I'm heading off to Canada on an extended vacation, or set of vacations: three days at an SCA event (Known World Dance Symposium), then about twenty-four hours in Toronto visiting a friend, followed by a week in Stratford seeing the usual cluster of shows. I'm aiming for nine, but being spontaneous by not getting tickets in advance, so who knows what will happen. I also have a brand-new tent which I've never put up. Hopefully raising it won't be too interesting.
After last year's exciting experience at the border, I've made sure there is not so much as a stray twig anywhere in my car, and I plan to cross at Niagara rather than Lewiston. It's going to be a rather interesting drive, since I'm getting started several hours later than plan and will be driving through most of the night.
I won't be totally offline, since there's net access everywhere I'm going, but I won't be around too often since it's, y'know, vacation. Rixo is also likely to turn into all theater, all the time for awhile, though some back-posting may also occur as I finish up stuff I've had sitting around not-quite-finished for, um, a long time.
Everyone should take the opportunity to drink tea while I'm gone. Try not to wreck the place. And we're coming up fast on comment #6000, so if you talk up a storm while I'm gone it just might be you!
Have a happy holiday weekend, if you're celebrating Canada Day or Independence Day (U.S.A.)!
A good time to you, Susan. Misbehaving people will be dealt with very promptly and sternly. As for tea, well, I have this sampler that AJ gave me at FiestaCon/WesterCon. By the way, here is a photo of AJ and her hubby Chris.
Posted by: Serge | July 07, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Have a great time! And regarding your experience last year, oy.
Posted by: Michael A. Burstein | July 07, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Well, I guess that's why you've been so quiet :) Looks like this post didn't show up for any of us until today, despite being dated Thursday!
I hope you're having a wonderful time in Canada!
Posted by: AJ | July 07, 2009 at 02:59 PM
Have fun!
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | July 07, 2009 at 07:27 PM
I hope you had fun at the symposium! The few comments I've read on the local mailing lists have been very positive. I'm looking forward to your reviews of it and the plays.
I drank green tea today.
Posted by: Carol Witt | July 07, 2009 at 09:45 PM
I'm about to make some herbal tea (or a tisane, if you want to be proper). If I make real tea, I'll be awake for the rest of the night. I'd get lots of writing done, but then tomorrow's housework would suffer, and I'd be cranky for gaming.
Posted by: AJ | July 08, 2009 at 02:55 AM
I had none of AJ's tea yesterday, as her sampler was home, and I was reduced to imbibing Folger's Instant Coffee.
Posted by: Serge | July 08, 2009 at 06:14 AM
Curses! I just opened AJ's tea sampler and realized that it doesn't consist of small individual teabags, but of big ones that one pours in the infusion thingie. Alas, I am at the office, and without a teapot, even one short and stout.
Posted by: Serge | July 08, 2009 at 10:14 AM
I assume you already know the one about why Pierre-Joseph Proudhon drank only herbal tea?
Posted by: Paul A. | July 08, 2009 at 01:10 PM
Paul A... No. Dare I ask?
Posted by: Serge | July 08, 2009 at 01:13 PM
Serge, drat! I should have thought and given you a baggie of DIY tea bags, too! If this keeps up, we're going to have to write a story where greater and greater obstacles come between the protagonist and his cup of tea.
Posted by: AJ | July 08, 2009 at 02:04 PM
AJ... The protagonist happens to be Professor Lovebody, who, while testing his newest mechanical tea-kettle device, spills scalding brew on his pants, which dissolve and leave him exposed?
That being said, don't worry. My wife is going on a business trip next week. That means I must work from home, to babysit our canines, and thus I will have easy access to our kettle throughout the day.
Posted by: Serge | July 08, 2009 at 02:24 PM
Well, I've found a place in Stratford with WiFi, so I'm here in Café Ten having a smoothie, dessert, and an email check. I'm writing quite a few posts offline (including reviews of shows-seen) but they may get posted in a big burst sometime later this week when I have longer to sit around and upload them.
AJ,
Your husband's cute!
Carol,
I had an okay time at the symposium, but I have some issues with it. Some are just that SCA and I are not really a good combination and some are organizational. I've actually written something about this, but am holding it until a friend reads it for a "tone check" to make sure I'm not being unjustifiably nasty. So it may appear sometime later this week. Or I may bury it forever. Play reviews will definitely appear, however! So far I'm three for three with a goal of nine. I have decided to gamble on the Scottish play, despite even a local friend of mine saying it's not the best production ever.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 08, 2009 at 05:01 PM
My wife was quite impressed by AJ's hubby, especially how nice he is.
Posted by: Serge | July 08, 2009 at 05:29 PM
I'm very boring about what I drink. I have a glass of light cranberry juice (required by the nephrologist) with my oatmeal in the morning. Then when I'm online, I have the 32oz of rehydration fluid (if I don't have this each day, I get two IVs a week). I have iced darjeeling the rest of the day almost all the time. There are occasions when I have hot darjeeling, and I usually make it by zapping some of the iced, but I do have a kettle and pot and so forth.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | July 08, 2009 at 07:06 PM
Serge, if Professor Lovebody hadn't insisted on re-using parts from the malfunctioning steampress to make his Wondrous Kettle-Matic, he wouldn't have these problems.
Susan, thank you, I think he's quite the cutey, especially in that outfit :)
I'm drinking iced rose oolong tea right now -- made a jar in the fridge last night.
Posted by: AJ | July 08, 2009 at 11:15 PM
Paul A: arrrrrrgh!!!
Posted by: Clifton | July 09, 2009 at 12:39 AM
I drink mostly water, with some milk and juice. No soda, coffee, or tea, and almost no alcohol.
This morning for breakfast I'm having pineapple-orange juice, which I like much better than plain orange juice.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 09, 2009 at 08:47 AM
You know you've got a really good pun when people start screaming even before you get to the punchline...
Serge, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon drank only herbal substitutes, refusing to touch the stuff made from actual tea leaves, because he maintained that proper tea is theft.
Posted by: Paul A. | July 09, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Ba-da-bing!
Posted by: Serge | July 09, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Professor Lovebody's trousers probably wouldn't dissolve if they weren't his special fire-proof material, after the incident he'd prefer to forget in which his lightweight miracle fabric vanished after a spark escaped from the fire he'd asked for to prove how cool and relaxed he was, even when at high temperatures. Although he'd prefer to forget it, I'm sure the Eminent Men of Finance (and Their Wives) who he had invited to the demonstration in the hope of obtaining backing will not forget it in a hurry.
I'm drinking Gunpowder Green Tea. Later I will be having a bottle of Frothy Moth Ale. And plenty of water.
Posted by: Neil Willcox | July 09, 2009 at 12:57 PM
I for one worship coffee although none of the brews I've sampled throughout my life as a programmer of Babbage engines has ever come close to having this nectar's effect.
Posted by: Serge | July 09, 2009 at 01:19 PM
I've never been able to get into coffee, and I didn't like tea until I learned that the reason why the flavored teas I tried always tasted horrible is that I'd over-brew them, thinking that would make the flavor stronger, when really I was making the tannins bitter. Having learned that, I grew to love teas flavored and otherwise.
Serge, if you and Sue are ever in Tucson, we'll have to take you to the place I bought the tea from. In addition to being a tea retailer, they're also a tea house where you can spend hours drinking tea and having civilized conversation. Actually, that offer pretty much stands for any Rixo posters with or without significant others in tow :)
Posted by: AJ | July 09, 2009 at 03:50 PM
AJ... I've never been able to get into coffee
That's because you needed a much bigger mug to fit your body inside.
Thanks for the offer. My three dogs and two cats are waiting for you (and other Rixoites) to show up.
Posted by: Serge | July 09, 2009 at 04:36 PM
Susan, I used to be fine with water, but I've entered the age where a lot of people have trouble drinking water. I can't have milk (or I can not have cheese or meat -- too much protein) and juice has too many calories (renal patients tend to get diabetes and I'm not doing that). I don't drink alcohol, I truly hate the taste of coffee, and I try not to drink soda.
AJ, I love the bitter tannins. It's kind of like spicy food.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | July 09, 2009 at 05:42 PM
Serge, I hope I'll be able to make it out to Albuquerque sometime next year :)
Marilee, I don't mind tannins quite as much anymore, but I definitely prefer my tea to be brewed by the given guidelines. If it's too bitter, I can always load it with honey :D
Posted by: AJ | July 09, 2009 at 05:59 PM
"Would you care to join me in a cup of coffee?"
Posted by: Neil Willcox | July 09, 2009 at 06:08 PM
It occurs to me that, since Paul A uttering of a pun shattered this thread's decorum, there is no reason for yours truly to refrain from indulging his deepest urges...
I must ask if our salon's inhabitants knew that Dracula favored coffinated drinks?
Posted by: Serge | July 09, 2009 at 08:13 PM
AJ,
What if I just want the conversation and not the tea? I appear to be Rixo's only resident non-tea-drinker.
Serge,
I'm afraid to find out the punch line, but I will share some exciting news: Stratford has released Dracula: The Chamber Musical on DVD! I bought a copy for myself and an extra copy as a loaner. For anyone who hasn't heard me rave about this before, it's a tiny little (cast of six, if I recall correctly) musical version of the novel with the amazing Juan Chioran in the title role. Gorgeous costumes, too. I saw it here many years ago, eventually acquired it on VHS, and since they let that go out of print have been wishing they would put it out on DVD. My wish is granted! If anyone else wants to see it, let me know and when I get home I will start mailing my loaner copy around. Or maybe Netflix will pick it up (want to check, Marilee?)
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 10, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Susan... NetFlix doesn't appear to be carrying that version of Dracula, but they do have Killer Barbys vs Dracula. I'll pass on that one, but I am interested in your loaner copy.
Posted by: Serge | July 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Susan: You're not the only non-tea-drinker here. I don't drink coffee, either, for that matter.
Posted by: Mary Aileen | July 10, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Nor I - neither tea nor coffee.
Posted by: Paul A. | July 10, 2009 at 03:21 PM
I suddenly feel like a freak.
("But you are, my dear, you are.")
I heard that.
Posted by: Serge | July 10, 2009 at 03:50 PM
Susan, Mary and Paul: If any of you came to visit, I'd be more likely to take you to the local "dessert lounge" where there's tea and coffee for those who are so inclined, and lots of tasty desserts. Unless any of you were diabetic, because from what I understand their "sugar free selections" consist of about 1 or 2 items.
Posted by: AJ | July 10, 2009 at 04:19 PM
I am somewhere between amused and appalled. This is my official Island Afternoon, with no theater tickets, during which I lie on a blanket in a nice shady spot on an island, reading quietly and maybe doing a little scribbling. So what should happen but that my laptop suddenly offers me a WiFi connection. Let me repeat: I am sitting on an island typing this comment. I can't imagine where the connection is emanating from, and it comes and goes, but there's now WiFi in the middle of the river.
Mary Aileen & Paul: okay, while everyone else is drinking tea, the three of us will repair to a quiet corner where this is a nice selection of juices. (This isn't a drinking-in-the-sense-of-alcohol party; I figure everyone will manage that on their own if desired.)
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 10, 2009 at 04:21 PM
We're having the Barbie Convention in DC this weekend. I'm glad I don't live there.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | July 10, 2009 at 04:26 PM
Obviously the WiFi is coming from a submarine in the middle of the river.
Posted by: AJ | July 10, 2009 at 04:36 PM
It's a very shallow river; I've seen it drained in the fall. It would need to be a toy submarine.
I just managed to post from here. How scary.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 10, 2009 at 05:39 PM
Juices are good!
--Mary Aileen (not 'Mary', please :)
Posted by: Mary Aileen | July 10, 2009 at 07:39 PM
I like juices too. They just don't keep programmers from falling asleep while keyboarding late into the night.
Posted by: Serge | July 10, 2009 at 07:57 PM
Didn't something ghastly happened with Professor Lovebody's juicer?
Posted by: Serge | July 10, 2009 at 08:55 PM
Sorry, Mary Aileen. I'll use both names from now on :)
Serge, they make juices with energy stuff in them, though I suspect they may not be as effective as coffee.
Posted by: AJ | July 10, 2009 at 09:54 PM
AJ... Of course, there's nothing that prevents me from having coffee AND, say tomato juice, throughout the day. Not at the same time though. A cocktail of tomato juice and coffee sounds absolutely revolting.
Posted by: Serge | July 11, 2009 at 12:00 AM
A cocktail of tomato juice and coffee sounds absolutely revolting.
That's where Professor lovebody's attempt to combine the Kettle-Matic and the Wonder-Juicer went wrong.
Posted by: Neil Willcox | July 11, 2009 at 04:48 AM
Neil... I wonder if that's what that restaurant was using when I stopped at the Toronto airport in `982. I swear that their cola tasted as if its feeding lines had crossed with a tomato juice's dispenser. Yuch.
Posted by: Serge | July 11, 2009 at 09:06 AM
I remember the moment when I exceeded my culinary risk-taking in Japan: tomato ice cream. Absolutely revolting.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 11, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Susan... California's town of Gilroy, famous for its growing garlic, has, yes, garlic-flavored ice cream.
Posted by: Serge | July 11, 2009 at 11:05 AM
I think I will be avoiding the garlic ice cream as well.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 11, 2009 at 11:59 AM
There's always Coke for caffeine consumption* without coffee/tea. High fructose corn syrup is evil, of course, but the calorie content is about the same as most juices.
*I drink it for the flavor, as caffeine doesn't do much for me.
Posted by: Mary Aileen | July 11, 2009 at 01:07 PM
Here in Tucson, 50ish miles from the border, some stores sells glass bottles of Coke from Mexico, where they use cane sugar instead of HFCS. I don't drink Cola, but my husband does and he loves the Mexican stuff. I suspect it's harder to find further north, though.
Tomato ice cream? *shudder*
Posted by: AJ | July 11, 2009 at 02:33 PM
Mary Aileen,
I actually don't drink Coke or other soda either. Juice for me!
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 11, 2009 at 05:53 PM
I drink Coke for preference, but I certainly don't object to juice. Lemonade's good, too.
Posted by: Mary Aileen | July 11, 2009 at 06:49 PM
Root beer and Dr Pepper aren't my thing. Seven Up is right out.
Posted by: Serge | July 11, 2009 at 09:14 PM
Root beer and Dr. Pepper, blech! Seven Up is pretty good. So is Sprite, although I preferred the old formulation.
Posted by: Mary Aileen | July 12, 2009 at 09:15 AM
I am glad to announce that, no matter what beverage I attempt to ingest, no matter how close I find myself to one of Professor Lovebody's drink-preparing devices, I now have backup pants for my steampunk scientific garb.
Posted by: Serge | July 12, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Yaaaay, backup pants! Do they have white lights and beep?
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | July 12, 2009 at 01:44 PM
Marilee... I guess I could add them, but it'd damage the dignity of my scientific garb to have lights adorning my derrière. It might also send out the wrong message and... Hmmm... Now where did I put that copper wiring?
Posted by: Serge | July 12, 2009 at 02:19 PM
It's always good to have a pair of Emergency Pants.
Posted by: AJ | July 12, 2009 at 03:26 PM
But what if something happens to the Emergency Pants? Maybe I should acquire emergency Emergency Pants, but they might not reach me before my flight to Canada. If something happens to my Scientific Pants and my Emergency Pants, I will have to culotte quits.
Posted by: Serge | July 12, 2009 at 03:57 PM
Serge,
My loaner copy of Dracula: A Chamber Musical is on its way to you.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 18, 2009 at 01:41 PM
Thanks, Susan! I'll watch it the week before the worldcon while I'm in Quebec City. I'm sure there'll be times when my mom will let me have time of my own. I hope.
Posted by: Serge | July 18, 2009 at 05:02 PM
If you could give it back to me at worldcon that would be great.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 18, 2009 at 05:34 PM
I'll make sure of it, Susan. It won't be difficult. When I was there in 2004, I found that the TV stations now show way less movies than they used to, and only one film was from France. If I want to see American movies, I can do that here. Luckily I'll have plenty of books to read too - starting with that biography of Tesla.
Posted by: Serge | July 19, 2009 at 12:36 AM
As for the one French film I had seen in 2004, it was 1988's La Lectrice:
If I remember correctly, the people who hire her to read de Sade to them are older men amd women, very respectable members of the French judicial system.
Posted by: Serge | July 19, 2009 at 01:37 PM
Susan... I've received the DVD of Dracula - A Chamber Musical. Thanks!
Posted by: Serge | July 20, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Serge,
Cool! Give me a few days and I'll put up a post discussing it for us to comment on.
Anyone want to be next on the list for the loaner? NetRixo?
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 20, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Dear Susan,
We haven't met before, but I've been lurking on your blog, which I found by way of Making Light. I'm also interested in Renaissance dance, and have found your essays fascinating. I travelled to KWDS from Western Canada, and only upon reading this post did I realize that you had attended as well. I would have loved to say "hi" to you there, had I known. There aren't a lot of rendance enthusiasts in my geographical region, but I'm shy about trying to connect with others.
I'll be attending Worldcon in August; may I take the opportunity to introduce myself at some point over the weekend?
Regards,
Cath
Posted by: Cath Jackel | July 22, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Susan... I just finished watching "Dracula". I liked it. One thing I'm wondering about is Renfield. It's been 35 years since I read the book, and my memories have most likely been tainted by the various versions I've seen since then, and I think some combined Renfield with Harker, but did this musical beef up Renfield's part? That being said, should I mail it to someone other than you, or to you, or just keep it and give it to you when we meet in Montreal?
Posted by: Serge | July 26, 2009 at 09:07 AM
Hi Cath,
Sure, I'd be happy to meet you at worldcon. I'd say we could have lunch or something but my program schedule is going to be so insane that may not be possible! I'll put it up on the blog before I leave, and your best bet will be to catch me at the end of a program item that is not followed closely by another program item.
I'm sorry we missed each other at KWDS; I could have used more people to talk to there!
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 29, 2009 at 07:23 AM
Hi Susan,
Glad you caught my message amongst your travels. I look forward to meeting you in Montreal. If you're free Friday morning before setting up for the Regency dance, perhaps we could connect then? Otherwise I will look for you after one of your panels, as you suggest. I have sent my contact info to the e-mail address on your Instructor page; also I'll post a note on the Voodoo Board. I expect to arrive Thursday afternoon.
See you there!
Cath
Posted by: Cath J. | July 31, 2009 at 06:12 PM
Saturday afternoon's likely to be better than Friday morning, when I'll be stressing out over the dance stuff. But I have yet to take even a glance at the overall program schedule, so I don't know exactly where I'll end up when.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | August 04, 2009 at 06:01 PM
Hi Susan,
I enjoyed hearing your comments on steampunk aesthetics, and it was a pleasure chatting with you over lunch. Did you know that the Regency dancing made it into one of the CBC news reports, here, at about 1:50?
Regards,
Cath
Posted by: Cath J. | August 30, 2009 at 05:29 PM