Two days in the cold and almost constant rain.

Trinket had an absolute effing blast.

Things I have discovered Trinket likes:



- Snakes, despite the fact that they make me kind of nervous in general. Didn't see that one coming.

- Dancing. Especially to music in the lanes. Not so good at bellydancing. Has more fun hauling other people up to dance than doing it herself.

- Singing - in fact, she can sing complete songs in full English sentences, providing she doesn't decide to rewrite the words on the fly.

- Hugs (in fact, she has discovered that if she goes running up to the Cardinal and gives him a hug, he'll tell her to go back and do it again. TWO HUGS. She's not about to turn that down.)

- Opening Gate. That Muppet thing with the hands cracks her the hell up.

- Scrabble. Especially if you don't have to spell anything right.

- Groundscore gifts. Hooray for people assisting to decorate Trinket's butt.

- People with their maps out. Trinket loves stopping to "un-lost" them. Somehow, even with her limited vocabulary, she always gets her point across.




Things I/she/we had a blast doing:



- Singing with Elizabeth. I've always been a little (okay, more than a little) in awe of her - which of course intimidates the crap out of me even though Elizabeth is one of the least intimidating people, personality-wise, I have ever met. I haven't actually done any singing outside my shower or my car in a LONG damn time, so the concept of singing with Elizabeth in a performance setting is mildly akin to sticking myself on a stage of young, nubile bellydancers. Which I have also done anyway, so I did this too. To my everlasting shock, did not embarrass the snot out of myself. In fact, I enjoyed the whole experience quite thoroughly.

- Oversized Scrabble with Ethel the Nerd, Hawkins, and a peasant I know but for the life of me can't remember his name. Ethel made the board - a giant cloth thing probably about four-foot-by-four-foot, and the pieces were a bit bigger than my hand. All you had to do was be able to justify your spelling or the word you'd just invented, and it passed. The royal family even came to help with a few words. (One of my favorites: Pooedor (don't remember the spelling) - like boudoir - it's a place to keep your crap)

- Peasant statuary. A bunch of peasants stand like statues and patrons (and a few random rennies) come by and re-pose them. Fun, especially with a good spotter who can re-pose you when she thinks you've been standing there with your arm up long enough that it might just fall off.

- Vilification Tennis. On Saturday, Erin Kasper traded the Town Crier's enormous bell for a complete set of the VilTen trading cards. The vilifiers, as far as I can tell, kept passing it between them until the Town Crier showed up on Sunday wanting it back... at which point they said he could have it if he didn't say a word for the rest of the day. He agreed, and they of course chose to take advantage of the fact. "Everyone who doesn't want to lick dirt, say 'Not it!'" "Everyone who doesn't want Jake to put a pile of mud on their head, say 'Not it!'"

(As a political aside - I've seen some people on the lists raising a ruckus over how it was humiliating and not funny at all and didn't entertain the patrons, was too much of an inside joke, made it so they couldn't tell patrons to go ask him where stuff was, etc. etc. Personally, I say if he says it went too far, it went too far - but the guy is NOT soft-spoken, so since he was playing along I assume he was okay with it. In that case, everyone else is just peevy that he wasn't doing what they thought he should be doing. Dude. The Fest isn't crippled because he decided to do something else for a day or two. Deal. And since when does ANYONE get to judge whether a bit is entertaining "enough"??? By that token, somebody needs to kick me the hell out of Fest because I don't gather circles of patrons eight deep, and I don't care to. End rant.)

- Closing Gate. Sitting on a table with about four other peasants, with four more standing behind us, all with improvised percussion (wooden spoons, potato-shaped maracas, etc) doing an impromptu concert. Everything from "Menomena" (I know I got that spelling wrong), to "The Bare Necessities" (disturbingly, though we'd stumbled through a few other Disney songs, we all knew ALL the words to this one, including Baloo's monologue in the middle), to "The Time Warp", to several oldies from the 50's and a bunch of stuff I don't remember at all... AND the theme from the Mario Bros. video game, which would make my brother terribly proud.

- Playing with the Unicorn. I drew a completely embarrassing blank and wound up playing "Miri's Wedding" for the kids to dance with the unicorn... despite the fact that I'm sure at some point I swore the notes to that song would never fly forth from my fingers ever, ever again. Gonna have to brush up a bit on the other stuff. There was one especially cute kid, though - a little boy in a fire-engine-red rain jacket who started out quite unsure about this whole unicorn thing. He'd get kind of close, then turn around and trundle back to his parents... then come back, thinking maybe it was okay... then change his mind. Eventually he got as far as the second set of steps on Arbor Stage and got down on his hands and knees and sort of peeked up at the unicorn, who then did likewise and peeked back. After that, Unicorn = good, and not only did he go get a hug, he had to go back for seconds. And looked like he sort of wanted thirds, if his parents hadn't led him away (still waving bye-bye).

- The large rock sticking out the ground near Bear Stage (Dammit, the Bear's still there in spirit - he's just invisible) and Bad Manor... Trinket likes to stand atop it and inform people that it is a rock. Strangely, this gets a lot of them to smile and laugh. She likes it when people do that.

- Getting to be part of the delivery team for Onya's VilTen mug. Not that I had anything to do with the mug aside from following Ethel around when she picked it up (impending Scrabble game) - but it's awesome to see someone's face light up like that.

- Rain songs. Trinket's first rain song consisted of the words rain, squish, splish, slip, fish (rhymes with squish and splish), puddle, lake, river, and squid - in random order, and with random notes. Her second song was a rewrite of "Alouette"

- Puddle In My Boots Dance. While singing her rain songs, she heard drums from over where the Serpent Dancers do their thing... but no pretty ladies dancing with snakes. So she decided to go splish in the puddles near the drums. Got a couple kids to join her briefly, but mostly she just bopped around chanting "Dance dance puddle dance puddle in my boots dance dance" - after all, once your boots have reached terminal squish, why fight it?

- The little girl in the matching umbrella, rain slicker, and galoshes. All were white with multi-colored poka-dots... and she was wading right down the middle of the river that ran downhill from the Bear toward Treetop, obviously having a grand old time.

- The three young ladies (maybe ten years old?) in little court gowns, covered in see-through rain ponchos, who just picked up their skirts and waded right through the biggest damn puddle on site. A peasant asked them if their feet weren't cold now, and one of them turned and told him (in the ten-year-old-educating-the-silly-adult voice) that they'd been wet before, so this was hardly any different.

- Eating a ramen cup ("with shrimp" flavor) with my fingers backstage, seeking brief shelter under an umbrella. I leaned back against a folding table, as there weren't any convenient chairs to provide a rest for my feet. All the water that hit the table slid down to my butt and promptly absorbed into my underwear. But even soaked and shivering, I was damn happy to be there. Why? Because I wasn't in my cube. At least rain and cold are real.

- Watching the ATV people pack up and leave at 4 PM on Sunday. I'm guessing all the rain scared them off. Apparently "all terrain" doesn't include mud.

- Robert's party. Hard to believe the listserv has been around that long - what a gift that's been, keeping us all together.

- Dregs in the Dark. Sitting in Mac's Pub, in the corner by the window, rough stone at my back, the warmth of all the humans packed into the building contrasting with the occasional tufts of breeze from the window. Candles on the table, and in small tin lanterns with glass panels, and on the irregular bits of the fireplace's stonework, backlighting the musicians. The smell of alcohol and the warm wax scent of burning paraffin. Several pairs of legs with shoes dangling from the loft. Laughter and companionship. Some really kick-ass songs, and the feeling I imagine some people must get in church when all the voices in the building raise for the chorus - the harmonies born, the reverence and devotion behind the words. This is our hymnal - "Skye Boat Song" and "Process Man," "Lukey's Boat" and "Ballad of Jayne", "Wagon Wheel" and "If I Had A Million Chickens," "Rainbow Connection" and "I'm an Asshole".

And yes, "I'm an Asshole" followed "Rainbow Connection". And of course the funniest thing about their rendition of "Rainbow Connection" is watching one man impersonate the ENTIRE CAST of the Muppets. Except Animal. Tim did that one.

- Full moon wandering on site.... and the profound peace to be found in that place.



And people wonder why I put up with the horrible weather conditions and lack of pay.

Isn't she beautiful?







She has told me that her name is Esteldin.

Now, you have to appreciate JUST HOW LONG I've wanted a mandolin. Like... years. Ten of them, probably, but I really wanted a bow-back (which this is) and was under the impression that they're quite hard to come by, as no one makes them that way anymore. I was willing to settle for a newer model if I had to, one with considerably less character and soul... but they tend to be spendy enough that I couldn't quite justify it.

So today, for reasons beyond my ken, I get whacked in the back of the head to check out the inventory pages at Music-Go-Round. Low and behold, this sweetheart was waiting for me at the St. Paul location.

FOR SEVENTY BUCKS.

Is she in perfect condition? No. Her nut needs replaced (I'm told this is about a $35 repair), and there's a crack at the bottom of the neck, although it looks like it's quite stable. The plastic piece is peeling a little in one corner, but that can be fixed with some glue. On the other side of the plastic, it's VERY mildly cracked, and sunken in a little... but again, seems stable. Oh, and the varnish is rubbed off in a bunch of places.

But you know what? She's eighty, nearest guess. Who, at eighty, is going to be in perfect condition? People aren't - why should we expect it of instruments?

So yes. Esteldin is now in the bathroom closet, having some much-needed moisture therapy after my shower.

Now, to figure out how to change the strings...

Trinket had her first day out today... I finished getting her stuff together out of the trunk of my car, stacked it all on (which takes a while, with a new outfit), and hit the streets.

A couple observations on the outfit itself:

- Using a fish net for an overskirt/scarf/thing on which to hang groundscore was brilliant. However, I really need to run a ribbon all around the waistband instead of just using two pieces of ribbon where I intend the front to be. Fish net stretches, and will slide down your butt.

- The new Minnetonka moccasin "improvements" SUCK. They added tread, which is awesome sauce - but they put this rigid plastic thing right over where your Achilles tendon is, which rubs, pokes, and causes blisters. I HAVE to figure out how to get that out, or the damn things are going to be flat-out unwearable. Boo.

The day itself was pretty good... new character getting the groove on and such, but for the first day I think it went well.

Highlights:

- Had some fun with Angus in the morning, tormenting people while he ate his Scotch eggs. Ran into a couple, their toddler, and their dog – the dog (Gypsy) was in one of those plastic wagons with the awning. Apparently he was sixteen, and had been out every year since he was a puppy... they were thinking this was probably his last hurrah, but couldn't bear to make him miss it. The guy was saying how lucky he was to have had such a great dog as a companion for all those years... I can't help but think that the dog probably had the same opinion about his person.

- Went in search of a floppy, wide-brimmed hat. Came up empty-handed (headed?) - might have to make my own. Dammit.

- Walked the parade for the first time since my Irish Cottage days. I'm going back to Gypsy Jam. That sucked. Especially in those damn boots.

- Enjoyed VilTen, and the triumphant return of Sock Monkey Crack Baby. (Suzy Becker looks far too good for anyone, PERIOD, much less someone who had a baby two weeks ago.)

- The clouds rolled in, the wind picked up, and the rain began to fall while I chatted a bit with the Friends of Faire booth - more of sort of a garden area, really, fenced in between the Pavilion and the labyrinth. I love the concept - basically you pay your membership fee, and it gets you unlimited (potable) water and lemonade, a cloak check, and a gathering area / small social network. The folks seemed really nice and the lady joyously described how they'd come to establish the place and their plans for the future. I hope it works out for them.

- Best fun of the day was Closing Gate, though. Trinket set herself up just beyond the exit, offering "free wet Gypsy hugs" to all and sundry, as by that time she/I (is there anyone at Fest with a strong character who DOESN'T have some form of multiple personalities going on?) was utterly soaked. Amazing number of takers, many of whom went from looking kind of put out about the rain to at least getting a brief smile. The cream of the crop:

- The lady who took her hug, walked seven steps, then turned around and said that she'd wished she'd had more of that during the day.

- The fellows (several of them) who came back for seconds. Yeah, it's because it was attention from a girl. But hey. Love is love, sometimes.

- The couple who laughed uproariously at Trinket's joyful offer (arms flung wide, of course) - and begged her to repeat it several times so that they could just about fall down laughing again. Trinket thought this was grand fun. They asked if she did wet Gypsy pictures, found someone else to take them, and before they left had finally resorted to turning on the video function of the camera (and on the fellow's cell phone) so they could tape the fun. YouTube, here I come.

- The little girl in the brown velvet dress with the lace gold shawl - she was head-just-under-breasts height, and clung to Trinket extra long, saying in a small voice, "I don't want to let go - that means I have to leave." My heart just broke for her - I wanted to just carry her off and keep her.

Another observation:

Bras hold a lot of rainwater. Also, rainwater is cold.

Came home, ate food, and fell into bed fully intending to wake at the crack of dawn and head back out to Fest.

When I awoke on Sunday, however, I realized that last week's Face Eating Office Plague was not in fact gone - but had just been hunkering down, waiting for me to do something stupid... like stand in the rain for the better part of an hour, drenched and cold (although, notedly, having far too much fun to care).

Also, those damn boots gave my feet blisters the size of Rhode Island.

Grumbling, I curled back up in bed (after dosing myself with cold drugs) and tried to stop being a miserable snot-monster. Spent most of the day with warm broth or tea of some sort.

I really, really hate being sick during Fest season. This needs to stop. I only have three weekends left.

Saturday was uncomfortably hot, and we all spent a decent amount of time bitching about said heat. Also, Fest is "welcoming" the "Polaris ATV Village" for this weekend and either fourth or fifth, depending on where you get your info.

The Polaris ATV village is basically an area cordoned off with snow fencing and made into a little test-drive track, complete with logs and piles of rocky dirt to drive over. I would think this is obnoxious enough on its own, but they put it under the big beautiful oaks behind Cartwheel Cove. Now the grass is completely torn up, there was the sound of ATV's all day, and there are several signs directing you to the "village" SCREWED INTO trees on site.

The only good thing to come out of this is that Fest can never, never bitch at us for being anachronistic again. Seriously. ATV's??? I would dearly love to know how much Polaris forked over to make this seem like a good idea to ANYONE.

Or maybe not.

There was a lot of goodness to make up for it, though.


- Radu was visiting from Colorado. Radu is fun to play with. Also, he gifted me a rose. I don't get many roses, so I intend to be a complete girl about this one.

- Getting to hear Elizabeth sing.

- Carrying one of the giant kettle drums upstairs to where it's stored in Bad Manor. This was fun mostly because the guys always carry them on their heads, and I just CARRIED mine, despite being way shorter than any of them. I would've had to have removed my hat to put it on my head, and NOBODY TOUCHES THE HAT. My hat. So there. Plus, fun to watch the faces of the random folks I passed. I am butch. Or the drum is mostly air. Or both. (Really, it's more awkward than heavy - but points for appearances.)

- Chatting with Angus and other random sundry at the foot of the stairs, after said drums had been stashed.

- Baby wipe bath in the parking lot. Oh, GOD that felt good. And it's sort of gratifying to see the little white cloths turn completely black... which always seems kind of odd, as the dust out there is red.

- Dead Poets gathering. This happens once a year, always on Labor Day weekend, and is a few literary-minded folks getting together and reading poetry - either theirs or some they admire. It is always good to sit by the light of candles, under the rustle of oaks, and hear what inspires the hearts of poets.

- Hearing the Morris Men do their site-blessing... although the fiddler is gone and apparently has been for quite some time. Shows you how out of the loop I am.


I wussed out and stayed home on Sunday & Monday because I'd been attacked by the Face-Eating Office Plague. At least, it sure felt like something was eating my face. Three days of pretty solid sleep later, it's settled to a mild gnaw. Tomorrow I'm hoping for "nibble."

You really can't ask for better weather than Ma Nature delivered. Sunny, but not vexingly so - warm, but not enough to make you sweat excessively... breezy, but only really an issue if you blow fire. Only complaint I could have was the dust - which lowered my voice about three steps, but didn't really make me all that uncomfortable.

Observations and highlights:

- Very drunk group of early-20's people parked behind me, all gung ho on the pirate thing. It's hard not to smile when, amid rousing off-key renditions of pirate songs (from a CD the loudest guy'd obviously memorized from the way he was yelling "Next one! Next one! I want track five!") and a really profoundly bass-enhanced song from one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, declared with gusto, "We're gonna fuckin' rock this place!"

- The way a plumed feather tugs and wisps in the wind - there's no good way to describe it, but seeing this on the fellow in front of me at one point, I was humbled... no matter how many scenes I write, there are these bits of my home that, having seen them a thousand times, I still haven't captured. I'm not sure I will ever be equal to the task of decently representing a place so full of small wonders.

- Stabbing eyeball pain headaches suck. Rennies who carry OTC's that will knock it down - even to just severe pain - are gods. I need to become one of these deities.

- With the new hat and my grey trench coat I apparently look like a member of Secret Service. I've decided this is my undercover outfit - dressed like all the other rennies, they will never suspect I have infiltrated their ranks in order to write best-selling novels based on their world.

- Fest seems kind of empty without Ryna and the gang. I keep expecting to see them around a corner. It hasn't happened. Yet.

- Got W1 & 2 of Fates back from BJ. Good comments - mostly easy fixes, but things that will improve the tale greatly. And some excellent catches on geographic feasibility and general Fest history. Like in the prologue, I mention a young Ryna playing on Lady Fortune, which wouldn't have existed in that incarnation until she was a teen. There was a smaller, rougher stage (called Cartage in the real world) before that. Duh. I knew that. WHY DIDN'T I TAKE IT INTO ACCOUNT?? (I need to give BJ a big hug for keeping me from looking like an ass. I don't mind admitting I screwed up when I can still change it, but I'd seriously kick myself if it went to print like that.)

-Villain auditions were a ton of fun. Can't wait for the semi-finals.

- The funniest moment of the weekend involved the squirrel-hunter, two obnoxious nine-year-old-ish girls in Ren garb (crafter kids?), the Prince, one full wineskin, one empty wineskin, a loaded squirrel, and a mug of water. It was one of those times where it was just so damn funny that for the life of you, you can't remember what else you did.

- Having someone offer to make you a really good dinner after a long day at Fest where you kind of forgot to eat aside from a thing of jerky and some dried apricots.... made of win.