One Day at a Time

Saturday was the appointed day for our annual expedition to the Renaissance Festival. This is one of the highlights of my summer, and one activity I will miss if we ever get to leave Minnesota. Come February or March, I start getting a hankering for a rotisserie grilled turkey leg that practically melts in your mouth...

Scott and I have attended for at least the last three (four?) years, and for the past two, we've gone with our good friends, Andy and Becka (yes, they are still speaking to us after the bathroom incident...). The Rahns have pictures from their digital camera, so I'll post when I finally get them. I made a fairy costume this year--I found some really pretty shimmery bluish-purplish fabric last October or November, and told Becka that I wanted that to be my costume this year. Next year I'll probably be a "green man" or some such thing--I bought a cool leather mask to wear next year. Maybe even for Halloween this year, if I can ever get some work done...

One of the most fun things about renfest is dog-watching--what, you thought I was going to say people???? Of course my favorite was the 1 1/2 year old black great dane girl, Chloe. I got Dane slobbered--and my dane lust has picked up to incredible levels. Scott will either have to let me get a Dane soon or be willing to have a house full of Dane paraphenalia. We also saw such canines as Scottish Deerhounds, min-pins, goldens, a pair of dalmatians and a pair of Shelties we saw twice, greyhounds (though we didn't see the Greyhound Rescue Society like we did last year), Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, fuzzy mutts, airedales (we actually saw two different dogs), border collies (not counting the sheepherding demonstration where the guy brought out his 6 or 7 dogs of various ages and training levels), a basset hound puppy that seriously needed to grow into its ears, dobies, rotties, and probably many more that I can't even remember now, not including the 4 little fuzzy white things (all together as a family, of course), two of which were riding in a wagon that had been made to look like a lion cage from a traveling circus from days of yore.

We were a little disappointed not to see as many costumes as we have in the past. Becka and I were commenting on how people in costumes were frequently better treated by the vendors, more of a comrades in arms kind of thing. When they notice it, children are particularly fascinated by my comrade, Moonbeam, a gryphon who rides on my shoulder. His fur and feathers are extremely soft, and he's very dignified when he looks at them. Two youngsters in particular were enchanted. The first was a little 4 or 5 year old named Aidan; he did not want me to leave--after I stood up to rejoin my companions, he kept trying to pet Moonbeam. The second was even more fun. She was about 7 or 8 and was with an older brother/friend of about 9-11. He told her to watch to see if Moonbeam moved. When he turned to look at them, her eyes turned as big as saucers, and her chin very nearly hit the ground.