Saturday play party. . .  *if your name is not mentioned below, it is because you were not present when I requested permission from the group, or I was uncertain.  I wanted to err on the side of caution. I'm more than glad to add names if you contact me!*

I'd been looking forward to the play party all weekend!  Arrick showed me a nasty-looking toy that he won from auction (made by T.) and I liked it so well I held it tight, looked hopeful, and said "Is it a gift???"  He looked at me oddly then said "No!"  Ah well. I tried!!  Where can I buy me one of those??? For less than $30K!?

The outfits were stunning, as always.  Elianne's necklace had me drooling, as did Domaris' brand new corset.  tuatha's outfit won for best outfit of the weekend, for good reason.  I admired Alyana's boots, on numerous levels. First, because they looked yummy; second that she could stand in them.  Gaston in his suit was handsome as always.  candie was adorable...actually, there was something positively glowing about candie this weekend, all joking aside. When I first saw her Friday I did a double take, with numerous "you look stunning!" comments, and she was fetching all weekend.  maya looked perfectly edible.  Not that I would know.  No, you can't make that a quotable quote.  I examined Amanda's new floggers. She has TWO more in her collection.  Amanda has one of the most extensive flogger collections I've seen.  Including mine.  Great stuff!  I loved her new additions, of course!  As a matter of fact, Amanda, I'd really like the name of the vendor from whom you bought the kangaroo.  I thought the workmanship rivaled one of the best ones I own, and I liked the price you quoted you got it for!!!

I did not wait long before I grabbed Catalina and bent her over the spanking bench.  I pulled out "The Stinger" (if you don't know what it is, peek, it's fabulous) and began working her ass.  She danced more.  Yum.  I made sure to use the plastic paddles we'd selected at Cheap Trix. Yum.  I used the whippy little rubber whip and made her hiss and twist.  I finally told her that if she moved her hands off the spanking bench she was losing a pillow.  Despite my best efforts, those hands did not come off the bench. Darn it.  Then on to the cane, which was a return to a previous scene, and elicited delightful noises and gasps.  Finally, I assisted her to a chair, facing the wall.  My thanks to Kerr, who thoughtfully brought juice for her aftercare so I did not have to leave her side.  And when she had mellowed out enough, I pulled from the toybag a brush and scissors.

I lovingly brushed out her hair, which fell to her waist.  I love the scent, the texture, how it runs through my fingers.  I like the weight of it, and the tight grip I take near her scalp while I draw the brush through the tresses so as not to make her head pull back.  I like digging my fingers in it, and forcing her head this way and that, as it amuses me.  Finally, I picked up the scissors.  I snipped them about her head. She shivered.  I brushed her luxurious hair more.  She shivered.  I snipped the scissors ineffectually and her reactions were most pleasing.  Finally, I set down the brush, and took the scissors carefully, taking my first clump of her hair, right up to her shoulders.  I held it back for a few moments, letting her wonder if I had actually cut it that time, before I held it in front of her to show I had, indeed, taken it.  I brushed the remainder of her hair, ensuring that it was all flat and ready for cutting.  I vaguely heard a surprised, "She's cutting her hair!"  I proceeded to take the rest of her hair, preserving it in a bag for a donation to Locks of Love.  When it was done, it was a swinging, sweet curve about her face that fell to her shoulders.  A charming look on her, that I enjoyed.  After more juice and hugs, we returned to reality.  This is my first public hair cutting, and was sooooooo good for me.  (purr purr purr)  It is also the first hair cutting I've done which immediately followed a beating.  Lots of firsts for me this weekend.

Next I worked with Rayek and Alyana.  I had promised that, if schedules permitted, we would do some additional work with the cane.  I assisted Rayek as we tested on Alyana, until I was confident he had the general concept well in hand (pun intended.)  Then I took the place of Alyana, and he took a swing.  This year I was in a leather miniskirt, which by the way, I have not fit into in years and was very excited to wear!  Because of the leather, I could not tell how his swing was.  What's a girl to do???? I had to shimmy the mini up to my waist and let him cane my ass with only the thin panties over it.  Oh darn.  He did a very nice job, and swiftly had a nice even stroke (hard to do right away) that was level across.  I'm short, and he's tall, so he had to really concentrate making the cane hit my sweet spot and not higher, but I have every confidence he and Alyana will happily practice that until he gets it *juuust* right.  I decided he'd had enough practice when he snapped a stroke which brought me to my tiptoes with a smile.

Next I was off in a whirl to admire J's duct tape bondage.  A magic marker was graciously provided, so I made sure to sign!  I pressed my corseted bustline against the duct tape, traced the outline, and signed "Kim was here."  What fun!  I stayed to watch the duct tape be removed, which always fascinates me and makes my heart race.  A group gathered, murmuring to each other, "I don't know how he does it...that's amazing...I'd be wigging out..." and other things.  My only regret is that we did not get any photos (rules about when photos can be taken at IROP!) for the scrap book.  I think I'll suggest that next year we ask for an exception for this one tiny thing, provided everyone is notified a photo is about to be taken and anyone in the area is quietly asked to step away so they're not included in the shot.

I took some time to sit and recover.  maya and I noted that in the corsets, we need to perch on the edge of the chair.  If I don't perch, my bustline practically covers my vision. I am like a little old lady peering over the dashboard of tits on a car.  It's not pretty when I sit back in a corset.  I made some disgusting gestures. I'll pretend it was all endorphins, and none of my conscious self.  (dignified sniff)  I had wonderful afterglow conversation with SirLancelot and barbiedoll, who are mentioned because I saw one of the best instances during the conversation.  A new toy was shared, and when barbiedoll felt it on her arm, her eyes lit up.  WHAT fun to see the big smile split her face, as she motioned to SirLancelot and told him she wanted him to use the toy.  I mention here that as self-avowed new folks, I give them, and all the people for whom this was one of their first events, TONS of credit.  It takes a lot of guts just to show up, and can be so very awkward. It gets better. Trust me!  As I looked about, my eyes fell on Caitlyn who gave me a lazy wave.  I was puzzled, but gave a lazy wave back.  If she decides to tell you what that was about, ok. I'm not telling, just grinning and scuffing my toe in the dirt in a humble manner.

About this time I realized how VERY uncomfortable the fetish wear was.  I excused myself to change into comfy clothes. Once I did, I discovered that some folks I had hoped to hook up with had excused themselves before I could get back.  Darn.  Next year I hope.  But I took the opportunity to keep an annual tradition which has developed, and I was out late.  No, I won't tell.  Sssshhhhh.  But I had to get Catalina back to bed by 3:30 AM, which is exactly the hour I had her back.  She had negotiated 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, and I barely made it that night!  We fell into bed, and I don't remember another thing until my eyes popped open about 8:20 AM.

Sunday morning is always so bittersweet for me.  IROP is the event that keeps me going all year.  It's the opportunity for me to see everyone doing what Ketzer and I envisioned when we opened IR.  It's the chance for people to say "thank you" to my face, and shake my hand, and they do.  My heart swells, and it keeps me going through the whining and complaining I get most of the rest of the year!  This year I thanked everyone in person for staying with us during our recent denial of service attacks.  And I mean it. Deeply, profoundly. There are plenty of places to go, and room for all of them on the net.  That people choose IR humbles me, and tickles me.

I couldn't resist kissing on people.  I think I slobbered over poor Arrick the most, since I wanted to take advantage of our face-to-face enjoyment of each other.  As he and I cheerfully tell people, we're quite adversarial online.  Don't ask me to explain the dynamic, I can't.  He is, for the record, the ONLY person I've ever had this weird dynamic with!  At any rate, Sunday morning is difficult for me.  If you are one of the people I slobbered over, and if it was unappreciated, send me a little note. I promise to try to do better next year. <sniffle sniffle>  And to those of you who I didn't get to hug goodbye, forgive me!  I thought I had more time, then discovered Cat's flight was 2 hours earlier than I thought!  I was in a bit of a tizzy there at the end.

I received a few special gifts this weekend.  Thank you to the group and to Katherine for the ironwood rose.  It's very beautiful, and I cannot wait to have a bezel put in it so I can loop it on a chain.  Thank you to Rayek and Alyana for the metal rose, which now sits on my jewelry box.  I love it.  

Now if you can just tell me which one of you convinced the airline to push so many beverages on me during my return trip...with no working lavatory on board?  Perverts.  I miss you all already!!!