Creature of Mad Enthusiasms

Before I go under the cut with personal natter, last night was Team Wench's 10th Privateer Feast. It's a fundraiser for breast cancer research - or, as this year's motto went, "Ten years of the best support a boobie ever had."

I was at the first PF. I'd just discovered this thing called the Wench's Guild (Team Wench would spin off into a separate group later) barely a fortnight earlier, and signed up to go to a stitch and bitch, and then to check out their feast. It had singing by the Pyrates Royale and Ship's Company and the raffle consisted mostly of endless baskets of soap made by faireraven. For a tiny little gathering, it had heart and enthusiasm, even if there were getting to be groans by the end of the night as more soap came up for bidding. IIRC, it made about $3,000. We all gave ourselves a round of applause, gathered up our feast gear, and headed into the night.

The official number wasn't announced last night - the books aren't closed yet - but the ballpark figure was announced: $16,000.

As was this number: adding up all the Privateer Feasts for the last decade, Team Wench has pulled in $100,000 for breast cancer research.

The hall is bigger, the musical acts more numerous (although they still include the Pyrates and Ship's Co), and the raffle had close to 100 items, with nary a bar of loofah soap in sight. The abalone & brass candlesticks and the seascape painted by my great grandfather brought in tidy numbers of tickets, so although I didn't win a single thing - webqatch, someday I may forgive you for scooping the CD set that I'd bid close to $30 on alone - I feel I've added my $.02 to the cause. Especially since I was on kitchen duty until the doors unofficially opened and on door duty until it closed. (The advance check in this year? GENIUS. We're refining that and doing it again.)

All this and getting to say "hi" to people I rarely see out of Revel Grove these days *and* hand over 6 boxes and 1 bag of books to tchwrtr. (I did take out the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books that were set at Rennfaire and show them to everybody first. Because of course they all had to see them!)

( This week )

TODAY:

To be honest, while I've got a list of things I should do today - catch up email, pull taxes together, clean this pigsty of a house, do laundry - everything that OMGMUSTBEDONE was done yesterday before the feast... so odds are extraordinarily good that I'm going to spend much of the day lying on the couch like a gutted fish.

If Torchweek wasn't enough, I spent all day Saturday at Shore Leave and most of today at the Team Wench Charity Yard Sale.

Shore Leave
It's a little bit like those nightmares about having an exam for a class you never attended to show up at a convention and have half a dozen people ask you, "Aren't you supposed to be in a panel?" One of the conchairs told me that my Qualities of Leadership co-authors flatteringly *insisted* that I be listed on the Whoniverse panel first thing Saturday.

The only hitch is that nobody told me...

Fortunately, I wasn't *too* late for it!

I was in and out of the guest star speeches. The Robert Picardo- Ethan Phillips show is very funny and definitely NSFW. Christopher Heyerdahl (one of our celebrity Masq judges) laughs easily and often. Rachel Luttrell is charming. Jason Momoa is a big galumphing kid.

drewshi, I still wish I'd been able to attend more of your Chronic Rift panel, but it was right when Masquerade setup kicks into high gear!

Masquerade was only 19 entries this year; small for a masq of Shore Leave's caliber, but perhaps what we could expect in this economy; people aren't going to spend money for competition costumes. (D. Jeannette - African Tudor D. Jeannette, if you remember the people of color in costuming post a couple years back - said her Found Costuming panel was unusually popular. (She was, if you were wondering, modeling the concept with a smashingly flattering Firefly/cowboy outfit made out of stuff she'd found around.)) Off the top of my head, the most noteworthy costumes were "Pilates of the Caribbean," a stunningly beautiful recreation of an underwater fairy creature, Ninja Home Shopping Network, and the young fan Supergirl who "flew" across stage being held up by our Ninja stagehands. And then there was our longtime MC who could not come this year, so his best friend (also an experienced MC) stepped in - introduced as "David... costumed this year as John!"

They were also running new format of catchers/runners that severely reduces the number of people needed. (I'd go into more detail, but it'll only come across as gibberish if you've never run a show where people enter in one spot and exit in another. Anyone who does Masqs out there want to know, comment.) I'm happy that it lets me go back to being head catcher even with my bum knee - best seat in the house!

Team Wench
I can't tell you who won what because I left as soon as halftime started, so that I could get home and get enough sleep before hauling down to Team Wench's charity yard sale, an hour away in the opposite direction. (However, before I disappeared, I put the word in several concom ears that it would be *lovely* to look into if Kai Owen, Gareth David-Lloyd, or Naoko Mori could be considered as guests next year.)

The economy, the Sunday timing, and possibly the heat held numbers down, but although I don't know the specific number, I know we made over $2,000. Not shabby!

And now to catch up with a fandom that's full of opinions at the moment...

A very early Sunday 7, in the quiet moment before I head back to Shore Leave:

This year's Prepare for Faire Yard Sale, which will include regular as well as rennie things, is at faireraven's place. Ready for pickup today from my place are the sewing machines from last year, a box of garb from last year, a suitcase, a dressing table and mirror, a bathroom cabinet, assorted CD stands, trims, laundry baskets, and my old doll house.

In addition, I have culled through and added the review and Malice books I was going to swap at Bouchercon, my cookbooks, (it's an entire laundry basket of books being donated), halved my basket collection for the cause and combed through my rennie wardrobe and accessories.

Tomorrow or at some point after this weekend, I'll take the entire box of precut fabrics, foundations, and everything else I've been holding onto with the intent of making a pineapple quilt and box it up as a quilt kit. Or maybe I'll have M box it up, as that is where I put fabric of some sentimental value but didn't know what else to do with. It's been over a decade; time to admit that I'm not sewing the damned quilt.

Besides, I'm working out how to knit one.

This post is entirely book-free, or at least free of discussing the contents. That will come in a separate post later under cut, for those who are still reading.

Midnight Madness
I went home early and took a nap on Friday, which is about all that kept me alive. Although the big party was in Silver Spring, where they turned an entire section of the street into Diagon Alley (Ben & Jerrys put up a Fortescue sign, Borders called itself Flourish & Botts, etc.,) we went to the Bowie store. After a shortish wait in line to get our sections for the actual sale, maureen_the_mad and I went for a long, caloriffic sit-down steak dinner before coming back and hanging out at the store. After a while, we ran into friends and spent most of the time chatting. Just before the main rush, fandance showed up to chat, but by then we were part of the rugby scrum around the entry to the cash registers. We were more than a little afraid that it would just be a mob scene, but they set up a checkpoint so that people really did only get up front according to their groups.

The first people to get the book - for free, even - were the winners of the costume contest, an entire family. Dad was in regular clothing with the nametag "Muggle." A boy who looked eight-nine-ish was Harry; his little sister was in a school uniform, pale makeup, and carried a toilet seat as Moaning Myrtle. Mom was wearing a hot pink 1960s style skirt suit with matching hat and shoes as a surprisingly stylish Umbridge. (We asked her where she got it. The answer was "Scarily enough, it was already in my closet.")

Opening of the line to M and I out the door was less than three minutes. It took longer for us to get out of the lot, because the police had pulled someone over in the parking lot and blocked our car in.

"Oh, look, Harry marries the squid," I said as I read the last page by sonic screwdriver light. M threatened to kill me.

Prepare for Faire
It was vital I get enough sleep that night to get through the yard sale. Naturally, I slept poorly. (And, I have to confess, it's a good thing that first chapter is so short.) However, shawan_7 brought donuts and fandance brought coffee which she turned into mocha for me, and a whole bunch of people showed up to help.

The final sales all haven't been made - my mother bought something off me today (!), dora_took took a sewing machine in the hopes of flogging it to the costumers, and some other checks are coming in, but so far we've made $1,775, which is pretty damned respectable!

After it was all over and we had the burnoff (fire sale prices to the people who've been helping all along), I was as ruthless with the stuff left over as I have been culling my own possessions. Some of the things have been in the sale all five years it's been running. So we packed up as much as somebody else might want - books & baskets to Goodwill, a friend took all the film for a film buff he knows, costumes to the SCA's Gold Key costume rental (or trash, but they get to choose), and what was left after that will be tossed in tonight's trash. I have kept a tiny amount as seed for Prepare for Faire '08, whoever wants to run that - one box of good garb, two sewing machines, and a box of trim.

Thanks to our wonderful helpers, it was all gone in a couple of hours.

Nantucket Nan, one of my earliest and favorite costumes, went to a friend and fellow costumer. While there were other friends who wanted it, there's just something satisfying about keeping it in the costuming family.

Afterwards, the V family, M, faireraven, and acroyear70 watched Hogfather.

Sunday 7
Today, aside from my parents visiting briefly to bring things and use my washing machine, I've been reading as fast as I can turn pages. I've been offline since 2:30 on Friday, so the mail & LJ are going to be scary and I'm sure potterdammerung is in full swing.

Still, got more than 7 gone yesterday. I've:
1) Donated my bowed psaltry to the Pirate Feast raffles
2) Donated the last of the unclaimed craft books to Prepare for Faire
3) Donated massage mat to Prepare for Faire
4) Donated another drum to the Pirate Feast raffle
5) Donated my aunt's sewing machine to Prepare for Faire
6) Donated my treadle sewing machine to Prepare for Faire (one of the first things to go)
7) Culled through my basket collection and donated fully half of it to Prepare for Faire

Better yet, I bought very little at PfF to add clutter back. Two baskets (I sent out something like a dozen, so that's not too bad), some cotton yarn, a couple of Irish dresses. At the end of the day the Maryland Rennfaire goblet I had donated hadn't sold so I took it back rather than give it to Goodwill.

Next week, I'm going to have to do double duty, as the weekend after that I'll be in Stratford.

The Team Wench Feast last night was a huge success - the early rough figure is $9,500 brought in for charity. I won a few things at the auction; a clipclock, a falconer's pouch, and the Hack and Slash Christmas DVD. maureen_the_mad made out like a bandit, winning a walking stick and a massage certificate, among several others. And Chort and Paula did well too; Paula got a fabulous black cloak and they got the matching green Dancing Pig goblets, among others.

twistedchick did you make it? I never saw you!

The "and more" is small stuff. Mini Reviews for the next three Narnia audiobooks: Jeremy Northam made very little attempt to pause between lines of dialog or to distinguish between two of the main speakers in Silver Chair. Not so good, although one voice - the owl Glimfeather - was so well done that I rather hope he gets cast as the voice in the movie. Just keep him away from Jill and Eustace.

Alex Jennings whispered all the voices in Horse and His Boy (which is still the most boring book in the series) and therefore you either couldn't hear what people were saying or you blew your ears out when he loudly proclaimed the narrative parts.

On the other hand, Kenneth Branagh is romping gleefully through Magician's Nephew, giving every evidence of enjoying himself to the fullest. He's flinging himself into all the voices, particularly the various talking animals, with zest.

Am finding myself with a sudden urge to put down the mystery review backlog and start reading romances (I'm assuming this is in response to general stress at the moment.) I don't know if I'm hitting menopause or just impatient, but during all the sex scenes in the last book, I was flipping ahead thinking "get off and get on with the plot, will you?"

Also, my Mother has commissioned me to make her a bunch of knitted dishcloths. Having used one to scrub my feast gear and frypan without hurting the finish, I may be a devotee myself, and not just because I've become fond of knitting.

The good news, for those who haven't read the updates on a previous post - the people I bought the car from are paying for ALL repairs and I will have a car back at the end of the day. The guy at the local dealer swears it'll get me to Canada and back, no problem. *crossed fingers*

The better news:

Prepare for Fair III

Team Wench is doing it again - the charity yardsale that lets you buy renfaire-related things at great prices and allows us to keep doing our great works. All proceeds this year will go to Alzheimer's research.

TIME: August 13 8am - 1pm
PLACE: 1485 Amberwood Drive South, Annapolis, MD 21401 (Mapquestable address)

This is the latest "what we have" post from our fearless leader:

Oh my goodness, we are going to have a GREAT sale! I sorted all of the garb we have so far, and there are some wonderful pieces for sale this year. Some vendors we know, koffmorescakoffkoff and some well-made items from non-vendor types. Some skirts, some bodices, some one-of-a-kind pieces, a good number of those medieval underdresses and shorter overdress things, and HEAPS of chemises and men's shirts! And there's still more garb on its way! Nea's note: I know for sure that there are 6 chemises of assorted colors, one white bodice with an embroidered dragon, and one Moresca bodice size L because I put them there...

If you don't find what you need, there's also plenty of fabric available to make your own. Plain cotton for chemises and skirts, and some lovely not plain fabric for bodices, overdress trim, that bellydance outfit you always wanted to make, and more.

And have I mentioned the basket collection yet? There's baskets to carry your purchases home, baskets for bringing lunch to faire, baskets for carrying your every-faire-day stuff around, and baskets for holding items at home. Some of the baskets have already stood the test of faire, and are still in great condition. Baskets from suitcase sized - no kidding - to itty bitty cute ones. Plenty feast gear sized... and oh, yes, the feast gear to go in them. Lots of feast gear; plates, bowls, cups, tablecloths, utensils, candlesticks, the lot!

And plants. We're having a "dig your own" plant sale. What this means is that all of the sun-loving perennials in one garden need to go, as the trees in the garden have made it a shade garden. What's in there? Self-sowing Echinacea or purple coneflower (the goldfinches love it!), various shades of purple iris plants, a white Asiatic lily that could be happily divided, Marguerite daisies, and who knows what bulbs you may unearth (they're free with the flowering plants). Everything in the garden is for sale except the trees. There's dig-your-own hosta for sale as well, and some potted aloe plants. Lots and lots of baby aloe plants nursed from last year. Strong, healthy stock; buy a baby for a few coins now and have your own mass of aloe by next year!

There will be free hot dogs for those who come to the sale, courtesy of Team Wench. After all, you battled traffic to get to the sale this year, you should be rewarded.

More info to come as more items are sorted and made ready. For directions to the sale, see www.teamwench.org.

Busy, busy weekend!

Friday night, Smap and I went to see Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood do a live-action version of Whose Line is it Anyway? Words cannot express the funny; by the end of the evening my face hurt from laughing. Rather than do green-screen work, Colin sent Brad out of the auditorium while the audience concocted a crime for him to have committed; he had to come back in and guess it as he "confessed" to Colin's leading questions. Since this was the crime of putting on a weasel hat, boy scout bandanna, and leopard clown suit to put the family cat in the freezer, wax people's ears, and steal the rubber pants from all the stores in Nahassapeemapetalaw (?? no guarantees I spelled that anywhere near right) while in Dick Cheney's Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, using a tire iron and a hula hoop, that game took quite some time. (It took so much to work through Dick Cheney's Oscar Myer Wienermobile that Brad forgot Nahassaetc.)

And I guess they decided that the regular game of Alphabet was too tame, because they played it barefoot and blindfolded among 100 mousetraps. And since they're both emotionally about six, after a few sentences they were using each other's responses to home in on each other with the mousetraps.

Saturday afternoon was a Shore Leave meeting, and Saturday night was a Four Bitchin' Babes concert, although I was badly disconcerted to see that half the roster had changed. Particularly since I'd become so very fond of Camille West (Doubly so now that I've followed links to write this and have discovered that most of her website is out of date and her albums are out of print due to a problem with the company selling them. Camille! Come back! You still haven't recorded the song about cleaning your refrigerator!)

Mind you, this didn't stop me from buying the new albums by everyone, including the new Babes. Nancy Moran had me at "Honestly" ("Honestly, I think there's too much honesty, can you honestly say that you have been honest every single day of your life? Honestly, I'm tired of being a good girl...") and as for Dierdre Flint, I could not pass up any album with a song titled "The Boob Fairy."

Sunday was the Team Wench 5K MS Walk. Thanks to the generosity of my readers, I took $425 in for my pledge, and Team Wench exceeded their goal of $5,000. They announced at the walk that all the teams brought in half a million dollars! Ralph got his contributions to make the walk in a kilt and did; Julie got the contributions to show up with purple hair and matching satin princess dress, and did. (We have pictures!)

Cyd, our fearless leader, the walk's Ambassador, and LJ's faireraven gave a speech, cut the ribbon to start the walk, and literally phoned in a radio interview. She also accepted the award for team spirit for Team Wench (although if there had been more than one Keystone Cop in full gear, we would have had a challenge on our hands!) Because of all of this, we started off late.

We more or less stuck together along the route. And being Rennies, we brought our own fun and started singing. Humiliatingly, outside of a pub we couldn't seem to remember many of the words to anything (note to self - memorize song lyrics next year!), so we started filking things instead, trying desperately to pitch the words so that the kids wouldn't figure out what the original lyrics really were. Those were the successful songs - "What Do You Do With a Drunken Walker?" and "She Gave Me Pledges One, Pledges One."

My legs are sore today, but it was all worth it. Same time next year, folks!

Oh, and for those who might have been interested in going to the Team Wench MS Fantasy Ball (link at right on my LJ), several of the raffle prizes were taken to the MSFB meeting after the walk. One is an erotic massage basket of naughties, and one is a portable XM radio with car and home adaptors.

Gonna be an exciting ball, that!

Last night was the Team Wench MS Fantasy Ball. I almost didn't go - which would have been a huge mistake, as it was quite a success! The entertainment was great (lots of dancing, including lesssons). the cosstume and mask contests were respectably sized and had a lot of very worthy entrants (and I say this as a costuming snob - they had a LOT of worthy entrants and hopefully next year can give out more than just one prize). The raffles were a mix of the familiar (fudge, soap basket, lap quilt) and the beautifully familiar (Pieland jewelry, Lundegaard dagger) and the new (autographed hockey stuff). And the goal was solidly hit - preliminary report is that they pulled in $4,500.

Personally, I certainly can't complain of my luck; I put in a serious number of tickets on 6 raffle items and won 4 of them: 3 pounds of chocolate/pecan fudge, a white fur rose, the loofah soap basket, and something that would be the beyond-perfect gag gift for stratfordbabe, but we were having so much fun playing with it, she may not get it for a while!

Today I can barely move, I'm so tired - but I have two book reviews to write and have been inspired to go mess around with the bathroom redecorating I've been doing... mostly because I can't quite figure out what direction to take on one of the reviews!