Kingdom Arts & Sciences - Part 2 (November Part 3)

I know - 2 post in 2 days! Not possible...something must be wrong...and there will be more! Imagine that! I guess I am reading WAY to many quilting blogs...but it is SO unlike me!

So this is K A&S part 2 - where I document my second dish called: Bārida of Puree of Chickpeas with Cinnamon and Ginger.

This was my second cooking entry into the competition. It is like a lighter version of hummus, as you will see below.

I purchased a copy of Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World and I wanted to select a couple of recipes to try out. I am fascinated in the Islamic World during the occupation of Spain. I was curious to see a medieval hummus and I wanted to see how different or similar the taste would be.

Ingredients:1 cup Dry Chickpeas, ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar, 3 Pickled Lemons, 2 pinches of Cinnamon, 5 whole Black Peppercorns, 2 pinches of Ground Ginger, 2 handfuls of Fresh Parsley, 1 handful of Dried Mint, drizzled Olive Oil and  ¼ cup of Water.

 I started by rinsing and cleaning the chickpeas. I then did the quick soak method of boiling them of 2 minutes and letting them sit off the heat for 1 hour. Once this was completed I changed the water and filled the pot again to start the cooking process. I cooked the peas for about 2.5 hours on a low simmer.

  

 Once the chickpeas were cooked I then rinsed them and prepared a bowl with a food mill to get the chickpeas in a uniform size to create the appetizer.

Once the chickpeas were mashed down to the smaller size, I measured out 2 cups of the chickpeas; I then selected 3 pickled lemons and juiced them.

Pickled Lemons

 I then added to that juice ¼ cup of red wine vinegar. I added this to the chickpeas and I then added 2 large pinches of cinnamon and ginger along with 5 black peppercorns and a small handful of dried mint. I put all the ingredients in my mortar and pestle and ground them to a nice fine powder. I then added this to the chickpea mixture. I noticed that it seemed a bit thick for a hummus so I added 1/3 cup of water to smooth it out a bit. I then added a small bunch of fresh parsley to the appetizer. Once this was mixed I covered it with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for the flavours to mix together.

I then quarter a pickled lemon, ground more spices and selected the olive oil and chopped the fresh parsley I wanted to use as garnish. This was added at the event before I serve it to the judges. I also served it with pita for dipping.


Bārida of Puree of Chickpeas with Cinnamon and Ginger - Photo by David Gotlieb

A very simple dish with nice taste. Next time I want to pickle my own lemons and get the chickpeas even finer than what I had originally done. I will also look at the comments that come back to me from the judges too.

There you are my Kingdom A&S entries. The Next post will be about my quilting bee where I have been a bad bee member...stay tuned!

~Em

Kingdom Arts & Science Update - Part 1 (November Part 2)

I am very pleased that I have manage to post this next part a full 6 days from when I seem to normally post! YAY me!

So in this post I promised to talk about my A&S entries for the competition we had on November 19th in the Canton of Greyfells (Kingston, ON). As you might have seen on my blog for some time I had what I was working on for my Kingdom A&S entries. I had decided to put in 5 pieces, but not do the Pentathlon! Which was good because a friend won it with her fabulous nettles work! YAY!

So my entries were as follows:

1. Tudor Gable Hood (Beginner)
2. Men's Complete 16th Century Japanese Garb (Intermediate)
3. Bobbin Lace (Beginner)
4. Arab Chicken Dish (Beginner)
5. Arab Chickpea Dish (Beginner)

The Tudor gable hood was completely done by hand and I had made it for TSivia's Pelican elevation. It was really nice to have people ask questions about it. I do believe that I have pictures from earlier posts with it on. I have had it for a while, but it was nice to get some comments on it. I am curious to see what those will be exactly (they should be coming in the mail soon!).

My second piece was Takahiro's Kosode, Hakama, Dobuku. I will try and post a picture of him in his Garb, but I wanted to hear if there was anyone who could give me more information on to how to push this to the next level.

My Bobbin lace was truly a beginner entry, as this was the work I had done at my Pennsic class this past year. I like how my stitches are becoming more solid and done properly. I got some great suggestions about how to make a new pillow and Siglinda suggested we meet up to chat about lace as that is her specialty! Yay, someone in town to chat with. Hopefully in January I can do that with her, time to focus on some project! LOL.

Now on to the two dishes I had lots of fun doing - but they were time consuming. This is where all my pictures come from on this post! hehe...

My Arabic Chicken Dish called Another bārida from the book of al-Wāthiq.



Arab Cooking - ingredients picture

I wanted to do a recipe from the Annals of the Caliph’s Kitchens Ibn Sāyyar al-Warrāq’s Tenth Century Baghdadi Cookbook. I am very curious of Arab cookery in medieval times and I wanted try out some new recipes. So I decided that I wanted to do a cold meat appetizer as this would be easier to transport to the A&S competition. I hope to add this recipe to my repertoire.

Spices ready for toasting

  

List of ingredients were: 2 Roast Chicken (breasts), ½ cup of Mustard, 2 tsp of Murrī, 1 tbsp. of White Sugar, 2.5 tbsp. of Ground Walnuts, 1 pinch of Asafetida (ground), Drizzled Olive Oil once plated, Pomegranate Seeds

Murrī
3 Tbsp honey,1 1/2 oz white bread, 1 Tbsp wheat starch (used corn starch instead), 2/3 tsp anise seeds, 2/3 tsp fennel seeds, (2/3 t nigela) – Not able to get at this time, 1/4 tsp saffron, 1/3 tsp celery seed, 1/4 oz carob powder, 1/4 oz ground walnuts, 1 1/2 oz quince – not in season – unable to get at this time (used a pear), 1/2 cup salt, 1 pint water plus ¾ cups, lemon (1/4 of one).

Mustard
4 tsp Yellow Mustard seeds, 5 tbsp of White Wine Vinegar, 3-4 pieces of saffron, ¼ tsp poudre douce.

  

Honey starting to scorch

Byzantine Murrī
I started out by placing all my necessary ingredients together and pre-measured. I then heated up the small fry pan with the honey. I heated the honey on med till it boiled then I removed the pan from the heat and let it cool 5 minutes. I then reheated the pan again and brought it to a boil. I did this 2 more times as the recipe requires the honey to taste scorched.

Toasted bread in Mortar

I then toasted the slice of bread in the toaster so that it was almost black. Once the toast had cooled I pulled it apart and put it into my mortar and pestle and crushed the bread to breadcrumbs.

  

A fine bread crumb

 

 

Honey, water and salt

I then toasted the anise and fennel seeds on the stove in a small pan. When toasted they were added to the mortar and pestle to be ground with the ground walnuts and celery seeds. Now I was waiting for the honey to be done, once it was ready I moved the honey to a medium sauce pan and added the water and salt to the pot. I wanted to dissolve the salt and honey before I added the rest of the ingredients (except the lemon).



All ingredients in the pot

Once they were dissolved I added the saffron and Carob powder, then the rest of the spices, the walnuts, breadcrumbs, starch and pears. Now it needed to simmer for about 2 hours. I stirred the pot regularly. Once it was ready then I removed the pot and put the sauce in a fine mesh sieve and pushed through the pear and any little pieces of spice and nuts. Back on the stove it went and I added the lemon juice. It simmered for another 30 minutes. I repeated this process 2 more times. The murrī was ready.



Murrī ready for the mustard mixture

   

Mustard

Medieval Mustard
I measured out the mustard seeds and placed them in a glass bowl and added the white wine vinegar and covered them with plastic wrap to soak overnight. In the morning I drained off the excess vinegar (but kept it on hand) and put the seeds in my mortar and pestle. I then proceeded to mash the seeds into a grainy mustard texture. I then added some of the vinegar to get it a little more sauce like. I then added some saffron and poudre douce to flavor the mixture. I then set it aside to continue the sauce for the chicken.
 

Poultry Dish
I took 2 chicken breast with the bone in and salt and peppered the breasts before I placed them on the Barbecue. Once they were at the correct temperature I then removed the breasts and let them stand for about 5 minutes. I then removed the bone and sliced the breasts into a reasonable bite size. I then placed them in the refrigerator so that they would cool and be ready for transport to the site.

For the sauce I took the mustard and added 2 tsp. of murrī and 1 tbsp of sugar to get a nice sweet sour taste. The mustard also has quite a bit of heat to it, so it made a nice combination. I then added ground walnuts which thickened the mustard quite a bit and then I added the ground asafetida. I then put this mixture in the fridge so that the flavours would meld nicely.

 

Another bārida from the book of al-Wāthiq - Photo by David Gotlieb

~Em

Part 2 coming shortly - Arabic Chickpea with Ginger and

Feast of the Hare Update...Really November part 1!

Greetings!

Well it is time for me to do my monthly post and really being sick at home is probably the best time. Since my last post we had our Halloween Party, which was a great success, but as usual too much food left over! :P Everyone's costumes were fantastic and I hope everyone had a good time too!

Well for my SCA self it has been a crazy 2-3 weeks. Once Halloween was done I could concentrate on getting ready for Feast of the Hare (FOTH), our Annual big event here. So I promised Avelyn that I would make her a new Italian Renaissance outfit based on the one she was given. It was made out of beautiful Black Velveteen, which turned out to be the devil since it was stretchy! Ugh! When I fitted the petticoat from the measurements I did of her, I had to take it in another 3 inches (and she is telling me she is not loosing weight, HA!) So when I had the gown completed we put it on and it looked smashing! But as I am not used to doing fitted garments not for me, it has had some technical difficulties! So our good friend THL Catherine gave me some good suggestions (actually that was at Kingdom A&S) but she does fitted Elizabethan garb all the time. So I will try these adjustments and see if it makes a difference! Sorry Avelyn I will try better! So I had to work quickly to get an ensemble together for Avelyn at hare, she looked fantastic even with the malfunctions! :)

At FOTH I was able to do some entouraging for Their Majesties Quilliam and Dagmar, which was so much fun! I wore my Italian Renaissance for the day. Avelyn and I found a great fake hair place in Ottawa so that we would have nice hair. Here is the picture I have from Dafydd. I have to say it is my favourite now...I even have it on my FB page! Doesn't my fake bun look great and real!

Picture by David Gotlieb

It is hard to see, but it looks great from this angle! :) Now as you might be able to tell that I am kneeling, so I must be in court for something. Wait for it! It is true. I had had a congratulations from Lady Fursto from the coronation of Dagmar and Quillam (The stepping down on King Aaron and Queen Rustique) that I got something, now this was September 24, and I couldn't be there as we were at Lee and Kathi's wedding and it was Takahiro's Grandmothers 90th birthday (and she just passed away November 1st - yes it has been crazy!) So I have been waiting in anticipation of what it could be... I got my maiden's heart! YAY! For all my work doing entourage and teaching, etc.

Emelote getting her Maiden's heart and king Quilliam acting as King Aaron - Photo by David Gotlieb

I actually ended up with 2 scrolls for this award. Not sure what the story is on that one, but here they are!

(Left) Scroll by Her Excellency Nicolaa de Bracton - (right) Scroll by Lady Elsbeth

 They are so beautiful, Lady Elsbeth has me in my Tudor Garb within the Illuminated Letter. I love them both, now I need to get them framed together! So all my awards have been given to my by Aaron and Rustique (AOA) - funny how that works out! I also thought it was funny that I got my service award before my Arts & Science...who knew! Now I need to figure out how to wear the award on my many different outfits!

My next post will be about Kingdom A&S and my work on my Arab cooking dished! Lots of pics on that one! (Won't be a month away this time!)

~Em

PS: I got an extension on my White Wolf as Mistress Siglinda gave me some great suggestions. I would like to get it done as soon as I can, and I might use them for Kingdom A&S Pent next year - do a German Theme...

Hallowe'en is a Comming!

Well it is time for my monthly blog update. You would think that I would update it a bit more, but I guess this is better than nothing! :P

Well there hasn't been too much going on since the last post (HA!) about my hobbies! Except that Lance (my black cat) got a blocked bladder and it cost us $1200 to get him fixed, so money is tight. My husband's Grandmother is in her last stages of life, she had not been doing well since her 2 heart attacks in July and August, plus the Alzheimer's and her liver shutting down, now it is only a matter of days. So we have that stress we are dealing with as well.

I am getting to the gym 2-3 times a week, which is good but not great. This week was a total bust as we had to visit his grandmother and had plans on Wednesday now I am just wiped! But I have lost 7lbs. Though I think I really need to get more protein now. I have to step up to the plate and really work on this!

I promised pictures of the quilt blocks I did for the bees for June, July, August and September...here they are!

These are IssabellaTheCat's June Blocks.



 



Here are July's Blocks for Mad for dyes.





The August Blocks are my FAVOURITE! I love the colours and the design! The Blocks were for My Fabric Obsession's quilt.

And finally we have Creationsbyrachel's September Blocks.

Now the pictures are not the best because my camera was in Europe with my parents when I completed the blocks. I am also working on the October ones this weekend, so I will post the pictures in my next blog post. I have also started to think about my quilt in March. I have to have it all planned by February so that I can cut it up and send out for March. I am debating between a Black, Grey, White, Citron and Chartreuse scheme or a Grey and Orange (with maybe purple) scheme...I have more of the of the first colours...but we shall see!



I have been a bad SCA member as I have not contacted the White Wolf Fian and cancel my request. Bad me, but I did manage to get my Kingdom A&S form in with what I am going to compete with. I have planned to do the following items.

1. Takahiro's Japanese Garb (Under Kosode, Over Kosode, False neck,  Hakama, and Dobuku)
2. Hand Sewn Gable Hood
3. Bobbin Lace
4. Arab meat recipe
5. Arab vegetarian recipe

Now I can back out at any time, but I figured this was a good start. All I need to work on is more of the lace, the recipes and the false neck for the Japanese garb. Should not be too hard...and I need to pick what I am planning on showing as he has like 5 outfits now! YAY! I also need to work on Avelyn's dress for FOTH so she has something pretty to wear, and I need to fix my Italian Renaissance Dress as the bodice it too big. So I think I might just re-cut the front to have it fit and support better and I need to add the trim.

On top of all of this I have to finish the menu for my Halloween party (hopefully today), clean my house, decorate it and figure out my costume. Oh it should be fun, but what a crazy 3 weeks it will be! Thank the Goddess that FOTH is on a long weekend for me. We also picked up a new microphone and the keyboard for Rock Band (super fun) so I hope to get some playing time on that one.

Whew! Now back to work.

~Em

Almost October ALREADY!

So I have decided that I needed to do a "quick" check in (and I am a little bored at work anyway...) but things are not going as planned in my last post. I had posted about my White Wolf Fian and I think I am going to bow out. I don't think that the project I picked is really in my best interests and I am dragging my feet everytime I think about it. I just don't want to do any hand sewing...lets face it, I love beautiful clothes, but couldn't be bothered to hand sew all the seams...I have way too much on my plate to dedicate that much time to it. So I think I will work on the outfit for FOTH, but won't concern myself with the "hand sewn"ness of it. I have to let the Fian know that I will be backing out.

The weekends have been crazy! I don't even know if I will have anything ready for Kingdom A&S...for sure nothing for the Pentathlon. Oh well, maybe another year. Just even on that note, all my Pennsic stuff is still in a mass pile in the SCA room...so I really need to look at cleaning that up (and the sewing room) before the winter sets in. I also have to plan with Dafydd our menus, so there is a lot to do in the next few months...Though I have to say that I have managed to keep my Living room, Dining room and Kitchen in a clean state for about 3 weeks now...I am super proud of how well it looks.

Over the long weekend, my sister and he boyfriend invited me to swim at Calypso water park while Jeff was camping. We had a great time and my sister suggested that I rip out the ugly blue carpet in the hallway...WOW that was a job. We needed 2 days to do it! I love it, but of course there are little things that need to be finished. (some painting and sanding). So that is on the list to be done before our Annual Halloween party! YAY! The Halloween party is in the planning stages, the invites are out - now to work on decor and food. So that is going to be crazy all on its own!

I have also started going to the gym (work membership) and seeing a weight specialist recommended by my doctor. Well I am not sure how I am working this all in, but I HAVE to get into shape. This is ridiculous! So the food plan is simple, but I have to figure out my day so I am getting enough food...so I am a little stressed about that, but I CAN manage.

I managed to catch up on my poor neglected online Quilting Bee. I needed to finish June, July and August months and September had just arrived. So I felt really guilty for not getting it done on time. So Friday I managed to push out all four months so a total of 8 blocks completed. I think mailed them out the next day, so I hope my quilt bee members get them soon! I will look at posting pictures tonight or tomorrow. YAY me!

So for this weekend we have a wedding to go to and friends coming over on Sunday, so no sewing this weekend (maybe on my compressed Monday I can get something done).

Well that is the update (not very short was it?) Hopefully I can write more or do better next time!

:P
~Em

Back Home...

Well I am back home from a great two weeks at Pennsic. I am tired and still having issues sleeping in a real bed with all the cats! It was kinda nice sleeping without them! Sorry Guys!

Well I managed to get all of my hand sewing done except for adding the trim to the Italian Renaissance! YAY me! My husband had a great time with my friends and even made some new ones. I LOVED camping with Talfryn! They had a great spot and they were great company! We had visits from Potatoes and Boobies (don't ask!) and of course had many Conference Calls (I love inside jokes!) I did five entourage shifts for Their Majesties and Their Highnesses. So it was a busy war, but I managed to get to almost all my classes. I missed out on one that I really wanted which was the "Duc du Berry Borders" at Æthelmearc Royal. Grump!

A quick rundown is that I have now two new hobbies. Bobbin Lace Making, I took a great 3-day course and then bought a bunch of supplies. I also got some period pigments for Illuminations...so more to keep me busy! Not to mention adding to my cookery book list with classes and my new book Medieval Arab Cookery! Looking forward to redacting those recipes.

I was able to work on my device while I was there, so I need to send that in to Kingdom and my hubby has decided to register his name. We had an amazing Herald at Herald's Point who happen to be the Japanese persona expert help him with his name. It also got much longer. It was Saito Takahiro (last name, first name) to Saitou TouTarou Takahiro - which of course has something to do with being 1st son and what clan you are affiliated with. I also learn that "ou" is a long "o" sound in Japanese, so it take a little getting used to.

On the way home we stopped at Grove City Outlets and boy that was fun. Though rolling in at 11:30pm is rough. I was glad to hear everyone made it home safely. I am sure there are tons of stories I am not listing, but that is OK...at least I am blogging! :)

Now I am working on my White Wolf Fian for Feast of the Hare in November and I am going to enter the Kingdom A&S Pentathlon. That is the hope anyway! My plan is as follows:

1. German Renaissance Garb
2. Leather Shoes from German Ren Garb
3. Redacted recipe - one dish (Maybe German)
4. Illuminated Scroll (Based off German Ren)
5. Lace-making

So let's hope I can pull this together - now most will be in the beginner category, but I will have my documentation anyway. Wish me luck!

~Em

Quick Post - More to come

Just a quick post to say that my sewing for Pennsic has been coming along! I have finished 3 Hakama pants for Takahiro (the hubby) and I have just hand sewing left on 4 of the 5 Kosode I finished. So I am very excited about that! I was able to start working on a Chemise for my Italian Ren gown, so I might actually have an new outfit for Pennsic! YAY!

What I have left:
1. Hand finish the Kosode
2. Finish the Chemise
3. Start the Black Undergown
4. Start the Red Overgown
5. Start the Red/Gold Surcoat
6. Gold Hair piece
7. Sew the Green wool Viking Apron (Already cut)

Then I need to Pack for Pennsic and get my USD and insurance...so a bit more to do. Let's keep my fingers crossed I can finish in time!

I am going to post a quick story about my duct tape dummy creation experience! It is a bit of a hoot! Unfortunately (or fortunately) didn't take any pictures but the final product...which I think it is OK.

TTYS,
~Em

What has been hapening???

Hello everyone! Well it sure has been a very busy last few months! Quick recap:

1. Helped my best friends get married in May. Congrats Mel & Dave!

2. Discovered I love baking again! I made some uber awesome cupcakes (pictures to come).

3. Started quilting - actually joined 2 online quilt bees (Tokyo Subway Map Quilt Swap and the Sew Modern Quilt Bee) The great thing too is that I will get 2 quilts out of this. I have almost the whole quilt top for the Tokyo Subway map now - just a few squares to finish. If you want to see what the whole thing will eventually look like you can see it here - Oh! Fransson Tokyo Subway Map Quilt Along. My job was to do block 20 - 25 times. So there was 25 people and each did one block so we could mass produce them. Then we sent the to the bee organizer and she packaged them together and sent the completed blocks back to us.



Tokyo Subway Map Quilt - Block 20

  So soon I will have all of them together and get a picture up!

The other bee I won't have my quilt top until March 2012...but I am helping other ladies get their quilts created. Here are the 2 blocks I made for FairlyMerry (she was the Queen bee for May).



Sew Modern Quilt Bee - May - Block 1



Sew Modern Quilt Bee - May - Block 2


I am now working on the June block. More on that later :)

4. Jeff has graduated! YAY! So for his grad gift, Jeff's parents, my parents and I have put money together to get him his Yumi Bow (Japanese Bow). Now he has to go to Pennsic to get it!

5. I'm going to PENNSIC! YAY - So the prep is on. I have to make Jeff like 10 outfits - ok not that many but enough to last him at least 1 week. I am going for 2 weeks but he can only do I for now. But we are going! YAY!

6. Working on my A&S 50 Challenge. That will need its own post - along with my White Wolf Fian Challenge...so more on that in the next few days and weeks...really!

There you go - me in one post!

Em

Karen Thompson Design Studio: Giveaway Time!

Karen has a great givaway happening! I am just getting into quilting and so if I can win some free fabric, that happier I am... more to tell you about later! Otherwise check out her great site!

Karen Thompson Design Studio: Giveaway Time!: "Well hello there! I bet you thought I fell off the Earth after being so quiet for so long, eh? SURPRISE! Not only have I been busy sewing up..."

~E

I Love Ottawa...but man this election is boring!

Well I have been a little quiet as I have been working hard at my new job! (and loving it) though living in Ottawa sure gets you going when it comes to politics...and as many of you know I love my politics...

So for me this year a really big issue is Usage Based Billing (UBB) that the CRTC ruled on earlier in January...I am so against this and so is the H. So we switched to unlimited internet from a smaller comapany, and I have been in the thick of the Openmedia.ca campaign to stop UBB...so here is a short post in support of this!

Please if you are going to vote (and use the internet) please vote for a candidate that supports working against UBB! See http://openmedia.ca/vote

 

Thanks! If it wasn't for the internet I would not be able to do a lot of my research, blog, share my interests and meet new friends!

Please take a look at openmedia.ca and support what they do however you can!

-Em

PS - You can also follow me on Twitter at emeloteofcalais.

Moving My LiveJournal Blog

I have to say that I don't like the LJ format any longer...I can't change the look and the prefabs are not very creative. So I am going to transfer all of my old blogs here...so wish me luck!

I have moved everything over...now to let people know that I am not going to use LJ...

Emelote

January 22, 2011 - Pattern Give Away!

Well I have had enough of my messy sewing room that I CAN'T work in! So I am getting rid of patterns that I have had for a while. A bunch were given to me, and others were acquired when I worked at Fabricland...

So for the 1st round, I have photographed the Simplicity patterns I am giving away, now if anyone wants to give me a small donation for them, it would be appreciative! I could buy proper storage items for my room! :)

You can see what I have here: www.facebook.com/photo.php

If you are interested in any of them let me know and some have multiple sizes...so please spread the news and I will update when I get the Vogue, McCalls and Butterick up.

Emelote
Trying to dig out of her sewing room! Help!

November 8, 2010 - I have been a little remiss...

Ok, OK...I am a very poor journal writer....I haven't posted since February! ACK! :p

I have been very busy since that Feb time frame...I was planning our European holiday and so a lot of stuff got put on the back burner (such as the SCA) I missed the entire camping season!OMG! Bur boy was my trip worth it. If you didn't get the link...here it is you can check it out!

http://insearchofhistory-europe.blogspot.com/

I know it is on Blogspot, but I have a love/hate relationship with LJ (not a fan of the designs) and I am not sure if I want to stay here or go to Blogspot or really get my website done and host it there...ugh! We went to Germany, France, London and Paris for our trip. We saw one of my husband's best friend get married to a fantastic girl in her hometown of Lure France. I had so much fun with all the history stuff that I want to move to Europe for a year...maybe someday! *sigh*

So for this year's Feast of the Hare I had decided to get an outfit done (surprise, surprise) but unlike my other projects I actually gave up on finishing it in time. So I will take some pics of the in progress and get them up here on LJ & Facebook. So now I am going to take some more time with it and have it ready for another event. This has also had me thinking of changing my persona's period. She is in the 14th century, but really I am not a huge fan of the clothes. They can be really nice, but I am really into the 15-16th centuries...so I am going to think more on that. I will be keeping my name as it doesn't really tie in a period but more of a place, but that doesn't mean I haven't moved or something! LOL!

So now I need to start concentrating on my White Wolf Fian, I need to start on the stuff I already have and worry about the other pieces for when my hubby is working and not in school.I can't wait for him to graduate so we can figure out the finances...this is the hardest part now, the last semester... I need a new job and more money!

Oh yeah I should chat about Feast of the Hare this year...I had a great time when I was entourage for Her Majesty Valfreya...what an amazing lady! I hope I can entourage for her again, it was a great pleasure! Got to meet more of my household with Dame TSivia, that was uber fun too! I was really lucky to be the Chalice bearer this past year and I though it would be nice to have the next bearer get a scroll done in my hand. So I did my first illumination for Lady Catherine Townsen....YAY! I also had to get help from my new house-sister Augusta to get the calligraphy done; and really it was so worth it as she is like this awesome artist! It was so much better than what I have done in the past! Thanks Augusta! Though I had some disappointing moments too (I won't be sharing those)and it has made do some thinking about some stuff (how deep! LOL) so we shall see about it!

I am also thinking about a couple of projects that have kinda fallen in my lap, I will need to make decisions on that and hopefully move forward on them too!

Anyhoo! I am going to put in my calendar...DO LJ Update! So I can put stuff in regularly!

Em
PS. For those in the know...I missed my French Speaking exam...ugh! This is what happens with compressed days! So I have no idea if I can reschedule! Ugh! Super depressed about that!