Leather Pride Weekend

Ahh, Leather Pride weekend.... where do i even start? The week was
really awful. i felt like crap (fighting a cold, maybe?) my broken toe
sucks major butt, Master was a terrible monster all week (which He
admits, so i am not speaking out of turn!) and there are some annoying
work issues going on. So, overall, i would have rather spent the
weekend in bed, feeling sorry for my self.


Hiding in bed was not an option, so i put on my game face and
ventured out with Master. i got permission to wear the fantastic
uniform that i was gifted in Dallas. It was a huge hit and i think i
pulled it off well - sweaty but well. (After all, it's June, the Jacket
is heavy and i'm going thru a cycle of hot flashes. Sweaty gal!) i got
to spend some time re-connecting with 2 gentlemen who i would like to
spend more time with. One i've played with before and need to again.
The other i've never played with but the flirting is hot and heavy - i
think he'd be loverly to spend some time with. As the schedule is
lightening up and travel is more local, i think i'll be making some
plans with them.


So, then we head out after LPN to another location and i got to see
the person who just absolutely gets my panties in a twist. Yeah, that
person. Master was so with me and backing me up to stick to my guns and
i held fast, not turning in to a gibbering idiot. It was delicious to
watch them spot me in the crowd, stand stock still and then run away -
only to circle around a few more times trying to figure out how to
approach me. It ended up being a sneak attack, fingers caressing the
back of my neck, ruffling my hair from behind. (smart person, this one
- i once let them in on that being a weakness of mine when they did it
and it was used against me!) Yeah, so.... i stood up straight and
accepted whatever stammered apologies came my way. Later, when Master
and left, i made sure to say good night and return the favor of a
caress in the dark. However, when all was said and done... very
unsatisfying. It was delightfully interesting using the beautiful uniform
as a weapon, a torture device with someone who clearly has a fetish for
that kind of thing. *grin* But better than that was the time spent with
my friends and Master, smoking cigars in the clear night air, enjoying
the Solstice with my loved ones. Knowing that my brothers were keeping
an eye on me.


Sunday... well, Sunday was again spent with my loved ones but also
in the *brief* company of That One. Ugh, you know, it's amazing how
some one can have the body of an adult and still have the mind of an
adolescent. i'm lucky though to have a Master who desires my company
and after this weekend, enough offers for play, play dates, and just
plain old loverly dates that i'm not too hurt. Well, no... that's not
true. i *am* hurt. (scuffs her toe on the ground) Why is sex & relationships so
freakin' complicated? Why don't they teach this stuff in school?


Overall review of the weekend: i got to spend time with JC &
Sinn from Nekked building a friendship, i got to *finally* spend a
little more time with Double Dragon Dave (grin) and Ray, both of whom i
like a lot but don't get to talk to as often as i'd like. i got to
pretend to meet Terrance for the first time at least 55 times, i got to
meet a fantastic man from Idaho, i stayed connected to Atlanta, i met a
wonderful slave now living in DC, i had a random beautiful stranger
tell me that our website is great and has made a difference in his life
(what!), and one poopie experience with a dork. So, my weekend was
wonderful. Capped off by a rainbow over the street fair. i am blessed!

Atlanta, my toe and a wallet

i had a blast in Atlanta. So much fun getting to know Sir Nick & slave kathleen. i usually take a while to warm up to people and start talking sassy but for some reason, i just took to these guys like a Fred to a countertop. (ok, duck to water for those of you not in the know!)

Came home, promptly had Taybor break my toe for me. (usually he drops his empty food bowl on my foot. This time he brought me his food scoop which i decided would be good to wear as a shoe so i could skate across the floor and crash in to the wall. Yeah... nice)

Then some scumbag stole Master's wallet from His gym locker yesterday. (along with 6 other wallets from other people!) Like all that isn't bad enough, they also got his free oil change card from our car dealership. Son's of bees! Angry isn't even to word for it. i've rarely felt so useless as i did last night. There wasn't any comfort i could give (or that was wanted) so i just hid out in my studio, feeling like crap. Funny, although Master wasn't raving or being mean, the dogs stayed away from Him too. They pick up that anger vibe, i guess.

It looks like all will turn out well. Credit cards canceled in time, no damage done to the bank accounts... Drivers license replaced quickly today and Master called the car dealer with His tale of woe and they came though for Him and will still do the oil change for free! Go Saturn!

Tonight we're going out with some new friends to talk about music and give them any tips we have towards getting them a recording contract/better tours/success/fame/money/glory.... i look forward to getting to know them better.

Leather Pride Night tomorrow, Folsom East on Sunday....i should be happier about those things but i really just want to stay home with a pillow over my head. Maybe if i get some quality time with some of my beloved Peeps i'll feel happier. i hope....

Oh, yeah... Happy Solstice!

Weird gay news?

OK, so i saw this on our local NBC affiliate website.
Here's a screen shot of the website with the thing that bothered me:

















i was pretty horrified by this story being classified under "weird news". So i wrote brief email of complaint. As you can see, although there's an admission of an error being made, there's really not an apology. Feel free, intrepid readers, to email Mr Scott himself.

Here's what i wrote:
Hello:

I'd love an explanation as to why Gay Marriage in California was listed under "weird news"... Is this in the same category as a free-roaming alligator terrorizing the neighborhood? Or lucky dog in a trash compactor? I don't think so and I for one find it offensive. There's nothing "weird" about it. Shame on you!

Here's his response:

Thanks for the email! That was an accidental mistake on my part.
Jim Scott
Senior Editor, WNBC.com

And here's his email address: James.Scott@nbcuni.com

time flies...

Oy... where *does* the time go? How did it get to be the middle of June already? i feel like i've been moving in fits and starts, getting nothing accomplished. If it wasn't for my "to-do-list" that Master gives me, with all the things that i *must* get done, i swear i got nothing done. But since i have to cross off each task as i go along, i know i'm getting things done. After all, we've gotten another class written so i must be doing something, right?
i've been spending some time contemplating whether or not my new thyroid meds are doing anything for me. i was on Levoxyl for years, never felt a change, still tired and crappy all the time. With the Synthroid... well, the weirdest thing i've noticed is i think my vision is clearer. What? Yeah, weird i know. Other than a few very minor heart palpations the first few days (and probably only because the dr. said i'd have them!) i've had no negative reactions. But i still don't feel all that different. Maybe i expect too much, but i'd like to not feel so darn tired all the time. Maybe everyone is exhausted all the time and never mentions it.Either way, i'm only on half the dose i should be until i get another check up... which is *after* the biopsy.

Tonight, finish packing. Tomorrow, Atlanta for SELF. Getting to spend some time with some Quality Peoples! Hurray! :-) and perhaps some good Jamaican food at Miss Julies (sweet tea in the South!) and brunch at Sweet Melissa's! For some reason the trip to Atlanta revolves around food. i love the location of this event, everything is easy walking distance (and by everything i mean good restaurants!) so there's not this tummult of trying to find someone who's rented a car so we can drive to the super walmart so i can buy cheese and eat in the room! Ack!

Post trip, i'm looking forward to getting some art time in so i can practice what i learned at Art & Soul. We also have a dinner date planned with some new friends (ahh, musicians! Feed my music starved mind!) and i'm going to invite my self over to another new friends house to see his new puppy. (you hear that? yeah, i'm comming over!) *grin*

Pardon me? Is that a nodule i see?

yup, i got myself a fantastical 1.5 cm nodule on my thyroid. i had been stalling on my yearly thyroid check because i HATE getting blood tests since i had my Port-a-Cath removed after i went in to remission from ITP. i finally buckled down, got the blood drawn, went for the ultrasound and followed up with my new doc. i actually like this guy, he takes a lot of time to explain everything throughly and is hilarious when he says "ok, so when i do the biopsy, i need you to not be wearing your....*insert long pause while he looks a the ceiling*...ummm, collar? Necklace?"

So, July 2nd, i get to go have a needle stuck in my neck. Fun! :-) i'm actually not worried about it. i've had the nodule for a while (since 2002) but "they" think it's a bit bigger - which is not necessarily something to worry about. Of course, right now all i can feel is my neck! i can feel the lump! i can! NO, really, i can not. Not at all. Ridiculous and amazing what acrobatics the mind is capable of, no?

i'm tired and i wanna go home!

Last class is done and i am back in my hotel room. i had a blast, it's a good event. Great selection of teachers.

i don't have a ton of finished work - that's not what this trip was about. It was to learn technique, break some barriers (both in what art i do and traveling alone) and to feed my soul. All those things were accomplished.

i had a blast with Keith Lo Blue, i nailed the first rivet i did (pun?) and then made a mess of the next couple but i did get 2 pieces done and they're still holding together! He's also got the BEST pair of goggles i've ever seen (yes, even better than those goggles) i tracked a pair down online. Turns out, they're Japanese WWII issue. Fabulous! And truly practical. It was nice to meet a fellow goggle nut.

All 3 classes with Tracy Bautista rocked. They were exactly the challenge i hoped they'd be, but by the end of the weekend, i really felt good about the work i did. For me, her classes were about breaking through a huge barrier that my father gave me by telling me i wasn't an artist, my art sucked and giving me an intense fear of being a failure. As i packed up my stuff, i called out a big "thank you Traci" and she called me back and gave me a gift. (Like the classes weren't gift enough.) Sweet! i'll hang it in my studio to remind me of the good work that can be done if i get over myself.

i'm off to get packed up and try to figure out my return directions. i miss my dogs, my bed, my tea pot and most of all, i miss my sweet Master! Thanks to everyone who called and checked up on Him and me this weekend. It meant a lot to me to hear about all the calls and emails. Surrounded by love and covered with paint - that's me!

PS: Jack, yes - i DID use glitter. It was green. It's all over my room. It's freakin' me out! :-)

why is everything all covered with goo?

i am covered in paint, ink, dye, glue, gel medium and gesso. i am happy and exhausted. i can't beleive i have 3 MORE DAYS of blessed creating. Today was intimidating: there are some major fabulous artists here. But such an out pouring of generosity. People at these things trade small bits of art with each other. i didn't bring anything to trade but i've been handed several goodies. Favorite so far is a cute, purple, hand felted wool pin in the shape of a skull. The lady gave it to me just because she thought i looked like a purple skull girl! :-) LOL! me?

i won 3 door prizes at the reception: more art supplies! Lucky gal!

i miss Master Larry and the Canine Dynamic Duo more than i can put in to words. i'm going to enjoy the rest of the weekend, with out a doubt, but i am looking so forward to being in Master's arms again! (not to mention, i can't sleep with out all of His snoring!) *blat*

off to bed!
G'Night!

whirlwind Sunday!

So, when a slave comes home after yet another rotten day at work (It's
been super stressful, trying to save the business with my one big
pharmaceutical client) and finds that Master has not only grilled
Himself some outstanding chicken burgers but has also made some for the
slave, brought her dog bowls outside to the patio so she can eat with
Him... she's a very happy girl indeed!



To recap my week, in a nutshell - it was pretty bad. Between the stress
of packing and 2nd guessing the classes i picked for myself, the whole
mess going on at work, The Aunt making me crazy...and for some reason,
after all this time i got really mopey about the person that i was sort
of involved with. It's pretty sucky for some one to just stop calling
entirely. At least have the balls to say "hey, it's not working" or
what ever. *sigh* At least i got some great late night phone
conversation while i working in the studio and some good car sex out of
it and i'll just have to leave it at that, i suppose. i guess if they
weren't going to be able to be communicative while things were new and
easy, then they wouldn't have been able to handle any thing deeper, so
i'm better off. Yeah, that's it. i'm better off..... i just don't feel
like it though.



my boss handed me another pharma client this week, unexpectedly. He
took me to see them on Friday, i was completely unprepared: dressed
like a slob, no make up, hair askew (it was Friday, after
all!) But it went really well... They've got 3 locations i'll have to
take care of so that brings my total up to 5 places. No bad for the shy
girl who hates talking to new people! (see, running for leather titles
has it's benefits!)



Packing for the trip almost done. There's a mountain of stuff in the
front hall: 1 large carry on bag with tool box, paints, glue, etc. a
big case with The Big Scary Drill of Doom (thanks pug!) a big computer
bag full of ephemera for multiple classes, another small tool case, 2-2
gallon zip lock bags of supplies. Plus i have to pack the cooler, a big
box of food to cook when i'm down there, kitchen supplies, oh - and
clothes for me to wear! :-) i've started making a "special" head for
the DADA doll class. i'm shooting to get 2 dolls done and they're
giving us one head. Hence the extra i'm taking. Can't have too many
heads, i always say.



Between now and Wednesday morning i have to: get my hair cut, find time
to dye it, bake a loaf of bread, cook a bunch of chicken to take with
me, finish sorting some alphabet rubber stamps (about 4 million of
them), fix up and print and renew our contract (!) and... and... oh,
yeah, go to work and try to finish up everything that's pending for my
old client. ACK! i need a vacation from my vacation! Maybe i'll just go
to Kentucky..... *grin*



Off to finish dinner and a beautiful fresh home made focaccia bread..... blissy bliss!

Oh, one more thing: i think i get to say "Welcome to the Family" to some one.... Master's on the phone having a conversation right now.... Yay! Hurray! i like it when things work out well.....

Connections: past, present, future...

Whoo Hoo! What a great weekend! Aside from the crazy Aunt, doing crazy aunt things, the 3 day weekend was Awesome. Friday was a chance to re-connect with Master. Saturday was spent connecting with a ton of new people and building a new friendship. Celebrating talent and hard work and darn good music with good food, good drink and amazing people.
As much as i love teaching, going to classes, events, bar nights... it was so nice to be "off leash" so to speak and just talk about music and non-leathery things. Although protocol was certainly not non-existent for me (i still needed to serve Master and check in with Him) i was able to relax and have fun. Only one M/s "error" when i started claiming dirty plates from guests and taking them to the trash.... one guest was saying to me "i've never had anyone take my plate before. Why are you doing that?" LOL, i guess i'm just helpful that way. *grin* i think she knew what was going on but i fluffed it off. Another guest was commenting on the lovely collar, she definitely knew it was a collar. Hmmm... well, let's give people something to talk about, i say.

i'm happy to have made this connection. It's not easy for me to have friends who are not in the "scene" because i sometimes feel like i can't be my self. With this person, i honestly feel like i absolutely can be my self. i don't know why. i usually don' trust people right out of the gate like this but there's just something there. Maybe it's because he's authentic in his actions? Could be. Either way, i'm happy with it.

i'm glad to be back in touch with my old Love (oh, stop it! i'm not calling You old!) who has been commenting on this blog. (HI! *slave waves in direction of Kentucky*) It's nice to still feel connected. After all this time. Across all these miles.

Happy girl, all around.

And, none of the buttons fell of my new dress.

Woman alone = Trouble?

Master's Aunt is nagging again.
First, she annoyed that we're unwilling/unable to spend over $1,200 to fly to Florida to go to a family birthday party for *one* day.

Secondly, she offered to pay for us to go but Master declined. It's not just the cost the flight, it's the dog sitter *and* i'm leaving for the retreat just 2 days after that party - He knows that i need to pack and prepare and honestly, He'd like to spend the weekend with just me before i leave for a week. (Seriously, this is the longest we've ever been apart in all the many years we've been together. We've never been apart for more than 4 days!)

Thirdly.... She's mad at Him for "letting" me go on this trip alone. A woman alone could get in to trouble. Could *cause* trouble. Is a trouble magnet. (As my beloved Mr. Terricloth says "Trouble is my middle name!") Oy!

So, she's declared that she's going on the trip with me!

What? Excuse me? NO!!!!!!!!!!! As my beloved Mr. Terricloth once said to an Army recruiter "i'd rather stick needles in my eyes."

For the life of me, i can't even imagine what she's thinking. She'd die on an 8 hour car ride. i have classes from 9 a.m until 9:30 p.m. every day so, i'd not be entertaining her at all. She couldn't come to the classes with me as most of them are sold out *and* she'd hate what i'm taking.
(Really, she'd look at it all and sniff "this isn't art, it's trash!")
(To which i'd sniff back "it's not trash, it's assemblage!")
(And then, we would have a brawl and i would leave her there and drive home alone.) *grin*

Master told her to knock it off and stop buggin' me. Hopefully she'll listen.

Party Dress, Acceptance, Travel

What made me thing a dress with 16 buttons was a good idea? i hate making button holes! Yes, ok - it looks great. It's all done but sewing on the last 11 buttons and the final hemming. i think it's got a delicious 50's feel to it. It's an awful black and red lotus print. Fun! Tacky! me! i'll post pics when it's really done. i just need the right shoes to go with it.... i'm thinking my black and white checkered sneakers.

i *finally* got my acceptance letter for the SoulCollage facilitator training. Hip Hip Hurray! Exciting news! i've already been giving some thought as to where i'd want to do the facilitating. There are some places nearby that would be receptive and i'm thinking *maybe* of Southwest Leather. i mean, it's the home of the woo-woo... SoulCollage is woo-woo. Sounds like a perfect fit to me! i gotta get busy writing a proposal, i guess.

Master also told me this morning that we were nominated for Pantheon of Leather Couple of the Year. Whoever nominated us: Thank you so much! It really does mean a lot to us to be nominated.

Master and i are off from work tomorrow. i think there's going to be a lot of relaxation (and sewing on of buttons) and i really need to do a through check of all my supplies for the retreat. i've got all my metal working stuff for my class with Keith Lo Blue, and all my paints, glues, papers, and ephemera for the other classes. i'm looking most forward to the classes on assemblage. (Keith's class, The DADA dolls and there's another class on collage i'm taking.)

i am scared of the other classes i'm taking. The work is NOT my style and i had to really push myself to sign up for these particular classes. One of the artists/teachers is big in to what she calls "girly glam" but she does this amazing graffiti style work. Um, i think i'm maybe more girly goth so we'll see what i get out of this. Hopefully i won't have the urge to just coat everything with glitter! (not that glitter is a bad thing!) i am diggin' the graffiti style stuff though. Hmmm, in fact: it just dawned on me that i know someone who does that. i'm going to have to pick his brain.

Ok, i'm off to clean my desk at work so i can enjoy tomorrow stress free!
Peas!

New music, scrap metal and me...

my friend Eric of voodooNouveau put out his new CD a few weeks ago and it's been in heavy rotation in the house. If you like good, hard music - please check it out. It's available for download here. Kinky folks will probably appreciate the song INRI the most. i know that i personally am diggin' the lyrics and the whole dirty dungeon vibe of that particular track.

Things have ground to a halt with my 'person'. yeah, it's sad. They made me quite happy and made me feel like a Princess. But the Princess likes to have her calls returned and doesn't like being ignored. So, i move on.

i'm busy putting together my tools and supplies for my Art conference. i can't believe it's only a few weeks away and i'm still blown away that i am, indeed, still able to do this trip. To be honest, if i had to fly, i wouldn't be able to afford it. At all.

So, one of the things that i need to bring is any kind of assorted "found" objects - a la big chunky metal and industrial type stuff. i had noticed a big, beautiful (to me anyway) piece of metal laying in the street but it was in a really crap spot for me to stop and pick it up (too much traffic, sort of dangerous). i mentioned it to Master and lo and behold, Sunday it appeared at home. Yup, my Master risked life and limb to get it for me. That means more to me than a bouquet of flowers. He's my hero! :-)
We're such a couple of romantics, huh?

We're off to CT this weekend to teach for The Society and there might be as many as 60 people there. Plus some folks from Boston are coming down and that's exciting!

In the mean time, i'm busy sewing an awesome party dress. Where will i wear it? Who knows? Perhaps next weekend.... *grin*

i have a really good life, even if sometimes things don't go according to plan.

is this thing on?

i've been having trouble using Scribefire to publish my stuff... This is just a test to see if my formatting blows up again...
Oh, technology is so grand! *snark*

busy busy bee..

Gosh, it's been busy around here. i realized today that i still have some unpacking from San Diego to do. Yeah, i've been that busy!
i had Good Friday off from work, which was SO nice. i got a lot of Art done. (Master gave me a "core" day so i could do what ever i needed to feed my "core"/Soul. So, what did i do? i made SoulCollage cards. So far, i have 6 in my deck. It's a very gratifying process. i'd like to have a nice pile of them when i go for my training as a Facilitator in September, but whatever i have done is what i have done. (just let it go, barb, let it go...)

Saturday was spent partially re-connecting with my Beloved Jack Terricloth. Sweet man he grew up to be! It was an awesome concert and it did my heart good to see him looking so healthy at the end of 6 months on the road. So people are just born to be on the road.

Sunday i was told to clean out Taybor's cage so that i get to use it for naps! Hurray! Hurrah! Puppy Play for me! It's in a great spot in my studio, right by the window, so i can get a cool breeze if the windows open and maybe growl at the neighbors as they walk past. :-) Fun! Taybor's a bit annoyed that i threw out his old stinky bed, but he hasn't been in that crate for about 2 months now. my babies are all grown up now. *sniff*

Some more supplies arrived for the big retreat i'm going on next month. This batch was mostly metal working tools, hammers, etc. Plus Master got me a big pile of fancy pens for the graffiti class. Whoo Hoo! i ma really glad i'm driving to this retreat. There's no way all this crap would fit in a couple of suit cases on the plane.

Ok, back to work with me so i can earn more money for glue and wire and shiny art supplies...

San Diego... my ancestral homeland

Well, this is going to sound completely cheesie but as many cool places as we've been during our title year, San Diego felt like i came home. (except for the fact that i didn't have my dogs stepping on my liver the whole weekend.)

The people: awesome, friendly, warm. The Leather community: tight, together, family. The city itself: the bits that we got to see were amazing. i'm trying to figure out - then you have such a big center of culture and art and nature that is Balboa Park - is it a reflection of how great the community is or does that big beautiful park reflect it's sweetness on the people? i guess, either way, it doesn't matter. i just flat out love the place.

i'm still wiped out from the trip so i'm keeping this short right now. my solo class went well. Our hosts were amazing. Balboa Park is my new home, as far as i'm concerned. Although the squirrels are weird there....

Here's one funny pic from the park. Does any one see any resemblance there?

she's back!

So... well.... Wow. Where did the time go? People who know me deeply
know that March is a really tough time for me. Yeah, i re-live some
deeply traumatic things from my childhood. i feel... well, i feel
regret sometimes at how bad shit was when i was growing up and the
things that happened to me. i feel anger at how absolutely rotten my
parents were. i feel deeply the loss of my first love. (Yes, You, Jack.
i'm talking about You!) But i as i relive the trauma drama that was my
childhood, i also feel so loved and respected and glad that things
turned out the way they did. If it wasn't for the struggle that i went
through, i wouldn't be the person that i am today. So, i am greatful,
in the end for all that i went through. i just wish, sometimes, with my
little girl heart, that it hadn't been so damn hard. (Thank you sp for checking up on me while i was hiding in my Cave of Self Pity for the past few weeks)



i've also been freaking out because it was looking like, due to the
title holder financial drain, that i wasn't going to get to go to my
Art retreat. i actually went so far as to try to cancel it but i missed
the cut off date. DOH! So, being that i'd already laid out a HUGE chunk
of cash for the classes and wasn't going to get that back - i made
alternate housing plans. i'll be doing the cheap ass hotel with a
kitchenette deal and bringing all of my own food with me for the trip.
The whole thing, which was becoming such a mass of anger in my heart,
has now become a personal challenge. i'll do the trip and i'm making it
my personal goal to spend not one dime other than on the gas to get
there and back. No bottled water, no purchased Starbucks coffee... no
candy, no vending machine junk. If i haven't brought it with me, then i
won't have it. It'll be...fun. Well, ok, maybe not fun but i know there
are people who aren't going to this retreat because they can't afford
the classes, never mind the outrageous hotel expense. i'm lucky enough
to have the cash to pay for the classes, who am i to whine about having
to stay off site in a not so fancy hotel?



In other news, the new friendship Master and i began at SPLF is going
along swimmingly. i really love these 2 generous and amazing people!
:-) my life is so full of JOY! ( and a spiffy East German uniform too!
*gloat!*)



And i've struck up a friendship with a person who worked at one of my
clients. Turns out, not only to be an amazing musician and artist and
all round good hearted and smart person but also lives super close to
my house now. Good. It's a good thing to have good peeps nearby. Very
good.



my other relationship...seems to be fizzling. Sigh. Damn. So cute. But
if you don't return calls then i'm not chasing you. i'm actually not
mad or annoyed. Just sad about it and perhaps a bit worried. i hope
they didn't fall off the roof deck at work. (maybe one of the boys can
check that out for me on Thursday? *grin*) It's a shame. This person
would have really enjoyed me in my new uniform. Now they'll just get to
look and not touch. (oops, there i go, gloating again!)



OK, that's enough typing for now. i gotta do some work and then get ready to head off to San Diego this weekend!

2 days 'til Dallas

Wow, it's been a crazy year! i can not believe we leave for Dallas and SPLF in just 2 days.

i know that i couldn't have done this title year without the support and love of my home MAsT Chapters, MAsT Metro NY, MAsT Central NJ and MAsT Philadelphia.


The fund raiser / send off party that my New York boys of Leather and MAsT put on for us last year meant the world to me - for those of you who showed up and shared your love and support, You have my undying love and gratitude.

To the Master and slave pair who repeatedly made donations to our travel fund through out the year, You both rock! i'm not sure that they want to be singled out by name, but i want you to know that each lunch that you paid for on the road was so appreciated! You made a difference.

Lexi, who helped us last year at the contest: Your service was amazing and more than that, your calming influence was such a blessing. You are a Lady! Thank you!

Master Z, Dallas: who puts His birthday spanks on the line each year to raise money for the travel fund. slave catherine, who put her HAIR on the auction block for the travel fund. We have been surrounded by so much love and support this year. Thank you!

The people who took up a collection at dinner on Sunday evening after we won so that we'd have enough cash to buy our vests: that was a true example of what Leather Family is.

my Asbury Park Leather Family: Sal, Dion and Tom. One day at the grocery store, in the parking lot - some men approached us and invited us to a Leather night at a local bar. See what you started? *grin* and now, you can't get rid of us!

There are just so many people to thank and remember. And this girl has some more packing to do, so i will close this entry with a thank you to Ms. Velvet, Beverly of Achella. You were one of the first people in the scene to talk to me and you sold me my first flogger. Every event you were at, you always had time to talk and you made me feel so welcome. When we won, you told me how proud you were and i told you that i hoped we could make YOU proud. This year, Bev, was for you. i miss you so much my friend. You are missed by so many. Blessed be!

Laugh out loud and drive off the road

This morning i saw a delivery truck for a dairy....On the side it said:

"GOLDEN FLOW, THE TASTE YOU GREW UP WITH"

i snorted coffee out of my nose and almost drove off the road.

Comments, anyone? Or am i the only one with my mind in the toilet that early in the morning? :-) i really wish they had t-shirts.

a general plague zone

Everyone, and by that i literally mean every single person in my office is sick. One person is back after being out sick for a few days, another is out sick now after coughing like a barking seal all week. my boss is sneezing so hard that he's getting dizzy, another co-worker sniffling (but she spent 10 days in New Orleans drinking so we won't count her...) i absolutely do NOT want to get sick and miss South Plains! :-( How awful would that be?

i am holding strong. i've started drinking water with White Pine Tincture in it. i'm not allowed to take Echinacea, which raises the white blood cell count and can make those of us with Auto-immune diseases have flair ups.

i like my White Pine, i made it myself. i've been using it since i had my splenectomy. When cold & flu season comes around, it seems to work. When i don't take it at the first sign of a cold, i get really sick. Making this stuff is the best of self-care. Tramping through the woods, collecting the pine, bottling it up, shaking the jars each day.... taking a taste after a few weeks to see how strong it is. Delicious! (Here's my goofy, hippie statement for the day: i can taste how strong that tree is!)

Here's a link to my teacher's page and an article on White Pine and it's uses.

Happy V-Day

Master left this great box of chocolates for me this morning! Isn't it the cutest? The jacket is actually some kind of vinyl and the zipper is functional so, i think this box is going to become some kind of purse or something... That is, once we've devoured the contents.


i got to hear Jane Fonda say the word "cunt" on the morning news, while talking about the Vagina Monologues. Surprisingly enough, the world didn't end. Of course, now everyone's got their collective panties in a bunch. Relax people - it's a play about cunts, and not being ashamed of them - get over it! Personally, i LOVE my cunt. :-) And it's gotten rave reviews lately. But that's besides the point, i am grateful and happy that my body is so fully capable of great delight and pleasure. Ain't the human body glorious and amazing?

So, in honor of my cunt, Jane Fonda's cunt and the Vagina that birthed you - go out and celebrate, if not romance, than the glories of your own fantastic body.

Happy V-Day!