Saturday morning came far too early. Who has breakfast at 9 AM after staying up till 3 AM? I did. But not cheerfully. Catalina brought me coffee, and we made our way down to the gathering room. I drank coffee. Then more coffee. Then a little more coffee to really wake up. By the time the discussion group rolled around, I was positively giddy on caffeine. It showed. I was a chatterbox during MistressKali’s discussion. We were probably 45 minutes INTO the discussion before I realized I was bordering on obnoxious. Don’t you hate when that happens? The caffeine finally started to wear out, and I was feeling a little more stable, and thought…"Kim, shut your trap." I tried to make up for being disruptive by being very very quiet for the second half. MistressKali is eloquent in a way I can only envy. She engages the group, gets us hooked, and delivers an awesome message every time. If you have the opportunity to hear her speak, I highly recommend it. Katherine and Kiah added fun with short skits, and SilentBob was a great "bad guy" for a skit.

I left IROP for the first time ever in the midst of the day to have lunch with my sister. She and my brother-in-law drove down to say hello. I was on the phone with Ketzer in the lobby, and saw someone who looked familiar in the mirror. I squinted, and realized it was my brother-in-law. When I walked into the lobby, there was my sister. A group of IROP folks were sitting outside, so I did introductions. I heard that my sister and I look just alike, which I took as a huge compliment! Lunch was a nice long visit, and I admired wedding photos, and got to catch up. We returned to my hotel room to chat some more. Catalina showed up after the auction was over, and we had a momentary mis-communication. I called out, as she opened the door, "My sister is here!" warning her in case she didn’t want to meet anyone not registered with IROP. Poor Catalina perceived it as me warning her off that I did not want my sister to meet HER, and started to do an about-face at the door. Thankfully we got it sorted out swiftly, and naturally both wanted to meet each other. It was grand fun, but over all too soon, and my family members departed.

I had missed the auction. I was auctioned off in absentia, however. I returned for the tea party. Before we got started, the group presented Ketzer and me (in absentia) with a beautiful blade, limited edition, in thanks for 6 years of Iron Rose. I was very touched, and humbled, at the outpouring of love. Thank you all so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness. Next was the tea party. Catalina gave us more information than I ever knew on tea. She passed around cherished books on loan, and we learned the formal roles of Host(ess) and Server. Fascinating stuff! I hope to expand on this ritual in the future. Kudos to the people who volunteered to participate in these roles. The Hostess at our table was maya, and our resident Dominant (who sits to the right of the Hostess) was SilentBob. SilentBob was great, and maya took her job seriously and was commendable. Each of the servers made their way to our table. MistressKali, the devilish one, came up with a "test" to see how long it took to catch the eye of the servers. Then we got to ask Catalina what the appropriate way to handle it would have been. Very educational. For the record, one does not arrive at a tea hungry. It’s for the conversation, not the food as much. Fortunately, I had a big lunch, and maya did not have to wrestle the plate of cookies from me as I tried to shove them all in my mouth. Excellent job by everyone who participated. Thanks to Catalina for a great presentation/coordination.

Next was Nipple Torture. Stormy showed us a wide variety of nipple torture tools. Including one that I found VERY useful! Ketzer and I bought a Braun electric toothbrush, used it MAYBE four times, and then got an ultrasonic toothbrush. What to do with the Braun? I didn’t know. AHA! This Nipple Torture Queen to the rescue! I can use it for abrasion play!!! I am glad I had not given it away! As she pointed out, one can change the heads for total hygiene! Stormy also had a charming volunteer to demonstrate on. Tender, expressive, and obviously striving hard to please, he made a great demo partner. We all enjoyed the presentation very much, and it was even better because we got to see so many of the items displayed on someone who was sensitive. It showed us so much more than the toys. It was an example of how to help the bottom build up tolerance, take sensation for the top, how to distract them, how to help them ride the wave of sensation, how we build up to higher sensations then go back to lower sensations, and so much more. I thought it was an incredible job, and the way it was presented made it a million percent more valuable than holding up a toy and saying "this is a nipple clamp." (clap clap clap) Kudos to both Stormy and the demo partner!

After a quick bite to eat, I was off for my auction commitment. This is a portion of the weekend that I cherish a great deal. I like showing people new things. This year was no exception. I worked with Arrick and maya with canes and floggers. Although experienced, Arrick was looking for technique pointers, and maya was looking to discover more fully if she liked thud/sting, and how different techniques worked for her. One of the best rushes I get in the scene is when someone dreads a toy, and I can facilitate a positive experience. I love working with people who have had negative experiences with floggers and canes. maya had never had a negative experience, but she had a preconceived notion that she wouldn’t like canes. By the time we were finished, maya was a cane devotee. Isn’t life wonderful? By the time we were finished, I think Arrick was fond of moose floggers, which he’d never worked with before. Life is good. I grumbled that I was going as I was dressed (jeans and a t-shirt, prepared to sweat) and people would just have to cope.

I lied. In 15 minutes I had done my hair, put on makeup, and changed into my leather corset. I was in the gathering room ready for photos. Arrick asked when he saw me, "I thought you were going to stay in the same clothing?" Smart mouth tops really annoy me, don’t they annoy you? We took photos. In one photo (or more) you may see me with wide eyes. Tuatha reached back and grabbed me…well…somewhere. I yelped! He is a BRAT! Very shortly I was changed back out of that corset, and back into my t-shirt. I started to sweat, and I’ll be dipped if I’m going to sweat to death in that expensive clothing!

I drug Catalina off to a corner, and began a scene we had negotiated before we even met. What a rush. To actually get to work her over was a delight. We had a marvelous time, feeding off each other’s energy, and I marked her up very prettily. I know because I insisted on seeing Sunday morning! Nice stripes, and one tip mark circle which annoyed me to no end…but we all throw the occasional tress and leave the stray mark. Very pretty purple shadows, punctuated with pink trails on creamy skin. Oooo-la-la!

I caned Elianne, which was grand fun. She was responsive and happy, and I wish it would have lasted longer…but we take what we can get!

I had spoken with Tina earlier, and worked with her. Tina and I worked together for flogging last year. She is a "natural." It takes very little instruction to settle her into excellent technique. Caning was no exception. Catalina loved both ends of caning, and watched closely, but never took the cane in her own hand. Next year maybe! In a mere four or five swipes, Tina had me biting my lip from some great snaps of the cane. Nice work!

I worked with Gaston and candie. Gaston got the technique of how to cane swiftly, and candie was a delightful leather-clad tushie to work on! She was letting her henna tattoo set, however, so we didn’t tax her too much. Perhaps next year! Falina and I worked together, and she also got a nice swing relatively swiftly. I think we have incredibly fast learners at IROP. It took me a long time to get any REMOTE good stroke with a cane, and everyone I worked with got nice strokes in within mere minutes.

I worked with MistressKali, demonstrating a variety of flogging techniques for SilentBob. He and Elianne then worked on Kiah, and I was honored to be asked to spot for her at the end of the scene. Remind me that we really need to have blankets for aftercare in the dungeon for next year. I make a note to myself every year, and every year I forget. Someone help me remember next year!

There were great scenes going on. I will let people speak about their own if they choose, but it was wonderful to see. The energy was rocking, and I was euphoric, but knew it was time to retire. The morning was going to arrive much too early.

Sunday was prizes and awards, a leisurely lunch, and off to the airport where I had a long, but uneventful flight home. There’s tons more, but you’ll have to ask me personally to hear it! I hope to see all of you again next year!!

Kim