State of the Cat - Apparently I haven't written you all in a month and a half or so, and have a bit of the State of the Cat to catch up on in my writing. I'll try not to draw this out too much.

Mom's Broken Leg/Ankle - Many of you have been asking how Mom is doing. She had the first cast removed, and was given a "walking boot." Most of the time, she had kept the cast off (the swelling was still an issue) and weight-bearing was too painful. Slow and steady, she reports on her Facebook page. I spent one weekend at her place, doing laundry, cleaning the floors, running up and down the stairs. I haven't been back in a while, but she's recovering.

Joan's Memorial, May 8 - I flew to Ohio to be there for my Aunt Joan's memorial. She passed away in January, and out of consideration for rough winter weather, the family postponed the memorial for better weather and plenty of planning ahead for flights or long drives. My sister's husband had never been to Ohio, so it was also a chance for the two of us to take him on a driving-tour of our childhood. I flew out together with them (and my nephew Jack, who was about 15 months old at the time) on Friday morning, and I flew back alone on Sunday evening.

Ohio was GREEN. Oh, it was beautiful. We saw several rapid weather changes, and thrilled my brother-in-law with a Tornado Watch (or warning, I never remember which one is which). Heavy rain, break in the rain, sunshine, overcast, cold, warm -- we had it all. The service was *lovely* and seeing all my cousins and family was fantastic.

Oddly, it was a silver lining that I was there to see everyone, because just 2 or 3 days later my Aunt Betty was hospitalized with serious and frightening issues (pressure on the brain, shunts, surgeries, a whole list of ailments) ... and she's still there now. All thoughts and prayers go out of Betty, my uncle Chuck, and my cousins Jenny and Ben (and his wife Angie, all the girls, and all the rest of the extended family).

Fiber Retreat, May 15 - Ah, once again, the annual 3-day Retreat! I help run the event every year, and although I didn't get there on time for my plans, I did get there finally Friday night and had a fantastic time. Normally I take tons of photos, specifically for the event websites, but this year I had a HUGE quantity of fiber that I wanted to dye all weekend. So rather than stress out about photos AND coffee bar AND dyeing, I really just did not take very many photos. But I did get a good image of my My Dyeing Results.

Visit with Dad, May 22 and Megan's Graduation, May 26 - More Family Time! After a lovely visit in Ohio with Dad, just a few weeks later he was out here in CA to see his eldest grand-daughter graduate from high school. He came to town early, so I spent several afternoons and evenings at my sister's house (Me and Dad), visiting with him and the family. And then on Wednesday evening the 26th, we all headed over to the local community college bowl to see the students graduate. Megan was Class President, Homecoming Queen, covered in cords from honors and clubs and scholarships, and honored to be not only one of the speakers, she was also one of two Name Readers. My sister and her first husband, Megan's dad, both work in the school district, so they also both got to be part of the ceremony, handing Megan her diploma. It was an awesome night, and I'm very proud of both my nieces. Some great photos: Megan and Jan, Megan and Kara, and Kara.

Step-Dad's Health - Several of you have *also* asked about my Mom's husband, Larry. He was so severely sick that he was unable to attend Megan's graduation (something with he keenly missed). He was further sick for another week, and ended up in the hospital from dehydration and for lots of tests. They never did determine what made him sick, but he was able to come back home. And if his Facebook wall is any indication, he's enjoying some great computer gaming time at home. *grin*

Potrero War, Memorial Day weekend - The annual SCA camping trip, down near the border, east of San Diego. I actually really enjoy this camping trip now, far more than I used to enjoy it. This year I camped next to the Crimson Spade, out near the Rapier field, and served food to just two friends (with leftovers occasionally for a third friend). I still served Coffee Bar in the mornings. New this year: Helping out at the Library Demo for school children on Friday afternoon, and attending/performing at Thomas Whitehart's House Concert on Sunday night. I tell you, I never want to miss either of these again. They were BOTH outstanding. I also performed at Open Arms Bardic Hall twice, once by myself and once with my household. And finally, I taught Caidan songs to the Youth on Saturday morning, and really enjoyed working with the kids. That class went much better than I thought it would, and was fantastic. Overall, it was a FANTASTIC weekend event for me.

Car Issues - The car gave me a scare on the drive home from Potrero, so I pulled over immediately and just phoned for a tow home. I was only 70 miles from home (and within my 100-mile tow radius), and it just seemed safer to go home with the tow truck. I'm VERY glad I did, because the spindle in one of the wheels was damaged. It took them a while to find the part needed, so the repairs took much longer than I wanted. But I had the vanpool to get me to work (yay), and they found a problem with the brake master cylinder, so the car is back in WORKING fit again. *whew*

Coronation Weekend, June 5 - Helen (Lady Grace) was an absolute dear, for coming to my rescue for Coronation. She drove us up on Friday night, and she already had a hotel with two beds reserved for the weekend. She brought along her sewing machine, to finish her clothing. And I brought my scribal kit, to finish all the award certificates and two scrolls before morning on Saturday. I completed the Count and Countess scrolls for the outgoing King and Queen, in basically a two hour block on Saturday morning. I'm fairly stunned that they turned out so nicely and they ended up being sealed as real scrolls. And once again, I need to think about dedicating time every week or so to producing scrolls.

The event was up in Ridgecrest, and it must have been around 112 degrees on Saturday (and I'm not exaggerating). Being able to dip my toes in the pool at the hotel after the event was so nice. I'd forgotten that hotels often have pools, and I really should remember to bring my swimsuit to every hotel.

But the good news? I'm no longer the Royal Scribe. I've officially stepped down from Royal Court... for the first time in four years. Yes, for eight reigns in a row I've been part of *something* at the Kingdom (regional) level. It feels nice to not have to run around so much for a while. (Well, I'm still running around, but not in the same way as usual. *grin*)

Cantor's Sing-along, June 6 - Helen and I left the site early Sunday morning, endured the hideous heat on the drive home, and I was home in time to pay for my car and pick it up, then head over to the Sing-along at the nearby synagogue. I got a call from the Cantor, asking me if I would sing "I Can Cook Too" from On The Town, and I learned it over the weekend getting ready for Coronation. The Sing-along went really well, and I was very glad to have been able to perform. I was bummed that my car was in the shop all week, because I wasn't able to rehearse with a dear friend to sing a duet with her. But maybe we can rehearse and sing at the next Cantor's Sing-along dinner. I hope so.

Return to Bellydance - At Potrero, I made some new close friends, one of whom teaches bellydancing. It turns out that some of the courses are near my work place. So I've enrolled in a class, and attende the first session last night. Class was AWESOME, although I was feeling it already yesterday, and a bit today. I did the whole level-1 class from 7:30-8:30, only breaking my ability to keep my arms aloft a few times near the end. It's exhausting. There was one move I never did catch the cue and one other move I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the arm movement. But nearly everything else I picked up immediately. Jen praised me quite a bit in class, since I missed the 1st session last week -- I felt like I'd just fallen off the bellydance bicycle for 15 years, but I got mostly right back on again.

Then the level-2 class comes in at 8:30. They immediately started drills with zills and reviews of patterns in dance. I stayed for a few minutes (even at Jen's invitation), and played my zills along with them. I sat on the floor (exhausted) and tried patterning my arms with theirs, WITH the zills. I managed to *mostly* keep up, but wow are my zill chops out of practice. I think I'll be doing rehearsals for myself 2-3x per week before class, so that I can keep up.

Finally, Relationships - Some of you happen to know I've started casually dating a lovely man this past month and a half. We've been friends for nearly six years or so, and there's something nice about dating someone you've known for a while. It's a no-pressure, not-a-big-deal, wonderful kind of thing. If you were browsing my photos on twitpic, you saw a dozen pink roses and then a dozen red roses. Yes, those are from him. But other that this cryptic description, I'll just wrap up this story here.

Now, oddly, everyone likes to say the phrase, "As long as you're happy." Yes, I'm thrilled. I'm enjoying this expanded friendship very much. However, I strongly believe that it's not just about being happy. Things in life should be about things that are RIGHT for you. And currently, I would say this match is a good match. "It is what it is," and it's very nice.

Gyldenholt Annivesary, June 13 - I spent the day working at the Illumination contest, and after really being proud of my entry, I was really surprised and pleased to be awarded first place. I won a book, and I won another round of self-confidence about illumination and calligraphy (and another measure of motivation). My Winning Letter

There you go: State of the Cat. No longer scribe, car running again, dating, dancing, lots of time with my family, proud of my niece, and headed into the summer season.

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Today's Blessing That I'm Thankful For: New friends like Jen and Chip and all of Twisted Gypsy; Helen for being far more wonderful than I knew she was (and so fun to chat with!); Patrick and Kara for making my last court in a while so fun; Giles for making court that much better; Aliskye and Medb Renata and Tonwen, for inspiring me in illumination and calligraphy; Ianuk/Jen for giving me the word "Scribble;" everyone at the Fiber Retreat, for helping make it so amazing (even while we all missed Bjo and John this year); Marcos and Zhivana (and Lot) for being so easy to feed at Potrero.... but most of all, Rob, for everything you've given me I didn't know I was missing.