April 23, 2003--And don't forget to visit the new forum! If you don't want to scroll down for the link, CLICK HERE!

April 23, 2003--I just received an interesting e-mail from newWitch Magazine-- I'm going to copy a section of it for your information below. If you're a member of a college SPO, take note! There are some goodies in store for you! Also, you can go to newWitch's site to vote for your college as being the Top Pagan campus!

The e-mail is as follows:

I'm emailing you for three reasons. First and foremost, I am currently working on an article on Campus Paganism for our issue #5, due out fall of this year. Because of this, I'd like all of you to send me any stories, hints, or information you think would be useful to go in this article. I'd like to hear about your successes and your failures, share caution or elation, and generally let your words speak about campus Paganism in 2003 and beyond. I've been out of college for a while myself; I figured it was best to let people speak for themselves. All submissions (please, under 100 words or so) will be fully credited, so this is your chance to tell us about yourself and your campus pagan group. I need these submissions by July 1, so please, write 'em out and send them along. My email is below.

Secondly, I wanted to let you all know that we are currently running a contest, sponsored by Citadel Press and Sacred Source, to find the Top Ten Witchiest Campuses out there. Our website has an entry form; please, if you think your school is a Pagan haven, log on and send us your entry! The top ten entries will also be printed in issue #5; the deadline for the contest has been extended to June 1. There will be prizes. (Really, I swear.)

Finally, we'd like to send your campus Pagan organization a free copy of newWitch. If you send me your campus snail mail address by July 1, we'll get you a copy of our magazine so you can see what we're about. There's no obligation and no strings attached; however, one per campus, please.
I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for your time in reading this!

Brightest blessings,
Dagonet Dewr
Managing Editor, newWitch Magazine
m_editor@newwitch.com
Membership Coordinator, Pagan Pride Project
dagonet@paganpride.org

April 16, 2003--Forums, forums, and more forums! Although I refreshed the Bravenet forum when CW Version 3.0 was uploaded, I've made a new forum that is based on the Ultimate Bulletin Board style. It's located on this server and best of all, there are no pop-ups! Hey, I'm trying to get away from third-party advertising...thank the few people who are buying books from the Student Store.

However, I want to make sure that people will actually use it. You have to sign in as a "member" (which really is to minimize the possibility of spammers and other people up to no good) but personal information isn't given away.

For now, the Forum link at the top menu will still go to the Bravenet forum.

Check out the new forum by clicking the computer image (courtesy of K'Tok at Prawth.net...yeah, I'm not biased at all!)...or anywhere on this post that indicates the new forum link, of course!

April 8, 2003--Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon! I've completed the Esbats page in the Basic Information section. Go read it!

In the meantime I'm working on lessons, yet again. That seemed to be the overwhelming desired section at this site that you wanted, so I'm trying my best to please. They have all been outlined, now it's a matter of writing a gajillion different little articles plus activities for each one. I'm not sure of the form these lessons are going to ultimately take, but that's only because they are still in the works. At this point, there's also the possibility of turning them into a book, so we'll see what happens.

As for me, this is my day off and I'm getting a case of Spring fever. I'm trying to clean up the apartment, but it's a lot to do. I keep getting distracted by having the computer on...sometimes I want to check e-mail, sometimes I get an idea for the lessons and want to write it down, and sometimes I'm just tired of looking at laundry. I still need to get batteries for my camera so I can take pictures of our costumes. Hmmm...now that I say that, I want to work on my next one, too.

Anyway, enjoy the article while I get back to work.

April 2, 2003--Insane in the membrane (Updated with pics!). You may have noticed a significant lack of updates over the past month. To tell the truth, I've done little regarding the computer during that time. Most of my spare time was spent at the sewing machine finishing up our costumes for Renaissance Faire. What wasn't spare time was time spent at work. It is mostly mentally draining, though it was also emotionally and physically draining as well. The good news is that one of my co-workers is going to be promoted, so I should have some extra reliable help in the near future. I'm all for doling out a little more responsibility.

But anyway, the main thing I want to talk about is Faire. Saturday was absolutely wonderful! K'Tok and I were up until 3 am that morning as I finished sewing as much of his doublet as I possibly could. So much of the detail was hand-sewn on, and that simply took forever. (See the picture to the right.) K'Tok pounded in the grommets while I stitched braiding and buttons on the doublet. I was glad that I finished the pants and the shirt earlier that week. He wore black moleskin pants that laced up the sides (he refused to wear leggings), a white shirt, we found some "engineer"-style boots that looked just right, and of course, his rust and charcoal colored doublet. The material was some chenille upholstery fabric in a chevron pattern that looked really good when I trimmed it in black velvet and back and gold cording. I wore my blue gown that I made last year.

We got to Faire about an hour after it began, but that was okay because it was raining a bit. We first went inside the building to buy him a hat to complete his look. We found one that was perfect...a two-tone black and rust-red velvet. While he was paying for his, I spotted a hat made out of the exact same fabric as my dress. The fabric had been discontinued, and the people at The Grinning Griffin obviously picked up the remnants! It was an adjustable circlet with gold trim and a white veil. Even though I was wearing silver shoes and silver and pearl jewelry, I couldn't pass it up!

Next, we went to a booth selling *very pretty* swords. K'Tok found a belt pouch to match his outfit (so I would no longer have to carry his money and ID in my little bag) and then started admiring the sharp pointies. Turns out, this was the same company from which he bought my rapier and main gauche for my Yule presents! We decided to think before buying, and since it was getting crowded, we decided to hit some of the outdoor vendors.

We got to the door of the building and discovered why there was a sudden influx of people...it was pouring outside! So we stood at the doorway for a while to make sure we could still breathe and keep cool, and when it looked like it was lighting up a bit, we went outside. We got halfway down the sidewalk when it started pouring again. A small covered stage was nearby, and the juggler who was about to begin to perform bade us to enter. We enjoyed his show, and just about the time he was finishing, the rain came to a stopping point! There were a few showers after that point, but it was otherwise clear from then on...just muddy. I still need to wash my silver shoes.

We then went into a tent where I found some snoods that I wanted to match this and my next costume. Then it was lunchtime. Pulled pork BBQ! We sat and had a nice conversation with a woman who was a member of the court cast. It was fun because people kept gawking.

We then met up with Becca, one of my co-workers, who made her dress out of the same fabric as my own, only hers was an aqua green as opposed to my sky blue. Lots of shopping ensued, including the purchase of a sword and dagger from the booth K'Tok was talking with earlier, a baldric/frog (sword-carrier) for my rapier (that K'Tok used to carry his new purchase), and a cloak for K'Tok (because I have other sewing projects on my plate and this one looked good and was reasonably priced for what it was). We missed the jousting, but watched the trebuchet demonstration. This year they didn't make the attempt to launch a pound of compressed Peeps.

I was so happy that people complimented our costumes...the best one was when we just left a booth near the royal court pavilion. Despite a few court members in elaborate costumes standing about making small talk with each other, a woman came up to K'Tok and myself and asked to take a picture of us with her two daughters! All those late nights of sewing were well worth that one!

We went to Faire again on Sunday, but that was the first time in my life I have ever gone without being in costume. Why? Despite the 78-degree (F) reading our thermometer gave on Saturday, the temperature dropped significantly and it was literally sleeting on Sunday! There was some snow mixed in, too. So jeans and sweatshirts for us...though it felt blasphemous. I felt sorry (kind of--they *did* choose their costumes, afterall) for the people dressed as faeries on Sunday. Cold rain and chiffon do not mix well. I bought a few more sharp pointies, and we left after only being there a few hours. It was still nice, though Saturday was far better.

Best of all, it was a nice relaxing weekend for a change. Now I just need to find a way to avoid having to spend my day off next week at my grandparents' house.