Its Been A Long Long Time

So I have been a very bad blogger and not posted for something like two months. I know, I know. Someone I love very much brought it to my attention this week, inadvertently, that my blogging has dropped off, and I think to myself "I should get back to that, even though there's only like, four people reading this. Because, you know, there's four people out there who care about my life. And its healthy for me to express myself."

I have two bits of good news and two bits of not so good news, so we'll cover the happy stuff first so you can bail if you want later.

Good news part one? Kitten graduated. I mentioned this before, I think. She graduated with honors. Her party went well. Everyone was nice to each other (there was some concern about that) and she had a good time. She has a new job in her career field as of last week. It pays much better than her old job, the people are nice, and its not in residential cooling, which was what she was terrified she would end up doing. She did not want to be a lackey for all the window units in this corner of our state. She isn't, and that's awesome. They're going to train her into other fields. They're going to pay for extra education. They're paying 100% of her health insurance. She loves the work already. I'l so terribly proud of her.

The other good news is that as of the day after I posted the blog previous to this one (That is, the 26 May) I have been smoke free. None, nada, zilch, no slip ups or stress smokes or I'm-trying-really-hard-so-I've-earned-ones, not even a its-giving-me-a-migraine one. NO. SMOKING. I'm pretty proud of myself. I was doing between half a pack and a whole pack a day depending, so quitting cold turkey was hard. I am pretty sure I wasn't fun to be around. It may or may not have contributed to the incident that has, in-part, kept me from blogging for the last month.
Which was this

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The vacation.

That's right. It was horrible. I'm pretty sure the smiling happened only for the camera. Well, most of the time, anyway.

For the record, I'm giving you the edited for public consumption version of this tale, because I have some semblance of respect (not a lot, but a little) for my family.

I do think that me not smoking contributed to this awful. Kitten actually begged me three days in to smoke, telling me it would be okay and I could start over when we got back to town, but by then I was three days in and I was damn well not going to give up if I didn't have to. The lack of cigarette, for the first week or so anyway, would be enough to make most people be grumpy.

The other part had a lot to do with KMom. Suffice to say our styles of travelling are different. That was a struggle for me. I'm a "lets have a plan and get directions and go do things like we planned" kind of girl. She's more of a "throw caution to the wind, work without a plan, get directions while on the street (even from bums!)" kind of girl. She's also very set in her ways, because she's lived alone for something like 12 years, she isn't used to compromising. In our household its almost all about compromising so I struggle when someone, anyone, is contrary about working as a team. Even in my coven everyone works as a team and we all make decisions based on consensus, which makes it easy for things to get done and everyone to feel like they're important. Not so with KMom. That was a problem for me. A big one.

When it came to the camping aspect it got worse. Really bad, actually. Again, that has a lot to do with me believing that camping is an act of teamwork and KMom isn't really a team player. Not to mention, despite her protestations to the contrary, she's a sissy camper. She is WAY to concerned with comfort. And she didn't like to help carry things. Or work. At all. Which naturally pissed me off. Especially when she's insisting we repack the truck (again) because she doesn't like how things are arranged (even if we are unpacking it all again in three hours). Or when we were getting ready to leave and I'm sick with a headache so bad I'm stepping off the trail to throw up while I haul coolers and bags and she stops with holding only a pillow and complains to me about how long the trail to the car is and how hot and uncomfortable she feels. Or when she's telling me that I'm making dinner wrong (How, I ask? How?) or not to her tastes. She was cranky or combative whenever we went hiking or did anything strenuous, but insisted on coming along. If it rained she would hide out in her tent. And it rained. It did. Like, a tropical storm hit one of our campsites....that was a real treat.

Here's us camping, by the way- well, k\hiking a trail at our campsite. This was our first site, at Hunting Island State Park.

She also wouldn't stop making fun of my newly discovered phobia of raccoons. It was constant. And it pissed me off.

I know its petty, but seriously. I wasn't afraid of them before. I wasn't. Its just, you know, they were everywhere. And not afraid of anything. Like, there were bear boxes for yours stuff to keep them out. Oh, and I should mention THEY WERE THE SIZE OF AN AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD. And they broke into our tent. Twice. Once was at night and it tore through the closet on our tent. Not cool. Of course I was afraid. I think this is reasonable. Especially since I was fighting off nicotine cravings and getting next to no sleep between them and the headaches I was having from what turned out to be a tropical storm depression.

Imagine this:

The size of this:

Of course it made me nervous.

There were other things that upset me too, but really, I don't think anyone would like KMom if I talked about it. And honestly, I don't want you all hating her. She's a nice lady, most of the time. She's just set in her ways, and she's still a little skittish about her relationship with Kitten and that makes her a little possessive sometimes.

There were some good parts of the trip, really. Like, you know. The food. I wept over some of the food. I love soul food. I love fried chicken and home made mashed potatoes. I love locally sourced vegetables and fruit. I like veal so fresh that it was just days from gamboling about in some farmer's field. That's good food. The whole trip was like that too- locally sourced ingredients, fresh made honey, hand made desserts. When we were eating out I was not an unhappy person. I was very happy indeed. Even the delis (and god, we had so many sandwiches at lunch because KMom doesn't like heavy food in the afternoon) were really, really good. Fresh bread, hand-sliced meats, local sauces and pickles and such. Yep, the food was amazing.

We went to a zoo. That was fun. We took a ghost tour- actually, we took two. That was amazing. I played in the ocean with Oscelot. We collected seashells at low tide. I managed to impress my ladies with my ability to cook anything in cast-iron- my meals were like we never left home thankyouverymuch. I saw my first lighthouse up close (not impressive) and drove through the Great Smokey Mountains (really impressive). I managed to whittle a new walking staff for myself. Yes, I do whittle. We saw some amazing waterfalls. We hiked in the rain (so that was both fun and awful).

It wasn't all bad. Just most of it. I'm making the best of the memories now that we're here, because I want it to be something Kitten remembers fondly. Hell, a few years from now some of this may seem funny. Maybe.

The other thing that's really kept me off the blog is I've been coping with depression again. Almost from the moment we got home I've been struggling. Some of it, I know, has to do with inadequacy issues brought on by the things that happened on the trip that I don't want to talk about. Some of it, I think, is just old issues reasserting themselves now that they have the chance. I spent the first couple of weeks back sitting in Kitten's recliner alternately weeping and moping.

I;m better now, and I've got my issues sorted out. It was not, however, conducive to me being here and sharing things with you. I credit my speedy recovery to (1) my partners, who totally didn't judge me (2) my coven, who spent plenty of time patting me on the back and letting me be totally weak even though I'm supposed to be leading (3) plenty of B vitamins and an iron supplement and (4) one conversation with one very special person that I hadn't talked to in a while. Talking to him reminded me I've been through worse and I'm tougher than I was letting myself be. It was the linchpin in my recovery.

Now that I'm back and feeling normal again, I'm going to make an effort to actually be a good blogger and put things up more than once a month or so. Maybe I'll even go back to that old blog-every-day habit I had five or six years ago....

I love you all. I want you to know that.

Its good to be home.

AGxx

I Love The Road, and I've Been Blessed, But I Love You Best

I'm leaving for vacation in two days. I can't wait.

I must admit, though, there is no small amount of nervousness involved with going away as well. Part of it is leaving home for so long. I've never been away from home for three weeks before, not without me doing something work or school related. Naturally, I worry about my garden, and my cats, and in general the strange and stormy weather we have this time of year. Fortunately, Sakura, Felix and Spice will all be at the house, taking care of it and making sure all goes well. Of course, money is part of it too...you can't leave home for that long and not be working and not worry a little bit. We've got the money we need put away, of course, but I always think "what if there is some sort of emergency?" I'm trying to let tomorrow worry about tomorrow though.

I've never been camping with Kitten before, nor Oscelot. We'll be travelling with KMom and I've only been on a three day trip with her once before. I worry that we'll get on each other's nerves while we're away. Of course, we're driving, and there's the roads to think about. And all the rain they're supposed to get in South Carolina while we're there. I can live with rain, so long as its not too cold. I hate cold and wet. Warm and wet I can cope with- and by all accounts its supposed to be nice and hot while we're there.

Otherwise, I am truly excited. Its been such a very long time since I've had a camping trip. Not many of my previous partners were big on the outdoors, so this will be an exciting and pleasant change. I'm frankly surprised that Kitten and I haven't camped before. But this will make a great start.

Of course, it won't be camping all the time. We're going to Charleston first, and staying in a proper hotel. We'll be touring the city, visiting museums and I sincerely hope eating at a lot of fantastic restaurants. There's plenty, to be sure, I've looked them up. Charleston seems to be a foodie paradise, and I like soul food. It should be a good time. We'll visit Fort Sumter, of course, and see some of the other interesting civil war sites. I've got my hopes up we'll get a chance to meet EG Coyle, a fabulous photographer that KMom knows from past days. I really admire his work. I'd like Kitten to meet him and his wife- I've got a hankering to do one of his private sessions one day soon.

Once we leave Charleston we're heading off to the low country, and we'll be camping right by a lighthouse, which I think will be a great time. I picked a site right by the ocean, which should be lovely. I've never seen a tide pool, so I'm looking forward to exploring. You can swim in the ocean where we're staying, and that should be lovely too. Of course, you have to watch for jellyfish and coral snakes...so maybe not. But its nice to know the option is there. I do love the ocean.

I'm cooking for us while we're away and I'm planning on making the meals absolutely lovely. I like to eat real food when I camp. I couldn't make it on hot dogs and sandwiches the whole time. I'm making chicken parmesan that first night. We'll be having stews and stir frys and even turkey and dressing. No sir, we won't be hungry if I can help it. That should be nice. I love a good dinner, and by a fire makes it even better, I think. I imagine that I'll be spending a lot of evenings by the fire, playing cards and having a lovely time.

I picked up some books, too, to read on the way down. We have a hard time agreeing on a genre, so I picked up some childrens books, Caldacott and Newberry winners all, so that we could enjoy something light and happy while we drive. The shortness of the books will also be nice so that we can change if we need to, or get bored. Though I don't think that will be a problem. I've got some that they've never read and some that I have been longing to read again, so it should be very nice. Of course, if it gets too boring, I'll pack something more adult, but I'd rather we all be happy, and I think we can with the ones I've chosen.

I'm planning on taking a lot of pictures. Once we get off the coast we'll be headed to a state park outside the capitol city and we'll visit the capitol building and the zoo, certainly. I'm planning on getting Oscelot in a canoe for the first time. I know she'll enjoy it. There will be lots of walks and hiking. I think it will be fun. When we hit the northwest we'll be in waterfall country, and I won't be able to help myself with the pictures there. I bought an extra memory card, knowing I will want to takes hundreds upon hundreds of pictures.

I suppose I am more excited than nervous. I want this to be special for Kitten. Its for her, after all. (She just graduated from college! Aren't we all so proud.) I want her to enjoy herself and make tons of lovely memories for her to have always.

I'll see you on the other side. With lots of pictures of course.
AGxx

I Just Want to Bang On The Drum All Day

So I'm starting week two of the temp job at Alphabet Soup and so far things are still pretty boring.

I may have mentioned it last post, but last week I spent most of the week going through a list of nearly (I checked today)650 client files that needed to be cataloged and destroyed. For all I was concerned that I might be under-qualified to work in this office, the most I ever did was pick up a highlighter and mess around in Excel. Though, to be honest, I think I spent an equal amount of time simply watching or trying to figure out exactly what goes on in the office. Not exactly challenging stuff.

Today I came to a startling revelation- I think some of the people in the office think I'm an idiot. Not in that "they're so much more genius than I am way" but more of a "should we let her use the copier" kind of way. Come to think of it, I've never seen the copier if they have one. Hmmm. I came to this conclusion after realizing that the other temp Katy Kaye (I love the alliteration in her real name, so I'm keeping it up here) is working on scanning and messing around with the other stuff on the computer while I sit in the floor of my boss's office destroying files (what I did most of the day today). Apparently, Katie is much smarter than me, if she gets to mess with payroll and grant work and stuff. I'd be offended except I truly don't care and honestly, we're being paid the same as temps, so I'm getting off rather easy, aren't I? Plus, I like organizational work. And I got to start that this afternoon when I finished all my cross-referencing. Again, though, Boss seemed surprised that I was able to complete the list on Excel so fast (good grief, it was just deleting stuff) and impressed that I thought to make an index of all the files I am packing away while I do it, so that they are easily located. Almost insulting, but I'll let it go.

There was also that moment when Paper Factory, another one of the higher up types, came into Boss's office to do some work with her. While she stepped out PF asked me if I was normally a student at the university. I looked up long enough to tell her no, I was normally a house wife, and then went back to my task. She made a noise somewhere between a confused grunt and a squeak of disdain. I let it pass. She (from what I can tell) thinks she's pretty hot stuff already. There's no point in me trying to impress her with other jobs I've had or my wonderful mental or organizational skills. She's going to assume Kmom got me the job whether I was qualified or not. She's pretty well right anyway. After all, I did and she did.

I'm looking forward to another few days of packing things away. I'm not terribly sure what I'll do after that, but I'm sure they can come up with something. They've got a lot on their plates.

In other news, Kitten's birthday celebration was nice. We played Bingo, and even though none of us won it was fun. I got to talk to some of Kitten's coworkers outside of work, and they all seem pretty nice. She had a good time, and that's really what means something, right?

I've still not heard back on my book yet, but I suppose I should keep being patient. I also got a new computer last week, so I'm having a good time adjusting to my new keyboard and having internet that runs at a normal speed. Its pretty cool. Its been very useful as I search for fun places for us to go see while we're in South Carolina. I can't wait for that vacation. Although, I think my mom is a little panicked now that she knows we've decided to go whitewater rafting on the Chattooga River. I think it will be awesome. My mom thinks I'll be coming home in a pine box. I'm more concerned with the fact that SC seems to have the highest concentration, with the greatest variety, of poisonous snakes in the US. Good times. The state park at Myrtle Beach actually has a warning that there are so many copperheads that you should never wear open toes shoes. Even in the water. Creepy.

Otherwise, life seems to be going on normally. Nothing earth shattering here.

Anything fun going on with you all?

AGxx

Roll Your Leg Over and Do It Again

We're back from the Renaissance Festival and we had a fantastic time.

We left on Saturday afternoon and arrived in KC with no hiccups around five thirty or so. We got checked in to our lovely hotel and spent the first couple hours in the hotel pool enjoying a swim and a soak in the hot tub. It was nice. We also discovered there was a Dave and Buster's next to our hotel, and we spent the evening there. It was a good time. I'd never been to one before. For those of you who haven't been, its a giant restaurant with a huge video arcade in it. It was so much fun. We really loved it. We spent the rest of the evening doing what we always do on vacation when we have time to pass- watching the Food Network on our television.

We were up bright and early on Sunday, and we were so cold! The temperature at eight am was only thirty degrees. We agreed we were going to wait to wear our costumes on Monday when the weather was warmer. I'm glad we did. We took the hotel shuttle to the festival and arrived a few minutes after the gates opened.

There was so much to see! There were shops everywhere with all sorts of things to look at, and so many things I wanted to buy I took to getting the cards of all the artisans so I can hit up their websites at my leisure. I found someone who makes hand made straw besoms! I can't find those anywhere. They were beautiful and I even found a broom with a spider carved on the handle. I am probably going to order one of those pretty soon.

We watched the early morning joust, which wasn't so much a joust as a game of skill. We loved it though. The baddie, Judas the Unforgiven, totally whipped the butt of the emcee, a Lady Victoria, while the challenger Lord Daniel looked on. Afterwards, there was an invitation to go see the afternoon joust, where there would be actual jousting and swordplay in armor. We caught part of it as we were walking by later, and it looked really nice. I must admit though, I'm going to have to sit on the baddie's side next time. He was seriously funny, and I wanted to be cheering for him. He was great.

We also chanced upon a group of Fairies and Fauns dancing around a maypole in the center of town. It was awesome. No, no this wasn't one of those seriously historically accurate fairs. I loved it though. And truly, the fairies and the fauns were fantastic. I was in love with one of the fauns, he was a little bigger than all of the rest, and he was so cute and cuddly and his hooves were huge! We got to see him the next day, and I was so bitter, because when he came to talk and play with us, fairies in tow, I was so tongue tied and shy I couldn't say a thing! I loved the maypole though, and told Kitten I wanted one of those for our house next spring. She snickered and said "Yeah, right."

We went up front to get tickets to the pub crawl, and laughed our butts off (not for the last time over the weekend) when the sweet little lady told us she was worried they would not let Oscelot into the pub crawl with us, wanting to know if we had someone to watch him while we drank. When we explained that SHE was 25, the lady was so mortified. We told her it was okay. The ticket girl talked mead with us, and was even kind enough to tell us where some hidden port-a-priveys were just outside the gate. I used those almost exclusively after that. No line, and they were handicapped, so they were huge!

It seemed almost too soon that we had to head off to our first event, the Pirates Pub Crawl. When we got there I ran into my Aunt Dancer, and it was so nice to see her. She and her husband had to leave so they didn't get to join us. We ended up headed off to a pub called "The Groggy Starfish" and meeting The Amazing Ackbar and Sir Richard, our pub crawl guides. We learned some lovely drinking songs and got our commemorative Pub Crawl beer mugs (which were beautiful). We filled up our mugs at the first pub and had a grand time.  We learned the Charlie Mopps song, which we ended up singing a lot of other places too during the weekend:

A long time ago, way  back in histo-  ry,
When all there was to drink was  nothin' but cups of  tea,
A-  long came a man by the  name of Charlie  Mopps,
And he invented the wonderful drink, and he  made it out of  hops.
Chorus:
Hey! He must have been an admiral, a  sultan or a  king,
And to his praises  we shall always  sing;
 Look at what he's done for us, he's  filled us up with  cheer,
Lord, bless Charlie Mopps, the  man who invented...
Beer, beer, beer,  tiddley  beer, beer, beer...

That's the first line anyway.

There was a moment of hilarity when one of the guy's in the pub crawl's phone went off and he answered it. Ackbar grabbed it and shouted into it "Hey- he's at a pub crawl! Call him back!" and handed back to the guy. "Sorry about your magic box sir," he said sincerely. I was laughing so hard.

We headed off next to the Canterbury Public House (a two story open air public house!) and filled up our mugs again. We walked the whole way at the back of the crawl with Richard, who was sweet as pie and full of all sorts of great information. He was even kind enough to offer us some of his blueberry bagel, which put us all in a good humor. When we got there the line was amazingly long, so we ended up chatting to some guys in period garb while we waited. One of them, Kilts, was generous enough to offer me some Scotch from his flask, and we became instant friends. It was a good time. Ackbar called me out from the crowd to do a magic trick with an adorable Blue Devil's fan named Nate. We drew two tarot cards (the Empress and the Chariot) and Ackbar told me I'm a bit bossy, even on the drive to get there- he's right. I'm the navigator. But the girls were in stitches while he mimicked me "No! Turn right," he cried in a fair imitation of my voice "Do it my way! Do you want to end up lost? We're running behind!" I laughed too, honestly. Then he did a neat trick where I chose two more cards (Judgement and Death) and he picked them out of a lineup of cards. It was impressive. Even more impressive when he told the group that I had recently chosen to let a friend go because they disagreed about their view of me as a person, and I am too strong minded to put up with that kind of thing. If it weren't for the fact that I'm already into divination, I would have been frightened. I was sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to him about his divination/magic trick. That was cool. We sang another rowdy pub song and giggled the whole time.

This time we did "Roll Your Leg Over" and its pretty well a snarky lyric, to which the group replies in chorus :"Roll your leg over, roll your leg over, roll your leg over and do it again!"

Some the verses included:

If all the young ladies were bells in a tower, I'd be the clapper and bang one each hour...
If all the young ladies were bricks in a pile, then I'd be a mason and lay them in style...
If all the young ladies were drops in the ocean, I'd be the waves and I'd show them the motion...

You get the idea. I've heard a rumor there's a wench version that's just as dirty and about men...

We finished our beers and headed on to the Pirates Pub and filled our mugs one more time. To be honest, I got distracted here, because between Kilts, a group of five at our table, and the noise of the pub  I missed a lot of the singing this time around. I did have to take Kilts with me to escort to the privy up the road, and then he got out his pipe and smoked with Kitten and I. We shared beers and scotch and found that he was also headed to The Royal Smoker afterwards, like we were. We convinced the rest of our table to join us, and after about a half hour or so, the mass of us trooped off to the Royal Hall to join the Royal Smoker.

It was, without doubt, the best deal we had all weekend. We paid ten bucks each and when we got in we received tickets for a cigar each and two tickets for either beer or sodas. We waved to the rest of our group and we settle in, (I spotted Richard from the pub crawl!) and ordered our beers. They served us pretzels and some very nice cheeses and fruits and what proceeded was the naughtiest, filthiest, bawdiest show I've ever seen. There were dirty pirate songs, belly dancers and filthy wenches. The waitress wenches all had bosoms up to our eyes and you tipped into them! I was thankful I'd been to enough gentlemen's clubs not to stare. While were were there I had to run to the privy again (broke the seal!) and got kisses from Richard at the door. When I came back one of the guys behind me noticed one of my tattoos and asked me to translate the Arabic for him. I asked him what part of the Middle East he served in, and I ended up having a spectacular conversation with him. He was an interesting, honest, nice guy and  was in the same division as my Grandfather! (101st airborne) He handed me his card I'm planning on getting in touch with him.

After, we switched numbers with Kilts and he promised to meet us up the next day. We went and enjoyed the fair a bit longer and then bought some turkey legs (three for the price of one!!!) and I called the hotel shuttle. They had neglected to tell us the shuttle went off at 4 and it was 7! We ended up getting a cab, and bless him, our cabbie was delightful.

More food in the hotel room, more turkey, more Food Network and we passed out early after drinking a LOT of water (Kitten and Oscelot were in at 7 beers each- I had the good sense to stop at three, plus two shots of scotch and a cheery cordial rum someone offered me) and we went to bed.

Up early again and Kilts met us for breakfast and then giggled while he watched me struggle into my dress. It takes three people to get me into it. We drove to the festival this time and Kilts was nice enough to show us the back gate where all the "Rennies" park. MUCH easier to get in and out of, and way shorter a walk too.

We spent most of day two shopping and looking at neat things. I found this puppet maker who does these things that sit on your shoulder and look like cat/dragons and they move their heads and arch their necks into caresses when the owner pulls their strings. Its pretty cool. Go look at the pictures. They're beautiful.  I found the brooms. We looked at a lot of clothes. There was a lot more bowing and scraping that day. We were dressed as nobility, and as such, the actors were much friendlier. I was delighted when I had three women ask me where I bought my dress. I caught people taking covert pictures of us on several occasions. Even Queen Katherine herself stopped in the middle of the parade to compliment my family on their "beautiful obeisances and breathtaking garb." Considering her dress was without doubt one of the most magnificent things I saw all weekend, I was pleased.

We went to the Feast of Fools for lunch. It was a great show with all of the best performers from the festival. It was great to see the gypsies, the Jolly Rogers, some of the bands and singers, plus the actors doing some awesome work and telling some great jokes and limericks. Honestly, I think my response for the rest of my life when someone says "I have a joke" or "I have a limerick" is to shout back "A Toast!!!" and "A Limerick!!!" 

We also took time to go see The Washer Well Wench Show. That was probably one of my favorite moments all weekend. If you go to YouTube and search them, you can find them all over the Ren Fair circuit. They're amazing. I've never seen a group draw such a big crowd or get people to scream the way they do. And they're funny! I really loved their show. I caught moments of it the day before and we were determined to see it again! It was such a nice time that I kept an eye on the show when we were back at the Groggy Starfish later in the afternoon.

We watched a lot more shows the second day and we wandered around a lot. I was so bitter, we were approached by another cast member at the end of the day, and he complimented us on our garb. He also invited us to tell our story. Our beautiful, well-researched story that we practiced for the entire trip down! Our names, our home, our family history! I researched the provinces and duchies in France! Oh, all of it! And I could barely remember how to properly introduce ourselves. I felt like a moron. And of course, it was the newly elevated Lord Castille, who was performing admirably in a dueling show earlier in the day. I had been entranced by him. And of course, I stutter like a fool and wanted to yell "Wait! Come back!" and talk some more. And ask him where he got his clothes, because they made me drool. Drat my own shyness!

I can't properly express all the fun stuff we got to do...not without boring you to death. That's some of the highlights, that's for sure.

I'll say this- I learned that it is very hard to go to the bathroom in a huge dress. Kitten had to follow me into all of the handicap privies and help me hold up my dress so I could go. This was made worse by the fact that the stalls were tiny. Even worse by the fact that there were wood chips all over the ground and they were in the train of my dress and eventually my tights and my underwear and whatever...it was awkward.

But we did have a nice time at the festival.

I think that's about it for now. I'm sure I'll think of more later.

Fare Thee Well
AGxx

For Pleasure of The Joyful Time

I may have mentioned it, but about a month ago Kitten came in the living room and asked me and Oscelot if we wanted to go to one of the regional Renaissance Fairs this year. We aren't planning on taking our big vacation in November, because we are going to go back to Portland in the early summer months. We agreed that it would be a nice little mini-vacation. So, the first week in October we are going to go up to Kansas City Missouri and go to their Renaissance Fair. I think we'll have a good time.

I haven't been in years, and the last time I went we weren't able to stay as long as I had liked because it was really hot. This time it should be nice and cool, because Columbus Day weekend is usually pretty fair when it comes to weather, by then the painful heat has normally passed us by. I've only been a few times in my life, and I've only been with people willing to dress up just once. So this ought to be a lot of fun.

Yes, we're dressing up. I asked the girls if they wanted to and they were amenable to the idea, so we're going to go in full garb. We are making our costumes ourselves. Its slow going, because I do not use sewing machines (I swear, I've tried to learn, its just not my thing) so we have to hand sew everything. Some of the stuff is relatively complicated to sew, too. I felt thankful that Kitten and Oscelot wanted to go in men's dress, but honestly, their stuff is turning out harder than my dress. Breeches aren't too bad, I suppose, as long as you get them to balloon out the proper way. The jackets are a little more complicated. I told them to hit the local costume shops because there is no way in Hades I am going to try and sew them period accurate blouses. I am just not that cool. I'm also going to make them nice, jaunty little hats and custom garters and all that. It should be a lot of fun to see them dressed up.

My dress...well, its already a trip. I've managed to get the under-dress (the skirting that goes underneath the overlay part of the dress) done. I used netting to help make it fluffy. There's no way I am going to custom make hoops. I did it once and it was a pain in the ass. I don't want to do it a second time.  I also managed to get the chiffon underlay that goes in the front, and shows in between the pieces of brocade, sewn in. I made a bumroll for the first time yesterday. I attached it in such a way that I can customize how big it gets and I can make it lay flat for transportation purposes. I also started stitching the brocade to the bodice and making the outer skirt. Its seriously heavy and I'm terribly afraid that the hanger I've got it on won't hold up. I would kill for a dress maker's dummy right about now. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone I know has one to spare. Otherwise I would be begging for it right now. After getting the overlay started, I've discovered that I am also going to want hiprolls and they need to be pretty substantial. Joy.

I truly love to sew, but I'm not huge on sewing with a deadline. If I could move at a slower pace I'd be liking this more. The dress would also look prettier because I could take my time with the stitches. Then again, if I could machine sew, I wouldn't have to worry about the stitches at all, because they'd be perfect. Maybe I should try to learn again, eh? I told Oscelot yesterday that if we wanted to go again next year, I would keep an eye out for the appropriate fabrics and I would sew us new outfits over the course of a year, so we didn't have to rush. As it is...well, the girls are going to have to pick up a needle and thread at some point so that I can get it all done.

My mom came over yesterday and looked at the dress and told me to quit my day job, and my aspirations of being a writer and go to school for seamstress work, because I'm really good at it. She liked it and it made me feel good, because she doesn't really praise many of my talents too often. Not to my face, anyway. And she's dead set on me becoming a famous writer. So I must be doing something right. Then again, she liked to sew by pattern, and I almost never use a pattern. I certainly am not now. I just researched the period clothing and undergarments and went to town. I do like sewing, though, that's true. I did get a giggle from my favorite little girl who works at the local craft/fabric/hobby store. I was telling her about what I was doing while eyeballing a few of the pattern books to look at the trims that the big companies prefer to use (polyester bridal lace? No, thank you) and she told me the outfit would be very authentic, since they didn't have sewing machines in the 1600's. I suppose she's right.

So all this blood and sweat is so we can drive several hours to a giant fair and drag these beautiful costumes through the mud, dirty them up and maybe never wear them again, depending on the condition that they're in. Ah, well. That's the joy of it right? On the other hand, I do get to see jousts and sword fighting and a lot of really talented artisans working their trade. I love that sort of thing. And the food will be wonderful. And we're planning on attending the Royal banquet for dinner, which means dinner with the King and Queen. Its outrageous how much they charge for this, but I'm not getting prettied up just so I can go sit in a tavern and have a wench slop beer on my gown. Well, not just for that anyway....

We booked ourselves a really nice hotel and we are probably going to do other things while we are there. I am looking forward to it all.  I'll probably skip the turkey legs, I can get those anywhere. But I am looking forward to ale, and mulled cider. I am looking forward to fresh corn on the cob (we're going on the pirate themed weekend so they're $1 each. Get it? Buck an ear?) and watching Kitten get real fish and chips. I don't know that Oscelot has ever been to one, and neither of them have been when they were dressed up, for sure, so they are excited. Kitten was telling me the other day, and I was pleased, how happy she was that I suggested that we make costumes. She said she would have thrown on stuff from her closet to look sort of piratey, and not have felt as cool. This, she says, will make it special for us. I thought it was nice of her to say so.

I am a little anxious. Being Americans, we aren't really familiar with forms of address for nobles, so I've been looking at the ranks and the titles and forms of address. I'm going to have to write them down for the girls and quiz them on the way up so that they can not make asses of themselves by calling a wench an honorable or something. I can't imagine. I also have to teach them how to properly introduce people, because, as a woman, its not really my place to talk. I also had to research the colors that certain ranks are allowed to wear, because if someone asks us who we are and where we are from, well, my town wasn't around then, so we'll need a nice story and they should know how to answer those questions properly. I mean, its all fun and games, I get it, but there are some serious Ren Fair enthusiasts out there, and they're usually the actors. I'd like not to insult them, or be fodder for off stage glee because we were unable to conduct ourselves like the lords and ladies we are pretending to be. In case you're curious, I'm pretty sure Kitten and I are going to be Count and Countess and I think we're going to make Oscelot either a Viscount or a Baronet. It depends. We have to determine what country we're from too...because I think being from England would be death to us all. I know Elizabethan history, but not that well. And I sure as heck don't know how to teach all the nuances of that to the girls. If we're foreigners, well, sometimes they get a little more leeway, don't they? Either way, our costumes are a mustard gold and black, so we're up there, but not so far up there that we're royalty. Just nobles. I've always wanted to be a noble. The last time I went I was a wench. Honestly, I'd like to be a marchioness, or a marquess (don't lecture me, Anne Boleyn was a marquess and she was a girl. And yes, I know she was only marquess because Henry VIII wanted to enoble her before he married her. That's not the point...) but explaining the nuance of a marquessate to the girls...again, maybe next year. 

I'll probably post pictures once I get the costumes done. I'll also probably mention the fair a bunch in the meantime, because it is very much on my mind. I know I've bored my FB friends to tears with dress updates. But then, each moment of progress on that thing is a little victory for me, because the last one of these dresses I made took me two months. I'm much faster and more focused now, and I'm sober, and that makes a difference. Looking back, I was thinking about how it was a shame I didn't still have it. Then I remembered that it was 17th century French and I was a size 2 then, so it wouldn't have worked anyway.

I'm really excited about it all. I rather wish we had other friends going with us, but then, that would mean they would need to acquire costumes too. Not to mention hotel rooms and the like. And a lot of my friends work with me, and that means they would need to ask off...yeah. I know how that goes.

Right. I have to get ready for work. The life of a wench is a hard one.

One month. One month and I get to pretend that Casa Bueno never existed and I have people to do my bidding and I get to wear a hugely fancy dress for two solid days. History can't get here soon enough.

See you soon!
AGxx

PS- today's title is an Elizabethan song lyric from This Sweet and Merry Month of May by William Byrd. He was Queen Elizabeth I's favorite composer.

Where The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plain

Tomorrow I am taking my two days off of work as a mini vacation. Me, the girls and Kitten's mom are going to drive to Tulsa, Oklahoma for an over-nighter. I'm actually pretty excited about the whole thing, to tell the truth. We don't take a lot of time off in the summer. Its usually the busy season at work, and we have our vacation in November normally. But a day or two out of town is always nice.

Now, I know Tulsa doesn't sound like a very exotic place to go, so why did we choose it? Because we're geeks. One of the museums in Tulsa is showing an exhibit of artifacts that belonged to George Washington. I'm always interested in history of any sort, and much to my shame, I'm shakier on American history than I am on just about any other kind. Ancient history I have down. I know more about the Tudor dynasty than any president the US has ever had. So this excursion will be both interesting and fun for me. I think I'll learn a lot while we're there. And I've never had a road trip with Kitten's mom and she's a pretty interesting lady. It should be a good time.

Kitten has looked up a couple of lady oriented bars in the neighborhood, and there's some good eating nearby. On our second day we're going to take in an art museum, so I think I'll be culturally richer after this little excursion. We are, of course, not doing anything outside. I plan on spending the rest of my free time in the hotel pool, which is indoors. I can hardly imagine it, but its hotter in Oklahoma than it is in Missouri, which is saying something since we hit 100 degrees today. But the forecast for tomorrow says it will be 105 without the heat index, so indoors it is. We may do a bit of walking, but not much, I can tell you, in that heat. I packed light, lots of light skirts and a dress that barely hits my knees, but I still don't want to be outside for too long. I like warm, but I hate hot.

Sakura is going to be sweet and hang out at the house for the next two days to watch our furry kids and make sure they don't have any wild parties or anything. So I've got nothing to worry about on that score. Work, surely, will make it without me. I'm not too worried there.

I plan on picking up something to bring back for Flyguy and Sakura as a surprise. Well, Sakura reads here, so maybe he won't be too stunned, but it will be nice all the same. I was figuring while we were down there that I might run into some sort of interesting art thing, maybe a photography thing Flyguy might like. He's into that sort of stuff. He's planning on coming to see me Wednesday night when we come back. I'm looking forward to it, I haven't seen him as much lately as I would like. And I want him to know he's my favorite fellow.

Speaking of fellows, we've got a new one at work that I quite like. Actually, everyone likes him. He's smart, he's funny, he's hardworking and he talks more than me, so he's easy to get to know. The girls are all sorts of in a fever over him because he's good looking. Frankly, he's not my type, but I like that he reads, and has good taste in movies. He likes to be outdoors and he's both a dog and a cat person. We're planning on having a Christmas in August party soon (rather like our Thanksgiving in February we had) and he's already been invited. The guys at work all have a huge man crush on him. He makes his own beer, works as a welder by day and in general is all things good and manly in their eyes. I get a kick out of it.

Yesterday when he got off there was a whole flock of guys crowded around him after he changed so he could have a beer. It was amusing as hell. Turns out he ended up spending the evening with one of our cooks and his girlfriend as their house, so it looks like he's in all the way around. I'm going to call him Mannie, by the way. So when I chat about him, that's who I'm talking about. I was teasing him today about how he's all the rage at Casa right now. He was laughing about it. He mentioned he might just post his number next to the schedule and see what happens, since I allege at least half the staff has a crush on him. It made me like him even more.

What I think is strange is the similarities between him and Flyguy. If I weren't suspicious that Flyguy is a little jealous of him, I would say they would get along well. But then, maybe he's just jealous because this guy is so similar to him in interest. Or maybe he's as good at spotting the new staff crush as I am. There's never any telling. But when I went to tell him goodbye last Saturday I sat next to him and said I was leaving, but not without telling my favorite fellow goodbye, and he casually glanced behind him at Mannie, who was at the bar getting a drink and said drily "Well, he's right there..." Apparently the store isn't big enough for the two of them...I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, and rather told him that I meant him, of course, he's always going to be my favorite fellow...

Still, if Flyguy can get over his hangups, I'm certain they'd get along. They do share a lot of hobbies, I know because I talk about Flyguy to everyone, including Mannie. Ah, well. I'd chalk it up to feminine rivalry...

Either way, I'll be interested to see how everything plays out. It is what it is, etc, etc...Life, for certain, won't be boring for the next week or so. Especially now that I have another person to chat to and be silly with. I like new friends. I always like new friends, who doesn't? Its likely I will post all the man drama here, because to me, its endlessly amusing. Women are meant to be the ones who are like this, but I've found the men can be just as bad. Indeed, the guys at Casa B are almost all as high maintenance as the women, if not more so.

Give me a day, or two, and I'll be back with lots of photos, history and interesting tidbits for you, I am sure. The next two days are the start of an adventure, if only a mini one.

Find something new and exciting to love. I know I am...
I'm headed west. Where are you headed?
AGxx

How I Miss You, and I Just Want to Kiss You

The weeks continue to tumble by so quickly I have hardly the chance to keep up! I feel the turning of the earth below me, faster than usual it seems, and I look forward to the approach of the holiday season immensly. I must confess, part of that excitement is knowing that my dearest friend, Perpet and her husband, Boy, will be in town soon and I will get to see her for the first time in over a year. I'm happy about it, I haven't been able to spend quality time with her in a couple of years at least. It delights me to know they are coming for a good solid week and I can spend time with her. It also makes me anxious to succeed so that we can move. I want a good home in a city that makes me happy, but it will be nice to be near her again when that time comes.

I am also looking forward to another excursion at the beginning of next week. The girls and I are heading to Kansas City, MO to go see the inimitable Brandi Carlile in concert once again. I am always delighted when she comes close enough to my hometown that I am able to go to see her. Especially when it makes it possible to not have to take more than two days off of work.

Speaking of work, I feel changes in the air. We've lost a pretty healthy amount of staff members as of late. I can't say I regret it, many who left are ones that needed to leave, so i am glad to have the chance to build a new crew with the proper skills and lack of bad habits. We had a meeting the other day with the managment and our trainers, and we set goals for things we'd like to accomplish. So far, things are looking well and everyone seems to be on board. If we are able to follow through, I will be delighted to work inan even better environment where everyone can play for the same team. I've got my hopes up, and I pray that they are not in vain. I pray we follow through. I think we will. Yesterday two of the trainers and I stayed after we got off work to do some deep cleaning and some much needed store rearranging, as far as decoration goes. We're doing it again Saturday morning before we work, and if all goes well, we think we might get permission to repaint, which is something we desperately need. I'll definately keep you updated there. I might even take some pictures, if I think of it.

Otuside of work I've made good progress on my new novel. It shows no signs of slowing, although I must make myself work if I wish to be successful. By all rights, I should be at it now. I comfort myself with the thought I can work tonight and gte back in the saddle. Everything is going as planned there, which makes me happy.

I've been reading more again, after taking a somewhat lengthy break from my usual book every day or two pace. I read Band of Brothers, by Steven Ambrose, which is a nonfiction account of E Company of the 101st Airborne during WWII. My Grandfather was in the 101st, so it was quite touching for me. I have even more respect for his bravery now than I had ever before. Afterwards, I have been taking the time to reread the Inheritance Cycle. The last book int he series came out just before I went on vacation. I want to purchase it, but I need to refresh myself on the series first. I have to confess, I love those books. Mrs. Boss is reading them now, her son convinced her to, and she is enjoying them. I can't wait to talk to her about them. She seems really excited. She even made me go into the office the other day and tell Mr. Boss that yes, they are better than the LOTR series. No offense to Tollkein, he was talented and created a beautiful world. Paolini, though did something better. Tollkein was an Oxford professor, Paolini was 16 when he wrote the first book inthe series. A far more difficult feat. I think the young man a genius. Plus, the books dont drag with heacy, florid language, but read with all the swiftness and excitment an action-adventure should have. Yes, I like them very much.

I've set Oscelot to reading David Sedaris. I thought, with her rather short attention span, that she might like the short stories. Also, he's funny as hell. She read When You Are Engulfed in Flames, which I gave her to take on vacation with us. She loved it. I am going to read it next, its one that I haven't tackled yet. She's now onto Me Talk Pretty One Day, which I have read, and I loved. Its nice, because it gives us something to talk about. I like that, because sometimes I feel we have a tendency to fall into a rut and discuss work and other mundanities. I like having something to say that doesn't involve those things. Kitten, of course, I never seem to run out of things to talk about. She reads more than I do, which is great. I also get a great writing perspective for her, becaue she reads quite a bit in the genre I write, and she gives me a nice reader's perspective. She also reads a lot of Mystery and Thriller genre books, and while I don't read them myself, I am always interested in what she is reading because the plots give me fits sometimes.

One nasty side effect of the Eragon books, however, is I am feeling a bent towards poetry, which I am terrible at writing. Unfortunately, the books are riddled with poems and floral language, which always makes me want to try my hand at it. I always fail miserably. My poetry always sounds trite. Ah, well, its the thought that counts most days. I figure someday I will turn my head to the study of it, and then possibly escape my prison of meloncholy ABAB rhyming. in the meantime, I muddle through and laugh at my own work. It gives me perspective. I thought I would share my latest attempt with you. I sent it to Flyguy last night, and he was kind enough to respond with a correlating verse, which pleased me immensly.

My Stupid Poem

Draw a breath and close your eyes
Notch the barb, the arrow flies-
fast and hard the darkness turns
to slake desire for which we yearn.

Shatter quick the brittle glass
The one we hold which cannot last,
Turn the eye and shake the head
Tumble loose the feelings dead.

Yet lips murmur soft and sweet
Shower poison petals at the feet.
Trip them softly, trip them true
Another chance to play the fool.

Draw the bow and sight the sky
let yet another arrow fly.
Seeking true the greatest mark
In loving war, the subtle art.

Fill the quiver as you must,
Each wild repost and daring thrust
Draw a breath, and close the eyes
Notch the barb, the arrow flies.

Terrible isn't it? Ah, well. Practice makes perfect I hear. I will keep trying in the hopes of getting a passable poem at some point. In case you're interested, Flyguy's response, which I won't post here without obtaining his permission, addressed the preparatory moment before the arrow is let loose, the feeling of tension that fills us all before that moment comes, and how the past, the present and the future are our greatest burdens. I responded with a quick verse back:

Kiss the arrow, seal your fate. The time has come, you cannot wait.

It makes me want to keep after this miserable slog of a poem. Someone tell me to abandon it now.

Oh, an interesting thing I forgot to tell you with respect to work. Rogue doesn't work there anymore. She went back to our previous restaurant, because the old GMis gone and she quite likes the new one. I do hope she's happy. I was thinking the other day how odd it is, because I am no longer working with her, and I have since just after I started my old blog aeons ago. I commented to someone how strange it seemed, not having her in my life, whether we are friends ornot. Funnily enough, she friended me on Facebook that day. I say this in the most positive way possible, sometimes people we have loved, or people we still care for but are separated from, have a way of being a part of our lives always.

To be truthful, I have another friend I've been thinking of lately, and I know I've crossed their mind (not ego, sometimes you truly know things without being told) and I am interested to see how long it will take before they contact me. You never loose the people you love. Never. I'm waiting patiently, and we'll see. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

That's all I've got for now, although heaven knows I've got plenty to talk about.

We'll chat soon, eh?
AGxx

Just Like a Dragonfly

Well, I've been home from vacation for a couple of days now. It was really nice. We had a great time.

I have to confess, I actually didn't take a whole lot of pictures. The most I took were on the day we went to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. We had a fantastic time while we were there. Its a giant preserve dedicated improving the lives of exotic cats that have been kept for breeding purposes, as pets or by zoos and private owners who have mistreated them or been shut down by various governemnt agencies. Its a really neat place. Some of the cats have really sad stories, and the entire staff has the whole history of each one of them at their finger's ends.

We spent the whole day there enjoying the beauty of the cats, learning about them and in some cases playing with them. There was a black leopard named Spike who loved to stalk along the tall grasses in his cage. If you took off running down the path, he would chase you and jump up at the fence and then make a chuffing noise (the sound big cats make because they can't purr). I loved him. He was adorable.

Kitten, not suprisingly, was very fond of the tigers, and there were several that were very fond of her too. One of them seemed to watch her no matter where we were walking in the compound part of the refuge. Oscelot spent a good deal of time admiring the servals, which are funny little cats. We laughed because the girl at the front desk said she thought the servals were mean. It gave me a giggle.

If you have time to visit their website, you should definately check it out. Its a wonderful place and they are working for a wonderful cause. As a person who lives in a state that allows the sale of exotic cats without resrictions or permits required, I feel thankful there are people out there working to protect the poor animals that are victimized by the trade.

We had a lot of good food while we were on vacation. I actually ate mexican food. It was delicious though. It was at a little restaurant called Casa Colina. The food was amazing, the service was good. I was pleased to see the chef/owner visiting tables, including ours. It was amusing, though. All the waitstaff were men, I am dead certain they were all gay, and they all had bleached blonde hair. I joked with the girls that maybe their dress code was really strict, or maybe they all lost a bet. We weren't sure. Either way, the food was excellent. We also ate at an Irish restaurant called the Pied Piper Inn. The food was terrific, and again, the service was stellar. Our waitress, who was also the bartender, invited us to a big party at a bar across from our hotel after we finished. We didn't go, we wanted to sleep, but it was a nice thought, wasn't it?

We wandered the shopping district more than we ought, and found a ton of things we really liked. Thank heavens we didn't buy all of them, we wouldn't have been able to fit them in the truck. We also got massages and spent a lot of time in our hotel watching food network and playing in our giant jaccuzzi tub. Its the first one I've ever been in (in a hotel room at least) where I could lay down completely and still have room at the head and foot of the tub. It was delightful.

I must confess, though, I was glad to get back home. I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked without my bed, so I was delighted to crawl into it after nearly a week of not being in it. I've spent the last couple of days trying to rest, because heading back to Casa Bueno for black friday is not something I particularly look forward to. Its a rough day all around.

Since we've come home I have been lucky enough to spend time wtih both Precious, Kitten's bff, and Flyguy, who came over last night to play a couple rounds of scrabble. I was also delighted, because he brought us this adorable little staircase to put in front of the litter box for our kittens, who have trouble getting into it. He made it, and I thought it was really sweet of him.

Today we are going to Kitten's mom's house for Thanksgiving. I am making my very first turkey. I'm pretty anxious about it. I mean, I should be okay given all the episodes of Thanksgiving everything on food network. I know how its done, I've just never put it into practice. Otherwise, it should be another relaxing day. I get to watch pride and prejudice on television, we'll probably play a few games, and we get to eat a huge meal. Things should be pretty nice.

Well, I am to dash off to the MIL's now, so I have to sign off. I hope your turkey day is fabulous. Don't put the stuffing in the bird. Itll make you sick.

AGxx

I'm Writing Our History on the Bedroom Wall

Wow. I disappeared for while there didn't I?

Well, to be perfectly honest I was pretty busy. I had Samahin preparations toworry about. It went well, by the way, and I will get back to my witch 101 lessons as soon as I'm able, although I confess, its likely to be December before I get to it.

As you well know, its November, and for me that means its a writing month. Some of you know I've written a novel, and although I was unable to get agented for it, I still am very proud of that peice of work. I think its beautiful writing, one of the few things I've ever done that I am immensly proud of. The reason I got that thing started was NaNoWriMo.

In case you aren't familiar, Nano is short for National Novel Writing Month, and its done every year in the hopes of bringing authors and would be authors fun and joy as they scramble to get words on paper. The idea is that if you write a 50,000 word novel in the space of a month you "win." My first year doing Nano I won, and I won big. Iwrote nearly 200k words that month. That eventually (after, like, six revisions) became my first novel. Since then I have not had as much success, life has a tendency to get in the way; and by life I mean the terrible personal decisions I made in the successive years.

This year I am back at it again with a brilliant new plot and a lot of energy. I'm also being encouraged by my partners to get back in the saddle and get to writing again. So far I've hit 12k words. I'm pretty proud. I should mention I have plenty of friends who are encouraging me as well. It gives me a lot of hope.

Nano is also the reason I met Perpet, my very best friend in the world. She was our city's municipal leaison. We met at the prepratory meeting and rest is history. I'll forever be grateful to Nano for her, if nothing else, because my life would not be the same without her. I also met Sakura through Nano that year, and he has enriched my life as well. If you are a budding, would be, or hope to be writer, I encourage you to pop on the dorums and go for it. Its still early in the month, you've got plenty of time. Hell, its fun, and that's got to count for something right?

Outside of living at my desk chair and neglecting my blog I'm preparing for our vacation. We only take off once a year, and I look forward to it. I must admit, I've been extremely grumpy the last few weeks, so a break is somethign I could use. We're going to the beautiful city of Eureka Springs Arkansas this year, and its going to be great fun. While we're there we are plannign on shopping, antiquing (antiqing? eh!) take a spa day, having photos done, eating a bunch and taking a ghost tour at The Crescent Hotel. Its America's most haunted hotel. You should check out their site, its awesome. The photos creep me out.

I might also add that this is where Perpet got married to The Boy. A funny story for all you nay-sayers I discovered last night. While we were there at the hotel, I was charmed to find they had cats in the hotel. No suprise, since cats are meant to be guardians of people from spirits. I sat down in one of the fancy lobby chairs while Perpet was sorting out stuff with the minister who was to marry them.

Two gorgeous black and grey cats were playing at my feet in no time. I was delighted, because I love cats. Then a giant orange cat leaped into my lap and I was happy to give him cuddles. BBD looked at me askance and asked what I was doing. I emptied the orange kitty off my lap and told him I was petting the cat, why did he care. He looked at the cats at my feet and said no, they were sitting at my feet. I said yes, except for the orange one that just went out onto the porch. He rolled his eyes and walked off.

I told perpet about the cats and she spotted the two grey and balck ones immediately. From what she told me last night she spent the rest of the weekend hunting for the ginger cat. (I suspect she's like me and has a weakness for yellow tabbies) I was on the website last night and discovered the hotel's last ginger cat passed away in 1994! I was petting a ghost kids. I'm not nuts. I swear. I held that cat. I knew it was there. Apparently, BBD thought I was nuts because I looked like I was petting nothing...There's quite a few accounts of this cat, Morris, hanging around guests, as I fond out later last night. Wow. I feel both incredibly creeped out, and awed at the same time.

In other ghostly news, I had a dream about my grandfather about two weeks ago. He (and the lord and lady) came to visit me while I was sleeping. If I give you the particulars chances are I'd sit and cry at the computer, but sufice to say it was a moving visit and I felt very loved and touched when I woke.

I also discovered (because I think I've mentioned I've seen the Lord and Lady before, but was never able to figure out which archetypal for they were taking) that my Lord, such as he is, is The Baron Samedi, the king of the Voodoo Guedes. I'll let you do your own wiki search if you're really interested in him. I will say this, I think its entirely me that he's not only a god of death, but of sex, mirth and life. Trust me to have him appear as a snappy dresser who likes to drink and smoke. Eh? Yeah, its totally me. I found him while I was doing research on death gods. It was, um, a shock.

Other than those things, my life has gone on pretty well as normal. I've been playing Scrabble with Flyguy and Kitten quite a bit. They're getting good enough to beat me on a regular basis. I like the challenge but am convinced if I work harder, I can maintain a winning streak.

I hope all my lovelies in blogland are happy and well. I'll not disappear so long again, I promise.

AGxx