Froggy Went a Courtin'

Last night Edward and I attended the Babbage Ball, the theme being soot black. I managed to cobble together a gown from various bits and pieces as I discovered, much to my dismay, that I have a complete and utter lack of black formal ballgowns in my wardrobe.

Upon my arrival, after the usual friendly greetings, the Baron told me that I had just missed a most....happy....announcement. Apparently, Dr. Oblensky is getting married. I had no idea he would have had time to go courting, having just arrived back from wherever he was at. The lady in question (and I cannot recall her name for the life of me, my apologies) seems to be a demure, polite lady with above average physical attributes as well. No one seems certain how Dr. O could have charmed such a fine lady, since he isn't known to be a sweet talker by any stretch of the imagination. I hope for her sake an unfortunate explosion or train tracks are not in her future. At this point, I have no idea of where the bride is registered, and rumour is the date is set for October 31.

The ball itself was enjoyable, as they usually are. Mr. Bats Enoch provided excellent music and a group photo was taken as well. It reminded me of the Steelhead photo we had done years ago, only with a few more people (and everyone wearing black).

After the ball, Edward and I returned home to discover that we have new neighbours. I will have to go over with a plate of cookies and welcome them to the neighbourhood!

The Name's Bond....

Last night was Bond (but NOT Bondage, unless you counted the table with the laser, and the apparatus to dangle you over the shark tank and....oh, well never mind!) night at the Steelhead Hotel and Ballroom. Amid the elegant surroundings of the Ballroom were several Bond girls (in various states of dress or undress) as well as a few James Bond doubles (or would that be triples or quadruples?), not to mention villians as well.

The turn out was superb and Sheriff Fuzzball Ortega had an excellent playlist of Bond theme tunes, songs from the various films as well as suitable ones just because (Man for All Seasons by Robbie Williams, for example). A special effects orb was handed out, and I apologize, but I cannot remember by whom, which made some of the dancers look like silhouettes in the opening sequences of the James Bond films. From the comments going around the room, everyone had a splendid time and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I did as well.

Sadly, due to my terrible slow rezz and painful cam movements, I didn't get any pictures beyond what I took with the Gun barrel poser the night before (Thank you to Professor Avalanche for that as well as the sharks with frickin' lasers on their heads). However, I'm confident in saying it was an excellent event, enjoyed by all who were able to attend.

Next event: Disco Night in Steelhead Harbourside. Friday, November 21, 7-9 pm SLT. Follow the green dots and boogie down!

Shiver Me Timbers!!!!!!

Move over Captain Jack! Saturday night saw a very special event take place aboard the Jolly Pidgeon which had made berth at the Steelhead docks. In hopes of getting Steelhead Harbourside up and running, we held a fundraiser and was it successful! Not only that, but what is better than a pirate dance? A pirate dance with bare chested men! *fans herself*

Indeed. It was a night to remember. Lunar decided to set the topless bar at L$15K. He should have set it higher (told ya bro). The men had stripped to their waists by 7:20pm. Ladies, bless you for having such generous natures. ;-)

So without further ado, I present to you the images I was able to capture that night. Lately, things have been very slow to rezz for me and unfortunatly, I was not able to capture pictures of all the men in their topless state as some appeared to be wearing shirts until nearly the end of the dance. I *know* that none of the men shirked their duty (bless their hearts!) and I'm certain you will see evidence of them on other journals. As well, I didn't capture any picture of the brave ladies who went topless when the pot hit L$60K. Sorry fellas!


Our very fine, obviously easy on the eyes Sheriff, Fuzzball Ortega


Yummy! And this is all mine! Ladies, eat your hearts out! ;-D


Aza, showing he has the heart for Steelhead (literally!)


Lunar (or "Abs" as he's been dubbed by Miss Burton) showing his stuff


A view of some of the revellers


Do I really need to explain this? *giggles*

Thank you to all our fine gentlemen who lost their shirts for Steelhead. As one of the ladies in the crowd, let me just say this....it was a night for drool buckets, with or without Robbie Williams playing. In fact, I think the water levels in the harbour went up about 6 inches. Thanks again fellas! It was truly a night to remember!!!

Keeping the Peace with the Holy Smackdown

Saturday night was Steelhead's weekly dance. While it is normally held on the Friday, it was moved to accomodate the St. Andrew's festivities which were happening in Caledon, Loch Avie. I do hope my beloved Edward will be able to provide readers with a summary of that event, as my camera was not working at it's best ability. However, do know that it was a lovely event and I do believe a good time was had by many, if not all.

So, in honour of the Steelhead SWAT team, we assembled at the Saloon and prepared to party down. For those of you who don't know, our SWAT team is not what you'd call ordinary (which stands to reason as Steelhead is anything *but* ordinary itself). Our SWAT team is made up of a group of hardworking ladies of the cloth, the Sisters of Mercy, the Defenders of Peace, Order and Ammunition, the believers of the Father, the Son and the Holy hoooo! Led by our esteemed Sheriff, the SWAT team is made up of nuns.....nuns with guns.



All in all, the dance was a lot of fun. Sister CeAire pointed out that the only way you could tell if someone had fully rezzed or not was if their clothes were black instead of grey. Without any further ado, here are some pictures from the evening.


A picture of the crowd


Cardinal Somme and her Holiness, Sister Eva with her beating stick. The Spontaneous Spanker, Sister Myfanwy and another of the Davies sisters in the background


Brother Hawc and Sister CeAire, after being told to get some daylight between them. Apparently Hawc has a very large Bandiolier


Adding a little Eastern flavour to the event, Adso Krogstad (I hope I spelled that correctly)


Some more of the revelers, including Sister Whoop-Ass, Father O'Toole, Mr. Offcourse (who was down that night.....I think)and our illustrious Sheriff. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!!!

Next week, it's back to Friday night and the theme is Steampunk. Tell your friends and come on down for a good time!

Ain't Goin' Down Till the Sun Comes Up

YEEEEEE HAAAWWWWWWWW!!!!!! *ahem* Pardon me! Tonight was the weekly dance in Steelhead and this week's theme was, as you might have guessed.....Western. Not owning anything that falls under that category, I decided (with my dear brother Lunar) to go as one of those "ladies" that just can't get enough of those Rodeo Cowboys. That's right ladies and gents, I went as a Buckle Bunny.



I hauled my "evil twin" form out of the closet and wrestled her on. Lunar decided that he would go as his evil twin as well, just because. That's him in the very short Daisy Dukes behind me, working it on the dancefloor.

Fuzzball was the host and since he didn't have a darn thing in his wardrobe that was western, he went out and found himself a "Quickdraw McGraw" av. His lovely sister, Angelica Tresothick was our DJ and did a fabulous job, spinning a wide variety of tunes, including a few country, which promptly made the sheriff break out in hives. Good thing they have ointment for that!


Fuzz as Quickdraw


Angelica and her hubby Patrick

It was a fantastic evening! If you missed it, you truly missed out. Miss Frequency Picnic came as a cactus (and left before I could get a good shot of her) and of course there were lots of hats, boots, bling, beans, biscuits, beer.........hold on!!!! There wasn't any beer! *sighs* No long neck bottles....ah well. It still was a lot of fun.


Some of the boot-scooting boogiers


Miss Katt doing a dance to make lindens fall from the sky


Mr. Goodliffe and Miss Laval doing a very hip version of a square dance

Next Thursday we are having an Elvis event in Steelhead, to mark the anniversary of The King's passing (please, no potty jokes!). Dust off your blue suede shoes, unleash your hound dog and don't be cruel, come down and have a blast in Steelhead!!!

Brewing Stormclouds

Last night Dr. Mason/Bloodwing (I really must remember to clarify that point with him, but I digress) held a social at the Bloodwing Foundation to celebrate his good fortune in being able to secure a plot of land in Regency for a hospital. Her Grace, the Duchess of Carntaigh provided the music to which the revellers danced and I made the cake, as per Dr. Mason's request. It was a lovely evening, except for one incident....the thought of which causes my stomach to tighten.

As my beloved and I sat and watched those who wanted to dance, a man walked into the room. Not just any man, but *the* man....the one whom Sheriff Ortega had told us about a week ago as we sat in the Saloon, passing away the evening hours. Mr. Jobias Barthlemess nonchalantly walked into the room, his steely gaze surveying the entire scene with shrewdness. He asked rather obtuse and vague questions and gave equally vague answers to any questions we asked of him. He was not there to celebrate with Dr. Mason, he was there with intentions....dark intentions.

He enquired to the whereabouts of our good Sheriff, who had stepped out of town for awhile, more to his good fortune. Mr. Purdie Uggla, the sheriff's cousin was there, but he did not reveal anything more than the bare minimum. I am embarrased to admit the strain of his presence and the closeness of the room caused me to faint and when I came to (thanks to dear Edward deftly loosening my stays and Miss Gustafson passing me some smelling salts), Mr. Barthlemess had departed.

This is a very dark and ominious presence in Steelhead. When the Sheriff spoke of him (and I encourage you to see his journal if you're unsure of the details) I saw raw, unguarded fear in his eyes....this from the man who has faced down giant chickens, steam elephants, robbers of turkey virtue and Keenly Valiant without batting an eyelash and looking quite bored too. If Sheriff Ortega fears this man to the core of his being, he must be true evil indeed. I am glad that Edward and I need to return to Caledon to prepare for the Induction Ball, although I fear for my friends and neighbours who are unable to flee. I pray that he will be able to thwart Mr. Barthlemess's plans and remain safe and unharmed.

It was a One Eyed, One Horned, Flying....

Now that the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled, I am able to search for my pen and ink that went missing when the aliens landed......Oh, pardon me, I'm terribly ahead of myself. Perhaps I should go back to the beginning of this mess.

Thursday morning dawned bright and clear. I had noticed that we were in need of a few things back at camp and so headed to Davaar by train and trolley to pick up a few provisions. I also stopped in Victoria City to gather a few other necessary items. It was approaching evening by the time I finished all of my shopping and as the train has been rather sporadic at best, I grew tired of waiting for it to return and so headed back to camp on foot. When I got there, this is the scene that greeted me.




At first I was very nonplussed. I thought that the Blue Team had been doing some spying and had crashed their flying machine(s). I marched into the pub and sent a telegram over to a member of the blue team asking them about the debris and was told that no, it wasn't them but that Aliens had landed.

Needless to say, I was a bit surprised at this news. However shortly thereafter, my beloved arrived and I pushed that information to the back of my mind. Edward decided that a trip around Caledon in the Parsvail to look for any other landing sites would be a good idea, so he, the Duchess of Carntaigh, Miss Gustafson, Sheriff Ortega and myself boarded and flew peacefully through the air.

However, word soon reached my dear Sir Edward that our encampment at Loch Avie was under attack! We hurried back to the camp to see these very odd alien orb-ish type creatures shooting these evil fire beams at our camp! The troops mobilised, the blue team pitching in to ward off the evil attackers as well! I later heard that their camp was decimated by the creatures, of which I was very sorry to learn.

Dr. Figaro was in attendance and as some of her medical staff were unavailable, I offered my meagre services as nursemaid, doing what I could. Minor injuries were sustained in the Loch, but then we heard that the Alien had swiftly made their way to Eyre and were being very destructive. Everyone sprinted away, hurrying and sending out calls for help to others as they went.


In Eyre, Mr. Book received a very deadly chest wound. Dr. Figaro patched him up as best she could and asked me to keep an eye on him as he awaited transport in Miss Lightfoot's shop. Luckily he survived, for which I'm sure Lady Amber is exceedingly grateful. In fact, if it hadn't been for the valiant work of our dear Doctor, I'm sure the losses would have been very high that day indeed.



The Aliens

The battle raged on for quite some time. Sheriff Ortega's flying machine, the Interceptor was shot down and nearly ruined, as were many other vehicles. The Aliens seemed to be impervious to our weapons, but finally, on the bloody field of Tammaronach, the tide began to turn. Sadly, Mr. O'Toole's house was set ablaze (again) which really threw him into a murderous frenzy (understandably) and there were flames everywhere with more injuries, but slowly, Caledon began to gain the upper hand.



Finally, the battle died down. Troops were in the Moors and Mayfair with no further sightings of the hideous creatures from beyond. Hoo's and Huzzah's went up and everyone staggered back to their respective camps or abodes (as many non-militia persons joined in the defense)for the evening. Edward and I visited for awhile with the members of the Red Team who were able to keep their eyes open before collapsing into a deep sleep ourselves.

Fortunatly, many people had recovered enough to attend the ball in Steelhead on Friday. I would say the dance was a success and I do believe a good time was had by all. Afterwards, I showed Edward the changes I have made to the attic in Rosehaven and he contributed a few very important touches as well. I also had to show him the new bathroom I had put in....and the very lovely bathtub as well. Ahhhh....washing away the grit and grime of battle had never been so enjoyable! *smiles demurely*

The main battle is today....Hopefully both teams have seen that we are all Caledonians, regardless of how we eat our eggs (but everyone knows that the correct way *is* the little end) *grins* Now to lay out my things for the Duchess of Carntaigh's ball later....

Spring Cleaning and the Promise of Peace

Today I was quite busy being very domestic. Spring, with it's delightful breezes and warm sunshine, prompted me to give Rosehaven a good and thorough cleaning. I dusted down the furniture, beat the carpets, shook out the draperies and otherwise returned it to it's neat and tidy appearance. I even took the liberty of tidying Mr. Abel's lair, dusting his many artifacts and works of art and making sure his supply of towels and such were in good repair. I hadn't heard from him in some time and I hoped he was managing well with his explorations.

The post came and I noticed a letter from my beloved, Mr. Pearse. How good it was to see his bold, yet neat hand on a letter addressed to me. He had been busy with the war effort in Caledon, and as such, did not accompany me to Steelhead this time. I settled myself on the porch swing and opened his letter, looking forward to his news with delight and great anticipation.

Of course, a great deal of the letter was tender sentiments which I'm sure will not interest gentle readers such as yourselves. However, he did mention a Reconcilliation ball being held this evening and he hoped I would be able to attend. What wonderful news! The war will not happen now that both sides have decided to meet together and work out their differences. I breathed a sigh of relief, the knot in my stomach loosening as the worry of my dear Edward being wounded (or possibly worse) in the event of a war slipped away. This is good news indeed.

Noting the time of the ball, I quickly changed into a dress suitable for travel and caught the next train back to Caledon. Hopefully I will be able to steal away from the Ball in Carntaigh to attend the Masquarade in Steelhead as well. Let the celebrations begin!