[Artemisia] Kids at Solstice

[Dawn Tavares]

>I would like to take this time to publicly thank Lady Aurora for all she 
>does and all she did during Solstice Court yesterday.  Because of her, the 
>kids were happy and stimulated in her room of crafts and treats and 
>projects.  I was honored to be able to assist her in the small way I did by 
>helping the kids with their projects.  I know that I would have needed to 
>miss Solstice and be Mommy at home had we not been able to use and abuse 
>this fine lady.  She gave me a day at court, and I very much appreciate 
>that previlage.
>
>So...Lady Aurora...thank you very much for your hard work and never ending 
>patience with our kids.

Lady Allegretza, you and your Lord Padruig are just determined to make me 
blush. :)

Like all the other aspects of such a large event, youth activities just 
wouldn't happen without a small army of volunteers working behind the scenes 
to make the magic possible. The Honorable Lady Bethoc and Lady Luveday spent 
many, many hours sewing and painting the 9 Mens Morris boards that were part 
of the Yule largesse; Bethoc donated all the supplies for those. The 
Honorable Lord Broka, our gentleman defender, kept us safe from hunger and 
thirst while we labored. ;)

The Honorable Lady Maeve endured recuperative exhaustion and really strong 
cold meds to bring us her beautiful Sicilian marionettes--and she still had 
the strength to tease the children as Black Peter.  Her fortitude amazes me.

I particularly want to thank The Honorable Lady Bronwyn the Embroiderer and 
The Honorable Lord Hogar for their efforts in bringing Father Christmas to 
visit. The adults as well as the children were enchanted by his kindness and 
his wondrous appearance. (Thank you for the oranges, too.)

To the parents of Arrows' Flight--you rock! My load was lightened 
considerably by the time and effort you tendered. Thank you as well, 
Allegretza, for the tangerines. Lord Robert Bedlam, thank you for your 
patience as certain young ladies kept beating you at 9 Mens Morris.  :)  
Thank you, Lady Siren and Lord Darius, for watching over the kids as I took 
some time to eat. And thank you, Dame Thea, for reminding me that I *can* 
actually take a break when I need it--I tend to become compulsive when I'm 
in the midst of a project.

(Did I miss anyone? I hope not!)

My apologies to the adults at the Reeve's station and the games tables who 
were disrupted when the kids initially went Chasing the Wren. Wiry young 
boys have a habit of taking physical games in directions I don't intend.  :/ 
  My thanks to the grown-ups who helped keep succeeeding rounds of the bird 
toss on the dance floor. The funniest moment of my day was when Lord Vidar 
held the bird far above his head and the children attempted to climb him; 
they looked like a pack of puppies trying to scale a massive pine tree.

If anyone would like to share photographs of youth activities at the event, 
please send digital files to the Loch Salann web minister. I'm told he'll be 
updating the baronial web page of the holidays.

Also, if anyone stumbled across a pack of four wooden dreidels and a bag of 
bubblegum coins wrapped in blue and silver--they're part of the MOY 
supplies. Please contact me if they wound up coming home with your feast 
gear.

Thank you, all, for your generosity of spirit and the warmth of community. 
I'm off to New York for the holidays--and I'll be back in time to jump 
headlong into boffer training come January!


Aurora de Portugal
Minister of Youth
for Loch Salann

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