What Should I Say?

I have all these things I could write about, such as JiffyCon, my new autoharp, my wedding anniversary (#9 today), my present rpg character and the awesome game we're currently playing, Christmas dinner planning. I can't decide which one should have a full post. So here's what I'll do: Here's a quick summary of each of the things mentioned. If anyone wants to know more, let me know, and I'll make full post.

JiffyCon
I ran Acts of Evil and Steal Away Jordan during the day. At dinner I had the most disappointing crab cakes ever. Later in the evening, I played Murder Ballad Blackjack and we told the story of "The House Carpenter/Daemon Lover". With SAJ, I cranked up the supernatural, complete with a hellhound, evil haints, and a wheelin' dealin' Devil at the Crossroads. This was one of my favorite games yet. I find the extra supernatural stuff takes some of the pressure off the players, but the GM can still throw the crap at them, like the threat of being sold away (why not make a deal with the Devil to prevent your friend from being sold away?) Like fantasy in your role playing games? There ya go!

Murder Ballad Blackjack didn't work as I had planned, but I liked the way it worked. It needs work, and I'm getting abck to working on SAJ revisions in December, so I think I'm going to let simmer, then come back to Malice. So please, someone play MBBJ!

My New Autoharp
21 chords on a zebrawood body. It has a sweet sound, good action, stays in tune, is fun to play. I'm practicing a little every day. Chris and I had a fun little jam session this weekend, and I showed him how to play a murder ballad. For now, I'm learning to strum chords to accompany my singing. Here and there I try to pluck melodies. Most of all I'm getting my folk music geek on.

Happy Anniversary to the "Ellingsgards"!
As of November 28, Chris and I have been married for 9 years, together for almost 13. This year we went low key and low budget. Friday we left the kids at my in-law's and came home. We had grand plans to clean the house, but the most we did was put a load of laundry in the washing machine, and a load of dishes in the dish washer. We slept in, had breakfast at Kafe Koko, drove to several antique shops, almost bought an old mantel clock, ate more food, had a jam session (see above), watched Orlando and 28 Weeks Later. We went to East Heaven Hot Tubs, ate appetizers at the new restaurant in Northampton, and saw Beowulf. I really liked Beowulf. I'm sure many others would beg to differ, but It's like the movie version of Murder Ballad Blackjack, Beowulf style. And I love Ray Winstone's voice. And there was a dragon. And medieval garb. And the queen played a harp. As Chris put it, it was a "Fwamish" movie. In other words, it had elements which I would love, and thus be more forgiving of the work as a whole.

One For the Road: Elizabeth Rutherford/Ben Smith
We're playing Prime Time Adventures. Our show is One for the Road, an 18th century drama/farce set in Yorkshire England. My character is Elizabeth Rutherford, a cross dressing highwaywoman. Benjamin Smith is her alter ego, also the name of her Scottish cousin who taught her how to be a highway robber. This really deserves its own post. I was inspired by another character from the Poisoned game we played at JiffyCon. When we're done with the game, I'll do a little write up. I watched Orlando, because I imagined Elizabeth/Benjamin looked like Tilda Swinton.

When I had really short hair, I was always afraid of being mistaken for a man. I was once. My hair was shoulder length, I was on an airplane strapping Bea into her seat. The man behind me said, "excuse me sir..." He was as stunned as I was. I think it was the height, not the hair. It hasn't happened in a long time, but I wear skirts about 70% of the time.

I'm really into folksongs about women disguised as men, and then go off and do "manly" things like become soldiers, highwaymen, etc. They tend to do it for the love of a man, though, rarely because they want to do something they're not expected or allowed to do (like kill and steal?). Elizabeth dresses like a man because she likes it, and gave it up (temporarily) because she fell in love. This isn't going to end well.

Christmas Dinner
I'm roasting a goose again this year. And there will be blodpudding, and Getjost cheese, and Tonya's bringing collard greens, and I'm going to make cranberry relish, and maybe a pecan pie. Hopefully my father in law will bring glog. In the morning there will be venison sausage and mimosas. My parents aren't coming. My dad is recovering, but he's still not ready to travel. We'll go to Memphis in February.

My Lovely Daughters
My kids are beautiful, smart, witty, and a joy. I have nothing more to say about them.

So what do you want to know?