Chinese food and other delicious things :)

Good morrow my dearies :)

Here I am at the Pub....I had to wear my glasses. Unfortunately, something happened with my contacts and something irritated my eye REALLY BAD on Saturday late...So, thusly, I had to wear my glasses the rest of the day and on Sunday. I dearly hope my eye turns back to normal instead of the Vampire bloodshot eye that I was sporting this weekend...I hate wearing glasses for performance...but I must needs take care of myself... )

Merlyn praying to Bacchus with our song, "Say Good Master Bacchus"

I had a fine last night with my friends (who are really more like family :).

Here are Dre' and Max and Aidan :)

Ravyn and David :)

We all piled into Dre' & Max's house after faire, and after showers, and while sitting on the comfy couch (read: "broken from faire" :) we all chipped in and started ordering anything and everything we wanted from the Chinese take out menu. We sent those willing for an adventure to the Chinese place, who gave us the word that it would be "20 mina" (20 minutes :). Usually it is 10 mina....but this was a big order. Of course they don't take a phone number. They must use Chinese fortune cookies to figure out who's who with orders, cuz no matter where I've been, when you call in an order...the NEVER ask your name or even take your phone number. I guess they know you are starving and you will come for it. They will know your order from anyone else's by the gleam in your steamed dumpling eye.
Who knows? I'm psychic, but I still couldn't guess your order.

So after ordering about what seemed like a $1000 worth of Chinese food (which was actually under $80) the food arrived and we laid out a line of dishes: Steamed Dumplings, General Tso Chicken, Hawaii 5-O, Shrimp & Cashew, Diced Chicken w/ Almonds, Beef w/ Garlic sauce, Broccoli w/ Garlic Sauce, Bourbon Chicken, Fried Wontons, Fried Rice, Hot & Sour Soup, Spring Rolls and Egg Rolls, Pork Lo Mein (and Free Sweet & Sour Chicken). But here's the kicker. NO FORTUNE COOKIES.
(Insert depression face here). We feel the owe us a BAG. :)

Watched a news clip on Fox news as the press was at the faire. Jay (who I've dubbed "The poster child of the Renaissance Faire) was supposed to be on TV AGAIN :) He looks like an Elf. An Elf in green playing a harp. Of COURSE he'd be on TV forthe faire. So we all settled down to watch the interview with Jay. Poor sweet Abby, his pretty and talented minstrel wife always gets passed over it seems during these interviews as Jay is...well...so Elfish. So we waitied patiently for the Fort Myers Medieval Faire promo slot to come up. And there it was....starting with Jay's fingers on the harp....and den?
Abby's interview!! YAY! Abby got to actually "TALK" on screen!

We were happy for her. Happy for them both and well....Jay took it well.

I crashed and burned first...and I slept like a rock and we now have the day off. Ravyn and Dre' also have the day off, so maybe an adventure will ensue. I know Harry would like to see the Ford and Edison Mansions, as would I.....will have to see how the day develops....

I know I need to sort and repack the Suburu and all the garb (which happens to be a jumble in both our room here and in the car. It's like an explosion of costuming ....)

The pubmaster Pirate, Hoppe, made this great sign for us last year. On the back he put a fun slogan
"Side 2 is free with every purchase" :)

Jay and Abby are leaving us all today and off to points south this week....we hope to meet up with them on Thursday again in Deerfield Beach..

Will keep you posted on the adventures to come.

Here's a couple of pics I thought you might like :) (Thanks Dre!)

This is Me....blogging away....with laptop and a friend on my lap...
Her name is...Clover :)

This is the Troll at the Faire with Aidan... Harry has a pic of me with my Troll friend too, will post it sometime soon or when we are back at home to upload it for you...

Here are some of the folks at the Manna Booth....Harry and I love to drum with the guys here at the Manna Booth every year. Fortune telling, drumming, dancing, hugs...they all happen here :)

Here is Max and Will playing at the Manna Booth....Doesn't Max look like Talon?
And it is rare to see Will the Fiddler with a guitar! :)

H

I would like to add some of Harry's pics...trying to work that out...he's taken some good pics...but I don't have a way to upload them at the moment....Until then, I will snag ones from others (being the pirate that I am :)


Max and one of the Jousting horses...(Not Katie...)

Travel Blog 5: Just another day on the shire :)

Today was a very lovely "summer" day here in January in Florida.

Harry and I didn't have the early morning meeting (thank the Gods :) so we got to the faire at around 8:30am.

I'm pretty tired so I'll give you a quick run down of the important bits:

The horse's name from the Golden Riders of the New Age that died yesterday was "Katie".
The jousters are still in shock, but like troupers...they did their show...revamped and adjusted w/o their charger.

Magic's doggy Peaches, had a total of 5 puppies yesterday. 1 lived. So far. Peaches is just too young to have puppies and the wee things were premature. We hope she can learn to be a mommy with the one she has (her milk came in) but the puppy that lived is the "runt" and can't figure out how to suckle....

We saw "St. Nicholas" at the faire. We are not sure why.

One car, hot from a ride, with a hot catalytic converter, parked in the tall grass here at Lakes Park. It caught on fire. It also ignited the car on either side of it. So three cars went up in flames today.

We ran our "Garbaholics Anonymous Meeting & Fashion Show" for those at our 5:20pm show. It was a lot of fun! We drew in some newbies and some veterans.We enabled others to be Garbaholics :)

No one else died or caught on fire.

All in all it was a good day :)

Life and Death on the First Day of Faire

The day dawned way too early for me. Harry & I were at faire, having driven in from Cape Coral (about 40 minutes away) to arrive at the morning meeting at 8am.
8 am.
IN Garb.
ugh.
Along the way we saw a tangerine sunrise, which was (almost) worth getting up at 6am.

At the meeting of gathered independants, performers and staff, our faire director gave us the lay of the land.  Being the cool guy that he is, knows that we've all done this a time or two and he gave us the following spiel, "Have fun and put your beers in a mug, not a plastic cup and... don't have 15 beers". (14 is ok, Terry? :)

The day was very beautiful. Blue skies, fluffly clouds, and it got up to about 75 degrees! Our first set was sparse...but it always is at this faire and that's ok. It was fun!

We stopped by to see our friend, "Magic" who sells "Ren boots"and to sing him his favorite song, "Dark & Roving Eye" and noticed his wee doggie was wandering around in his booth.

He told us her name was "Peaches" and she was...not only pregnant, but going to deliver TODAY.
Her water had broke and they were expecting some "puppy sign" anytime now. We decided that what Peaches needed was a love song to relax her. So we sang her "Jock O' Hazeldean" to this sweet (I'm guessing here) Shiz Tsu.

Magic scooped up his sweet doggy and rolled her on her back, in his arms....with her swollen belly displayed like a proud daddy would present it. The doggy was evidently very comfy like this, because she visibly relaxed, and looked at us so sweetly while we were singing this love song to this wee furry mommy-to-be.
It was really a wonderufl moment! The doggy looked like she really enjoyed it!
We whole heartedly promised to check back on Peaches for the news of their new growing family!

We have 2 pub shows at Hoppe's Tavern and 2 shows at the Court stage. The pub was raucous and busy and we rocked both sets there. After our mid-day show, we had some delicious lunch and we were going to take a short break when we got some devastating news.

The joust had been in progress during our lunch. We know the jousting troupe guys from the Sterling Renaissance Festival. The troupe is "The New Riders of the Golden Age".  They are great guys. Harry does sound for them at Sterling. We know that they love and care for their animals very well.

All of a sudden there was a swarm of security, on their radios.... and a large pickup truck and trailer were being waved quickly into the faire. Evidently, during the 12:45 joust show, their best mare....their charger....collapsed into a heap, in front of an audience....from a seizure.
She was DEAD on the field INSTANTLY from what was probably an embulism. The rider was visibly shaken and the whole troupe were deflated with depression. We were called in to "be a  distraction" to lure the crowds attention away from the process of extracting this beautiful, strong, work horse,... this huge, heavy Clydesdale from the field. Tarps were put up to shield the deceased animal from sight. One reason was to protect the audience from the spectacle...the other reason,  I hoped, was that it would give the horse some dignity in death.

I suppose that a war horse would want to die this way. Serving...working....died "in the saddle" as it were.
But it was a great tragedy to be sure.

While the helpers and driver and doctor were there to remove the horse from the jousting ring, Harry and I placed ourselves behind there at a Faery booth and they wanted to hear something "magical".
I launched into "Witch of the Westmoreland" and suddenly became painfully aware how appropriate... and also how sweetly touching this song was in it's emotions...for this particular moment...as I watched (behind my crowd) the horse being taken away. All the while, singing about the wounded knight and his faithful steed.
The crowd was drawn away.
Then the truck and trailer drove away, with its precious cargo.... taking the jousters hearts away with it.

We checked back with Magic and Peaches and were hoping for better news there after all this.
However, we were saddened to hear that Peaches's first puppy was stillborn. The rest of the puppies were "still squirming within" when we checked back in before our last show.

On the bright side, the day was beautiful and there was a good crowd and our shows went really, really well!
Had a lot of fun playing with Will the Fiddler too! We also played at the Manna Booth and sat in with the drummers there. Our host, Max is starting to play with them, wanting to be a minstrel extrodinaire...and the dancers had a lot of fun whirling around while the improv music went on and on.

We saw a Troll with a huge hammer and Harry took my picture with him. He growled and posed :)

Harry & I sang "Charlie Mopps" at the pubsing and afterward walked (limped :) back to the car to drive back to Cape Coral for the night.

We are now back at Dre' and Max's having showered and I now feel like a human being again! We were starving and ate some great chili that Dre made. Jay and Abby are here and they brought some 10 year old Tulamore Dew. We all worked hard today....and were very good minstrels....and after the day's events, magic and tragedies...we needed a shot of good whiskey, that is for sure.

We are happy to be here with friends and family.

Indeed, it's been a day of Life & Death on the Shire.......

Faire Friends :)

Well, today has been a good one....
woke up in Ravyn's comfy bed at 6am and was too creaky to sleep anymore...
laid there and thought about getting up till 7am.
Was glad that Ravyn is also an early riser and when I emerged from the bedroom, leaving Harry happily snoring (after driving straight for 14 hours yesterday...) she was already putting on the coffee :)

We had a lovely chat all morning!

Harry & I took off for Fort Myers early afternoon, got to the faire, found Jay & Abby and we set up our tent next to them. We have spent ....so far...a total of $250 on gas to get here (and the tank is full even as we speak for that). I think we spent that on getting the Cottage to PA last year....

We checked out our stages at the faire, walked around, checked in with the boss :)

Then we drove to Dre' & Max's house for dinner. She's a wonderful cook. She made Lorie O's Butternut Squash Soup and a great salad with spinach and strawberries.

I've laid out our garb and have "moved in" for the duration, even fluffing out the garb to unwrinkle and putting it all in the closet on hangers.

We look forward to the faire tomorow. The temperature should be about 70 degrees and sunny.

I am NOT looking forward to leaving here at 7am in garb to be at the faire for morning meeting....

so goodnite me dearies.

We are technically and finally.... HERE. :)

Pushing off despite the emotional weather :)

Harry and I were treated to bacon and eggs at Val's for breakfast! A real treat, as we haven't been eating a lot of bacon at our house of late, as our roommate Talon calls bacon "The Devil's Foreskin". I love it but have not wanted to eat it either because:
a) I don't  want to offend him by eating it in front of him or stinking up the house with it
and b) haven't want to make him sick
and c) haven't wanted to hear the nasty comments about it :)

So I ate bacon with guiltless glee.

I have to also prefice this note with an apology. "I'm sorry I was such a baby yesterday and cried and pissed and moaned about shit."

I seem to have said this alot in my life. I truly need to release my emotions sometimes and get it out. Poor Harry. I was pretty much weepy for all the rest of the trip thru the rest of VA and all of NC...worried about stuff at home and doctors and such....until Harry says...gently..."Are you maybe PMS'ing?"

This would normally bring a knife blade to his heart. A stab wound justly and deftly applied. But to which I weepingly and weakly said, "Yah, it couldn't be all this OTHER stuff....." and then dried my tears and started to let it go. (Of course he WAS partially right...damn it :)

The day then opened up to a most beautiful day driving thru NC. The world was covered in ice.
The trees looked like they were made of tinsel. Glittering in the sunshine....silver trees shining like crystal. The wee bit of snow that they did have, had a sheen of ice layering over the top which made the snow look like some silver frosting. Like the world was spray painted silver. The fields, lawns and rooftops looked like sculpted sheet metal. Thankfully, the roads were all dry and bare, which only made the ice sheen more unusual.

I had to let go my worries in the midst of all this beauty. The road opened up and Harry was excited watching the temperature gauge rise on the Suburu.
"It's 34!"
 "It's now 42!!!"
"Getting warmer honey!"

Harry is a sturdy man. I do love him for that. I tend to be pretty flighty. I'm kinda like Dory in "Finding Nemo" sometimes. I tend to obsess a bit ( P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney....) yet then can forget it just as easilly. She's got short term memory loss. I may tend to obsess and put my mates thru a lot....then squeeze it out like a sponge and expect that they will forget the bad just like I've already forgotten and move on like I've already done.

Must be a Gemini thing. :)

I do need a sturdy love and sturdy friends. I tend to put folks thru a lot. I obsess. I rant. I rave. I change my mind. I forget and go on to the next and have already forgotten the drama. People need to be sturdy with me.

I consider myself sturdy. I'm flighty and sturdy. I obsess and I forget.

Yah. It must be a Gemini thing?

There's nothing I can do about the problems back at home. They will be worked on and solved another day and by the efforts of myself and others at another time.

In the voice in my head is one of my favorite heroines, Scarlett O'Hara who is now saying to me,
"Oh fiddle dee dee. I'll think about that tomorrow."

And so I shall. :)

So now, it's Onward!

I am currently sitting on the couch at Ravyn's...having morning coffee, chatting and catching up...and planning our day ahead.

We will be traveling to Fort Myers.to set up a tent for a green room and check out the faire site. Looking forward to seeing friends there, finding our stages, check our schedule and getting the lay of the land. Then on to Dre and Max's house and visiting them and laying out our garb for the morrow.

I just had to laugh. Ravyn said, "I think I'm turning into an alligator." (talking about dry skin)

I had to laugh, because it rang so true a bit emotionally....

Maybe that's what I am lately. An alligator. I have lots of sharp teeth and jaws, that' for sure. They are one of my best features. (I have heard it said, that my sarcasm is one of my gifts and my curses). I sometimes cry Crocodile Tears. (real tears...tho, they may be temporary until I get out the bad karma). Maybe I need to grow a thicker, scaly skin in life. Maybe I need to not let things bother me so much. Maybe I need to stop eating people. Or maybe I'm just hungry and need to eat the right one so I am full. Allilgators like the sun and laying around. Can be very active or lie dormant and think (do alligator's actually think with their reptile brain? I don't know.) They hatch their eggs and when their children are grown, they are on their own, to be their own selves.

We may be going to Deerfield Beach next week to visit and we'll be driving, if so....
thru Alligator Alley.

Hmmmm....maybe a theme is emerging after all.

Will write again as soon as I can.

Committments Update Week 7

Well, we are now into week 7 for me on my ideas of tackling some of my goals/objectives for my life design ideas.

Let's take a look at how I'm doing, shall we?

Well, I'm doing really good in some areas, and I really suck in some areas (oh, I know...so much can be said with THAT statement :)


Daily Goals:

Sentence a Day Journal:
YES and NO. Went really, really well until my laptop power cord died. To be honest, the problem with this one is that I forget at night, when I'm supposed to do this task. I get tired, sit down to watch a video (we don't watch TV) and pretty soon, with my feet up on Harry, while I'm laying on the demon couch, I find that I'm making snuffling noises and figure I should go to bed. As I write this, I think that maybe the best bet is for me is to write in the morning, when I enjoy writing...and do this task as a beginning of the day thing, instead of the end of the day thing. I will try that.

Walk Monty:
(Merlyn sheepishly hangs her head) Well, um...NO. There have been no sidewalks to walk on, and it's too dangerous to walk on the road. I do play with my Joe dog every day and love him...and he's getting plenty of exercise...but Merlyn? NO. I tell you what. I will start walking when the weather gets better, and I will get a walking buddy (Debbi you game?) and I will tackle this then. UNTIL THEN....I will substitute a 3X a week Yoga tape. (hey, it's better than nothing..and considering I'm a slug...this actually may work :) I'm marking my chart with this.

Sort/Organize some area (big or small).
A resounding YES! I have been helping Harry tackle our office, and while it is not done...he did receive Kudos from our friends who came to open mic for the improvement in the office. I also totally cleaned our bedroom on Monday, sheets, oiled furniture, vac'd, mopped...and did a overhaul to the upstairs bathroom on Wednesday this week. I also have put up and taken down all the holiday stuff in this interim (that's a major bit of work as you all know) and stuffed it all back in the attic to sleep another year. (see Chiropractor appt. goal objective accomplished on Monday as well :)



Organize Writings/Books:
YES. I have sorted out all my "Minstrel Musings" and did an index for the "Poxy Poetry". Need to put "Life's Leavings" and "Piratical Pizzle" in order so that I may do some proofing on my laptop on the upcoming trip. This is a big job...
Plus I have been blogging...which makes me happy.

Weekly Goals:


Haiku Monday:
YES! I love this one and am doing good with it.
Here's the one for this week (it was also my Fairy Tale Book Club kick off night :)
"Riding Hoods are sweet
Wolves think them delectable 
Huntsmen have new plans"

Post Commitments updates:  
NO. I haven't done this for a couple of weeks. Am filling you in now. Probably should do it more often, but with my other writings I don't want people to think I'm "pelting" them with blogs...

Spa Night: 
YES. I have been overall doing a great job of this. Altho, the whole manicure/pedicure thing is hard to do. I just don't think of it if I don't have polish on my fingernails. The polish on my toesies is pretty and lasts a long time. The hot bubble baths and all over oil skin treatments are a blessing and the Lemon Mint facials are a real treat. 


Monthly Goals: 


Go to the Chiropractor:  
YES! I was a mess this month and was glad that I made the appointment last month for now. Felt better when I left, but Joanne the LMT there said that she thought I needed to have ice asap when I got home, and suggested a massage before I left for the long drive to Florida. I had made a previous appointment for next month with another LMT, but she offered a complimentary massage to me, as a friend gift, as she didn't want to see me in pain on this upcoming long drive. I never had a massage from her before.
It was wonderful!


Fairy Tale Book Club:  
YES! Had our first major get together this last Monday! About 10 of us got together to discuss "Little Red Riding Hood" and all the sexual and political connotations therein. What a wonderful bunch of smart, savvy, bawdy, fun people to do this with! Many delights were eaten and many stories told!! We also discussed "The Snow Queen" as she made sure the first two meetings of ours (where she was NOT on the agenda to discuss) were canceled due to weather. It was a BLIZZARD those nights when she was not to be discussed. The night we put her on the table, the weather was PERFECT. A co-incidence? We think NOT. 
Our next meeting is planned for round robin at Besty's house, when we will discuss "Baba Yaga".. Betsy has chickens. Co-incidence? We think NOT :)


Make a Date with a Friend:  
YES! I took Joanne out to lunch before the massage as a thank you :) It was a lovely time which we both looked forward to as the high point of both our days!


Creative Circle: 
YES! I booked the Jordan Community Room for this coming Sunday. All interested friends are welcome to bring a project and snack and get some fun stuff done.


Song- Brush up or Learn New:  
YES! I started figuring out "The Skye Boat Song" yesterday. I just adore The Corries version and will try to keep plugging away on this new song. On the roster is also, "Paddle Me Own Canoe" and "Lord of the Dance." Not all at once, but lets see how the Skye Boat Song goes...it will be interrupted with the upcoming 2 week vacation down south...so hopefully I can keep working on it before and after....

Tri-Monthly Goal:

Get a Massage:  
YES! Today! Hurray!! Thanks Joanne! I highly recommend her!! I am sore and I didn't know all the painful spots I had until she worked on them. I am always surprised by that....I have to drink a LOT of water the rest of today...have much toxins to flush out....and good riddance.


Am trying to pay more attention to what I eat too. More fruit & veggies. Less coffee and crap. (read: Thank the GODS that the Christmas goodies are done!!)


So that's it for me. I'm trying. (or as Harry says, "I'm very trying" :)


I encourage you to pick up the book "The Happiness Project" and get to work designing your life too :)
Hey, it can't hurt....and it might even help. :)

Faery Glamor

In my quest for knowledge and communication with the faeries, I became aware of some ills...some things not quite right in my world. Oh, they seemed right from the outside. But when the surface was scratched a bit, I saw a dark underbelly of pain and saddness and anger.

I realized that I had used Faery Glamor to cover something.
I had made a castle out of a stone hut and manipulated my feelings to bring euphoric results to myself and others..

I have come to the conclusion that I may indeed, be a Faery Witch. A bit different than a Wiccan Witch, but still wonderful. I have some magic powers. Have had since I was a gifted child..
It is true that they are hard to control sometimes, and some days they get the better of me, can scare those around me, but I think this last bit has finally freed me of some of my own spell upon myself.

*I feel ill when I'm not out in nature.
*I adore all things Arthurian and Merlin related (hence my name itself),
*I can be fanciful and demanding, hard working and love to sing.
*People tell me how much they admire my singing voice, and that it soothes them.
*I sometimes move things or people with my mind.
*I have built dreams and torn them down in one evening.
*I give all I have in a relationship and spoil my partners and gift them and put them upon grand pedestals.
*I also require their devotion and faithfulness and am a very jealous lover.
*I am vengeful if I don't get my way.
*Yet I think of myself always as a giver and yet, I always think of the gypsy trade in anything, one thing left in place for another.
*I adore the stage and the floaty things of air, whether they be birds, butterflies, dragonflies or gossamer wings.
*I love to hide when I want to, and eavesdrop if at all possible, like a faery in the corner.
*Yet I love to burst upon the scene in full regalia and have everyone's attention.
*I hold a grudge, but can be easily convinced to let it go if given gifts.
*I am a good storyteller.
*I spent most of my youth and young adult hood outside and preferred it to any other place.
*I realized at a young age that trees and animals and even the elements have spirits and souls.

These are ALL Faery qualities.

Yes, I believe I am a Faery Witch. Which is why that ring came to ME out of all the people it could've gone to. I would never have come to this conclusion this soon without it.

In thinking about Faery Glamor and all its qualities, I thought about Midsummer's Nights Dream.

I am convinced now that I have used my powers on others...and even myself. I have, through my joy and reckless abandon, put spells upon them and convinced us both that we were in love, or in some faeryworld of hope and magic...when in sooth, he was only bewitched and woke with donkey ears, like in Midsummer Night's Dream.

When involved in Faery Glamor, there is nothing more delicious, nothing more delightful, nothing more real and yet, nothing more illusionary.

The Faery Ring has taught me that I can set and lift these spells at will.

I choose to now be very aware of the power that I have upon others. I will choose to use my magic in my songs and stories and to not use it on other fragile or damaged people, even if I think it may benefit them.

Granted, there is much to gain by using Faery Glamor. And the recipients may take many experiences and lessons back to their mundane world, albeit, they have lost a great deal of time while lost in fantasy.
They may remember fondly our time together, and then more and more vaguely, the magic that was, until one day it will only be a dream, a thought, a moment of a smile, or a lost feeling.

Like Titiana, I am totally obsessed at the time, all engulfed by the magic of the moment...then awake from my dream, slowly blinking to the new day of reality as Oberon's love potion has worn off, and I find myself back to myself again.

The story can not be repeated. Nick Bottom will wonder what happened, then he will wonder no more, as his life of work and self consumption and apathy towards others and love of self will once more become his familiar theme.

And I, like Titiana will find myself still in love and lust and always at odds with Oberon. :)