When we last left our intrepid heroine in mid-February, the stories included the Fiber Frolic, Tonwen's birthday, Festival of the Rose, and Estrella. Looking at my calendars [plural, of course... you didn't imagine I have only one calendar, right?], here are some of the highlights for the past two plus weeks.

Lyondemere Arts and Archery - Our local baronial Winter event happens right after the big Arizona camping trip every year. One of the best things about it is just the casual, quiet, *local* feeling of the whole event. We cannot set up pavilions or tents or shades, but there are tables and shade trees. We don't have long walks to anything, and in fact we just sit and enjoy each other's company for hours and hours. The arts are on display, and the archery range is filled with a zillion games and shoots, so it's just nice to be close to one another.

The Arts competitions are split between the formal Championship and the informal display and People's Prize. I knew I couldn't get three well-researched and well-executed projects done in time, but I did work very specifically on a spinning project. I examined the science and the mathematics of spinning, which briefly was side-tracked into the art of color blending. I measured hanks of a tenth of an ounce each of naturally dyed wool rovings in yellow, pink, and blue [the three colors I'm usually left with after a dyestuffs retreat]. Then I measured hanks of a tenth of an ounce of two-color matches in yellow/blue, blue/pink, and pink/yellow. I worked the yellow-only hank on my CARDS, flat paddles with little metal tines (about half-an-inch long, one mm wide) to brush the fibers straight. Then I worked the pink-only hank on my wool COMBS, long sharp metal tines (about 4 inches long, quarter-inch thick) to brush the fibers straight. Historically, the combs were in popular use earlier and for a longer period of time, although many people nowadays use various cards and carders. After spinning from carded wool to spinning from combed wool, I'm completely enamored of the COMBS for a nicer, more parallel, prepared fiber for spinning. And after spinning two skeins of plain color, I combed the yellow and pink together, which produced a peach finished yarn. At the event, Astridr combed the pink and blue together, creating the *prettiest* lavender, and showing me a few tricks about using the combs more efficiently. (Later I worked the yellow/blue together, making a nice teal.)

Although I didn't stand a chance at winning the People's Prize (giggle), I did get some valuable feedback from several master artisans, and some nice compliments that meant a lot to me personally. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with various craftsmen, and taking photos of the various artistic displays.

Musically, I shared the new Estrella song with my Barony, and my new joke. People often ask, when you are one of the "peers" of the SCA [Knights, Laurels, or Pelicans] "So what is your Stupid Peer Trick?" Everyone interprets this differently, but it can be fun and silly amongst friends. I've decided that my stupid peer trick is that I "Stick my Pen in Your Ear.... When my Songs get Stuck in your Head." It makes me laugh at the derogatory connotation that I "only write jingles" ... and I think I'd like a silly drawing of a quill piercing someone's ear.

We were originally scheduled to rehearse in the band studio on Saturday. This meant attending the event, leaving at the dinner break for the studio, and only *maybe* getting to return for the dessert revel. I did leave in time for rehearsal, although I'd forgotten to bring modern clothes with me. It's a good thing that the rehearsal ended up being cancelled (although it wasn't good that it was because our keyboardist's toddler son got sick) because I was able to just drive right back to the revel and enjoy relaxing with friends. I arrived home completely exhausted though, and passed out almost before hitting the pillow.

Miscellaneous Bits - I spent some time over at Tonwen's getting more hand-sewing done for our Pentathlon team entry. I still need to stay up (all night?) tonight or tomorrow to finish a portion of my assignment, to hand it off to everyone else for their portions. *yawn* Of course, Thomas just continues to think I never ever sleep, and this isn't helping my reputation.

Around the office, things have kicked into a new gear entirely. One of the guys got the funding approval to borrow me half-time, to completely revamp and update his training materials for a half-dozen classes and all the governing templates to provide the project staff. I feel like I'm really contributing to the projects around me, which is very satisfying.

Sunday March 1st was Robin Hood Archery in the Barony of the Angels, which translated into another weekend afternoon in a park, relaxing with friends, working on fiber and textile crafts, and enjoying musical and dramatic performances. In this case, my friend Balthazar asked me to coordinate the bardic performances of the day. I've been working on encouraging performers throughout the region to come and do just presentational work. There's been some stress on competitions and championships, to the sad result that many performers are tired, worn out, intimidated, and/or just uninterested. After some lively brainstorming with the Baron and Baroness, we decided to request performers to put on an exhibition, not a competition. No themes, no winners, no champions, no requirements, just performing for the love of performing. We had a *wonderful* turnout, and an incredibly enjoyable afternoon with this. There were even new participants I'd never heard sing before, which is a VERY good thing in my book. Not everyone was prepared, but everyone helped make it enjoyable.

Long term, I'd like to start encouraging performers to always have one or two pieces memorized, well-practiced, and available for spur-of-the-moment requests. I'm thankful for gracious audiences and nervous performers taking a chance, and even when they weren't perfect, they gave it a shot. Now to keep encouraging participation, and encouraging preparation for the joy of the performance. More on this later.

I've also been working on calligraphy in a modern setting, penning invitations (to the out-of-state lists and big donors) to a huge fundraiser and 60th birthday Roast. Someone asked me to do wedding invitations for them later, although I cannot remember who. I'd forgotten how fast calligraphy can go with a cartridge calligraphy pen rather than a dip-pen, so I was able to speed it up from 25 in three hours to 50 in four hours. I got another 10 done just chatting with Adrienne last night, only about 40 left to completely tonight and/or tomorrow.

Crown Tourney - What's with opening court at Crown Tourney being a big deal in my life lately? I need a moratorium on momentous occasions for a while, folks. I need some adjustment time!!! What would prompt me to say such a thing? Gee, I don't know. Last Crown Edward and Mora made me a Peer by surprising me and investing me as a Pelican. Then Sven and Kolfinna won the List. Now, Sven and Kolfinna surprised me by naming me a Court Baroness, and then Edward and Mora won the List. Okay, now that you know the punchline, I can tell you the stories.

Arabella asked the (current) Bard of Caid, Lot, to sing a special request at Crown Tourney. He was busy having dental surgery, so he asked me to learn the song and perform it. Now yes, I should have started memorizing the minute he asked me, but I made the mistake of putting it off all week, and learning it just that morning. [Bad move number one.] It was only six verses of four lines each, and the same tune for all six verses. By the time I was dressed and the car was packed, I knew all six verses and started my almost two-hour drive to the event. Plenty of time to rehearse, right? [Bad move number two.] So after singing the song three hours straight to myself, I felt nervous but mostly confident about performing. I tested my memory with my dear friend Pierre, who actually knew the song and verified yup, I really knew all six verses and could sing it straight through without any stumbles. I kept the lyrics with me, and kept reviewing them all the way up to performance time. [Bad move number three, I just made myself more nervous about my preparation.] Only good move? I kept the lyrics out, on the ground, just in case I needed to peek at them quickly.

What song? Bad move number four-- I had never heard this song performed and had NO IDEA that it had such an emotional history. "Burden of the Crown" by Baldwin of Erebor has apparently been sung for YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS in some kingdoms, specifically at Crown Tourneys. I had set up a well-rehearsed opening speech, to lead off the song. And before I had even opened my mouth to sing, there were half a dozen people openly weeping in the audience. Countess Leonora wouldn't even sit through the song, but stood in front of her chair, tears pouring down her face. I was shocked, and started to choke up and stumble.

I'd say the members of the audience were either deeply emotionally attached to the song, or like me had never heard it performed. The lyrics are heart-wrenching, and there were gasps sometimes just from the lyrical content (including the Queen gasping at one point). I really started to blank like I never have before, and finally just picked up the lyric sheet off the ground and continued singing directly from the printout. A few well-meaning friends assured me it wasn't actually that bad of a performance, but I was mortified at my inability to remember the lyrics.

Afterwards, the King and Queen called me up, and I was thinking it was just one of those "thank you" moments. After Kolfinna waxed eloquent for a moment about my music and willingness to share this with everyone, the herald started the ceremonial text. The whole ceremony is prescribed as "There are those within the Kingdom whose noble demeanor and special contributions have enriched Our Realm in ways undefinable within the usual system of awards, and yet who are much deserving of honor. It is the prerogative of the Crown to recognize such individuals with the title of Court Baroness..."

My brain only caught "undefinable within the usual system of awards" and I knew what was happening. I was shocked, and tried to sit down just on my butt... I had been kneeling on one knee. But I lost my balance completely, trying to sit down from a single knee, that with my momentum I fell completely flat on the ground. I was lying there on my back, staring at the ceiling--embarrassed and at a loss for words or breath. I was thinking, "Huh. I think I'll just stay here for a while" and then finally tried sitting up again. The whole place was filled with laughter that I fell over, and a few friends asked me if I fainted or if maybe the Queen had knocked me out with the (loaner) coronet. No, I just plain lost my balance and fell over, and once I gained my breath again I started laughing at the absurdity of it all. I'm told there are videos of me falling over. I'm sure they are NOT flattering or graceful! *laughing at myself* So, um, yeah. I'm a Baroness now, which really meant that my day was filled with friends teasing me and bowing and scraping as they addressed me as "Your Excellency." One of the girls, her name is Ish, she surprised me the first time someone just casually said "Um, your Excellency?" like trying to get someone's attention. I actually looked behind me to see who was ignoring Ish, to see if I could catch Bridget's eye or whoever it was behind me. When I turned back around to face Ish, she was laughing and reminding me that she meant ME! Eep!

So, um, to quote Dr. Horrible, "I've got that going for me."

I had a *wonderful* debrief and critical analysis with someone I *REALLY* respect in music afterwards. He gave me the best line ever, "You're only as good as your NEXT performance." The past is the past, and it's worth learning from it but also letting it go. My real test is to be READY for the next performance. He also reminded me that I've been a "landed" bard (to borrow his phrase) in the past, which means I really need to remember that I will set the bar of what is acceptable (right or wrong). If I believe that as performers we need to be polished and prepared for anything, then I need to set that example and learn how to encourage the same in others. He's right, I agree with him, and I now need hours and hours of practice again. That, and he's right that sometimes I need to politely turn down requests for performances when I'm not ready.

The rest of the day including spending some time with Master Hroar, whose a potter and a merchant. He's been recreating a 2500+ year old design from Greek pottery called an "epinetron" which is reported to be a spinner's tool for opening the locks of wool before spinning. I hesitate to say "combing" or "carding" the wool because those verbs imply specific tools (combs and cards, respectively). But there's very little demonstration of the epinetron in use, and I'd promised him I would give it a whirl. It actually opened up the locks of wool MUCH better than I was expecting, producing some open wool almost comparable to the roving from combs. More research, trial and error is called for, but I think we have the beginnings of a research publication (whether that's just an article or a full-fledge pamphlet). Hmm, maybe I should talk to him about a combined effort in writing an article for our society's quarterly arts publication? I think this might be a perfect article for the "Tournaments Illuminated" quarterly.

I saw almost none of the fighting, as I was back-and-forth all day visiting folks, trying the epinetron, debriefing the musical experience, arranging for my Coffee Bar to go on the truck to Gulf Wars (the camping trip in Mississippi that I attended two years ago), and generally enjoying the day. Also, I feel a little superstitious about watching fights where I have a preference for who wins. I feel like when I watch, the person I want to win never does, so sometimes I specifically hide from the field when I'm emotionally attached to one fighter or another. And I'm thrilled Edward is our Prince again. He was my "Pennsic King" and the King who made me a Pelican, so he'll always hold a very special place in my heart. [Now, I adore Jamal and Eowyn too, so it wasn't like I wanted Jamal to lose in finals. But Eowyn seemed relieved that she can finish the book she's planning to publish, and has another six months until the next Crown Tourney to focus on the book.]

I didn't see closing court as I was helping tear down our Baronial encampment, and was one of the few people who could strangle the stakes out of the ground and wasn't already doing something else. [Some of the guys are strong enough to wrangle the stakes, but they were doing other heavy lifting jobs at the time.] I haven't been around enough for Baronial set-up and tear-down over the past several years, and I want to be there more often now. I really have a strong attachment to my Barony, and want to be there to help, especially since I have the strength and energy (and a good back) to do so.

Birthdays! - My evening ended with a long drive out to Amy's parent's place to celebrate her birthday. She decided to throw a wine-tasting, and I found some Apple Wine and a Pomegranate Wine at Whole Foods. I also picked up a bottle of my favorite Muscato, which was the only one of my three wines that was polished off, and that almost as soon as it was uncorked. It's a favorite with my friends. The pomegranate was really quite nice, if strong. But you have to already like pomegranate juice to enjoy the wine. We never opened the apple wine, so I'll have to find out later if it was any good. I'm hoping it might be a little like apple cider, but with a wine finish.

They have the wildest collection of pets in this house, including a couple of cats called "midgets" I think. Picture a full-sized cat with legs only 3-4 inches long. Toby is the cutest kitty I've ever seen, and much more affectionate after hoards of visitors have gone home. The little dogs were less annoying that most little dogs, and the baby squirrels are so adorable. There were birds, tortoises, a duck in the pond, at least one bunny, and several other animals. They have a few animals who like to be spun around and slid on the hard (perga) floors, which had us in stitches, laughing so hard at their antics.

We had a lazy morning over breakfast and coffee, just sitting on couches and chatting for a few hours. Then I headed to my sister's, to celebrate *her* birthday and see my nephew and nieces. My eldest niece is driving now, and has her own car, so she took me to the store for dessert and birthday shopping. My nephew is 6 or 7 weeks old now, and just a joy to carry around the house, singing to him and enjoying snuggling him. And my youngest niece just took third place in her first high school track meet, which is just amazing. I have some of the greatest family!

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Today's Blessing That I'm Thankful For: Hroar, for such fun research pottery in such a fantastic hands-on way; Lisa, for just being you.