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.