This weekend was the Barony of Madrone's annual Lionheart's Tourney, where this year's champions (heavy, rapier, and archery) were chosen and much fun was had. I went, not only because other Bunnies were going but because Dieter is stepping up as Baronial Herald, which meant that he was also stepping down as Seneschal of St. Bunstable. He's not officially Baronial Herald until the business meeting tonight, but he was the herald in charge of the weekend's event, so he was pretty busy.
For those who haven't the least clue about the SCA and are wondering who this Dieter person is that I keep talking about, Dieter and Jeff are the Same Person. I feel slightly bad about confusing non-SCA people who read my blog, but I also feel fairly strongly that the two names each have a place in their own context. Therefore, in the SCA I am Dieter's lady, and mundanely Jeff is my boyfriend.
I had a full and fun weekend, but looking back, it seems that not all that much happened. I didn't participate in the equestrian activities, as I thought I would. I volunteered at gate on Friday and with the children on Saturday. I walked or sat around and talked to people I knew and people I had just met. I listened to Cainder and Countess Elizabeth geeking 14th-century Florentine clothing construction. I sat with the heralds and let them consult at me for a name and a device. I watched Dieter heralding the baronial court. I sat through Countess Daedin's protocol class.
The weather was very hot this weekend. Friday I spent too much time in the sun and didn't drink enough water, so that night I made a concerted effort and, I guess, drank too much water, so that my stomach rebelled and rejected its contents. Afterwards I felt much better, and the next morning I was completely back to normal, which was a huge relief since if I were actually ill, I would have had to get someone to drive me back to Seattle. (Dieter couldn't have done it, because he was busy all day.) So Saturday I carried water with me at all times and drank constantly, and I guess I must have been more dehydrated than I thought, because I didn't pee at all until the afternoon, when I started needing to go every five minutes. (I know you probably didn't want to know that, but life goes on.)
I would have had a miserable time at Lionheart's if I hadn't known a fair number of people already, but I knew enough people from games nights at Sean and Nicolette's or from hurling practice that I felt comfortable mingling more or less randomly. Especially since Jeff was busy for the majority of Saturday, I would have been miserable if I were not independently occupied. This was an important event for him, and that's one of the reasons I went, but I'm glad that I have my own connections to Madrone and to its populace, semi-independent of his.
The weekend was especially lovely because I could devote myself wholly and guiltlessly to having fun. All my projects but one had already been completed, and my groupmates and I had planned for timely completion of the last assignment. The weekend's luxurious lack of stress was capped this morning by the triumph of a 4.0 on the digital reference assignment! Tomorrow I will see my parents, whom I have not seen since December, and my uncle/aunt/cousins, whom I haven't seen for eight years (except for a very brief chat with my uncle at my brother's wedding, which hardly counts). I'm not deliriously happy, but I'm pretty close.