Updated
December 21, 2004
please see additional stuff below**
To
you and your throughout the holidays
and all through 2005
Brightest Blessings and the best ever New Year!
From Cat, Jack, Magik & Sylver
Thank you all for your friendship, for the fun, the love and the laughter we have shared this past year. I Wish us all much more of the good times, and much less of the bad in 2005.
This past year was
interesting, though thankfully less of a roller coaster ride than the previous.
In January I was elevated to the Order of the Laurel (click
here for all the info) It was a moving and humbling experience, and for
the next 8 months, every time someone addressed me by my new title I jumped
and looked around for Kate or one of the ‘real’ (or at least established) Laurels.
February took me to Estrella, where I spent 4 days CAMPING (yes Camping, in
a tent in February) in the Arizona desert. I had been asked to cook for Scola,
and ended up including Their Excellencies of Caerthe in the mealplan as well.
While I very much enjoyed cooking and fencing I hope next year I DON’T freeze
in my sleeping bag (yes, I have upgraded to a lower temp rated one with drawstring,
and yes, I plan on doing it again.)
March brought family time as well as fencing,
and April included lots of work at work as well as some changes in life that
include going to more movies ;-)
May had me back camping and cooking for the SCA – this time at Outlandish in
New Mexico, and Im still finding red dust in places that should not have Outsandish
dust in them.
June actually brought a weeks vacation, though it was instantly full with family,
sewing (yes, me-sewing, and willingly at that) and wonderful friends.
July brought Glory (and more outdoor fencing and cooking, though thankfully
we daytripped, so NO sleeping on the ground this time.) and dads 1st re-birthday
(following his successful quintuple open heart bypass in 2003.)
August was his real birthday and a trip to the zoo (and more fencing and cooking
– Im beginning to see a pattern here) This time the camping and cooking at Barons
War was in a camper (thanks Julianna) and what a wonderful improvement over
windblown tents it was!
September started the busy season, NDK (the local Anime convention) and my birthday
(which included a downpour at my home, but 1.4 miles away at Mom and Dads it
was a HAILSTORM that stripped the trees of most of their leaves. Since the ’rents
were traveling it fell to me and my wonderful helpers to clean up the debris.
The day also brought the birth of 5 kittens. (note Magik and Sylver above.)
October included my first time sponsoring entrants in Queens Prize, and judging
with leaves (I have things to learn, but I think it went ok.) and more SCA cooking
for Autumn Caravan.
November started with cooking for Caerthe A&S which morphed into Outlands
Crown Tourney II and was a roaring success for all the kitchen crew from Scola
Metallorum. Mom had a birthday, celebration of which sadly had to be delayed
due to inclement weather, and the month also saw me bringing home my two precious
furry babies (dubbed Micro-kitties, since at 18 months Jack really is still
a Baby-kitty.)
That brings us back to December. Kate and I traveled to Michigan to teach at
Middle Kingdom Cooks Symposium, and reconnected with old friends and met many
wonderful new ones. I also find myself planning lunch for 200 at 12th night
on January 8th. (whoever coined the phrase ‘resting on your Laurels’ obviously
doesn’t have any, cause I have found myself cooking much more and being much
busier than I was pre-sprouting.) and another weeks vacation to spend with the
family, friends and the furry kids. On a wonderfully surprising positive note,
Jack has mellowed so much since the Micros came into our lives. Instead of tackling
and biting me he now plays (mostly gently) with the Micros, and even washes
them when they come to him for snuggling.
I am so blessed with my furry family, my 2 legged family, my extended SCA family and friends, the only thing I can imagine to make it more complete would be my own home (not rented, but complete with affordable mortgage and a real kitchen instead of a hallway with appliances.)
Thank you all for
making this last year as good (and interesting) as it was, and LOVE to you and
yours in 2005.
Love
and Light
Cat, Jack, Magik & Sylver
PS, my office email will be undergoing re-construction over the holiday break, so this e-dress may be a more reliable way to reach me, or if its truly urgent, call me.
PPS, if you are
wondering just what I
do in the SCA or even what the SCA is,
click the links.
Also, January 3, 2004 I received my Laurel; Photos webbed
here
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