of moss and leaves

So very proud of my home state.
Last night, Maryland became the first state to approve an equal marriage law by popular vote.

Maine and Washington state also approved equal marriage laws.

Every summer, American Green Tree Frogs hunt around our sitting room windows.  They're very used to people and will even peek in the windows to see what we're up to.  This one was waiting patiently on the shady hydrangea leaves during the hottest part of the day.

 

We're finally back from FaerieCon.
We had such a good time there.
The Guests of Honor were author Charles de Lint and artist Charles Vess.
(As soon as I'd found this out, I'd written to stormsongk, "We are going.")

We arrived late in the afternoon on Friday - after the panels had finished for the day. We checked into our room, relaxed for a while, then got dressed for the Good Faeries Ball. At the ball, we met up with my boss's sister Sharon (whom I'd never met) and her husband. She'd been told to look for a redhead in a green dress, not knowing that every redhead chose to wear green that evening. :D  Everyone who attended the ball dressed up.  I've honestly never seen so many devastatingly attractive people in one place in my life.
Storm's little goblin character garnered quite a bit of attention, especially from the ladies.



Also at the Good Faeries Ball, we were excited to see S.J. Tucker (Sooj) and Betsy Tinney play the opening part of the show. Storm was pleased to finally see "Alligator in the House" played live. I danced and sang along.



At breakfast on Saturday, I got a tip from an acquaintance that there would be a FaerieCon-exclusive printing of Charles Vess's new art book Drawing Down the Moon, limited to 50 copies in hardcover.  (The book is scheduled to be published next month.)  As soon as the dealers' room opened, I slipped downstairs and bought my copy of Mr. Vess's book and got it signed. Yay!



At midday, the brothers of the Order of the Greenman, led by our Faire-acquaintance Bramble, marched and sang their way through the dealers' areas bestowing Green Blessings on everyone.  They left me giggling with their "Green green green green" chant and when they went down the center aisle of the dealers' room singing "Magic Dance" from Labyrinth.  Then they went to introduce the main guests, Charles & Charles, calling them "two of the greenest guys we know...they may even be greener than us!"



Charles de Lint signed my copy of his chapbook of Make A Joyful Noise, one of the Crow Girls stories.  In the afternoon, we attended a concert given by de Lint and his lovely wife MaryAnn Harris.  They play a regular Celtic music gig at a pub near their home in Ottawa Canada, so I was excited to get the chance to see them play.  Charles played guitar and harmonica, while MaryAnn switched between shakers and mandolin. 



De Lint often writes about musicians, writers, artists, and community.
Songs and poems are interspersed with prose.
This little concert was SUCH a cool thing to witness.

After the concert, we headed to our favourite restaurant, An Poitín Stil, for supper: baked brie, fish & chips, and a wonderful meatloaf.

We went back to the hotel for the Bad Faeries Ball. While the Gypsy Nomads were playing, Sooj and her partner K spun glowy poi in front of the stage.  Extremely cool and crowd-pleasing.



On Sunday, we had breakfast in the hotel and a long chat with Bramble.  At 11, we watched Sooj and Betsy play again, this time in a quieter concert setting.  Storm was smiling all the way through "Cheshire Kitten". 
I enjoyed hearing two-thirds of the "Wendy Trilogy", "Were-Owl", and their haunting rendition of "Tam Lin".
Find them at http://skinnywhitechick.com/ and http://www.trickypixie.com/.





After the concert, we went down to the dealers' room for the last of our purchases.  Storm bought a necklace with an acorn pendant for me and I bought him a pin shaped like a Celtic peacock.  ;)
As we were heading out, we stopped by Sooj and Betsy's table to say goodbye.  You will never meet nicer people than these two gorgeous, talented women.  ♥

Now we're home, the car is unpacked, and I'm happy, tired, and ready to fall into bed.

I had a really, really good weekend.
( All aboard, ye scurvy dogs! )