Archery

Happy things from today:

• Archery was fun, but I didn't score as well as I have been.  I did get two golds on two different rounds.  My scores were inconsistent.  I'll work on it more in the spring.

• There were two people at archery practice who completed their third set of Royal Rounds.  Royal Rounds are a way we keep score of the archers to provide a ranking system.  When the third set of Royal Rounds are completed and turned in the names are added to the list and they are official East Kingdom Archers. They can get a badge.  We decided to hold an impromptu mini court to award the badges at practice.  It was fun cheering on their progress.
• As I write this, I am sitting next to Gideon in the living room. He is watching something on his phone.  He watches things at increased speeds.  It reminds me of Alvin and the Chipmunks.  😆🐿

☮

Currently reading: Year of the Griffin, by Diana Wynne Jones.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Dagger

 Some happy things from the Ides of October

• There was archery practice today.  I didn't score as well as I was hoping, but I had fun and that is more important.

• We were all a little distracted with our archery shooting today.  The Archery Marshall has a new poodle puppy.  He is cute and very soft.  They have only had him a few weeks so he still needs a bunch of training.  We all took turns shooting archery and watching the puppy so the puppy didn't chase the arrows.  😉 

Photo credit to Julian, our Archery Marshall
The puppy is far away in the background. 

• The Inktober prompt today is Dagger.  I thought about attempting to draw a face with someone's eyes seemingly shooting daggers.  Then I decided that was above my pay grade.  🤣

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Currently listening to: Dark Lord of Derkholm, by Diana Wynne Jones.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Harper's Retreat Day Two

 Today I wasn't invisible.   As a shy introvert I often fall under the radar, so to speak.   Even with a shiny coronet on my head I sometimes feel seen but not necessarily noticed, if that makes sense.  Anyhow, here are some happy things:

• When I go to an event with our chiefs of staff, I get fed.  Pancakes for breakfast and hotdogs for lunch were much appreciated.
• Normally, Keziah and I have to split our time between activities at this particular event.  Because someone wasn't able to make it, this morning's thrown weapons was canceled so I was able to attend all of the archery tournament instead of just the finals.  The people running the archery came up with some fun shoots and I was able to watch them all.  The final shoot included hanging targets that moved with the breeze.  This added an extra element to the competition.  It was a lot of fun.
• I helped someone string the hanging targets which was also fun.  I really stepped out of my shell for this day.
• There was a lovely display of arts and sciences.  People showed off there calligraphy, sewing, embroidery, book binding, illumination, and more.
• In the late afternoon there was a delicious feast.  With Keziah not there, I had some anxiety as I had to figure out who to sit at head table with me and who to say the toasts.  In the end, I really enjoyed the company at head table.  If anyone had a complaint over who said the toasts, I haven't been told.  Phew.
• In the evening the bardic competitions were held.  There were two children that competed for Youth Bard and three adults who competed for either Baronial Bard or Warrior Bard.  Thankfully it wasn't all up to me to choose.  Teamwork!  That was followed by general bardic.  It was lots of fun.
• I was invited to a private camp to visit with some people that I just met today.  I went, in the dark, to places in the encampment that I hadn't seen yet in the light.  I got there, met some people, and heard stories.  When it was time to leave we left as a group with new friends escorting us back to the main part of camp. 
• The stars were bright tonight.  We also saw satellites. 

People helped me to feel special today and it was very nice.  Here are some pictures I took throughout the day:

A beautiful view of Mount Monadnock.

Pond

Dragon targets

The Dragons were hit!

These targets the archers needed to hit the Dragons, and not the sheep.

This one they also had to avoid the sheep.

The final two.

Hanging targets.

A lovely display of this woman's art.  Embroidery, painting, and a book she illuminated and did the calligraphy.  She also bound the book.  Superb! 

A harpist.

A singer.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Archery Day

Some happy things from today:

• Too often I let things distract me in the mornings. Thankfully this doesn't seem to be a problem on work days. Today it meant I was later for archery practice than I would have liked. It also meant driving through Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. While waiting in line I spent my time watching the occasional bumblebee looking for flowers on the shrubbery. It was a pleasant distraction from a line that was moving slowly.
• At archery there were more people this time. Two were fairly new and still learning. They did well. My score wasn't quite as good as it has been this summer, but still good for me.

• Keziah and Zed gave the cats some cat grass. They get so excited and love eating it.

• Art happened at Keziah’s shop today. A friend did some window painting, it looks really great.

• Keziah, Zed, Gideon, and I went to see the Barbie movie. It was enjoyable and had some laugh out loud scenes.
• Today is Bel's, my youngest's, birthday. They are 29 now. They live in Maryland and I miss them like crazy, especially today. I called them after we got home from the movie and we got to talk a little. It was very good to hear their voice.

☮

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Pennsic Full Day Ten

Happy Monday things:

• This morning I went to shoot archery with friends. There were three different types of shoots. One was the castle "window" where the goal is to get the arrow into the window. There was also a serpent in the window. Getting the arrow into the window scored one point and hitting the serpent was worth two points. We could shoot up to thirty arrows for each shoot. I scored 23 points at the window shoot. The second shoot was an advancing mummies shoot. The closest mummy was at about 15 yards and was worth one point. There were four mummies, each about another ten yards farther beyond the one previous and each worth one more point. If you hit the farthest target it would be four points. I only shot at the closest target mummy and scored 23 with my 30 arrows. The last shoot was a clout shoot so the target was 100 yards away. Landing an arrow inside the wall was worth three points and hitting the obolisk in the center was worth four points. My first two rounds (12 arrows) I scored zero. I finally found the inside on the third round with one of my arrows. On my last round I hit the obelisk. It was a great feeling.  I scored 19 points on the clout shoot.
• In the evening Keziah and I attended the Runnymede dinner. Runnymede is a group containing all of the landed barons and baronesses in the East Kingdom. It was a really nice dinner. There was even entertainment. Firedancers came to perform after the dinner feast.
• By the time we got back to camp it was starting to get late. Keziah went to bed. Just as I was thinking of doing the same someone came to visit. I ended up having nice visits with a handful of different people and staying up late. The visits were worth the late night.

Pictures:

Right between the eyes

The clout in the distance.

The clout, closer.

My arrow, in the clout, where the points happen.

The obelisk with my arrow.

☮️

Currently reading: She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay Safe.

Less Bells

Some of today's happy things:

• Sleep was hard to come by so when work offered voluntary time off, I took it. Normally, I work three ten hour days. This week and next I am scheduled for five ten hour days. I’m taking off where I can.
• Since I didn't end up working I was able to attend archery practice. My first set of royal round scores I didn't do well, the second set I scored 58, same as last week. I'm very happy with that score.

• Keziah helped me choose which bells to keep. I knocked it down to two. Downsizing is good.  Between the four bells yesterday and the twelve today, saving two, I am getting rid of fourteen bells.  I'm realizing that I have more grieving to do even though my mother has been gone over twenty years. My cousin, Shirley, once told me that girls always miss their moms. She was right in my case. 

☮

Currently listening to: Under the Whispering Door, by T. J. Klune.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay Safe.

Archery and Song

Happy things from today:

• Zed, Keziah, and Gideon all joined me at archery today. There were bows for each of them to borrow and try shooting. Gideon never actually hit the target but he had fun on his first time doing SCA archery.  I got the highest royal round score I remember getting, 58.  

• There is a forest behind where we shoot and at one point we heard something rustling. It was a deer running back there. We all paused to watch it run through the trees. A short while later a dog came out of the trees! We ended up calling the owner to come get him. He was a good dog, all wet from swimming in the nearby pond. He was probably the reason for the deer running earlier.
• In the evening, Keziah and I went to a friend’s house for a backyard bardic circle. Music, songs, stories, and jokes were performed around the fire. There are some very talented people that we know. Keziah performed a few songs but I did not.  Maybe next time.

• On the ride home, we sang together. I looked up lyrics on the phone while she drove and we sang. Fun times!

☮

Currently listening to: Becoming, by Michelle Obama.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay Safe.

Archery

Happy things for today:

• This morning when I woke up I had a goal. It was my intention to make it to archery practice this morning. Not only did I make it to practice, but I was on time. I even remembered to stretch before I shot. My highest Royal Round score (total of four different shoots) was 38. I’m not a great archer, maybe if I make it to practice more often.  This score was just a little lower than last year's average so I am happy with it.

The first round and every arrow scored.
That was the only time that happened.
My arrows are the long ones.

My one shot in the gold!

• It turns out that yesterday I finished watching the series Family Affair from the late 1960’s. I realized this when I wanted to watch something short today. Instead I started watching the new series Rise of the Pink Ladies which is based on the movie Grease. I like it, but the episodes are an hour long which will make it hard to turn off when I should be going to bed.
• After archery I went for a nice walk with my friend, Amy. We saw a turtle. We also made sure to stay off the thin ice on the pond. 😉

• Keziah, Zed, and Gideon made it home safely from their adventure in Canada this weekend.  They brought me back a can of maple syrup and a pretty necklace.

• When I left to go to archery there were three red rose buds. When I came home from the walk one was starting to open. There seem to be a lot of blossoms this year and I wonder if that has to do with all the pruning I did early in the spring.

☮

Finished listening to: In Pieces, by Sally Field.

Started listening to: Becoming, by Michelle Obama.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay Safe.