The Start of Something New

What a Wonderful Werecwode!!

2009-01-05T21:53:00.005+13:00

We have just had the most wonderful camp - it was fun and relaxed and all the best things about
doing this fun little hobby of ours. We got to sit and talk and joke with friends. We got to try out new things and work of the familiar. There was no pressure for anyone to be anything other than who they were. There were friends from a variety of clubs and disciplines and that was just OK. It was a very good practise for Taupo in 4 weeks time, with out the glare of the public eye and with still sometime to fix those things that just do not work yet. I think it is just best to let some of the pictures speak for themselves.

Prizes Galor!!!!

2008-12-17T19:43:00.002+13:00

I forgot to say!!! Willie won his first ever A&S competition and won the wonderful Viking treasure chest and I won the Cluain Winter competition (that's the Journal one) and won a wonderful oak Glastonbury Chair!!! I will post pics eventually!!

Waiting for Christmas

2008-12-17T17:49:00.003+13:00

I just can't wait for Christmas - not for the pressies or the festivities, but for the break!!!! I am so tired and I feel that my body is telling me to just stop. In the past week and a half I have had a chest infection and a tummy bug!! But at least the team are behaving!!

We have our staff do on Friday night and I have borrowed some clothes from my Mother so I can look a little fancy when we go to Vilegrad's. I missed out on the fancy dress I saw at Sara, but I may just buy it later on, which is good as we will have a bit mor spare cash by then as well.

Tomorrow morning I am going to do my Christmas shopping - before work, I am so glad we do not have a really huge family to buy for!!

Then after this week, I have 3 more days of work and off for 11 days woo hoo!!

Last weekend we had the kids Christmas Party, It all went well with Santa arriving in a hot Rod - that was cool!! Then AD and I wizzed off to the Te Awamutu Christmas Parade to help the Wulflings in their robin hood "float" which we won - how funny, put on our gear and walk down the street to win a prize. I think that Next Year Geoff wants to try!! Seeing as we won when we didn't try!!

New Year we are off to Workworth for the Wercwode encampment. That should be fun and We should have our new tent too!!

AD is fairly gutted with his results at Uni and so am I, I feel that alot of the comments made were largley unfair and designed to cover his CT's fat lazy butt! He has requested to be readmitted and try again - I hope they have the forsight to let him in again.

Willie is busy being Willie, talking too fast, too much, too loud and is usually just lovely. We have made big headway with his behaviour, his toileting is much better and he has Michelle Scott for a teacher again next year, which is a really GOOD thing.

Well roll on Christmas and some days relaxation - I have another 2 weeks off in February as well and That will be fun!!!

Busy October

2008-11-01T11:27:00.005+13:00

We have had quite a busy month, I ended September by crashing into a big black hole again and have spent the last 4-5 weeks pulling myself out. I am on my way back to the stress ball I have come to know as normality.

I have been continuing with my pottery and am getting ready to wrap up my journal. AD has started practicum and is loving it - I am so glad he seems to have found what he is meant to do!!

We had a camp at Dave's last weekend, which was not all I expected, I hit a minor dip in the path and didn't get a lot of sleep - which didn't help - AD and Mags knew what was happening but, I couldn't really explain to anyone else.

But for all that it was not too bad. The camp looked great, thanks to all AD's smithed stuff and my kitchen stuff, and I have to say, Brian's rustic stools added more to the atmosphere than Dave's fancy chairs.

Friday night there was a storm!! and we leaked, although not as badly as we could have considering the degree of the storm!! The upshot was, as AD and I lay in a soggy heap in Dave's tent discussing our options, We need to make getting a new tent a priority, we may get away with St Cath's but I was getting really sick of being rained out!! We knew that there was a lot of saving involved.

BUT - on the way home on Sunday, we stopped off at the BC's Camp to see Anne. We discussed our rain out and showed the new pots and before we knew it she had said, well... I need some fire stuff and those pots look good so what about I make you a tent and you make me some smithed items and pottery and we'll have a trade!! We could not be happier!!! I think it is the trade of the century!! We are paying for the materials and trading for labour basically, but with luck we will have ourselves a new Geteld by St Cath's!!!

I am starting on Anne's pottery today, AD has to wait for an anvil and some coal, but he does have his practicum to focus on. I am SOOOO excited!!!!

24hrs of FREEDOM!!!!

2008-11-01T11:24:00.003+13:00

Woo Hoo - we have no William for 24hours, how wonderful!! My Mum came over to get help loading her new phone and went away with my son - life is good!!!

So AD and I are having an afternoon, evening and night to OURSELVES doing WHAT WE WANT with no interruptions!!!

Life ticks on...

2008-09-27T16:12:00.006+12:00

And life ticks on. So much has happened since last I blogged.

Matt and BJ got B&B and were invested 2 weeks ago. They did look fairly splendid and although I had all the best wishes for them, I couldn't help feeling "what would I feel like if that was me?"They have asked Baxton and I to act as Baronial Maintainers (to make sure Bea is fed, watered and rested).

With all that out of the way and the most excellent reception of my new pottery,I have thrown myself whole heatedly into the production of more hand built pottery as well as my continued skill development on the wheel. My competition Journal is now up to 16 pages and is in 2 parts.I am also preparing a class on "courtly Love and the Lady's role in the tourney" A class I have been working on for a couple of years now.

I have found a number of translated texts from 12th century romance writer Chretienne de troyes, and am making them into books to be read during solars. I am making mew embroidered Anglo Saxon tunics, and am helping Willie with his competition entry.

I have joined the A&S 50 challenge and intend to learn, make, do 50 things that Aelfwyn would know, need or have a skill in. Mags and I also want to make 50 pouches for the kingdom awards.

I am a very busy medievalist!!

Today I went out to the Priongia Craft fair with Mags, what a wonderful morning to be able to go out alone and spend some time with my friend. I spent way too much money and had an absolute ball!!!

As I write this, I realise just how much I am doing and I think that I may have to do a post to outline all the projects and competitions. But for now - - My little boy is still out and about playing with Jesse, AD is playing WOW (tomorrow he is getting back to smithing my fire place!)
AND I am off to snuggle up to start the new book I have to read.

Will this winter please end

2008-07-23T17:29:00.002+12:00

Another wet Waikato winter's day and oh my it is cold!! I have been putting off lighting the fire as I am hoping that AD has remembered to go to Riverlea to get some new wood.

I have had an office day at home today and must say that it has been DELICIOUS to have the house to myself!! Marg wanted me to spend some time updating the web site - you can see it here.

The B&B polls have closed with a final 38 submissions. They have been sent to their Majesties and now all we can do is wait for the answer... will it be Matt and BJ, Liz and Roger or Us. We are feeling very positive but are prepared for not being successful. At the end of the day their majesties will make the choice that they think is the best one for the Barony and if it isn't us, then that is in the best interests of the Barony. C'est la Vie!

Festival of St John 2008

2008-07-16T16:47:00.006+12:00

Another wonderful event up the mountain!! The veiw from Pirongia on sunday Morning

On Saturday it rained and rained, but it was all just fine, everyone sat around inside talking and playing games and doing stuff.

Matt and BJ's attitude went a long way to making me feel a lot more at ease about the Baronial race so that was good!! At the feast we all started to get a little silly... well we did and Matt and BJ did!!

Eric (Matthew) and Louis (Willie)

Sunday, after the fog lifted, it was clear and beautiful - most of the day... I made 3 spoons!

The kids were all very touchy - due to not getting to bed until around 11ish - we all lost track of time and only really remembered them when they started causing trouble.

Despite being really tired Willie did really well on Sunday - we only had to have one very gentle

discussion about how being tired affects his behaviour!

What a challenge

2008-07-09T20:16:00.004+12:00

I am very proud of myself today!!

We have spent the last 2 days handling a very tricky issue at work. And to my complete surprise I have handled it very well. I have had the praise of my boss and one of my supervisors - although I am the first to admit that I have spent the last 2 days flying by the seat of my pants!!

All the issues I have been having with my team over the past 2 weeks...because it's the middle of winter, because they are tired, because we have bee working under strain or just because it's been ages since they had a good bitch at or about me and each other... have paled in comparison and once again they demonstrate that when the chips are really down they are there for each other.

The whole crisis came to a close with the news that Lou had a baby girl just after lunch today, I went to visit, had a cuddle and looked down at wee Niamh, who gurgled and grunted in that amazing newborn way, but stopped when she heard my voice. If I did not know any better I would swear that the edges of her mouth curled. I came away with that warm feeling of... every thing is going to be alright and the world is ready for the little girl who has just joined us.

AND you know what... I have not thought about the whole B&B thing for 2 days!!

The polling forms came out today!!

Miss Impatience!!

2008-07-07T16:15:00.005+12:00

Yes, I am impatient!! As you know we - AD and I - are standing for B&B - that is Baron and Baroness of Ildhafn for those of you who do not follow our lives!

This has been in our minds since someone said to us 3 years ago.."you guys should think about being the next B&B" ... "WHAT?...US??"

But the thought was then planted. It was not the last time it was mentioned and so the thought grew.

When Cicilia and Inigo announced that they were stepping down, we had one last very hard and serious think about what we had to offer the Barony and decided to go for it.

a) We love life in the SCA - we don't want to stop and we want more people to love it as much as us
b) People and what matters to them... matters to us. With encouragement, appreciation and validation, individuals and the Barony will continue to grow and flourish
c) We are good together, we work well together and off set each others idiosyncrasies. Between us we have a keen interest in most areas of the SCA
d) We are from Cluain... I know that this shouldn't matter, but although we are perfectly comfortable and at home in both the City and the Canton - there are alot of folks in Cluain who do not feel this way and do feel that they are not truly a part of the Barony, I have even heard some to refer to Fulk as "our local Baron" - this is not good. Having a B&B from Cluain may go part of the way to healing this issue.(and we are a better option than the other candidates from Cluain!!)

There are many other smaller reasons but this is most probably the crux of it.

SO where does this leave us now....

The nominations are closed - 3 couples standing
Polling forms are not ready yet
Polling closes in 2 weeks
We hear some time after that
Invest in 10 weeks

I am inpatient...I hate waiting... I just want to know...
Is it us?? Is it another B&B who I could happily live with?? or is it someone who I will have to work hard at learning to live with before September 13th??

Time will tell...I hate waiting

Winter, Wet and Windy

2008-07-05T13:05:00.001+12:00

It is the very worst of Waikato Winter days, It is wet, dark, bleak and cold. I want to stay in my pyjama's all day, make a hot water bottle and snuggle up under a blanket watching old movies - BUT we have to go to the neighbours 1 yr old birthday party, and Willie is at his most annoying - which most probably has something to do with the fact that we woke us up at 6:00 yelling that he was hungry, he didn't want to stay at Grandma's, this was the worst day of his life and we were idiots!!
On the up side.. Willie's Ben 10 Monopoly game turned up in the mail (down side.. we have to play Ben 10 Monopoly this afternoon) and I have nearly finished sewing up AD's new woolen tunic and can start on the decoration this evening and it is still a whole week before St Johns!!

Life is just fine!

Let's start this again...

2008-07-03T19:30:00.000+12:00

Another new blog and still what I said in my original blog this is still "a place where a mother can ramble on about her family at will".

We still live in Te Kowhai - a small village outside of Hamilton, NZ. Willie, now 6, goes to Te Kowhai Primary 4 days a week and trundles into town to go to one-day school once a week. AD has been my most devoted househusband and primary caregiver since Willie started school and is about to go to Hamilton University to do his teacher training. I am now the Manager of Jack and jill Educare, where I manage about 14-16 staff members, who keep me constantly on my toes. Just when I think I can relax, they throw me another curve ball.

We are still involved in Medieval recreation and are members of the SCA. We reside in the Canton of Cluain, in the Barony of Ildhafn, in the Kingdom of Lochac. We are currently standing for Baron and Baroness of Ildhafn and are waiting none to paitiently for the outcome - which will hopefully be announced in 3-4 weeks, any longer than that and I think I may just go mad!!

So as well as ramblings about how amazing my son is, what my husband is up to now and how frustrating my staff are - you will likely read alot about the SCA as it is the core of all that we do - just about!! So be warned!! And enjoy it if this is your thing!!