Delightful penultimate day of faire:
- I had so many folks welcome me back after missing last weekend, I felt the love indeed.
- I was able to show hilarious actor Betsy Sodaro my cool instrument and play her some tunes. (I know her best from killing every scene she’s in of Ghosts (US)).
- Whomever made this new geese sign at the lake is my hero. And how it matches the usual signs in size and color and all: 👩🏼🍳💋
- Thankful for amazing gifts from faire neighbors and friends, from special small batch whiskey to a whole bag of tasty tea blends & roasted flavored coffee beans. -
- I was at universal Fan Fest this past Thursday evening and a family came up to me and asked if I was the hammered dulcimer player at the ren faire! They recognized me in public - how fun! And then we all “huzzah”’d over being big nerds. It was great
- The guests who visited me today (and everyday) and stop by year after year- or weekend after weekend, sing karaoke with me, and share their music & their voices. I’ve had so many of you tell me that I’m your favorite part of faire, and especially as a wee little lane musician, it warms my heart.
One day more! See you all tomorrow for closing day of faire 💙🎶
Come sing Celtic & Renaissance tunes with hammered dulcimer accompaniment at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire! Thanks to those who have joined me, and especially to those who return year after year to sing with me! One weekend left in 2026!
#hammereddulcimer #dulcimerkaraoke #renfaire #renaissancefaire @renaissancepleasurefaire
Bangalore, India. I realized I hadn’t posted any of these photos yet, so here’s a pile from the day I traveled out of India; it was a late flight, so I had the day to explore! Jeff joined me for visits to:
- Vidhana Soudha ವಿಧಾನಸೌಧ (the state legislative chambers)
- Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace (from the late 1700s and built out of teak, this palace has Muslim, Hindu, and French influences- visible in the architecture)
- Kote Sri Prasanna Venkataramana Swamy Temple ಕೋಟೆ ಶ್ರೀ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನ ವೆಂಕಟರಮಣ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ (the Hindu temple dedicated to the god Venkateswara built in the late 1600s)
There once was a lass from New York
Who traveled with her daughter to Cork
They made goofy faces
In oodles of places
They’re as silly as Mindy & Mork!
Happy Mothers Day to the bestest mom there is! Love you oodles 💙💜
I will NOT be at faire this weekend, if you look for me, you’ll find my sign in the tree behind my usual spot.
Join me closing weekend of faire for Celtic & Renaissance Dulcimer karaoke 🎶
For Revenge of the 5th, I’m sharing photos of my amazing trip to Great Skellig / Skellig Michael, the island where Luke & the porgs live in the Star Wars Sequels.
You’ll see my photos (laptop bottom right) and matching or similar location in the films (episode 7&8) on the TV.
This is a UNESCO world heritage site that’s pretty difficult to get to: there aren’t a lot of boats that travel out there, of the boats that travel, there are few that make landings. You have to reserve a landing in advance (of which there are few spots), and a lot of the time, the trips are cancelled because the sea is too feisty. Then you have a long hike to get to the top (and back in time to make your boat). The neat stone beehive huts are from monks in the 6th-8th century. I can’t imagine how much longer it took on their boats.
The porgs came about because there are puffins on the island (I was lucky enough to see oodles of puffins!!), so production had to come up with a way to mask the puffins.
#starwars #porg #skelligmichael #revengeofthefifth
May the 4th be with you!
The Force Theme -aka- Luke’s Theme -aka- Binary Sunset - by John Williams
Performed on Hurdy-gurdy by Dora Viellette and Hammered Dulcimer by Alli The Muse
- at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire (SoCal)
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#renfaire #hurdygurdy #hammereddulcimer #starwars #maythe4thbewithyou
April reading wrap-up.
(If you haven’t gathered, a goal of mine this year was to do monthly reading wrap ups & read more in general (no promises about keeping it up next year or not))
The Wild Robot - Peter R.L. Brown.
Red Rising - Pierce Brown.
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario - Matt Dinniman.
Mary: An Awakening of Terror - Nat Cassidy.
They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera.
The Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin.
Listen to Your Sister - Neena Viel.
All the Colors of the Dark - Chris Whitaker.
#readingwrapup
One of my favorite moments from this past weekend:
These ladies first visited me the weekend prior and asked for pink pony club. I learned the chords and we did pink pony dulcimer karaoke.
This past Saturday, they came back with SCROLLS- that were even sealed with wax- printed in themed font & with a renaissance parody of pink pony club. They performed it amazingly and came back later in the day to do a reprise.
Thanks for joining me for dulcimer karaoke shenanigans, ye fair maidens! Huzzah!
(I don’t have a video of it unless someone who took a video sends it to me or tags me in it, but they took these photos for me!)
#dulcimerkaraoke #hammereddulcimer #pinkponyclub
Forgot about when I played Rocky Road to Dublin at an Academy Award party at Dreamworks- in honor of that great moment in Sinners. 1 2 🌲 4 5. (And now visit me at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Every day except May 9-10)
