I've done some back-to-school shopping on eBay. In the past month, I've picked up three Lilly Pulitzer dresses for under $25 each (including a cute circus print one for Laurel) and a Lilly cardigan to supplement my wardrobe staples. Now I'm sitting on an auction closing tomorrow for a CD of mid-century circus photos from a seller I've talked to several times before about my interest in specific circuses' ephemera. If I win, the disc includes several dozen Campa Brothers photos I can add to my family collection. It takes a little of the edge off the loss of Tio Alfonso's circus memorabilia several years ago.

(Tio Alfonso and Tia Bonnie rented a few storage units that went delinquent on payments when their health declined. By the time we heard about the storage situation, the contents had already been sold. In the time since, I've been picking up copies of photos, posters and other ephemera to supplement the notes and tapes I have of relatives talking about the circus.)

My sister just called to report they're on I-35E, roughly a half hour away from us. (My folks and sisters were in Austin over the weekend for Twist & Shout and planned in a night to visit us.) Vogon made a mad dash for the shower, I'm about to get Laurel dressed and go in search of a slightly more seasonally appropriate top than the strappy camisole I'm wearing right now (it's 78 inside)... and in the next hour or so, Vogon is going to meet my parents. Whee.

On an unrelated note, I want to stock up on Fun Chop chopstick helpers after we got oner with Laurel's kids meal at Pei Wei last week and she's been using chopsticks incredibly well since -- she's been eating edamame today like nothing, blowing away how much better I'm handling a pair since starting to use a stainless steel pair from a set we bought earlier this month.

I was hoping to go see Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus with friends who have a son Laurel's age (and one older, if you're counting *g*) when they came through Dallas this year, but their stop here is squarely during the time Laurel and I will be in Colorado. On the bright side, it's the 133rd Edition show, which we saw last year in Denver so I'm not too heartbroken about it.

Even brighter, this is the first year Ringling is running a Hometown Edition one-ring show to hit cities it hasn't before or hasn't in a long time. It's stopping in Beaumont the weekend of 20-22 August, which could work with Vogon's plans for a weekend trip to the beach since Laurel's never seen one. (Yes, I know she could have when we lived in North Carolina, but we never headed any further east than Greenville.)

If we go, brace yourself for an onslaught of pictures and Phone Posts from yours truly because the only thing I love more than the circus is something I can't say in mixed company. (;

Now that I've gotten the obligatory back-posts done and caught up on my friends list, you get a real update.

( Ornery kid, needlework notes, EHS Madrigal Dinner's this weekend, and a little holiday shopping )

We caught the last of the weekend's Ringling shows in Raleigh. Also missed the pre-show floor show, but we did get a souvenir picture afterward since Laurel's gotta follow in the family footsteps. (:

( Laurel the mini human cannonball )

On a side note, midgets are really funny.

Good news, to counteract the irritation of dinner semi-out: Ringling Brothers is in town this weekend!

I'd rather go a bit further to Greensboro to see the 133rd show (and Bello! I missed him last year in Denver because Little Miss refused to sit still so we walked the concourse and she flirted with the vendors), but there's no way she would agree to sit that long in a car, so we're planning on seeing the 132nd show in Raleigh. The good part about that? David Larible! If Laurel recognizes him from the Sesame Street short, I'm going to be beside myself with joy.

...and of course, we'll do the floor rounds before the show and get just as funny pictures as last year in Denver. Eddie's not with the clowns listed with the 132nd show, but hey. Maybe I'll bark anyway and see if anyone else was a Mooseburger clown camper. And maybe I'll get a good kiss again this year, although Amy wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch it last year. Nothing says' lovin like an old clown wearing a barrel kissing my cheek. *grins* Well, maybe a bunch of 15 ml Snazaroo pots so I have my own set, but hey, you can't have it all, right?