Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Category: Ohio

  • 2023 So Far…

    2023 So Far…

    I have read 178 books. I have seen 13 movies in the theatre. I have attended several parties, roller derby, a belly dance show, a burlesque show, a concert, and much more. My dad died. I reconnected with my half sister, Chelli. My dog died. I gained 5 pounds. I met several of my favorite authors. I made a ridiculous tiara out of Barbie heads. I turned 42. I drank mead, wine and cocktails. I learned how to drink water. I applied for a job I really wanted and I didn’t get it. I started a book club. I got sick and then got better. I bought a wonderful turquoise hat. I got compliments from people about my hat, my 80s jingle charm necklace, my hair tinsel, my boots, my general sense of style. A friend told another friend that she loved how brave and creative I was with my style. I didn’t write very much, because I wasn’t hearing the stories in my mind. There was too much static. But it is starting to clear and I am hearing words again. So…here I am.

  • October 23 – 24: Spooky Basket

    I had previously mentioned that I was doing a Spooky Basket Exchange. Well, my buddy received their bucket on Saturday and I hope they liked it. I received mine on Sunday and I loved it. Behold the bounty!

    Popcorn!!!
    Light up kitty, mothman mug, horror bag and little wooden coffin full of pins.
    Poison Apple Mug
    Wooden pins: mothman, the craft and hocus pocus
    The ladies of the Craft wine glass
    Hocus Pocus spell shirt
    Halloweentown Shirt
    Little punkin
    Bandanas: most wonderful time of the year halloween and hocus pocus
    Skeleton headband, hocus pocus puzzle, and cute spooky kitty bag.
    The witch is in and Welcome spell bottle signs.
    Big comfy blanket with spooky blocks.

    I love every piece. Especially the pin of the Grand High Wizard from The Worst Witch…omg. And the poison apple mug. And the shirts…

    Here is the combined halloween countdown for the 23rd and 24th:

  • October 21-22: Witch Walk 2022

    On Saturday, at noon, several witches met at the gazebo in Goodale Park in Columbus, Ohio. We took a few pictures and then set forth to take a walk through the Short North.

    We proceeded to promenade until we reached The Eagle where we grab brunch and cocktails.

    My delicious Sandwich.

    After brunch we walked up to Prologue where I picked up two books:Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor and High Times in the Low Parlinent by Kelly Robson. I also got a cute bookmark and a whole bunch of stickers.

    Then my sister and I headed to Dark Market. They had amazing vendors, and Sacred Shimmy performed. Here is a video of Sacred Shimmy performing.

    I bought a bunch of different things. Several crystals, a spell frog, caramel apple body scrub made by my friend Heather, peacock quills, Mothman Earrings, and a big red hair flower with an anatomical heart. I could have bought so much more.

    Here is the extended cut of Halloween Countdown for 21 – 22:

  • October 9 – Fall Adventure on the way to a Bridal Shower

    October 9 – Fall Adventure on the way to a Bridal Shower

    My Mom, sister Traci, aunt Gayle, and I were on our way to North Canton for my cousin’s daughter’s bridal shower and we were running a bit early. Then we saw a sign for Groovy Plants Ranch. And suddenly we were headed off the exit and heading that way.

    They had some of the most beautiful displays of pumpkins and gourds. I was excited to find that they were reasonably priced as well. I grabbed a large white cindrella pumpkin and another almost pink smaller one. I also picked up some cute little ceramic mushrooms and a bumper sticker for on my van.

    Behold the beautiful fall bounty!!

  • November has come!

    Happy November First! The last day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival was yesterday, and while I am sad that the season is over, I am happy to be free to devote time to some other parts of my life. This season of the festival was one of the best I can remember. Wench Collecting took off this year in a way that was unexpected and led to our local growing almost doubling in size as the season moved on and more wenches are planning to join in the off season. We were able to sponsor five wenches into the guild, and have the money for several more. Being the Madam for the local is one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever taken on and I am so proud of what this group is becoming. And we have so much more on the horizon, including the groups first election since 2018 when we formed the group and I became madame. I have no idea if any of my fellow wenches would like to take up the mantle and run to be madame next year, but I know that whether I am madame again or I am unseated the impact of this inaugural privy council has laid an amazing groundwork for the leadership to come.

    Beyond this I have a lot planned for the month of November. One I am participating in Nanowrimo this year, but rather than a novel my goal is to blog every day for the month of November. In the past I did Blogtober, but I just couldn’t swing it this year so I decided to do November instead. I am also doing my first walk in a long time on Thanksgiving, a five mile Turkey Trot. I am attending the Witches Ball, doing a lot of holiday crafting, attending some other events with wenches and the lady gang. Who knows what I might get into? I hope you will come along for the ride, enjoy the scenery and keep me company along the way.

    On the first day of November I am thankful for my amazing husband who took all of the photos below for me without complaint, following me around the Festival as I chased down all the wenches. I love that man with my whole soul and I don’t know what I would do without him.

    So many Wenches!!!!

  • Cemetery Ghost Tour with GGG

    Cemetery Ghost Tour with GGG

    Several weeks ago Seth, Myself and the ladies from Ghosts, Girls, Ghouls Jenny and Rebecca jumped in my car and headed off to Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus to attend the “Night at Greenlawn Cemetery” ghost tour hosted by Bucky of Columbus Ghost Tours. As we arrived we pulled into a queue that then drove slowly through the cemetery stopping on a small lane between grave stones. We left our cars and found ourselves in front of the Lazarus Crypt to begin our night. Bucky came dressed in a coat and tails to set the mood for our walking tour of the Cemetery.

    He shared stories of suicide, death by misfortune, murder, grave robbing and much more as we wandered among the headstones of the 360 acre Cemetery. Some famous names appeared in the tales such as James Thurber the famous humorist writer who detailed his own brush with the paranormal in his story “The Night the Ghost Got In.” I will not spoil any of the amazing stories, but instead say it is an amazing tour and Bucky wonderfully lays out tales of the mystical, maniacal and macabre with humor and the panache of a natural born storyteller. When he reveals he is working on a book regarding some of the topics he covers it makes absolute sense.

    The cemetery itself is a registered arboretum and home to many different kinds of wildlife. Dusk set in we could watch bats swoop overhead to eat the mosquitos that were swarming around us on the humid Ohio summer night. As we wandered the night got darker and darker until every small thing seemed sinister. At one point what I believe was a skunk (I did not investigate) gave me a minor scare as it moved through the black of the night. It is truly disconcerting to hear a stick break behind you in a dark cemetery.

    If you are in the Central Ohio area, or are planning a visit, you cannot go wrong with one of the tours led by Columbus Ghost Tours. They offer a variety of tours as well as this one, including a tour of haunted bars where you get to drink and hear ghost stories which is on my list of things to do as well. You can follow them on Instagram at @boozeboos for more information and details.

  • Celtic Fest Ohio 2021

    Celtic Fest Ohio 2021

    This past weekend Ohio Renaissance Park hosted Celtic Fest 2021. The day featured many regional, national and international bands, dancers, etc as well as vendors and just general good times. I went in an effort to see and talk to as many wenches as I could as well as just to spend some time in one of my favorite places. The night before, so Friday night, storms cut through the area where the fest resides and this lead to insane flooding (waist deep in places) and a lot of panic amongst the vendors and performers who were spending the night onsite. It also caused a power outage that lasted until about 2pm on Saturday.

    As we headed out on Saturday morning, we were honestly not sure at all what we were getting ourselves into. I just knew that after the night they just had we needed to go and support some of these vendors we love. We got there about 11:30 (Gates were set to open at 11) and found out that the gates had been held until noon due to the power outage while they worked to get generators running to work the sound systems. Jameson’s Folly played at the gate as we waited for opening.

    Once inside we walked up to A Wired Viking where I picked up a pendant I purchased in advance and a necklace for my sister for her birthday both made by the lovely Felix. We also picked up a large beard bead for Seth, a ring for him and a bracelet for me. I forgot to get photos with the three wenches who work in that booth, because I suck.

    After this we walked around, said hi to many friends and wenches, got free commemorative Guinness Pint Glasses, took pictures, watched a couple of acts, gave cards to potential wenches, and generally had a great time. Here are far too many photos.

  • Otherworld: A journey

    Otherworld: A journey

    On May 30th we ventured to the East side of Columbus to explore Otherworld an interactive art experience in Columbus. Our party consisted of myself, my mother, my sister Traci and my friend Johnna. The exterior of the museum is unassuming and resides in an old strip mall.

    Once inside the lobby offers clues to what lies inside, with fun lighting, beautiful murals and interesting creatures. Once we got our wristbands we ventured inside.

    You can choose your own path, your own adventure. We wandered from room to room, exhibit to exhibit, laughing, touching, playing, discovering, and generally having an amazing time. Some rooms you have to crawl into. Crawling under a child’s bed in one room leads to a room with a giant narwhal and clouds you can sit on. A room full of neon spider webs had a ringing phone. Later in a control center we realized you can “call” the phone and speak to someone in the room. I am about to super photo dump. It goes without saying that this was an amazing experience and we plan to go back taking respective husbands and boyfriends.

  • Vaccinated Shenanigans

    Vaccinated Shenanigans

    So…I have been up to stuff. I am fully vaccinated, so I have begun meeting up with more friends who are also vaccinated and doing fun things.

    On May 8th Seth and I met up at Brother’s Drake Meadery with my mom, sister Traci, friend Johnna and her husband Andy, and my sister’s friend Boggs and his girlfriend Amanda. We did their “tour” which right now means doing a flight of 5 meads together. I tried their Purple Rain mead, which is Blackberry, blackcurrant, blueberry and honey wine and it is delicious!!! Then I had the flight. And then I had a glass of Battleaxe which they describe thusly, “A sweet cranberry melomel infused with vanilla and juniper berries. Unapologetically tart upfront like cranberries with a smooth finish that is sweet and hints at the vanilla and juniper infusion.” All I know is that it is delicious. We left with 2 bottles of Purple Rain and one of Battleaxe to go.

    Amanda, Boggs, Traci, Karla (mom), Seth, Me, Andy and Johnna

    I chose our movie(s) for Girls, Ghosts, Ghouls for the month of May/June, so we recorded that on the 17th of May. I chose Nosferatu (1922) and Shadow of the Vampire (2000). The recording hasn’t released yet, but should be coming soon.

    On the 22nd we headed back to our favorite boardgaming bar, The Forge Tavern, for their Fancy Dress Pirate Party with Pirate’s Creed. Seth and I shared a table with my friends Liz and Todd. My mom, sister and my sister’s boyfriend, Erich, were at the next table and my friend, Susan, and her family were right behind us. Seth and I did a Rum flight, the Sugar Island Rum was my favorite. Pirate’s Creed put on an amazing show. I bought their album in a bottle. There were several wenches on site so we took a wench photo. Overall it was just a really good time.

    On the 22nd we celebrated my nibling, Sadie’s birthday early in the afternoon. Then we met up with my friends and co-hosts Jenny and Rebecca to go to a drive through Dinosaur exhibit. It was ridiculous, but fun, and we laughed a lot.

    Okay…this is too much. More shenanigans to come.

  • 16 Days of Blogging

    Today we headed to Polaris Fashion Place, which is a giant mall in Columbus, to stalk our favorite soap makers and buy more of their amazing soaps. We have been almost exclusively using Elder Forest Soaps for at least 5 years but more than likely more than that. We met them at the Ashville Viking Festival and started by buying a couple of bars just to try them. Now we buy 6-9 at a time. We love their products so much and I highly recommend them.

    We ended up with Sandalwood Rose, Rosemary, Coconut Lemongrass, Woodland, Patchouli Spice and their seasonal Charcoal Rose in soaps. I also picked up some of their pain balm which is one of the best things for muscle pain I have ever found. Their natural deodorant spray which works well and leaves you smelling wonderful. And I tried their new lotion in Cashmere and Vanilla Oak and I smell so amazing right now. Katie the owner also threw in a lip balm for me and it is also great. If you are looking for a great natural soap company give them a look.