Monday 3/25/19
I’m presently staying with my old girlfriend Jeanné Berger, who I met at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 1982, when I was touring with the Unicorns. She visited MG and I several times over the years, from when we were living at Coeden Brith on Greenfield Ranch, to the Old Same Place on the Rushing River. In the summer of 1990 we travelled to Alaska together, where we had many adventures.
Friday afternoon I drove to Richmond, VA, to spend a couple of days with Micheline Vogt. On Sat. evening we conducted an Ostara ritual at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond. About 30 people showed up, including half a dozen kids. In addition to doing HP ritual stuff, I told stories of Spring Equinox—and the fertility Goddess in whose name we still celebrate the holiday of Easter. The kids all gathered around as I read the charming little book of “Ostara’s Hare,” by Tara Waddle, which links the Eostre Bunny with the constellation of Lepus, just below Orion. Afterwards we all enjoyed a potluck feast.
Sunday morning I left early to drive over two hours to Jeanné’s place in Crownsville, MD, just outside of Annapolis. I arrived at noon, as Jeanné was setting up for “Cakes & Ale” – a splendid Medieval Feast prepared by Margaret Planetgenet and her husband Mark. The main dish was “Pecoke With Ginger Sawse.” (chicken with ginger sauce), and much excellent wine was imbibed with toasts between courses. The final beverage was Café with Jacquin’s Ginger Brandy & Coconut Milk. There were eight guests around the table; the whole package was a charity event Jeanne had purchased to benefit RESCU Foundation (Renaissance Entertainers, Services, Crafters United).
In addition to the fine food and drink, we were regaled with songs and tales of food and customs of the times. A remarkable synchronicity following Thursday’s theatre event, “Confections,” at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC, where the main exhibit was “Before ‘Farm to Table:’ Early Modern Foodways and Cultures.”
Last night, after the feast, Jeanné took me out to her favorite local wine bar and coffee shop, 49 West, where we played a game of Scrabble (She won handily. Who knew there were so many 2-letter words?).
Jeanné is a world-class cook, and today she made awesome jambalaya for lunch (I helped by cutting up stuff and de-shelling the oxymoronic jumbo shrimp).
But before we ate we took a pleasant walk through the Maryland Ren Faire (MRF) site, which is right next door. Jeanné has been working there for the past 37 years, since I met her in her first year, and she has a lovely 2-story massage booth, with 4-8 massage therapists working constantly during the Faire, which runs from the last week in August through the 3rd week in Oct. See her booth website at: www.HerMajestysHealers.com
And now I must close this entry and hit the road for my next destination, visiting Joe Fleming in Midlothian, VA (a 3-hour drive). When I left Salem at the first of this month, all the fields were blanketed with snow. As I’m driving south into spring, flowers are blooming and buds are appearing on the trees.
Be sure to check out my personal website: www.OberonZell.com
#pagan #roadtrip #wizard #bucketlist #adventure #ozpatreon