Happy Saturday: Ren Fest, Pic Spam, and Other Such Randomness
My birthday was two weeks ago, and I took some birthday pics that I am now just getting around to posting. Until recently, I had to plug into the USB hub at my desk to yoink photos off of my camera, but today, I fiddled with some wires and can now do so from the couch, meaning that pictures will be posted in a more timely fashion and I can become even more lazy than I already have!
Firstly, my lovely cake from Fisher's Baker down in the historic district:
I used to be the unofficial Cake Decorating Bitch at The Piece back in the day, so I appreciate the handywork! (I could never make roses, but then, we used crappy premade icing, so that's to be expected.
The cake was chocolate with buttercream icing--yum!
I find it funny that in the second picture, there is a dive table in front of the cake and chemistry goggles in the candy bowl next to the cake. This is very illustrative of our lives right now.
And by request of tarion_anarore, who wanted to see a picture of my new journal, my birthday pressies:
The big tome is The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. This is a dangerous book with plotbunnies on nearly every page. Bobby bought it for me for use in creating D&D monsters and also for perusing at my leisure to come up with story ideas. I spent a half-hour with it the other night and ended up with a half-dozen ideas!
Next to it is my new Bag of Weasels (a.k.a. paper journal), a gift from my friend Tammy (1lady_so_divine). I can't wait to start using it, which means I'll have to put some outlines and things in my current Bag of Weasels to finish it up!
On top of all of that is my Suunto dive computer, my birthday gift from Bobby. This will calculate for me the amount of time I can spend underwater based on my estimated nitrogen levels (which is based on depth, type of gas being used, water temperature, et cetera) and will also allow me to take virtual dives and plan dives. We took a class on it last week, and it is so cool! 8^B <--geeky! Bobby has an identical dive computer that he will be picking up tomorrow.
I received money that I am going to use to buy a wetsuit, but since I don't have the wetsuit yet, I can't post a picture of it. When I get it, maybe I post a picture of myself wearing it. Hubba hubba.
Last Saturday, we went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, which is an annual tradition for us. I've never been to any other Ren Faires, but supposedly, this is one of the best. We always have a great time.
Every year since we started going, we have sworn that we are going to go in costume. Every year, as the Ren Fest draws near, something pressing arises that prevents us from purchasing said costumes. For example, this year, we spent our money on dive gear. Luckily for me, my daily clothes are rather costume-ish. I don't know if I should be gladdened or dismayed by this!
This time, we went with our couple-friends Cindy and Andy. Andy was one of Bobby's teammates, first on the Dragonfish, then on Your Team Name Here. Cindy was the team manager and scorekeeper, and being as we were often the only two wives there, we naturally got to talking and became friends.
Because Bobby and I got to the Ren Fest a couple of times per year, we encouraged Cindy and Andy to do what they wanted to do and we'd just tag along. Of course, this meant that Bobby and I got to do very little of what we like to do, and we spent a lot of time in shops with Cindy. A lot. (Poor Andy just stood about with arms crossed.) I have never seen someone so obsessed with shops. Generally, Bobby and I will visit the ones we really like and maybe pop into a few others, but she goes into every. single. one. (Actually, she missed a whole row at the back of the fair along the boardwalk but I didn't dare say anything!)
Here's me, Bobby, and Gandalf, taken at the woodcarver's shop. Bobby is very festive in his Monthy Python and the Holy Grail T-shirt and me in my costume-ish daily use clothes.
One of the first things we did was visit the leathermaker's shop so that Cindy could argue over a bodice that she'd purchased that had broken and been sent away for repair. When it was sent back, they sent the wrong size, and the shop owner insisted that he had not. Clearly he had, since it wouldn't even cover her chest enough not to be indecent exposure. Cindy wanted Bobby and Andy along while she argued with the guy, but it became pretty clear that she did not need them. She got a new bodice and enough store credit to refit a leather skirt that she already has but has grown out of.
Then we had lunch. The Ren Fest has remarkably good food...and cheap! And lots of vegetarian options! After eating it was...guess? More shops.
Outside of a little museum (that we plan to visit next time) is a Cursing Well lined with skulls. It looks really cool...in a creepy sort of way!
Awwwww...taken while sitting alongside the Cursing Well, waiting for Cindy to finish in one of her many, many shops.
A picture of one of the main avenues. It was Pirate Weekend which explains the number of pirate-clad patrons you'll see!
Bobby and I love the jousting more than just about anything at the Ren Fest. The jousting is done by a local group called the Freelancers. The jousts are not choreographed or the outcomes fixed; we've seen one unhorsing in our three years of attending jousts at the Ren Fest.
When Bobby and I go by ourselves or with Potter, we will generally sit for every joust (there's usually about four in a day). Cindy, however, does not like jousting. However, we insisted on attending at least one and she could go wander around if she wanted. Alas, she sat with us.
This is the building at the one end of the jousting arena where the "royals" sit to watch and call the joust. The man is the King's brother-in-law and the woman is Captain Jean the Pirate Queen.
Some other people...I have no idea who they are.
The whole building before the royals arrived:
Looking across the arena at the Black Sword Armoury (where Bobby bought his forty-two-inch sword last year!) and the chainmail shop that does the designs for the Freelancers.
At the other end of the jousting arena:
The herald who announces the competitors and the rules of competition. His horse looks bored.
One of the competing knights who rides for the "home team" of Revel Grove. This guy usually wins the competitions, but he didn't do the joust in this one.
The first round of competition involves hand-to-hand combat on the ground. One pair of knights chose to fight with swords and the other pair with halberds. This shot shows one of the knights riding to grab a halberd from his squire.
The knights riding past prior to beginning the hand-to-hand combat competition. Photographing the joust with our shoddy digital camera is difficult because the horses move too damned fast! We need the SeaLife camera. *ahem*
And the halberd competition. (The swordfight was held on the other side of the arena, so it was difficult to photograph. Halberd fights are cooler anyway.)
During the second round of competition, the knights compete on horseback and try to beat each other senseless with wooden sticks called bastons. A knight with a baston:
And combat! Ouch!
The final part of the competition is the best: the actual joust. The knights run at each other with lances and try to knock each other to the ground. We've seen one actual unhorsing in the jousts we've attended. The lady who answers questions before the joust has seen double unhorsings. Here, the squire helps ready his knight:
And they're off!
The knight from Revel Grove who did not compete in the joust. (The other knight from Revel Grove was the one who won.)
The knights circle the arena after the joust with their colors.
The knight who won is presented with a solid copper sceptre as his prize.
The knights from Revel Grove ride off after the competition.
The avenue as you enter the faire. I've always loved this spot with all the wee streamers over the path.
After the joust, we did more shops *insert sigh here* and then went to see the hypnotist. Bobby and I had never seen the hypnotist before and weren't quite sure what to expect.
To begin, he gave a talk about the myths of hypnotism (i.e. a person can be hynotized against his or her will or made to do something that s/he would ordinarily find immoral) and led the audience in an exercise to see who might be the best candidates for hypnotism.
I was unsure how I would respond. On one hand, I can "dissociate" very easily; that is, assume a state where I am awake yet mostly unaware of my surroundings. On the other hand, when I was younger, I used to often experiment with friends with going into trance states, and while I was very good and putting people into trances, I could never fully go into one myself.
For the first exercise, we were told to close our eyes with our fists held out straight in front of us. We were then told to imagine that our left hands were made of stone and getting heavier and heavier, being pulled to the ground, while our right hands were made of air, getting lighter and lighter and floating toward the sky. When we opened our eyes, we were to see how far apart our hands were. Mine were about a foot apart.
For the second exercise, we were to (again) hold out our arm and imagine that it was held straight by a steel rod so strong that it could not be bent or broken. After imagining this for about a minute, we were to try to bend our arms. Mine would not bend.
So apparently I am prime for hypnotism, though I did not volunteer. (This time!)
Bill (the hypnotist) called everyone onto the stage who wanted to volunteer and led them through a progressive muscle relaxation exercise that began to put them into the hypnotic state. Having never witnessed a hypnotism, I wasn't sure what to expect, but ho boy, it was interesting!
There was one kid who looked like a young Napoleon Dynamite, and for one of the activities, the subjects were told that on the count of three, someone pinched them really hard in the butt, and they were to act accordingly. This kid whirled around, brandishing the middle finger. On the second count to three, he put them both out. Bill the Hypnotist selected him next to--on the count of three--scream to the audience that it was all a hoax. Imagine the most falsetto angry scream ever...and that was what this kid did. It was hilarious.
This is the Globe Theatre, where Bill the Hypnotist performed.
After hypnotism, would anyone care to guess what we did?
Bobby and I cannot go to the Ren Fest without buying something. Our study is medieval-themed for a reason! Bobby wanted a flail this year to go opposite his forty-two-inch sword, but they didn't have the one that he wanted this time. Instead, he got a heraldry banner done with the device of Richard the Lionhearted.
I have been looking for some time for two things: a decent cloak and a pair of pointy ears. I didn't get the latter, but we were strolling around, and I saw this gorgeous full-length red cloak hanging outside one of the shops.
The material was light, unlike most cloaks I have found that are either stiff or a cheap, ugly velour. The latter tend to be inexpensive; the former tend to be around $200, which is a bit too dear for me. This material was perfect, and I wandered into the shop to ask how much they wanted for it, wholly anticipating that it would be well out of my price range.
But it was $80. Very reasonable. I nearly fell over; perhaps I would have but I was running outside too fast to grab it before someone else did!
So here I am in my lovely red full-length cloak:
We will be returning to the Ren Fest in a few weeks time, either just Bobby and me or with Potter. (Potter is our Ren Fest buddy; it doesn't feel right without Potter.) Dawn will do archery and Bobby will throw axes. We will go to every joust. We will not go into every store. We will check out some of the shows and stop at least once to listen to the wandering bagpipe group.
Meanwhile, this weekend, we decided to take it relatively easy. Yesterday, we were half-heartedly planning a dinner-and-movie date, but Bobby called me yesterday just as I was leaving my office to ask if I wanted to go to the Washington Capitals hockey game instead. Hell yeah! It's just the preseason, but I got to see my boy Alex Ovechkin. He didn't get any points (and it's the first game I've ever attended where he has not), but it's just preseason, and they mostly kept him off the ice except for power plays. Bobby had gotten me a Caps jersey, so I broke it in last night--and broke it in well, since the Caps won 1-0 over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Incidentally, Bobby got new hockey skates, the same that Ovie uses. He was eyeing them online, but the website said "Call for Prices," which is never a good sign. Alas, the Polish Baltimoron Gods were smiling upon him, for he found another site where the skates were half-priced. They're odd skates; they are not sharpened regularly but rather the blades are replaced every few months. And they are heated and molded to the skater's foot before being used. He got them in the mail yesterday, had them molded today, and will try them out tomorrow.
Today, we lounged around, went back to the pool to practice one last time breathing without our masks for scuba class tomorrow. We went to Party City to check out the Halloween stuff, since we're both a wee bit obsessed with Halloween. (Note in the picture of me with my cloak that there is a gargoyle, two tombstones, and a jack-o-lantern on top of out TV? Yeah.) Alas, they didn't have anything that we liked, but we had brought home a trunk full from Target the other day, so we weren't too upset. However...
I finally found my Elf ears!
Well, they're called "space ears," but we all really know that they're Elf ears.
I have yet to put them on since they are attached with makeup adhesive, but they will be worn to the next Ren Fest and pictures will be taken. I'm very excited.
Tonight, I wore my cloak for the first time. We had supper at The Crab Shanty and saw Invincible at the movies (review will follow sometime), and I discovered that the cloak is perfect for snuggling into in the cold movie theater. It also attracts a lot of odd looks, but c'est la vie!
Firstly, my lovely cake from Fisher's Baker down in the historic district:
I used to be the unofficial Cake Decorating Bitch at The Piece back in the day, so I appreciate the handywork! (I could never make roses, but then, we used crappy premade icing, so that's to be expected.
The cake was chocolate with buttercream icing--yum!
I find it funny that in the second picture, there is a dive table in front of the cake and chemistry goggles in the candy bowl next to the cake. This is very illustrative of our lives right now.
And by request of tarion_anarore, who wanted to see a picture of my new journal, my birthday pressies:
The big tome is The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. This is a dangerous book with plotbunnies on nearly every page. Bobby bought it for me for use in creating D&D monsters and also for perusing at my leisure to come up with story ideas. I spent a half-hour with it the other night and ended up with a half-dozen ideas!
Next to it is my new Bag of Weasels (a.k.a. paper journal), a gift from my friend Tammy (1lady_so_divine). I can't wait to start using it, which means I'll have to put some outlines and things in my current Bag of Weasels to finish it up!
On top of all of that is my Suunto dive computer, my birthday gift from Bobby. This will calculate for me the amount of time I can spend underwater based on my estimated nitrogen levels (which is based on depth, type of gas being used, water temperature, et cetera) and will also allow me to take virtual dives and plan dives. We took a class on it last week, and it is so cool! 8^B <--geeky! Bobby has an identical dive computer that he will be picking up tomorrow.
I received money that I am going to use to buy a wetsuit, but since I don't have the wetsuit yet, I can't post a picture of it. When I get it, maybe I post a picture of myself wearing it. Hubba hubba.
Last Saturday, we went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, which is an annual tradition for us. I've never been to any other Ren Faires, but supposedly, this is one of the best. We always have a great time.
Every year since we started going, we have sworn that we are going to go in costume. Every year, as the Ren Fest draws near, something pressing arises that prevents us from purchasing said costumes. For example, this year, we spent our money on dive gear. Luckily for me, my daily clothes are rather costume-ish. I don't know if I should be gladdened or dismayed by this!
This time, we went with our couple-friends Cindy and Andy. Andy was one of Bobby's teammates, first on the Dragonfish, then on Your Team Name Here. Cindy was the team manager and scorekeeper, and being as we were often the only two wives there, we naturally got to talking and became friends.
Because Bobby and I got to the Ren Fest a couple of times per year, we encouraged Cindy and Andy to do what they wanted to do and we'd just tag along. Of course, this meant that Bobby and I got to do very little of what we like to do, and we spent a lot of time in shops with Cindy. A lot. (Poor Andy just stood about with arms crossed.) I have never seen someone so obsessed with shops. Generally, Bobby and I will visit the ones we really like and maybe pop into a few others, but she goes into every. single. one. (Actually, she missed a whole row at the back of the fair along the boardwalk but I didn't dare say anything!)
Here's me, Bobby, and Gandalf, taken at the woodcarver's shop. Bobby is very festive in his Monthy Python and the Holy Grail T-shirt and me in my costume-ish daily use clothes.
One of the first things we did was visit the leathermaker's shop so that Cindy could argue over a bodice that she'd purchased that had broken and been sent away for repair. When it was sent back, they sent the wrong size, and the shop owner insisted that he had not. Clearly he had, since it wouldn't even cover her chest enough not to be indecent exposure. Cindy wanted Bobby and Andy along while she argued with the guy, but it became pretty clear that she did not need them. She got a new bodice and enough store credit to refit a leather skirt that she already has but has grown out of.
Then we had lunch. The Ren Fest has remarkably good food...and cheap! And lots of vegetarian options! After eating it was...guess? More shops.
Outside of a little museum (that we plan to visit next time) is a Cursing Well lined with skulls. It looks really cool...in a creepy sort of way!
Awwwww...taken while sitting alongside the Cursing Well, waiting for Cindy to finish in one of her many, many shops.
A picture of one of the main avenues. It was Pirate Weekend which explains the number of pirate-clad patrons you'll see!
Bobby and I love the jousting more than just about anything at the Ren Fest. The jousting is done by a local group called the Freelancers. The jousts are not choreographed or the outcomes fixed; we've seen one unhorsing in our three years of attending jousts at the Ren Fest.
When Bobby and I go by ourselves or with Potter, we will generally sit for every joust (there's usually about four in a day). Cindy, however, does not like jousting. However, we insisted on attending at least one and she could go wander around if she wanted. Alas, she sat with us.
This is the building at the one end of the jousting arena where the "royals" sit to watch and call the joust. The man is the King's brother-in-law and the woman is Captain Jean the Pirate Queen.
Some other people...I have no idea who they are.
The whole building before the royals arrived:
Looking across the arena at the Black Sword Armoury (where Bobby bought his forty-two-inch sword last year!) and the chainmail shop that does the designs for the Freelancers.
At the other end of the jousting arena:
The herald who announces the competitors and the rules of competition. His horse looks bored.
One of the competing knights who rides for the "home team" of Revel Grove. This guy usually wins the competitions, but he didn't do the joust in this one.
The first round of competition involves hand-to-hand combat on the ground. One pair of knights chose to fight with swords and the other pair with halberds. This shot shows one of the knights riding to grab a halberd from his squire.
The knights riding past prior to beginning the hand-to-hand combat competition. Photographing the joust with our shoddy digital camera is difficult because the horses move too damned fast! We need the SeaLife camera. *ahem*
And the halberd competition. (The swordfight was held on the other side of the arena, so it was difficult to photograph. Halberd fights are cooler anyway.)
During the second round of competition, the knights compete on horseback and try to beat each other senseless with wooden sticks called bastons. A knight with a baston:
And combat! Ouch!
The final part of the competition is the best: the actual joust. The knights run at each other with lances and try to knock each other to the ground. We've seen one actual unhorsing in the jousts we've attended. The lady who answers questions before the joust has seen double unhorsings. Here, the squire helps ready his knight:
And they're off!
The knight from Revel Grove who did not compete in the joust. (The other knight from Revel Grove was the one who won.)
The knights circle the arena after the joust with their colors.
The knight who won is presented with a solid copper sceptre as his prize.
The knights from Revel Grove ride off after the competition.
The avenue as you enter the faire. I've always loved this spot with all the wee streamers over the path.
After the joust, we did more shops *insert sigh here* and then went to see the hypnotist. Bobby and I had never seen the hypnotist before and weren't quite sure what to expect.
To begin, he gave a talk about the myths of hypnotism (i.e. a person can be hynotized against his or her will or made to do something that s/he would ordinarily find immoral) and led the audience in an exercise to see who might be the best candidates for hypnotism.
I was unsure how I would respond. On one hand, I can "dissociate" very easily; that is, assume a state where I am awake yet mostly unaware of my surroundings. On the other hand, when I was younger, I used to often experiment with friends with going into trance states, and while I was very good and putting people into trances, I could never fully go into one myself.
For the first exercise, we were told to close our eyes with our fists held out straight in front of us. We were then told to imagine that our left hands were made of stone and getting heavier and heavier, being pulled to the ground, while our right hands were made of air, getting lighter and lighter and floating toward the sky. When we opened our eyes, we were to see how far apart our hands were. Mine were about a foot apart.
For the second exercise, we were to (again) hold out our arm and imagine that it was held straight by a steel rod so strong that it could not be bent or broken. After imagining this for about a minute, we were to try to bend our arms. Mine would not bend.
So apparently I am prime for hypnotism, though I did not volunteer. (This time!)
Bill (the hypnotist) called everyone onto the stage who wanted to volunteer and led them through a progressive muscle relaxation exercise that began to put them into the hypnotic state. Having never witnessed a hypnotism, I wasn't sure what to expect, but ho boy, it was interesting!
There was one kid who looked like a young Napoleon Dynamite, and for one of the activities, the subjects were told that on the count of three, someone pinched them really hard in the butt, and they were to act accordingly. This kid whirled around, brandishing the middle finger. On the second count to three, he put them both out. Bill the Hypnotist selected him next to--on the count of three--scream to the audience that it was all a hoax. Imagine the most falsetto angry scream ever...and that was what this kid did. It was hilarious.
This is the Globe Theatre, where Bill the Hypnotist performed.
After hypnotism, would anyone care to guess what we did?
Bobby and I cannot go to the Ren Fest without buying something. Our study is medieval-themed for a reason! Bobby wanted a flail this year to go opposite his forty-two-inch sword, but they didn't have the one that he wanted this time. Instead, he got a heraldry banner done with the device of Richard the Lionhearted.
I have been looking for some time for two things: a decent cloak and a pair of pointy ears. I didn't get the latter, but we were strolling around, and I saw this gorgeous full-length red cloak hanging outside one of the shops.
The material was light, unlike most cloaks I have found that are either stiff or a cheap, ugly velour. The latter tend to be inexpensive; the former tend to be around $200, which is a bit too dear for me. This material was perfect, and I wandered into the shop to ask how much they wanted for it, wholly anticipating that it would be well out of my price range.
But it was $80. Very reasonable. I nearly fell over; perhaps I would have but I was running outside too fast to grab it before someone else did!
So here I am in my lovely red full-length cloak:
We will be returning to the Ren Fest in a few weeks time, either just Bobby and me or with Potter. (Potter is our Ren Fest buddy; it doesn't feel right without Potter.) Dawn will do archery and Bobby will throw axes. We will go to every joust. We will not go into every store. We will check out some of the shows and stop at least once to listen to the wandering bagpipe group.
Meanwhile, this weekend, we decided to take it relatively easy. Yesterday, we were half-heartedly planning a dinner-and-movie date, but Bobby called me yesterday just as I was leaving my office to ask if I wanted to go to the Washington Capitals hockey game instead. Hell yeah! It's just the preseason, but I got to see my boy Alex Ovechkin. He didn't get any points (and it's the first game I've ever attended where he has not), but it's just preseason, and they mostly kept him off the ice except for power plays. Bobby had gotten me a Caps jersey, so I broke it in last night--and broke it in well, since the Caps won 1-0 over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Incidentally, Bobby got new hockey skates, the same that Ovie uses. He was eyeing them online, but the website said "Call for Prices," which is never a good sign. Alas, the Polish Baltimoron Gods were smiling upon him, for he found another site where the skates were half-priced. They're odd skates; they are not sharpened regularly but rather the blades are replaced every few months. And they are heated and molded to the skater's foot before being used. He got them in the mail yesterday, had them molded today, and will try them out tomorrow.
Today, we lounged around, went back to the pool to practice one last time breathing without our masks for scuba class tomorrow. We went to Party City to check out the Halloween stuff, since we're both a wee bit obsessed with Halloween. (Note in the picture of me with my cloak that there is a gargoyle, two tombstones, and a jack-o-lantern on top of out TV? Yeah.) Alas, they didn't have anything that we liked, but we had brought home a trunk full from Target the other day, so we weren't too upset. However...
I finally found my Elf ears!
Well, they're called "space ears," but we all really know that they're Elf ears.
I have yet to put them on since they are attached with makeup adhesive, but they will be worn to the next Ren Fest and pictures will be taken. I'm very excited.
Tonight, I wore my cloak for the first time. We had supper at The Crab Shanty and saw Invincible at the movies (review will follow sometime), and I discovered that the cloak is perfect for snuggling into in the cold movie theater. It also attracts a lot of odd looks, but c'est la vie!