Hey, Nadezhda!

.....Thanks! My 'Secret Santa HexMas Present' arrived in the mail today.

.....I put it under the tree to wait until Christmas. :-)

.....Arontius.

Renaissance Faire Site.

.....So, I ran into Katelyn tonight at the King's Wok restaurant in Silverdale. I asked her about preparations for RingCon this upcoming year and found out that the Convention is in doubt this year due to preparations for the Renaissance Faire at the new site near Belfair.

.....They are apparently almost done with the signing of all the forms and contracts. Just waiting on the last few before they can get started. Several volunteers are lined up to start working the roads and clearing debris out of the way. But it'll still be a near thing as to whether or not they'll be able to hold the Faire there this year. There is a lot of stumpage to remove and a lot of ground to clear and grade. But the numbers are impressive. Over thirty acres of parking and RV area and over a hundred acres of actual site that can be used for the event itself.

.....The fact that the site is off of the Old Belfair Highway was pretty cool as far as I was concerned. Definitely within the boundaries of Dragon's Laire. It has possibilities for use by use for events.

.....I asked if the Gig Harbor site will be used if the new site isn't quite ready for use by August. But that is in doubt itself. I think that this year will be an anxious one for Ron Cleveland.

.....But they have big dreams. Plans are being discussed about a medieval village being built and demonstrated on site. It sounded a lot like the Cammlann Faire concept, but I didn't mention it out loud. Roger the Golliard worked hard on Cammlann, a wonderful concept but one that requires a lot of work.

.....Their dreams also have other groups coming in and 'adopting' areas of the site. Groups would come in and clear an area in which they could set up encampments and possible permanent structures, sort of a la Pennsic. This has possibilities. I'm a little hesitant though as I remember how the Faire started in Gig Harbor with a strong Blatha An Oir support contingent that died out after a couple of years as the Faire itself grew. The Faire seemed to outgrow the need for SCA support and there was a little disgruntlement from the SCA, although I am not privvy to the details on that.

.....I might be more supportive of Dragon's Laire taking part in helping to develop the site in return for actually using it as an event site. But before I totally got behind it I would want to see some sort of contract developed and signed FIRST to prevent misunderstandings later.

.....More to follow, I'm sure. I'm extremely interested in seeing how this progresses.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

Day Three - SPECIAL Christmas Recipe! :-)

.....Taken from 'Entertaining With Insects' by Ronald L. Taylor.

Beetle Sausage

2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon each water and flour, mixed
2 tablespoons green onion, minced
1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mealworms, finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients except oil. Heat the oil in a skillet. Drop mixture in hot oil to form patties about 4 inches in diameter. Brown on both sides, adding more oil if necessary. Serve while hot. Enjoy.

.....Almost sounds like a perfect Dickens Christmas in Victorian England, doesn't it? :-)

.....Don't forget to have your mealworms on corn meal at least a few days before you try this recipe. :-)

.....Oh, and Merry Christmas! :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.