s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

Just a general update: We’ve had two whole nice days in a row ! Which means we managed to chuck Stephen up on the roof to seal the leaks around the skylight and conservatory, and that the sealant has actually had some time to set and dry before the rain comes again this weekend.

Huzzah for State Insurance. Apparently, they used to have a bad reputation & everybody said they sucked. But near as I can tell, someone up the food chain there decided to do something about that, as they’ve been terrific for us. We had nearly everything we lost replaced or paid for within three days of making the claim. The only hold-out was the washing machine, which had to be taken away by a specialist, and we got that back Tuesday (our $400 second-hand washing machine apparently cost them $700 to repair — but now we have a near-new completely refurbished washer). And not a moment too soon, as the mountain of dirty clothes on the bedroom floor was growing alarming.

Sunday (which was also fine weather) we had a rehearsal in our studio (wacky !) — that was cool. The show is really shaping up — every dance has such a completely individual flavor, and it’s really cool getting in troupes from all over the region each doing their own thing, but tied all together by the storyline. But the best, of course, is that I did manage to scrape together rough drafts of both a choreography and some promotional artwork in time for the rehearsal. Which is the point at which I must fervently declare that Stephen is a saint. In part for helping me with the choreography — the hardest part of which was simply getting the music I picked sussed, as I managed to find something with the most obnoxious irregular phrasing — but mostly for simply not throwing me out of the house altogether, as I was a complete stress-monkey all last week. Anyone looking for a new patron saint of patience and forbearance should get a little statuette of Stephen to add to their household gods.

Monday we got the hard drive out of the now-defunct Pavilion working in Stephen’s Len PC. Tuesday we got the modem working in mine, so we’re back online at home (yay !) and Stephen can stop climbing the walls (amazing how addictive net access can get — thought to be fair he *does* need it for work). Plus the caulking. Plus we picked up a proper guest bed for people staying with us to sleep on, so they won’t have to use the futon-couch (not that there’s anything wrong with our futon couch).

And last night we had a SCAdian Movie Nite at our place, and Stephen finally got to show Alexander Nevsky (we were going to do this last week, but the TV was busted, so we all sat around by candlelight and chatted). SCA New Zealand has officially incorporated, so there was some discussion of electing council representatives, and other procedural stuff. Plus there’s planning for a local event coming up. Someone noticed that although they’d made Stephen Chatelaine, they hadn’t managed to saddle me with an office yet (yikes). I can feel the little red laser sight on my forehead even now.