There's really nothing like an inadvertent party to remind you how interesting and fun life can be.
Our Memorial Day weekend was supposed to be a little lower-key, but after all was said and done, it really was an awesome time. I love that our friends want to come here and see us and be with us, and that we can offer our hospitality as we do. I just wish I hadn't been sick for most of it.
Friday afternoon, our friend Don Downie, who is a jeweler, came down to spend the weekend. It being Memorial Day, this is the weekend for Sapphire Joust, an annual event for our local SCA group, the Barony of Caer Mear. Don has been making the prizes for the tournaments for just about 20 years now, and even though he now lives in Pennsylvania, he always delivers the prizes himself. (Another great thing is that lately when he comes to visit, I get metalsmithing and jewelry lessons!) Kira was home this weekend, so I didn't have to go anywhere Friday night. We hung out and chatted and played with the kids, which was nice.
Saturday morning, Travis stayed home with the little ones, and the rest of us (me, Don, and Kira) went out to the event for the day. It was odd going to an event by myself and with Kira. I am so used to going with Travis, and it has been forever since I was at an event. Last September's Journey to the Crusades was the last event I went to, and that was small and local. Not the same. Even so, it was nice to see folks, many of whom were astonished by how much older Kira is now. I was astonished by how much tighter my green linen cotehardie is now. Ugh.
Mistress Iseulte lent her the gown she is wearing (it fit perfectly!), and upon arriving on site, we watched court and the investiture of the new Baron and Baroness.
Bryce and Melisent process into court
Augustin and Aine process into court.
After standing around for court, we went for a bit of shopping. Kira immediately recognized the awesomeness that is The Crafty Celts, and chose a wolf pendant, with which she accessorized her gown.
I was disappointed to find no Spanish peacock, because I had been hoping to procure another lucet and a nice drawplate.
Thankfully, Mistress Iseulte offered us (and Don) space under their dayshade and we sat and enjoyed the youth combat tourney and some of the various heavy fights going on in the list. Iseulte and I went walkabout to chat up people along the field while Kira sketched in the shade. I was happy to see and talk with Syr Justus, Mistress Genevieve, Mistress Thjora, Mistress Isobel, Duchess Padraigin and Duke Cuan and their wonderful little boy, Benjamin, and a number of other people I have only seen on the internet in the past year or so.
I don't really know the sitting or incipient royalty, so no hanging out in the royal area. :)
Along about 3:00, Kira was very done with the heat, and so was I, particularly since I had been feeling so bad all day. Blah. We collected Don, got changed and blasted ourselves with air conditioning all the way home, where apparently a party had broken out!
Four-fifths of the Elkins family, Travis's brother Dale and his daughter Liberty, my kids and husband, Don, me, Richard and Ddot and baby Roman....was there anyone else? Everyone was here, and despite the heat, we had a lot of fun. Don can really pick out good Greek dessert wine, and he and I went on an epic ice cream run. Dale and Liberty ended up staying over, and the little girls finally passed out around midnight.
Sunday was breakfast, people leaving, and Don teaching me the basics of raising a copper bowl from a sheet of 16ga. The initial efforts look like this:
There's still a lot more work to do on it, but my elbow is complaining, so I haven't done anything for a day or two.
I napped for three hours after this project was attacked. It was joyous, and I felt MUCH better.
The rest of Sunday was spent on the couch, watching movies and relaxing after the kids went to bed. kity stayed over, and Monday was us buying a new grill....and taking Moe and Kitty around to check out rental properties in Richmond for their upcoming move.
The Grill of Hotness:
Yeah, baby! That thermometer goes up to 800 degrees!
The kids literally spent all afternoon outside in the pool.
And ate watermelon.
And we inaugurated the grill.
And after that, it was a rapid succession of eat-clean up-herd the kids to the bathtub-jammies-marshamallows-cartoons-stories-BED....and we collapsed in a heap on our sofa.
Whew.
It was a great weekend, but I need another one right now in order to recover from it!
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