I am so ready for the fall that it is obscene. It was 109 last weekend in Redlands, and that makes me a very, very unhappy camper. Basically, I just hibernate in the air conditioned house while panicking about the electric bill and trying not to turn on the stove. That’s no way to have a weekend. This summer has been so hot and weird. At this point, cold might have been a myth we all imagined we experienced last year. It’s hard to believe it will ever come again.
I have discovered the full amazingness of Riley’s Farm this weekend. Brian and I went to their big band dance Saturday night and had a wonderful time lindying in the barn to their mock Andrews Sisters band and eating the best green beans I have ever had. There was a costume contest, and some people looked really authentic. I was SO impressed with the couple that had on perfect 1940s air force/WAC uniforms. They won the giant pie. But there were plenty of high-wasted pants, wing tips, and short, stumpy ties. Brian and I did the pseudo-forties thing and didn’t enter. He wore suspenders and a trilby (not period); and I wore a lovely polyester dress from the 1980s that is a decently 40s-esque blue print and twirls nicely when I dance. We haven’t been out in so long that we spent most of the evening laughing as we messed everything up and tried not to step on each other. I made a failed attempt to Shim Sham to “God Bless America” which may have been slightly inappropriate. We WILL be back next year. Maybe even in better costume.
I found out that Riley’s also does a “Christmas In the Colonies” dinner during December. You HAVE to come dressed up to that one (big band was optional). We probably won’t attend, but that hasn’t stopped me from planning out my entire 18th century wardrobe, and Brian’s too. I’m not a crazy history nerd, you’re a crazy history nerd. But seriously, colonial garb has me salivating just thinking about it. I want to make Sense and Sensibility Patterns’ Portrait Dress (the brown version on the website: http://sensibility.com/blog/patterns/ladies-1780s-portrait-dress-pattern/) in forest green velvet with a cameo on the cream satin sash. Because that’s not likely to cost a fortune or be way above my skill level or anything…
But that doesn’t stop a girl from dreaming. I am also dreaming about fireplace temperatures, and the Roger’s Red grapes turning color. I’m looking forward to getting out the Halloween decorations next weekend. I WILL be wearing spider earrings. Oh, weather, won’t you cooperate?
Casey E. Hamilton 