Monday, August 23, 2010

Galesburg Heritage Days

Our fall reenacting season kicked off this past weekend. Despite a little rain and a camp-site that was a wee bit too small for our unit, it was a lovely weekend and we all had a great time. However, I am t.i.r.e.d.! And coming back from an event - especially a warm one - makes me appreciate my own bathroom and my own shower and my own bed a whole lot more than usual. Ummm. Luxery.

We had a nice size group with us this year. Jenny P. and her husband came out as well as my friend Peter. Miss C. also attended with us, this being her first event. Being in good company always makes an event far nicer than being alone.

I am exhausted and really don't have much time to write a nice blog post about the event. However, I do have some pictures from this weekend up here: Galesburg Pics We have a dial up internet connection and I thought it would be easier to just link to this page than upload all the pictures all over again here!

Our next event is a dance on the 4th of September. It will just be David and I that day, along with our friend Peter. I am contemplating making up my ball gown for it, though it will be only an outside dance. We'll see what happens when I get some energy back! ;)

Have a lovely week!
Love,
Sarah

24 comments:

  1. It looks like you had a wonderful time. Your and the other ladies dresses are lovely. ~~

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  2. I might have said it before, but I really like the dress with the crossover bodice. And your boys look darling as usual.

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  3. It looks like a fun event! Our unit hasn't gone to one in a while!

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  4. What a good looking family! Your event looks fun, I'm glad you had a nice time. I look forward to seeing your wet plate image, if you do get one this year.
    Mrs. G

    p.s. the dog *does* look proud of his clothes. :-D

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  5. Sarah:
    I especially love the dreamy quality of your last photo here. It really is timeless and beautiful.
    xoxo
    Donna

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  6. Love all the pictures! Looks like you all had a great time. Where is the event on September 4th going to be?

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  7. Just lovely Sarah! Looks like like a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. I love the last picture of you and your boy! It would be great in black and white too! Its great seeing that it is possible to reenact even with little ones. My sister always says if and when we get married and raise a family reenacting will be out of the picture. I guess it all depends! :)

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  9. Jackie, the 4th of September will be a living history day at Evening Star campground in Havana. David has to work that morning but we'll head out in the afternoon/early evening for the dance. Any chance you could make it? :)

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  10. P.S. I think it *is* more difficult to reenact with children in tow, but it's a lot of fun too. :) I don't think reenacting necessarily has to go out the window! Having little babies especially is fun at reenactments. You just don't see many families out there with little ones.

    I used to do a lot more activities before I had children and for the past few years it has been a little difficult watching after toddlers and babies but this year they are getting old enough to sit and play quietly and to obey, so I did get to cook over the fire at this event! I hadn't done that for a long time!

    I just try to remind myself, when I start feeling bad that I don't "do" anything at an event, that I am portraying a mother and that in and of itself is a great impression to have!

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  11. You're so beautiful, my friend. I love your gowns and your pictures. God Bless!

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  12. You look lovely, as usual, and the event looks like it was a lot of fun. Thank you for sharing with us. I think I recognized a few of the girls in one of your pics as being members of the S&S Forum??? At least, someone posted pictures of those same girls on a post recently. I wish we lived close enough to join you and your unit...you all look so friendly!

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  13. Jenni, yes, the young lady who posted about her gown at the S&S board was among the attendants at this event. It was lovely to get to meet her. Several of her cousins (the young ladies in the group photo) I have been blessed to meet before. They are a beautiful group of girls and do their impression so very nicely!

    Our unit is rather friendly. . .perhaps not the most authenticity-minded out there, but we do have nice folks in our group I must say. :) We're working on the authenticity aspect of it though. Things have improved a lot this past year! Whenever you are up in the are do stop by! We're hoping to make it to a national event in KY one of these days. We'll have to meet up at an event sometime!

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  14. P.S. To Mrs. G.;

    Yes, I we definitely plan to get a wetplate done as long as the photographer makes it out to an event we are at. :) There was, alas, no photographer at this event. We're hoping the gentleman who took our photo last year will be at our next weekend event in September and we hope to get a family shot then, if the boys are cooperative. If not, I still would like a picture of me and David and possibly Judah and Malachi. The one I'm concerned about getting to hold still is little David. He hates getting his picture taken even with the a fast modern digital camera, much less holding still for 10 seconds. :(

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  15. That's like right down the road from us!!! And the funny thing is, we didn't even know about it! We'll have to see if we can go! :)
    ~Sarah Whitaker~

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  16. Sarah, I hope you might be able to make it! This is the first year of the living history there and I honestly have no idea what to expect, but I think it will be rather small. The dance will be an outdoor dance in a roofed pavilion. I think the music will be recorded and my friend Nona will be calling the dances. Not as fancy as some dances, but it should be fun. Dancing is always fun, no matter where it is. :) If you think you may go let me know and I can get you in touch with the coordinator. The group will be having a potluck type dinner and having a cookout prior to the dance.

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  17. Those are some lovely dresses! I actually almost choked on my tea when I realised what lovely dresses they are. :-) I did not, thankfully.

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  18. Hi Sarah! Thanks for posting these -- we came home, ran laundry, and have been running around like crazy since then :) Such is life.

    If you'd like, I can have Shaune do a "digital wet-plate" in Photoshop of one of the pictures for you. Do you a good one of you and your family? It won't be exactly the same, but I know Shaune can make it look indistinguishable once it's framed. Email me one and I'll have him see what he can do!

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  19. Thanks Jenny! I will have to look through our pictures and see what I can find. I took way less pictures at Galesburg than I wanted to. :( Most of them did not come out very well. I think I need a new camera too. The flashes are working weird on ours, but it is almost 3 years old.

    I thought of you this morning while reading some articles on Miss MacRaes blog - have you been to it? Good info on cage making!

    Sounds like you are busy but what is life for but to live it? :) Have a wonderful day!

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  20. Sarah, I just wanted to let you know that I used 3/16" caning from William Booth Draper. I bought the rather large bundle that they sell for $14.50 and I have made two pairs of transitional stays and two pairs of half-boned stays from the JP Ryan pattern already. It really has lasted a while!

    Blessings,
    Bethany

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  21. HI Sarah...wow this is really neat. I've never been to reenactment...but this looks like you had a great time. I'm so glad that you could share it with a few kindred spirits. That's always nice. I'm amazed at your sewing skills...and all the detail you put into the outfits that you make :) :) I took a look at the Galesburg photos, too. Wonderful :) :) Have a great week. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

    p.s. I'm knitting a "Mrs. R's diamond lace" pattern. It's a vintage Victorian knitted lace edging. I plan on making them for my bookcase..each shelf will have an eding..However, I'm doing a bit more modern...with dark red crochet cotton. I also have traditional white...but I LOVE red...so I just had to find an excuse to use it :) :)

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  22. what a great time
    loved all the facebook pictures

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  23. What time is the ball in Havana? I'd like to go, I just need to know the time. :)
    ~Sarah~

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  24. Hi Sarah! I asked, and the dance is supposed to start around 7 p.m.

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Thank you for your lovely thoughts!