Arontius of Bygelswade

.....The 'Sonnet Muse' has been quite the whispering companion lately. Usually, weeks, or even months, go by between those times I feel compelled to write some sonnetry. But over the past couple of weeks, that Muse keeps invading my thoughts and day dreams with ideas, and word combinations that hit me in the right spot where I feel compelled to write them down.

.....Earlier this week I was reading a Post from Countess Elizabeth (Lisa Mohr) when the Muse hit me from behind with a thought. So I wrote it down. Then a few more showed up a day or two later. Also in relation to Countess Elizabeth. So I wrote them down as well. Then spent a little time stitching things together. As usual, I see quirks and angles that should be smoothed out. But, overall, I will keep it. :-)

.....I have known Countess Elizabeth for a number of years. But it has only been the past year and a half or so when I really had the chance to get to know her. Part of it was our shared trip to England in 2019. But as much of it has been as a recipient of her bountiful generosity and good will. She is one of those people who would rather be that good person more than talk about being a good person. Her kindnesses to me have really accumulated and I have learned to truly appreciate the wonderful person she is.

.....Liz, this writing is meant in appreciation and it is my hope that you receive at least a little smile from it. :-)

.....Much Love, Aaron / Arontius.

On brow a crown rests slightly tipped.
Proclamation of wisdom firmly held.
With knowledge gained in close companionship.
The ignorant in battles fierce are felled.

With piercing eyes she scans all before her.
A defender to all of those she loves.
Their dis'tress causing then her heart to stir.
A strength fiercely quiet in softest gloves.

For those who fall under her mantle warm
Generosity is her joyous friend.
She gives her all to save them from the storm.
In silence always for no debt to tend.

This lady fair who stands so bright and tall.
Gives abundent love so admired by all.

.....I went way overboard in Christmas cards this year. To the extent that it has taken me three weeks just to produce twelve cards, and that was starting with cards TBT had already printed for me. :-) Although, to be honest, I'm actually pretty happy with the way they turned out.

.....Staying with the traditional act of recording all my written Sonnetry to Dreamwidth, here is the 2020 Christmas Card Sonnet.

Great Teacher Time in slumber slips
A journey's end to which her feet will tred
At shining star her gaze gratefully sips
A renewing spring from which life if fed.

The gemstone light blinks with promises bold
Of growth and health and wonders abounding
The warmth of spring does bely night's dark cold
As it will lie with earth's love surrounding.

The cares of trials past fade with morning's light
With hope and glory a new year does ring
A gift held profoundly with loves great might
A parade where the angels will then sing.

A dawn of youth greets with cheerful word.
A welcome to new adventures is spurred.

.....2020 was such a harsh year! Looking with hope towards 2021. May it be good for all of us!

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....Over the past month or so I've been practicing to re-learn some of my forgotten calligraphy skills. To do that I've been writing letters to people I like and admire around the SCA. I pull out a couple of pages of Bristol, pencil-line it for lettering, and then pick a hand to practice. Then write a letter using that hand. This week as a letter to Mistress Achaxe. This time though I penciled out a sonnet. As usual it could use some polish, as do the vast majority of what I write. But it came from the heart, which is my minimum standard. :-)

.....Saving it here; again, as I do with all my sonnetry. :-)

Those sultry eyes rose to shine through my soul
Long lashes captured me in sacred bliss
Her enigmatic smile did fill a hole
A healing I had not known was amiss.

I witnessed beauty which surrounded her
It flowed from crystal clear deep springs within
And cleansed with smudging of bright scented fir
A hero new to quell chaotic din.

Love's presence I then felt which also flowed
Compassion wrapped me in warm embrace
To help this poor fool carrying a load
Protective bonds of shielding giving grace.

She freely gives love's bounty to us all.
Our gift from heaven to help us stand tall.

.....With lots of love to Achaxe, Arontius. :-)

.....Saving my sonnetry to Dreamwidth:

Happy Anniversary, Tammie Dupuis!

On this day thirteen years ago I was given a monumental gift. The Beloved Tamm (TBT) officially declared she would share her life with mine and allow me to accompany her on her journey forward into time and destiny. I bless that day, and thank whatever divinity allowed it to be. Tamm has been the solid Earth at my feet, supporting me in all my struggles and accomplishments. She has been the shining, glittering stars above, guiding me forward; providing wisdom; always blinking at me in crytal visions which make me smile in wonder. I look forward to the years ahead together with eagerness and joy!

.....and the obligatory sonnet to celebrate the occasion!

In time's tempestuous swift flowing streams
We navigate this boat together strong.
To weave through hazards far beyond our dreams
No fear is felt as trust protects from wrong.

A sudden wave casts us in fearsome pace
A reaching hand seeks safety's precious hold.
I grasp and pull her in to my embrace
A bolt of memories then strikes me cold.

A beauteous keen mind of thought and wit.
A soul of grace built from compassion deep.
A strength of will in war with lamp she lit.
A woman divine of whom men weep.

Forever the companion by my side.
We will together overcome the tide.

All my love! For ever and ever! Aaron.

A spreading light flows from the horizon
New life the body fills and warmth the soul
The excitement grows as the past lies in
A golden burst of light leaps like a foal.

My arms rise overcome in emotion
As much as they rise in supplication
The joy and beauty require devotion
By me is given in salvation.

My eyes adjust to messenger divine
As tears then stream in response to the smile
A gift of love she freely gives as mine
A present cherished as it does beguile.

This day of celebration is held dear.
My greatest fortune with me one more year.

Happy Birthday, Tammie Dupuis. As always, you are my Northern Star, my Southern Cross, my worshipful heart's truest desire. Always. There is no need for me to wish anything special for your birthday, as anything you need, want, or desire is yours for the asking whether it is your birthday or not.

All my love, Aaron.

.....On this date, a decade ago, Tammie Dupuis and I stood in the Living Room of her beloved South Seattle home and said our wedding vows. Every year since just gets better and better. My only regret? Not having married her ten years before that. smile emoticon:-)

.....You are my sun, my moon, my glitter, guiding northern star that brightens my very soul. Love you forever! Happy Tenth Wedding Anniversary!

.....With obligatory wedding anniversary sonnet ... :-)

My early journies lacked a purpose clear
An aimless wandering through many lands.
Then Love took pity and leaned close to hear
My cries to fill the space my heart demands.

Glass wings a window to another world
A prism freeing light in many hues.
Seen in exstatic light as she is hurled
In sudden motion to release her muse.

This dragonfly forever draws me near
A guide whose beauty in a spell binds me.
Her flights of passion drive away all fear
New wonders revealed she leads me to see.

Love's wisdom sent me a soul searing fate
Forever to be with this perfect mate.

.....All My Love, Aaron.

.....A Poet from the East Kingdom of the SCA posted a learning challenge about two weeks ago now. He wanted to lead a process of development for Sestinas, and asked for volunteers willing to learn a new poetry style. I read up a little on what a Sestina was and thought it sounded interesting.

.....The base definition of a Sestina is thus: A poem of fixed verse consisting of six stanzas of six lines each, which is then followed up by a three-line conclusion, or 'envoi'. The words that end each line of the first stanza are used as line endings in each of the following stanzas, rotated in a set pattern.

.....Sestina lines are not always fixed, but I've already found that I prefer them to be set in Iambic Pentameter (go figure :-)). Although even from the invention of the Sestina in the Twelfth Century this has not always been the case. The overarching control of the Sestina is the rotating pattern of end words, as well as the length of the poem in its entirety.

.....In English, it never held the popularity of poetry styles like the Sonnet. I tend to think because of its length. The English (and I include us Americans in this) have always tended to be on the lazier side in our approach to grammar, so I could see why the Sestina would not be a popular choice in the zenith of English poetry of the Sixteenth through Eighteenth Centuries. :-)

.....So, here is my first stanza. I'm going to groom a little bit from here as after this point I am stuck with the six words. So I need to make sure I can live with them. :-)

With joyous curves branches in glory reach.
They stretch to Spring's warm Sun, new sap runs strong.
The past is written deep on their dark skin.
It speaks of memory that guides them forth.
A map that tells a profound story of years.
As heady liquor beating through their veins burns.

.....My six words would be: A. reach; B. strong; C. skin; D. forth; E. years; F. burns.

.....There are two verbs and one adjective amongst that listing. I'm thinking critically if that will be enough to sustain the completion. So I'm going to ponder on this a little bit before moving on with Stanza 2.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....With my travels to Illinois I picked up a cold that is giving me a little trouble today. Not particular bad, mainly a sore throat, sniffles, and a feeling of lethargy and tiredness I can't seem to shake.

.....It has also put me into something of an introspective mode, which seems to be when the sonnetry comes out the most. I'm putting it here for safe-keeping.

We sat in circle whole with shining eyes,
Smiles given as rich gifts of memory.
Our laughter rose to heaven with loud cries,
As souls did link with love in victory.

We parted ways towards sacred journey roads.
Familiar trails now lit with visions new.
With keen awareness we walk with light loads,
A future filled with love in wide-eyed view.

Forever our foundation will be firm.
No matter what the length our travels be.
For love bound us together for a term.
A mighty silver strand we forever see.

I travel through this life of wonders bright.
Strength given by friends met in desert rite.

.....I wish I had a little more discipline to do this more often than I do. I'm still looking for a poetry Laurel who'd take me under their wing and push me a little bit. But in the meantime I should work on pushing myself a little more.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

.....TBT was born on this day, a day to be celebrated above that of any other birthday! :-)

.....I don't have a whole lot to offer, but I did put together a small sonnet as a sign that she is the most important thing in my life.

.....Happy Birthday, Tamm. :-)

The cresting waves command awareness keen,
As heralds proclaim with resounding crash.
My Amphitrite guides harness serene,
Of fearsome beasts that roll beneath her lash.

Gyrations wild in sparkling patterns blaze.
Twined dancers in endless complex swirl.
She leads the music in time with her gaze,
The melodies are crafted thoughts that whirl.

Her raven beauteous dramatic mane,
That frames her face in gloried prominence.
The sea sprays from her form in laughing rain,
My senses heightened from her eminence.

Forever on her wave will I exalt.
My upward cries of faithful love will vault.

.....With Love, Always, Aaron.

.....It's just about time to head off to the August Business Meeting at the VFW Hall. I'm dragging my feet a little as I'd rather stay at home and catch up on chores that have been accumulating. Or maybe I'm just a little bit peopled out at the moment. Or maybe it is because TBT is headed out for the first meeting of the new Laurel Regional Meeting in Tacoma. I'll be by myself at the Business Meeting. It may actually be a noticeably smaller Business Meeting with all the Laurel in absentia.

.....If nothing else I have to go and get a couple of signatures from Ralg to finish off a few An Tir / West War checks. Envelopes are made out, checks and Request Forms are complete. Once Ralg signs them off they will go into the mail tonight. Which means that I will be able to finalize the reports and journal for An Tir / West War this weekend and put it away for the next year and a half or so. Nothing came in for printing from Baron Finn, so I'm going to call that one a wash for the moment. We may end up with a little bit of refund from the Biffy and / or Trash People. But that is pretty standard. I'll also get a good handle on exactly how much profit the event made though and it'll be on the agenda at September Crown to discuss how much of it to move over to the Kingdom Coffers.

.....I need to start pestering Etiennette for the agenda for the September Crown Financial Committee Meeting. I'm not entirely sure if it'll be myself or her running the show. Etiennette has the knowledge base at the moment and knows what is happening with the accounts and the Kingdom. She is also coordinating the completion of the second quarter branch reports. So she may end up chairing the meeting whether she likes it or not. :-) I should probably warn her, I suppose.

.....After a couple of weeks of relative peace, issues started popping up this week in rapid succession. A number of check requisitions to be processed were near the top of the list. Review of the updated Kingdom Financial Policy is gaining priority rapidly. However, the biggest surprise dropped in from Society. In preparation for PayPal, Society is pushing at a clean-up of the accounts across all the Kingdoms accounts. This includes clearing out all the NMS back-log. Every Kingdom has a listing of events Society feels should have paid NMS, but for some reason did not. An Tir has its own list. Elonda has been working diligently to whittle our list down to nothing. To be honest, I've been incredibly impressed with her diligence and tenacity at dealing with the branches who owe forms, funds, or both. She's managed to do it all professionally, and with no snarkiness or condescending attitude at all.

.....The biggest test of this came in the form of an e-mail from the Society Treasurer. Using extreme 'Corporate Speak' with a great deal of bombastic language, a note arrived in my e-mail describing how the Kingdom was in arrears and needed to 'take action and not sit on a dire situation'. This was in regards to the NMS funds that the Society Offices feel haven't been paid by An Tir to them that should have been. The implications ran deep to the affect that An Tir was deliberately avoiding payment of something owed to Corporate and that we had until early October to make good 'or else'.

.....I understand completely that when dealing with legalities and money we want to get away from the 'club' and treat the administrivia as a 'Business'. You have to do that in today's Corporate and litigious environment. I'm not opposed to that at all. It's when you end up treating your own membership like a tenant you feel is trying to cheat you out of a payment that I object. We're all here for the same thing, to support the concept of the SCA. Treat me professionally and like an adult. Don't treat me like a bad debt. You don't even know me or know all the details. Sigh.

.....After a little back-and-forth, and some excellent communication from Elonda, the SCA Treasurer stepped back a little from the Corporate mindset and started treating us a little better. The tension dropped rapidly after that and we're getting things answered and solved quickly. Right now we're trying to come to consensus as to what exactly defines NMS in terms of an event, which will determine just what events in An Tir owe funds to Corporate. I suspect that An Tir will end up owing money to the Corporate Entity. Exactly how much we shall see.

.....My 'to-do' list for the Exchequer's Office is growing rapidly! It is its own list already as a matter of fact. I need to get hopping to get a group of Deputies on board and working. We have a possible / probable replacement for Elonda when she starts working the Corporate Job full-time. Etiennette is working to get her Transfers Deputy on board and working. I'm hoping to get Deputies lined up to support Bank Accounts (monitoring and set-up); Reporting; and Federal I.D. Number Verification (in preparation for the setup of State Subsidiaries). I'd also like to get a Training Deputy set-up on rolling, but still hoping I can sit down and persuade Etiennette to take on that particular tasking.

.....As soon as I'm starting to feel comfortable in my position, the push and focus will be to put together a comprehensive training program and get it implemented. I would like the branch exchequers to start building internal networks to help each other locally to review their own records and reporting and help each other learn and grow. There is too much learning by trial-and-error. Too much isolation as well. I would very much like the exchequerate to network much more than they are. It is a goal of mine.

.....Another surprise has been the Kingdom Records themselves. I found out recently that starting with Elonda, the Kingdom Financial Records had to be re-built almost from scratch. She could not get her predecessor to give them up. I'm hearing various stories as to why that is. The most widely used one being that he wanted to get them organized before turning them over. But apparently when Etiennette tried to get to these files to look for information in regards to a couple of past issues, she could not actually get to the files themselves and had to go to other sources to get her information. This will become a priority on my list of things to get done. These files are located in Tacoma. Not that far away. I need to start sending out the e-mails and phone calls and see if I can convince him to let me have the files sooner rather than later. Although, enough time has now passed to where these files may not be of much use.

.....Need to get an Exchequer's Meeting on the docket for September Crown. Which means I should probably check in with Julia and make sure I have use of the Seneschale's pavilion during the time frame I want on Saturday of the weekend. The agenda is already being built, with NMS and reporting being at the top of that list. Networking and communications following closely behind.

.....His Excellency let me know on Tuesday that I was one of the people on the June Faire Advisory Panel. Since then I've learned that Madrun and Diomedes are also members. That's three of us. We'll probably learn who the other six are at the Business Meeting tonight. Hopefully we'll learn also when we will meet and the exact purpose of the Panel. Does His Excellency want something specific for June Faire? Or is this first year going to be a concentration of finding out what will work best for the Barony and then working towards some tenable compromise. I have no idea really what to expect. From that standpoint alone I find the concept to be interesting. The clock is ticking though. A June Faire Board is generally put together by September and starts on the tasking list by November. Whatever plan we implement has to move along fairly quickly. I'm hoping that we're not going to be expected to run June Faire 2016? I would have to bow out at that point. But with nine people on the panel I don't think that is the direction we're headed.

.....Gwen posted a note to a group of us speaking to the Artisans Holiday Craft Faire she wants to do again this year. She wants to hit the SCA hard with advertising, which is why she thinks my circlets might be a draw for sales. I'm not so sure, but I thought it would be interesting to be part of the group. So I told Gwen that I was 'in' and would pay whatever share was needed from me for space rental and advertising costs.

.....I have a number of raw designs in the garage and could probably put together twenty or thirty for a sale at the VFW Hall, depending upon which date is agreed upon. It was sounding like October, but TBT and I kept thinking it was a November sale. Like the weekend after Thanksgiving. I would prefer that weekend actually as it would give me a little more time to put together some merchandise. I'll have to dig up the display stand and all the other accoutrements that go along with circlet sales. I haven't actually done a booth in a number of years, but I never did get rid of the gear. Just have to find it all and pull it together.

.....I was putting together a list of everything I would need to support a booth and was reminded of the stash of pendants I have in storage as well. At least 60 - 80 pendants with Ingasbo designs on them. After the years they've been in storage I'm sure they'll need some polishing and clean-up. But other than that they could be ready to go fairly quickly. I think the only problem at that point is what to charge for them. Which has always been a problem with Ingasbo 'stuff'. A lot of hours go into making a circlet or etched design. More than most are willing to pay, especially in a world where China can mass produce this stuff for pennies on the item. I have a suspicion that people are not going to want to pay for circlets and pendants that pay me even minimum wage! But I suppose that I do not need the funds to make a living, so I do not want to give this stuff away either. And, I suppose I could be surprised. We may get all set up and find out that people really will pay decent prices.

.....The water was removed from the nettle bath the other day and the nettle stalks are now drying. Countess Elisabeth took a look at them and thought them not worth the effort. She thinks that I waited too long to pull the stalks last year and am ending up with more woody debris rather than workable fiber. Which means that when these stalks finish drying out and I take a hammer to them I'll end up with a pile of dust rather than some woody dust and a bundle of fiber. I'm not quite ready to give up though, so I'm going to let this stack of nettle stalks finish drying out and see what happens. Even if I end up with just a little bit of usable fiber it will have made the experimentation worth the effort we went through over the past year.

.....I'm also going to make plans to start nettle harvesting in June next year though. The Spring rush should be done, but the nettle will not have started flowering and going to seed yet. I think that is where my basic mistake originates. When I went out harvesting this last time, I should have concentrated on nettle that did not yet have flowers on it. It would have taken some more time, but I might have ended up with a higher quality crop. Hopefully, a 'lesson learned' for next year.

.....When the Recorder Guild went on temporary hiatus this last Spring, a small part of my mind thought it was a dead thing again until I had the time and energy to drive it forward. But I was surprised this last week when I was suddenly included on an e-mail chain from RedBow essentially organizing a Recorder Guild to play locally. It invited both SCA members and members from other local Early Music groups, and wasn't just limited to recorders. She actually gained some interest from a couple of people who play as part of the Early Music group in Seattle. They might play at SCA events, but were already talking about concerts in other venues and situations. Their music selection also went beyond the Renaissance and firmly into the Baroque, with some rather nice pieces as part of their regular repertoire.

.....I asked RedBow if she accidently put my name on the e-mail traffic and she said no and that she was hoping that once things had settled out a little bit for me that I might want to come and play with them. RedBow had heard about Mom and sent her condolences as well. The whole conversation, while a little strange coming from RedBow, was very pleasant and thoughtful on her part. I'm really digging their music selection as well. So I'm thinking that maybe I'll see about whether I can block out the time to attend their practices. I think it would be fun.

.....Just have to be careful about over-commitment. I can feel myself playing that game and would rather avoid it. So I need to practice being thoughtful with what I do with my time over the next year. Practice! Practice! Practice!

.....We'll see how it goes.

.....Aaron / Arontius.