So...what were you doing at 11pm last night?

This entry from Isn't The Lettuce Brave? will tell you what I was doing...and further, what the earth was doing!! A 3.8 quake here in the Carolinas!!

All I'm thinking is that's a good excuse not to work on my corset today...as is the fact that I keep sticking my thumb with a needle sewing on the top binding...

Memories of Faires Past...

Just a few pictures from the last CRF and GARF to get you in that cinnamon-almondy, chai-tea-frothy, pumpkin-milkshakey, hard-on-the-heiney-hay-baley kinda mood...


"Give us a kiss, Beauty-Love!!"  

GARF 2005 

Hounds, Hounds Everywhere!! 

Our Wee Sign... 

Puppy Love...Hunky and Francesca... 

Our busy booth! 

Ahhh the lovely Francesca and HRH's most favourite hound, Canasta...

Why Scotch Eggs and Chai Tea?

This blog is a new thing for HoEF, and it promises to be a good and fulfilling and possibly addictive thing for our members...so I wanted to name the blog after two things that have had the same effect on me: Scotch Eggs and Chai Tea.

My very first exposure to Scotch Eggs actually came before I was a member of the HoEF cast. During the fall season of 2000, I went to CRF for the first time with some greyhound folks and one of them oooh'ed and aaaah'ed over Scotch Eggs. When she told me what it was, I thought I would be ill.

I have NEVER liked boiled eggs. Not one day in my life have I eaten them voluntarily. However...I do like the white part...you know, the part that is really bad for you? Anyway, during the 2004 fall season I finally broke down and had a Scotch Egg for lunch.

Holy MOLY was that good!!! And even better, it's cheap. Better still, it fills you up for the rest of the day so no snacking, an important point for me as I struggle to stay in my corset.

Now on to the Chai Tea...I'd seen it in the fru-fru places, heard my more earthy/hippy/granola-ey friends talk about it, but never had the nerve to try it. Finally one morning I decided to try it in lieu of the cafe mocha that I usually had (that would give me the caffeine shakes something AWFUL).

NECTAR OF THE GODS.

I'm not kidding. Chai Tea, made at the Carolina Renn Fest, is just about the best stuff ever. Bar None.

So there you are...two things that revolutionized my faire experience...so how could I name the blog anything else?

More Memories, this time from Candy...

oh Joanne--- how COULD you forget the FLAMING FAERY!!!

or how Blitz became the drummer's boy because Cam couldnt handle the
digeredoo, and they loved taking hold of him in the morning for me while we
were opening and just running him around for fun and tickling him to get him
to do his bounce and dance

the hot jerky boy that always had filled pockets of treats (YUM? haha in
both senses!!) after closing and ... ahem... helped me get out of my costume
those nights i closed by myself

is that a whippet? the whole hoef cafe shirt thing...

or the all time fave of mine--- Hang on teh sumtin Babeh (pics included)
There's a deer over dere sumwhere aint der Nan? Joanne give us a Hang on
teh sumtin bebeh LOL

my next fav was after closing when i was camping- letting Blitz do the
unmentionable-- RUN IN THE HORSE RING!

camping is a must do for the most awesome aspect of the faire anyway (plus
no fighting traffic or driving home with toothpicks in your eyelids)!!
Remember all the free food Joanne?? LOL we were invited to every campsite
for banquets of meals! and man it was good food too!

what about that Bear that tried to break into your tent at 3 in the morning
Joanne and you TRYING to wake me up for help???

ugh and losing most of my first season dress while i was wearing it almost
every weekend. every week we spent all week repairing it and it all went to
pot again the very next weekend. (so many em BAREASSing shots I'm glad you
all missed with the camera)

ahah and Joanne's OH NO YOU DIDNT! picture ROFL (i still have that on my
other comp- i'd be glad to dig it out for you /evil grin)

Wasn't the Bear actually Blitz? Man, he was a smart dog. Also...be forewarned, I too have the "Oh No You Didn't" picture, as well as some other less than flattering "dressing room" shots provided by Lady Anita...muahahahahahahahaha.....

Memories, compliments of Joanne

She's having a tough time getting through Blogger's sign up process, so I wanted to post this for her and encourage everyone else to add your favorite memories!!

The kid with his finger up JD's nose.
The guy that blew that air thing when the dogs came by and got too
close and scared them TO DEATH. None of the dogs wanted to go near them
and Cam just plain wouldn't walk that direction.
Hunky and some of the other dogs response to the horses and the joust.
JD waiting outside the port a potty door for me with his leash under
the door. LOL
The hornet in the corset.
Was it Profile or Hunk that you accidentally dropped the leash on and
they followed some other greyhounds backstage for a walk?
Hunky's Harem that visits him every year without fail.
The little girl who wanted a greyhound like JD. Her parents got her a
cat instead so she named the cat JD and comes and visits JD every year.
People asking if the dogs are dead if they are sleeping or convulsing
if they are running in their sleep.
The olympic hopeful sprinter wanting to race the dogs, then winning. He
was racing Pinky who really had no idea there was a race going on and
kept watching the guy running beside him instead of actually running.
Canasta deciding to run back to her pillow throne rather than chase the
lure.
Who was it that lost their skirt the first year? Was that you?
Profile running away through the crowd and stopping when the girls
called him "Pretty".
The dog's reaction to some of the costumes that people come in - and I
am not talking about just on Halloween either.
Kids days! I am sure the dogs would have plenty to say about that!!
The LIVE buzzard that someone had on his shoulder at the Halloween
party.
Mother and Father Goose!!!
JD and my first day at festival. Me in the new dress and hoop skirt. JD
with the stress diarrhea. It is an art to lean down and scoop poop in a
hoop without the hoop and the skirt getting in the poop. I ended up
wearing the poop ALL day. I tried to wash it off but...
Speaking of poop.. I would like to hear the dog's reason for ALWAYS
pooping during the parade so we have to stop and clean it up in front
of everyone.
The sticks of strong incense that we burn around the tent to keep the
bees and wasps away that make the dogs cough and choke.
The drunk guy that had the jerky in one hand and the beer in the other
- JD spotted him coming and KNEW he WOULD get one or the other. The guy
wasn't quite drunk enough to let the jerky get within reach of JD so he
concentrated on holding it up out of reach while he set the beer down
to pet the dogs. The beer was half gone by the time he realized his
mistake.

It was Hunky that went for a walk with Sharon's girls last year and when he was busted running sans human, he headed straight for the gate by our tent...that we used two years prior!! Silly pupper.

Expanding body UGH

I havent tried on my costume that I wore in Georgia since I left GA, and it being the only one I have at the moment, I'm seriously trying to diet because I've gained a lot of weight since June due to new meds, and then being on steroids for a pretty bad allergic reaction to the Nicotine patch- yes folks- I was trying to quit smoking! So far I'm unsuccessful- Its proving to be very difficult to try and quit smoking at the same time as losing weight. /sigh

Being that my costume was store bought at the festival here in Tuxedo- I believe it is unalterable. What to do? I can still wear the chemise and hoop- but what am I gonna do about a dress? /cry I guess I might have to look and see when Tuxedo is on again and see about popping over for a visit- (maybe run some ideas about HoEF visiting this festival here past the director of this festival) and take a look at a new dress. My only other option is to buy online- which will be very difficult the way these dresses are sized.

I'm still trying hard on the losing weight thing though- trying to make that work. I hate the idea of having to spend another $400 on another dress just cause I got fat.

yours in Royal Service of the Hounds,
waiting impatiently for festival to start, and yet needing more time to lose some weight so i can wear my costume--

Candy (aka Lady Candace O'Hareseeker)
Sir Cam O'Hareseeker
Sir Bucky O'Hareseeker

Huzzah! Let the merriment commence!

From "Isn't the Lettuce Brave..."

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'...

Holy Moly. Today is August 15th. We are halfway through August. Half of August is GONE.

So what?

So I have a month and a half until the Renn Fest season starts in Huntersville!!! YIKES! My costumes need to be cleaned. I have to do some fixing on my hood for my green costume. My corset needs HELP lest more stays decide to spring free of their casing as I am wearing it. I need to check in with Loretta about the blue velveteen costume. I don't know if I can even wear the green this year.

Major Freaking Out.

However, I LIVE for doing the Renn Fest. It is difficult, hot, uncomfortable, exhausting for me and the hounds, frustrating, and the absolute best thing I've ever gotten myself into in my life. I'm so glad that I've stuck with it. When I started doing the Carolina Renaissance Festival in the fall of 2001 we had four cast members. We had no place to call home, and were sort of "annexed" into the Mayor's court. I probably lost 20lbs that season just walking the grounds and definitely wore out at least one pair of shoes.

Since then, we've grown by leaps and bounds and have a huge tent all our own...this last year we even had a platform under the tent! We have new people joining the group all the time, and we just have so much FUN together. Hunky and Profile have become old pros...and know the festival grounds well. A bit too well...

Last year on one of the early weekends in the run, I had arrived and was setting up the tent. Hunk had fallen asleep on one of the dog beds, and since the festival grounds are, for the most part, enclosed, I dropped his leash and kept working. Sharon and her daughter and their beautiful girls Francesca and Canasta arrived, and of course Hunky perked up. He's quite the ladies man when Profile isn't around to hog all the female attention.

Sharon's daughter and her friend took the girls backstage for a potty run and apparently Hunk decided to follow them. I just looked up and he was gone. Frantically (half dressed, mind you, corset and hoopskirt on but no dress) I ran backstage calling him, out of my mind that Hunk was GONE...and I see him following the girls. Well...he saw crazy Mommy running after him and took off back for the tent.

The tent we had 2 years ago, mind you...

Hunk didn't come much during the 2003 season at CRF because of his bad feet, so he was headed for the tiny tent we had during the 2002 season. Luckily there were people at the gate that called him and caught his leash and held him for me. Silly boy. At least he didn't decide to try to find the car!

Enough of that...off to go start alterations and laundry.

HUZZAH!

packing up all my toyz

Bucky here. Mom's been silly the past few days, talking about something called the Renaissance Festival. I've never been there, but she says its a whole bunch of fun and there's tons of people to give me scritches and feed me treats. She also said I need to brush up on my tricks so I can show off, but I 'pose thats ok, cause it just means more treats- mom even said I'll get to have a whole turkey leg there! Wow! Talk about a treat. She even said I dont have to share with Cam!! I was so excited I started doing my happy dance that always makes mom giggle. Its so nice to see her smile, and I act all silly on purpose just to see her do it, then she plays with me and we have lots of fun.

She said we'd be going back to South Carolina where Auntie Nan and my brudder Hunky are, so I grabbed my favorite toys and put them in my crate and then climbed in waiting to go. But mom wasnt doing anything, she was still just sitting at the computer. Why isnt she packing her toys? I waited and waited, then I got out of my crate and went over and poked her with my nose to try and get her to hurry up! I'm all ready mom, I whined to her. She just looked at me and told me I was a silly boy and she's excited too and wants to leave now too, but the Festival doesnt start for over a month. How am I supposed to wait that long? She said it will go by fast, but she's talked so much about it that I wanna go now! /sigh I suppose I dont have a choice, I dont know how to get there without mom, so I hafta wait. I even gave her my pouty face and hung my head and tail, but it didnt help. She told me she couldnt make it go by any faster, that we just have to be patient.

Anyway, I guess while I'm waiting, can any of you other Rennie Hounds tell me more what its like there? Mom even said I'll get to see a camel and an elephant and horses, but I have no idea what she's talking about. Can any of you veterans give me the inside scoop? Oh, and if you have a plan to make this thing happen faster-- share with me, I wont tell mom we're in cahoots! Promise! Cross my toes!!

So now I'm really bummed, she got me so excited just to say we cant go yet. So I'm gonna give up the keyboard back to her now and go pout in my crate... see if my sad puppy eyes will help move things along any. Everytime she gets up I follow her to see if she's getting her toys and my food to go for a ride, but so far its a no go.

OHHH--- looks like she's getting out that thingy that plays her music now-- that means we're going for a WALKIE!!!! So I guess I'll start with the sad eyes later... I gotta go- I dont like missing this- its a great time with mom out sniffing all the good stuff and getting a good stretch on my legs.

Later hounds! I'll be waiting for your help to get things moving faster!!

Welcome to our Blog...

I meant to post this yesterday but have limited internet access when I'm working at the hospital...

Welcome to the Blog!!

For those just joining us, this blog is contributed to by members of the cast of the Hounds of East Fairhaven, a renaissance re-enactment group that currently performs at the Carolina and Georgia Renaissance Festival. It is intended to be a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to participate in a Renn Faire but also to remind us of how much FUN we have cavorting about in hoopskirts and corsets!! (Okay, maybe not Jim and Tony, but the rest of us...)

Contributors will be posting stories after each weekend of Carolina and Georgia. The Carolina festival is in the fall, usually beginning the first of October and running through the middle of November. The Georgia festival is in the spring, from April until June, but we only do the first two weekends due to the HEAT. Wilted hounds and humans abound!!

Welcome to our corner of chaos and chivalry...and just FUN!!

Huzzah!
N

New Template

Let me know what you think of the new "skin," guys! I rather like this one...some of the templates that you can download are SOOOOOOOOOO involved that you get distracted from the text, and that's the point of a blog! I like this one because to me it looks like old parchment AND it doesn't have a huge picture of my noggin at the top. You'll notice that my other blogs (Isn't the Lettuce Brave and Waiting for Miss Daisy) both have my face on there b/c I'm the owner of the blog, and since you guys are going to contribute (hopefully) as much as I do, that isn't right.

So...off to find a corset or a good pattern...or to just get busy remodeling the one I have...

Huzzah!
N