Hi there! Busy weekend. Busy week, too!

Well, I am tired. And more so than the usual running around on the weekend or long hours at work kinda weekend... I was in charge of an SCA event this past Saturday. It was a kingdom event that hosted the tournament that chose our next king and queen by right of arms - and we ain't talking boffer swords here, folks!

I heard it was great, again and again, but then added would be "too bad about the weather though..." There are so many nice people willing to share how much fun they're having. I think I have said before how so many nice people ten dto graviate to this recreational activity. Thankfully the stress and planning and work done during the two months prior is made all worthwhile on the actual day. Not that I was able to enjoy as everyone else did very much, with all the running around I did. But, then again, I did enjoy it in a weird kinda way, knowing that so many (nearly 300 people!) were enjoying themselves despite the crazy rain.

So I have been busy, and I have not any pictures of any of it either. Sadly so! I was apparently too busy to remember to remove my camera from it's case to document the day that I have been furiously planning for the past couple weeks. Yep, no pics of the rain rain rain pouring upon many smiling faces. No photos of all the beautiful garb (costumes) getting soaked by some form of wetness - it was light mist if it wasn't an actual outright downpour. None of all the pomp and pageantry, all the great canvas tents and gentle folk lining the tournament field, watching, cheering. Yeah, and no pictures either of good ole mother nature's funny side sending beautiful bright blue sunshine filled skies both of the days that sandwiched the event's full day of overcast precipitation every(!) second(!). But fear not, I was not too busy to get a fogged-lensed movie of Dan, aka Asgar, receiving an award for his notable fighting ability during Court after the tournament was over :) But, sadly, the one time I actually bring out my camera, the battery died!!

So we are recovering and recuperating, without pics! Yes, me, Dan, the boys, the house with pets, et al. I have yet to get as much sleep as I need - well, it's only been two days! Ahem, apparently the regular ole ten hours isn't enough for catching up! lol

And, as you know, there's no rest for the weary - or is it no rest for the wicked?! :) We ran out of steam fast today, trying to clean up the aftermath of my attention being elsewhere for the past week. So now the house is only partially clean. It will have to be finished tomorrow morning, as well as a birthday cake being baked, balloons will be filled... because dah dah dah dah DAH DAHHH! Connor and Rael's TENTH birthday is tomorrow!
Ten years already! A very particular and specifically described "dirt cake" will be created with worms inside (make sure you use the gruesomest drawn out 'ew" in our head when you use your reading in your head voice, please). "Dirt" on top of the PB and chocolate frosting... Gummy wors inside with whatever other confectionary sweet and sugary junk food candy that will 'go with' the entire "dirt" theme, I guess. Do you have any other ideas as to what I can put inside? Perhaps a couple of those thin pretzel rods for branches or something? Eh?

Then Wednesday we get to have everyone local to SCA over - once we had over thirty people in this tiny house! Since the shire foot the bill, we might as well enjoy the leftovers of the medieval feast. How about coming over if you can? 6pm the 25plus pounds of pulled pork will be ready. Honey carrots, pumpkin, apple-berry pastries, warm bread pudding... We even have enough apples to try bobbing for apples! Remember the Charlie Brown Halloween special? For some reason whenever I think of bobbing for apples, I think of that particular cartoon. Dunno why. It probably doesn't even have the kids bobbing for apples either...

I will make certain that my camera batteries are fully charged tomorrow! Please return for more fun and games, and cake and presents for Connor and Rael, on another rainy day in upstate NY! Yeah!

Creative outburst, you say?

So you know that my family are SCAdians, eh? Well, here is what I have been stitching these past few days. This is Asgar's newest fighting tunic (blue twilled linen with white wool appliqued on each arm). Highly addictive project, as it goes well with travel (work) *and* requires only nearly total attention (as in, I can watch the TV or the kids do homework).



This is three different batches of soap. Two are all vegetable, one is with lard as one of the three oils, all are all-naural and sooo smooth when you use it :) The dark brown flecked soap has lavender essential oil and ground lavender buds, but surprisingly is not overly aromatic. The light brown flecks is lavender EO and ground oatmeal soap. I used only 1/4 oz scent per batch (less than the 1 - 2 oz the recipe called for). The rounded soaps are bergamont (orange) scented, but only barely. The soap was ready to pour before all of the scent was able to get into it. Ah well. It is still awesome home made soap!


And lastly, below is today's latest project as of this morning. Back to the medieval thing again: this is the sugar confectionary desserty art display/sculpture for after feast consumption. (Yes, say that all in one breath, please.) It's called a 'subtlety' in the SCA. In my house I call it a Christmas present for family and friends! Especially since it can be flavored anything and be stiff or creamy, as per choice. (No peanut gallery comments on that last description, please :)

This particular project will be painted with colored and dark chocolate. And one tiger will be affixed to each crown point (to reflect the crowns of the king and queen of the East Kingdom). What you see is about only three pounds of the stuff (mint flavored fondant). I have another four pounds of the stuff to find something to do with it. I know that food coloring will be added as I have only so much chocolate in the house (suprisingly more than you'd think though :)



Last, but not least - as it entails my children, eh! Below is a picture of one of the favors that I made for the youth fighters for my local group's last event in July. It is made from yellow(!) leather and purple and green seed beads embroidered on. A belt goes thru the top so it can hang displayed. Rael and Connor and another from the local group each got one for being so awesomely honorable, chivalrous and above all having fun during the torchlight tournament.

Yes, the kids really do fight, as in boffer weapons (sword, polearm, Rael has a pole axe!) with armor, at night, under an 8' propane fueled torch, during a SCA event. To cool, eh? I would have loved being in the SCA when I was a kid!! I am lucky to be a part of it as an adult, even so. Otherwise, I'd probably be one of those "crazy" quilters or knitters, at least someone with afgans up to her eyeballs by now... LOL At least now I am only a crazy medieval re-enactor :P

Rael's ticket-prize haul

Even tho I am interested in posting a picture of the boys at the top of the St. Augustine light house (will find it on the 'puter and post it next!)... It has a very eerie wisp trailing across the camera lens in front of the kids who are obliviously smiling for the camera.

So when we go to the arcades - as this is done only when we go to the family beach vacation -we go a little bit nearly every evening (as little as possible, if I had my choice - but, hey, the kids love it!). Many tickets are torn off from the machine slot, by each my three children (as well as the other kids who may be tagging along to our group :) So we have a ton on every horizontal surface in our bedroom where we stay.

Before the very end, the day or two before we plan to leave, we count up the tickets, divide by three :) It is amazing how little all those tickets actually get at the prize counter. The kids, especially little man Gavin, our resident junk foodie, like to get candy. It is also amazing how you could go around the coner to the salt water taffy shop next door and buy eighteen pounds for the same cost that was spent on the games... Ah well. The frivolity of vacation, I guess.

So below is Rael's haul: a small plastic rainbow slinky and the whizzing green lips...



And the next:


He thinks he's so funny! Annoyed by Mommy taking all kinds of pics. But he *is* cute for nine years old!



All three got these lovely whizzing lips. There is still one of those floating around the house nowadays. Lovely toy - not. But the kids have fun with it and it's not too bad, really. I would prefer that they fiddle with a harmonica, as it is much more musical for just breathing in and out - thanks again for the great Xmas presents last year, Auntie Kathleen! :)

Ok I will heed the masses... er, two people ;)

This is dedicated to my fans out there... Joe and Kathleen, both family and friend :)
Rael's heart-attack-on-a-plate-face whilst at Hampton Beach. Last meal before we left...


Yep, we were already packed away in the car. All we needed was to get our (as in Dan and my) perfectly-fried, last-time-of-the-season-getting-really-fresh-seafood-on-the-boardwalk "fix."

Gee, there seems to be lots of those hyphenated sayings going on here. What the-! lol



Below is a crew of kids, eh? That is actually missing two more kids! These are friends/children of friends who we met whilst living in the mountains north of our current residential location. Wow, I guess you *are* a product of your parents- that was totally my dad just then!
Anyway, these lovely people we see at least yearly when we visit the beach, as they have since moved to NH and then ME (and about to become MA) that is about only 45 minutes from where we usually stay. It is nice to see them whenever we do - as it is wonderful to see any friend after a long time between visits...

I have great photos of each of these very same children (or more) holding a sword, standing with a pirate, poised for a photo-op pour moi, all the while out in front of a seafood store, too. Go figger, uhya.



This is Rael, Ellie, Connor, Gavin and Tate all about five minutes after being given a super large lollipop from a salt water taffy store on the boardwalk... Looks like trouble, huh? :D Apparently the day on the beach did not wear out these guys the least little bit!