Travel and Excitement!

The camping season has come to a close as much as I don't want to see it end. I never enjoy hibernating through the winter or having to wear socks and shoes instead of just my sandals. However it was a wonderful season filled with friends and good memories and it shall be remembered fondly.
I am excited to report that I will be going to MLG (Major League Gaming) Dallas this coming November! I won't be competing but instead I'll be there to cheer on some friends of mine who will be on a team. I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity to see many wonderful people I have met in the gaming industry as well as check out an event without having a tight schedule myself!
I have never been to Dallas and I am looking forward to getting to see some of the city. My friends there have promised they are taking me to some tasty places to eat (hurray!) and I can't wait! Eating in new places is one of my favorite things about traveling.
The one thing I am not looking forward to is flying. I'm not a real big fan of flying and now I have to put on my big girl pants and do it all by myself! Eek! But I know the trip will be well worth the flying and I so look forward to it!

Thats all for now. Here is a picture of me modeling some lovely Renae Taylor wings at the NY Faerie Fest this past Spring! Buy some!

Random Thoughts

I have been so exhausted all week I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong with me. I really miss my Ren Faire friends. I wish I had bought a new corset this season. I should wear them more often. I miss feeling pretty. I can't stand the people I would work with and would take a paycut to have someone to talk to at work. I get really lonely at work. Chilly weather makes me want to cook but also makes me sad. I miss wearing sandals. I love to bake but don't do it very often. I would love to have a new wardrobe. I wish I had more reasons to dress up and had more dress up clothes. There is never enough time for the things you love to do. I should visit my parents more. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love things made into burritos. I wish I was smarter. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time.

What A Summer It Has Been!

Hello world!
I feel like its been ages since I have been able to slow down enough to think about blogging! I know thats not much of an excuse for not writing but it's all I have.
I started my season camping with my Hamilton family at the War of the Roses which is an SCA event out in the East Kingdom. The weather was good and it was so nice getting to see friends I hadn't seen all through the long winter.
After that it was off to a weekend working at the NY Faerie Festival with the wonderful ladies at Moresca Clothing. Unlike the previous year the weather was absolutely lovely although perhaps a bit on the warm side. I was blessed to share my camp with some of the most wonderful and talented people! There was music and dancing, beautiful things for sale, and an atmosphere of joy everywhere you went.
After that is was off to another weekend with my Hamilton family. This time Thor thought he would try and get the better of us with a blustery, drenching thunderstorm. But we came through wet but unscathed and continued on our weekend of merriment!
I also got to work two weekends up at the Sterling Renaissance Fair which was a delight! I got to work at Miles Tonne Leather shop with a wonderful guy named Ian who continues his fathers legacy making some beautiful leather clothing. My first weekend there I tested out my "I can sleep in my Jeep" theory and the verdict was...I can indeed sleep in my Jeep! The second weekend Ian asked me if I could run the shop for him and I jumped at the chance! I had a great time working with a good friend of mine Rhiannon and despite it being a slower weekend we had a great time. Bonus points were that I got to sleep in the booth instead of the Jeep. I made some great new Faire friends as well which was a delight.
Then it was off to the big show...Pennsic. Pennsic is a two week long SCA camping event. This description doesn't do it justice because its more like a slice of heaven wrapped in garb but its the best I can come up with. After months of planning and logistics several thousand people converge on one campground to claim their land for the event, sleep in the cars, get up too early after drinking too much, and start setting up. The final head count at the event this year topped off somewhere around 10,500 people. Its a little city of people who are all there to play the same game.
Camp went up, the meal plan worked out, and life was good. I made a few new friends and I got to see many who I hadn't seen in a while. I even got to see some of the new Faire friends I had made while I was there which was really fun. I did lots of shopping and got some really pretty new things, cooked some really tasty food over the fire, and best of all I really felt so relaxed. Its so nice to be somewhere long enough that your brain really shuts off other thoughts like work and is just in the moment. Its a unique experience that I wouldn't trade for anything.
One night while we were sitting around the fire telling stories and enjoying the company of friends the International Space Station passed right over head! Talk about a strange experience. Here we are sitting around a fire, dressed in Viking clothes, drinking out of wooden mugs, having not used technology for a week, and bright in the sky moving along at a fast pace is the space station! It was a very surreal feeling.
The first week back from Pennsic is always a rough one. Its a difficult transition no matter how many times you have done it. I made it through as you always do and enjoyed my first weekend in 8 weeks of sleeping in my own bed at home. You remember what luxury it is to have flushing toilets, 2 ply toilet paper, and a shower with hot water and water pressure.
Since returning from Pennsic I have gotten back into learning how to throw axes, caught up on some TV shows I had missed, started reading a few books, and remembering how to relax. Sleeping in is still something that seems to evade me on the weekends, but I'm ok with this.
Its been a wonderful summer full of great things. We have one final camping weekend coming up next weekend which I am looking forward to with great delight. Although it takes no less planning it's only 40 minutes away from home which is really nice. Its a bitter sweet event since it means summer is coming to a close and the winter months aren't far behind.
I will enjoy every minute and devour the last scraps of summer like a starving hyena. If I've learned anything this summer its to truly enjoy every moment and savor every memory. They are what get you through the dark of winter. Well that and cooking. I do look forward to being able to turn on the oven in my kitchen again without sweating to death.

Thank you summer, you have been wonderful!

I Love Technology but....

We all use it. Some more then others and with varying degrees of success but technology is something we can no longer avoid in the world we live in. I'm one to admit I love tech stuff. I may not always be up on the newest and greatest but I love getting a new gadget, talking to a long distance friend over the internet, or using my phone to get me un-lost when my GPS lets me down. I'm on the computer all day at work and spend a great deal of time on the internet.
That being said there is nothing so wonderful as the ability to unplug at camp. To let the world know you are taking one big step back and disconnecting from the technology pool for a few days. Its a freeing feeling. At first it can be a bit scary, and then you start to go through the withdraw of  wondering who is online, what Facebook has to say, how many emails might be stacking up in your inbox while you aren't looking. But then something magical happens...you stop caring. The world (and the internet) keep going without you. You begin to remember that once upon a time when you didn't always feel that need to be connected.
I have had several projects in the fire on top of work that have kept me busy and putting many hours in on the computer. Some days I feel like my eyes will melt out of my head after work. The sunshine streams in through the window making the work seem to take even longer. At least when I'm working at home I can take the computer out on the porch (yay wireless internet!) and get stuff done.
But really, if you have never disconnected for a few days you really owe it to yourself to try it. Its wonderful when you stop wondering what the internet and everyone else in your life is doing, and simply enjoy the moment of being really aware of where you are and who you are with. Not to mention how awesome to go several days without someone pulling out a phone and texting while you are talking to them (major pet peeve!).

Silence is the morning after a huge party when your the first one to crawl out of your tent, see the mess, and think "it MUST have been a good time". Picture by me:

Coffee in the Sun

There is something so perfectly peaceful about having a cup of coffee in the sun on your porch on a beautiful spring morning. Its like a meditation of warmth and delight. Spring is in full force around here now. All the trees have suddenly exploded with leaves, the sun feels warm, the breeze is mild, and the birds are singing a beautiful chorus for the day. I find myself drawn out here to sit a while, watching the cats attempt the stay awake in the sun beam they have found. Sunbeams are a cats worst enemy.
The only thing that rivals this wonderful morning is that first cup of coffee around last nights fire at camp. Everyone crawling out of their tents looking ragged from the night before, dragging themselves up to the coffee pot, and pulling up a chair to stare into space a while until the mood strikes to actually do something. Or at least until breakfast is ready. Someone asked me once what my favorite part of camp was and I replied that it was that first moment of the day. Before everyone has wandered off to do whatever it is they have in mind to get to that day, before breakfast, just after the coffee has finished perking. The time when we all gather together to sit in the morning sun, laugh about the fun we had the night before, and quietly enjoy each others company and the smell of breakfast beginning to cook.
Although I don't usually have to be awake early at camp I tend to find myself one of the first ones up. The rising sun and chirping birdsong making me decide to greet the day with a groggy hello! Although some days its the intense heat that seems to build up far earlier then you would imagine in my tent that forces me out of bed sooner then I would wish.
Camp mornings are like a strange time bender. I would find myself awake having coffee and making breakfast and think it was almost afternoon. Out of curiosity I would check the time and find it to only be 8 or 9am and I would be horrified thinking "just how early was I awake!? Why can't I sleep in even on vacation?!". Then again when you are at camp there is always time for a nap.
Very soon I will find myself immersed in this wonderful, healing meditation of camp mornings. For now I will just sit and enjoy the moment of a cup of coffee on the porch in the sun with some sleepy cats.

Today I will leave you with a picture of myself cooking camp breakfast. Yes, I always look that crazed when I make breakfast.

Spring is the Fickle Season

It's been too long since my last post! This weather has put me back into a pseudo hibernation and left me lacking in the "wanting to do things" department. We flirted briefly with summer, then spring, then it snowed again, and now it looks like spring might be creeping back in this weekend.
A few weeks ago we did some wood crafting for camp. We made some chairs, painted some tables, made new wall posts, and fixed some things up to make camp look nice. It was a good and productive day full of power tools and paint fumes.

This upcoming weekend we have another project day, although this one I think will be more event prep and finishing touches. We have to put the finished poles into our sheetwall, I have to finish the designs on our new chairs, and we might be putting up the new tent that Chieftain bought (congrats!).

Now we come to the countdown of days until opening season and Pennsic. As of today there are 31 days until our opening weekend, and 94 days until we leave for Pennsic. Its an exciting time to be a Viking. Mixed into the season I am sure we will have a few day trips to the Renaissance Faire as well. I love to go visit all the wonderful people that I know who work there. Hopefully someday it will be me people will be dropping into visit! For now we plug away at the everyday, but we always keep our dreams within arms reach.

Todays picture of the day is me and my new toy:

In My Face

Todays In My Face is a sweet treat and it looks sooooooooo good!
Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes