My Weekend Trip Out of the Country

I just got back from a weekend up in Canada. I know, I know. When it’s cold, most people want to head south. But the warmth of the people in Canada made up for the cold temperatures! I’m in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and my kingdom is made up of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the UP of Michigan in the US, and Manitoba and the western edge of Ontario in Canada. I headed up to Winnipeg for an SCA event called Imbolc, a Gaelic Celebration of Spring. The name was perhaps a bit presumptuous, as spring isn’t likely to come to Manitoba for at least 2 more months. Well, if we’re lucky. maybe mid-March will see spring.
We arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba around 6:00 pm on Friday January 31, ate a quick bite, and went to the archery range where the Annual Tournament to decide who would be the Archery Champion of the Barony of Castel Rouge. Actually, I ducked out of that to meet Elle Rush, author of Beneath a Spring Moon, Those Sexy Shifters and her brand new release, Screen Idol.  Elle and I both write for Liquid Silver Books, and when you live up here in North Dakota and Manitoba, a mere 4 hour drive is like being next door neighbors. So many of my online writer friends who live in larger metropolitan areas have dozens of romance authors near by. Elle and I, on the other hand, have only a few. It was so nice to be able to meet her at last.    She is lovely. Warm and friendly, she agreed to run over to the range to meet some of my SCA friends.
Two young men who were there came over to meet her, and I teased them by introducing them as Carl and Adam, two aspiring romance cover models. Actually, I think they’d be great at it! Both are handsome and well built, and seem to enjoy hamming it up for the camera. Please excuse these poor pics. We used my phone.

Here is Carl again, right after he removed his armor after fighting in Saturday’s
heavy tournament. His hair goes below his shoulders, and it was wet with sweat, but he tossed it back and struck a pose while Jenna threw herself at him and tried to look up at him with an adoring expression, like an overly dramatic heroine rescued by the handsome young knight. Really, someday I’m going to have to write a story and have them pose for the cover!

I had a great time at the event. One of the best things was that I got to spend time with friends. We sat and embroidered and knitted  while catching up. Lord Vaclav, one of my dearest SCA friends, wore a little rhinestone headband that I had given him as a joke for the entire day! That is even after the King

made a loud fuss about it, declaring to everyone that I had demeaned one of his fiercest and most valiant warriors. I told Vaclav a long time ago that if he dared

to do wear it in public for a whole day, I would make him a present of some nice silk or wool. I guess I owe him a length of nice fabric!

I don’t go to as many events as I’d like to, since we’ve had a lot of overtime at the day job, and because I have other stuff to do, but I’m going to have to make time to go to more. I miss having fun like this. And it’s such great fodder for a humorous fantasy/adventure story!

If the SCA sounds like something you might like, you can find out more about it at www.SCA.org.