Halfway to 70

What, exactly, does that mean, you're asking.

Is it the number of posts I've had? No... actually, I think that number might be somewhere around 140 or so.

Is it the number of times I had to tell Bug today that No, he couldn't have that sword only to have Coach tell him at the end of the day that he could? No, that's not it either. And that sword? Apparently they're even going to try to convince Jock to draw some incredible design for either the hilt or the blade.

No, my friends. Its me. Today marks the day that I am officially halfway to 70. At least, that's what I overheard Coach telling the boys this morning before I got out of bed. Wasn't that sweet of him? However, in the interest of preserving Coach's life, and going along with my usual practice of the ostrich lifestyle (you know, keeping my head in the sand at all costs)..... I'm going to choose to believe that Coach was merely taking the opportunity of my birth to further enforce Bug's mathematical abilities. Otherwise, I'm going to break down and either sock him in the nose or kick him in the shins.

One of the greatest things about Arizona is that the Renaissance Festival is here every year on my birthday. Spending the entire day here is probably one of my favorite things to do. Giant turkey legs. Steak on a Stake. Free flowing beverages of the adult variety starting when the gates open at 10 AM. And the most amazing examples of period dress EVER. C'mon... what's not to love?

There are the shows: Dead Bob. Zilch the Torysteller. The Tortuga Twins. The Wyldemen. Don Juan and Miguel.

There is the marketplace, with so many things to see and spend money on, like the aforementioned sword. There is more food than any one person can eat in a day. There are games and rides that are powered by actual manpower, not anything electrical.


And yes. We watched all those shows. I particularly loved the Tairy Fales from Zilch, and Dead Bob. Yes, we went shopping; buying that darn sword and a Celtic cross necklace for Jock. And? I got to have this done to my hair:

Its a little hard to see, since I didn't think to have anyone take a picture of it for me until just now. So that left me to try to do it on my own. You got the best shot after fifteen tries. Trust me, its very cool. I love it. Getting my hair braided is one of the things I absolutely HAVE to do every year when we go. The other thing we HAVE to do when we go? We absolutely must watch the joust. To be more specific, the Fight To The Death Joust.

Again, I know its hard to see. But we were so close to it all! We got to see the blood spray from arms and necks as the knights died. We were close enough to hear the trash talking done in Old English. You smell like dead meat!

Today was awesome. From start to finish, every little thing helped me to remember that being halfway to 70 isn't such a bad thing. My kids had a great time hanging out with me, despite the fact that they think I'm old. My husband willingly handed over what was probably too much money so I could get my hair braided. Which will last for at least a couple of days, prolonging my enjoyment. And? I got to see some amazingly studly knights fight to the death!

Maybe a better title for this post would have been:

French Braids and Bloodshed: The Perfect Day!