Every year we have a huge Renaissance Festival in nearby Crownsville , Maryland. Back in the day it would run every weekend in October. But it has become so popular and well attended that they expanded the open days so that they now start in August and run every weekend through September and October.

We plan to go again this year, but the wife suggested that we have costumes this time, which is a great idea. We’ve been trying to figure out what the costumes should be and where we can get them. Wifey had the idea to check the internet for Halloween Costume and see if there was anything that we can adapt to work for the Ren Fest.

Well knock me down with a feather - there’s a website that has adult and teen Halloween costumes but they also have an entire section of costumes devoted to Ren Fest characters! The prices are reasonable and the selection is much larger than I ever expected. Here’s what I’m ordering for my costume - and it comes in XXL so I’m sure it will fit:

That dude even looks like me! This is perfect. Now to let the wife and daughter find costumes - August will be here before we know it and I want to be ready for the opening day ceremonies.

We’ve had all kinds of pets and critters around - even when we were on the road, living in the homemade “RV” we had three dogs. I’ve always named the animals based on their personalities and have have some great dog names. According to the Registrar of Dogs (Animal licensing departments) in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, the top 20 most popular names for dogs in northern California are:

My oldest has been making friends with people all over the world now that she has a MySpace page. She has been meeting a couple of them who turn out to live in the area, but her newest BFF actually lives in India, where she is going to college.

My daughter discovered that there is a better way to call overseas than to try to use her cell phone. She now uses Trueroots to make calls to India. This is a better service for technical reasons, plus it is much cheaper. Her friend in India suggested the Trueroots service, as she has other friends and relatives who call, and they have been happy with the service and the rates.

When she told me about it I freaked out at first, thinking it was going to be really expensive, but I checked their website myself and it looks like a really good deal. It’s amazing what people can do these days thanks to the internet. When I was a kid the very idea of calling India would never have occured to me.

Larry Birkhead, ex-boyfriend of the late Anna Nicole Smith, was seen at the Kentucky Derby’s parties this week. He actually met Anna Nicole Smith in 2004 at the Barnstable Brown Gala, one of the biggest parties held during Derby week.

Birkhead told reporters that he’s originally from Louisville and that he has just bought a new house there.

The Barnstable Brown Gala is held every year by the former “Doublemint Twins,” Patricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable, to raise funds for diabetes research at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky.