Dear Diary

[gurdymonkey]

Dear Diary,

Still not queen, still not getting any, and my hair smelled like woodsmoke when the water in the shower hit it. Aside from that, the road construction on 101 through Santa Rosa and the bizarre wind conditions at the sheep ranch, it was a lovely weekend.

Got to site with some daylight left. As I slowly rolled my truck through the camp trying to find an auspicious spot, I saw Aelf sitting in the back of a black pickup throwing assorted gear out of the back of it. He semaphored that I should pull in next to where he, Rhys and Frederick (not of Holland) were putting up a pavilion. Not long after I started pitching my wedge, Miyake-dono and his family rolled in and scored the spot beside me. I had frontage on the list field/village green, good neighbors and an invitation for chicken teryaki and rice for Saturday dinner.

Accompanied Aelf and Frederick back downhill to MacDonalds, more for company than food, since I'd eaten, then back up again. The walk back from the parking area in the dark was rather nice, with an arm to lean on and tons of stars in the sky to admire.  Then into my cushy, 0 degree sleeping bag for the night with the rising moon shining in through the blinds.

("Her tent has blinds?" Go here to see how I sometimes set up my wedge tent and all shall become clear. The blinds have been lined with muslin since these photos were taken.)

The site the Kingdom has been using for Beltane since I moved out here is a sheep ranch in southern Mendocino county: rural, isolated and gorgeous. The area we camp in is a good ways back off the road and is a broad field surrounded by high hills that result in some rather interesting wind conditions. I sat sewing under my awning and watched part of the live chess game, then dug out a little kite I'd picked up at the 100 yen store awhile back, thinking I might actually get the thing in the air. I think I achieved about 5 seconds of actual flight at an altitude of 15', but the breeze was so inconsistent and kept changing direction, it just didn't work out. (We did get some rather intense gusts during the day, requiring a great deal of tent-rope adjustment throughout the event in various places. I had one of the poles supporting my ridgepole kick out from where it belonged because the front awning caught a gust that lifted it up off the ridgeline just so, but as I was on my way back toward my tent when it happened, I got it righted and the ropes re-tensioned in a moment or two. )

Met a very nice gentleman from our Princess' Guard this weekend. If memory serves he brought me a rose from her at the Newcomer's Tourney the week before last. 

Received a lovely miniature fan of the sort sold in Japanese stationery stores from syele. Silver foil and irises, very pretty.

Basically hung out with friends, watched court and even took a nap on my cushions in front of my tent. Got to see Aurelia get her well deserved Laurel - I honestly thought she'd had one already. Old royalty out, new - and I do mean new - in. Alfar at least had a reign as Prince of the Mists under his belt, but this will be Ketiley's first time. They looked happy and fairly at ease and I hope they have a lot of fun.

Managed to dodge all bardic-themed bullets, and since no one had brought out the May pole, I did not have to induce Anachronism Brain Cramps by playing hurdy gurdy while in Japanese dress. 

Had a delightful dinner with Miyake-dono, Sedania and Linnet. Linnet longed for chopsticks to eat the rice with. Fortunately I had a package of the disposable ones. I also brought over what was left of the sake Bran and Ludmilla had given me at Estrella. Sedania had a little, but Miyake-dono and I stood next to the stove where the flask was warming in a pot of water and made the rest of it go away. Considering that bottle was opened two months ago, it was still good to drink and warming it mellowed its sweetness considerably. Sat at their fire for awhile, then to bed.

This morning, it was two peerage meetings and final court, though some folks decided to take advantage of the space and play a bit of bocce before court. Got torn down and home fairly early. Clean, tired, and should be thinking about dinner shortly.

Oh, and my Prince and Princess have asked me to bring the House of Cheerful Monkeys to Mists-Cynagua War.  His Highness had pinged me the other day about doing it so he could be my patron, which is ironic as he does not drink. Maybe I'll make up a batch of onigiri. I'm sure I can foist 'em off on hungry fighter types. ;-D

Comments

[tgrcats-tail.livejournal.com]

You may have this posted somewhere and I just missed it, but do you have some favorite (yummy, or easy, or period, or any/all of the above) onigiri 'recipe' suggestions?
I made some for Masahide-donos vigil table and then more for yesterdays pot luck lunch (plain nishiki rice stuffed with pickled ginger (not enough I think), and a sprinkle of sesame seed on the outside (did nori for vigil, but had sesame handy this time) and folks seem to like them, so I suspect I should keep them in the rotation.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

The ones most of my friends have dubbed "crack" are with chicken marinated in teryaki sauce, which isn't period, but adds a nice protein hit. I shred the chicken into the rice pot, mix it into the rice and then form them.

The first time I made them with umeboshi, I was afraid the pickles would be too strong so I didn't put very much inside. I learned that the rice leaches a lot of the flavor out, so I'd go with a more generous amount of any sort of pickled veg.

[tgrcats-tail.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that does sound like crack ;-) what ratio (and I am envisioning the chicken is pre-cooked and shredded into the rice after that is cooked? Or marinated raw chicken and raw rice and steam till both are done?

I have not tried umeboshi ones, I have a fairly midwestern crowd here, though the pickled ginger version got compliments from several folk. (For the lunch at the event of Masahide-dono's elevation I did an Eastern option. The cucumber salad with sesame seeds went over well, Daikon carrot salad not so much, I had a little grilled salmon left, but the terriaki beef skewers and onigiri VANISHED with astonishing speed.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

I do the chicken in the oven first. Hmm, ratios - the mutant California chickens they do the boneless breasts around here are pretty generous. One large boneless breast to a pot of rice ought to do. You can certainly use other cuts of chicken if you like.

I tell people who have not had them to think of umeboshi as being more like olives than plums, because they're quite sour.

Oh, and mochimonkey (she's on my f-list) mentioned toasted rice cakes they did. Apply a little soy, or teryaki, or even some miso, toast it on a grill until the outside gets crispy light brown. I need to try this myself.

[mochimonkey.livejournal.com]

I think someone's talking about me.... =D

Toasty musubi is most delicious! It would be really nice, too, with a meat/fish/tsukudani/etc filling, then grilled with the soy/teri/miso application.

[ptigris.livejournal.com]

*curses roundly* I forgot the sake! How could I forget the sake?!? *gorramit!

I was lucky with the traffic - I pulled off the 101 just as it stopped at Todd b/c I needed to pick up something from the MIL, who lives in the country out there. Took Stony Point all the way to Pepper then back on... no muss, no fuss.

I am SOOO sorry I missed that sake, tho. Gosh darnit.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

No worries - there will be sake at MC War, it'll just be a different one.