Yesterday, Blaze and I attended a rally on the steps of the Florida Capital, the purpose of which was to express our support for the rights of transgender students.
Leon County schools are actually doing a good job of passing policies that reflect a desire to keep all students safe, but on a national level, the government is taking away transgender student rights that were granted under the Obama administration. This will make these children much less safe.
There were many speakers who had emotional stories to share about their experiences with or as part of the trans community.
This week's featured teapot racer is Sir-Brakes-A-Lot, which was driven by MaiLee Addison on January 28, 2017 at the Royal Renninger Races (Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show, Mount Dora, Florida).
A pre-race practice run:
Even practicing for the race attracted an audience.
Since Sir-Brakes-A-Lot was built out of a metal tea kettle, dry ice could be added, so that steam poured out of the spout as the racer made its way around the course. It really is a fun effect!
Lay your head down to the right in front of your computer, relax, and enjoy this sideways video.
Sir-Brakes-A-Lot made it around the course in 1-minute, 30-seconds and received extra points
for the quality of the bribe, as well as showmanship.
Our set-up at Renninger's did not lend itself well to drag racing, so we tried something new this time, an alligator round-up.
To keep the audience entertained while the judges were busy calculating score sheets, I invited the racers to use their vehicles to move small stuffed alligators to the "open water" end of my son's old play mat. Really, what could be more Floridian than relocating alligators?!
The first racer to move two alligators to the water would win.
It didn't look like it was going to be much of a contest at first. MaiLee was the only one brave enough to try. But, once the other racers saw how much fun she was having, one by one they all joined. Then chaos ensued!
I purchased an old school desk for $5 and Blaze cleaned it up.
There were some white paint stains on the legs and inside the desk, but that was easily covered up with a coat of brown spray paint. I, also, painted the legs brass to match the trim on Blaze's bed and put antique gold Rub 'N Buff around the wooden edge of the desk.
The wood color did not match the rest of the wood in Blaze's room, so I covered the desk top with a laminated, vintage-look World map.
We seem to have recently acquired an outdoor cat, who finds it necessary to check out everything I do outside and pass judgement on it. She approved.
This is Lori Knott's latest teapot racer, Mad Hatter's Tea Party. It came with a support crew, made up of representatives from her two previous teapot racers.
I was excited to see Mad Hatter's Tea Party! Along with being adorable, it went perfectly with the teapot racing obstacles that I borrowed from Rocky Sawyer, which have an Alice in Wonderland theme.
A practice run before the main event:
The Mad Hatter wasn't being completely cooperative and required quite a bit of manual assistance, but Lori managed to complete the race in a respectable 2 minutes and 19 seconds.
Mad Hatter's Tea Party received full points for the overall look of the vehicle and the quality of the judges' bribes. SaveSave SaveSave
Last weekend was Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show and the fourth running of the Royal Renninger Races (Splendid Teapot Races).
As always, there were lots of vendors and many creatively costumed guests, but there was also evening entertainment after all the shops were closed on Saturday night.
Vendors sold everything from furniture to fabulous food.
Saturday night:
Renninger's Steampunk Industrial Show is free, except for the evening entertainment, which they were calling the "Steampunk Stomp". It was $10 a ticket, but that included an entree from Cricketers Pub food truck. I had the Guinness stew and Blaze had the chicken curry. It was freshly made and delicious!
