[LMB] A VIRTUAL BOW-DOWN IN GLASSFORGE

[CatMtn at aol.com]

The Deputy Birthday Tixie hastily unpacks her wings, wand, and Tixie Dust,  
and whistles for her two companions, Shasta the ladylike Rottweiler, and  Tom, 
the laziest cat alive.  At least, the Tixie thinks he's alive--it can  be hard 
to tell sometimes with Tom.  Oh, yes, here he comes.   Slowly.  Yes, Shasta, 
we know you're very well-behaved (105  pounds of good manners with fangs.  I 
would have named her Taura,  but she was already Shasta when I got her.)  
Shasta gives the Tixie  Dust bag a good shake, spinning to send it sparkling over 
the  entire world to transport all the listies to the Wide Green World for a 
bow-down  to honor our favorite author's 57th birthday.
 
We arrive at the inn in Glassforge, popping into the courtyard, and  take it 
over entirely.  Some of us have stopped on the way at favorite  restaurants or 
cooked some special dish to add to the food supplied by the inn  
kitchens--Robert Parks is staggering under a huge box of goodies from  Ebisu (that 
certainly got Tom's attention; he actually looks alert for  once), James, the 
Governor General, has brought his special curry, and  Megaera has made a big pot of 
gumbo, while Susan Fox has brought  historically correct pasties.  Ginnilee 
Berger and Deb Cebulski are  carrying in a large batch of fudge and one of 
brownies, which  already seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate.  Margali has 
made her  own recipe of Maple Ambrosia, which goes nicely with the brownies  
<hic>.  Martin Bonham has arrived from  Owte--uh--Outte--uh--_Aotearoa_ with 
flowers for centerpieces for the tables.  Marna and Victoria are supervising the 
decorations--Marna  Nightingale has brought her favorite, perfectly balanced 
hammer to  attach streamers and garlands, and Scott Padgett has emerged from 
lurkerdom  to hold them for her, while Victoria l'Ecuyer (the Queen of Hats)  is 
making sure all arriving guests get an appropriate party hat, with a crown  
for the Guest of Honor.  
 
All the Deputy Tixies are in attendance in full regalia, if wings and a  wand 
can be considered regalia, and have brought their faithful  
companions/assistants to join in the fun.
 
Tables have been set up in the courtyard by BOB!!, Mark Allums, and Bill  
Wenrich, and tablecloths spread over them (the tables, that is) by The  Other 
Lois (Fundis) and Pat Mathews, and the feast is being laid out as it  arrives.  
There are enough roast meats, fish, cheeses, fruit,  salads, and desserts to 
feed a small army.  This is a good thing--the group  is larger than in some 
previous years, as we are all encouraging/enabling  our friends to read Bujold 
books.  (A few chapters and they're  hooked.)   Some have returned to the list, 
Nicola Fedorka for one, and  others are new, among them Sylvus Tarn, Kalina 
Varbanova, Hassan  Malik, Nicholas Russon, and Anmar Mirza.
 
Malfoy and Lord Dono have been jaunting through the Bujoldian worlds, and  
although we have tried to convince Lord Dono that he doesn't belong in this one, 
 he insists on staying.  Somehow those two have become fast friends,  
possibly because Malfoy resembles Lady Donna-that-was in so many ways.  Or  possibly 
it's because they have the same offbeat sense of humor.  When they  end up in 
the Vorkosiverse, Ivan hides.
 
Our Guest of Honor has arrived, and somehow Scott Raun, Alfred  Kelgarries, 
and Sherry German have managed to borrow (we _hope_ they  borrowed it 
officially) the chair with her name on it from the Minneapolis  Auditorium for her to 
sit on.  She is surrounded by virtual gifts, such as  a couple of galley slaves 
to proofread her next work (there was serious  competition for this), a large 
jar of idea pebbles (someone has sneaked in  and painted "Ivan" on most of 
them; the chief suspects are Helene Ilg and  Jean Lamb, although there are 
plenty of others), and lots of chocolate and  pecans.  
 
The Children's Corner is again being supervised by Laura  Gallagher and 
Louann Miller, since they have done such a great job in  the past.  Harimad and 
BOB!! have brought their little Meg, and Tora  and husband have their 
little-but-getting-much-bigger Sean with  them.  Most of the others are older, and almost 
everyone wants to  play with the children, so they are in no danger of being 
bored into  mischief.
 
Jerrie is here organizing the entertainment, and has brought Maureen  O'Brian 
with her to sing at the bow-down.  Maureen has several new filks  that nobody 
has heard yet, so we are all looking forward to her  performance.  Paula 
Lieberman, Mark Mandel, and others are here with  new filk, too.  (The Tixie 
wonders if Mark has written his Navy filk yet,  and if he could possibly be 
persuaded to sing it.)
 
Katrina Allis, Heather Mehaffie, Elizabeth Holden, Kevin Kennedy, Beth  
Reeder, and (ahem) the November Deputy Tixie are discussing audiobooks, and  
wondering when Blackstone is finally going to issue something we didn't already  
have from The Reader's Chair.  We are getting impatient, people, and you  really 
don't want a bunch of impatient audiobook fans.  Really.   Tixies especially 
can get very nasty when allergies prevent them from  reading and there are _no 
new Bujold audiobooks_!!
 
B. Ross Ashley has been politely requested by the innkeeper to desist from  
trying to foment revolution among the inn servants so he is now quietly  
reading a historical novel.  There is a glint in his eye as he  occasionally looks 
around the inn that should make the innkeeper very  nervous if he understood 
it, though.  However, the inn servants are so  fascinated by Alayne's bike that 
they aren't really paying attention.
 
Pete Granzeau and Jim Burbidge are trying to convince some of the locals to  
join them in a game of poker, but the locals are too smart to fall for that  
one.  Jim is lecturing on the rules while Pete does card tricks, which  might 
not be the best way to get someone to play cards with them for  money.  The 
tablecloth brigade is trying to get them to move over long  enough to let them 
get the table set up.  Tracy MacShane and Irene  Delse tell them to move, or 
else, and they finally get out of the  way.  The rest of us are a little 
disappointed, as we wanted to see what  *or else* was.
 
The local musicians are now beginning to play, with several  listies joining 
in.  The filkers are especially appreciated by the  audience, and much 
laughter is heard.  However, the dancing won't start  until after dinner and toasting.
 
Speaking of toasting, Nicholas Rosen is Toastmaster, as usual, since he has  
trained for the position.  If anyone else is also a trained Toastmaster,  they 
have kept very quiet about it.  Nicholas leads the toasts, first  to the 
Guest of Honor, then to her most recent book (The Sharing Knife:  Beguilement) and 
the next one to come (The Sharing Knife: Legacy), and finally  to various 
listies who have distinguished themselves in some way in the past  year.  A 
special toast is in the honor of Scott Raun, Alfred Kelgarries,  Sherry German, and 
all the others who worked on and contributed to the  chair donation.  Then 
the party starts to get a bit more relaxed.  A  few toasts will do that.
 
The food is served and eaten, and the guests have all enjoyed their  meal.  
Now it's time for dancing and more music.  Some of the listies  are learning 
the local dances from people who have wandered in to join the  fun, and Rachel, 
Jessy, Little Alex, and Cally seem to be particularly  talented.  Countryboy 
is calling the steps, since no caller has  wandered in yet. There is confusion, 
collision, and much laughter.   Pat Swan is off in a corner teaching beadwork 
to some of the Lakewalkers,  and the three Mikes (Bernardi, Dolbear, and 
Bauminger) are trying not to be  stepped on as they organize the cleanup.
 
Richard Suitor, Phil Boswell, and Joel Polowin are talking to our  Guest of 
Honor, and trying to pry out of her exactly what _Legacy_ is  about.  She's not 
telling, though.  As Elli would say, *Rats!*
 
Rowena has saved the potato chips from Tom, whom one would expect to prefer  
fish.  However, he loves potato chips.  Shasta's favorite treat is  peanut 
butter, but in deference to Marna's allergies, she'll have to wait until  we get 
home.  She doesn't seem to be feeling deprived--all the attention  has her 
completely giddy.  The antepodean DBT's and Jim  Parish's smaller companions are 
in some danger of being stepped  on by an overexcited dog the size of a pony, 
but seem pretty fast on their feet  and able to avoid her so far.  Anyway, the 
party is certainly lively, full  of dogs, cats, children, listies, filkers, 
and other musicians, all of whom  are singing, dancing, talking, nibbling on 
desserts, or  just generally having a good time.
 
BJ van Look and Cat Meier are trading Yeltar stories with Agnes  
Charrel-Berthillier and Adrienne Dillon.  I'm not sure who has won the  contest for the 
most outrageous invention.
 
It's getting late, and a bit Novemberishly chilly in the  courtyard, even 
with the fire in the firepit--so we all have one last toast, and  say:
 
*HAPPY  57TH  BIRTHDAY,  LOIS!!!*
 
and then goodnight.
 
The November Deputy Birthday Tixie, who hopes anyone left out will  
understand that it was unintentional.  You were there; I just didn't see  what you were 
doing.