Sunday, August 12 was a grand day.

I walked in the graduation procession at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa.

I finished my second MA degree, nearly six years to the date of when I began.

But I finished! Here I am in my Harry Potter tie and everything, with my bf Frank:

I attended Pennsic War near Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania during the first week of August.

Pennsic is an event sponsored by the Society for Creative Anachronism. This was the 37th Annual Pennsic - over 13,000 people attended and camped for 1-2 weeks.

It's not a renaissance faire by any stretch - it's so much more. Here, EVERYONE must dress in period wear the entire time. None of that "looky-loo" business of the ren faires. The idea is to live somewhat like people did between 800-1600 CE. This is a showcase of peoples' interest in things medieval and renaissance - dress, behavior, language, skill, art, music, and more. There are dozens of events going on every day - archery demonstrations, big field battles with up to 2,000 people in full armor doing melee combat, coursing of the hounds, demonstrations and classes on medieval art, Middle Eastern languages and music - well, you can see for yourself here, by looking at Pennsic University's offerings.

I went to mostly suss out the Middle Eastern music scene and met some interesting characters, like Nevik






Carmine



and my moccasin guy Atreyew





I had some great conversations with Atreyew during my time. I stopped by his tent to see him work. He has kin on the Big Island. My fitting took about 20 minutes. I have to wait six months for them, as he has a number of orders before mine. But hey, I'm willing to wait after seeing some of his craftsmanship. Wow, is it too late for me to learn how to do leatherwork?

The "degrees of separation" at Pennsic are few. My friend Billy Woods speaks the world of Atreyu, and has 15 year old shorty-style moccasins Atreyew made that still look great! I'm stoked that in February, I'll be getting a custom made pair of footwear I can wear anywhere.

Billy has attended several Fire Tribe Gatherings and I'm learning a lot from him. Word has it he'll be here for our Winter Solstice Gathering - Yaay!!

I learned a lot at Pennsic - like how to start a fire with flint, steel and charred cloth(A few friends ribbed me when I told them this, because they had learned this in Boy Scouts, but hey, never to late to learn, right?) - how to address royalty "M'lady and M'lord," and how to survive in period wear in 90+ degrees and humidity.

I'll be back next year for Pennsic 37!