Meatloaf For Dinner.

.....When I was about Rhys' age it was one of my chores at home to make dinner on those nights when Dad and Mom were home later from work. At least once a week we scheduled Meat Loaf. It is an easy dish to make and it became one of those things I could just about do in my sleep. Some hamburger, bread, eggs, onions, salt & pepper, tomato sauce, and a 375 degree oven. And an hour later, Voila!, dinner is served.

.....I haven't had that silly dish in about twenty-five years now. But yesterday I was gifted a bunch of recently thawed hamburgers. They would have spoiled sitting long in the refrigerator. So I came to the brilliant idea of making meatloaf again. I dug up the recipe from TBT's cookbook, but quickly realized that it was one of those things I really didn't need to follow that closely.

.....So I chopped up some bread and onions. Then pulled out some of the hamburger patties. The patties are a little more fatty than hamburger you'd normally use for this, but WTH I thought. Didn't take much effort really. And as I stuck my, clean, hands in the bowl of hamburger, the muscle memory of those old days came back in a hurry. :-)

.....Although, to be honest, I had TBT in mind. If it had been just me, I would have added stewed tomatos and a little tabasco sauce to the mix. :-)

.....An hour later, the kitchen smelled really good. I can also say that the slice of meatloaf I had was pretty good too. Just as good as I remember it. But, you know, I also realized exactly why I haven't made meatloaf in over twenty years. I got REALLY sick of eating that stuff when I was younger, and all that came back to me as well. :-)

.....I think that it is going to be a while before I make meatloaf again. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.

Picnic And The Pulse Of The Barony.

.....Yesterday was the Baronial Picnic and I have to add my voice to the rest of the crowd by agreeing that it was a pretty good event. The weather was nice, not too cold or too hot. The turnout was good, and the people there mingled with no apparent agendas. Activities were just right. Clean up was easy. Food was good. The Pit Firing was a special treat, even if it didn't turn out exactly as Mistress Gwenllyn would have liked.

.....I had been a little afeared of the Picnic prior to attending though. Their Excellencies intended on opening up a discussion among the attendees concerning how they thought the Barony was operating now, and what they would like to see actually happen. Now, you wouldn't think that this would normally cause me any heartburn as we have a pretty good thing going here in Dragon's Laire. But lately a few people have discussed the lack of direction the Barony apparently has at the moment.

.....Again, this in and of itself shouldn't cause me heartburn. If the populace wants to actually go in a particular direction; well, as long as it is not going to do any damage I'm here to support it. I guess what was causing my own personal angst was the fear that the conversation would turn ugly. I kept having visions of days gone by when discussion would devolve into grievances and name calling. When people are unhappy and not quite sure of why, you can get that.

.....I guess in some ways I'm still affected by days gone by. You'd think that after eight years of a pretty functional place I would have let go of the bad days in Dragon's Laire. It is surprising to me that they still have even a little hold on me.

.....I think also I had a little fear for Their Excellencies as well. They are into Their fourth year as the Coronets. Four years is a long time really. And there is such a thing as 'Familiarity Breeds Contempt'. I was a little afraid that They would be the recipients of that to some degree. And, when all else is said and done, I do consider Them as good friends and wouldn't want Them to go through that kind of foo.

.....But, as the conversation started, I quickly realized that I needn't have worried. The populace is, indeed, feeling a need for some direction. But I could detect no bitterness directed towards Their Excellencies at all. I also couldn't detect any towards myself either, which was also another side fear of mine.

.....As I unclenched and started canvasing the crowd at the picnic, I heard a lot of interesting conversation. Some good ideas for events and activities were brought out and discussed. Some good questions were asked, and answered. And when I polled about thirty different people what they thought was happening to cause the current 'lack of direction' in the Barony, I received thirty different answers, with none of them being earth shatteringly bad. Definitely a relief.

.....Of course there are issues that need to be addressed. And those that were given to me I'll definitely take seriously. The good ideas that were presented will be enacted as best we can. But thankfully, I think that I can stop worrying about mass hysteria and anarchy and chaos and mutiny. :-)

.....I also kind of wish that Kingdom Law allowed for an anonymous view of what came up at the Baronial Polling recently. I was secretly hoping that we'd get some of the pulse of the Barony from that in writing. I can understand why the Law is the way it is, but on the other hand it is a little frustrating.

.....First thing first though, we need to re-establish a regular location for the Business Meeting and Fight Practice again. Plans are being enacted. The sooner the better.

.....Aaron / Arontius.