Leather

The tradition of giving specific anniversary gifts based on the number of years a couple has been married dates back to the Middle Ages.   The practice probably has underlying it a belief in the correspondence of certain luck-bringing substances with a distinct number of years.  "The passing of another year together marks a deepening of the couple's commitment, an accumulation of time irreplaceable. To help in celebrating these occasions are special gifts, one assigned to each anniversary and each with its own material and symbolic value.

Modern day US wedding anniversary celebrations follow their own list of anniversary gifts and symbols, and so it happens that, as Master and I approach the 9th anniversary of the day I arrived here in Cincinnati (June 6), one of the gift options was "leather."


Well.  Friends.  That is a gimme in this household.  Say leather, and there will be BDSM implements.  Of course. 

We buy "toys" from a very limited set of vendors.  Our floggers are all the handiwork of DeTails, and the whips have been purchased from Snakepit and Arturo.  We've got more than just a few of Hanson's paddles, and our restraints are all purchased from Leather by Danny.  It took us a long time to figure out that the only sensible place to buy a cane was from Adam and Gillian's.  We have lots of pieces purchased over the years from Toybag (back before they vanished from the landscape), and in recent years, we've come to appreciate the fine leather work of Leatherthorn.

So, it was just a few days ago that I was gifted with some new Leatherthorn toys... one of which is called (ironically) the Imp Lament.  Since I've taken to calling Himself an "imp," that seems fitting.  There is also an interesting strap-type thing that seems to be some sort of cross between a paddle and a tawse.  Along with the two that He ordered, we received a third, smaller paddle -- sort of as a "try it out and see what you think" kind of nod.

Some pictures:

 We haven't really played with these toys yet.  It is the end of the school year, and I'm exhausted.  He has good days and bad days, and when the recovery related "blues" come over Him, it is less likely that He will be in the mood to play.  So the new toys are here.  I've used that Imp Lament paddle, very lightly, on Him a couple of times, but other than that -- they are pristine, awaiting the day when we will have the time and energy to try them out.

swan