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Is it just me, or did it feel as though May went by very quickly?  I can't believe it's already JUNE!  I mean, gosh.  If time could slow down a little, that would be great.

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I went to my first Renaissance Faire on Saturday.  It put me in a definite costuming mood.  There was one outfit I loved. It was a Ranger-y leather riding skirt, sort of like this one here, except it was mostly green with brown rather than brown entirely.

Yeah, I'd wear this, but with a camisole. :)

It was really fun.  We saw a jousting tournament - the Green Knight lost, which was expected considering the tale of Gawaine and the Green Knight, and the fact that the announcer made him out to be the Evil Knight, but I liked him better than the Blue Knight - and we listened to some storytellers.  The Gypsy Time Travellers were pretty amazing.  They are a husband-and-wife team.  The wife, Christy Horne, tells stories (and she's quite good, by the way) while her husband Michael Olson does anvil accompaniment, creating little metal thingamabobs during the story.  We heard the Un-Disney-fied version of The Sword in the Stone.  Christy recited it while Michael created ten little salt spoons.  It was quite a unique show.


There was a vendor selling bracelets that looked kind of like this:

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And a vendor selling candles that looked kind of like this:

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There was a Doctor Who geode candle I really liked, where the stone a swirly blue colour, and the woodcarving was of the TARDIS whirling through space.  That one was my fave.

For some reason, there were a bunch of Doctor Whos walking around.  Treskie said it was probably because of that episode where the Doctor marries Queen Elizabeth, and since the Renaissance Faire tends to have a Queen Elizabeth walking around the Whovians decided this was the opening they needed to appear as the Doctor.

(Weirdly enough, considering it was TEN who technically married the Queen, most of the Doctors I saw were dressed as Eleven.  Yay, Eleven!)

A good time was had by all, I think.  I want to go to the Faire next year, but I think, if possible, I might try to dress up... and in Ranger costume, if at all possible.


To finish off, here are a few pictures of my other nieces and nephews!



And NOW to life, and NOW to life.  Until next time (hahah!)

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God bless!

Cat

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I didn’t post on Saturday because the weather was gorgeous and the Ren Faire was packed. In my 7-year-old nephew’s words, it was his best day ever–in his entire life. I wish that I could say E got his flair for the dramatic from me. But it was a really fun day, and E was hilarious as usual.

He’s also a big reader. He read every sign at the faire, and when we turned on to Castle Rd he said “Oh this must be where the castle is–no, wait that’s cas-T-le, never mind.” When we told him he was right and the T is silent he said, “Oh! Like Django!” Yep. Just like that.

When I was a kid we would spend lots of time at the library each summer, and we would read books off a list our teachers sent home. But E’s 1st grade teacher is pretty great–she set the class a challenge to read 100 books over the summer, and he fully intends to (when he’s not in the pool or hacking apart worms). It got me thinking about how I don’t read nearly as much as I used to, even though I still love it.

Here are my top 4 favorites so far this year (in no particular order):

• The River of No Return – Bee Ridgway: chosen purely because the time period interested me, echoes of Downton Abbey but earlier, more Austen, with time travel and bad guys and intrigue and love. It was brilliant and exciting–impossible to put down.
• Invincible Summer – Hannah Moskowitz: Contemporary YA from a boy’s perspective, which is a rare find, and the writing itself is so achingly beautiful I couldn’t look away. I read the whole thing in one day.
• Quintana of Charyn – Melina Marchetta: hands down my favorite author these days, Melina Marchetta gives life to the most wonderful characters that I adore for their flaws and yearnings as much as their strengths. She’s a master of depicting social groups that you get drawn into and become a part of, and I am only sad that this trilogy has drawn to a close.
• Letters from Skye: a novel – Jessica Brockmole: I picked this up for 2 reasons. It is about an author living on the Isle of Skye, which we visited on our honeymoon and I have since fantasized about having a writer’s retreat there. And it is partially set during WWI, which is a time of particular interest to me at the moment. The narrative unfolds through a series of letters across 2 World Wars, making the story feel both grand and intimately nostalgic at the same time.

Of course I have a massive to-read list to keep me busy for the rest of the year. Who are some of your favorite authors, and what are some of the best books you’ve read this year? I always love suggestions!

Tagged: Bee Ridgway, Books, Hannah Moskowitz, historical fiction, Invincible Summer, Jessica Brockmole, Letters from Skye, Melina Marchetta, Quintana of Charyn, Reading, Renaissance Faire, River of No Return, time-travel, YA

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And so begins my blog anew, retooled and with a new focus on things that make you lose your breath. Moments that make you stop and say to yourself, “Yes–this is what life is for!” And all that mundane stuff in between.

Renaissance means starting over, refresh, reboot. So it’s only fitting that it’s that time of year again: Renaissance Faire time! I know, technically it’s always that time of year somewhere, but here it happens throughout May. Sadly there has been so much rain that we have not yet dragged my nephew off to the land of jousts and turkey legs and the king’s roasted nuts, but there’s time yet.

Gentle readers, in the spirit of the Faire, I ask you: have you ever attended? Participated? Do you think it’s ridiculous? Do you go every weekend?What is your favorite part?

I have two favorite Faire memories–from the first I ever attended and from the last.

The first was in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and it was magical. My friends are crazy, and they love to make costumes. I call this crazy because I cannot sew and would never deliberately make myself an outfit that involves boning in any way. But they are amazing, talented individuals, and they love to dress up, so we all put on their incredible handmade costumes and went to the Ren Faire. The weather was perfect, the dill pickles were icy cold, and we stayed until the sun set over the lake at the edge of the Faire grounds. And as we took emotive pictures together against the pink-orange sky, an old drunkard came up and attempted to urinate in the lake. (That isn’t my favorite memory, by the way, that is just the fittingly inappropriate end to a lovely day at the Faire.)

The very last time I went to the Faire, I went with a different group of friends, including D. Some dressed up, and some did not. Once again I found myself in borrowed bits and pieces, because I like to immerse myself. D showed off his axe-throwing skills, and attempted to climb this tricky rope bridge, and I swooned appropriately. Then he got dragged up to dance (because there are never enough willing gentlemen) so of course I had to join him, and we shared our first dance. It rained and it poured, because apparently May is the rainiest month of the year in Tennessee, and we got soaked to the bone and ditched our friends to change clothes and watch movies all afternoon.

I would love to hear about some other favorite Ren Faire locations and memories, so be sure to leave a comment! Tell me what takes your breath away?

Tagged: costumes, friends, memories, Renaissance Faires, starting over

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It was off to the Sherwood Forest Ren Faire this past Saturday. This time I managed to convince a few writing peeps to come along with me, namely Salima Alikhan, Bethany Hegedus, and Sam Clark (our new Austin SCBWI Assistant Regional Adviser). Also it was great in that it was only about 45 minutes away from Austin.

And as always, I think pictures summarize the whole event best!

 
























Thanks, Sherwood Forest Faire, for a great time! We will definitely be back again next year! And for those interested, they are open until March 31. Easter Ren Faire, anyone?

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