Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Proud Wench

  • October 18 – Sisters, Podcasts, Sweethearts, and Faire Days

    October 18 – Sisters, Podcasts, Sweethearts, and Faire Days

    My older sister, Krystie, was in town the end of last week and the weekend. We went to dinner at Studio 35 Friday night to get to spend some time with her. After that I came home to record WTF Did I Just Watch Podcast with Jenny and Jean-Paul and fellow guests Randy, Jon and Char discussing the 1983 Stephen King joint Silver Bullet. It was a really fun and funny discussion of a batshit bananas film.

    Saturday we headed down to the Ohio Renaissance Festival once again. It was romance weekend. I barked for Wench Collecting before gate and for about 40 minutes after open. People were eager to play which is always exciting. Once inside we decided to try the new ramen place Dante’s Third Circle. I got mine Tingly Tongue spicy, and Seth got Why did you do this, lol. It was pretty dang good. We bought some boozy cakes at Let Them Drink Cake and bought a friend a pendant from my friends at The Wired Viking. At 2:15 the Wenches met for a photo.

    We had some amazing conversations with our fellow ORFans and left basically at close and headed home.

    On Sunday Chris, Niki and the Niblings came down to Ren Faire as well so I took a break from barking, but still got collected quite a bit. I bought a beautiful felted flower from A viking Wife. Seth and I decided that in honor of our 10 year anniversary we would take part in the mass vow renewal that happens on Romance Weekend.

    Photo 1 courtesy of Stephen Kohus

    The ceremony was very sweet. The officiant quoted Neil Gaiman. I cried (not that this is shocking). We found family again and ran around a bit until it was 2:15 and time for the wench picture.

    I met several new wenches, and talked to some I never get to talk to. It was really nice. Niki also decided she wants to be a wench! So we are going to work on that.

    More faire photos from Romance Weekend.

    I knew I had a podcast to record later so we headed out so I had time to watch Dracula and get ready to record. So watch out for GGG to cover the Bela Lugosi classic soon.

    Monday we had dinner with my Mom and sisters again because Krystie needed to head home to Oklahoma Tuesday. We got a family photo while we were together.

    Halloween Countdown for 14, 15-17 and 18. Tomorrow starts my double countdown.

  • October 2 – My October Bucket List

    October 2 – My October Bucket List

    • Witch Walk 2022
    • Dark Market 2022
    • Carve a Pumpkin
    • Go to a Halloween Party
    • Celebrate our 10th anniversary
    • Attend Ren Faire at least once a weekend
    • Tales from the Crypt at Green Lawn Abbey
    • Finish and upgrade Mothman Costume for Faire
    • Read 4 books
    • Create a great basket for my spooky basket buddy
    • Have a fire and make smores

    That is a pretty good list to start. We were at the Renaissance Festival today for Time Travelers weekend. There were time lords, mandalorians, multiple tardises, and I was a triceratops.

    Photo of wenches, I am center front holding my triceratops mask to the side.

    Here is my treasure from my Halloween Advent for today…

    And my October book bingo as I read through The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik. Got several off the board.

  • Magical Days, Madrigal Nights – Final Weekend

    Magical Days, Madrigal Nights – Final Weekend

    Saturday was the final day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival’s Magical Days, Madrigal Nights and it was an absolutely magical day. For this final adventure it was just me and my friend, fellow wench and lady gang member, Susan.

    We arrived about 3:30 and almost immediately ran into friends who were attending for the first time this year (I managed 4 out of 5 somehow). We arranged some custom pieces from the glass artist, recruited several new wenches with any luck, sat and spoke to friends, sang a bit, conferred with witches and ended singing incredibly anachronistic songs at the pub sing in the Three Fools. It was a beautiful end to the season that wasn’t, but also kinda was. Here’s a health to the Company…

  • Witches of Betsy Past

    I have dressed up as a witch more than any other costume in my life, so today I decided to photo drop as many Betsy as a witch photos as I can find. This is not nearly all of them, just the ones I could find.

  • Magical Days, Madrigal Nights – Part 2

    Magical Days, Madrigal Nights – Part 2

    My husband and I’s 8th wedding anniversary was on the 6th. To celebrate we bought feast tickets to the Magical Days, Madrigal Nights event happening at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. We also decided to indulge and do the Witches of Willy-Nilly Whiskey Tasting.

    The Whiskey Tasting was fun and delicious, for $35 per person you get 7 shots of whiskey including a premium shot. The girl seated beside me, Becca, was absolutely adorable and we had a blast toasting and fist bumping our way through the drinks. My favorite was the black barrel, as was Seth’s but there honestly wasn’t a bad one in the mix. The witches sang an amazing conjuration song, and regaled us with whiskey facts as we got drunker and drunker, oops. I gave out several cards for the IWG to fun ladies, and I hope they join us.

    We met up with some other wenches after that and walked around to kill time. We got soft serve (with sprinkles), I bought a walking stick/crook, and we had a nice conversation with the glass artists about commissions and cats.

    Then we headed back to the feast. While we were waiting I snapped a picture of an adorable gnome and got my photo taken with the witches who I just love!

    The feast was delicious, but I forgot to take photos of the food. There was entertainment throughout including the faire’s improv troop made up mayhem, the queen’s choice singers, the witches and the pirates. It was very entertaining, and once the feast was over we headed home.

    These Magical Day, Madrigal Night events are not exactly like a ren faire day, but they keep the spirit alive. Huzzah!!

  • Welcome to Blogtober!!

    Welcome to Blogtober!!

    It is that time of year again, my favorite month and the month when I blog everyday. I have no idea what that might involve for 2020, but expect lots of fun fall, Halloween and other such content. Also some poetry, because that is what I am studying currently in school.

    On a gorgeous Sunday in mid-September I met with several members of the International Wenches Guild as well as The Witches of Willy-Nilly to record our version of the Hexenbrut. We gathered in the Sunhenge at the Renaissance Festival dressed in our witchy finery. After a few practice runs, we created a masked and socially distanced dance. The video was finally released by the Ohio Renaissance Festival, so I am free to share.

    This was an absolute blast to do, and it looks pretty good too! Dance along if you know it.

    Happy Blogtober!! Happy Full Moon!! See you tomorrow!!

  • It Should be Opening Day…

    It Should be Opening Day…

    If the world was as it should be today would be the opening day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Seth and I would be making our first wander around the grounds saying our hellos to our Rennie family. We would have gotten there early in order to finish dressing in the parking lot, and would have met up with friends by the opening gate where the Queen and the cast would lay out what this year’s story is. I might have had game boards to hand out to patrons for wench collecting, holding my blackboard with some clever saying to gain people’s interest. I might have been handing out business cards for the guild inviting women to join us in our shenanigans. I would have hugged my friend, fellow wench and madame of vice, Sarah, in her booth the moment I was inside the gate and we would have caught up for a few minutes before the rush of patrons hit to begin shopping. I would have wandered to the Vikings hoard to say hello to the vikings and so Den Mom could tempt me with some beautiful new fur to add to my collection.

    This year there will be no faire as I know it. I am feeling the absence in my soul like a great weight which is fueling my anxiety and making my life feel shockingly off kilter. Faire has long been for me a place of escape and succor, and to lose that is a strange thing indeed.

    Seth and I had already made the decision in July to have our season passes rolled to 2021 because of the pandemic. With Seth working in a school he is already in a higher risk environment and we did not want to make that risk any greater by being in such a public space, even with the precautions they were taking. When they cancelled completely in August, though, it hurt. Partly because even with our passes suspended we had planned on attending at least once or twice during the run, and partly because it made the threat of the pandemic seem even that much more real.

    On the plus side, OhRen has created some limited ticket smaller events called Magical Days, Madrigal Nights and I have tickets to two out of three days,including tickets for the Madrigal Feast on Octber 10. IWG 73 is planning to meet up to perform the Hexenbrut which we can publish on our Youtube channel for Halloween. And I am sure we will find some other things to get into as well.

    There will be things that will fill the space on my calendar that faire is leaving behind, but I am not sure about the space in my heart.

    Here’s to a better, healthier 2021. Hip, Hip, Huzzah!

  • My Birthday in a Post.

    My Birthday in a Post.

    Yesterday was my birthday. I am officially 39. I spent most of early yesterday with curlers in my hair getting ready for the Fancy Dress Party at the Forge Tavern later in the day. My husband, Seth, surprise d me at midnight while I was putting my curlers in with my birthday present from him: Dungeons and Dragons Castle Ravenloft the Board Game. It is a stand alone version of the Curse of Strahd which is a module for D&D that I am planning to Dungeon Master later this year. We can play it to prepare, and also use the figurines from the game when running my game later. I am super excited.

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    Once we were ready we met my mom and sister for dinner at Tomatillo’s in Worthington for dinner. They gave me my present from them then. They got me a new Fitbit Versa, the game Punderdome and The Literary Witches Oracle. They also got me a unicorn hand sanitizer holder, which my mom bought before all the chaos really started, but it is super handy now.

    Then we all headed to The Forge Tavern for the Fancy Dress Party. Jameson’s Folly, which is made up of the Wenches a’ Wailing from the Renaissance Festival and their friends, was performing as a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.  The Forge made the decision not to cancel in spite of the covid-19 restrictions and instead to limit the number of people who are allowed to attend. I would say there were about 50 of us in attendance in the end, but it was a lovely night. I was gifted a lovely unicorn music box from my friend Carol, an adorable birthday wineglass from my friend Mary, and my friend Susan made me a necklace based on the book The Starless Sea. I will absolutely admit to having far too much to drink, but in spite of that it was a lovely night. Jameson’s Folly even wished me a happy birthday in a bunch of languages, did a toast to me and sang an encore song just for me.

    All in all it was an absolutely amazing birthday. Today they have officially closed all the restaurants and bars, and I am so thankful that I was able to have one more night of fun before that hit. I am 39 and the world feels like chaos, but last night I was surrounded by my favorite people so it is all okay.

  • March Onward!!

    It’s March! It is my and my husband’s birthday month! I will be 39 on March 14th and Seth will be 36 on the 30th. I was very excited that The Forge Tavern is holding another Fancy Dress Party on my birthday, so we have decided to attend that as my birthday celebration. I am going to be doing some random about me posts through the month in honor of my not almost forty birthday.

    On the first day of March here is a photo dump of things I got into in February.

    On the 15th The International Wenches Guild Local 73 met up in my hometown of Newark at the Buckeye Winery, for a Galentine’s celebration. We also hit up the new Sand Hollow Speakeasy and The White Cottage, a shop that sells beautiful jewelry and clothing.

    Last week we saw Stadium Virginium IV: Rock of Love featuring Virginia West. As usual it was an amazing show with amazing performances. I am always so blown away with the quality and production of the West Family shows. They are beyond expectations. There is definitely a reason they sell out all the time.

     

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    February was a mixed bag with super highs and lows that included being sick for nearly two weeks but also amazing shows, several runs of dungeons and dragons, wenches, the lady gang, and amazing shows. I cannot wait to see what March brings.

  • End of 2019 Bucket List – More Items Checked

    End of 2019 Bucket List – More Items Checked

    • Wench photo with the Queen!
    • Get my major changed to creative Writing.
    • Attend both days the last weekend of Ohio Renaissance Festival

    Saturday of this weekend was rainy,  but we still went out for several hours. Sunday was absolutely amazing. I got photos with many of the Wenches in our local and we got this amazing photo with the queen. I love my wenches so much, and I am so proud of what we have built.

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    • Get autographs from Rasputina (Melora Creager)

    I was not able to get Rasputina’s autographs because we needed to get home so Seth could go to work today. However, I did get the autographs of the amazing opening act Charming Disaster as well as their new LP. If you have never heard them you should absolutely check them out. They are a new favorite.

     

    • Finish Blogtober strong (I get a book if I do)
    • Rennie outing to Book Loft?
    • Get Wench tattoo
    • Participate and succeed in NaNoWriMo (Are you participating? Link me BetsySnowWhite)
    • Do a writers night.
    • Photo with Krampus!
    • Wench invasion of the Krampus Walk
    • Photo with Santa and the Wenches
    • Wench invasion of Columbus and Cincinnati Zoo.
    • Wench invasion of Kentucky Dickens Festival
    • Set up Christmas trees
    • Christmas Party
    • Attend Roaring 20s New Year Party