Going Crazy - Know the Way?

Gingersnaps and Russian Teacakes are baked. I think there are about 35 dozen cookies in the house at the moment. Irish coffee cookies and cut-out cookies still on the list. Note to self: Before next December I need to find a better Russian Teacake recipe. The Joy of Cooking one drives me batty. However, I did get some cookie scoops and using a scoop to portion and initially form the dough appears to speed things up. Hurray!

I went to 2 Yule events in 2 weekends - Bhakail and Coill Tuar. Both feasts were amazing! Bhakail's Yule was entertaining since it snowed most of the day! YAY SNOW! The feast was epic (EPIC!) and executed better than any feast I've ever been at and the largest I've ever seen attempted, but most of the rest of the day felt awkward. No matter where I stood I felt like I was in the way of traffic and I couldn't get from point A to point B easily. Everything I tasted that day - from the ample day board to the samples of tasty brews to the feast - was delicious. The Feast (I feel like it deserves capitalization now) was Alysten's first as head chef and she has no where to go but down. She was given an epic challenge, especially for a first feast, and she met it epically. She had a lot of help but she lead the team well sheer determination and perhaps inspired insanity.

Coill Tuar may have the edge in my heart because there were more people there that I've known for 10-15 years. It was wonderful to see people during the year whom I usually only see for 1-2 weeks in August. And Coill Tuar's Yule actually felt more organized and that there was more to do, but that may have been in part due to not having as many "must have" activities shoved into the schedule by various parties. Plus, Fenice, our amazing Pennsic Lamb Feast Queen, prepared the feast and everything was just succulently amazing. Yes, I'm biased. I can't help it. But there's something cool about walking around the parking lot for an event thinking, "The last time I saw these cars we were all at Pennsic!" Then I caught the scent of the kitchen and thought, "Smells like Pennsic!" To her credit, Fenice's cooking is even more amazing when she has a small, basic kitchen in the back of a Masonic lodge. And, believe it not, she brings even MORE cooking gear to prepare a feast than she brings to Pennsic.

In other news I got spam today that might not have been spam - someone in Central California wants me to buy ammo. And even at spam prices, ammo is more expensive than I expected. Right, to the trash with ye!

My Mini Clubman has blown out another rear speaker and a new one is on order. The service department wants to blame all my riotous NPR News listening. I think this is b.s. since this is the second time this speaker has been replaced and the first time was within a month of buying the car. (And the latest rattle has been going on for most of the year since, honestly, but I couldn't tell if it was the speaker or that they reassembled the seat belt assembly wrong.) I suspect there's a wiring problem that they're not taking the time to investigate. I promise next time it rattles I'll take it to service sooner. I miss my Subaru. I never had any of these problems with my Subaru. I adore the Clubman but today's service visit brought back unpleasant memories from a year ago (when I had to have my new car back at the dealership multiple times for installation of ordered features, replacement speakers and realigning the 3rd door - 3 separate trips unfortunately). I dislike being irked by the service on something I paid so much money for. (At this point, the Fop will be shaking his head, sighing that such frustrations that I dwelt on for so long a year ago have reared their tiresome heads and that I'm likely to dwell on them again for a bit. Probably I will. Sorry, love.)

I'm not ready for Christmas or any other holiday. I haven't even started making caramel corn! But I'm too tired to keep going tonight so caramel corn will have to wait for another day.

Cross-posted from digital-tree.com...

I still haven't found the pink ones yet but I finally felt up to doing some laundry tonight so I was able to wash another new set of sheets to put on my bed. Dr. Schrodinger is finding his way around the apartment but when he hears a noise he doesn't understand it's back under the bed. I went to have a massage and chiro adjustment today and the pain in my hip and leg from falling has been helped considerably. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up my foot which has been dragging since I fell. I can't tell you the number of time I've tripped over the track for the door to my closet or the track to the glass door because I was dragging my foot. What a PIA!

Greetings, and apologies to anyone receiving multiple postings.

The rules for King's and Queen's Bardic Championships have been posted to the following page of the event website:     http://www.avigne.org/sca/ekbardic/rules.html  
(Event website:  http://www.avigne.org/sca/ekbardic/  )  

Thanks to the creativity and forethought of Their Majesties and Master Toki Redbeard, the King's Skald, the competition has several new features this year.     
We've tried to include as much useful data as possible, to welcome new competitors as well as familiar faces. Please check out the page, and we hope to see some of you in February!  

Respectfully submitted,
Lady Judith Fitzhenry the Uncertain, CoM 
Minstrel of Queens
Wise Woman of Gotham

So today I woke up determined to get some things done that I've been putting off. The biggest thing was to get the flyers to Staples to get copies made so I can stick one under the door of the all of the apartments in the two highrises here. Now here's hoping that some of my neighbors will call in orders for baked goods, since the flyers weren't cheap. Oy!
So I got on my bike and rode to Staples on Rt 70 and then to the Bank further down and then stopped into Wegmans for some groceries. So I picked 5 lbs sugar, a gallon of milk, a box of cearel, a couple lbs of butter and some other odds and ends. So the plan was to hang two bags from the handle bars and put the smaller stuff in my bag. It reminded me of being 10 again and being entrusted to run down to the mini-mart and pick up ketchup. I hung the bag from the handlebars, and about halfway home the bag was swinging and swung into the spokes. Luckily it was a plastic bottle, but it broke and ketchup went everywhere and and I was heartbroken, since it was the first time my parents trusted me to ride my bike to the mini-mart. So I pull up to the house and I'm covered in red and I'm crying and of course my parents freaked because they thought I was hurt. We laugh now, but I kept worrying about something similar happening on the way home today. But the worst that happened is that having 15 lbs hanging from the handlebars made it harder to steer and everytime the bags wobbled so did I. LOL So all in all, a good day so far. Now on to laundry-ugh and other housecleaning chores.

I don't know how this is happening, but no sooner did 3 things come off the lost & found list, than 3 more took their place. Harrumph!

Please read on for the updated list. The items that have been claimed (or owners identified) have been removed from the list.

- one burgundy napkin
- one ivory ceramic tavern mug (with handle)
- one navy blue patterned fitted sheet (was used as a tablecloth at some point during the day)
- one blue & white ceramic mug with "White" signed on the bottom (from KWAR)
- 2 metal plates, one decorated and fluted, the other plain (from KWAR)
- one small metal goblet
- one large metal goblet
- one large wooden mug (light and dark wood pattern)
- one length of white linen, perhaps a towel (from K&Q Bardic)
- one wooden ball, brown

Please contact me at SODTIGGER AT GMAIL DOT COM to make arrangements to pick up > your stuff (before Christmas, please!). Anything not claimed before Christmas will be brought to Bhakail's January Barony Meeting.

We wanted to thank everyone again for making our event such a success. We were able to raise over $12,000 for ALSF - which is AMAZING.

Enjoy the photos and visit our new blog for news and upcoming Eclipse event details.


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Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. Today's tune is ( Read more... )

For some reason, my tree doesn't like my tree stand. I think they needed to taper the trunk a bit (and remove one or two more low branches). It just wasn't stable. So it's got some strategically-placed nylon twine as a backup.

Now if only I can find time to put on my 2 million ornaments.

Sometimes a toile can only take you so far... This time it failed on a small but essential part.

( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )

Christmas comes early for fans with release of indie band's first studio album

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- With songs written from Los Angeles to London and produced from Lockhart, Texas to Vancouver, British Columbia, 100 Monkeys new album Grape has some miles under its belt.

( Grape is the fruit of a laborious 2009, during which the indie band spent the majority of the year performing live on the east and west coasts for their rapidly growing fan base and constructing make-shift recording and rehearsal studios on the road.  )

Dr. Schrodinger has come out from under the bed. He's now walking around marking everything he can rub his face against. He's even purring. As for me, I was in and out of bed all day. I'm a lot of pain from the fall I took yesterday on top of the usual pain. I was going to go over towingblaze's place and get more stuff but I'm not in any shape to drive. My accomplishement for the day was getting 6 boxes of clothes put away. I know there are more boxes of clothes around here somewhere but I just haven't unearthed the right pile of boxes yet. I feel like I'm playing Tetris with the boxes. Hopefully I'll be able to be on my feet more tomorrow.

ETA: Still no sign of the clean sheets.

Sun's setting over Cocoa Beach. Florida feels even more not my idiom in December, when I want the snuggly blankets, warm socks and the promise of snow. But, it was a good day at work, where much got done with little angst, a day where even a conversation I began with Pretend I'm yelling at you at the top of my lungs... ended very well for all parties involved.

Roland and I need to switch airlines. On all his business trips, he is gifted with the salty, cheesy snacks I love and he hates. On mine, I score the pretzels which I abhor and he adores. Of course, Roland takes the snack pack and brings it home to me in a thoughtful gesture. I completely forgot to take the pretzels so I could return the favor.

Airline travel is a study in isolated togetherness; I had an almost empty plane and people quickly spread out to their own row. Reading lights dotted the cabin, highlighting the little bubbles of isolation. Yet, there is the protocol of a tight and friendly smile that must be exchanged after any accidental eye contact. Or maybe that's just me and I smile too much, which is why I'm always asked for help, sympathy and directions. I've got to get rid of this competent and friendly demeanor.

Christmas shopping hasn't even begun - we've made lists, but nothing's been acquire. I truly should get on that tonight. I must say, I wish we could call Christmas armistice across the world. No gifts. Gifts have become quite the chore, haven't they? We vacillate between copping out with an exchange of lists or the angst of finding a thoughtful present in the correct budget range. If you skip a 'wish list' you get things you very much don't want. But with a list it all feels somewhat perfunctory to me - a thing to be checked off so I can relax into the celebrations of the season.

But, celebrations! Celebrations! are the best! Saturday was not only the Christmas concernt but it was Latke Day! Callooh! Callay! I skipped around the house in the afternoon singing: Callooh! Callay! It's Latke Day! (Why, yes, Roland is a very patient husband; why do you ask?) Oceans of latke and brisket and carrots. Latke with sour cream and without sour cream and with applesauce (thought I have to ask why) and kigle that tasted like apple-pie flavored noodles. I love latke day. Nothing like the guilty and wonderous bonding of fried food to reunite friends you haven't spent enough time with lately.

Speaking of the lost friends, my college-roommate/Roland's best-friend-from-grade-school, randomly walked into a holiday party we were at two weeks ago. Yes, I skipped Unevent and the universe rewarded me by turning up Ellen and Brad. Ellen, whom I made a wedding dress for, who has the stories of Roland as a young boy and may be the only person on the planet who gets away with pinching his cheeks. (I certainly don't.) It's nice to know we haven't been forgotten. Their closest friends goggled and pointed and said Wait! Wait, wait, wait. YOU'RE the moved a couch with a car jack girl?

Yes, I reply proudly. Two car jacks, tinfoil, butter, five cinderblocks and two fire extinguishers -with Brad doing push ups off the ceiling. Though, in the end, the fire extinguishers turned out not to be so helpful.

We only had to patch one little corner of drywall, says Roland. Ah, Roland. Still love him now as much as I did then.