At the Faire

This weekend found Lauren and I at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Lauren's been a regular Faire-goer since her grad school days, and I've been to the Faire a couple of times before, but never "in garb" (i.e. costumed). That changed this weekend. Surprisingly, we found enough accessories to take the basic "peasantware" Lauren found for me off eBay and turn it into a fair approximation of a merchant's costume.

Lauren also wanted to go see her one of her favorite Ren Faire music groups, a "fusion" bagpipe group (seriously!) named Tartanic. Tartanic mixes non-traditional piping with Middle Eastern and Irish drums, sometimes taking indecent liberties with traditional 'pipes music, and tossing in a little live comedy, all to prove - as their lead bodhran player asserts - that "bagpipes aren't just for funerals anymore".

http://www.kcrenfest.com

http://www.tartanic.com

Tartanic at the KC Ren Faire





















































On the way home Sunday, we stopped at Lauren's favorite Indian restaurant, Swagat, for lunch. Words can't do justice to this North KC restaurant, which features frankly the best Indian buffet that both of us have ever had, from over 12 choices of fresh tandoor-baked breads, to curries, vindaloos, tandoor-chicken, and desserts, including carrot halva.

http://www.visitswagat.com/

This Weekend

Pretty quiet weekend here in Maryville. Lauren's birthday was Monday, so Monday night, I took her over to the college to see the Air Force's Band of the Midwest at the auditorium. Not a bad show at all.

No game day this weekend ... the Bearcats are away at Kirksville, and instead, the state's homeland security division is doing a terror/disaster drill on the campus (translation: stay away from the exercise zone this weekend).

Lauren's parents are down for their traditional post-birthday visit. We're probably heading over to St. Joe for a little antiquing and shopping.

Game Day

Northwest's Mascot - Bobby Bearcat

This weekend found us once again at the football stadium for the second game of Northwest's season. It was a bit soggy, with light showers up to game time soaking everyone, but we braved the pre-game tailgate anyway. Umbrellas are prohibited in the stadium proper, and although Lauren had brought a rain slicker along, it was an orange-red color far too close to the colors of the opposing football team (Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha) for comfort, so we purchased a couple of disposable clear plastic rain slickers ... granted, they made us feel like we were covered in Saran Wrap, but they kept us mostly dry during the day.

The game featured the "duel of the bands", as UNO brought along their marching band, too. After a close start (10-0 at the half), Northwest pulled away to shut UNO out 31-0.

Pre-Game Pep Rally - Band

































Pre-Game Band Show














Introduction of the Bearcats

Questions and Answers

Just a quick update and Q and A post:
1. Am I employed yet? Not yet. It's mildly frustrating. Still checking the job listings as much as possible, and I'm still hoping I can find something that would let me telecommute or work an alternative work schedule. Gas prices are still way too high to even consider a regular commute somewhere. I'm ready to work again. I really am.
2. Is the house being painted this week? Yes it is; we're not doing a full painting, but a sand down and touch-up paint of a few places that needed work. We should be done by Friday evening, so we can take that off the to-do list. And the place does look much nicer.
3. Am I tired because of (2)? Yes, I am. Very. Fortunately, the list of "to-dos" involving the house has shrunk considerably. The only major items left on the home improvement list will unfortunately have to wait until I find a job and/or we're graced with a lottery win. Both would be nice.
4. Do we have plans this weekend? For the moment, it will likely be tailgating on Saturday, followed by the local Northwest Mo State football game, and a possible RenFaire trip down to the KC Ren Faire. We should have pictures to share after this weekend. The former has me slightly conflicted, as I'm now rooting for a college that is a conference football rival to my alma mater (Pittsburg State). It should get really interesting around the 1st week of November, when the two play down at Arrowhead Stadium.
5. Is Lauren's birthday coming up? Yes it is ... her birthday is Sept. 11th (easy to remember, unfortunately); we'll have to stretch out celebrating it over two days, since Monday is her "loaded" class day, including her evening class. I've already hidden her birthday gift.