On A Happier Note...

I took some time off this weekend to attend the Maryland Renaissance Faire. Anyone who enjoys Societies for Creative Anachronism or historical festivals of any kind should definitely make it to this one. In Annapolis, Maryland, it is a marvelous experience out in the wooded countryside (no sunburn, despite the heat), to peruse dozens of shops containing every period craft and ware you could desire, games such as axe-throwing and knife-throwing competitions or Jacob's Ladder (real women do it in skirts!), enough food to break both your diet and your budget in a single weekend (I particularly recommend the pork chop on a stick--or "pig on a twig" as they called it--and the chocolate-covered cheesecake), and the opportunity to play a sophisticated version of dress-up with adults and kids alike. The music was also superb; my favorite was a group called The Pyrates Royale who specialized in sea chanties.

(That's me in green in front of Henry VIII, and my friend Julie Anne, a many-time Faire-goer, escorting me through the place on her first run. That's Jane Seymour behind her. I gather that Anne Boleyn was Queen of the Faire last year, but she "wasn't available" this year. Ouch.)

Being the sibling of a costume designer, I have always loved period clothing. My costume today is entirely hand-made, loaned to me from Julie Anne and my friend Jen, who isn't in the picture but also introduced me to Faire. Both of those talented costumers are on the Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society with me. Since I can't sew to save my life, I plan to buy a period bodice of my own in the near future.

Nothing like an artifice-narrowed waist, a full skirt, and flowers in your hair to make a gal feel beautiful. (Being kissed on the hand multiple times in one day by men in tights and/or kilts doesn't hurt either.)