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Well, Lisah was back on the stage again this month, after a multi-month hiatus. There were two Imperial Court events in one weekend. I attended both with Jo-An, Jennifer L. and Vicki

On Saturday, Modesto had their 2007 Closet Ball. In a Closet Ball, a sponsor takes someone who doesn't normally crossdress, and has one hour to transform them. The contestant is judged before and after the transformation, and does a performance in drag. Ok, pay attention now, because this gets confusing... I was last year's Closet Ball King. Lisah (who identifies as a woman and doesn't crossdress) won last year's M-to-F title. Think Victor-Victoria (A Man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man) I was transformed into Gene Simmons of KISS by Jo-An.

Anyhow... that was last year. This year, we swapped positions. I sponsored Jo-An for the M-to-F title, and she performed as Tiny Tim doing "Tiptoe through the Tulips". I did "Sweet Transvestite" (Rocky Horror) as my title step down number .

On Sunday, the new Alameda Court had their investiture. It was a wonderful event, and very well attended. I wore my gold fringe dress (see photos above) and was one of about 35 (!) performers that evening. I debuted a new number, "Back In the Saddle" by Matreca Berg (Not to be confused with 'Back in the Saddle Again' by Gene Autry !, or the Aerosmith song, either) I love the song and got a great response - I think it's going to be a favorite of mine!!!!

When not gracing the stage and spotlight, I managed to find time to indulge my other passion - dining out with my friends. I spent a wonderful evening with Karri McAllister, one of my first friends at the I Love It Shop, and now a post-op woman! You go, girl! In additional, Francine, Anita, Jo-An and I went out to one of our favorite haunts, the Spin-A-Yarn.

Have you ever been to "Beach Blanket Babylon"? It's a wacky, witty, fast paced off-off-Broadway show that is a San Francisco institution. This month, I got dolled up with Jo-An and Anita, and off we went to a night of theater, dinner and a brief stop at Marlena's.

My dear friend Francine have become regular dinner mates. She and I share a taste for good food at nice restaurants. I'm sorry to say that I recently corrupted her - she has now become addicted to a before dinner Cosmo. Maybe we should start a restaurant and bar review column.

June witnessed something like an alignment of the stars - my friend Carollyn Olson and I were in town at the same time, and were able to meet for an lunch and an afternoon of photos at the I Love It Shop. Carollyn is a truly lovely lady (and nearly as big a photo fiend as I am). The result was literally hundreds of pictures!

Since I took so few pictures in February and March, the camera came out in force for April. It was a great month for dining out with friends, and as you see, posing for the camera was on the dessert menu each time.

Cal Dreamin' (The San Jose TG Convention) was held at the Double Tree Hotel this year. I had to work, so I only attended the welcome reception, but got to socialize with a number of good friends. They all reported afterwards that they had a great time at the convention. Sorry I missed it!

Is there such a thing as being too busy to take pictures? (I'm in intensive therapy over this one!) These two months were filled with Court Activities and lots of outings, but somehow I didn't find myself in front of the camera very much.

My birthday was in February and I turned 50 this year (no relationship to the problem in the previous paragraph) My friends made crossing that threshold a bit easier. Jo-An surprised me with a beautiful off-white wool sweater. Really comfortable and softly feminine - with a few accessories and a pair of pants, it's the perfect outfit for a chilly day. My girlfriends also had a birthday party for me at the Wednesday social - including a cake. Thanks so much to Anita, Anita-Mae, Sue, Jenny and Lynn!

The big event in March was the IRLM Coronation Ball, which is the 'farewell' event for the current reigning court and the biggest event of the year. I was involved in some of the preparation and setup - it was hectic, but it all worked out well. The evening was a lot of fun, and it was a wonderful send off for our Emperor Emmanuel. BTW - now that this reign is over, I am no longer the "Crown Marquessa" <boo-hoo>

After more than a year of missing each other, I *finally* got a chance to meet my pen-pal Carollyn Olson face-to-face. It's been a long time since I had so much fun at a photo session (ok - it's been a while since I've had a photo session - period! <g>) Believe it or not, I've never really had much of a bridal gown fantasy. It's just another way that I'm an atypical (read 'weird') T-Girl. Now, having said that, I had an unbelievable time and I *love* the pictures. (OK - so maybe, there's no such thing as a bad photo shoot <g>)

Thanks Jo-An for the loan of the vintage gown. And thanks Carollyn for an unforgettable afternoon.

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10/26/07