First, can’t help shooting the yard again. This is SO May.
Magic. People with diaphanous robes and flowers in their hair play here before we get up and after we fall asleep. Also skunks do.
Shadows JUST LIKE SUMMER. Except it’s not yet.
The light flowing down the river. If you go up on the deck, you can look down into it, flowing all the way back up the mountain.
And now, the main event: our trip to the Renaissance Faire:
Char didn’t have to make Rachel wear this. But G was gently coerced. Looks great though, huh?
You now how they say a picture is better than a thousand words? Well, I always say, why use one shot when you can use FIVE?
Yeah. The middle-aged Flemmish lady is me. Sigh. I wanna look like Rachel.
Evidently, G and I now converse using sign language of some kind.
Chaz makes us buzz through the entire small village before really looking at anything. But we passed the horses, and there I stuck. So she had to too.
This is the only mare we know of used in jousting. Her name is Brittany, and she’s a Percheron. We all loved her. And she loved us. I have 200 more shots of Rachel saying hello to her. Rachel is the only one who scored —
‘
A kiss. Honestly. This little mare actually kissed her.
This is the face you see when Rachel becomes acquisitive.
You can see the wheels turning, can you not? What she doesn’t realize is that she is also being given a horse hug – this is how they do it, turning their heads to press their cheek against you.
Yes.
Sigh. They should have lilacs between them.
This is Ms. Brittany in action.
Such power.
The Royal Court (that’s a young Elizabeth with her back to us). And the World Champion (seriously. He is.) jouster, eating a plate of nachos between joust matches.
In the stands, waiting for the event. The stands were actually two wooden benches. And we got ‘em first.
Here, I capture both girls’ good sides at one time.
From where we are sitting, we have a great, and maybe dangerous, view of the lists, “lists” being the jousting lanes.
And now it begins. The Irish knight. He’s riding the finest jousting horse in the world. It was at this point that I finally tried out, after owning this camera for about fifty years, the motorized exposure option. What follows is a frame by frame re-enactment of the joust. If you scroll quickly, maybe you’ll get the feeling for how heavy these combatants are (around 2500 pounds, all told). I have actually run two rounds together.
This knight lost. The Brittany mare’s knight won. I was worried the ENTIRE time.
And this is my prize of the day. I found him in one of the dozens of venders’ stalls, handmade and winsome. And gaspingly underpriced. There’s a pattern for him on Etsy. You just have to look through all the crochet dragon stuff to find it.
Once again, a fine time was had by all, topped off with a dinner at a fancy-dancey renaissance-themed restaurant in town. We were the ONLY people there dressed appropriately.
Outside of the waitresses.
The beautiful Chaz
Sigh……… what a fun and wonderful day this was……. In my dreams, I own Brittany. She was gorgeous and had such a sweet disposition………..
I just love seeing you three all dressed up and I think perhaps, you do not realize how wonderful you look in your costume. Personally, I think you look beautiful.
And the photo of Chazi”s butt! PRICELESS!!!
Chaz didn’t even know that shot was there. I had to show her where it was. Pretty funny. Actually, the Brit looked so much like Dustin, I feel no need to have another. They have so much the same soft eye. I just think i look old. When I dress like this, I go back in my own time, to my college days, and that’s what I think I look like; my brain fills in the blank with that young face. Then I see a mirror, and it’s what the - moment. Then the disappointment. Oh, yeah. ONly the inside of me is still young.
You don’t look that old to me. I feel like you’ve never aged since the day I met ya! But I know what you mean. Even I look at these photos and think, who the heck is that??? when I see myself who isn’t myself cuz in my mind that isn’t what I look like!
P.S. That photo where you took everything out of the back …. amazing that you can do that!!
I know. I’m good, huh?
YEah. That’s what it feels like. But here’s how it seems to work – you get to know a person and you cease to see them. You see THEM instead, and your brain always sees them the same way unless they or you go away for a long time. Then when you see them, you see the change. When we met, I was five years older than you are now. That’s who I am to you. And to myself, too. But I’m really not. At least, the body part of me isn’t. But the ME is.
Time. It is weird. And yes, you are good. Very good. :D
I WAS TALKING TO A DOG. I WAS BENT OVER. GET OVER IT. >_>
Why do I have the dorkiest poses in all but like two of these?!
I love how the joust is animated if you scroll fast enough.
I’m not the one posing the body, baby. Dork is in the stance of the beholdee. And anyway, you look great in ALL of them.
This is why one should give kisses to horses and not dogs. No bending over involved when kissing horses. :D
Chazi! I think all of the photos of you are wonderful!!!! Oh why can’t we all like what we see when we see photos of ourselves………. sigh…
Excellent advice. And I agree.
Yes, that is sage advice. Not only is kissing horses more photogenic, it is easier on the bealeaguered back. And we women folk have a terrible tendency toward almost a mild body dysmorphia. I remember thinking I would age gracefully. That was when I was young. Then I got nose wrinkles. NOSE wrinkles.
Dismorphia. Wrong shapedness? No. I looked it up. A mental disorder in which an otherwise sane person stresses over an imaginary physical defect. Like my dumb nose. Or horsey face. My dark circles are NOT imaginary. I do not believe there is such a thing as graceful aging. As civilized and decent a good girl as I endeavor to be, I swear inside my head every time I look into a mirror. I first noticed face wrinkles when I was 48. Honest. That was the first time. And it was because I’d done the Eades’ Protein Power program and lost 30 + pounds (which I had put on doing low fat after a friend of ours nearly died of heart disease – his doctor put him on rice cakes and pasta) in three months or so. I deflated so fast, my skin didn’t keep up, and I got this sort of Shitzu look to me. If only my friend had taken better care of his heart in the first place, maybe I wouldn’t look like a fluvial map of the Mississippi delta (which I really don’t. Well, almost do.) Nose wrinkles. You get those from laughing, ding dong.
This thing won’t let us go deeper in the levels of the thread. How interesting.
What fun! Dressing up to be someone else is always fun, isn’t it? Chazi must have the world’s biggest closet to hold all of her costumes and treasures.
Hugged by a horse? Who knew?
Sweet dragon…did you name him/her yet? Have you watched the movie, “How to Train A Dragon?” Cute movie and good message…
I bet it was loud during the joust, huh?
I don’t look in her closets (she fills up one entire wall of the bedroom) because they frighten me. Oh – yes – horses really do hug. Not often. Kind of like dogs do – pushing their heads flat against you. Horses will lower their heads and push their faces gently into your chest. Or bend their necks around you. It’s rare, but it’s the most wonderful thing.
I LOVED Train Your Dragon. LOVED it. I thought those guys couldn’t do anything but Shrek, and then along comes this beautiful piece of almost Pixar. Great message. I was so uplifted when I left, I felt pretty wingy myself. But my own little dragon doesn’t have a name yet. After you asked, I kind of realized that I don’t name things much anymore. They just are what they are to me. My dragon. Good to hug.
Actually, they wanted it louder – there weren’t a ton of people there by the late afternoon. A row three deep maybe on the main side of the lists. But a smattering on our side. I don’t know how they can expect a horse to handle the jousting, plus carrying fluttery flags, plus having a crowd explode into noise every so often. The big Jager, the yellow horse, handles it all with cool aplomb, and accepts praise with grace. But the mare was having trouble, skittering and balking. I stayed on my feet after a few minutes, in case she should take a debunk and head for our benches.
I was thinking of loud as in pounding hooves and horses huffing…the kind of loud you can feel in your chest.
I am a namer of things for the time being. Our property is called Shangri – La TiDa. My riding lawnmower (first one ever) is named Flicka. My new bike is called Razzle…she’s a lovely raspberry color with a cushy old lady seat and up handle bars. My flamingos are Peep and Squeak…they are just the wondrously tacky pink yard flamingos that live in the big pots at the top of the driveway at Shangri-La TiDa.
Yep. I name things.
But you name things because you have a clever, quick, quirky mind. Mine right now feels like day old left out oatmeal. No clever. No quick. And now I see what you mean, yeah – it was loud. You have about 100 pounds of armor, all in pieces that rub against each other and clank and screeel, and those dinner plate hooves, and those huge chests filling and emptying – the earth shakes, the wooden lances shatter – pieces flying everywhere, and the men yell inside their metal boxes. Primal. And no need to plug in an amplifier. Yes. You were dang right. Sorry I was so dull-witted. Duh-witted?
I love all those names. But then, I love the things you populate your world with. There, I dangled a preposition.
That’s OK. …..with which you populate your world ….sounds so….so….grammatically correct or something even less interesting.
Dangle on!
What was it that Winston Churchill said? “A dangling participle is something up with which I will not put.”
Forsooth, Loveley Laydie,
Thannk thee muchly for thy fondfs favorfs and sweete photographfes
Pray thee come home withe mee
aster G
Oh good sir. I will. I will follow thee home. But only because thou lookest so HOT in that dress.
:-)
nothing against how Rachel looked, but I don’t think you should have wanted to look like her because you looked perfectly beautiful and appropriate in your own right. It is all so fun! I wish I could have been there, too.
It’s a looooooooong drive up there. But it was fun. Oh, Kathy – just some days are worse than others – and that glance in the mirror can be so discouraging – in spite of all the wisdom in the world. But then, even at my danged cutest I didn’t have that loveliness Rachel has -
PFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT!
Aw – whda you know? You have NO idea how adorable you are.
No, I don’t! I feel fat, frumpy, bad hair, swollen ankles and feet that look like kankles, bags under my eyes. I felt down right oogly today. Still do…. You’d think I was pregnant. If I were……. at least I’d have an excuse!
You can’t help it honey. Wreck your hair. Eat chocolate, paint circles under your eyes, and you are STILL adorable. I sat in a chair in my jammies, doing genealogical research this whole, long, sore back day. But I think I feel better for it – for the rest, and for consorting with the ancestors. Who still will not TELL ME WHERE TO LOOK. Go to sleep. We’ll grab what sun we can get tomorrow and shove it in the closet for Wednesday.
Kristin I would love to roll in your beautiful fresh, green grass and meander through your lush garden. Love the costumes, especially G’s. Oh and those GREAT beautiful horses….amazing moments you captured. and the kiss for Rachael.. sweet.
Then you must come. It won’t be so nice in June as it is in May, but it’s still a nice little place. The garden is really just a few scattered bulbs. I wish there actually were a lush one -
Well, I can see why you are compelled to shoot the yard. Wow! The lighting, oh the lighting! The lines of the trees. The freshness of it all. I want to photograph it too. I’ll build myself a blind and wait for the beflowered folk.
The Ren Faire — You ALL look FABULOUS! I LOVE the garb. And that Percheron hug and kiss. Lucky Rachel!
And you have, without question, earned yourself the title of Pixel Painting QUEEN. Seriously. Just, wow!
Huzzah!
I know. I look out the window, and then I run for the camera. The light only lasts for a few minutes in any given manifestation. Usually, I ruin socks trying to catch it. I’ll sit with you in that blind. We can play card games while we wait.
The thing about that edit (that doesn’t show up in the blog) is that the forest was so thick – but thin and willowy at the same time, I could lift sections of it and paste them anywhere, and they looked great. That and the scrubby grass. I just couldn’t stand the sight of that gorgeous horse against a line of porta-potties. Holy cats.
I had spent a lot of time scratching and patting that mare, too – but did I get any kisses and hugs? No ma’am, I did not. Hurumph. Oh – and some guy with a big camera comes up and says to us, “May I take your picture?” and I, paying half attention, say, “Sure,” hoping he’s not some weirdo. Then I realize he’s ONLY LOOKING AT RACHEL. Then she reluctantly allows it. Then he sort of as an afterthought says to Chaz – “and you?” And then to G – “and you?” And then walks away. Hurrumph indeed. We still feel a little weird about that, really -
Not *card* games, silly! WORD games. Sheesh.
Now, the weird-guy-with-a-camera moment, your presentation of it is hillarious! It would make a great comedic moment in a movie or sit-com. Or a novel. Or a blog post comment. I can imagine all of the expressions as you unfold the experience. But, yeah, weird.
Rachel was kind of freaked out. Now, we wonder where her picture will end up. I was thinking he might be the local newspaper guy. Maybe she’s the front page story. meh. Maybe I better not think about it too much.
Or perhaps on a bottle of Ex lax………
Wait – they don’t put pictures on those, do they? Like on Wheaties boxes?
I don’t know why it is, perhaps it is our fallen nature…I try and try to like how I look. I am healthy as a horse and weight about 40 pounds more than me and my clothes want me to. I should just be grateful for my health and buy bigger clothes, but it feels like giving up or losing or something sad.
It does feel that way. I’ve always wanted to by lithe like a cat, and for the most part, I have been. Not gymnastic or athletic, but dance-moveable. I found that the pounds actually simply prevented me from bending. And when I shed them, I ran across the grass like milk thistle down. Amazing how light you feel after dumping a 30 pound quasi liquid weight. But I don’t cook. I don’t love to make food. And when I get busy, I just grab. And that’s where I get into trouble. That plus the fact that I am developing arthritis in one foot and I’m just not as strong and resilient as I was used to being. I guess the graceful aging part is accepting the fact that the life we thought would be normal forever is almost never normal, and does begin to to hedge you around = everyone goes through it. I’m just grateful that I believe in resurrection and eternal life and the restoration of health – and that there’s no fear or pain, just work – marvelous, loving, creative work forever. Enough Time. And all the strength you need. And dancing in a 360 degree space. Or I’d really be bitter about losing what I had before I realized it was losable.
And for me, it is the appearance of being perpetually pregnant. While pregnancy *was* rather perpetual for several years of my life, and the efforts have brought me unending joy, I am NO LONGER pregnant…but just TRY to convince my belly.
The nose wrinkles though, no one talks about laughter and smiling bringing NOSE wrinkles. Only crow’s feet. I suspect a conspiracy, but a good determinants-of-health kind of conspiracy. The public health folk know how important laughter is, but are simultaneously aware of woman-think, so they cleverly neglect to mention the resulting NOSE wrinkles. Never underestimate the public health strategy.
“Or I’d really be bitter about losing what I had before I realized it was losable.” LOVE that.
Yes – yes. Once I was in the mall, and this really old tall skinny lady was “walking” it. She was all bones. Except she had these elastic waisted polyester pants on and this shelfy little utter poking out just under the waist band. I SWORE that I would never have that. But over the years, I’ve noticed that five year old girls have it. And plenty of plump teenagers seem to accept it and wear clothes that REALLY don’t hide anything. But still – that paunch makes me feel so ugly and flappy and gross. So we found this book, written by the medical doctor husband and wife that wrote the book I talked about earlier – the Eades – the Protein Power book. They’re middle aged, too, now – and in great shape, eating the way their research taught them to. But they were invited to do a cooking show, and on set, the director said, “Problem. You’re too fat to do a cooking show.” It floored them. WHAA? “Your paunches,” he said. And then they realized that it was true. So they feverishly read up on all the new research that’s come in in the last twelve years (since the first book), and they developed a new program for this very problem.
The serious thing about the paunch is that, while some of it is just the fat that collects under the skin, there’s a very dangerous kind of fat that actually is stored inside the muscle sheath that surrounds the organs. ( I think that’s the peritoneum.) It’s a different kind of fat structure, and as it masses, it kind of comes alive, causing its own chemical changes in the body, ordering up inflammation responses all by it’s own icky, body snatching self. They are beginning to think this is behind the heart disease, and even has something to do with dementia. And it starts invading your actual organs, which they relentlessly show you if you watch The Biggest Loser.
So anyway, they designed a program for themselves, and now they use it at their clinic. And we bought the book, and did it. And in two weeks, that nasty udder had actually shrunk. I’ve come down – eh- what with the birthday and all, about seven pounds in two months. But that doesn’t really give you the feel for the inches that I’ve lost around that part of me. I think I’ve lost a pant size, but I like how loose everything is – and that I don’t have to tug around the front of me anymore. So it’s like I like my clothes again. The book is called The Six Week Cure for the Middle Aged Middle.
I don’t think we’ll lost that thing entirely ever. But having it small is better than having that pregnant look. Having out my female parts years ago helped – I had fibroids in there that puffed me up like first trimester. But this is different. So anyway. It worked amazingly. And it was pleasant going.
it’s crinkling up your nose. See? Even being cute and flirty takes you down. ARGGGGG!!!!!
Ok…a new book to look for…thanks…and eternity…and knowing that people who know and love me, only see the deep me…and pants that might fit again someday…and knees that don’t hurt…and recovering what has been lost…the adventure continues, gracefully or no.
Amen, sis.
*flails* Next year, I will be right there beside you all. Those shots are WONDERFUL, all of them. I love what G wore, particularly in that shot of him and Chaz, and when it’s flipping out a bit in the wind. XD I love all of it! That black horse is adorable. And frighteningly powerful. Looks like you guys had a great time!!!
We did. Except for the whining. “I just wish Chels was here.” “Oh, I wish Chels could see this.” “WHY isn’t she here?” “It just seems like such a waste that Chels isn’t here yet.” Blah, blah, blah. It NEVER let up.
Hahaha, that made me laugh. At least you’ll escape that, next year.
Thank HEAVEN!!
Where do you get such awesome clothes?! You all look so fabulous! There is a Renaissance restaurant/village that is open in the summer near where I live, and now I really want to go. I love the little dragon that you found. He’s very cute.
Chaz is a costume maker/buyer/putter-togetherer. She knows all the right websites. She collects things from the oddest places. Dawn, you’d look GREAT in the kind of dress Rachel was wearing – with your braid down the back. I know there has to be a Ren Fest near you. They didn’t make Washington without installing one; I just know it. Google a bit, dear girl, and see what you can find. I will warn you that dull “normal” people snicker when you dress for such a restaurant in such a way. We had a table of smuggers behind us. But honestly, when they got up, the father of the person I fondly thought was a young man student, hauling his girlfriend to dinner with his parents – that father looked like the crossest old collection of bones ever. As they passed, I just bestowed pity on their dull little souls. And then sniggered. But NOT unkindly.
Oh I loved this post!! That beautiful girl is really kissing Rachel isn’t she :-) We had two Percheron stallions at my old place on agistment and they are the nicest (and biggest) horses. I bet you could feel the earth move when they were jousting!!! I had a chuckle at the girls best sides ;-) and before you had mentioned about the fast scrolling I was already doing it in the photos before and clumping along with the horse Hee Hee….I loved the costumes and you all looked fantastic in them..What fun!!! PS that dragon is ADORABLE and I am off to search Etsy for him now :-)
She was the sweetest mare. But that brute on her back, while I understand he was training her – she was jigging at the flag he was carrying, and the lances – like who in their right mind wouldn’t be afraid of the lances? – and he was pulling her hard backward down the lists to make a point with her. He was using a snaffle; it could have been worse. But neither Rachel nor I approved at all. Still, it’s really a very dangerous sport. The horses are not often hurt, but we’ve seen riders take a lance wrong. So we wanted to steal her.
And yes – those hooves played the earth as though it were a drum.
The girl who does that dragon also does star wars characters – rachel bought her patterns and they are adorable.
PPS I downloaded the iphone app called Couch to 5k and started day 1 today! I have never been a long distance runner except when I was younger but I gave it a go and it was fun (hard) :-P I did notice a few more jiggly bits than there used to be but that is the reason I am doing it. They claim if you follow the program you will be running 5k in 9 weeks! One day down…….8.6 weeks to go….aaaaaahhhhh!
Okay – you need to tell Rachel this. She loves running. Hasn’t been able to do it since the West Nile, five years or so. I don’t really like running. I do the treadmill because I can watch a story while I do it. But I am so easily bored outside. And I think I gave up competing in the first couple of years of school – when you aren’t sure what you’re supposed to be doing, and you get picked last all the time? Yeah. I was little and unsure. Now, I’m sure I don’t care if I win. I just want to be with the people. that’s the only reason I’d hate being behind. But tell Rachel – she’ll be so excited. And I’ll support you, too – GO JEN!!!! I just won’t “get it” the way she will.
All that said, G has been reading so many books lately about aging and health – and pretty much all of them say eat well (including well-marbled meat) and exercise like a fiend and you will stay younger, be lighter in all ways, and avoid many, many of the ugly bits about middle age and older.
And I’m all for that. Very much all for that.
You guys have all the fun. You all look fabulous and very appropriate for the days activities- including horse hugging and kissing! That was too cute! I’m glad you guys had a great day and came home with such fun stuff, like your dragon and Rachel’s beautiful skirt.
Just an encouraging note to Jenni, Two years ago, I started one of those couch to 5K programs when I couldn’t even run for one minute straight. I ran three 5K’s and a 10K that year and I am happy to tell you I will run my 2nd half marathon this weekend. I am living proof that they work! Keep it up! I’m rooting for you!
Woo-HOO! You hear that, Jen? Now, is there a program that will get you sleeping at night?
fabulous photos – it looks like such a wonderful day and the costumes are amazing! I love the peaceful pictures of your yard too, it does look like a sprinkling of magic has been bestowed with that beautiful light through the trees and the deepness of the green – that would make me want to get up early and tiptoe around in my bare feet in the dew-damp grass before everyone else is up!
You know – as you say that, I realize I’d forgotten that feeling. I had it so strongly in college – being up early, when all the colors are intensified by the light dew and the air is fresh and secret – before another person is stirring, only the small animals. I used to write under the influence of it – that lightness of being, the headiness of the silence. Breathless, almost, waiting for the day’s surprises to open up and startle me into laughter. People who didn’t live in houses, they knew those things – the velvet, half terrifying night, the dawn, made for birdsong and unexpected meetings. Perhaps I have grown too insulate to be able to write –
If we lived closer together, and this benighted rain would ever stop, I’d come play recorder under your window, and we’d go a may-ing.
Beautiful garden, fabulous costumes, gorgeous (formidable) horses, awesome people! You couldn’t find a better blog post anywhere on the world wide web if you searched for hours. :D It’s been a while since I visited your neck of the woods. I recently dusted off my link lists and happily rediscovered your blog when I opted for a blog roll that puts the most recently updated post at the top of each list. Hooray! Hope you are well.
Long time, no see, Liz-with-a-camera! Wonderful that you picked a fun one to come in on. All it takes is the tiniest pinch of horse to make a blog a classic, I think. I like those blog rolls too. Funny, huh, how tech runs in little gushes of fascination? When I’m there, I’m obsessed. Mostly, I just want it to work. I feel like a speed skater sometimes. Is your blog still private?
Where O Where O Where is this Faire?
Your party of four looked magnificent in Chaz’s creative costume wizardry! It could be a profession . . . if she didn’t have 20 other passionate pursuits!
We thought it might turn out to be when she worked for the costume company. They had her designing at first, and for fairly good money. But that faded into customer service and became less than inspiring. Now, she teaches chemistry – and that’s a different costume. She gets to wear a lab coat every day.
Forgot to tell you where = it’s up above Salt Lake in Marriot/Slaterville (hyphenated town names????) And the grounds are probably a bit damp right now. The jousting is real, and the horses are magnificent. And they had tons of cool venders this year.