I am resigned to the fact that this thing is not likely to be updated more than once a week, at best. Too many other things going on. But after all, better to be busy than bored. Heh.

The hearts and minds of most of the nation are still fully occupied by football, since our team beat Saudi Arabia yesterday (I wouldn't like to be the Saudi team now!). This means we're through to the final sixteen - to hear some of the sports fellas on the radio, you'd think we'd never managed that before, when in fact every World Cup we've played in (two others, if I recall correctly), we've made it through the first section. I gather we're playing Spain on Sunday; whether this is likely to be an easy or difficult match to win, I have no idea. Nor do I terribly care. I do think it would be quite amusing if we won the competition, simply because it would be such a sucks to Roy Keane. I can be so childish sometimes. It also occurred to me this morning that it would be fun if England lost their match with Nigeria, because then they, who pride themselves on their football, would not go through, whereas we have! But I believe they made it through. I've heard more than one person predict an England v. Ireland final - now, that would be really entertaining! More likely, however, judging by past World Cups, we'll be knocked out before the final.

Patrick came home on Wednesday - a week ago today! - and has only just begun to be able to stop talking about the Heartlands. By all accounts it was a great event, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. Well, every one of our people who went, anyway; I doubt the people whose characters got killed enjoyed that part!

I'm busy making myself armour for the Gathering, now. I've taken my old biker jacket apart; it was twelve years old, scuffed and battered and really rather disreputable for everyday wear. So I took the sleeves and the collar and all the zips off, and ripped the lining out. Now I'm going to put the wee buckling straps that used to be at the sides, at hip level, on the front to fasten it. I've opened up the side seams, and I'll punch holes down the sides and lace them up instead. And I'm going to patch the places where the pockets (which had zips) used to be, and tell people those are places where I mended sword cuts! It should look pretty good when it's done. But sewing leather is painful to the fingers (I don't think my sewing machine would survive the exercise, so I'm hand-sewing the lot - will have to get more linen thread soon), so it's a slow job.

I need to make some regular costume bits too - shirts and breeches. But that can wait until (a) I get some more fabric and (b) I finish the leather. I did buy some new ribbons to wear in my hair, last Saturday, though. And I found a place that sells Tiger Balm! Yay! Came in useful the next day, too, when one of my friends was suffering from aching muscles after spending a day knocking down a shed.

While I was shopping, too, I got quite a good haul in Chapters (second-hand bookshop). Three Barbara Sleighs, "Pollyanna Grows Up", "How to Eat Fried Worms" (which I hadn't seen in years!), a couple of Roald Dahls, and a school story. Happy days. Plus Robert managed to remember to bring me a couple more Bujolds to training on Sunday; I finished "Brothers in Arms" today and will start "Mirror Dance" tomorrow.

Training was good this week; Patrick was back so I could use his sword again - I really hated last week when I had to use whatever else was available; most of them are too heavy in the blade and too light in the hilt for my liking. And they're all longer than I'm used to, too. But one of the things Patrick did at the Heartlands was to go to the place where he got his sword, and order another just like it for me! So I will have my own sword after the Gathering! Woohoo!

After the regular practice session, we went IC for a while and did a linear, which for once I actually went on, and was loads of fun. A small group of us set out to bring back to the mysterious temple in the woods the scrolls someone swiped from there a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the denizens of said temple seemed to take exception to our having taken them at all, and were not minded to consider the voluntary return as mitigating circumstances. So lots of fighting (I stay out and Incanted, mostly), and eventually one of our number was captured and the rest of us were too badly outnumbered (about 20 or 30 to one) to do anything but run away! All the talk on the list now is about getting Simeadrach back. But we also have a Volksraad next week, as our envoys came back from the Heartlands with lots for us to chew on, including a sample treaty that we might base our own treaty with the Lions on. It's going to be a busy Sunday (though of course, some people will be late to training because of the football).