Marauder's Map Dress

Poe and I spent a large portion of our weekend making a linen dress and starting to draw on it...

You see, Harry Potter Day is a week from today, and we're having a program at our library. It's my night to work, and I do cosplay, so I can't NOT dress up! So I'm going to be the Marauder's Map.

Here's Poe inspecting our drawing work so far:

Still a lot of work to go, but Poe is keeping a close eye and making sure it goes smoothly!

Meeting Gimli

Our kitty, Gimli, loves Little Visitors... a little too much. Since none of my LVs so far have been interested in getting bitten, we have to catch him sleeping to introduce him to them. Poe was no exception.

We did wake him up, though.

Sewing

Poe helped me learn how to sew a garment yesterday. The fabric with the vines was our first attempt, but we put the yoke on inside-out, so we stopped and switched to the blue one as a morale-booster because it was easier.

Cutting the pretty batik

Sewing on the yoke... inside-out, we would come to discover.

Moving on to a different project, which means we start cutting all over again

Switching projects doesn't mean we didn't make more mistakes!
Poe learns how handy a seam ripper is.

Tijuana Flats

Our local Tijuana Flats is a huge supporter of Tidewater Comicon (held right here in Virginia Beach, and one of the big exciting things Poe gets to look forward to on this trip). I hadn't been there before tonight, but TWCC was having a little event there with superhero cosplay, trivia contest, etc. So I figured enchiladas sounded good for dinner.

I only had time to grab one shot of their big superhero/military mural, because the guy who started TWCC recognized me (the libraries are also a big supporter of the Con) and roped me into some trivia.

Backyard on the Bay

Last Saturday was a gorgeous day, so Poe and I enjoyed it for a bit in my in-laws' backyard before we got holed up inside, sewing for cosplay.

On the porch, overlooking the yard

Everything is blooming! Which means everything is pollen.

Setting up a chair by the water

On the dock

It was rather low tide, so we peeked at the oysters

Dock

Beach Bagel

The most exciting thing Poe and I have done since we got home from Oregon is probably going to Beach Bagel Bakery on Saturday. (It has been a quiet week.) Best bagels in all of Hampton Roads, if you ask me!

That was also the last day his sweater will probably be necessary for a loooooong time.

PDX

And so we said goodbye to Portland and the rest of the Pacific Northwest... for now. We're going to Idaho this summer.

Let me tell you one of the funniest things I know about Portland. They love their airport's carpet. It's a little weird. I mean, I like the pattern too, but it's iconic to them. Well, PDX is pulling up the carpet this year. So, like any normal city, several companies are buying it (remember, this is decades-old airport carpet) and making stuff out of it (hey, what can I say, they're really into recycling) and selling it. Souvenir squares, tote bags, cat posts, whatever. And the pattern is all over the place. (I actually got Poe a souvenir with the PDX carpet pattern on it, and a necklace for myself, because I say embrace the weirdness!) But perhaps the best part is that a rolled up piece of this carpet with big googly eyes is going to be the grand marshal of the Starlight Parade (part of the Rose Festival) this year. I love that city.

Anyway, here is Poe's photo with the famed PDX carpet:

Visiting Vancouver

My mom suggested a little trip over the state line into Washington so we could visit a library in Vancouver! I'm collecting a photo of myself in front of a library in each state. (I might have to crawl inside a box with my Little Visitor at some point to get to some of them!) It turns out that Vancouver has a really cool public library!

Got a better shot of the "Boring / Oregon City" sign on the way out.

Another sign: Leaving Oregon! I didn't see a "welcome to Washington" sign so this'll have to do.

Can you see Mt. Hood from the road?

Big, bold sign out in front of the library.

The view from the outdoor terrace at the Vancouver Community Library.
If there were less hazy cloudy bits, you could see Mt. Hood pretty well.

Vancouver from the terrace of the library.

This cool wall is just inside the front door. This is looking straight up at the ceiling,
so the words stick out and face straight down. Awesome!

It was a fun little outing, and I never realized how close Portland and Vancouver actually were! We could also see Mt. St. Helens, but we couldn't get a good picture from the road (after she blew her lid a few decades ago, she isn't quite as tall as she used to be).