1) The Leatherrman’s Handbook
by: Larry Townsend
(Original or 25th anniversary edition)

2) The Leatherman’s Protocol Handbook: A Handbook on “Old Guard” Rituals, Traditions and Protocols
by: John D. Weal (this one is extremely controversial, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy researching why that is!)

3) Coming to Power: Writing and Graphics on Lesbian S/M, 2nd Revised and Updated Edition
by: Samois

4) Life, Leather and the Pursuit of Happiness
by: Steve Lenius

5) The Leather Contest Guide: A Handbook for Promoters, Contestants, Judges and Titleholders
by: Guy Baldwin

6) Leather Titleholder Manual: So You Want to be a Titleholder?
by: Jill Carter

7) International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions
by: Joseph Bean

Safe Beginnings
by: Goddess Lakshimi (My leather Mother, Ms. World Leather 2003)

9) Leatherman
The Legend of Chuck Renslow
by: Tracy Baim & Owen Keehnen

10) The Leatherboy Handbook
by: Vincent Andrews

11) To Love, to Obey, to Serve: Diary of an Old Guard Slave
By: V. M. Johnson

It is terrifically low cost to be at a very nice hotel in Minneapolis the second half of November because it is 7 – 10 degrees outside.  The Nicolette Mall has these very cool walkways that connect the buildings along the Mall.  The Radision Plaza Hotel has an excellent restaurant right there off the lobby with a nifty espresso machine and they stock soy milk.  tres cool.

I really like the gentlemen in Minneapolis.  That’s a good bonus.

I love going to Chicago.  I found myself at the Millennium Knickerbocker again.  Love the bar in the lobby.  Love steak across the street at rosebud’s steak house.  Love walking up to Whole Foods for the hot deli.  Love boots in my size at Guess.  Wish I could afford Gucci.  LOL.  There are some amazing clothes in the Gucci store.

The gentlemen in Chicago come to play.  That is always superior.

Bonus:  A gentleman I usually see in another city was in town, saw my ad and visited me here in Chicago.  What a treat!  <3 <3 <3

wow.  New Mexico.  In a day you can drive from Albuquerque to White Sands National Monument which is quite the geological special treat.  You look at the dunes of white and think it will be hot, but it is cold because it is gypsum.  Amazing.

Then it is less than an hour to drive to a forest in the mountains up above White Sands to the East.  Wow.  It is gorgeous there.  I stayed in a little town with a historical hotel in Cloudcroft.  I loved hiking in the morning in a forest!  This weekend was amazing.

I love my life!

A Play Date with the Los Angeles Pony and Critter Club Saturday Noon to 2 PM

A presentation on “Pony Play in small spaces” at the Lair de Sade 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM

Drive to Palm Springs.

Sunday 10 am in place for Palm Springs Pride Parade.

Oh my, there is a Leather contingent!  Let’s march with them!  YAY!  Be spontaneous.

and drive home.

whew.

Lately, I have taken to reading some BDSM erotica.  I had some thoughts that maybe since this is what is readily available for people to read, this is what gentlemen expect, how a gentleman thinks I will act.  It has on some levels been illuminating.  Why some gents think that a submissive is all about simply being  a piece of meat to use.  It explains why some gents think all I want is have a belt taken to me.

Anytime you put a person in a box, anytime you categorize or generalize anyone, including a “submissive” you do individuals a disservice.

I am here waiting to serve.  I offer to dress in a way that pleases you.  I offer to listen and obey.  I can’t just be on my knees waiting for you and we begin, we must conduct business first, but if you can handle that smoothly when you arrive, I won’t have to stop and ask.

I am pretty open and have a long play list.

If you wanted me to welcome you, shine your boots, you give me a good spanking over your lap or bracing myself and then you used me or not for your pleasure, I’d consider that a great session.

If you grabbed me up, took me into the shade in the field in the Valley Play Space, staked me down, had prearranged (and paid for) that I was in clothes you could cut off and then you did so, laughed, spit on me, peed on my body, stamped around in the pee mud around me, placed your boot with the piss mud on my body, on my cheek and then used me for your pleasure or not, I’d consider that a great session.

If you tied my leg to a length of rope attached to the bed, lied down and wanted me to give you a massage and tell you stories, spanked me then used me for your pleasure or not I’d consider it a great session.

I do like erotic spankings.  😉

If you came with bucket full of dirty old silverware, told me I had 30 minutes to polish it, then if I did not get it done you disciplined me for being too slow, I’d consider it a pretty novel session, and great and wow.  That one is right out of “The Marketplace”.

If you brought a book of BDSM short stories, flipped it to a page and did what was on that page, that would be quite novel.   That might be fun.

How about a deck of cards?  the red cards are the number of spankings/cropping/flogging and black is the number minutes of pleasure.  That could be a very fun game.

I can think of a lot of fun things to do.  Play is fun.  I have always thought so, since I was a wee lass.

The gentleman rode his bike 8 miles, striped off his sport bike pants, told me kneel, grabbed my hair by the pony tail and shoved my face in to his crotch.

Moist and very very smelly, full of him.

wow wow WOW.  Bling-da-da-ding! zowie.

I love my life.

I am learning to do more fancy stuff on my web site, Ask subMissAnn.  I also have The North American Pony Trainer  web site and the Los Angeles Pony and Critter Club web site to update.

I think the hardest task in the world is to sit at a desk in front of a computer and push little keys.  Seriously.  Sitting in my chair has always been a difficult task.  I received good grades in school despite the fact that I wanted to jump out of my seat all the time.   It is evidently hereditary, as when my daughter went to school, and I had to attend the Parent Teacher conference, I would hear those words “Amelia does really well, if we could only keep her in her seat.”  My reaction was always “It is difficult for some people.”

Grandma said I had to focus and discipline myself to sit or I would be punished because we just couldn’t have little girls jumping out of their seat and disrupting the class.  I always tried my best to be a good girl for Grandma.  Grandma gave wicked spankings.

Okay, so  my mind goes darting off to ROPE.  If I’m tied down, I can’t jump out of my seat so fast.  BELTS, lots of belts holding me down, holding me in place.  Then there is the SHACKLE fantasy, shackled to your desk you can only jump out of it and go *so*  far.

I have two points.

One is:  I wish to acknowledge the web site people that do this for a living.  WOW.  I have no idea how you sit here and do this day after day without going bonkers.

Two is:  I do what I do because ROPE, BELTS and SHACKLES not only sound like a reasonable solution,  they sound good to me.

This my first time in New Haven at the Omni downtown.  It’s very quiet.  Maybe all of Yale goes away on the weekend.  There is a terrific Square in the middle of town.  It makes for a great walk about.  For a college town there is a complete lack of hip bistros and vegetarian restaurants, people doing yoga on the grass at the Square. I found one vegetarian restaurant founded in 1975, Claire’s.   Obviously, there is a disconnect between my idea of college, towns, food and Yale.

On my way here, I was treated to a drive about by a friend.  We went to Bear Mountain State Park.  There was a Craft Fair and an amazing amount of cars that were lined up to attend.  What I found a surprise and completely wonderful was the Lodge and the Carousel.   The Carousel is in terrific shape and all the animals are exquisite.  The saddles on some of the horses have the most intricate paintings on them.  Some are designs, some are scenes.  The horses are not just one design.  They are quite different, not only in color but in the pose they are carved in. It was an incredible treat to ride and look at.  <3

I am really liking the area I stay in Manhattan.  I found a grocery store I enjoy browsing the deli, D’agostino.  Good looking fresh fruit, that is ripe enough to eat that day.  I am a soy, oatmeal, fruit, meat eater.  I like vegetables,  I love fruit. I found a dry cleaners that caters to hotel staying people.  There are alot more prepared food buffets, one that has 1/2 off 5 – 7 PM just before they close.  I haven’t quite worked out how to exercise well every day.  The hotel I stay in does not have a gym.  I am busy when I am in Manhattan, which is good – I am not complaining there.  So, I just need to figure how to move my body around, stretch, do cardio, do my sit-ups/push ups every day and not be lazy in between work.  It is always something.  One can always be better.