Busy as a Bee

I’ve been busy and I’m happy to say it has not been all work. I’ve been busy in a good way going to a lot of fun places and events with new and old friends. I’ve been reconnecting with people. Or maybe it’s that I am finally connecting in a deeper and more sincere way to people who I was only able to be acquaintances with or friendly with in the past. I am filled up in the present and the past becomes more and more of just that – the past. It’s still an open wound, but each day it becomes more of a place through which light enters. My present is filled with a lot of goodness. For all this I am grateful.

I’ve been able to spend time with my SSASE (Soft Smiles Association for Submissive Education) girlfriends recently. I went to our monthly Cupcakes & Cocktails Munch last week. We met up at Molly’s Cupcakes in NYC. I promptly upon entering sat on one of the swings at the counter and lamented on how the swings couldn’t be fully functional (I am sure it’s a safety and insurance issue). Still a swing at the counter is full of awesome and win! I don’t usually follow the girls to the cocktails part of the evening, because I normally work at night. I had put in an extra shift earlier in the week and negotiated a long weekend. So this night I was finally able to go check out the infamous chocolate fountain at Ayza’s Wine & Chocolate Bar. I ordered a tapas, a non-chocolate drink, and enjoyed the atmosphere and company. One of the girls ordered cheese fondue and shared it. I got a taste and was pleasantly surprised to get a cube of prosciutto to dip in the cheese fondue. It was yummy. This may seem like a strange thing to  comment on but the bathroom in this place is fantastic! I wanted for us all to go hang out in there. The walls are totally filled with framed pictures. It is just the coolest bathroom ever. Next apartment I have I am doing that to the walls.  So, just prior to that, as three of us were waiting to enter the bathroom and I got a itty bitty bit freaked out/confused in the hallway area. It turns out there was this super clean mirror in the tight hallway space in front of the bathroom and I couldn’t figure out which was the right image to talk to… I started talking to my friend then I saw this image out of the corner of my eye and I was like “WTF?” /confusion. I hardly drink at all these days, so ya one drink messed up my brain a bit. I was fine though and we all had a good laugh about it. SSASE also has a Smut Club. Last weekend I went to the second Smut Club meeting. What a great group. We laughed, shared snacks, talked about the smutty book of the month, and generally enjoyed our time together. The first Smut Club meeting was the Upper East Side of Manhattan, this time it was in downtown Brooklyn. I love how they are intending to keep it moving around and be hosted at various member’s homes. I so glad that SSASE exists in NYC. At this time it is definitely the best source for upbeat female only social adventures.

I’ve been spending time with my Little Scouts. Our monthly badge was on Fire Play and four of us earned badges and one of us has a ½ merit towards a fire badge. Something I am very proud of is the way that the community is coming together to help me get this going. I have one good steady & reliable co-leader who I affectionately refer to as our Cat Hearder, because too many littles can be tornado-ish to organize. I had a scout volunteer to make the Troop patch logos and they came out beautifully. When she was unable to complete the badge image creations and I put out a call for help, several people from outside our scout troop, but inside the larger community stepped up and offered to finish the job. Within the Troop a good number of the scouts are stepping forward and wanting to skill share. I see a lot of the Little Scouts friending each other on FetLife and going out together. These were the exact reasons I formed Little Scouts. So, even if we are a small bunch, we are connecting face to face and sharing with each other. Love my Little scouts so hard! I feel like a proud mommy lol…

On other kinky fronts, I have a completely new circle of friends. Someone reached out to me who lives in Brooklyn and asked for me to teach her and a few friends about bootblacking. I couldn’t say no to that. Sharing what I know and what was passed on to me is one of the best ways I show my leather heart. From this bootbkacking skill share at my home one night I have made some of the warmest friendships. I have a new friend who is a little bird. This little bird and I are going to be spending time this summer doing some roller skating and other fun things. Her company is so nice. She is cheerful and pleasant, witty, silly, and her good heart shines through brightly. Then there is this incredible Italian woman, a native Brooklynite, she has the heart of a bootblack. She lusts for leather. It’s amazing to see her leather lust! She keeps telling people I am her mentor. It’s a little embarrassing, because I don’t think I have any super knowledge. I share with her the basics of what I know. I’m pretty sure she over estimates my knowledge and soon enough I am going to be the one asking her to teach me. She has also introduced me to a whole new group of people. We go out once a month and are working our way down the Top 10 Best Italian Restaurants in Brooklyn. I love that when we go out we order familia style and just go over the top in ordering so we can taste as much as possible. Last night I went to a house party at the home of one of the people from our dinner club. I don’t remember being at a house party since living down in Florida. I told them I was only going to watch and I would offer hair styling as a service and other than that I didn’t play. I know that sounds a bit silly, hair styling you say? I love to play with hair and yes it is a skill. I am pretty good at braiding if I say so myself. I had such an incredible time watching though. I am truly a voyeur. Hey, every show, event, performance, artist – needs a spectator. I am happy to be the audience and the spectator.

Yesterday I went to the NY Women’s submissive/slave forum. It’s a group I have become able to attend more regularly now that I am single. It’s a support group for anyone identifying as female and either, submissive, slave, bottoms, and including switches as long as they respect this space is geared for the little letter side. We talk in a circle and munch on a large assortment of snack that many of the ladies bring each month. And our topic of discussion is never set ahead it comes from whatever is going on in our lives and in our community and affecting us. It’s a great group, because every lady there is assured a seat at the table and that is meant literally and figuratively. One of the co-leaders has been out of town for a few months in Florida, in my old stomping grounds and recently returned. Now that she has returned I am heading down there next week. I’ll be there to judge the International Power Exchange 2015 Contest. They have seven sets competing this year. It’s amazing how this contest has grown in only a few years. It’s going to be a challenge to judge this contest and I won’t pretend that that fact that there are seven sets is intimidating. We have a fantastic head judge, Master Obsidian and I am sure I can lean on him for any questions as he has much experience. I am also very excited to be at a place I still think very much of still as home. I really can’t wait to see my WOLF pack sisters and howl with them! I have spent decades trying to escape Florida and now I find I yearn at time for it and for the people I love there. Not sure how many more years the NE will be able to hold me. Then again… my most recent adventures in this city have made me feel I can spread my wings and go live my dream of traveling.

I wonder where I will be busy at this time next year. I am in the present, but I am looking at the future more and more these days as a Technicolor rainbow that I look forward to chasing…