measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Renning and the aches that come with it I had a wonderful, long entry nearly finished yesterday morning when IE quit on me. I was so irritated that I just growled and left the computer. Never felt up to checking email again yesterday. Too sore. :( [erich] and I went to King Richard's Faire on Saturday for the first time this season. The Clan (Tan, JT, Ade, and the rest of the kids) also were there. Erich and I had tried to figure out a unique wedding present for Tan and JT. They really didn't need house stuff, since both of them have been established for a while in their apartment and aren't in the "starting out on a new life" mode. Gaming stuff was a bit too commonplace, thinking of what goes on there every week. And then Erich came up with the brilliant idea that perhaps we should invite and cover the entrance and food for King Richard's Faire for them and the kids, since both had expressed a strong desire to go last year, but couldn't afford it on their own. Unique. Something we know they want. Something WE want. Something we knew the kids would be happy with, too. Perfecto. So Saturday was the day. After the rain from the remnants of Isadore on Thursday and Friday, the beginning of the weekend was a bit worrysome-- would it rain? Turns out, no. Saturday morning was quite beautiful. Nice and cool, sunny. A bit muddy in low-lying spots, but honestly not that bad. Erich and I got up around 7:30 and I headed off to the storage space to grab my two staves and my dagger to complete the costumes and supplies, and then came back to get dressed. The Clan showed up at around 9:30. The guys were dressed in garb that was provided by a friend through Ade's church. Tan borrowed my green ritual dress, but unfortuneately, I really didn't have anything for Ade. We wound up renting a dress for her at the faire (which probably worked out better in the long run, since she is much taller than I am). I had been a bit worried about fitting into my bodice, as I've gained a bit of weight since last year-- evidence provided by some new red-lined stretch marks on my stomach and a few near my armpits. Not things that I like to see. *sigh* But I knew it couldn't be THAT much weight, since I'm still fitting relatively well in the same sized clothing. According to Erich's scale, I'd gained 35 pounds. Utterly impossible. And if that scale is right on my actual weight, regardless of how much I've gained, I'll be a sobbing mess very shortly. However, as many Renaissance Faire and SCA affectionados can vouch for, modern-day sizes don't really come into play with garb. Everything is determined with inches-- bodices are designed to fit a specific range of bust sizes, with 2 inches of play either above or below that target size, depending on how tight the bodice is laced. Last year, my bodice was tightly laced-- the boning that lined the grommet edges were flush against each other, and slowly stretched as the day went on. This year, Erich laced me in just as tight, and it felt a bit too tight. But I ignored it at the beginning of the day, making the excuse that I just hadn't worn the bodice since January, and felt tight because I wasn't used to it anymore. The waist-string in my skirt also felt tight, but for some ungodly reason, I thought that one would stretch. Or I didn't think at all. The two became the bane of my existence by around 1 p.m., when the tight discomfort started to become honest pain. I still ignored it, blaming the bodice problems on the fact that I still wasn't used to it. And there really wasn't much I could do anyway, since I was wearing a white chemise and hadn't worn a bra. The bodice was more effective than a bra in support anyway and a bra wire would have been even more painful, chafing me under the tight support. Without that bodice, not only would I be "swinging free" but I'd also be a bit... exposed... due to the fact that it was a thin white cotton chemise. The stomach aggrivation I blamed on the leather belt and dagger that I had around my waist, since it hadn't matched Ade's costume once she had the rental. There are no storage lockers or permission to re-enter to take it back to the car, so I wore it all day. I figured the weight of the dagger was scootching the belt up to cause some irritation. I instinctively blocked out the pain, ignoring it as I'd learned through more than a decade of dance classes. By 4-ish when we sat down to wait for the Tiger Show, I was starting to feel some serious pain-- and I wasn't able to block it out anymore. Thankfully the beauty of the tiger show blocked it out (more on that later), and I survived until we headed back to the car. But by that time, I was worried that I was going to find spots where the belt had cut through skin, it was hurting so bad. Once I was in the car, I took off the belt and unlaced the bodice, figuring that I'd feel better. I didn't. Turns out, it was the skirt waistband string all along. It was tight enough to cause me to have a bruise line all the way around my stomach. It still hurts if I touch it. On top of that, I'd been mentally readjusting my walk and such all day because of the pain, so my leg muscles were exhausted after the day-- completely fatigued to the point that I didn't move much the rest of the evening on Saturday, and hobbled yesterday when we cleaned out the extra storage space that had been rented to get me out of my old apartment. My calves still hurt, and getting up is a bit painful, but I'll be okay. Despite the pain, it was a fun day. Watching JT's younger son look in amazement at the village created for the faire was amusing. He just started playing D&D with us in the spring, and now he finally had a physical representation of a village our characters wander into. The images are real-- he has a foundation for them now. Ade was going through a bit of teenaged melancholy, feeling left out over lunch. She saw her dad and Tan as a couple, and then Erich and I-- and just felt out of place. I can sympathize a bit, although I tried to explain that she wasn't seeing things quite right, since we were all there together as a group, and that she'd only be as isolated as she made herself. I took her off to wander and do "girl stuff" for a while-- browsing through the clothes shops and such. It seemed to cheer her up a bit. I actually ended up spending much more time with her than with Erich, but his (now) ex-roommate, Tone, and the rest of the crew showed up, so it wasn't all bad. I did regret that Tan and I didn't have time to hang out by ourselves or even JT, Tan, Erich and I doing something for a while, but with kids around and needing supervision, that wasn't going to happen. Erich bought me a set of green velvet wings. They're cute. They match my dress somewhat. And they're a bit of an in-joke between us stemming from the Dark Crystal about the differences between men and women and joking protests that relate. (Wings? Why don't I have wings? -- 'cause you're a boy...). I passed on the juggling sticks again this year, although I do really want a set of them. Perhaps if we go again before the end of the season... *shrug* The cat show, as it is every year, one of the highlights of the faire. There's a conservation group out of, I believe, South Carolina, which raises tigers and other big cats, and each year, they bring some of the animals up to Massachusetts to educate people. Every year they have some adorable tiger cubs-- this year there were four-- two orange and black Bengals (one five months old, the other nine). Those two were wrestling just like housecats while they were on stage, oblivious to the people cooing at how cute they were. They also brought out two baby tigers-- a white Bengal and a snow (no stripes), that were absolutely adorable. Along with the babies, they brought out several variations of tigers-- an adult white Bengal, a golden tabby (white base with red stripes-- no black), and a traditional orange and black bengal. They also brought out two leopards-- one orange spotted and a black spotted, and then the infamous liger, which is a natural cross-breed produced by a male lion and a female tiger. The liger just has to be seen to be believed. It's so gigantic (900 pounds plus-- where an adult male tiger weighs around 600 pounds), and absolutely beautiful. When sitting down on its hindquarters, the head of the liger was above the shoulder of a standing human, and as seen on the liger link I have above, they stretch out to about 12 feet. Absolutely amazing and beautiful animals. And what fascinates me is how housecats are so similar-- the loping gait, the way they sit and observe. Perhaps that's why cat people are the way they are-- housecats are the closest thing to having a wild animal, yet still be relatively safe. I could go to King Richards Faire just to watch the cats all day. Seriously. So all in all, it was a good day, despite the pain. I will, however, be buying a tunic and baggy pants type outfit to wear on my need-to-feel-comfy days at the Faire... :) 9:23 a.m. - 30 September 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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