The Weekend--and How Weird is That?

On Saturday, my friend Ray and I went to the Living History Show in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This isn't just any show--it's a show for re-enactor groups and is very similar to SCA---(Society of Creative Anachronism). People choose "characters" from the past, and "dress" to the gills to represent that period...I digress...the show is a trade show where re-enactors and skilled tradesmen (and women) can hawk their wares. Some things are truly antique, some are just reproductions, but there were many beautiful things there.

I got my leather and my pewter thistles, and found, of all things, a book on making kilts. Now I haven't looked at it quite yet, because I have been totally busy, and since it's 10pm now on Sunday, and I am about to rest my head, I will have to wait until tomorrow to see if it begins with the weaving process, but I have my doubts. In any case, I am quite sure it contains information in great detail about how the kilt is constructed, and there may be some details about the weaving and how to set up the warp and so on, but until I actually look at it with my jaundiced eye...

But the BIG EVENT was Ray's, as he found another rope tension snare drum this year. This one was in better shape than the one he found last year. The cost was a little pricey, but once he laid eyes on it, he knew that he wanted it, and had I had the money, I would have bought it myself, because it's a very, very nice drum! The sound is good, deep and resonant, and the skin heads are both well hydrated. The rims were in fantastic condition, and the body was not warped! This was indeed a wonderful find, and I can't wait to play it. I'm sure that Ray took it home and got out his sticks the moment he got it inside the door. I will lay money on the fact that he may not have even taken the time to take off his coat!

After the show, Ray wanted to take me to Bennigan's for supper--to celebrate St. Pat's day, but I was tired, and hungry, and had no desire to wait another hour before eating, so instead, we opted for our regular stop off at the Galesburg McDonald's.

Now, Galesburg is where my ex-husband lives, but in the 20 or so odd years that I've gone to this McDonald's, I have never seen him there.

Until this time.

When I came out of the ladies...there he was, sitting in one of the booths, taking with Ray. I couldn't believe my eyes, and of course, there he is with someone who turns out to be his EX-Wife #2 (not his wife, who apparently was working at the time), and several teenage step-children. Hmmm...this was "weird", because he introduces me as "Tenna", but introduces her as his ex-wife.

I guess he doesn't consider me his ex-wife? I digress...

My first thought is "wow, I feel like I'm suddenly part of an ex-wives CLUB"! For sure, I shot that idea out of my head. The whole "vibe" was something out of the Twilight Zone.

So to make conversation, I asked him how his back was faring.

And he got defensive (as usual) and demands to know how I found out about his BACK.

Um, YOUR MOM?

So then he starts in with this diatribe and tripe about how he was never going to have to work another day in his life, and that he was retiring and going to draw his pension. Oh, and remember the Coleman Caboose?

I act like I'm not sure what he's talking about...boy, am I good!

He says "you know, the motorcycle trailer! I got it painted red!"

Well, wasn't it RED to begin with??????????

Apparently, my memory is off, or the color had faded--it was orange. Hmm..

I asked him how he's going to ride a motorcycle with a bad back!

And he replies "oh I've got all the comforts of home on my NEW motorcycle. It better be, cost me $25,000 and I don't feel a THING riding it--in fact, I just spent $1000 on it yesterday (presumably getting the trailer painted) and I'm going to the Motorcycle Swap Meet tomorrow, and I'll spend another $1000"...and by now you can see my eyes rolling into the back of my head--because he's trying to play up how much money he has (which he hasn't), and what a GREAT CATCH I let slip through my hands....

Uh, yeah. Right. Sure.

He's lucky I didn't puke on his shoes. EVEN HIS STEP FAMILY left the restaurant while this self-aggrandizement and preening was going on. Even they were aware of how thick he was laying down foolish crap.

Ray and I showed him Ray's new drum. He thought that it was "cool", but the look on his face was "hmmfff, not impressed". Well, this doesn't surprise me. Rope tensioned drums was never his "beloved". Those were Ray's drums. Ray's passion.

About that time, Randy decided to leave.

And so did we. Oh, yes, I did manage to tell him that I'd gotten kicked out of Grand Rapids and District Pipe Band. He asked me why, and I told him it was probably something like why he got kicked out of Kalamazoo. Well, right away, he wants to know what I heard. So I told him that it had been decided that he wasn't keeping up technically with the rest of the drumming world (unfortunately, this wouldn't come out exactly how I intended it to come out), and he became royally ticked off and wanted to know who'd told me that, since he said, that he and the Pipe Major had had an argument and that he'd quit that night. Of course, all I could do was look at Ray, who simply shrugged his shoulders. We let Randy leave then.

Of course, this wasn't the real reason why Randy was kicked out, and the real reason is one that I won't repeat here.

After we left the restaurant, Ray and I hashed out the chance "meeting". I find out that his ex-wife and a couple step-kids work there at the restaurant, and frankly, I think that the entire affair was contrived by the ex-wife. Hmm...the plot thickens.

We stopped by the nursing home to see my ex-mother-in-law, who I've talked about previously, and Ray wanted to see her once again before she "kicks off" (my words, not his--he's much more diplomatic than me)--anyway, so we stop.

And I tell her about the chance "meeting" at the McDonald's, and she smiles and says "OH, I'll be getting a phone call tonight!"

But the oddest part, is that when I told her that I told Randy that I knew why he got kicked out of Kalamazoo, she responded with "oh, yeah, there's quite a story about that", as if she knew what Randy had told her, and it wasn't that he QUIT, I'm quite sure.

After that, we drove the rest of the way to my home. We worked a bit on a display that he's doing for the library and for the clan tent for the BlackWatch of the Royal Scottish Regiment, and then Ray went home.

My hubby and I talked about buying another house.

I knitted on my sweater until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, and then I went to bed to toss and turn with strange thoughts racing through my head. I promised myself tonight I would definitely take a sleeping pill to quiet the "voices".

Today, hubby and I drove to the house we're thinking of buying--a real fixer-upper, nearly across the street from my favorite LYS! Is it kismet??????

After that, and driving home, I prepped to go to my class, and hubby set up an appointment to get into the house for 5pm. I told him that I would meet him at the house, and just wait for him in town...which saves me a trip.

We met and looked inside the house. It's pretty beat up inside. It's got a few things that I don't like about it. It needs a LOT of work.

After we looked at the house, we went to dinner at Bennigan's. It was pretty funny actually, because that was where Ray wanted to go after the Living History Show, and when the realtor asked where we should go, that was the only place that would come to my mind. She was surprised, because it's one of her favorite places to go, and she asked if I'd ever been there, and I told her that I'd never been there and why it was fairly uppermost in my mind.

We made an offer on the property.

Of course, you know that it's possible that the lein-holder will most likely counter--the house has only been on the market for a short while, BUT it's also a foreclosure and it's unlivable in it's present condition. Frankly, the lein-holder isn't likely to be in the business of holding property, and might snap up the bid, but it's doubtful, and if someone else bids more, we could lose the opportunity, which wouldn't hurt my feelings in the slightest...but wow how many times can I digress in a day?

So, we come home to talk about it, and I knit on my sweater some more. I'm about 10 rows away from putting in the pockets, I figure...maybe 20...but the sweater is coming along. The class today was good, and I learned a lot about designing these sorts of sweaters.

I have a correction to make to the formula for Increases....I left out part of it.