Bowstrings and Tall Tales
It was the second year for the event and we are 2 for 2 for our attendance. Getting up at 7 AM after a lousy night sleep with a crying baby to drive 2.5 hours to do archery in the rain on the first day of my period sounds like a recipe for disaster for any event. But we'd made arrangements for my parents to keep the Pumpkin and a friend to keep the Sugarplum after all of that effort and we were going come hell or high water.
It turned out to be a really great day. We arrived about 11:00 and got in quite a bit of shooting before lunch. It was overcast, which was somewhat of an improvement over last year when it was blisteringly hot. The rain held off until between 1 and 2. We shot a bit in the drizzle. When it started to come down heavier, we retreated to the club house and chatted with a nice couple from Belleville who had a little boy who was 4 days older than my Pumpkin. When the rain stopped, we went back out. Timothy had packed up, but set back up to marshal for us and we went again for a long stretch until it really started coming down again. We left about 4:30.
Despite the rain, I totally feel like I got my money's worth with the event. We didn't end up doing the woods walk through, but spent the whole day with Timothy on the practice range. Timothy Thatcher is a self-proclaimed old grouch, but he is really a big sweetheart. In the morning, there were kids learning archery. Brayla had her twins who are 6 years old. (Maybe next summer we can bring the Sugarplum.) There were some 9-11 year olds and some teens. They moved one of the 20 yard targets to 15 yards for the kids and Timothy was great with them.
After the first rain, there was a good stretch when it was just Timothy, Piers, and I. It was like private instruction and it was practice round after practice round. Timothy's goal was to break 20 points at 30 yards. He got 19 on one round. Piers got 13 at 30 yards. I actually managed to get one arrow in the 4 point red circle. I mostly practiced at 20 yards. I was really working on my form, including having a consistent focal point. I managed 8 points on one round. In one hysterical round, I had every arrow on the butt with none of them scoring. There were on all sides too - it was like how many different places can you put an arrow on the butt without getting a point. But I made amazing progress over the course of the day. Even Timothy said he was proud of me.
We didn't end up doing an IKAC. Between the drizzle and the short shower, there were never enough people around to run one. It doesn't actually matter to me. I am satisfied with how I did without having official IKAC scores to back up my progress.
We shot so many rounds that my little 20 pound childrens' bow now has paint wearing off and has tiny lines in the rubber hand grip from all of the feathers on the arrows. Both Timothy and Piers told me to start bringing my real bow, my 25-30 pound bow to events and to use it for at least part of the event. I really worked on my tendency to grip too tightly with my left hand. Normally after an archery event, it's my left hand that is sore not my right back shoulder. I love my bow though. At the end of the day I wasn't tired and I wasn't sore. I could have kept going if the rain hadn't returned. On the other hand, I have real problems shooting 40 yards and that would improve if I used my real bow. Piers still loves his bow from Aelfwyn. He did remark when it was just Timothy, him and I that this was harder than an IKAC because usually with an IKAC there are more than 6 shooters, so you get a break between rounds. He took a couple of breaks between rounds, which I didn't need. This is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to give up my childrens' bow - it's given me stamina; I'm outlasting real archers. :)
Lunch was great. Melusine cooked for it. Apparently she just bought the beef skewers pre-marinated, but they were delicious and I'm not a huge fan of red meat. A skewer of beef, a handful of baby carrots and raspberry tart for $3.25. Top that Tim Hortons.
Speaking of which, even though it was only a 2 1/2 hour trip, Piers still needed to make a visit to the shrine of St. Timothy, patron of travelers, at which he picked up for me something called a lemon crinkle. I thought the choice of name "lemon crinkle" was the worst thing I could imagine Tim Hortons coming up with; however, the only thing worse than the name turned out to be the actual taste. I guess the original choice of name "crappy donut with a vague hint of lemon" while more truthful didn't go over in focus groups. When we were returning home, we had to stop at Tim Hortons, yet again!, and while standing in line we discovered that they were sold out of about 2/3 of their normal selection - however they did have about 14 lemon crinckles left. That did not surprise me.
Piers managed to forget his pants at my parents and had to wear his tunic over his jeans. Fortunately archery events are usually not fashion shows and no one wears their best garb to an outdoor archery event, especially if they were going to do the woods walk-through.
The most humorous moment of the day occurred during dinner. We stopped at the Quinte mall, bought our daughter 2 more birthday presents at Toys R Us, and then went to Denny's. At one point, Piers realized he still had his bowstring wax in his pocket and pulled it out and started reading me the instructions: "Apply liberally. Rub briskly to enhance penetration. Reapply frequently for maximum string life." It struck me as being really funny, given that everyone around us with their children would have absolutely no idea that those directions had anything to do with archery. It also struck me as being hysterical given that the night before was our wedding anniversary. When you're first married, you go to romantic restaurants and share your hopes and dreams with each other. Then eleven years later, you're sitting in Denny's while your husband reads you bowstring wax instructions for no apparent reason. :)
It turned out to be a really great day. We arrived about 11:00 and got in quite a bit of shooting before lunch. It was overcast, which was somewhat of an improvement over last year when it was blisteringly hot. The rain held off until between 1 and 2. We shot a bit in the drizzle. When it started to come down heavier, we retreated to the club house and chatted with a nice couple from Belleville who had a little boy who was 4 days older than my Pumpkin. When the rain stopped, we went back out. Timothy had packed up, but set back up to marshal for us and we went again for a long stretch until it really started coming down again. We left about 4:30.
Despite the rain, I totally feel like I got my money's worth with the event. We didn't end up doing the woods walk through, but spent the whole day with Timothy on the practice range. Timothy Thatcher is a self-proclaimed old grouch, but he is really a big sweetheart. In the morning, there were kids learning archery. Brayla had her twins who are 6 years old. (Maybe next summer we can bring the Sugarplum.) There were some 9-11 year olds and some teens. They moved one of the 20 yard targets to 15 yards for the kids and Timothy was great with them.
After the first rain, there was a good stretch when it was just Timothy, Piers, and I. It was like private instruction and it was practice round after practice round. Timothy's goal was to break 20 points at 30 yards. He got 19 on one round. Piers got 13 at 30 yards. I actually managed to get one arrow in the 4 point red circle. I mostly practiced at 20 yards. I was really working on my form, including having a consistent focal point. I managed 8 points on one round. In one hysterical round, I had every arrow on the butt with none of them scoring. There were on all sides too - it was like how many different places can you put an arrow on the butt without getting a point. But I made amazing progress over the course of the day. Even Timothy said he was proud of me.
We didn't end up doing an IKAC. Between the drizzle and the short shower, there were never enough people around to run one. It doesn't actually matter to me. I am satisfied with how I did without having official IKAC scores to back up my progress.
We shot so many rounds that my little 20 pound childrens' bow now has paint wearing off and has tiny lines in the rubber hand grip from all of the feathers on the arrows. Both Timothy and Piers told me to start bringing my real bow, my 25-30 pound bow to events and to use it for at least part of the event. I really worked on my tendency to grip too tightly with my left hand. Normally after an archery event, it's my left hand that is sore not my right back shoulder. I love my bow though. At the end of the day I wasn't tired and I wasn't sore. I could have kept going if the rain hadn't returned. On the other hand, I have real problems shooting 40 yards and that would improve if I used my real bow. Piers still loves his bow from Aelfwyn. He did remark when it was just Timothy, him and I that this was harder than an IKAC because usually with an IKAC there are more than 6 shooters, so you get a break between rounds. He took a couple of breaks between rounds, which I didn't need. This is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to give up my childrens' bow - it's given me stamina; I'm outlasting real archers. :)
Lunch was great. Melusine cooked for it. Apparently she just bought the beef skewers pre-marinated, but they were delicious and I'm not a huge fan of red meat. A skewer of beef, a handful of baby carrots and raspberry tart for $3.25. Top that Tim Hortons.
Speaking of which, even though it was only a 2 1/2 hour trip, Piers still needed to make a visit to the shrine of St. Timothy, patron of travelers, at which he picked up for me something called a lemon crinkle. I thought the choice of name "lemon crinkle" was the worst thing I could imagine Tim Hortons coming up with; however, the only thing worse than the name turned out to be the actual taste. I guess the original choice of name "crappy donut with a vague hint of lemon" while more truthful didn't go over in focus groups. When we were returning home, we had to stop at Tim Hortons, yet again!, and while standing in line we discovered that they were sold out of about 2/3 of their normal selection - however they did have about 14 lemon crinckles left. That did not surprise me.
Piers managed to forget his pants at my parents and had to wear his tunic over his jeans. Fortunately archery events are usually not fashion shows and no one wears their best garb to an outdoor archery event, especially if they were going to do the woods walk-through.
The most humorous moment of the day occurred during dinner. We stopped at the Quinte mall, bought our daughter 2 more birthday presents at Toys R Us, and then went to Denny's. At one point, Piers realized he still had his bowstring wax in his pocket and pulled it out and started reading me the instructions: "Apply liberally. Rub briskly to enhance penetration. Reapply frequently for maximum string life." It struck me as being really funny, given that everyone around us with their children would have absolutely no idea that those directions had anything to do with archery. It also struck me as being hysterical given that the night before was our wedding anniversary. When you're first married, you go to romantic restaurants and share your hopes and dreams with each other. Then eleven years later, you're sitting in Denny's while your husband reads you bowstring wax instructions for no apparent reason. :)