Event Treatise #437

[ktlovely]

Mike, Katie, Gwendolyn, Tyler
Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village, May 23-25, 2009


Gwendolyn in her 1840s dress.


Katie, Mike. Matching double chins hats! ...Kind of.


Mike lounging. This happened...repeatedly.


Tyler bullied both Mike and me into being in the fashion show. Not that Mike required much bullying--and I owe Tyler for twelve buttons and ten yards of fabric, all of which I am wearing in this photo. I love that dress.


Side view.


I maintain that Tyler has a man-crush on Mike, since there are like a billion more photos of Mike on stage that I didn't resize.


After the fashion show, there was a tactical demonstration that Gwendolyn and I did not attend. (We saw it last year; same old, same old.) Instead, I took a nap (overheated+dehydrated=slightly ill) and Gwendolyn sewed outside the tent. Versions of this photo are going to be in dozens of vacation albums across...er, well, Michigan, if not the US.

Napping during the tactical demo was kind of cool; we were camped right by the carousel, so the music mingled with intermittent artillery and small-arms volleys was really interesting--a nice juxtaposition.


I did roust myself out before the end of the battle and wandered down to Tyler's unit's camp, seeing the very end of the "battle" on the way. Mike's persona was that of an English war correspondent, so they sat him on the fence behind the Union lines to scribble a bit. This is one of my favorite photos of the weekend, just in terms of photography in general.


We hung around the 26th Michigan's camp for the evening. Mike made himself useful.


...er, or not.


Oh, I mean, Ian made himself useful! Until he started complaining that he was singeing the hair off his knuckles.


So I asked him if he wanted a real man to do that work for him.


And at that point, Mike was sewing buttons onto his coat, which made me the manliest thing in the camp. Great.


At least I was useful, right?


That's about it for day one; this is what the tent looked like.

Day two! I'm missing pretty much all of day two daytime, on account of I left my camera in Mike's car when we went to Meijer the night before. However, lachwen took some, and I do have ball pictures.


Mike, JJ, Tyler, Gwendolyn, Katie. This was at the end of the night; I hit a wall at about the fourth- or fifth-to-last dance and was barely functional. By this point I had been asked repeatedly by both Mike and Tyler if I was okay. If I was sure that I was going to be okay, and did I need some water? I was just tired, I think, but I'm glad we got the pictures.


Anything that went on in the back of my gown is thanks to Mike McCarty. He laced me in and applied everything you see there with dozens of straight pins about twenty minutes before the ball started.


Gwendolyn has a halo!

The ball itself was quite wonderful; beautiful hall, lots of people, great caller (Glenn Morningstar, who called the Regency Ball in Lansing this year.) There were a few couples' dances, but mostly called sets. I danced as much as I wanted to--which means I had fun for the first few dances and then spent quite a while wandering around being oddly detached. Tyler forbade me from disappearing and/or passing out on a couch somewhere, so I sat down with Heidi and Heather, friends of JJ's, and we chatted pleasantly.

I also had a nice talk with the woman who owns The Dressmaker's Shop. She came and sat next to me about the time I realized that I wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders. She was really nice about it, though, and asked me to confirm my name for her since she knows Mike by name and face and apparently he's talked about a Katie, but she couldn't remember which one "Katie" was in our little group.

The highlight of the ball for me was early on, before I slammed face-first into my own fatigue. The band struck up a rendition of "Dixie," and nobody could decide what to dance to it. Mike whirled me into the most wonderful polka. The floor was almost empty, so he was taking full strides and we just flew around the room. For once there was nobody to look out for and nobody to avoid, so he opened up and soared. I couldn't tell you how I kept up--he wasn't exaggerating when he said he took ten-foot strides, but it really was like flying. He stumbled once, down to one knee, but saved it within a few bars and we hardly even paused. We caught about half the song, which was probably a good thing; I was dizzy and breathless by the end, but it was worth it.

Come to think of it, that's about when I started falling off in terms of functionality. Coincidence? Probably not.


See, there we look like we're friends.


This is adorable. Period.


I wish my camera did a liiiittle better in low light, but I really like this one, too.


About ready to tip over.


Another one of those group shots that I'm never in because I'm pointing the camera...


This turned out really cute, even though it basically amounts to that I was too tired to stand up anymore.


Shortly hereafter, we all went back to the tent and changed, except Tyler who just cuffed his pants up, Mike went off to play a parlor game with some girls he met, Gwendolyn and I walked down to Tyler's camp, I nearly fell asleep in a camp chair, and then went to bed after walking back to our tent.

Comments

[sarahnucci.livejournal.com]

That turned out so lovely! All of it, I love it.

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It was a good time; not bad for a first run!

[koshka-the-cat.livejournal.com]

You look so wonderful! And what an awesome weekend :)

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was really great; I'm looking forward to doing it again hopefully.

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

You look adorable! And so does everyone else! Thanks for sharing pics! :-)

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I felt pretty adorable (when I wasn't busy feeling hot and tired and being silly...), and we were a good lookin' group, if I do say so myself. ;D

[renzys-frenzy.livejournal.com]

Scrumptious! I am glad you had such a lovely time. Wish I could have been there.

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was great. I'd definitely recommend it if you can go next year. It's pretty laid back, so you have the option to do whatever.

[pinkdiamond.livejournal.com]

Great photos! Your ballgown looks lovely :)

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

[princess-mia.livejournal.com]

The pictures are lovely! The last two of you are so cute.;)

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thankee, ma'am. I like them quite a bit, especially that I don't look nearly as tired as I felt by then. ;)

[reine-de-coudre.livejournal.com]

you all look wonderful!!! it makes me excited for my even this weekend! :D

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I hope you have a good time at yours! :)

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

So much fun! I LOVE those! It looks like you had a terrific time. Both of your outfits look lovely. Tell Mike I needed him handy when I was pinning myself together at Fancy.

Wah, I should've been there...

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

be sure you catch Gwendolyn's Flickr photo set (http://www.flickr.com/photos/33461952@N04/sets/72157618803066030/)! They turned out way better than mine. I was just thrilled with how both outfits turned out; the day dress just as nice as anticipated, and the ballgown way better than it had any right to. :)

You should have! Next year maybe? Or, you know, I could actually get my sorry self out of state occasionally...

[vanityfairy.livejournal.com]

Love the details on your bodice!

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

I forgot you two were married; my bad. Thanks for telling him YOU took them, though. Awkward turtle.

I had a wonderful time and wish I were doing it again RIGHT NOW.

[raspberry383.livejournal.com]

you all look so lovely. And I love your day dress! the color is so pretty. And of course the ball gown also. And I see Mike fixed his riding crop. btw why doesn't he have some sort of website and at least a livejournal?

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I adore the day dress; it's so easy to wear! The ballgown needs a little more work, but Mike kindly bailed me out this time. I didn't know his riding crop needed fixing...but it was "fixed" enough for him to smack me with it before the ball. Not hard, mind you, but I told him he'd better watch his back anyway. I'm not sure why he doesn't have a little corner of the web to call his own. He should have at least a portfolio...

[raspberry383.livejournal.com]

apparently he broke it while whacking things on set. Of course his response was "I wanted it shorter anyways". I think the riding crop added to his sinister character. And of course it came in handy the second night he was staying down here. I came up to his tent to ask him if he wanted some cereal and he came out with his riding crop and proceeded to tell me how his tent had leaked that night and how he had to use his riding crop to beat off all the cats that were coming in his tent.

he should have something. even just a photo album on facebook specifically for his costumes...

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

Ooh, "sinister character?" The idea of Mike being sinister is a little foreign to me; I can't wait to see the actual movie! I'm not surprised he broke it; I thought he showed remarkable restraint in how long it took him before he forgot himself and hit someone (i.e. me) with that thing.

There were...cats in his tent? I'll have to make a mental note to ask him about that.

He should have something. It's not as if he doesn't know how. He'll do it when he decides on his own that it's important.

[raspberry383.livejournal.com]

I about asked if I could borrow it and beat a few people ;)

[ktlovely.livejournal.com]

I didn't so much ask as I just took it when he wasn't looking and used it to poke my friends. ;D