October 14, 2003 - 9:23 a.m.
So I submitted a new SCA name for official College of Heralds approval this weekend at Crusades: Clare Baskervyle. I really did take everyone's advice to start at the bottom of the alphabet and work backward... I just ended up in the C's before I found anything that truly appealed to me...
This morning I received a note from one of the heralds that using the "vyle" will result in my name being pronounced "vile" instead of "vil." It's unclear if this is standard CoH pronunciation or the assumption that upon seeing an "e" on the end the reader will leap to using the long vowel sound. So, combine this with already seeing my name spelled "Claire" within days of choosing it, I have a feeling I'll be fighting the misuse of I's in the future... Maybe I'll start throwing an extra "l" in Baskervylle. Fuzzy spelling is period, after all.
I had a wonderful weekend at Kingdom Crusades. The weather was downright balmy in comparison with past years. I neglected to pack a cloak - in fact, I couldn't find it - but was pleasantly surprised to discover that I didn't need it. I even slept barefoot! The greatest omission of the weekend was earplugs. After the first year, I've always packed them. This year, I forgot and rued it. So Sunday I was up early (from about 3 am on, really) and so grateful that we had brought the coffee maker.
I did splurge at the merchants' on Saturday. The bookseller was offering a 20% discount on all purchases and I just couldn't pass that up. I restricted myself to 14th century topics but still found a great deal to choose from. The stack on my nightstand is a little higher and eclectic today.
The biggest drawback to the weekend was all the time in the car. Thursday, I drove the boys down to my mother's house. Friday, I returned home, packed for the weekend and we left for Maryland. Sunday, we drove back home, unloaded the car, showered, and I continued to Richmond. Zachary had spent most of the weekend talking about going home and I considered just putting them in the car and heading back Sunday evening. But I put him off with a promise to take him to the Richmond Zoo on Monday and we drove home last night. I think that works out to about 12 hours total travel time. I did get to listen to The Valley of Fear on tape - another of Doyle's half Holmes/ half flashback stories. The boys didn't seem to appreciate it much.
