Red Dragon Inn

If I had to pick a single game to play for the rest of my life, it would, of course, be Dungeons & Dragons. But if I had to pick a single board game, it would be Red Dragon Inn. Which bears a lot of similarities to D&D. There's opportunities for roleplay and showing a lot of personality, as well as encouraging interacting with other players in-character. So it works great for me. 

I also have some very nice memories of playing RDI. 

I met one of my dear friends playing RDI. He was playing Gog the Ogre, and I was playing Fleck the Bard. I just had so many easy chances to push his buttons, and by the end of the game, I wasn't sure if he was going to kiss me or beat me up (turns out we ended up doing some of both). 

Then there's the chainmail bikini. 

Fiona, from RDI1, has the card "Hey! No more chain mail bikini jokes!" I had friends who were making chain mail items, so I commissioned a pink-and-black chain mail bikini. And for a time, anyone who played Fiona was peer-pressured into wearing that chain mail bikini. The real test was whether they put it on over their clothes or stripped down for it. The guys generally agreed it pulled chest hair pretty badly...

Now, Fiona doesn't get played very often at my house anymore, because I've collected so many of the RDI expansions that I now have around 50 characters available. Which means that I haven't even played all of them. Yet. But I will, sooner or later. I made a Google document to track which ones I have.

And I'm still collecting.  RDI 10 will be coming out before long - I've supported the Kickstarter for it already. I got RDI9 through Kickstarter, as well.

So far, everything I have (except the chainmail bikini) fits in the larger box from RDI5. 

Wassail Recipe

I've begun a tradition of making wassail for certain events, all around midwinter, each year. Each time I make it, I look up several recipes to figure out what I should include, and then I pretty much wing it. This time, I'm writing down a recipe to come back to. All the measurements are approximate guesses - add things until your heart is happy (or your crockpot is full).

This tastes great, is super easy to make, and it makes the house smell amazing while it simmers.

The Basic Recipe:

Apple Cider        8-10 cups           my crockpot will hold about 10 cups

Orange Juice       2 cups                pulp-free Simply Orange is my preference

Lemon Juice       1/2 cup    

Honey                 1/2 cup               Honey OR Brown Sugar, not both

Brown Sugar      1 Tbsp                Honey OR Brown Sugar, not both

Cloves (ground) 1-2 tsp                you can also use 10-15 whole cloves

Cinnamon          1-2 tsp                or 4-6 sticks, or a mix of the two

Ginger                1/2 tsp

Nutmeg              1/2 tsp

Options & Extra Additions:

Apples & Oranges     cut up a couple of each and float the pieces - get the smaller ones

Star Anise                  enough to float and be pretty

Cranberries                enough to float and be pretty

Cranberry Juice         instead of the Lemon Juice (Pineapple Juice is also an option, but not for me)

Instructions:

Put all the juices in the crockpot and turn it on high. Don't overfill it - you need room for mixing. I always put too much cider in, instead of leaving room for the rest. Then turn the crockpot on high and leave it alone for like half an hour so it can get warm.

Add the honey and the ground spices, mix it well. The honey won't mix at first, but once it's warm, be sure to get it all off the bottom of the pot.

Cut up the apples and oranges. Remember to take the stickers off before cutting them up. Smaller fruit lets you make pretty slices that will float on top.

Add other floating pieces - the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and/or cranberries.

Let it cook for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. Then turn it to low and let it simmer that way until the end of your event or until it runs low.

I suggest putting a ladle in a bowl, sitting on a tray, for serving. Ladle a generous amount into large coffee mugs. Try to get a little of the floating pieces into each mug. 

Optionally, top with whipped cream and some shaken cinnamon, a swirl of caramel, or a cinnamon stick tucked in.

If there's any left, let it cool, then pour it back into the cider jug without any of the floating bits. Label the jug WASSAIL, and you can microwave it for a quick warm drink.

Pride and Privilege

Who am I? Well, I am not who I was raised to be.

Based on the expectations I grew up with, I should be a college-educated, upper middle class, white Christian woman in a monogamous heterosexual marriage with two to four children and a steady career as a white-collar professional. That is who I was raised to be.

That is not who I am. 

Paradox of Tolerance

 

I have a whole writing somewhere on Tolerance. And I can't find it right now, but I am posting this here so as to never lose it, because it's important.

Edit: I found that writing - Tolerance Is My Value System.

Trump. Again.

Trump. Again. So we've all got the news this morning, and I'm pretty sure everyone I care anything about is cycling between depressed, raging, afraid, disgusted, worried, and resigned. I just can't believe any kind of reasonable people can make this decision. I want to lash out, but where? There's not a reasonable target to do so - some of my friends are renting a rage room this evening, though. 

Mismatched Socks

 

I wear mismatched socks. On purpose.

Because of health reasons, I wear compression socks all the time. And they come in packs of like 6 pair in various colors, and half are grey. So when I do laundry, I dump all the socks into one pile, I don't match them, and I pull out one color and one grey to wear each day. So my socks are always deliberately mismatched.

Favorite Books to Read Again

A few years back, I made a list of books I have reread the most times and would recommend. Here's what I came up with, and I may add a few.

Cuckoo's Egg - I've gone through at least four copies of this book since I was a pre-teen. I love this world and a lot of the philosophical discussions that are awoken by the situations in the book. https://www.amazon.com/Cuckoos-Egg-Alliance-Union-Universe-Cherryh/dp/0886770831

Xanth (series) - started reading these with my sister when we were young, and just... love over and over. Magic, bad puns, puzzles, and friendship. I have been made aware in recent years of some really problematic misogynism therein, and I've been afraid to go back and read with that lens - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MK2PJSR

Dresden Files (series) - Saving The Universe, One Random Act of Destruction at a Time. The best wizard named Harry. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CF4JMZ

Tales of Alvin Maker (series) - Seventh Son is another I've gone through multiple copies of. Alternate history where cottage magic works. The first several are great, but they weaken as the series progresses (much like Ender's Game by the same author) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0841YCLH8

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol - if you've never read the book, do - there is so much richness there that can't be shown on stage. If possible, I recommend the reproduction of the first edition little red book with the original illustrations. - https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Carol-silkbound-Arcturus-Classics/dp/1398814199

Men Are Like Waffles Women Are Like Spaghetti - I will rarely read, let alone recommend, a self-help/relationship book. But this one made a lot of ideas 'click' in my head. Just understand that you have to replace 'men' and 'women' with 'some people' - https://www.amazon.com/Men-Like-Waffles-Women-Spaghetti-Understanding/dp/0736968881

The Chronicles of Narnia (Narnia series) - as a child, fine fantasy. As an adult I re-read and saw a lot of Christian mythology. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QQKTGI

Rogue Warrior (series) - A guilty pleasure (and Rubi's choice) -you can tell when I've been reading these because my language devolves. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087DZVNCL

Dragon Prince (series) - Detailed regal-dynasty fiction with dragons. I learned a lot of lessons on how to manage people in here, too. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CF7K6D

Kushiel's Legacy (series) - Great world-building with a kinky twist. There's three trilogies, and I recommend them highly at the beginning, with love for them decreasing with each one. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CGQ95W