Lifted from goldenstag, the idea is to bold the items that pertain to you ...

BTW, I sometimes surprise people with my answers to this. If I've surprised you, and you let me know, I think it adds to the fun ;)

( Behind the cut... )

Rules: Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else on your F-list has done.
Indulge in remorse if someone calls you out on a listed item.

1. Been inside the cloistered area in a Poor Clare monastery.

2. Touched the reindeer horns in Abbots Bromley.

3. Banded bats. (The mammal kind, not the wooden kind ;)

I'd forgotten what having a young kitten is like.

Half the time, bouncing-off-the-walls energy -- the other half, little kitty snores and adorable paw-over-nose cuteness. ( Cut for those not into extended kitten-maunderings.... )

Arts & Sciences Tournament was great fun, even though I pulled my usual trick of planning to go down there Friday night and not making it till Saturday morning. (I must have been an anchoress in a previous life -- hard to get out of my house!) I got to the site ten minutes before class, and taught all morning, and when I went to check the gate when I was free, they were shut down, so I didn't get to pay the site fee. They must have been short on staff, as they usually don't close quite that early.

We had nine people sitting around knitting and talking at one point. I'd advertised the class on the Kingdom mailing list the day before and mentioned that it was also World Wide Knit in Public Day, so a couple of the people who joined us had brought their modern projects to knit, and were also really interested in the historical stuff we had on show. This is the best turnout I've seen in years. No beginners this time, but a couple of people who were really interested in trying color patterns and a couple more who were interested in the stocking pattern. I've learned to schedule a double period for knitting classes so that everyone has time to get a good start on their project and do enough with it that I can see if there are any problems.

The two peerage ceremonies were quite lovely and both new peers were radiant. I also got to watch scotica be surprised with an Award of Arms (well deserved). The tavern in the evening was also great fun -- the major problem being that they had more guests show up than they had planned for. But everyone ate happily and then begin singing -- which I enjoyed, but I'd gotten up at 5:00 that morning and my eyes were beginning to fade out, so we left.

I also finally managed to make a peerage meeting after being a Laurel for a year and a half and it was quite interesting. I'd better start learning how to be a Laurel, methinks. ;)

I had every intention of going back to the site this morning (having stayed the night at scotica's house) but my friendly local fibromyalgia informed me that I had been outdoors in the sun all day yesterday, hadn't I, and if I didn't stay indoors and rest today I'd be sorry. So I came home. Greeted by the kitten with happy scamperings and nuzzlings, I settled into the reading chair with lemonade, crackers, vegetables and a couple of good novels. And the weather is cooling off nicely. (It was lovely at the tournament too -- sunny, warm but not hot.)

mermaidinblack's questions:

( ...in case everyone's getting bored... )

semy_of_pearls asked me:

1) Your default icon is a very beautiful photo, I'm guessing around 1900? Who is it?

Good guess. It's a "visiting card" photo dated 1911, and it's one of my great-aunts -- I'm not sure which one (I had quite a few). I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been told the resemblance to me is a bit startling, except that I was never that pretty even when I was that young.

2) If you could create your own Renaissance Fair (note, no 'e' at the end) what would it be like and what would you dissuade?

I'd probably call it something else, to start with, since by this time "Renaissance Fair" (even without the "e") means people expect certain things of it (elves, crystals, belly dancers....). Mine would try to be REAL. I would invite guilds interested in portraying 16th-century English court and country life and culture with as high a degree of accuracy as was safe, healthy, and reasonably doable/affordable for the performers. A sound educational background and yearly updates would be required for all performers. Good theater, humor and fun would certainly be encouraged, but not allowed to override historical plausibility. Merchants would be juried and would offer reasonably decent approximations of period crafts, books, clothes, accessories and food, with some souvenir-type stuff but no Indian bedspreads or pewter dragon crystal goblets ;). I actually think there would be a good market for this sort of thing.

3) Have you ever received a really crazy/stupid request for a paternoster?

Actually no, I can't think of any -- probably because I don't generally make them for sale. Mostly what people want is advice. So far I've come up with much sillier ideas than anyone else has asked about (I have some glass beads in the shapes of fruits and vegetables, for instance.....)

4) What is your favorite cat story?

I was living in a household with several other people, and my room was the converted garage, with a little entryway between it and the main house. In the ceiling of the entryway was a square hatch into the attic, which ran continuously from the main house to the garage. It was blocked with a piece of cardboard wedged into the opening because the original hatch cover no longer fit. We had a beloved cat who loved to play in the attic, and I was in my room reading one day when suddenly I heard a "foomp!" and looked up to see a very astonished cat riding the cardboard down to the floor. She hit the floor and took off like a shot. She wasn't hurt, just REALLY surprised!

5) What medieval food will you never try to make or eat?

Anything with meat, since I can't eat the stuff.

This one's turning out to be quite a bit of fun.

eowyna asked me:

1. What got you interested in paternosters?

It all started at RenFaire. Someone in my guild, who was playing a Catholic character, wanted to know what period rosaries looked like. I had no idea and started looking.... but I've always been interested in religious artifacts. I remember reading The Rose-Garden Game in college. (It's a terrible book on rosaries, but at the time it's all there was in English.)

2. How did the SCA find you (or vice versa)?

RenFaire again. I had a lot of responsibilities in my Guild, which was fun but tiring. A couple of friends in the Guild were current or former SCAdians (I found out later that there were far more than a couple, including three Laurels and a Knight-Pelican) and it sounded like fun. Besides, RenFaire doesn't last all year -- and the idea of continuing to "do history" in a more relaxed way was very appealing. I went to my first event all by myself and knowing no one, just had a couple of names to track down. For a Shy Person that was quite an accomplishment and I'm still proud of it.

3. What would you do if you had "world enough and time?" that is, enough money to support doing whatever you like, and the time to do it in.

Do research and write nonfiction. But I'd need a whole lot more self-discipline to be able to actually do it as a lifestyle. ;(

4. Favorite Ice cream flavor?

Vanilla. I never get tired of it.

5. What have you done in the last decade that you are most proud of?

Developed into a pretty decent scholar (if I do say so), able to hold my own in academic discussions. I'll never be on a level with professors who do research and writing 40 hours a week (started too late, for one thing) but I'm proud of being able to speak and be respected for what I do know.

======================================================

Now... I'll ask the questions...

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me" or something of an equally pithy nature.
2. I will respond by asking you 5 questions of a personal nature... or not so personal.
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them 5 questions.

Baby pictures, as requested:





After being here a week, she's getting along quite well, though she still hasn't told me her name. In the meantime, she answers (as much as cats ever do) to various generic nicknames like "sweeting," "catkin," and "silly kitten."

We are working on learning House Rules. Food on a plate in the lap is People Food and kittens don't get any. When the plate is empty and is on the floor, kittens may lick it. Human beings may be licked and nuzzled, but not bitten. Any human part that feels kitten teeth will be immediately removed from the kitten's vicinity. Kittens may sit on top of the desk (she seems to find the computer screen fascinating -- things MOVE!) but not walk on the keyboard. The kitten may play with HER yarn but not MY yarn. She may not chew on knitting needles (one set of wooden ones now have a few teeth marks). Electrical cords are not for chewing either. Further rules may evolve as needed.

I have a keyboard tray on my desk, and her latest trick is to jump onto the pulled-out tray, crawl *under* the desk top and play with the mouse cord. It's cute the first time, but if she does it again she gets pulled out, picked up by the scruff of her neck and dropped to the floor (a standard punishment for offences).

Tried on the next size smaller jeans this morning, just to see how I'm doing.

They fit!

A bit snug, but this pair is straight out of the dryer. I'll see how they feel by the end of the day.

W00t!

Date:	2008-05-25 18:42
Subject:	I has a kitten ;)
Security:	Public
Mood:	bouncy

The aforementioned tortoiseshell kitten is at my house and busy exploring all the dark corners and interesting smells. For the first hour or so, I heard quite a few little birdy chirps and inquiring mews, but that seems to have stopped for now. The last time I looked she was under the bed, and from the small crunching sounds, had discovered the kitty treats I put down in her general vicinity. ;)

Date:	2008-05-24 01:01
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	ditzy

Okay, some of these are just too funny to pass up.

ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Sylvie Honda

GANGSTA NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite kind of shoe): Vanilla Teva

HIPPY NAME (what you ate for breakfast, favorite tree): Cheese Sandwich Sugar Maple
(somehow I don't think that's quite what they had in mind....)

SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Barbara Brookline

STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Lan Ch
(I have no idea how I'd pronounce that.)

SUPERHERO NAME (favorite color, favorite drink): Green Cranberry
(Is that like the blood-red emerald in Eye of Argon?)

NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers/grandmothers): Mary Emilie
(Actually, I like "J. Fred" better....)

STRIPPER NAME (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Rosemary Caramel
(Eeewww!)

TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (Your 4th grade teacher’s last name, a city that starts with the same letter): Raimundi Richmond

SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Spring Poppy

CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Apple Jeans

Found a thought-provoking post at a blog I occasionally check into, on Why medieval history matters -- especially, why it matters to people who aren't particularly "into" history for its own sake.

Excerpts:

4. The past is another country: our own times are made more particular by looking at just how different the past really was...

10. The unknowability of the past is humbling: we study it to learn about the permanent limits to our knowledge...

12. The past is detection: we study it because we like solving puzzles and mysteries.
There is a particular concern in the study of the early Middle Ages about what our sources are lying about or concealing from us: the narrative of Carolingian history, for example, is interesting because of the efforts at systematic propaganda by the regime. The construction of genealogies and chronologies is also full of these puzzle-like elements, in a way less often seen in better documented societies.

13. The past is entertainment or personal enlightenment: we study it because it has great stories, or because of the pleasures of narrative...

14. The past is heritage: we study it to form or enforce national, ethnic, religious or personal identity, or to combat attempts to destroy heritage.

My house is clean (very cluttered, but clean).

I am caught up on my shopping. I have spent the book budget for this month. Books will be coming soon.

I saw the first Smart Car I've seen in the USA on my way home this evening. It's VERY cute. If I knew I'd never have to carry chairs, camping gear or anything else large, I'd buy one in two seconds. It was particularly noticeable because it was *bright* lemon yellow; until US drivers get used to having something that small on the highway, that's probably a good idea just for visibility. It also had the dealer plates still on it, so I now know where the local dealer is, too.

The fabric store was still open when I got off work, and I bought some *gorgeous* sheer fabric to make dress-up clothes and scarves and stuff out of. The consequence is that I Am Sewing This Weekend By Golly -- I have to, if I'm going to have the stuff done in time to wear it next week -- and I now have motivation. (Besides, it occurs to me that cutting out a bunch of stuff on the floor is going to be lots easier if I do it *before* I have a cat again.)

I don't really hate sewing, especially small and lightweight stuff, and I used to be pretty good at it. What gets in the way is that I hate the process of cutting out, in a chronically cluttered house, and I also hate having to move small mountains of stuff off my work table before I can use the machine. The table is entirely too handy as a place to drop mail, unfiled books, bags full of shopping and whatever current project I was in the middle of when I stopped.

Anybody want to come keep me company sewing?

Oh, and the last thing: I got my mail and there was a large envelope from the local police department. (Police department? I thought. ???) Especially since I just this morning sent the last bits off in the mail to the county court, proving that I had attended traffic school (online, thank goodness), which cancels out one of the penalties from my recent traffic ticket for running a red light. (I did indeed run the red light; I even remember doing so. I got caught by an automatic camera. Do you know what the leading cause of traffic violations is? Bad time management. I kid you not. Guilty as charged.)

What was in the envelope was an APOLOGY from the police department. When I ran the red light, the legally required sign, warning that there was an automatic camera, was missing: it had been stolen. As a result, the ticket should never have been issued. They are *completely erasing* the ticket from existence, and -- get this -- they will be REFUNDING EVERY PENNY I PAID IN PENALTIES AND FINES, including the $19 I spent on traffic school.

(Minus a $15 administrative charge, but hey, I'm not complaining.)

I made valiant and strenuous efforts to get to the Beltane event last weekend, but unfortunately Life decided to complicate things and I didn't make it. As a result, I had a thoroughly exasperating weekend in the beautiful weather. So to all of you who have been saying how delightful it was and what a good time you had, I say this: Ppppppphhfffflllbbbbbtttt!

On the good side, I did get caught up on my sleep, and I tackled and demolished a long and very annoying task I'd been putting off. But none of that made me any less grumpy.

This week started off better. Yesterday I went and picked out a kitten from the Orphan Kitten project at the vet school, signed the adoption agreement, and paid the fee, so she is MINE. She needs to be spayed and have the rest of her kitten-shots, so I'll get to bring her home in ten days to two weeks when she's all recovered. She's a little tortoiseshell, the most adventurous one in the litter, and she came right over to investigate me when I sat down on the rug. At the moment she's 8 or 9 weeks old, and will probably grow up to be a short-hair, though it's hard to tell at this age. I've begun pondering names, but we are barely acquainted yet and haven't had time to consult. (I find that it often takes awhile for cats to tell me their names.)

ETA:( Adorable baby picture here... )

This is probably one of the busiest weeks of the year at work, and I've definitely been kept hopping. There are always a few crucial projects with tight, and nearly-immovable, deadlines, and to complicate things further, they have to be PERFECT, because if we get one of the little darlings' names or awards wrong, we are guaranteed to hear about it from an upset mom (or grandmother, aunt, dad, etc.).

Of course the Laws of the Universe do not allow perfect documents with no typos: there is always one that no one catches till the document comes back from the printer! We just hope it's the name of some obscure composer for one of the music pieces, and no one will notice...

Meme and variations, from scotica and others:

1. My username is __xrian__ because:
It's the closest thing to my SCA name that wasn't already taken. The "xr" is a sort-of-transliteration of a Greek abbreviation for "Christ." (The Greek letters actually look more like "XP" but all the "xp-" usernames I could think of were in use already.)

2. My SCA name is _Christian_ because:
When I was looking for a Renaissance Faire name, I thought of a late 17th-century woman I'd encountered called Christian Barclay. She was the wife of Robert Barclay, who published one of the classic books of Quaker thought in 1678. That meant the name was close enough to the periods I wanted to be worth investigating. Further research confirms that it dates back to the 1200s. Besides, it sounds enough like my ordinary name that when someone says it, it catches my attention.

3. My journal is titled _Several Days at Once_ because:
I liked the saying, "I try to take it day by day, but sometimes several days attack me at once." Unfortunately the template I picked doesn't have a space for an explanatory subtitle.

4. My friends page is called _xrian's friends_ because:
I haven't thought of anything else clever to call it.

5. My default userpic is:
Not a picture of me, although a friend or two have said the resemblance is rather startling. But even when I was that young I was never that pretty. It's one of my great-aunts, a "visiting card" photo -- certainly tinted, and probably retouched, so she might not have been quite that pretty either. I'm not sure exactly which great-aunt it is (there were several) but anyway it can't possibly be me because it's dated 1911.

When we left our heroine, she was still in Amsterdam. I've been home now for more than a week and am back in the right time zone -- I can tell, because I overslept yesterday. (I had been waking up ZOING! wide awake at 3:00am and getting sleepy in midafternoon.) The trip home was without any of the exciting adventures of the trip over, just VERY long and boring.

It is now official: I have lost 21 pounds in three months. This is a very good, though not startlingly good, rate of weight loss: when you discount the 3 to 5 pounds that disappear immediately when you first start eating less (mostly water weight) it's still a bit more than a pound a week. I am now back at the weight I was at two years ago; next goal is to get back to where I was before that, after a year of not-very-assiduously doing Weight Watchers. The next size pants are all ready and waiting for me.

The trip taught me to hate my camera. It's a decent snapshot camera, but not so good on some of the features I really need. ( Camera-geek details..... )

I am also starting to look for a cat. It's not quite kitten season yet, or at least while the kittens may have started being born, they aren't old enough to be weaned and spayed yet, so they're not being offered for adoption. I've looked at some slightly older cats (1 to 3 years) but none of them have seemed quite right. I would really like a female, and have hesitated on a couple of the available cats because either they are one of a pair from the same litter, or they are cats who seem to want to be Only Cats, and I'm not quite ready to rule out the possibility of a second one. It would be nice to have two cats who actually got along with each other (the possibilities for Cat Cuteness multiply exponentially) and it would be less heart-rending to have two of different ages so they don't both get old and frail at the same time. But I am perfectly comfortable waiting for the irrational ZING! factor to kick in and say "THIS one!" (Or "These ones!" as the case may be.)

P.S. Photos from the trip are now starting to appear over at the Paternosters blog.

Date:	2008-03-28 14:17
Subject:	It's been nice, but....
Security:	Public
Mood:	grateful but tired

So am I going to kick myself someday for having spent a cold, gray day in Amsterdam (Weather: Quelle surprise. Not!) reading e-mail and taking a nap rather than sightseeing?

No. I am not.

I've been in Europe for two weeks, and while I've seen a lot of wonderful things, I'm ready to come home now. Given company and encouragement, I could probably enjoy another museum or few, but I'm not going to have a lot of recovery time when I get back (have to be at work first thing Monday morning) so I'm taking the opportunity to rest.

Interesting stuff has happened: the prayer bead workshops the last couple of days went well, and I've met yet more delightful people (the world is full of them, but there is always room for more). I've seen lots of things that are (a) gold, (b) glittery, and/or (3) very old, which will give me interesting stuff to write and think about for a long time. And I feel much more comfortable than I did at the start of the trip about navigating and living for awhile in a place that's far from home and where I don't speak much of the local language.

And I do want to come back and do more of this. But not right now.

Home tomorrow, after a very looooooooong day; and hopefully without adventures this time.

Date:	2008-03-20 17:50
Subject:	Snow in Munich
Security:	Public
Mood:	touristy

I have this feeling that rosebushes are probablz blooming in California.... but not here. We're getting snow showers mixed with rain drips, sun and bits of everything else here in Munich. (And I'm typing on a German keyboard which, among its other little fun things, has Y and Z switched, Ö and Ä where I expect the colon and semicolon, strange quotation marks.... :)

I seem to be good for about six hours of walking, sightseeing, and note taking before I have to crash. Yesterday was a nice easy trin trip. Today was an appointment at the Bayerischen Nationalmuseum, and then off to the Residenz Treasury where my feet gave out after a while. Fortunately, while most museums will be closed tomorrow for Good Friday, that one won't, so I can go back. And they must have about twenty rosaries on display in their Church Art room, so I will bring the measuring tape and take lots of notes.

I've actually been a bit surprised that the museums here don't seem to have the endless, full-of-temptation bookstores I'm used to in the USA. Better for the budget, of course, but not so good for serious book acquisition. About all they seem to have is guidebooks, not the more general works on any and every related subject that places like the Boston Museum of Fine Arts does. Possibly it's partly due to space limitations: the gift shops seem to be squeezed into little corners.

I am rather annoyed with my camera at the moment -- worrisome that its flash doesn't always seem to be properly synchronized. Need to re-read part of the camera manual tonight to see if I can get some closer pictures to focus properly tomorrow....

Here is my trip to Europe thus far:

- San Francisco was fogged in, so they sent us from Sacramento to SF in a shuttle van instead of the flight I was scheduled on.

- The plane from SF to Heathrow was overbooked by about nine people. They asked for volunteers to go six hours later and got eight. It was my turn to be tapped by the Fickle Finger of Fate -- I got bumped. I got routed through Frankfurt rather than London, I arrived in Amsterdam eight hours later than originally scheduled. Admittedly, they fell all over themselves apologizing and upgraded my seat to business class, which was nice -- and they did manage to get my vegetarian entree on board.

- Then they lost my bag. It's been 22 hours since I arrived and they still have no clue where it went. It is _not_ a good sign that when they entered my claim check number in the computer, it came up with someone else's name attached. Still, considering that I have a green bag and I custom-appliqued fabric strips with gold suns and stars onto it before I left, I can't see how anyone could *possibly* mistake my bag for theirs, even at a glance.

I can't help thinking I should have put my shirt on backwards or inside out this morning in an attempt to make this stop ;)

Fortunately I have a nice place to stay here with aryanwhy, but I'm starting to think about contingency plans if my bag doesn't turn up in the next few hours. What do I really need to have with me to continue the trip? Fortunately the only firm reservations I have are for places to stay, which will cost me money for late cancellation but not derail the plans completely.

The original plan was to take the train to Cologne this afternoon for a morning museum appointment tomorrow, but I don't think I'm leaving here today, so some cancellation phone calls are in order. If the bag doesn't show up this evening I think the thing to do is to do some quick clothes-and-toiletries shopping tomorrow morning and go, on the theory that the bag then has an entire week to show up in Amsterdam before I need the kits out of it for the conference in Leiden. The one good thing about this scenario is that I'll then be traveling with my smaller suitcase rather than the larger one.

Sigh.

Date:	2008-03-06 19:13
Subject:	A pleasant event
Security:	Public
Mood:	pleasantly surprised

I've been back at work this week, as well as tackling the remaining travel chores, and among all the various ins and outs, a nice thing happened yesterday. I was talking with one of my co-workers, and completely unprompted, un-primed, and without my giving *any* hints, she suddenly asked me, "Have you been losing weight?"

Grin. Hey, it shows :)

Yay, me.