Diaper Cake for Hilary

This is my latest diaper cake, which I've been working on for about a week.

Instead of running out to Bel Air to get the plastic cake tiers, I used cardboard cake rounds with Johnson's Baby products for the pillars. And instead of the flowers I've decorated with in the past, I used more baby products from Johnson's, and a few toys. Our baby shower is on Friday, and I hope Hilary likes the cake!

Room

Wow, how good was "Room" by Emma Donoghue?

Told from the point of view of the 5-year old inhabitant of Room, it's about his life there and after. It was certainly a tear jerker, and a little disturbing at times (sometimes I couldn't read it for a few days at a time). When I told Tom what it was all about, he said it sounded stupid, but what does he know? I still liked it a lot, and I thank Chyanna from the Tidewater for recommending it.

Happy Fourth of July

Today was a hot day comprised of our usual three parades: Dundalk, Towson, and Catonsville. While in Dundalk, we saw Kayla (a former member of our section) and her two daughters. In Towson, these were a few fun parade entries.

I think this is the first time I've ever seen the Weinermobile in person!
In Catonsville, after our concert for the Fields family , who graciously allow us to hang out in their yard before we step off and provide snacks and beverages, we saw Izzy and Dave, our former section leader and her husband, along with their daughter. Jen was also there with her new son. Aside from being a long, hot day, it was quite enjoyable.

Havre de Grace Parade and Fireworks

Today was the annual 4th of July Parade in Havre de Grace. The band was around the 30th unit in the parade (we're usually around 60), so we didn't have as much time to hang out. We played Washington Post March and Swinging Doodle Dandy, and even though I've been hating Swinging Doodle Dandy in practice, it seemed to come together quite nicely. I saw a good number of people I know along the parade route, and that always makes me happy to be in the band. After we finished, I found Mel where she was staked out along the parade route, and watched the parade with her and her family. Afterwards, I went to her place for her annual party, and ate, drank, and was merry until around 8:45 when the Ambulance Corps sent their ambulances around announcing that the fireworks had been cancelled and to go home - it had started to rain a little. One of my fellow party-goers looked up the weather on his phone, and said there was a storm cell right above us, and another in Baltimore right then. I continued to hang out, expecting the traffic to be bad with the mass exodus of people after the announcement, but just before 9:30, some people who had left the party came back and said that the fireworks were back on! How crazy was that?

As soon as the fireworks were over, I headed home, to get some sleep for tomorrow's parades.

Summer Lovin' Tags

I stayed up really late last night in order to finish the tags for the Summer Lovin' Tag Swap. They were based on ATC's I'd done for a swap years ago that I never received anything for - luckily I'd made a few extras for posterity's sake, and I was able to use the ideas again.

We were also asked to make one tag for a swapper who is getting married in the fall, and this is what I came up with.

One of the meanings of daisies is "Loyal Love," and isn't that what you would wish for any person on their wedding day?

KaBoom - Reservoir Hill

For the third year in a row, the Pep Band has performed for the KaBoom Playground Build Project, done in conjunction with the Ravens.

This year, we played for the kids for about a half an hour, then moved over to where the dedication would be, and played there for a little bit. I actually saw Dick Cass, president of the Ravens, shoveling mulch!

The playground looked good, and I hope that it's a good contribution to the community of Reservoir Hill.

Special Olympics 2011

At today's Pep Band gig, we did the Opening Ceremonies for the Maryland Special Olympics Summer Games.

This is the first year since I've been doing this gig that I've actually seen the torch that was lit. I usually only see it on the television monitors in the auditorium, but this year we went through the exit where the torch was set up.

And of course, Joe Flacco was there and made a speech.

Olympic athelete, Kimi Meisner, is at the far podium in that picture.
After getting home, I finished putting my first bracelet in the Botanical Charm Club, Fleur de Turquoise. I'm proud of myself for actually finishing it!