One Day at Tourney...

This weekend I shall be at the Grail of Chivalry World Invitational Jousting Tournament. It will be Very Cool. In fact, I shall be there with bells on. (When I agreed to be part of the entertainment, nobody said anything about the bells.)

It's open to the public for $5 a pop. If you're interested, or would just like to go out to the park on a nice sunny (I hope) day, come right along.

Sometimes it's the smallest things that make your day...

In my case, it was waking up to a warm room because my lovely boyfriend had turned on the heater before he left this morning. Bliss.

In other news, my Latin teacher has said that it might be possible to run a specialist course next year on Medieval Latin for Naomi and me, for which we are both crossing our fingers. (Naomi is the other medievalist in the English department.) Judy Deuling (aka our Latin teacher) has said that she'll investigate options, so currently I'm tentatively bouncy.

Updates

So, what has little Steph been doing with herself, lately?
Well, I went to a Frisbee tournament, I went to work (in Auckland), and I went to Easter Camp. Also, today was the start of the University Games, although I'm getting over a cold and slunk off home after the first game to get some sleep.

Memorable bits from the last couple of weeks (in no particular order):
- Getting a shiny new sword, made just for me! (Thank you Darren.)
- Actually managing to figure out a problem that was happening at work and come up with a solution. It was a frustrating few days to start with. :-(
- Watching a couple of friends break up with fairly vindictive timing within about 10 minutes of arriving at Easter Camp.
- Being told by my sister that there was a girl there that wanted to hit on me within about 10 minutes of arriving at Easter Camp. (She didn't, but it was a rather surprising thing to be told.)
- Seeing, in Waiouru, an ad for fetish and leather supplies outside the local Subway. Supplying the army trade maybe?
- Realising that people in small towns like Pahiatua are actually quite cool about people in weird clothes invading their supermarkets (unlike three_monkey's Christmas experience).
- Being in a story circle that lasted for, like, three hours. "Sing a song, tell a story, ask a riddle, do a dance, or go hide in the cow byre until an angel inspires you." (People who were really stumped were let off with autobiographical anecdotes, like the first time they fell in love, or that time they almost died. Although I'm not sure that that's being let off lightly.)
- Getting home. Thank you for looking after Babe, Edward, she's looking happy and comfortably squishy.
- Relaxing in a spa pool working out kinks afterwards. Thank you for keeping me company, John. :-)

I Shall Have Bruises Tomorrow...

Well, I've actually got bruises today, but they'll take a little while to develop into their full glory. This is not anyone beating up on me, just that I went along to a training session at Auckland Sword & Shield, and along with more unarmed fighting, we started learning the whys and wherefores of dagger and buckler which means lots of attack/defense drills with the occasional miss and resultant bruise. I haven't been able to train with the group regularly since I moved, but it's good to go back for visits. I got to the end of the session with my hands shaking slightly and the warm glow of having worked well. Also Steve Hodgson (the chief instructor) said that I seemed to be a lot more relaxed about personal space issues than I had been when I joined the club and that that was helping my fighting skills. So it's all good.

For the Wellingtonians who are reading this - stay where you are! The weather is horribly hot and humid, such that as soon as people walk outside they start dripping with sweat - perspiration - er, glow. Still, it rained this evening, which brings out a wonderfully earthy smell from the grass, and concurrently takes some of the heat out of the air. I saw a little of the Battlecry Mordavia game (hence got to smell the grass in the rain), and even gatecrashed it briefly with a tale of a lost pig, but otherwise missed most of it. There's one more week until the big weekend game with lots of organising still to do so I need to stop here and run around in circles for a bit.

Take care all,

Steph

A Potage of Roysons

I'm going to a picnic with the Medieval Guild tomorrow. They said to bring a plate of something sort of medieval, so I'm going to be experimental and try a real old-time recipe, courtesy of www.godecookery.com. Here goes:

.Cxxxvj. A potage of Roysons. Take Raysonys, & do a-way þe kyrnellys; & take a part of Applys, do a-way þe corys, & þe pare, bray hem in a mortere, & temper hem with Almande Mylke, melle hem with flowre of Rys, þat it be clene chargeaunt, & straw vppe-on pouder of Galygale of Gyngere, serue it forth.

Stage 1: Almond Milk
Apparently medieval cooks didn't like using cow's milk in their recipes. It went off, or got diluted by the street seller and well, frankly, you didn't know where it had been. The solution was to grind up almonds and steep them in water and use that instead. Currently, I have a pot of just boiled water making the acquaintance of a packet of ground almonds from the supermarket bakery department and they seem to be hitting it off (ie its now white and milky looking with some almond particles in there). In about 5 minutes I have to strain the relationship and see what comes out (GodeCookery recommend the services of a blender but that I just don't have).
...
As promised, smells like almonds, looks like very off-white skim milk. I think if I leave it to sit, it'll separate out.
(The next morning.) Nope, it didn't separate. It's definitely cloudy, but the almond is still mostly in solution.

Stage 2: Stew Your Apple
Pretty basic really, although I had to change to a bigger pot when I realised how much you get out of 5 apples. Which cooks down quite a lot actually. I've never actually stewed apples before. Simmer, bubble, toil and trouble. (It helps if you don't overboil the pot.)

Stage 3: Putting It All Together
The initial pile of stuff all dumped in together looks quite unappealing, all congealed and icky looking, but smells wonderfully of ginger. After some cooking, the milk has absorbed into the apple and the mixture is thicker and looks more appetising. Still smells nice. And on getting it as thick as it's ever going to be, I think I'll transfer it to a serving dish and leave it to settle.



Stage 4: The Eating
I thought it was really nice - stewed apple with some extra zing, although only one other person tried it. :-( Maybe bringing some plastic spoons or something would have increased the uptake... The picnic was fun, too.

The Goss.

So, I'm now showered, sweet-smelling and in clean jammies. Also, some nice hot pizza is a mere 20 minutes away and I'm feeling very relaxed.

How has my week been? Work was busy in a good way. I finally figured out a way to solve a modelling problem that's been bugging my workmates for a while, although every time I try to explain it to people they get a little glazed about the eyes. Anyhow, I got a prototype knocked up last week and this week my project (along with study type stuff) is to get the code working and start testing it. But that's not the interesting part.

NAAMA
It was bitterly, bitterly cold. Every year I go I think that I've finally worked out how to dress properly and every year I find out I'm wrong. I have plans, however, for new and fine woolen dresses with flannel linings which will be the envy of everyone for next year, although improvising drapes with some material I bought at the market worked very well indeed also. (Thank you, I, Claudius.) Iwitahi's main virtue (Iwitahi Outdoor Education Camp near Taupo) is lots of very hot water in the showers and a very efficient fire in the Main Hall, which it needs, because it's up on the plateau and its version Labour Weekend weather seems to be Noah's Flood or winds that knock the breath out of you.

It was lots and lots of fun. I got to catch up with lots of old friends that I only see once a year, and met a whole heap of people that I hope will become friends shortly. Highlights: chilling out; making my very own leather pouch under the guidance of Jeremy of the Red Ravens (it rocks); singing with Sarah and the Christchurch SCA chick whose name I've forgotten; playing Stretch (that's Twister with throwing knives), much to the amusement of the spectators; playing Kubb with Jess (it's a game where you throw bits of wood at other bits of wood and my team lost lots); playing with other people's babies and being able to give them back afterwards (which is of course the most important part); wandering around the forestry trails and realising that it's not as bleak as I remember; and not dancing on tables (sorry Adam).

An anti-highlight was providing evening entertainment for my roommates by having a truly hideous nightmare. From my point of view, I woke at 2am on Monday morning convinced that the room was full of evil undead zombies who were planning to eat me. Or my soul, or something like that. Naturally, I fled. From my roommates' point of view, I suddenly screamed "Oh my God, NO!!!" and ran out the door, which is an impressive feat in a sleeping bag. Apparently I got several metres out the door before I fell over. (Ain't claustrophobia grand? I think it was waking up in a very dark room tied up in piles of sleeping bags and blankets and not being able to breathe properly because my nose was stuffed up.) Anyway, it turned out that the Main Hall was taking in refugees, so I spent the rest of the night there where it was nice and warm. Warm is good.

Hot pools are good, too. So is sitting on the grass at the airport watching planes take off and people jumping out of them. And winning the Riddle Competition (with help) with the prize of an extremely Un-Naff Notebook with a carved stone (?) cover. The riddle that I answered to win it was this:
A strange thing hangs by man's hip,
hidden by a garment. It has a hole
in its head. It is stiff and strong
and its firm bearing reaps a reward.
When the retainer hitches his clothing
high above his knee, he wants the head
of that hanging thing to find the old hole
that it, outstretched, has often filled before.

Any guesses?

Stephanie