Ye Olde Renaissance Festival

The title's a joke, folks, because my husband and I find it hilarious that any time one visits a place that celebrates any aspect of the past 1000 years, there's gotta be a "Ye Olde ____" in there somewhere.

Sure 'nuf, we found it at the Renaissance Festival! This is a yearly event in bucolic Plantersville, and we made the overnight trip with some friends who are the ideal traveling companions because not only are they super laid-back, but they also like to DO stuff. It's a tricky combination, but we're pretty compatible that way.

Because I am certifiably insane loving and ambitious, I managed to finish the girls' costumes about five minutes before we left the house the night before. The workmanship is, sad to say, rather shoddy -- my precocious eight-year-old niece could probably have done better. And I even chose the sleeveless version! Clearly, there is no future for me in costume design -- if I sew at all, I should probably stick to beanbags and cute little drawer sachets. Or patterns that bill themselves as "No-Sew." Because when Tim arrived home Monday, about thirty minutes later than I had expected him, not only was I frantically re-stitching a hem, but also throwing together a butternut squash soup and, um, thinking about packing. It wasn't the warmest welcome he's ever received.

But Tuesday dawned bright, cold and clear, and from a distance of about five feet, the girls looked gorgeous. And, since the festival turned out to be a bit of a 500-year-old shopping mall, we found them some adorable hats to match. Seriously, if you have a pile of money to burn, you could make out with some amazing additions to your dress-up box. Be still, my beating credit card.


Ian was in a state of ecstasy over the whole event. Armed with homemade battle-axe (duct tape, foam, PVC piping), he whirled like a dervish over the fairgrounds, soaking up the shows, rides, wooden armor for sale. We allowed them each one souvenir and one ride/attraction. You'll be flabbergasted to learn that while the girls chose hats and the merry-go-round, Ian had no trouble deciding on a handmade sword and a round of shooting at the archery gallery.


Highlight for our crowd? The JOUST. Too, too, cool.


I was pretty impressed by some of the OTHER costumes seen about the grounds. Clearly, there are folks out there who know what to do with scissors and a sewing machine. It takes all kinds to make a world.




(OK, I know this is TOTALLY off-topic, and I DO NOT discuss politics on this blog, in fact up until a couple days ago I really hadn't decided for whom to vote, but can I just say how irritating I find it that Obama has purchased this half-hour commercial spots on all the major networks tonight, which he can do because he is LOADED with cash, which he was able to do because he conveniently decided to ignore his promise to accept public campaign financing and take private contributions instead? His excuse is that "the system is broken," but hey, the other guy is working just as hard under the same broken system because a promise is a promise. I'm sorry, but the slipperiness under questioning and the media bias is really getting under my skin. Having lived through the nineties tends to make one wary of charisma without trustworthiness. Crucify me if you will. That's just how I'm feeling right now, and as Tracee likes to say, it IS my blog. Heh.)