The day before the day before

I'm all packed. It's a terrible thing, being Indecision Lass and going to an event that's all about wearing appropriate attire at every turn.

I packed:
2 gowns, 3 2-pc eveningwear sets, officer's gown
3 dresses + 1 skirt-and-sweater set for daytime
3 polos, 2 of which have OES logos
shorts, chinos
gold shoes, silver flats, black pumps, flip-flops
swimsuit (the hotel has a pool and hot tub)
pajamas and kimono
assorted undergarments, pantyhose, etc.
cardigan, pashmina, raincoat, mink stole, umbrella
gloves (for receiving line), handkerchiefs (how many women do you know who have handkerchiefs in this day and age? I inherited a small drawerful.)
computer, iPod, camera, cell phone
novel I'm in the middle of reading, 2 more novels just in case

Now all I need is my own bellhop.

Keepers Allstate

The Keepers Allstate banquet kicked off the festivities tonight. Such a scandal, too. They set up 24 tables of 8, plus a head table, and dinner was served buffet. They ran out of food slightly more than 2/3 of the way through!! The hotel staff scurried to go cook more, but the last 6 tables to be served had to wait some 45 minutes or so while more fish and chicken were defrosted and baked. They also ran out of the chocolate cake that was the principal dessert (and for that there's no excuse: I didn't see anybody taking more than one slice), so besides making more entrees and soup, they had to defrost some carrot cake and spoon up some chocolate mousse to make up the rest of the dinners. The banqueting manager's head will roll over this one.

Entertainment was a skit that was probably the most fun for the people who were in it, but at least they all seemed to have enjoyed themselves. And somebody has gifted Frank F with a really lovely, slightly used, SCA-legal helm. What he'll ever do with it, I have no idea, but it made a dandy head table centerpiece, with a crest of blue flowers.