2002-10-14 - 11:08 a.m.
Good morning world, and hello Autumn!!!
I woke up this morning cold. I was actually cold! After suffering through months and months of being just a little too warm, being a little too cold is a welcome change.
I love fall. I love the change that the world goes through. Everything starts slowing down, things begin to get a bit quieter, all of the effin mosquitoes and flies dies off! With the change of the season, the change of the weather, I find myself missing my old home in Black Diamond. There is nowhere else in Virginia that is as beautiful in the fall. When I first moved to that area, my freshman year as a Hokie, I remember seeing a shirt that stated �God must be a Hokie, cause every year he makes the world Maroon and Orange�. Never had I seen a more true statement. In the fall, tucked back in the Appalachian (Blue Ridge) mountains, the world does indeed turn maroon and orange. And that ever-present cold wind blows down off Brush Mountain and tears across campus, kicking up leaves, turning cheeks red, and bringing with it the smell of�well fall. Sigh�I really miss South West Virginia this time of year. Here in Norfolk, things just sortta turn brown. People become a bit crankier, the City becomes a bit more gray, and fall quickly slips unnoticed into winter.
This past weekend as I am sure many folks will write about was bunches of fun. I think that the best way to sum things up is in the latest trend of a best and worst list (sides I am a sucker for lists these days).
The 5 BEST things about Crusades:
1. Genevieve being elevated to a peer. Everything about this was so very neat. To start with, she had no idea it was coming, so when the King led a small (30 or so) group of up to fetch her from the MOL tent, Gen�s look of surprise was priceless. For those you who didn�t get a chance to see it, the vigil site was beautiful. Mistress Isobel (oh God I know that I am spelling her name wrong aren�t I. If I have I am so sorry) laid out a most impressive spread of homemade goodies. Tarts, and cheeses and cookies, and a pie looking thing with Gen�s flur-d-lee in the middle of it, and brandy with wine, and wine with brandy, and the list goes on and on! All I can say is�WOW! And oooohhhh was it good too. And then there was the dress that Mistress Thjora made, and the belt that Countess Bera wove, and the Cloak and Hood that Mistress Theodora made�and the list goes on and on. You guys did a Bang up job! The vigil, those of you who spoke for her in court�Yall make me proud to call you friend. I can only imagine how Genevieve must have felt.
2. Evja being elevated to the ranks of the nobility (Award of Arms). It is always a wonderful feeling to be around when your friends get awards. And I have to give her a big ole pile of points for being so hard core too. Little did His Majesty know that Evja had jammed her little finger really really bad just a week before. After the award was given, Cuan took Evja by the hands to help her up, but little did he know of her injured finger. Evja said even though he only had her hand for a few seconds it seemed like forever to her the pain was so intense�but ya know, she didn�t utter a peep. She didn�t even alter her expression (A GIANT BIG OLE SMILE!). Talk about poise under adverse conditions. You spared your sovereign what could have been potentially an embarrassing situation in front of so many people. More people could take lessons from you.
3. Learning to Card Weave from Countess Bera. Yes I am a blacksmith, but does that mean that I should not try to learn about the other arts? Sides it was a good excuse to spend time with a buddy mine that lives much to far away. I have to tell ya, it really wasn�t as hard as I had thought it would be. Granted Bera had the projects already set up, all I had to do was turn cards and weave. But I was cool none the less. Hehe�Bera even played up to my guyness, and instead of tiding my project to a table like she did everyone else, she let me use tools to do it instead! (I got to use a c-clamp!). The class was fun, but I have to admit, I did feel a bit lost. Many of the other ladies that were taking the class already understood weaving, and were just broadening their knowledge base. I on the other hand (even though I once worked in a textile factory) knew little to nothing about the art. That was ok though. Both Bera and the other ladies in the class suffered through my questions like troopers, and in the end I learned that while weaving is cool and all, it would be better if I could use a hammer to do it.
4. Meeting new people! I spent a fair amount of time hanging out with Dee-Dee (Woo Hoo! I can now put a face with the diary!) and the Baroness of Sacred Stone. Wow, what a fun couple of ladies! It is always great to meet new folks in the SCA. It keeps a person young, and it keeps the SCA fresh. Also, being an ex-Baron it is always fun to spend time talking, and hanging out with people who are currently �doing time� as a landed Baron or Baroness. It brings back memories of the good times that I had while I was Baron, and it gives them a chance to bounce thoughts, ideas, and what not off of someone who has been there, and understands things first hand. It is really kinda cool.
5. Seeing old friends! I got the opportunity to see folk that I have not seen in quite a while. Often times this is the deciding factor for going to events for me. I know that without a doubt there will be someone there who I have not seen in quite a while, and it is always nice to refresh those friendship bonds.
6. I am sure there is much more that I am forgetting�and there is much more that I could ramble on about as well�but for the sake of time and space I will stop here.
Crusades�the Worst:
1. The drive. I don�t where to begin�I started my trip at 6pm Friday night. Went out to the Beach to pick up Evja (her boyfriend needed her car, so we made the trip in the SHO), and by 6:45 we were headed out of town�and it was raining. Rain is never conducive to road trips. People get stupid, and scared. Folks stop and slow down for no good reason, they drive so slow they become a hazard, and of course rain and darkness always put that extra bit of strain on your eyes. I knew the trip up to the site was going to go poorly when I hit my first parking lot outside of the tunnel. It too us 45 minutes to get to the other side of the water. Sigh�I hate the tunnel. It always seems to be backed up whenever I want to leave the area (oddly enough, that is not ever the case when I return ). After that irritation I figured things would be clear sailing to Richmond�Oh was I ever mistaken. At Fort Eustis (Useless) 64 again became a parking lot. But this time it was much much worse. Lucky for me I had grown up in the Williamsburg area, and knew a way around the back up. So after creeping along for another half an hour, I finally made it to an exit, and bailed from the mess (there was a good point here. Evja and I stopped at Pierces BBQ for dinner instead of a nasty burger joint!). After heading down rt. 60 all the way to Toano ( a good 15 almost 20 miles) I hopped back on to 64 for clean sailing all the way to Richmond. As we got closer to Richmond, Evja and I started discussing alternate routes to avoid the road block on 95 (thanks to the sniper�I hope they catch you soon you bastard�and feed you piece by piece to a bunch of pigs, while you are still alive). After a bit of discussion about this, we decided that we were already so far behind schedule that we might as well just take the easy route, and stay on 95. Unfortunately I had gotten all sorts of alternate directions together but I had left my simple ones at home�doh! That is ok though�I know how to get to Baltimore, and after that I figured that we would just give one of our friends a call for directions to the hotel. Well to make a long story short�there was no road block, traffic was moderate, and after what seemed to be forever in the car�we finally arrived at the hotel at 1:30am. Sigh�I could have so done without that drive�But on the bright side�the SHO, slipping clutch and all made the trip (it�s first real trip since the rebuild) in great form!
2. Badger didn�t make it. Ole Badger and I had plans to meet up at the site and spend the war forging our little hearts out. We had demos planned, we were ready to do small classes, it was going to rock! Unfortunately the rain, and the forecast for rain all weekend, convinced Badger that staying home, warm and dry was a much better idea. Sigh�so there was no forging for the bear�
3. Doing my Pearly duty and looking at the A&S display. I quickly realized that this is something that is going to frustrate me a great deal. Why you ask? Well�I know blacksmithing, and I only know of 2 active blacksmiths in the kingdom. Badger and I. So chances are I will rarely see anything on an A&S table that deals with my area of knowledge. Don�t get me wrong, I look at all of the displays. I read the write-ups. I admire and appreciate the work that went into the projects�but it bothers me that often the best I can do is think�ooohhhh pretty, or something equally as unhelpful, or uninsightful. I have decided that having a rare talent in the SCA is both a blessing and a curse. While my work gets lots of attention because it is rare, it also makes it hard to get help�as well as provide advice and help to others. Sitting next to Mistress Thjora in court I remember looking over at the lucette work that she was doing, and as she was trying to fix a minor problem the best help I could come up with was��need a hammer?� Hmm�in fact I think I remember asking Bera when I got to use a hammer during the card weaving also. Well anyhow, I am sure you understand what I am trying to get at�even thought I don�t feel like I am being to clear.
Well I thing I have written enough here today. I am on my third page, and if I write much more I don�t think yall will have the strength to keep reading.
So as always�Today I learned that it is truly a blessing to have friends like yall. It is folks like you who make this world exciting, fun, and so very colorful!
And with that in mind�add some more color to my life today�What have you learned today?
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