(click and Click)

Lessons learned about photos are: 1) don’t do candid shots while ladies sit in a bar eating nibbles. 2)Posed pictures work much better.  Especially when told to ham it up. 3) Cold weather can keep some Queens from having photos made. Amazing but true. This image is missing a few MJQs and FOQs that didn’t want to come stand in front of the Jepson Center on a chilly Feb. 29th.  From the top back, Dee, Barbara, Rhonda, Mary V., Ann, Sue. Front Row, Leanne, Gwin, Kim, Jeanne, Moi, Linda

Paul Suszynski (www.mysouthernwedding.com) said the group photo was one of the best ones he had ever taken.  We were all spot-on. Queens love the lime-light and the flash! But Boy oh Boy we look bad when we are perched on chairs with cocktails in hand, eating cheese and crackers. I won’t even show you those.

(Go to www.myspace.com/joshmaulbluesband to hear what we heard. )

MJQs, I am telling you, we will do this again.  I was expecting some scar-metal or pop-schmop SCADDie stuff on Feb. 29th at our Leap Year Lounge Party, but babies, I was happily surprised.  The Josh Maul Band and the diverse crowd we were part of at the Mercury Lounge made me feel like I was in NOLA in some cool bar in the Quarter. Queen Aida, (Linda) had promised me a low-down, fun time and she delivered.  The rhythm and blues coming from this Richmond Hill based three-piece band was smooth and deep. Sadly, 4 of our party didn’t have ID’s so the guy at the door would not let them in. They headed to LuLu’s for martinis.  Eight daring divine MJQs and Ladies sat right up front and grooved to the music.  A mural of the Rat Pack and The Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, smiled from the wall behind Lee,the drummer. The bassist, Randy and guitar and vocal, Josh were squeezed into the corner. Jukeboxes took the other corner.  The bar is small and  when we got there, it was not full. Aida got a table and the band started playing at 9:00 pm.  Seems usually the live local music starts around 10:00.  We got lucky.  I had Amstels that were 4.00 and mixed drinks were very reasonable.  Just call the brand. You don’t want the house liquor. Lola ordered wings that were nice and Barbara got quesadillas for the table. Honey Love, Lucy, Lola, Aida, and I (Babette) decided we need club names, so start thinking of one.

The MJQs danced and danced!  I have not had this much fun in months. You won’t know a soul at the Mercury Lounge, but that’s OK.  In fact, it is better.  Nobody to impress. There were average middle aged couple, hip little old men, and super young college girls. One asked me if I was wearing the tiara for my birthday. I said no that I was was just raising a little Cain.  She shook her cig in my direction and said, “Hell yeah!  I love that sh#@.  Good for you .” 

The band came over to our table after the first set to…get this…thank us for coming out and shaking our stuff on the dance floor.  Honeys, when have the Queens been welcomed so royally.  I love that about this band.  Next one of the bartenders actually thanks us for coming, too.  Yep. No nose in the air snoots here. 

Now normally, I can’t take really loud music and smoking bars.  Even when I was 21 it was not something I could do without getting a splitting headache. I think I figured out the key.  If you want to have conversation and chat, no music or very low background works in some cute bar with over priced wine. If you like to dance and listen to R&B then a little smoke and a loudness is just what you need.  This band does classic R&B as well as their own stuff.

Come on with us the next time the queens go clubbing, (if you dare) and shake your stuff on the dance floor. (By the way, the dance floor is really a small space around the jukebox and the band, so no pressure, baby.)

Go to www.myspace.com/joshmaulbluesband to see when they play again and to listen to some of their stuff. Turn up your volume and click the playlist on the side. Excellent.

 (click) Some of MJQs and Lady Jeanne practice for a Lounge party at the Six Pence Pub. Queen Linda, (AKA Aida) Mercury Lounge expert and Queen Jennifer.

Honeys, 9 of the MJQs can’t attend Leap Lounge Party.  Never Fear.  Of 28 Royals, that is only one third.  If half the Queens are available, (that is 14 to those of you that just woke up), then it is a wonderful showing.  What with the other demands on our royal selves, remember, no matter what time or season, it is always a bad time of year for a party!

On other news, Andres came by to install a SPAM software trap-thingy on the blog so I don’t get all the Russian and Greek looking mess generated by computers ’round the world.  “No, vxigana, I don’t need to follow links to viagra.” “Thanks, but no thanks. The lost cost loan you are advertising sounds like a scam, so there’s no need to write back 12 times a day Mr. Cryvigiant.” How nice to have such helpful software that screens out annoying mess and kind, smart assistance to install it. 

Here’s the Ladies and FOQs list invited for Feb. 29th party. Attire is jeans, boots and tiara. (MJQ Texas Tux)

Lady Ann M. asked to Coronation Nov 30 attended 2 parties

Lady Jeanne P. Attended Nov 30

Lady Lee Ann S.(attended April 14 and Nov 30^th)

Lady Kelsey A. ( attended April 14 and Nov 30th)

Lady Caroline H.  (attended August 31 party Alligator Soul

Lady Nancy B.- Attended August 31 and November 30^{th -} Dottie

Cindy M. wants to stay FOQ(?)

Hannah M. –Jennifer Nov 30^th

Leslie F. FOQ attended Nov 30 Becky c

Lady Aimee D. –friend of Stacy , Attended Nov. 30^th

Lady Glenda B. attended Nov 30 FOQ dottie, carolyn

Lady Barbara G.- has gown and tiara ready!!( invited by Annie,  and me) couldn’t come

Diana B. -Sue and Patty g. need address

The Founders and 2004 MJQs met for lunch and planning today and reached some decisions.  (Leslie was in Thomasville, Stacy had a Telfair deadline, and Cathy had family matters that called. ) Founders, Mary, Carolyn, Becky, & 2004 Queens Annie, Sue, Dottie, Dee and Linda attended.  We had a little shrimp and crab salad that consort Stephen prepared and My “6 P Salad” that is my recipe. Also Fab cookies from Back in the Day Bakery and brownies. 

First, we will cap our membership, for the time being at 30 Sovereigns.  We may change this cap as we see fit in the coming years, but for 2008, this is the top number of members. Maybe we can have our Royal arms twisted and we increase to 32. We sahll see.

Next, a collection to stock the Royal Treasury will be enacted.  Each MJQ will be asked to pay $50.00 per year to cover certain needed expenses.  A yearly assessment will be sent out to note this collection.  Postage, paper, trolley, banners for New Queens and photographer are the accepted expenses. If you find that at this time membership in this group is just not a priority, at this point, please let me know since we have a waiting list of Ladies that want to join us for flouncing. Look for snail mail note with deadline for submission so we an see how many openings we will have for new royal members, should you be unavailable.  The next Coronation date will be April 12th.

On Coronation matters, every Mint Julep Queen will be required to wear green evening clothes and tiara.  Some of our past royal choices have been white evening pants and Thai silk jacket, rebuilt prom dress, or Bella Mia neon chiffon.  Do you have to wear green evening attire and tiara? Yes. Any concerns or questions will be directed to Sue, Annie, Carolyn, or myself.  All the MJQs need to look like Queens at Coronation. Get advice from Sue if you need help deciding what to wear or finding the right look.

Another topic was attendance.  If you are interested in attending only parties with your consort, then you need to excuse yourself from MJQ Reign.  You have mistaken our group for some other organization. Please let us know how busy you are so we can invite a Royal that has time to flounce.

Our next gathering will be for all Queens and Friends of Queens.  We will go to Alligator Soul and then to the Mercury Lounge on Congress Street and flounce in Boots, Jeans, and Tiara.  Dee says the jeans & dress shirt with cowboy hat is called a “Texas Tuxedo. ” What should we call our Lounge-Look? Watch for the The MJQs Leap Year Lounge Party invitation and details in an invitation to be sent by Feb. 14th.  Oh, and by the way, what happens at Mercury Lounge stays at the Mercury Lounge.  Queen Linda even uses a stage name when there:)  

On travel plans, the trip has been postponed until October or so.  More on that from Carolyn and Sue.  

A suggestion was made that we get julep cups that we would bring to bars for cocktails.  Ross Simmons has sets 6 cups at of silver plate at good prices.  Then we have them engraved with our name and maybe our logo.

MJQs lunch tray was re-newed when dear Vernice had lunch for 4 at Savannah  Quarters Country Club last Friday. Ya’ll, have the grouper tacos if you are invited. The tangerine sorbet was luscious! Conversation fun.  Honeys, I gotta start reading more. Terri and Vernice were up on some novels I have got to read. I just don’t know when I will fit it in.  Terri had the tray passed to her so she will host the next luncheon.  Thanks Vernice for a fun, delicious lunch.

Reign On!

Erica’s 6-P Salad

1 lb. bag frozen, small green peas

1 can white acre peas drained, rinsed,

1 small to med onion chopped and sauted

1 can field peas, rinsed and drained

6 oz. chopped pimento, drained

1 cup pearl pasta, (aka Israeli Couscous) cook according to package directions

½ cup shaved parmesan cheese

½ cup olive oil

½ cup salad vinegar

Chopped fresh cilantro (¼ to 1/3 cup)

Salt to taste

 2 Teaspoons of sugar

Cajun seasoning to taste

Mix all ingredients in mixing bowl and add drained hot pasta. Stir Gently.

Chill and marinate at least 24 hours.

Mix in shaved parmesan cheese serving.

Serves 8-10 as side

( click- from left, Rhonda, Emma, Mary, Becky, Linda, Me, Dottie, Stacy, Vernice, Terri, Becky, Sue, Cathy. From piano stool- Leslie, Patty, Carolyn, Cathleen -Cute hat!, Tricia)

Remember that 80’s Madonna song ”Quien es esta nina? Whoooo’s thaaaat girl?” Well, at our annual Holiday Queens’ & Consorts’ Party I heard, “Who’s that Queen?” and “Who’s her consort?” several times! How could a Royal group such as ours not completely know each other?  Here’s how. We travel, work our royal selves to death, and hardly take time for fun, contrary to the self-indulgent diva/queen reputation.  Also, when we do have a spare moment,  we can over commit our time to our subjects and realm. And then what happens? THEN we can’t come to enough MJQ gatherings to remember the names of our Regal sisters.

I plan to start a January blog that will introduce a Queen a day, so prior to any party, you can visit January archives and get a teenie refresher. I will start with some of the group photos from the Holiday party.  If you don’t remember every name, you are not alone:)

(click)Chris Miller, friend of Queen Jennifer is leaving to start a consulting biz.  I think the crown gives him an edge.

Hey.  Thank goodness for Queen Carolyn.  Did you know that formatted DVDs are in -R or +R ? Whatever that means.  Well, I spent hours trying to view images from Coronation and The Consort Holiday party. I now know my machine reads negative R. Erin gave the images in positive R.  After much hand-wringing, self-doubt and a call to my repair guy, it was Time for an extra strong Seabreeze and advice from Queen of Pire Tools.  She sooo rules.  After a my mini break-down, Carolyn calmly fixed my image errors.

So. Since I had just read the blog for The Creative Coast, I figured what better way to test my Super-tech skills (that are in still in their infancy), than to use the lovely pic above for good.

FOQs and MJQs, I wll send image link today or tomorrow, thanks to Carolyn.

3 drinks (AKA $45.oo dollars worth of drinks, not counting tips), toast flouncing.)

November 30th the MJQs met at The Mansion on Forsyth Park for drinks.  Again, I was less than impressed with the service or lack there of at this 4 star wanna be. If you need the space to have a function downtown, then I suppose this location will fill the bill, but if for some strange reason you long for a Southern experience in the style that represents the best of hospitality, good taste, and of what makes Savannah a destination, better rethink your choices.

I will stick to my very limited dealings with the place and its staff.  Last April we had cocktails at The McMansion and we were met with surly service. Not a single smile or “thank you” was uttered as we shelled out 16.00 for a single glass of wine poured into a cheap glass 2.00 stem. At the time, I chalked it up to Crown Envy, a little known syndrome of the type one witnesses from certain women that are temporarily blinded by jewels in some one’s hair. You don’t believe me? Put on a tiara and watch. A handful of ladies give you the disappoving you-r-such-a-harlot stare. Others will ask, “Where in the world did you find your cute tiara.?” So, since the wenches behind the bar were…well…wenches, their sour attitudes were ignored by us.  Now back to our recent expereinces at The McM. 

The poor barkeep that met us Friday evening was totally over-whelmed by a flow of females asking for wine, Cosmopolitans, and Mint Juleps. Honey, the bar was almost dead with about 8 folks already served when the first group of ladies approached. During the 45 minutes I stood at the bar waiting for a drink, this pitiful lad struggled with every concoction.  It took me 45 minutes to get my first drink.  I was never even acknowledged or greeted.

Three ladies had to flounce upstairs to get their drinks since they had waited so long. Lucky for me someone else was able to get his attention and procure the julep for me.  Now, the julep was so bad I almost gave it back to him, but frankly I was suffering from absolute dehydration and I decided I would never get another drink so I kept it.  The little pseudo-drink was, from what I could figure a concoction of ginger ale, bourbon, sugar, mint leaves and huge lime wedge perched atop the glass. Yuck.  More like a little punch.  In the future, I suppose I must resort to ordering bourbon and water, a side of mint, and a packet of Dixie Crystal that I stir in myself. I was at this bar for 2 hours and never offered another drink or even spoken to by anyone behind the bar.

Now you may ask if I have eaten at the Mcmansion? No dear heart, I have not.  I am not talking about their food or “dining experience.”  Wait.  I did attend a big gala that was catered by the McMansion. Does that count?  The food was horrible and pretentious. The wine glasses were hot, fresh out of the dishwasher.  The funniest food item they served was some mashed potato thing in a martini glass with a port wine  reduction, (AKA gravy) and shredded cheese. I know this event was a fund-raiser and the non-profit that booked the location was not wlling to shell out the ten prices needed to make a decent table of nibbles. 

Way on up in NYC, The Waldorf-Astoria, Tao, and The W all have friendly service, nicer stemware, better drinks and, here’s the shocker…similar bar prices to the McMansion. Never the less, when faced with adversity, we , The MJQs absolutely make the best of a challenging situation and rise to the occasion. We yuck it up, flounce a little, and smile real pretty for pictures so it did not ruin our time.  In fact, we had a blast drinking over- priced wine. miniature Cosmos, and bad Juleps. Then some of us went on to dinner at Wally’s Six Pence Pub, crowned our waitress, and devoured a darn good burger.  Next time though, I really don’t think we will congregate at The McMansion. Alligator Soul or the Mercury Lounge will likely be the location of choice:)

(click-Queen Emma inspired the invitation by exuding Royal Charm)

OO-la-la-la, MJQS . It’s tiara time. Three Ladies  in Waiting that have attended parties (or had ) parties in the last year and a half,  (Tricia, Ann, and Cathleen) have been asked to share their royalness with the MJQs by joining our group.  We will meet for cocktails at the Mansion on November 30th at 7:00.  No formal ceremony is needed, as you know, because each lady is already queen of her own realm.  She is merely offering to hang out with us and help us have more fun. If they are available to come in full regalia, (green gown and tiara), then they will be added to our royal roster.

Friends of Queens and others that have expressed interest in becoming an MJQ are being invited to come and have fun.  Any MJQ in good standing, (and honey, how can you be otherwise?) is allowed to bring a friend if they would like.  We will have a drink and then do whatever we decide.  No formal plans have been made.  Photographer, Erin Weathers will be on hand.

In January of 2008, the Founders, Mary, Carolyn, Becky, Stacy, and myself will ask all MJQs to come to an organizational meeting where we will decide how many more queens we will add in 2008.  If there are any questions about our regal group, please refer to the pages section, email me, or post a question. Reign On!

MORE November Birthday Queens- Dennis fixing Wendy’s Royal do (Birthday November 19). Erica (Birthday November 4)and Carolyn. Emma blowing you a kiss, (Birthday November 5) (click) see Patty G (Birthday Nov. 2) below.

Queen Emma has said to me that friendships are like planets and heavenly bodies. Their orbits around us change.  Sometimes they are close to you like a moon, an up-lifting presence that shines on you, brightens your path, and shines through dark times.  They can be just like comets that streak throught the sky in a blaze of beauty and excitement and then they are gone.  Like Venus, a friend can be there, waiting for you to find them amid the scattered stars that threaten to out shine them or confuse the search until all the glitter around them looks the same.  They are there never the less. Finding the true steady light of the friend, enjoying the time you have with them whether they are close or not is the challenge.   Calmly, methodically you can find them.  Their orbit seems far away, but it really is the perfect distance for them and for you, whether you know it or not.

Every friend has a purpose, a role, and a meaning in their path.  I try to be accepting and enjoy the balance of these shifting planets, comets, and stars.  Allow them to give me joy and peace and see it all a part of the design of my life’s journey. I still struggle with the acceptance part and Zen of this orbit idea that can describe friends’ relationships.

There are times I really need a kind reminder and Emma paints the friends as planets picture for me so I can stop trying to force my own agenda on people. Let it be. Just let it be what it is at that moment. My goal is to recognize their individual value, beauty, and place in my exisitance.   Next time your solitary gaze searches the quiet purple sky for the marvel of smooth light Venus, the haze of the Milky Way, an exiting comet, or our own constant moon, remember a friend you saw today, a buddy that you haven’t talked to in a few weeks, or the fun companion that helped make you laugh many years ago.   The journeys, the orbits that our friends take will not always be close to us, but their effect on our lives is as beautiful as the glow of the distant stars and planets.