Totally ToC'd
2004-06-27 - 8:33 p.m.

Well ToC has come and gone and next year it will be some other family's passion and we will come and be support staff...the idea is very comforting.

We all arrived pretty worn at the edges from doing our week of prep. Kate and I travelled up with Johanna von Sudeborn's kids, Graham and Catie and Christie and Les came after bearing tons of food. The kids and I hooked up with Calli at the Palamino and went to eat dinner. We stopped by the grocery to order a cake for Christie (I did not want the day to go as just the event and not mark her 14th) and we saw this HUGE goldfish balloon. Knowing that Daemon would soon be the baby Gold Dolphin we thought it would make a fine medalion. So off we went to the Palamino to hide a 1/2 sheet cake and a four foot floating fish. We spent some time prepping ribbon for the site tokens and enjoyed Hrothny's company including a lesson in pronunciation to particularly dense students!

Saturday came EARLY and we arrived to black clouds and summer rain to do field prep and hall setup. I was amazed at how small the kitchen was. It was the smallest kitchen I have ever seen John use and is smaller than our house kitchen which I thought was too small for him to precook in! I was glad he had gotten so much cooked ahead of time.

We had good help putting up banners in the hall and the results were beautiful. The site had wall sconces along the perimeter of the room which would have been neat but I guess the time of candlelit feasts has passed.

We were lucky to entice Theo and Roland as well as BdeB and Kim to come and sit under our pavilion. Sometime this month it has decided that it will now leak at the seams so we will be having to work on that among other things the next couple weeks. But our friends were gracious and did not call in to question my limited hospitality. My only real regret is that I was poor company. I dearly love time with all four of them but we are seldom together when we can all be relaxed. Maybe I can steal some time back next time.

Curia was faboo! Only six minutes with a tiny bit of law and a tiny bit of officer reports. Everyone seemed quite happy to get back to the sunshine.

Made some rounds to see folks but honestly I was more interested in keeping an eye out for the girls making sure they had our support at a distance. I spent a bit of time on business but they were more my focus.

Yep, Emma and I test drove Ruaidhri's bench and found it sorely wanting as the hinges gave way and we both went ass over teakettle onto the ground. She got a piece of wood in the ankle and I got a tent stake in the ribs. It felt like I have always imagined getting smacked by rattan feels....again, why the hell do you people do that?

My only real low point was when I realized about that time that Christie's cake was likely still in Calli's room. You know your ribs hurt when you can't breathe enough to cry. But then, I have Emma and off we hobbled to go get it. I'm glad because it was a bright moment for her and through her for the other kids mid-afternoon.

We dutifully trundled to court (thanks Colin and Byram for our chairs). I got to sit with Manly, Kal and Shannon which was great for all of us including the girls. (Trust me when I say that our girls were pretty tired at that point and did not want to dress fully for court....they were told by every woman attached to our family that yep they had to. They must get really tired.) Christie was having trouble staying buttoned with the tiny Billy and Charlie buttons so I was pinning her, she was already frustrated and tired and then my hand slipped as I was pulling the front to meet and I clipped her with an uppercut to the chin. She was shocked and so was I. Her self-control was admirable and she even let me finish buttoning and pinning her dress which later became a good thing.

Court was wonderful as usual. C&P do a great job balancing warmth and humor. I was very happy to see Kal's Missiliers, the Kraken's and the SeaStags along with D's dolphin. Christie got a surprise gift for her work in the hall and Kate got a surprise too, a KAE from Cuan. She was really touched but a little embarrassed. They looked beautiful and with all the comments about shoes in Sacred Stone and pants in Windmaster's I was glad Kate had put her shoes back on and they both did the Adorables proud!

I went in prepared to join Nia for feast and get some good Nia time (and Manus time) but I could see that John could better use me helping plate out and rotate out dishes for all that food. Fifteen of each tray done on about a four and a half foot section of counter and then staged out on a table and a half. I am sure folks would have like more hot dishes but I am not sure how he would have managed much more than he did.

I gotta say...pickled beef is WAY better than it sounds.

The event ended with Nottinghill and Windmasters teaming up to take down the hall decor and then clean the kitchen, (thank you William and Julie, Muirgheal and Cormac and Meadh, Idonea, Nia, Nikulai, Ceridwen and Zita knocking out the kitchen and floors.)

I finally just asked Calli if I could take the TiC-ToC home as she was dead on her feet. Thank you everyone who made the event such a success.

Just a couple of Bests and Worsts

Worsts:

The few (precious few) who cannot be patient with youth.

High handed tempermental help.

The cake near miss (thank you Emma).

The tent spike.

Missing Benefse and Drea at the only feast Les has EVER done with zero tree bark or nut products.

Les's physical fatigue by the end of the week.

The oven fire at home on Friday.

The nail in the tire on the way home.

The hail storm in Columbia so bad I had to stop ten miles from home.

Bests:

Christie's Flemish raghead...she looked neat and adorable.

Katie's smile and dirty bare feet as she followed Calli and tried to do everything he needed.

Cormac...gotta love him for coming all that way...missing the ARCHERY event, dropping our pavilion and cleaning the kitchen.

43 reasons to love William and Julien...that could be a entry all its own!

Really nice travel companions for my kids. Seeing Johanna whose caring friendship predates our SCA lives.

A friend who knows about fuses in cars.

SCA friends who can point you to carshops along almost any route you take to and from an event.

If I missed you, please know it is only my fatigue and I appreciate EVERYONE who made this weekend so special.

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