Egils in brief

I've seen pictures of me at Egils and my clothing selections suck.  I need to work on that.  I did not have appropriate hot weather gear but the weather really couldn't make up it's mind so I had no idea what I was going to need. I was most comfortable in my salwar pants and Persian undershirt. For the record, this is not a particularly flattering look and since I only have one undershirt, it really only worked well for one day.  My silk coat was pajama comfortable but just about as attractive.  I washed it last night and the silk embroidery bled into the apricot silk and I don't know whether it will come out or not.  It would suck to have ruined a totally hand sewn coat, even if it only looks like pajamas.

Thursday afternoon, I headed out much later than anticipated but was still able to help set up pavilions and get my own camp set up before dark.  We discovered that the mosquitoes were horrendous!

Friday was mostly pack in for everyone else so there were no events planned and we visited in camp for the most part.  I did make a run into Creswell before I parked my car in order to get Citronella candles and a few other necessities.  I was surprised to find the only grocery store in town had completely closed, but Bi-Mart was my intended destination so it wasn't too disruptive to my plans.

Saturday was the three pillars competition, the holmgang, and most of the other events of the weekend.  Ceridwen and I spent most of our time sitting in front of the baronial thrones with knitting while we watched the fighting.  I wandered in and out of Caer Lutris a couple of times to visit with Marian and we, at some point wandered through Merchant's row. I meant to have Miriam show me fingerloop braiding but never got over to the Arts and Science tent at the right time.  I did get to see the lovely dieing demonstration and took pictures of all the great colors you can get with natural dyes.  Saturday night was the living wake for Ragnar which was emotional and difficult for everyone.  We missed all the stories being told because the Baron and Baroness were judges for the prize bardic (Surprise! No one told us ahead of time) and they started without us.  That was really disappointing because Ragnar is a great story teller and it would have been interesting to hear his stories as well as the stories being told about him.

I took a few pictures of the events for the friend for whom I was photo journaling but by Saturday evening my phone was almost without power.  I need to get some sort of solar or battery powered charger for these longer events.  Turning off bluetooth and Wi-Fi helped extend the life but not quite for four days.

Sunday of Egils is never my best day.  I'm not sure why that is.  I woke up cranky and stayed away from Camp for a large portion of the day until it was time for the Egils Prize Court.  This is usually a three hour affair but we breezed through it much quicker than expected. I'd guess it was about half that time and we finished before dark.  It was a very mellow evening but I went to be early because I was feeling absolutely exhausted.  At one point I woke up and listened to the conversation happening outside my tent but was totally unable to figure out what they were talking about.  They laughingly told me on Monday that, at that point, they probably didn't know either.

Eating in a kitchen when you have dietary restrictions and don't like to ask for food or special consideration is not very practical.  There were three meals I just didn't eat and a couple that I ate but didn't sit so well.  If I asked, the cook was very accommodating, I just have been conditioned not to make a fuss and not to ask for food, so that was a real struggle.  Most all of the food was very good. Fezzic is a great cook.  The food I didn't think was great was mostly because of my palate (ewww celery) and the limitations of my diet. I got a little self conscious when I would have a little bread or sugar with my food because I've been so picky about limiting the grains and sugars in my diet and I wondered if people would look askance at me for having something that they know I'm not generally eating.  The thing is that LOW doesn't mean NO.  I just have to be very selective.  If I want that cookie, I shouldn't have the pasta and the roll also.  If I want that potato roll, I shouldn't have the cookie or the pasta.  You get the idea.

I was expecting a few issues so I brought food with me to supplement.  I made a quiche and pickled some eggs, and I brought a load of fruit and cheese with me.  I was in no danger of starving.  However, on Sunday, I woke up cranky and couldn't be an adult about making my own breakfast or asking for something other than french toast.  Yesult found me crying in the road, knowing I was being silly, but unable to be any more rational, and talked me out of my tree.   I was able, then, to walk back and ask if there was something else I could eat.  At that point, ham and eggs were cooked for me.  During the heat of the day on Saturday my cheese, fruits, and nuts made a delightful lunch on the eric; I should eat like that more often.

I packed down fairly quickly on Monday trying to make sure my tent stayed dry in the fluctuating weather.  Then I hung around to help pack down the rest of SBM. I didn't stick around to the very end.  I left about 2:00 and was home, unpacked, cats cared for, and showered off by 6:00.  I spent the rest of the evening being a vegetable with my knitting and Midsommer Murders on Netflix.  I did manage to keep the laundry going so that I had just one load left this morning.  However, by this morning I appear to have applied poison oak to the edges of my mouth, a single spot on my shoulder blade, another on my hip, and under both breasts.  Apparently, anywhere I scratched an itch (or wiped sweat away- although I don't remember ever touching skin anyplace other than my face).  I have no idea where I got into it because it's mostly eradicated on the meadow and any place I was traipsing around.  Unfortunately, my mouth is very uncomfortable because of it but I don't have open blisters yet.  I technu'd my face last night and my body this morning so hopefully it will dry without forming open blisters.