Oh, look. An Actual Update.
Well, der Klumpen says I need to update more. So here I am. Where did I last leave off? Oh, I remember now, the Friday before TSM™had his birthday at Faire. So, Saturday the 9th. I can’t think of anything profound to say about that one. It was deaf awareness weekend, so watching the shows being translated with signs was pretty cool. I’m always fascinated by sign language. Michael Rosman did an admirable job when he pulled a deaf man from the audience to help with his act. He was funny, but not condescending, and the man played along with aplomb. Klumpen and I also watched l’ensemble Cercamon, the PFB (Pretty French Boys) as they’ve become known. Very enjoyable, and I bought their CD.
The “highlight” of the day, or was it low-light, was when on the way out of the parking lot, creeping along at about 5 mph, we spot Captain Silver upon the hood of his car. What’s unusual about that, you ask? Well, he wasn’t sitting there, he was sprawled there – three sheets to the wind. And what is so unusual about that, you ask (especially if you’ve met Silver)? It was the equally drunk young woman plastered to his leg, reminiscent of some-one’s bad dog. And there, sitting above it all on the roof of his car so it would stay pristine, was his hat. I wish we’d taken a picture, especially since when asked about it the next day, he claimed no memory of it. Damn those missed blackmail opportunities.
Sunday the 11th was TSM’s birthday, so he set the pace for the day. Everyone was extra nice to him when they found out it was his birthday. So he played a pile of games, ate whatever he wanted, “mined” for stones, and helped out behind the booth. He even got tipped working the booth. So I think he had a good day. It was nice to have the whole family at faire, and not just Klumpen and I. Not that I mind looking at all the pretty people by myself, but it’s so nice to have someone to comment to while I do.
My work week of the 12th through the 16th sucked, of course. It’s the end of the fiscal year here, and for a non-budget-analyst budget analyst, I sure do have a lot of budget stuff to finish. Watch Lisa spend $20 million in a day. Can she do it and remain sane? Probably not. Especially when people in her agency can’t follow directions to save their lives.
Saturday, the 17th, it was back to Faire for Scottish Weekend, one of my all time favorites. I am a pushover for a man in a kilt. Everything was going swimmingly until we were making the turn off of Rt. 50. A moron in a van decided that the yield sign wasn’t really his problem and hit the back right of my car. Yes, that’s right, my less than 2 month old car. The county police, however, didn’t cite anyone, because as he said, “If I had cited him, I would have had to cite you as well. He should have yielded and you should have made sure it was clear before making your turn.” So, while I guess I can understand that, it doesn’t make me happy. Especially with the accident and TOH lf back at the beginning of the month. We’re going to pay this out of pocket, rather than go through the insurance. We don’t need the hassle.After that, I was a little shaky for the rest of the day, and didn’t take as many pictures of men in kilts as I would have liked. Klumpen’s former, Shaft, was there, and it was nice to see him again. Even though they’re no longer together, he’s still a nice person. I spent the better part of Saturday wandering with an entourage of teen girls. Not that I mind at all; they’re all nice people. Plus, they know more people than I do, so I get to meet new people.One of the silliest things that happened was when Ness made Fuzzy fall over into the dirt. I forget what the exact comment was, but the end result was Fuzzy toppling straight over like a tree. After that, he’d been renamed an official “dirty old man” for the day.
On Sunday, I made sure to watch the final Caber Toss competition. Men in kilts throwing telephone poles. Sort of. Go read the link. It always amazes me that the man who wins isn’t really all that large, especially compared to some of the other competitors. And the MC of the event is a very slim man who could’ve beat all the competitors. I can’t really remember much else about that weekend. I need to sit and write these updates when I get home on Sunday nights, but I’m usually too tired.
Next up was Pirate Weekend. Klumpen’s favorite, obviously. The Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow wannabes were thick on the ground the whole weekend. It was a lot of fun. I watched The Corsairs on both Saturday and Sunday. But I still haven’t caught a Pyrates Royale show. You’d think I’d actually watch the “house band”, eh? On Sunday, The Corsairs dragged Royof the Freelancers Joust onto the stage to sing “King of the Cannibal Island” with them.Vree, who is very sweet, finally found the guy she’s crushing on this year, and spent some time with him. It wasn’t until we’d spent a good part of the day watching the crowds for him, and then finally gave up, that she saw him.On Sunday, we also took the Alternate Daughter & Mystical with us. I’m always glad to see them, and Mystical fits TSM’s gillies perfectly so she didn’t have to wear the “shoes of pain” again. Clancy & The Captain (mostly Clancy) tried to convince Silver to be a live target for the booth, and to let people shoot at his steel codpiece. He smacked his hand against it, and then about 10 minutes later realized that “hey, that hurt!”. I guess alcohol really does dull the reaction time, huh?
Mike, who sells soaps and candles, passed out “pirate booty” beads all weekend, and scared small children with his dancing. Somewhere on line, I saw a picture of him talking to us — rubber ducky in hand, but we were cut out of most of the picture. You can see one of my “entourage” and 1/2 of another, which means I am totally out of the frame.
The weather has been just beautiful, but dry. On Sunday, it was so dry it felt like you were chewing the air. I have a picture of Klumpen that looks like a bad picture, but it’s just the layer of dust hanging in the air making it look blurry. I’m hoping the anticipated rain tomorrow happens and helps with that. I’m sure it’s part of the reason I’ve got this sinus infection I’m fighting.
I also saw Shaft again, with some of his friends. I spent a bit of time with them, talking about this and that. It was nice. Turns out that one of his friends is the stepdaughter of The King in real life. Quite amusing to see the King order Shaft about, “Well, go and tell her to come here now.”
Tak, one of the faeries, walked us all out to the car Sunday night and talked with us until the parking lot cleared out some. After asking if Klumpen’s friends were also “Dungeon Bait” so he knew at what level to keep his flirting. So while he hung out, we undressed. Now, before you get any ideas, undressing in the parking lot means taking off the corset, and the two over skirts, and getting myself down to the silk blouse and pants. Even after divesting myself of the extra layers, I’m still more dressed than most people on a summer day.
On the down side, Pirate Weekend marks the halfway point of the season. It’s been a great escape getting away from the “real world” and pretending to be someone else every weekend. I don’t have to worry about making a fool of myself in front of these people because very few of them know me outside of faire, and there are a lot of people acting sillier. As long as I don’t embarrass Klumpen too badly, I’m having fun.
Work still sucks. I’d rather not talk about it. It just pisses me off. Tonight I’m taking Klumpen to her Driver’s Ed orientation while TOH takes TSM to Cub Scouts. And then it’s the Veronica Mars season premiere. Tomorrow night, I think I’ll make the bodice I made last week a bit smaller. It seems loose at the bust and bottom edge. I can lace it all the way up, with the edges meeting, and not feel “constricted” at all. So, I think it’s too big, and I need to redraft the pattern before I start on the tabbed version.
I’m not sure if Klumpen has to march Friday night or not. If she does, we’ll be there in our parental support roles. If not, we’ll be at home, and maybe I’ll sew. Saturday and Sunday are October Fest weekend at Faire. Much drunkenness will ensue, I’m sure. Just not me. I hope to take more pictures this weekend. In the meantime, all the other pictures I’ve taken can be found here.