cyclorama rocks by the way!

Dinner consisted of awesomeness at the Dobbin House. If you go to Gettysburg, make it a part of your trip. We dined on shrimp, crab cakes, and about 100 pieces of bread. 

By Friday the shopping area opened, allowing me to spend my hard earned money on toys. Oh, and a million other things! My Mom even got excited, and she doesn't reenact...

The conference put on a small tableaux at night, complete with singing, poetry, and punch. We ended the night by going through Larissa's bag o' fabric. The Lace Bandits Strike again!

~Kristen

Civilian Symposium 2016 Day 1

I'm here! Finally, after an agonizing few days at work and a hellishly long car ride, we have arrived. I realized a few things for this trip. First, that my anxiety made me pack a lot of things I didn't need. Second, driving through the mountains at night in a rain storm terrifies me. My Mom has never been to Pennsylvania, so this trip was a necessity!

Bright and early (lol 9am) on Thursday I attended the Seed Bead workshop with Kay Cogswell. She did an amazing job! Her research was well-organized, and her presentation pieced together a puzzle I've looked at for a few month. I didn't take pictures while working; her originals stole the show! The following are from Kay's collection:

And this is her interpretation draped over a 19th century periodical

Later we drove to Gettysburg to see the Button Baron. Janet Smith is incredibly helpful, and my Mom enjoyed looking at the wares. If you couldn't tell I like to be in front of the camera, which prompted an impromptu  photo shoot. I left with books and a lighter pocketbook! 

 We toured Gettysburg after that, visiting souvenir shops and marveling at the historical everything. As this was my second trip, I enjoyed watching my Mom enjoy it all. We toured the Soldier's National Cemetery, Little Round Top, and Devil's Den. I didn't realize just how hectic our lives are in this moment; while we stood on land over which men shed blood, all I could gather was a sense of peace. An eerie, noise-less calm. Cue the deep, catch-the-feels photography.

This was a terrifying photo and I am never doing that again

 By the time we returned to the hotel, we were both pretty exhausted. I stayed for the Welcome to the symposium, meeting countless names that had before only existed in my mind as Facebook profile pics. The social included music, songs, poetry, and at least a smidgen of bawdiness. I managed to snap a few pictures of the ladies in their wrappers before heading off to sleep. I haven't slept that hard in a very long time!

The giggles/laughter made it difficult to photograph these ladies. For some I'm sure it's the only time of year that they can see dear friends. Based on my assessment of the conference so far, I plan to return and contribute to the general mirth. So much love of history squeezed into one room!

I'll be publishing a post for every day that I am here. Tomorrow we've planned some activities...

~Kristen

Busy Little Bumblebee

So I've found myself a bit swamped after the Ohio Regimental Ball. A little overwhelmed. Kind of a lot on my plate. And if you've met me in person, you know I like to eat!

Yes. Please yes.

I'll be attending the Civilian Symposium this year, making the 7 hour trek with my Mom on Wednesday after work. The following weekend I'll be set up at the Kalamazoo Living History Show. And I may be traveling south for spring break. Don't even get me started about this summer!

Stress effects everyone differently. For me, I'll push to near exhaustion, reprimand myself for not working hard enough, and then sleep for awhile when it gets to be too much. Not exactly the most healthy way to go about doing things. Here's what I've been doing to combat my stress...feel free to steal from my list!

1. Afternoon Tea

2. Reading Bella Grace

3. Going to the gym

4. Cooking interesting foods

5. Going to the craft store often

6. Cross stitch

7. Getting a professional massage

8. Organizing

9. Ironing shirts

10. Netflix

So I'm going to keep buzzing around, hopefully a bit more relaxed. If you're going to the Civilian Symposium, come say hi! I'd love to meet everyone!

~Kristen

Friday Funny 2/26

I'm recovering from a cold this week...enjoy these art history memes! Not my creation, of course, but delicious enough for an afternoon of giggles!

~Kristen