Siege V

Thursday after work headed out to site a bit earlier than I had planned. Got a canyou call from the Count. Got the stuff he needed gathered up and I got out the door.
Worked my troll shift which was rather quiet. Off and on busy but no big rushes. My replacement showed up and I decided to head back home. The bugs were out in force and I would have all weekend to catch up with people.
Del and Katsuo called to see if they could come over for a hot shower. Kol showed up about two seconds before they did. We ordered pizza since Kol was hungry. I didn't think I was until I started eating. We got some free molten lava chocolate cakes with our pizza order and they were super tasty.

Katsuo reminded me about the history channel show Holy Grail in America that he and Ajax were in. I set the DVR for Sunday night. If you get the chance to see it, the boys show up around 25 minutes in.

Friday Kol and I went for breakfast at Jones, got groceries and stuff at PRC outlet store (wal-mart). Headed out to site. It was a very nice day. Would have been a bit better if there was a breeze but it was nice to relax and work on projects.
Gave Hagan a bag of little ninjas. He and Roisin planned out battle stratagem with them.
Shadowes Company rocked out the BBQ Friday night. It was great to see Alistair and Kateryn there.

The torchlight tourney in honor of Ian McTawish. Rue had asked me to help run the list. Zahoorie heralded and I think we did okay. Katsuo proved victorious for the third year in a row. After the tourney went down to the Shadowes encampment with Kateryn and hung out there for awhile.
Rue and I were talking about Steve and the Greek. Doesn't that sound like a tv show? Anywho I decided that the boys really need SCA names. Steve showed up at that point so we could ask him what kind of persona he had. He is going for Viking. Svien has been trying to pin Finnbogi on someone for ages so Steve got dubbed Finnbogi. We couldn't think of any greek names at the moment but Kol suggested Lysandros. I think that works. Never did get around to telling Drake his new name. Hung out until super late and I believe it was 3 am when my head hit the pillow.

Saturday morning we had brunch of scones and egg bake at my apato. It was very tasty. Got cleaned up and headed out to site. Heavy weapons were having lots of fun in the corn when we got there.

It was another lovely day. More windy but it was nice to keep the bugs off. Visited with John and Caillie got a huge box of Nutty bars. People were very helpful in eating the nutty bars. :-)

Feast was porktastic. Lots of other good things too. Nailz, Seti and I headed back to the apato early since I was super tired. Guess we missed out on a wild night. I don't feel bad tho since I could hardly keep my eyes open.

Sunday more breakfast at Jones. Waved goodbye to Fiona, Seti and Nailz. It was fun hang out with everyone.

Kol and I hung out until I decided it was time to get the laundry done. Got to try out the new washers at the mat. Worked on glove pattern while we waited.

We ran out to Doris's to get walnuts for dye stuffs and then to the store again to get fixin's for lasagna. mmm it was good.

I took this morning off since I though it would be nice to have an extra day to sleep in. Was a good choice since the weather has turned.

Fall Coronation

After a super busy short week it was nice to run away again. Del had asked if I would like to head to Fargo early. Normally Friday afternoons are quiet so why not. Of course the universe seems to know when I am leaving early so after ton of phone calls (my phone hardly rings, its all email) I ditched out of work and headed to SF. Made it Delphina's. We loaded stuff into her car and then went over to Szchwan's for lunch. Yum!

The trip up was quick. Funny how a 4.5 hour drive is short. Made it to Toramassa and Una's around 6. Kol pulled up as we did. That was cool. Unloaded stuff and then headed off to Bennigan's for supper. Got introduced to the Wii. Played a few games including rock band. Video games are fun but I am glad I don't have them at home.

Made it site about a half an hour before court. Probably would have been there sooner if we hadn't had to wait for the long train.

I was honored to have a small part of the show, saying what it is to be King and Queen. Hopefully it sounded okay. Thank goodness for cheat sheets and little books to hide said cheat sheets.

Most of the day was spent enjoying the company and the weather. I had brought a project along but it was nice just to be.

The rose ceremony was simple and nice. Duchess Eleanor spoke of what it is to be a rose. Tatiana make a lovely Rose cloak. The Roses welcomed Ailleanne and gave presents.
This is what I gave.


Feast was very tasty. Lots and lots of food. By the third remove I was full. I did save room for applesauce and cookies.

After clean up we headed back to Toramassa's. Nice to put on the pajama pants. More Wil was played but I pooped out early because I could hardly keep my eyes open. Just as well since we had to get up before the crack of dawn. Del had to be back in SF by 11 to go to work. We were able to get up and on the road just before six. I told Del I could drive since she looked wiped out. Drive was good but foggy until we hit Sisseton where it magicly cleared up. I enjoyed driving her new Element. Very comfortable and roomy. Wouldn't mind having one myself.

Made it to SF in plenty of time and I headed on down the highway. Stopped by to see the parents since its kinda on the way home. Haven't seen them if a few weeks. Had lunch. Did laundry and naps. Other chores were accomplished as well.

This week I need to clean and prepare for impending company for Siege. Will be nice not to have to travel and be able to sleep at home.

Oh yeah I got a new Kingdom job...Web minister. Should be fun. Webstuff is fun and it will be similar to what I do in my everyday job so shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Gimli

Gah I forgot to post this! Its been a very busy week.

Last Thursday I bolted out of work. Nice to no have to think about it for 4 days. Picked up Svien in SF. We tootled up the highway and made it to Fargo around 11ish.
Eithni and TRM weren't there yet so we hung out at Perkins until they arrived.

Friday we got up late and then poked around downtown Fargo to find somewhere to eat. We ended up eating at the Pita Pit. Good but I have never seen them roll a pita like that before.
Eithni really wanted to go to the Hjemkost center so we played tourist. I never watched the movie about the viking ship last time I was up. LOl crazy 80's style. Don't miss those days.
We had a nice guided tour of the stave church. We looked around for a bit more and then hit the highway.
The boarder crossing wasn't too bad. Bit of a wait and Svien was a little coy about how many beers he had a long. But they let us cross without hinderance. The highways north of Winnipeg had heavy traffic. Everyone heading to the lake for the weekend.
We made it to Gimli about 7. We ate at the Europa, greasy spoon palace. Eithni and I both ordered cheese burgers and thats not really what we got. Burger buired in chili. i couldn't see much cheese. Moutain of fries. I think it was about 4 potatoes worth. It was good but not really what i was after.
Got to site and settled in. Went to war Court then hung out.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Made even better by french toast and snausages. mmmm. It was a nice morning to chill. I had asked Kol to bring her ball winder so I could ball up some skeins I had. Which was good since the yarn was a mess/a bit sticky or both. Took much less time with the winder than it would have done by hand. Now I have to decide what I am going to do with my snape, griffindor, and Irish wool yarn.

Court was lovely. Congrats to HE Doodie and HE Evil Eric!

The bugs were horrid in the evening so the Perudo set was pulled out and more victims were sucked into the fun. Thunderbunny was victorious for both rounds.

Sunday was more of the same. Knitting, enjoying the sunshine, grumbling about bugs, doing the flail to keep them off. I got fed up with them late afternoon and decided it was time for a nap. Huzzah for screened in cabins. After supper I tagged along with Johann and family to get ice cream in town. Such a nice treat!

Monday was the sad day to pack up and leave. The trip home was rather uneventful. We had a super quick stop at the border. Made it home late which made for a sleepy Tuesday.

Previously in the Kingdom of Doom...

So yeah the slacker blogging continues... Let's see... what's been going down...

John and Red Caillie came down to have supper with Hagan and I at the the end of July. We went to Chae's. We had a lovely supper and I got Irish yarn and an interesting book mark. ;-)

My Gran had her 93rd birthday. We had a big party for her at my cousin's house. Good food and good times. Her house is fabo. Who knew they made screens that can be velcroed around the garage door opening so you can have a impromptu porch. Pretty cool!

I started watching Burn Notice. I love spy shows.

I had talked to Jess and Rue a few weeks about going to Mankato for St. Radegund's Fair. Markov (Phillip) had the weekend off and wanted to go too.

Last Friday Jess and I drove up to Markov and Rue's. As much as I love getting up at 5 am to drive 4 hours, driving half way to Mankato and staying over at friends house is a better option. Rue was doing some sewing so it was a good chance for me to re-hem my white linen under dress and Jess did some more hand sewing on HRH's under dress. After sewing we watched Ken Branagh's Much ado about Nothing. Couldn't believe that they hadn't seen it before! Hit the hay after that.

Saturday we got up around my normal work week and we got ready and headed out. We took the Hannan truck so no extra driving for me. We got to site around 10:30. Its a huge place just a bit south of Mankato. The site is at the end of this tree lined road that is pretty but could be creepy, hell in the winter I bet. Inside jokes about Wisconsin werewolves, vampires and getting killed in the woods easily came to mind.

We got trolled in and then hung out with some of the nordskogenites. They had a nice spot in the shade to sit. You could see archery and fighting. It was quiet humid and people got melty melty if you moved too much. Watched the fighting for a bit but then went back up the hill since the breeze was better. Checked out the A&S exhibits. Lots of nice stuff. Probably would have sat in on the judging but it was nicer to be outside. kathysmurf showed up around 4ish on her way back to CO. Kathy was going to stay over in SF but I told her she could just as well follow me home and stay at my house. An hour closer and we could probably catch up with Hagan on Sunday.

Late afternoon got very hot and miserable. We got out of there around 6. We stopped along the way home to get pizza and then headed back. Kathy wanted to stop by to see Mr. Funk so we did but then we had to deal with construction woes trying to get out of town. Stupid construction. Blocked my escape from SF!!! Curses. Made it out tho and then home to bed.

We had talked to Hagan to see if he wanted to do breakfast. He did. Katsuo and Del came along since they were staying at Hagan's working on stuff over the weekend. We ate and then I headed home to do laundry and nap.

Going to Omaha for work trip thursday. Hopefully it won't be super hot. My Mp3 player is all charged so I should be good to go for the road hours.

Viking Village

I have been a real slacker about posting. Summer laziness. That's my excuse for not writing.

Earlier on this summer Jess had asked me if I was interested in going with her to the Viking Village fest at the Hjemkost Center in Moorhead. I have always wanted to go see it but normally when I think about it, I am on my way to or from an event. Not the best time to stop. So when she asked I said yeah that sounds fun.

In the meantime, a pin on one of my viking brooches broke and that just a good excuse to order a new set from Raymond's, right?

We drove to Fargo early Saturday morning and made it to the center by noon. They have booths set up doing all sorts of viking crafts and selling things. Danr had his forge set up and of course there is fighting, people were dyeing, weaving, you name it. Jess and I settled in with Kol and Arbon at the welcome/show and tell table. We had a nice sewing circle in between visitors. It was a lovely day to be outside. Wandered around a bit and took pictures of the church. It makes me want to re-visit the one in Rapid.

The fair wrapped up at 6pm Saturday night. Volunteers were treated to salad, pizza and ice cream. Some people went to see Harry Potter and some were hanging out around the fire at site. I opted to stay at site but my energy crashed after sunset. Was only interested in going to sleep. Watched people play after dark boccie ball. Arbon has two sets that light up. A bit mind blowing if you are tipsy. Finally it was declared time to go to sleep and we headed off to Toramassa's for bed. We pretty much hit pillows shortly after getting in the door.

Sunday the village was open Noon to 4. Bayard had arranged to have a church service for the volunteers in the stavekirk. Bayard's brother ran the service and he talked about what it was like for the early Christians. Very nice.

Sunday afternoon was a little hotter than Saturday and I don't think they got as many people as they hoped. It was still nice to sit out and enjoy the weather. Things wrapped up at 4. Jess and I got our gear packed and headed off. All and all it was fun and a good time.

More pictures are on my flickr page.

Moorish Tavern

Go away for 4 days and everyone becomes Russian novelists! Sheeshh. Took forever to catch up on facebook and email but I think I am through it all. Still need to catch up on recorded tv.

I had a good trip with Tom and Heidi. We left Vermillion around 8 am on Thursday. Picked up Heidi in SF and didn't stop until Fargo for gas and lunch. The trip past Grand Forks was interesting. I had never been up that way before. We counted graineries. We made good time and got to site around 7. Checked in, dumped off stuff and went to Bottineau for supper. We stopped at the Pizza Inn for Mexican food. Its pretty good. I had a quesadilla that was about the size of a small pizza! It was at the restaurant where Heidi got two texts that Micheal Jackson was dead. Crazy that. We ate and headed back to site. We bummed around a bit, got our beds made and such. Sat around in the dorms. They have big cabin doors kind of like the ones at Gimli but no stairs and more beds. I found a bed that wasn't a bunk. Yay no bonking of heads. The bed was softer than I am used to so that was an adjustment and I am always concerned I am going to roll over and out of bed since i am used to my full size bed. We went to bed early since it had been a long old day and we had two days to visit with everyone.

Friday morning we got up and went into town for breakfast at the Family bakery. Its a nice homey place. I like it because they have fried potatoes!! I purchased some donuts on the way out. So miss the donut shop that used to be in Vermillion. Then we stopped the grocery and walmart for a few things. Headed back to site and I got in a shower and got garb on. Spent most of the day in the dining hall hanging out with people and knitting a bit. Trying to think what else I did but mostly sit around. Late afternoon got talking to Tiff about Seneschal stuff. She is our regional seneschal. She was thinking of convincing the Bismark group to put in a bid to host spring crown. She asked if I would come along for support. Sure why not and besides nice to go visit. Anyway after the discussion was over, I hung out and got delicious brownies and ice cream that they made with dry ice. During this it started to rain. Hung out there for a bit and then when it finally stopped went back up to the dining hall and Kol arrived. By then, Heidi and Tom wanted to go to dinner so we all went down the road a bit to one of the lake restaurants. It was okay. No great shakes but food good. Went back and hung about in the dining hall.

Saturday was super lazy and laid in bed for a long time. Ate donuts that never got around to eating. Still good so you know the bakery is kick ass. Got dressed and up. Hung out more in the feast hall with peeps. Handed over one of my hats for the silent auction. Figured it was for a good cause. Saturday we basically hung out, watched it rain, and hung out some more. Got to see Robin's staples. Wow ouchies. Feast was very tasty. Much good food. After feast we hung out, drinking and telling of old stories.

Sunday drive home was uneventful. We had breakfast at the Family Bakery and then stopped in Grand Forks for a bit of a rest. Dropped Heidi off and got back to Verm about 8.

This week should be short. Today I have off to recover from my trip and I have Friday off due to the fourth. Yay for 3 day weeks!

Catch up and Bardic Madness

To say the doldrums of summer has set in would be a vast understatement. The last couple of weeks there has been bupkiss to write about so I haven't. Work has left me rather bereft of good thoughts so ehhh. Mental doldrums and insomnia hasn't helped either but it will work itself out sooner or later.

On a better note Bardic Madness was in Sioux Falls this weekend and that was rather fun. Hagan and Asa rode up with me. Not a whole lot of people but a good time none the less. It was good to see everyone who came. Challenges were fun to listen too and I participated in a few. Painted a scroll blank, visited and basically hung out. Feast was Russian themed and very good. Several people were super excited. Things got cleaned up and most everyone headed over to Rick's in Brandon for the post revel. Spent a few hours there. After the fire dancing was done, several people insisted I stay for that, Asa and I went home.

Pictures of the event are posted on my flickr page.

Sunday was Father's Day and went home to see Dad and the rest of the fam. My niece was staying the weekend so things had been busy there. Everyone else must have been tired too since a hour or so after dinner everyone was taking a nap. I decided to be a sheep and have one too. Nice and cool down the basement.

Hot and stormy this week. Very glad the AC at home and work is working just fine. Yay for that.

Quest

Ah still tired from the weekend. Quest was a lot of fun. Kol didn't get to Verm until super late so we didn't head out to Rapid until late Thursday morning. That was okay because we were able to score fresh out of the oven french loaves from Jones.

It was a nice cool day for traveling. No big excitements or mishaps. Got to Rapid around 5 mt time, went to Eileen's Cookies (best cookies EVAR!) and went to see Fiona's new yarn shop. Very cool. Had Greek food with Fiona and then got supplies and headed out to site. We got settled in our cabin and then wandered around until late.

Friday was a cold and wet day. It rained off and on and wasn't very nice to hang around outside. We had hot scones for breakfast. After breakfast Hagan and I went up to TRM cabin to see what they were doing. It was nice to chat inside where it was warm. Wandered a bit after that and gave out my hat stash. I knew it was going to be cold so figured I would drag them along. Supplies now depleted. Poked around in the merchants after lunch but then it started to rain so ducked into Fiona's cabin. The rain stopped and I headed back home for a nap. Good day for it. Late afternoon the sun came out but it was still quiet chilly. Ate dinner with the girls and Tom and then watched the torchlight tourney. The finals was Katsuo vs Ajax with Katuso winning. Hung out there for a bit. Had my first taste of Frog from the Outlands cabin. Very tasty but very dangerous since its like cool aid. I was tired by then, the cold wasn't helping so I went back to the cabin. Wasn't there long before we had company. I guess people wanted to bring the party indoors. It was nice to seeRob and Becca again. I kicked everyone out eventually. I couldn't keep conscious.

Saturday was a much nicer day. A bit cool but at least sunny. Delphina's squireing took place in the morning before the fighting. It was very nice. Kol and I got our chairs and picked out a spot to watch the fighting. Everyone was enjoying the day. Watched HRM do her heavy weapons authorization. Congrats on that! Most of the afternoon was spent on the porch watching fighing, sewing and visiting. The porch is awesome since you can see quite a lot from upstairs. Court was 5ish and then afterwards we went to the resturant for prime rib. Ate way too much. Retained a bit for TRM and wandered around camp and ended up at the Outlands cabin. They are a lot of fun. Will have to hang out there a bit more next year.

Sunday we lazily packed up and tried to get everyone to eat the rest of our food. "Does anyone want bacon" gets a huge response. Trip home was good. A bit windy towards the end. Had supper at Chevy's Fresh Mex in SF. Too much food. Next time I am getting a quesadilla and a whole bunch the corn side dish. Got home around 8. Hagan came over and we watch Tropic Thunder. Was glad I had already seen it since I had a hard time paying attention. Kol liked it tho.

Kol headed off after breakfast today. I bummed around and got my laundry together. Totally forgot to buy clothes soap when we were at Jones for breakfast. Doh! Got that done tho. Still have to put some things away. Nap was had and now contemplating going to see Star Trek. hmmm.

Spring Crown

Crown was a blast! Congrats to Liz and Zig!

Trip up was good. Picked Svien up in SF and Rue in Adrian. Rue had offered to drive and I never say no to that. It rained most of the way up and it was a bit hard to see. I was glad I wasn't driving. I am way overdue for an eye exam. Night driving is not the best right now. We made it to the hotel about when I expected. We hung out for awhile and waited for Kol to show up.

Saturday we leisurely got ready and headed off to site. So nice not to have to hurry up and get there.

Picked up wool crack that I have purchased from Eithni. Jess I have yours. Are you coming to Quest?

Completed step one of my currier dutes for super secret project 854. Hopefully I won't forget about step 2.

Most of the day spent wandering around talking to people. Spent some quality time in Cassandra 's spot. View was mostly people's backs so we didn't get to see much fighting but it was good for people wandering past. Hung out a bit at the list table so I could get updates since I was in high distracted mode and didn't pay full attention to the tourney.

Got two Kingdom Level job offers. One I am considering and the other would probably give me anxiety the size of texas so I am going to pass.

Had fun hanging out with the Roses during the finals. My first time doing that.

Ablalard had a good description of the tourney. Couldn't of said it better myself.

Court was good. Love Vidi's scroll. How awesome is that?

Favorite moment was the day was right before leaving Ilya was playing with some kids. I walked past and he straitened up and said to the kids oh we have to behave its the Countess. I laughed and said you don't have to behave for me. One of the kids came up to me and said Countess can I give you a hug? How can you say no to that. I said of course. Its the little things thath make your day.

A bunch of us headed off to the Outback for supper and then back to the hotel to celebrate Astrid's birthday and to celebrate with Zig and Liz. Yay throwback Mt. Dew and drinks made by Svien.

Sunday we headed off to have breakfast at IKEA and to poke around. I got some wooden hangers because you can't go to IKEA and not get something. Also went to the fabric mecca of SR Harris for the first time. Wow is all i can say. Didn't get anything but good to know where it is.

Trip home was good. Rue and Svein drove and I took a little nap. Have not been able to sleep much lately. Dropped Rue off and Svien and I got back to SF around 6. We had talked about going to see Star Trek but I only had the energy to eat and drive home. We went to Szchwans on Minnesota. So tasty. I wish we had one in Vermillion. Headed home after eating. Nothing exciting there. Was glad to sleep in my own bed.

Be busy week. Got to get things rounded up and ready to go for Quest. Will be leaving sometime on Thursday. Will be nice to have a few days to relax in the Hills. Hopefully the weather will be good. If not, we can play perudo in the cabin.

Favorite pics from the weekend. Taken by Shava. I had my camera but only took about 3 pictures.



First one would be better if I weren't bitting my lips.

Ides of March or More yarn junkies than fighters

Ides was a good time despite the small crowd.

Hagan and I drove up to Huron Friday night to crash with Kol and Fiona. We got there later than expected since we ended up stopping in Sioux Falls to have supper with Del and Katsuo.

We got a poolside room at the super 8. Who would ever think of putting 3 queen size beds in a room. It would be nice if more hotels did. It only cost a little more than a two bed room. No one had to sleep on the floor and we had a mini fridge. Milk and cookies, anyone?

Saturday, We got to site fairly early since Hagan wanted to fence. Turned out it was just him and Aethelflad. I got to roll the dice of fate for them. Dice rolls would determine what weapon style. Hagan won that. Not sure if they did 5 out of 7 or 7 out of 11. They had fun

Most of the day was spent doing yarn activities. Kol brought me some nice alpaca and mohair. So soft.

After lunch the fighters did some authorizations and had their tourney. I taught a few more people how to play perudo. Miss counted a dice on a round and got scolded for not being able to count. Funk came to my defense saying I was Queen of Love and beauty not Math and Science. Lol. Every one enjoyed the game. We played a couple of rounds and Rachel got me back for soundly beating her at Lupercalia.

There were few entries in the A&S Throwdown but all were very well done. Svien won the competition with his wire weave necklace.

Later in the afternoon, Kol and I ran back to the hotel to get a few forgotten things, mostly feast gear. On the way back I stopped at DQ to get an ice cream cone which spurred a mass ice cream run when we got back. DQ is two blocks from site. Hopefully it didn't spoil anyone's supper.

Feast was Greek. Very yummy. The baklava was especially nice.

After clean up, we headed back to the hotel for pool time and hanging out.

Sunday we got up early since Fiona wanted to get home before it started to snow in Rapid. We had breakfast at Marlins and then everyone hit the road. Hagan and I stopped in Sioux Falls to do a little shopping and get some armor measurements for Chris St. Pierre. Hagan is making him armor. We stopped by to see Ajax for a bit and then headed home. We got home around 4ish.

Pictures of the event are up on facebook and on my flickr page.

Lupercalia

Being sick takes all enthusiasm for blogging right out. So highlights version of the weekend.

Wind in SD is often worse than the snow.

Going to the bathroom at Granite City is like playing frogger. You are the frog, waitstaff are the cars. Who puts the bathroom by the kitchen door? Nothing but trouble.

Its never too cold for Culver's Custard.

Minnesota is the land of ice and snow. I am glad I live in SD.

Breaks and ice are not a good combo. Thanks car in front of me. I almost slide in the ditch.

The event was fun. We got little bunnies and rings for tokens. If anyone knows how they made the rings let me know. I would like to makes some as personal tokens. I am a ring junkie.

Anywho, retained for Her Majesty. She had some lovely fabric she was making into a apron dress. We watched the Buschkazi which was less frenzied than last year.

Taught Rachel, Jess and Kaia how to play perudo. We played two games of that. The second game was a bit cutthroat that came down to two die. I somehow pulled the win. It was awesome.

Before court, took the girls with Sir Tom to meat market around the corner. Meat sticks for everyone.

Court and feast was fun. Spent most of feast telling old SCA stories.

The drive home was much better. There were a few slippery spots but not many. I was quiet glad I had planned to stay in SF Saturday night instead of driving home. I don't think I could have stayed awake.

Sunday we got up late and then went out to lunch. We called Svien to see if he wanted to go if he had any "For the Good of the Land" CDs for the girls to buy. We had a tasty lunch at Dynasty then shopping. We hit the bead store, yarn store, Shopko for blank CDs and World Market for treats. Jess got her CD and I headed home.

Hertzkrieg

Hertzkrieg went off quite well. We had about 75 people in attendance and around 20 fighters. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Lots of fighting, heavy and light and much fiber activity. Svien resumed his duties as champion of doom. He didn't win but somehow I ended up sitting at head table anyway. Feast was good even tho we didn't have rabbit this year. The homemade sausage and sirloin roast certainly made up for it. The Toms also made cookies which were awesome!

Photos are up on my flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/blancmange/sets/72157613521037229/

Favorite picture is this one.

Its Only a Flesh Wound II

Weekend was good. Friday I got up early and got all my chores done. I even had time to stop at parental units to pick up my clothes package. My mom had called the day before to ask when I was going to be able to get my pants. It was mostly an issue since I am probably not going to be home for a couple of weeks. It dawned me I had time to swing by and pick them up before heading to Sioux Falls. Did that and then on the way up decided to call Jessica to see if she wanted to do lunch. She had been having one of those boring weeks that needed a pick me up. Didn't know if she would call me back but she did and we met at the Golden Bowl for Chinese. Yummy. Nice to chat with her in person.

Headed up to Al's apato and we got loaded and headed out. Trip out was uneventful. Got to Madison about 8. Found Eithni's house and they had supper waiting. Tamales and Mexican soup. Muy delicioso. I had planned to stay with Kristen and James so after supper headed out to Lake Mills. It was a bit strange since I have never driven Svien's car before but made it with no trouble.

Got up on Saturday and headed to site. Got there around 9. I managed to score rockstar parking. woot. Got all my stuff in and settled. Ended up hanging out with Marwen, Green Jenny, Samia and Thora for the majority of the day. Basically sat around visited, knitted and unraveled the mess that my skeins of yarn had become. Thanks to everyone who helped with that. I am sure it looked quite comical. Jenny made me a pattern fur Norse hats. I will have to dig out fabric and see if I can get one made this week. Will have to find some fur but I think I can get it mostly done.

After the event was over ended up going to Thora's for supper. Kristen was going home to crash and said she wouldn't be good company. A bunch of people were going to the Brazilian buffet place but after being sick the previous weekend I didn't think it would be a good idea to ingest that much meat.

Picked Svien up late sunday morning. We had lunch with Eithni at a Lareado's for more yummy Mexican and then headed out. Trip home was okay. Hagan called around 6 to say they were having a freak snow storm. Great. Got to SF around 8. Called Hagan to see what the weather scoop was. It was clear as a bell in SF. He said it had passed so I hit the road. Everything was fine until I hit the bizzaro weather curtain in Bersford. Snow was on the road and it was icy in spots. There were several sand trucks out and someone had gone in the ditch somewhere around Union County Park. I didn't have any trouble since I know how to drive in icy conditions. Made it home around 9 .

All and all a fun event and well worth the trip. This week I need to get things cleaned up at home since I will be having company for Hertzkrieg.

Photos from Its a Flesh Wound

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blancmange/sets/72157613310903846/

Daria has been bugging me to get pictures of my project up on Ravelry. So while I waited for my cake to bake last night I played around with my camera. www.flickr.com/photos/blancmange/sets/72157613311116568/

Yes, I have posted them to Ravelry too.

Calontir 12th Night

Saturday morning Hagan showed up early to help me unstick the sliding door. Somehow it gets temperamental and doesn't like to open in the winter. Svien, Eithni and Morton came down from Sioux Falls and they said the roads were okay. So we loaded the stuff in my van and hit the road. It was raining a bit. Just enough to ice on the car but the roads were mostly fine. It was interesting to see the antenna ice up and then melt as we traveled south.

We got to Omaha around 11:30. Got everything unloaded and then I lost everyone for a bit. Got dressed, stashed my gear downstairs and then went looking for everyone. Figured the guys were getting ready for the fighting. Ran into Countess Jane. We chatted and admired each other's coronet.

Swung by the Northshield Royalty room but no one was about so went upstairs to watch fighting and knit. It wasn't too long before TRMs, Duncan, Seonaid, and Eithni came to watch too. Watched fighting for awhile and then went downstairs with Eithni to check out the silent auction. They had some nice things available. Many books. I didn't bid on anything since I have restricted myself from getting new stuff until the majority of stuff I already have is organized and not all over the apato. I have been looking for a new hat box since my current one isn't the greatest option. They had several cool boxes available but nothing that would work. Eithni showed me her's which is a cookie tin. Turns out I have had the perfect tin at home. Now I just need to find somewhere to stash my sewing notions.

Sat in the A&S room until they shooed us out so they could set up tables for feast. Ended up visiting with TRMs in the Royalty Room since all the activities were winding down. Hagan said he had seen Tara and she was looking for me so visited with her and ended up sitting with her during court. I got in some quality baby snuggling with baby Jacob. After court I had found out that I had missed out on bad peer in the balcony. Hagan had met up with last year's Calontir Royals.

Took awhile before everyone was ready to roll out for dinner with Tera, Jesse and kids. During the day it was fairly icy in town. The roads were slick in town but it wasn't too bad underfoot. I made Hagan drive to Indigo Joe's since hills and ice make me nervous. Dinner was good but it was hard to hear in the sports bar. After supper we debated if we wanted to stay in Omaha or head home. Everyone was in the mood to go home so we decided to brave it. The roads home weren't too bad. They had done a good job salting the roads. Ramps and bridges were a bit scary but we made it. Saw 3-4 cars in the ditch south of Sioux City so sometime during the day it had been crappy. We made it home safe and sound and I was glad to crawl into my own bed.