Wednesday on the way home from an EE meeting I had a stroke of bad luck. In the train I took of my coat and vest. I just pulled my arms from the vest and let it lie behind me in the chair. Just before we arrived at the station of Deventer we switched places; from a two-seat to a four-seat. In that move I forgot my vest.

When we wanted to depart the train in Hengelo I noticed that my vest was not lying near me so I went back to our former seats (in the same compartment!) and found it gone. Just gone. Not under the couch, not in the luggage space, gone. I asked the conductor if someone had given him a colorful vest supposedly 'found' but alas. I also filled in the web form of the NS but I have not much hope that it will come back to me. I think it was stolen.... I'm very angry and a bit sad about it. It was a Christmas gift from my mother and just a cool vest. People should keep their sticky fingers away from my stuff!

Still, for every piece of bad luck there should be some good luck apparently. Yesterday I received my second deer skin (ordered on Marktplaats a week ago) and found out it was not a deer but a reindeer. Meaning that the skin is almost twice as big as the deer skin I already had. And I only paid 40 EUR for it! It's loosing some hairs, as most reindeer skins do because the hairs are hollow and break easily, but it is very soft and warm. It will make a wonderful poncho.

My Taboe costume is getting there. The 'leggings' are finished, the belt for the loincloth is finished (still working on the loincloth itself), the bandeau is done, the dress only needs some decorations. What is left: loincloth, shoes (I'm not 100% happy with the first try), poncho, possibly a raincoat from reeds, belt for over the dress, bedding and some way to carry all stuff. Oh, and an animal mask.

On the 25th of September Matthijs and I will attend a historical cooking workshop and in November we will learn how to tan hides. We wanted to follow a smithing workshop but it is given in the same weekend that we celebrate our birthdays, so alas.

On the how-to-get-rid-of-the-blubber-front it is going well. I mean, finding sports. The belly dance teacher told me that I may train with the advanced class. Unfortunately it is on Tuesday, the same night as rehearsals (but we'll make it work). Freestyle jazz and streetdance were much fun. Today we will take a try out lesson of ji do kwan. And then I'll have to decide which sport(s) to continue.... Choices, choices.