Texas Renaissance Festival

I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival today with the World's Best Niece. It's Barbarian Invasion Weekend, so her mother made her a fake fur tunic and leggings and some fake leather bracers. She looked really cute, which helped her get tons of pictures. We wandered all over, watched the joust, and I showed remarkable restraint when it came to the food. WBN got a beer, of course. She's only been 21 for a couple of months and it seems to be necessary for her to buy a beer at any and all venues that she can. (Though she's quickly learned that drinking out gets really expensive, really fast.)

There was lots of good music this year, but the standout for me was Wine and Alchemy.

Didn't buy much this year. Everything I liked (hat made of woven sheepskin strips, leatherbound book*), were all just a bit too pricey to justify, and everything I adored (furniture, metal fish yard art--that spit water!) was out of my price range altogether. Ah, well. I got a winged glass elephant and a woven rope critter. And a t-shirt, of course! I found a purse that was almost what I needed, but not quite. There seemed to be more handmade sellers than last year, and maybe fewer buy-sell imports. I got many compliments on my Genghis Khan shirt, and several vendors liked my jewelry, which is always a nice ego-boost.

Well, that was fun, but now I need to get back to work. Wheatsville Art Festival in 2 weeks!

* I really liked that hat. But it was $98 and it just doesn't get cold enough here often enough to justify it. And I already have 2 or 3 blank books I never use. But does anyone who went this year remember the hat-sellers name? Her store was next to the blue dragon, down the way from Bald Mountain Leather. I forgot to get a card, darn it. Maybe I can justify the hat later.