Inn of the Wandering Dragon

This past weekend was my 15 yr high school reunion. It was pretty casual, the organizers just booked a section of a local restaurant / pub and people came and went as were able. Truth be told my graduating class was a large one so there were not many people that I knew but we still enjoyed ourselves. I had a great conversation with a few ladies that I did remember as we caught up with the passing of time and joked about our present lives. Hopefully we can keep in touch without having to wait until the 20 yr reunion. We could not help but notice the irony as the bar was getting ready to close, as one of the ladies pointed out: 'we used to be the quiet nerds in school, now we are the ones closing the bar!' Yep, it was a good night.

Each evening the pirates and nobles would gather at the pub to reveal the conclusion to the story - would the pirates be convicted or found innocent and released? The nights entertainment was rounded out with a selection of shanties and period songs for all to enjoy.

Lady Radar on her steed, Diego, were the tournament champions on the last day due to the other knight having to forfeit. His horse was not co-operating and he did not want to ruin the animal by forcing it to compete. After the field cleared he would work the buckskin up and down the list, so the horse knows he still has to work.

Many of the faire going public joined in the spirit of the venue by dressing up in costume. Some outfits were store bought amalgamations while some, like these two beautiful costumes, were hand made.

Once again the big draw for most people was the joust. Of course this time around the crowd was egged on by the pirates who had fun picking making up rhymes to cheer on their favorite. The King and Queen had also chosen their favorites as well.

The village saw the unexpected arrival of King James IV, King of Scotland, and his wife Queen Margaret Tudor.

This was our home of sorts for the 3 days of the faire. Welcome to Elemental Illusions! Only the one side is painted thus far but having the seperate sides allows us to open another side or back as needed (very usefull for drying things out).

My internet connection has been downright sluggish lately, and this has made the posting of pictures from the faire a challenge. This has made a number of thaings a challenge for that matter. But hopefully I will have some up by the end of the week.



And it looks like there is another high school reunion happening this coming weekend. My work schedual does conflict a bit but I think I will still be able to go. It will be interesting to see who all shows up - and whether or not I actually know them. The school I went to was not exactly small and this is not restricted to the graduating class.



Some items on my to-do list are done and crossed off so I am feeling better about things overall. I have also picked up a trial pass for a local gym and I know some physical activity will help immensly. Of course, it is hard to actually sign up for something like this when I know darn well that there will be a big price break in January for new sign ups. They are always hoping to catch everyone on their resolutions. But there are a few gyms in the area so I will try them out and see which one works best.

In the meantime lets see if I can actually post this...


Apparantly not from home...

Ever have one of those weeks where you just don't want to do anything? This has been one of those weeks for me, with a lengthy to-do list sitting on the counter no less. Truth be told I have sunk into the luxury of laying on the couch with a good book or playing laser with the cat. I just do not have much inclination to focus on much. Partially I am tired, partially I am lazy. I know it can not last for too much longer though. Tomorrow I start the next bellydancing class. I also have my non-shrinking list that needs to be attended to. Ah well...

I spent the long weekend out in BC for the second annual Renaissance Festival, this time held in Fort Langley at Alder Acres Farm. I am still working on sorting out the numerous photos and I will gradually post some of them as I get that done. But the site was good even if the weather was less than stellar (setting up in the rain is not so fun). We enjoyed the hickory smoked turkey legs, watching the joust and the falconry demos. Of course there were a few new vendors - one of whom taught me Norse wire weaving (I'll post about that later, it is very difficult to weave long strands of wire when there is a cat in the same room). It was also nice to visit with those who returned from last year. Academy Duello expanded from just a demo to adding introductory lessons in sword play. There was more entertainment for people to enjoy this year overall, hopefully that encourages more people to return next year - and bring their friends! I know I plan to go back again schedule permitting. We shall of course have to see.