Category Archives: Road Stories

Hypothesis challenged, testing complete, final report now available

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A photograph session with my antiques was the plan. It worked for all the individual costume parts, so why not for the reveal of the entire Thrift Shop Regency Costume? Because a better opportunity came out of the blue!

When a Jane Austen Tea fundraiser was mentioned by my local JASNA group on Facebook, I realized I’d be able to wear the full costume for an earlier photo op. Lucky me! I hopped in the little car for the short drive out to the event at Starling Winery, which was a great grand finale for my blog series. The grounds are stunning, and the day was warm and sunny.

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About 10% of those attending had a clue about Jane Austen era clothing, at least, that’s what I gathered from the costumes. Most of the rest wore a picture brim hat with mounds of netting, a long rayon sun dress from their closets, and sandals. There were a few fans and pairs of gloves, too. No one minded, though. Suddenly, I was less ashamed of my zipper.

Jane Austen Tea Party Starling Winery June 20 2015The Regency costumes were wonderful to see. Some had marvellous fabrics, others remarkable lace. A group of young women had bonnets to die for.

I discovered that, although I was wearing a dress with long sleeves, a high neckline, and a floor-length skirt, I wasn’t as overheated as expected, as the super-fine fabric breathed very well, and I could feel the day’s light breeze through it.

So here it is (drumroll)… TA-DA!Austen Tea Party Starling Winery 2015 Lame Mr. DarcySorry about Mr. Darcy. He was wearing one of those £50 All-in-One Regency Men’s costumes that actually has no shirt or waistcoat, just a dickey with a pre-tied cravat, and those are boot covers. He’s aged about 20 years, too. But he’s such a fine, tall, person, with handsome features and a noble mien!

~~~

Great buys:

  • The sage shoes with slightly pointed toes were new from a thrift shop at $7.99, and the trim on them meant no extra work.
  • The vintage, black, crocheted and beaded, gate-closure reticule (a different reticule is included in the cost estimate) was a steal at $3.99, and is beautifully unique.
  • Ribbon and lace at a 3 for 1 sale.
  • Braid, ribbon, lace, fringe, and an ostrich feather from a fabric store in Mexico for $5 total.
  • $1 tassels from an Indian fabric store for my parasol and future reticule project.
  • The vintage, 1980’s, white, Swiss-dotted cotton, Prairie Dress-style wedding gown for the Regency gown.
    • I had budgeted up to $100, believing it would cover a gown that needed no more than back gathering and a waist ribbon.
    • This $33.95 gown needed the skirt raised from natural to empire waist.
    • It has a fine cotton skirt lining and camisole, so I had no need for petticoats.
    • For the JASNA AGM in Louisville, KY in October 2015, I’ll remove the zipper and add hooks and eyes.
    • An extra cost was a coloured ribbon I preferred in the place of the self-coloured tie that came with the gown.

Total cost: $114.92

Shoes $7.99
Stockings $1.99
Pantalets $1 + $1 lace = $2
Balconet bra $27.50
Waist cincher $5.50
Gown $33.95 + $1 sewing tape, thread + $2 hooks and eyes + $1 waist ribbon = $37.95
Gloves (on hand for many years) $0
Cap $2
Hat $8
Modifications to earrings $2
Ring $1
Fan $1
Parasol $9.99 + 8 x $1 = $17.99
Reticule and handkerchief (gift) $0

$115 is about entry level price for a basic, Regency style, long-sleeved morning gown in unpleasant-looking but probably appropriate fabric, but with no petticoats or lace. It will also get a short-sleeved gown in a pretty cotton print and nice Regency cut, but none of the lace. Plus, this is an entire costume, not just the gown.

This means the Thrift Shop Regency Costume Experiment was a success. Yes, it is possible, and not all that difficult to assemble a nice, Regency acceptable costume at a low price using found, budget, and upcycled materials.

While I was checking for examples of gowns for my cost on Etsy, I was dismayed to see horrible non-Regency ball gowns being sold as such for $175 (plastic-looking fabric and buttons, modern cut) and $250 (modern fabric, non-Regency application of contrasting colour, and strange collar)! The interest in this topic has made all kinds of uneducated sellers decide they want a piece of the pie.

On the other hand, a couple of really nice ball gowns with attractive details and trim were offered for around $170, and both pulled off the look in synthetic. They were from different dressmakers. So if you want to buy a custom Regency gown rather than search the thrift shops, it doesn’t have to be horribly expensive.

Then a blouse for a morning gown look, etc., etc… well, you just have to follow the rest of the series!

~~~

Beyond the basic costume:

I have more materials than required for my base costume, but it gives me a different outfit for every event at the conference, plus some things to give away as gifts to Janeite friends!

In addition to the above, ready to wear articles include 4 reticules, three pairs of ballet flats, one pair of half-boots, three pairs of tights, two floor-length full slips, one black bustier, one fuchsia slip dress for an over or underdress, the makings for two turbans (scarves from one can also be bandeau head wraps), a medium-length, slightly curly pony tail hair fall, a second cap, The Pink Bonnet, two necklaces, a second pair of earrings, a bracelet, and a Regency-look Pashmina shawl.

Items requiring modifications to be worn include the Lydia Bennet hat, the Lady Catherine bonnet, a light blazer for a summer spencer, a pelisse dress, two long dresses requiring minimal modification to become evening/ball gowns. A lucky buy was a piece of faux silk in exactly the right colour to match the jonquil 1960’s dress for a ball gown. I was going to add a contrasting front panel to free up fabric for back gathering. Adding a panel at the back while I remove the zipper will be much simpler.

A variety of ribbon, lace, tassels, fringe, braid, bias tape, cording, beads, and some fabric remnants also are available for completing the above. The only items I may have excesses of are ribbon and a huge roll of 6” wide lace from a grab bag that can be used for sleeves or caps. I have material to make up to 12 reticules with my new designs!

~~~

Time spent:

At first, I went to one or two shops every two or three weeks for up to two hours. In February, I started to go at least once a week for 2-4 hours. Construction, modification, and decorating probably took 40 hours total. The greatest amount of time was spent in my head, thinking about how to best approach designs, and match colours and fabrics.

As this is a leisure activity, I hesitate to value my time any more than I would for redecorating my home or reading. Any excess of material (caps and reticules) will be given away.

~~~

Problems Encountered:

The learning curve on Regency fashion:

  • Examples of things I learned along the way: Long sleeves are typically very long, so they are up the arm and fall over the base of the hand. Laces and buttons were not as common on gowns as I thought: ties were most common.
  • The styles changed a lot over the period, and included very simple gowns to gowns with a great deal of elaborate trim.

Misunderstandings about Regency styles:

  • A cap is not crocheted lace, it’s very fine cotton, sometimes made into a lace-like look with pulled thread, darning, and whitework embroidery.
  • Puffed sleeves: There were many more types of sleeve than the short, puffed sleeve, or the long sleeves with a puff at the top, though both were so common, it’s a reasonable mistake.
  • Dark-based prints are uncommon, but do show in extant gowns.
  • The empire waist is not the only style. Some gowns had no waist, though the cut or an overdress was reminiscent of the empire waist.

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Difficulties encountered along the way:

My own culling of items in my closet:

  • With moves and sale of a rental where we had some storage, we were living in a smaller space. I had given most of my clothes, and all of my fabric, crafts, and Hallowe’en costume parts to charity two years before. Some of the clothes and shoes would have been useful!

Jane Austen Tea Party Starling Winery June 20 2015 2
The dress I had in mind was elusive:

  • If all else seemed good, the thrift store dress would be polyester knit; black with huge roses; too fitted to make back gathers; sleeveless with no extra fabric for sleeves; covered in appliques or patchwork; have multiple long darts that would likely show if taken out; not my size; or too short.
  • A few true vintage items from the mid-20th century, in great condition, might have worked if modified, but I couldn’t bear cutting such a great piece of fashion history, so I wouldn’t buy them.
  • Polyester knit is ubiquitous, not just in dresses, but in slips, camisoles, and lace blouses (for sleeves), too. I saw one woven cotton camisole, and it was too small.
  • After the first few months, I purchased a couple of items that need more work because of fear I wouldn’t find anything.

Jane Austen Tea Party Starling Winery June 20 2015 me

The opposite of the impulse buy problem:

  • A bag of notions seemed pricey until I saw the price of the items new, but it was gone when I came back.
  • A blazer with a lot of soutache work could have been a lovely spencer, but I hesitated because I couldn’t easily see a place to break up the design. Someone else got it.
  • When I bought my shawl (not in this base costume, as it will be covered in outerwear), there was another similar, and I chose the one I thought went best with my evening gowns. I now believe that a shawl with that quality of design may not be common, and the price was cheap—if not for me, for a friend. But there were no more like it when I went back.

Other costume items:

  • Similarly, the fan and parasol were difficult to find. At least they were one size.

Availability of the right type of stores:

  • I live in a small city, so there aren’t many vintage and thrift stores, and similarly, fabric stores.
  • About half of second hand stores have good quality merchandise intended to be reasonably fashionable today, and none of that works well for Regency.
  • Thrift stores have more items that are older and out of style, and even more so in Vintage stores, though most of their items are funky for those on the edge of fashion, or items that are back in style and can be worn today.
  • I had four trips to larger cities during the course of the blog series, and was able to buy some good value items that I’ve never seen here.

Colour matching:

  • Even though you don’t have to be matchy-matchy with accessories, for back ties and fake sleeves it’s best, and it’s hard. Choosing a feather for a hat is similar.

Technical difficulties:

  • My new iron got glummed up one of the first times I used iron-on no-sew tape. You’re supposed to use a press cloth, and I didn’t read the instructions. The pieces of heat-activated glue tape weren’t fully under the fabric, and the hot iron in contact with a tiny piece tugged it out.
  • No-sew tapes (iron-on and double-sided) are fine for simple, flat attachments that take almost no load, but do not work well for more complex things such as pleats, drawstring openings, and the heavy texture of a straw hat.
  • I am terrible at crafting. I don’t seem to have the manual dexterity to make things neat and tidy. If you zoom in on the inside of the Capote hat, you’ll see an uneven ribbon that thankfully will be hidden by my hair.
  • I tied the gown’s waist ribbon off to the side, and in photos, it appears like a droopy breast! Unless you are young and perky, centre front or back tie is better!

Prices went up and product availability changed:

  • When I started a year ago, shoes that would work were $4-10. Now the price in thrift stores is no different than for new shoes on sale at budget stores. Of course, the ballet flats weren’t on sale all winter, and won’t be until fall again.
  • The little flared kitten heel shoes disappeared before I bought, though I saw a half-dozen pairs in my size on a visit a few months before I started to buy, when I was just beginning to consider what I’d wear to Louisville. I think the style was too old. Lucky are those who still have them in their closets!

~~~

The biggest change:

I discovered a new love. I’ve started to follow Pinterest pages and Facebook groups on costuming, and have been tempted to buy books for more than coffee table use!

I know I’ll be using the sewing machine again, and this time, the challenge will be to use existing patterns and modify them to make them my own, as opposed to purchasing modern patterns. I may be crazy to do so, but I’ll learn along the way, just as I did for this Experiment.

My dream is to actually see the museum pieces. I constantly have little questions about this and that, and only looking at actual construction would help. Costumers with many years of experience and related degrees rarely have this opportunity, so it may be the impossible dream.

But if we did not dream, the death of our imaginations would turn us into black holes, imploding into the nothingness of an empty life. As an author, I rely on possibilities to light my life. Things seem to work out in the long run, in spite of any bumps in the road along the way!Jane Austen Tea Party Starling Winery June 20 2015 harpist

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A point of pride:

I learned the bulk of the knowledge I’ve shared throughout this series by observing examples on the Internet. I read some excellent web site summaries, but avoided asking experts for help, and didn’t buy any books on the topic, as that cost could be put towards the costume.

I even got to the point in my acumen where I could pick out bloggers who knew enough to be dangerous and give inaccurate advice—kind of like how I started. I’m still learning, and it’s never been a chore. I enjoy the challenge of research.

The part of this story that was not intentional is important, that of the re-use of discarded items. It’s not just about being cheap, it’s about minimizing waste. Our society loves to buy and throw away, and the little thrift shops are full of evidence of that. But someone else’s discards became my treasure.

I’m going to miss those shopping trips. But wait… Mr. Suze needs a tailcoat, and breeches, and boots, and more!

I hope you enjoyed this little series of less than imaginative writing. I could never have imagined myself as a blogger, yet sometimes, fortune falls at your feet. It’s been an experience beyond the ordinary: I proved I could act outside of the box of consumerism, not just buy because I can afford it, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come.

Thank you for joining me on this trip.

~~~

NEXT POST: No promises on a specific topic.

This summer, I plan to focus on the final edits on Letter from Ramsgate, which has taken a back seat to this blog. Then I’ll be posting it twice weekly on A Happy Assembly!

At the same time, I’ll make my ball gown and a spencer, and there will be a post for each. I’ll show you my shawl, too. I promised a post on tricks to fake Regency, and I’ve developed my own pattern for reticules that I’ll share, as well as pulled an old pattern for a cap off a plate in a book and will draft it for you to use. So you’ll hear from me every 2-3 weeks or so, and then from Louisville, KY at the JASNA AGM!

Starling winery raspberriesI’d like to promote the Centennial Belles of Port Alberni’s Jane Austen Tea on July 3 and 4, 2015, and the Port Alberni Jane Austen Festival on July 8 and 9, 2016. This little town has ambitious plans for 2016: to break the world record of people in Regency costume, which is currently regularly broken by The Jane Austen Festivals in Louisville, KY and in Bath, UK. Perhaps a few of my Janeite and Chat Chit friends may decide this is a good time to come visit me on their way there!

December 4, 2014: The Cost of a Pedicab for a Chat Chit in San Diego

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She was standing on the doorstep waiting for me by the time I was halfway down the front walk. Gail Warner is not the type to wait for the doorbell and answer as if your arrival is a surprise when she’s eager to meet the last of her authors in person (me!). I’d seen photos of her, and that smile says it all. She’s warm, intelligent, and has a fantastic sense of humour. I think of her as “my Gail,” and the other authors she’s edited for feel likewise.

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The day was as warm as Gail, perfect for the drive along the ocean from Orange County to San Diego that morning. We chatted like old friends, which I suppose in a way we were, after the close nature of our work on Alias Thomas Bennet gave us a bond like no other. Gail is keen to get her hands on my current work, Letter from Ramsgate, and I hope she’s pleasantly surprised by how much my writing and editing have improved from the rough work she helped me refine last spring. Of course, I learned from the best!

I could have stayed and talked all day, but I’d planned to meet the instigator of the AHA San Diego Meet-Up at the airport. I tease her by calling her “Birdie,” but defiantfalcon is her A Happy Assembly (AHA) username, and it suits. I knew she was small, but it was still a surprise because she’s so decisive and assertive. She walked up to the hotel desk and greeted them with all the polite manners of a southern lady before she stated her needs as if she would brook no opposition.

She’s been my rock over the last few years, excellent support when I was ill, and as the plot beta (similar to a developmental editor) for Letter from Ramsgate. When she told me a plot twist was an unnecessary distraction that added nothing to the story’s flow, I cut the chapter. Next, my clever scene for reunification of Darcy and Elizabeth had too many contrivances, and I had to think of a new scenario. The sweet and funny epilogue was too much of a change from the tone of the story. I didn’t realize it until defiantfalcon pointed it out.

We went for lunch and talked away, again like old friends. Job, family, pets. The day was heating up, but she’s a southern gal and used to it, and there was a nice breeze. We were both tired, and separated to rest up for the “main event.”

The AHA San Diego Meet-Up was set for a seafood restaurant on the Embarcadero, with views to the bay. Gail joked that when she arrived, she realized she knew one person, and didn’t know if I was there yet. I walked from Little Italy and thought I couldn’t find the restaurant. I was just texting defiantfalcon when I passed the USS Midway and there it was! We had a chatty seafood meal, discussing all kinds of Austen topics: the cool details in the books, the stories on AHA, the dynamics of the members, and the men! We all knew each other from AHA Chat, but to chat in person, and laugh together, was a wonderful extension of our relationships.

Afterward, we checked out the statue “The Kiss” or “Unconditional Surrender,” and the bronze installation to Bob Hope. As much as we enjoyed each other’s “real” company, it was time to head back to our hotels. When we had arrived, the place was alive with cabs, yet now a pair of pedicabs were parked near the door. After a short wait, we ambled out to the street, stopping to admire the bronze plaques that honoured past leaders of the US Navy. Pedicab after pedicab went by, but nothing else. Since three were headed one way, and my hotel was in the opposite direction, they encouraged me to take one. I thought it would be fun, but the driver was in a horrible mood.

And worse yet, I made the mistake travelers around the world make: I failed to agree on a fare ahead of time. He demanded double what I had expected based on cab rides in the city earlier! I argued for a few minutes, but it was hopeless. Much like Elizabeth in the scene in my July blog post, it was all the cash I had, but Mr. Suze wasn’t a surprise.

The next day, several of us enjoyed the San Diego Zoo’s Wildlife Safari, a large park full of African and Asian animals. I’m not well, and the day before had used up all my energy resources. DH suggested I stay back and rest, but I protested: I wanted to see the four baby lions. We were in luck! When we inquired as we paid our admission, we found they had been out where the public could see them for the first time yesterday, and maybe would be again today, at 9am. As an unadvertised item, there were few people there. Mama paced, agitated about the safety of her young, and the little ones rolled around and played lazily.

lionsWe sat back and relaxed as defiantfalcon clicked away. Her hobby is zoo photography, and she’s good: her home zoo uses some of her work for their promotional material. When she had her fill at that exhibit, we took a tram around the park to discover that many of the other animals had new babies, too: giraffes, elephants, hippos, to name a few. The facility exists to breed and protect species, and it has one rhino who will be the last of his kind. It was fun to watch the baby elephants at play. One pushed its sibling into the pond, and the wet elephant made the best of it and had a bath.

I saw the highlights before I ran out of steam, and we left the others mid-afternoon. In spite of drinking about 2 litres of water with salts, as I got to the car, I was lightheaded and had to sit. The car thermometer said it was 112oF (44oC)! However, as we descended to the city, it cooled nicely. Later, when the others were driving back, a heavy rain obscured the highway and caused flash floods.

brunch 3 resizedThe next morning, the group was joined by josurinu for breakfast, who had driven from LA early that morning. A few years ago, josurinu, defiantfalcon, and I worked together on her two Austen-inspired modern romances, Someone Like You and spin-off Someone Like Me, my first experience as a story beta (line edit), and we call each other Team SLY. She would join Lalita and defiantfalcon to the San Diego Zoo and Sea World, where the latter two had booked a swim with the dolphins. But DH and I had seen many of the tourist attractions on a previous visit to San Diego, so we were on the road again. Besides, I had run out of copies of Alias Thomas Bennet to sign and give away!

We took three days to drive home, as expected. Friends recommended Highway 99 in California instead of the I-5, and it was a great choice: less traffic, more scenic. We uncovered the identity of the mystery trees along the road—walnuts—which I don’t recommend eating green. We lamented the fact that the Shasta Lakes were almost dry: easily 20 feet low. We revisited Cottage Grove, OR and discovered a thriving old town main street with a great used book store and coffee shop in an old theatre, where I bought a reticule. (If you’ve never been to that area of Oregon, it’s worth the trip to see the dozens of covered wood bridges.) The next day, I found the funkiest vintage story ever in Portland, OR, with 50’s cowgirl dresses among the other classic selections.

But in order to close this tale, I must back up.

Our last stop in California was to return to a location we had found on the way down, in Red Bluff. I may have mentioned once or twice that DH and I have a bit of a ritual in our U.S. travels. So it’s fitting that we end this story of the AHA San Diego Meet-Up with that fine aspect of American culture: PIE.

piePhotos by dogpoundphoto and Chaotic Her

November 21, 2014: A Straight Line to the Real Orange County Book Club is a Zed

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My mother-in-law’s name is Julia, and we named our very bossy GPS after her nickname in her language: Yulka. Most of the time, Yulka comes in handy. We have to trick her every once in a while when we want to take the lesser-traveled road—what Yulka doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Mind you, we made sure she knew as much as possible with a download before this trip. But she’s a spiteful little dictator, and knows we can be like sheep sometimes.

When we left LA for Orange County to meet AHA pal Josie for the first time, and then spend the weekend with my longtime dear friend Kelly, we depended on Yulka to send us the right way through unfamiliar freeways. Within the city, she sent us past directional signs for our freeway, I5 south. After a couple of these, we ignored her and voilà , we were on our way.

Now, the map provided by the State of California is pretty minimal in information: it has no exit numbers, and not all the towns. But it didn’t matter much to us, since we had Yulka, and knew we should be headed down I5 for quite a while.

But dear Yulka decided we should head east instead of on I5 south. After a check of the map, DH and I were discussing whether to ignore her, when she instructed us to head southwest, so we relaxed and followed. However, a while later, she told us to continue past the exit to I5 and continue southwest! I pored over the map once more. It was so odd, she hadn’t mentioned any problems to avoid on I5, as she had when we’d detoured other times. I said a few choice words about Yulka, and we decided to ignore her and turned west towards the I5. When I later drew it on the map, our route was a Zed!LA to Orange with Zed auto resizedAfter that, she found Josie’s home without further annoyance (mild mistrust still remained!). As we approached, we admired Josie’s garden, which is watered with grey water from her home. Inside were lots of musical instruments, which was no surprise, as she plays in a band!

After a short visit, DH asked a favour: could she help him find a tire shop? We had a slow leak, and the company that had installed new tires two weeks prior wasn’t represented in California. While the car was in the shop, we had a great El Salvadorian lunch at a little place Josie chose; everything was fresh and yummy. We don’t have one in my current city, and I miss it from my younger years, and got extra curtido! It turns out a drywall nail was our slow leak, and it was an easy repair.

On to the next stop, and a short rest before more fun. Kelly and Mr. D. were in my engineering class in Canada, and I helped them get together. They’re both full time professionals in different automotive design areas, and dedicated hockey parents for their three boys, with three games every Saturday, plus practices and tournaments.

signing photoKelly breezed in from a game to collect me and whisk me off to “Meet the Author” with “The Real Orange County Book Club,” the play on words she and her friends made from the popular TV show. Upon hearing of my visit, they decided their September read would be my first novel, Alias Thomas Bennet. Unlike the TV show, these are “regular” ladies, who have cleaned a bathroom or two in their lives, and the hour was casual and relaxed. The toughest feedback was from a reader who found the Austenesque language difficult at first, but as she got into it, she loved it.

The day didn’t end there. Another Canadian ex-pat couple of engineers, who had been relocated to southern California by her employer a few weeks earlier, took a pause in unpacking to have dinner with us. When they arrived a few minutes later than the rest of us, Kelly commented we had rushed there, too. Donna was attentive, and with an easy smile, she asked where we had been.

Kelly replied with her own smile and a head tilt, “At meet the author.”

***An aside: if asked, none of us would consider ourselves literary at all, we’re engineers. In addition, Kelly, arguably the smartest, can appear naïve because of the innocent way she asks questions, so we tease her that she’s not very bright, and she laughs with us! The book club is great for her to spend time with other women… and she’s more literary than she thinks!***

Donna’s face lit up. “Oh, nice! Who was the author?”

Kelly gestured towards me.

Donna glanced at me, and then back to Kelly. She didn’t get it, and her face was less animated than at first, as though she assumed we had a personal joke we refused to to share. She smiled and asked again.

Kelly said, “Suze.”

Donna looked at me with wild eyes.

“You’re the author?” Her head whipped back to Kelly.

“Yes,” Kelly said.

Her face showed her confusion. She’s logical. This was out of her experience. “You wrote a book?”

I nodded. Kelly and I were sharing the biggest grins.

“Really? A whole book?”

I replied, “Yes, and Kelly read it!”

Everyone laughed, and chided Donna that, because she’s not on Facebook, she misses everything. Oh, well, I gave her a signed copy!

San Clemente beachOn Sunday, we had a nice brunch of galettes (Belgian crêpes) in San Clemente, and then just hung around at home with the family.

The next morning, the family was off to school and work, and we were off to San Diego, our ultimate destination. The washroom we had shared with the boys had been pristine for two days; all of us took care to wipe our messes. I didn’t hear Kelly give the instructions, but I suspected, and Monday morning, I found out what nice boys do when they have guests, because I could hardly see myself in splatters on the mirror!

Next post:  The San Diego Meet-up, where I meet my beloved Gail Warner, editor for Alias Thomas Bennet, a little birdie with a huge camera, and fellow research associates of “The Meryton Literary Society.”

Okay, I admit, that last bit was me trying to make it sound intellectual. In reality, they’re my dear friends from the AHA Chat Chits, and they’re up to no good!

November 2, 2014: Bingley and Darcy walked into a bar… La La Land

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Sometimes you’ve been down that road before. In the case of Monterey to San Luis Obispo, that was the case, so we’d seen some of the main tourist sights down the road, but had missed the 17-mile Drive, so that was the start to this leg of the trip to San Diego: Monterey to Los Angeles. I’m not sure why the 17-mile Drive is supposed to be so important. Perhaps I have too many similar roads near where I live. They don’t cost $10, either.

The next new and exciting stop for us was Santa Barbara. We took the route through the mountains, and the view of the city as we descended could only have been better at night. It was beautiful. We didn’t stay long because we were off to Oxnard for dinner with JAFF author and close friend josurinu.jos

It was a highlight of my day to finally meet her. She and I had both assisted each other in writing when we were new and fresh at AHA, and learned a lot together. She was more beautiful than in photos, and had grown sophisticated from her job, though DH caught a couple of her classic double entendres! Oxnard is kind of a signal of spring in Canada: that’s where the first strawberries of the season come from, a good month before the local ones.

The next morning, we wandered around Santa Barbara for a while, taking in Stearns Wharf and the Mission, then drove towards Los Angeles via Malibu Drive.

We live near the water, and a new building was built in front of us recently, blocking half our view—if you don’t own the view, someone else will build in front of you eventually. So the homes on stilts along Malibu Drive appealed to me! It was one of the parts of the trip where we had the roof down, so we could enjoy houses perched above us as well.

(The weather was so warm on this trip, we actually had the roof up and air conditioning on quite a few times!)

We arrived at the LA home of LalitaD for a late lunch. I wasn’t in the door two minutes, and she put me to work puffing up the roti for lunch. It was so fun! We told her our plans: bus tour for highlights, the Observatory, Getty museum, Chinese theatre, Venice beach.roti

She said no bus tour. What?

All of a sudden, we were whisked along behind probably the most proud Angeleno that exists for a two-day personal tour with some backstage entries! Lalita and Mr. D. love their city, and were keen to show it off.

First stop was photos with the “Hollywood” sign at the Griffith Observatory, then a tour and the show. I have to admit, I snoozed a bit. But I do that in movies sometimes, too.

Then we were off to see the next highlight. She knew where the best photos could be taken, where the best stars were, the best streets if you want to dally in traffic, and the fastest routes otherwise. We saw all we wanted, a bit more, but the sorts of things that interested us, and no stars homes, studios, or amusement parks were involved. Well, except that one of those game show girls lives on their street.

But here’s the problem. Lalita loves to drabble. It comes out every so often, but most of the time, she’s not as energetic as she was in the Getty.

I was looking at a cool painting, and a little voice whispered, “Bingley and Darcy walked into a bar…”

I laughed. Out loud. In the Getty. The J. Paul Getty Museum, one of the most important freakin’ art galleries in the world. I go redder than Elizabeth when Darcy casually touches her for the first time, and clap my hand over my mouth. She sniggers. Quietly.

A few minutes later, in the next gallery, she whispers again. I can’t hear, and she’s little, so I duck down. Same deal. Story continues. I laugh, then stop myself. She loves it.

Then the grand finale: “Most of all, Darcy would remember the straps, those red straps that wrapped around her ankles.” I cracked up. The docent scowled and took one step forward. I made sheepish eye contact, and he retreated. The little sneak just grinned to herself.

I deserved every bite of that gourmet oatmeal she made the next day. Every bite.

Plus, our last night, she took me here:

firth zoom

Next post: The Real Orange County Housewives, er, Book Club?

October 2, 2014: Zoooooomm to California for an Austen-themed road trip

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In September 2011, my husband and I drove the Pacific Coast Highway (US 101) from Olympia, WA to San Luis Obispo, CA, including Hwy#1 north of San Francisco. If you ever get the chance, take this drive. One of the alternating photos in my banner above is Pacific City, OR, where we watched surfers and “sand-boarders”—they ski the dunes.

We wanted to continue the drive farther south one day, and when fellow AHA Chat Chit defiantfalcon—who is also my plot beta for my current work-in-progress, Letter from Ramsgate—said she planned to go to San Diego on vacation in September 2014, we started coordinating plans. The next person we contacted was SoCal resident josurinu, because the collaboration on her excellent AHA stories Someone Like You and sequel Someone Like Me cemented the friendship between the three of us. We call each other Team SLY.

This is the first in a series of posts that will follow my latest Austen-themed road trip, which ends with the Team SLY meet-up! It was a wonderful trip, with sunshine and friends all the way. Oh, and that thing Americans do best: PIE.

We started early for each of two long days on the I-5 to San Francisco, where we caught up with BP, my husband’s friend since they were boys in Winnipeg’s North End, and his wife, Susie Hara, whom I met the earlier trip. Both had careers as writers, though it was no longer their primary employment.

During the first trip, Susie asked what I did for a living, and as I mentioned my job, my husband interjected: “She also writes.” I was so embarrassed! At that time I told no one. It was therapy for my PTSD and an outlet to express my enjoyment of Austen—no more than a hobby.

I said, “I’m an amateur writer.”

Susie corrected me: “You’re a writer. There is no such thing as amateur. Be proud of your craft.” There was such firm finality in the way she said it, like gospel. In addition, we were headed uphill, and she was above me! But that simple change in attitude  enhanced my pride in my work.

Before I left, she gave me a copy of an anthology of erotic short stories, X: The Erotic Treasury (her main area of writing to date), and signed her story within it: “For Suzan—a new friend and writer.” The book binding is gorgeous and classic. Yet, she was working on a novel that deviated from that genre—a mystery.

So it was wonderful to see her again last month. We met her and BP at a restaurant they recommended in their ‘hood, the Mission District, which was fairly empty when we arrived. I gave Susie a signed copy of my book, and she blushed at the note that referred to her comment about not being amateur and how it changed my attitude.

But I was in for a surprise! Her mystery novel, Finder of Lost Objects, had been published in March! I was so happy for her! It has an average of 4.9 stars on Amazon and the premise is certainly unique.

The four of us chattered away intently on many topics, and we were almost done our meal when I noticed the restaurant was packed, and everyone else was Latino. I enjoyed my ensalada de nopales, pleased to find it offered outside of Mexico, but I had no idea this was a favored haunt for the locals. I liked that, a lot!

BP and Susie then took us for a walk, and it was with mixed feelings I saw many changes in the Mission. It’s cleaned up in a certain way, but the new stores have stolen some of its quaint charm. At this rate, it won’t be long before Forever 21 and its ilk move in, and papusas will disappear because the rents are no longer affordable.

jellyfish smallerWe said good-bye to SF and had a great day in Monterey, where we chilled at the kelp pool and were hypnotized by the jellyfish dance at the world-class aquarium. It’s the 6th largest in the world, and is rated the top aquarium in the world by TripAdvisor, number 4 in the world by The Weather Network, number 6 by Conservation Institute… pretty much every top ten list there is! The weekly farmer’s market is on the same street as our hotel, and we had enjoyed it for dinner in 2011 and again that evening.

Wake up early… we’re on to Santa Barbara, Oxnard, and LA in the next post!

July 13, 2014: My Obsession with the Cost of a Hack

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I go a little crazy when I’m researching for a story. A little detail that might be three words can have a week of research behind it. Case in point: the cost of a hack from the mail coach terminus in London to Mayfair.

In my current story, I wrote a scene where Elizabeth traveled to London, and then to a friend’s house in Mayfair. During my research, I found out about the cost of mail coach trip, tips, meals, and extra weight charges for baggage. Oh! That last bit caught my writer’s interest!

The last time I traveled by air, I weighed my bag at home and removed a bunch of stuff to meet the maximum baggage weight. Of course, when I got to my destination, it was all the wrong stuff! But I managed to get away without any extra fee.

But not so lucky for my heroine: I decided to include an overweight charge for Elizabeth!

Not only that, but before she left Longbourn, she knew exactly how much her trip would cost, and had brought nothing extra. Knowing she’d be short for the hackney coach trip through London, she asked the hack driver to drop her part-way to her friend’s house. Of course, a certain someone just happens to be riding by in his carriage as she’s struggling to walk with her heavy bag, and rescues her!

It was fun trying to figure out the route of the mail coach and the location for Elizabeth to catch the hack. (Not “cab”—that name came about from “cabriolet,” in 1823.) I had to figure out Hertfordshire and Middlesex geography and find maps of old London. Of course, there was a huge gap in detail at the point of my interest! The most useful map (in terms of ease of reading and finding major locations) was Dickens’ London, from David Perdue’s Charles Dickens Page.

Other interesting pages emerged, including a book of anecdotes called The Interesting Adventures of a Hackney Coach, from 1813. It has the strangest punctuation I’ve ever seen.

But I was obsessed with making sure the extra “tanner” for the overweight bag would make a difference in the end. How much was the fare from Smithfield to Portman Square in 1813?

Hack fares

Great finds were on Wallis’s Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster (above), and tables in actual travel guides from 1786 and 1827—but I had to try to figure out the end points and probable routes, since fares tended to be listed from coaching inns and pubs, and not street addresses. Finally, I made an educated guess at 3 pence.

I have hundreds of bookmarked pages for story research, and this time, I added another dozen. Here are my favourite web sites for Regency research:

Jane Austen’s World
There are several useful tabs, but I like “Social Customs during the Regency Era.” There many interesting categories here. Sadly, there are some dead links.

Common Regency Errors by Alison Lane
This is a great resource to help to understand how to apply titles of the nobility, as well as a few other topics such as adoption and consanguinity.

The Online Etymology Dictionary
You can look up any word and find out when it was first recorded, under various definitions. It’s sometimes surprising which words are super-old and which are recent, or how a word changed its meaning after the Regency period, so the way we use it today didn’t apply back then.

Chapman’s Chronology of Pride and Prejudice
R. W. Chapman was a scholar who dedicated his life to Austen’s works. In 1923 he produced an edition of her books that was much more readable by today’s readers, and a companion book as well. In the process he created time lines for the novels. In writing a variation, it’s nice to know how your changes fit into the original.