IFLA WLIC Day 2 - Some sightseeing - guided wanderings

The other half of my day was spent literally wandering the city.  I rode around on the hop-on, hop-off bus for a bit, listening to the recording (more on that later), and I did a walking tour through the neighborhood of Bo-Kaap.  Bo-Kaap is one of the iconic sights of Cape Town, and you can see why in the pictures below.  All the pretty colors!  And if it's a clear day, you'll see Table Mountain overhead too.  Not our luck, but still a pretty walk.

 

Bo-Kaap was previously known as the Malay Quarter, and was an area of slaves and freed slaves.  Incidentally the Malaysians in the area were not the majority, but the name still stuck.  The Bo-Kaap name is geographic in origin - it is derived from the Dutch for 'above the cape' (the neighborhood is situated on the hillside).  Because of where the slaves were imported from, the area was (and is) predominantly Muslim, even though any religion other than Christianity was outlawed during that time period.  The first mosque was founded about 40 years before the repeal of slavery and the religious restrictions.  A man had been captured as a slave, and brought to Cape Town.  While on Robben Island, he wrote down everything he could remember of the Qur'an, and then brought that with him.  He used it to teach when he arrived in Cape Town, thus founding the first mosque.

       

The story behind the houses is a good one too.  Slaves couldn't wear colors, only black and white, and their houses could not be colored either.  Once a slave had earned enough to buy his freedom, he celebrated by painting his face in bright colors, dressing brightly, and celebrating with friends and family.  One freed slave painted his house bright red as well.  He found that it actually helped his business, because he became known as the 'tailor in the red house.'  For either reason, the tradition of painting the houses brightly caught on, and now these couple square blocks of brightly colored houses are a landmark in the city!

And of course a pic to prove I really was there :)

The first house in Bo-Kaap is now the Bo-Kaap Museum.  It's the tan one in the center there.  And it's right across the street from the oldest business in Bo-Kaap, a little corner shop and cafe, which smelled deliciously of spices as we walked past :)

The other part of my wandering wasn't so active, but still very informative.  The hop-on, hop-off bus has several routes very well planned to get you to a lot of the major sites.  I rode the long way back to the Convention Center after my tour, so I could see more of the town.  We passed several beaches to the south of the city, which were very pretty, but in the weather today, also reminded me that it was still winter here.  Those waves look very choppy and cold!

    

The bus route also drove up Table Mountain, but with all the clouds, it was absolutely 0 visibility.  I didn't even try for a picture.  It was quite a climb up the hill though, so I'm really hoping that it clears up this week and I can get up the cable car to the top to hike.  The view must be fantastic!!

The other big landmark I couldn't photograph today was the Stadium.  That thing is HUGE!  I know I've seen big football stadiums in the states, but this one seems really, really big.  Maybe it's the design, or maybe it's just that football really is that much more popular than foo'ball.  (Yeah, I said it).

IFLA WLIC Day 2 - Some sightseeing - the Museums

The conference doesn't really get going until tomorrow, so today was spent getting my bearings (i.e. doing some sightseeing!).  I'm gonna divide this up into 2 posts, so that it's not a GIANT picture dump on you.  First I'll talk about the museums I went to today, then I'll post on what I saw on tour (walking and on the city bus - but more on that in a bit).

The first museum I went to today was the District 6 Museum.  This one was a pretty intense one.  District 6 was one of the municipal districts of the city, going back to the early 1800s.  It had always been a crowded, pretty blended community, and in every description I've read, described as "rich and vibrant," even when it became poorer and neglected by the government.  In 1966, the apartheid government declared that the district was now a white area, and that everyone else had to move.  In relocation, the government gave you no compensation, just moved you from your home, not even with all your belongings, to somewhere (most likely) on the outskirts of the city.  More than 60,000 people were relocated from District 6, which was then razed to be rebuilt for white residents.  And this was just one of the areas that the government decided to reallocate in the country. There's tons more to read about it online and elsewhere.  If I tried to give you the whole history, this post would turn into a doctoral thesis.

And I've heard that the movie District 9, released a few years ago, was heavily influenced by these events.  I know it's dealing with aliens, but there's supposed to be a lot of truth to the circumstances (if not the players) in the movie.  I'll have to watch that one.

The museum itself is in a restored Methodist church, located on the edge of the original district and one of the buildings not totally destroyed. Along one wall is a timeline of the whole history of the district, going back to the city first being settled.  The big map on the floor is the old layout of the district, with notes from residents marking where they used to live.  And there are old street signs, and photos and stories from former residents.  It's not huge space-wise, but there's plenty to see and read.

One of the most striking pieces is this one.  It's 1.5m wide and 7m tall (stretches from floor to ceiling).  All of the writing is names and former addresses and maybe a sentence or two from former residents.  It was written by the residents and then embroidered.  What makes it especially striking is that this is only one portion of the whole Namecloth.  The entire thing is over 1km and continues to grow as more residents visit the museum and write.

 

The other piece I found very striking, once I realized what it was, was the mural upstairs.  The coloring is all done in earth pigments, with the images inspired by the stories and memories of the former residents.  What got me was at the base are bowls with rocks in them.  It's rubble from the areas or roads labeled on the bowls. 

 

Most of the reallocation in District 6 happened in the late 1960s and 1970s.  However, with all the protests over this removal, it really didn't end until the early 1980s.  Which means, that it was still going on in my lifetime.  The tour guides at the museum are all former residents, so they are full of stories about how it used to be, and about being removed (definitely catch a tour if you can!!).  Such a perspective shift - You read about these things in books, and it feels like history, but it really was not very long ago.

For some history that really WAS that long ago, I next went to the Castle of Good Hope, only a couple blocks away from the District 6 Museum.  This is the oldest building in South Africa, built between 1666 and 1679. 

 

The Castle itself is an old fort, so unless you especially like that sort of thing, it's kinda the same as any other old fort protecting the waterfront.  Think Ft Sumter or Ft Pulaski or something similar. There's only so many ways you can build a fort on the water's edge and position your cannons to protect all angles.  This one had a wider range to cover, so it's a star instead of a square, but otherwise... But, this one is very yellow!  It's plastered over with yellow clay (or something similar), so that is pretty unique.  The view looking down from the wall into the first courtyard shows you a lot of the yellow walls :)

 

A few other little tidbits were mentioned on the tour (free, and offered several times a day, if you get the chance).  There is a room in the governor's old section (now a small museum) with the Long Table, a dining table to seat about 100 people.  Imagine a stereotypical "isolating millionaire's dinner table" and then make it bigger, and that's this table.  It's in sections (obviously it'd have to be) but they are all connected together in one reeeeeally long dining room.  It's very impressive!  Unfortunately, the museum didn't allow pictures, or I'd have tried to capture that one. 

Besides fancy dinner tables, the Castle also has a torture chamber.  No, really.  They didn't want to execute anyone for a serious crime unless they'd confessed.  So if he'd hadn't confessed yet, they'd help to persuade him.  What I noticed most about that room wasn't the old manacles or chains still attached to the walls, but the small desk in the corner.  All torture proceedings had to be recorded, so a clerk sat at that desk to write down everything.  What a horrible job!

Also, all the shutters in the Castle are painted green, except for the end on the inner wall, where the shutters are red.  The magazine.  It warned the soldiers training in the courtyard to not smoke or fire their weapons too close to that end of the building.  Apparently, this has been a standard color-coding for Danger for a couple hundred years now :)

The portion of the Castle where I spent the most time was actually the military history museum (the Castle is supported by the SA Army even today).  Military history museums are hit-or-miss for me.  They seem to be either really interesting history, or just rooms full of insignia and memorabilia.  This was an interesting one.  It followed all the military activity in SA, going back to the Dutch and the Dutch East India Company (which supported its own army) in the 1600s.  And since the US is woefully lacking in African history education in schools, I really knew very little about any of it.  It really put the race relations in the country into perspective.  Basically, they've all been fighting each other since at least the 1600s.  South Africa is a very strategic spot for shipping.  So two colonial powers and a major commercial interest (that was basically its own country), dealing with several local tribes... it lead to a couple hundred years of fighting, ultimately laying the groundwork for the Nationalist Party and the apartheid system.  Like I said, it was very interesting seeing the pieces starting fitting together, even just through the lens of the military, like in this museum.

And to prove I really was there, and not just picking photos off a Google search (that big cloudy mass behind me would be Table Mountain, if it was a clear day):

And just to end things off, a slightly artistic shot of the Castle and Table Mountain (clouds) from the flower and herb garden outside the walls.

IFLA WLIC Day 1 - The Penguin has Landed!

And it's a reeeeally long flight from TX to SA!

Three flights actually.  And that's been almost entirely my last day and a half.

But it was not entirely uneventful, and I'll share a few things here as I try to calm down for sleep (yay jet lag!)

• I am a catastrophizer.  Really, though, no surprise there.  Everything worked out just fine, even with my long flight landing late in Johannesburg, I'd still allowed myself plenty of time for Customs before my connecting flight.  It was just amazing me again how wildly my imagination can spin worst case scenarios.  Especially when I'm traveling on my own halfway round the world (funny, go figure).  

• Motivational socks help combat the catastrophizing.  They also get compliments from TSA security guards :)

 

• The South African flag really can look like a rainbow.  The reflection of the wing tip on the South Africa Airline plane as it reflected on the wing was really rather pretty.

• Speaking of South African Airline, they treat you pretty well!  We even got dinner on the 2 hour flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town!   On a lot of short flights in the States, I don't even count on drinks on a flight that short, let along expect a hot meal!

• It's been so long since I've had a chance to focus on a fun book, I forgot how fast I read.  I finished my book on the long flight (the 2nd leg of the 3).  So yes, day one of the trip.  Now I've nothing left to read for the trip except a text book, a guide book, and whatever light-n-fluffy thing I have saved on my Kindle.  :( 

• I had some time to knit (of course I brought a project - what did you expect?)  And I started Citron, a shawl from Knitty a few years ago.  It's been sitting on my queue, and with the mindless pattern and the lace-weight yarn, it made for a good travel project.  For those interested, I'm using the possum lace-weight that Sarah and I dyed a few years ago.  I've a bunch of the green left, so this is perfect for it.  I made it through the first two shawl sections on my flights.  What can I say, I'd finished my book!  I know I'll slow down now that it's getting wider, but here's a first glimpse :)

 

The best comment I heard through all the traveling was in the very first airport.  A young jetsetter businessman type saw me knitting as I was waiting.  "Oh perfect airport hobby - no charging!"  A good comment on its own, but it made me laugh because I was sitting charging my phone, on which I'd saved the pattern I'm working from!  Signs of the times, maybe?  Either way, it made me smile.

At any rate, busy day sightseeing tomorrow before the conference really starts on Sunday, so I must get to bed.  Think I've finally wound down enough for that :)

Oh, look - she's back!

Hello friends!

So, I know it's been ages since I've posted -  Life has been rather on the busy side.  Things have been rolling merrily along in our little corner of the country, though, so all is well.  I still knit, and run, and read, and all those other things.  But the thing that has been keeping me busiest is also the reason I'm posting again: grad school!

Normally, school takes up most of my spare time and mental energy.  If I've time to write, it's probably being spent on a paper or a discussion post or something similar.  Except for this summer!  

This summer, my two classes this summer are part of an independent study abroad, tied into a conference I'll be attending (this week!!). My courses are International and Comparative Librarianship, and Information and Cultures.  And to pull together everything I learn, I will be attending the International Federation of Library and Information Associations (IFLA)'s annual conference, the World Library and Information Congress.  To make it even more exciting, I'll be traveling to Cape Town, South Africa!!

Now you may be wondering why some rather intense sounding courses have me blogging again, especially when my intro courses were enough to keep me busy and off the blog.  Well, as part of my conference experience, I am posting about my travels here - people I meet, sessions I attend, experiences in the country itself, overall impressions of things.  Which means for you, dear reader, that the next week and a half or so, my blog posts will be frequent and will swing between Extreme Library Dorkiness (capitals warranted) and "Eee! Penguin!"  If that bothers you, then you probably don't know me all that well :)  At any rate, you have been warned and can skim the ones you aren't too interested in; my feelings won't be hurt.

I'm going to try and keep the momentum going, so hopefully we'll be seeing each other (reading each other) more, even after the conference when I return to my normal chatter on books and cooking and running and yarn. My next year looks to be an exciting one, so it'll be good to keep this ball rolling.

PS - And to add to the excitement (beyond the interesting classes, professional networking, and exciting travel), I do love the logo.  Just look at it - a book, a penguin, and a mountain!  Now why on earth would I be getting so enthusiastic over that?

 

http://2015.ifla.org 

A Falltime Recipe

Thankful for the changing of the seasons!  Here in TX, we don't have "seasons," per se, but we do have signs of the times.  The season of omnipresent pumpkins is winding to an end, and the season of omnipresent peppermint is upon us!

Here's a quick'n'easy little dessert which a coworker of my mom's provided at a breakfast meeting.  She was kind enough to share the recipe.  Thanks, Sue!  Looks like it's a variation on Paula Deen's recipe.  It's a recommended recipe that is "easy, yummy, and feeds a crowd"!  What more could you ask for as we enter the season of holiday hosting?  Besides, it gives me a chance to use my trifle dish - even better!

I adapted it again, and it's my own variation that I've posted below.  It makes a little smaller batch (there's only 2 of us, after all) and it's not quite as sweet as the original recipe.  If you want the Paula Dean version, it's linked above.

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD TRIFLE

Ingredients:

• 9x9 pan of gingerbread, your favorite recipe
• 1 (1.5 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding mix 
• 3 c. milk (for pudding)
• 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom or cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1 T. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (12 oz.) container of frozen whipped topping
• 1/2 cup crushed gingersnaps, optional

Directions:

1. Bake gingerbread; cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, prepare pudding and set aside to chill.
3. Stir the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and spices together.
4. Stir pumpkin mix into pudding.
5. Crumble gingerbread into bottom of a large, trifle type bowl.
6. Pour 1/2 of pudding mix over gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping.
7. Sprinkle with crushed gingersnaps, if desired.
8. Refrigerate overnight.

Notes:

• Sugar and spices (and everything nice) can be adjusted to your taste.  Using pumpkin pie filling instead (like in the original recipe) can yield a very sweet dessert, so sugar can be reduced if dessert is too sweet.  Likewise the spices can be increased or adjusted to your taste.  I ended up using the original 1/2 c. packed brown sugar, but used plain puree.  Also, I like using pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon.  But then, I like the mix of the Pumpkin Pie Spice blend :)
• The gingerbread recipe I used was the WeightWatchers Gingerbread Cake from the WW Comfort Classics cookbook, p.194.

Bon Appétit and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody! The weather has finally cooled off, it's Friday, and we've finished some larger projects at work, so I'm in a pretty festive mood right now.  Festive tidings to all! Or... BOO!  Or whatever one says on Halloween :) 

Right now, Zach is unfortunately working an evening duty, so I'm chattering away here and watching the trick-or-treaters come 'round. 

We've had some fun this year too - our first Jack-o-lantern!  Between one thing and another (mostly crazy work schedules) we've really only started celebrating Halloween since we got to Texas.  Was a harder holiday to make work in California (like I said, work schedules).  But since being in Texas, we've been able to have trick-or-treaters each year, and this year, a Jack-o-lantern too!  

 

To quote Calvin and Hobbes, "Ok, Jack, time for your lobotomy!"

   

And all done and lit!  Fun fun!!

 

And of course, with pumpkin carving, comes toasted pumpkin seeds.  My first time in years making them, so here's the recipes I found.  And my notes, so I don't forget next year :)

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• Pumpkins seeds
• Water
• Salt
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Scoop out the innards of your pumpkin.  It's easiest to do this if you cut the top off, to get access.  If you're making a Jack-o-lantern, as we were, you're doing this already, so just set the goopy pumpkin insides to the side until you are ready to shift from pumpkin-carving to pumpkin-toasting.  I suppose if you're multitasking, you could start the seed prep-work as you carve, but we were both focused on the carving.  Seeds had to come later.  :)
2. Wash the seeds.  You'll need to do this by hand, in order to separate the seeds from the stringy bits.  Use the colander; it will help.   And yes, your hands will be pretty messy.
3. Measure the pumpkin seeds in a cup measure before you place them in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pan for every 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds. Add more salt if you prefer your seeds on the saltier side.  According to Simply Recipes, boiling the seeds in salt water before you toast them lets the salt permeate the seeds, instead of just sitting on top of the shell (like it would if you simply tossed the seeds in oil and salt before toasting).  
4. Bring the salted water and pumpkin seeds to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes. 
5. Remove from heat and drain well.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. 
6. Spread some olive oil on the bottom of a roasting pan or thick baking sheet (I used a cookie sheet with a lip around the edge).  I say spread "some" because I just drizzled the oil, but Simply Recipes recommends about a teaspoon or so. 
7. Spread the seeds out over the sheet in a single layer.  
8. Toss them a bit to coat them with the oil on the pan. I used our silicone basting brush to spread the oil around and cover the seeds.  Worked well, and I didn't have to risk literally tossing my seeds across the kitchen (which is probably what would have happened!).
9. Place sheet on the top rack of your oven and bake until the seeds begin to brown.  This is the tricky part, because it could be anywhere from 5-20 minutes, depending on how big your seeds are.  Smaller  seeds may be done in 5 minutes or so, but large pumpkin seeds may take up to 20 minutes. SO!  Keep an eye on your pumpkin seeds!   I set my timer for 5 minutes at a time, and checked regularly. 
10. When lightly browned, remove the sheet from the oven and let the seeds cool. You don't have to let them cool ALL the way down before eating, but you do want them cool enough you don't burn your tongue.
11. Enjoy!

Notes, References, etc.

As I said above, I used the recipe on Simply Recipes, but there are lots of other variations on toasted pumpkin seeds, as it turns out.  Do you boil them, do you just toast them, do you use olive oil or melted butter, do you toast them on high for less time, or longer at a lower temp... lots of variations.  What I particularly liked were the flavor variations people mentioned!  Here's a sampling:

• 101 Cookbooks - Toasted Pumpkin Seeds: 3 Ways.  The variations there are Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, Black Tea & Butter Pumpkin Seeds, and Curried Pumpkin Seeds.
• 101 Cookbooks also has a Thai-spiced pumpkin soup recipe, and Simply Recipes has several pumpkin recipes, too - if you're cooking pumpkin anyway...  ;)
• All Recipes is always a good stop.  A basic recipe, but lots of helpful comments. 
• Michael Chiarello's recipe on Food Network.com.  Again a basic recipe, but there are some good tips in the comment section (I think food websites are the only ones where I read the comments anymore!)
• Food Network Kitchens, also on Food Network.com, has a bunch of variations - Italian, barbeque, Indian... definitely a few I want to try next time!
• Food.com lists some good optional seasonings too.  Chili powder, garlic powder, cajun seasonings...

My last comment is a reminder to WATCH YOUR TOASTING!  Mine did end up a little burnt :(  Probably should have stopped at 10 minutes, instead of 12.  It's like popcorn.  Light and salty and delicious if done right, but go just a little too long when cooking, and you end up with that burnt aftertaste, like you're eating charcoal. 

So, definitely worth a repeat, and some yummy looking variations I want to try, but also learned a lesson on toasting them.  Just wait til next year!  :D

Oh So Pinteresting Wednesday: I have joined the ranks of the tutu-ed runners!

There was a Halloween-themed race in our area on Saturday last, with a separate costume contest for the Little Monsters, of course.  The bigger monsters were also encouraged to come in costume - so I did!  I've done other runs in costume, but hadn't done a tutu yet.  But they are getting really popular, so I thought, why not?

The tutu itself is incredibly simple and offers a lot of variation for costumes, theme runs, and similar silliness.  The craziest part?  People will charge $30 or more to make them, when they are SO simple to make yourself!!  So (being the cheap, crafty type that I am) I set about doing some research (Pinterest, of course) and buying some tulle :)

What you will need:

• Tulle - you'll need 2-8 yds of tulle.  Comes in tons of colors, as well as shiny and glittered varieties.  I used 2yds each of 3 colors (black, purple, shiny orange).

• It's an inexact science to figure out how much you need, but rule of thumb: More tulle = Fluffier tutu.
• You probably want the finer mesh tulle - less scratching as you're running.  But, personal preferences and all that.
• ALTERNATIVE: tulle ribbon.  These are found in the wedding/floral sections of the craft stores.  Probably need about 4 spools, judging from other instructions I found out on the Internet.  I just used tulle off the bolt - required more cutting, but cheaper and had the colors I wanted.

•  Ribbon - long enough to go around your waist and tie securely.

• ALTERNATIVE: elastic.  1/2 to 1 inch wide elastic works just fine.  Don't really want to go narrower than that - you are running in it after all, and want it to be at least a little sturdy. If you're using elastic, you'll also need needle and thread.

• Scissors 

What you do next:

1.          Cut your tulle into strips about 4 inches wide.  The strips are attached to the skirt band doubled over, so you'll want the strip lengths to be twice what you want the skirt length to be (i.e., if you want a tutu 9 inches long from the waist, cut 18 inch long strips). 

• If you are using tulle-on-a-spool, that's easy - it's already at the width you want, so you'll just cut it to the length you want.  Remember - 2x the length of the skirt.
• If you are using tulle from the bolt, fold the piece of fabric so that it is length you want, and then cut into strips.  

2.          I cut all my strips, and kept them grouped into piles by color.  I held one strip of each color in each bundle that I attached to the ribbon.  Other variations I saw made their skirts striped, so each bundle is one color only, alternating colors around the band.  All in your preference.

3.          To attach the bundles of tulle, you tie it on using your choice of knots.  Some instructions just tied on the tulle with an overhand knot, but most used the Lark's Head knot (even if they didn't know what it was called).  The Lark's Head is the 'up, over, and pull-through' knot, about as simple a knot as you can get.  Yay for learning this stuff in Girl Scouts!  I'm not going to explain it any more, because there are tons of clearer directions out there with videos and diagrams and all (including in one set of the instructions below), so I'm sure you can find one that is clear to you. 

4.          Since I was doing a no-sew version, I was attaching my tulle to a length of ribbon, long enough to go around my hips and tie.  I started attaching my tulle in the middle of the ribbon and worked out from there, adding bundles on each side.  The more tightly squeezed in your knots are, the more tulle your skirt will have, and the puffier it will be. 

5.         Keep adding tulle until you run out of space or of tulle.  I had ended up not cutting my strips evenly, so I had more orange and black than purple.  I added a few bundles of black and orange (and even just a few orange-only), but they blend right in.  There's so much color and movement in the skirt anyway, that a little unevenness like that won't show :)

6.         Ta-da!  You're done!  Go tie it on and have some fun :)

Other references I used (there are 1,000,001 different instructions for tutus out there; these are a few I looked at for research, in no particular order):

• Idiot Runner Girl 
• Sparkling Fashion 
• The Hair Bow Company
• Hyvaa Paivaa Textiles (don't worry, it's in English)
• My Happiness Redefined
• Cut Out and Keep
• Healthful MD - very good description of the Lark's Head knot too, if you're unfamiliar with it.

And then the race itself!  

The skirt was the final piece in my costume which also included striped knee-high Halloween socks and a hairband with a tiny witch's hat.  So cute, and only $1 at Target!

 

If anyone asks, I chose the ribbon with the apples because witches and poison apples and the whole deal.  But really, it was the first one I grabbed out of my stash that didn't clash completely :)

Thoughts?

• Fun, ridiculously silly, ridiculously easy - win win win!
• There are tons of ways to customize these suckers.  As I said above, you can make them striped or color-blocked, depending on how you arrange the colors.  You can add ribbon to add some contrasting color, or use strips of fabric or wide ribbon instead of the tulle to make a different kind of skirt altogether (swishy, rather than poofy).  And just playing with the colors of tulle, there are tons of options: I've seen ones with different holiday color schemes, ones for each of the Disney princesses, red ones with large white spots as part of a Minnie Mouse costume, blue ones with large stars as part of a Wonder Woman costume, lots of pink and purple ones for fairies, green ones for Tinkerbell... the list goes on and on.
• I don't know if I'd be able to run longer than a 5K in the costume I used on Saturday.  I was pretty pleased with my race time and I like the skirt, but the tulle can get bunched between your legs as you run.  I did have to walk a few moments during the last mile to rearrange my skirt.  In the future, I'd either need to make it shorter, so that it sticks out more than it drapes, or wear running tights - which it was definitely too warm for on Saturday... yay Texas :(
• All in all, though, a fun project and a fun race!