So just what is a moot exactly?

Webster's defines Moot as:

To bring up as a subject for debate or discussion -- to debate or discuss. Open to debate: arguable. Having no legal significance.

Tolkien defines Moot like this:

Treebeard: We Ents have not troubled about the wars of Men and wizards for a very long time. But now, something is about to happen that has happened for an age. Entmoot.
Merry: What’s that?
Treebeard: ‘Tis a gathering.

Well, ours is a Shieldmaiden Moot -- a gathering of Shieldmaidens. You then might ask what a Shieldmaiden is. In this case it a tight group of women who are committed to breaking cages that keep us from becoming who we are born to be!

This past weekend I spent an incredible four days in Astoria, Oregon with these amazing women.

My quest really started Wendesday night before leaving -- I had so much to do, but was too tired to get it all done at once. I'd spent the afternoon getting my hair done and hanging with my sister Ann, so I didn't get home until 8pm. I did a bit of packing and straightening up then decided I needed to get some sleep, so I set my alarm for 10:30pm and took a nap. I got up (and suprisingly didn't hit the snooze a coupla times) and got a bunch more done. At 3am I laid down again until 4am. So then I threw in the last minute items, got dressed to go and waited for Diana and Andy to pick me up at 5am to head to the airport.

The flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth was uneventful and I tried to sleep through most of it. When I got to Texas, I was greeted by Bella (Tiffany Mansfield) & Saelind (Marie Meisel). They were able to switch our seat locations so we could sit together -- and after spending a few minutes in the very last row, the flight attendant was able to move all three of us up to the middle of the plane. We spent the next 4 or 5 hours gabbing away, including an intensive one-on-one with Saelind about reading The Silmarillion. Still, as much fun as we had bonding, we were very happy to get off the plane at last. My legs were stiff (and bloated) and they're half the length of Saelind's!

But we still had two hours to get from Portland to Astoria! We met up with AmyGaladriel (Amy Stellmacher), Joielinne (Joy Schwark), Evermind (Jill Andersen) & Kitty (Kathryn Higgins), so once we picked up our rental vehicles we began caravaning towards our destination. Only one problem... it started snowing!! Now for those of us used to driving in the snow it was nothing, but Oregonites do NOT know how to drive in wet flakes -- nor does Saelind who lives in Nashville, TN. So we did a bit of a Chinese fire drill and in our van (Saelind, Bella Evermind & me), Evermind (who is from upper Michigan and well versed in snowy driving conditions) and Saelind switched places. Back on the road we still had one stop to make before the driving began in earnest -- lunch!! We met the other group at a restaurant recommended by a woman at the car rental place called The Oak Tree. She didn't steer us wrong and we had a tasty lunch. Then we hit the road again -- and after a short detour (oops!) we made our way to the Holiday Inn Express in Astoria.

I cannot begin to express how beautiful the scenery is in Oregon. With the odd weather (Wiz assured us this was freakish) the clouds wreathed the mountains and forests in a most magical way. It felt primeval -- and very Middle-earth-like! I guess it gave me the same feeling as when I was in Ireland 3 summers ago. Just lovely...

So we arrive in Astoria and check in. Small glitch... they are housing Katrina refugees. They were supposed to be gone a month or so ago, but they're still there and they can't kick them out obviously -- but they have our suite! We end up with two adjoining rooms -- and after discussing the situation with the management (Mehl & Bella & MEM are awesome negotiators) we stay in the adjoining rooms, but get one extra room for one night. It actually ended up working out well after all. We (Bagshot Row) were Party Central due to Bella's talents as a mixologist, so we had many maidens visiting for cocktails, shots, The Nove and the like... so the bar was in one room -- and the other room seemed better for quieter conversation.

We soon found the Moot Room by Gandalf greeting us at the door of Wiz's suite bidding us to "Speak friend and enter" and we found Wiz and other maidens waiting for us there with a gift from Wiz -- fleecy hot pink scarves with our names embroidered on a tag in one of the corners! How we all needed them -- and used them ALL weekend!!

Thursday evening after everyone who was arriving got settled, we all traipsed over to the Pig 'n Pancake (I liked calling it the Pig 'n Poke since it took me the whole weekend to remember its real name!) for dinner. These people are soooo accommodating! They willingly moved tables, took separate checks, broughtAmyG strawberry shortcake with a side of bacon! After dinner Bella and I went down to the hot tub and pool for a relaxing dip (more on the spa later). After a shower we all sat around chatting and catching up 'til we started nodding off.

By the way, the "official" inhabitants of Bagshot Row were: moi, of course; Bella, Mehl (Sara Ann Mehltretter), LadyD (Laura Rudolph) and MEM (Shelley Brown).

Friday morning we ambled down to the breakfast room at the hotel -- bagels, cereal, danish, gravy & biscuits, and lots of coffee. I've also heard tell of some wicked sticky buns, but I never saw them! Probably for the best...

Most of the morning for me was spent in Opening Ceremony preparations: rehearsing with Valkyrië (Christine Crocker) & Tisbé (Liz Scott) -- Ted the Bear was not in attendance. I'm imagining Tisbé would have thought him too disruptive!! And looking at the moot room.

At breakfast we got some thrilling news! Novedhelion (Amy Greene) called from home (she couldn't make the trip) to tell us her manuscript has been accepted for publication by an e-publisher!! So several us retired toBagshot Row to toast her good fortune!! Bella created a special drink for the occasion -- The Nove: Absolut Citron, Orange juice, Amaretto, Seltzer and a marichino cherry. Delicious!!!

At 10:00am, we repared to the the moot room to listen to Saelind give her talk on The Silmarillion, which she will present at a conference in Toronto in July. It was wonderfully informative and we had a great discussion about the book. I think many of us left feeling they might actually figure out who all the "F-ing Elves" actually are!

Lunch was pizza in the Moot Room when everyone finally made it to Astoria (some of the ladies got into Portland in the evening and decided to stay there before heading to the hotel). And then a big group headed over to the Astoria (?) Column. I stayed behind to get some more OC stuff done, so I cannot alas tell of its significance. I saw pictures... it's a lovely-looking column. :-)

While those ladies were trekking Astoria, Evermind, Bella & I decided to head for the hot tub and pool again. We had a lovely, long conversation both in Bagshot Row and again in the pools. While we sat there, the other ladies returned and we beckoned them to join us. At some point we probably had 15 or 20 Shieldmaidens in the water! However... we discovered the hotel had over-chlorinated the water a bit. I'm really wondering how we three stayed in as long as we did! Stinging eyes... coughing... and when we got out of the water, some jewelry disinigrated!!! We decided to leave the pool alone from there on out (I could still smell it on me later that night after I'd taken my shower...)

Dinner and the PnP again. We walked in and the waitress said, "You want us to push the tables together again like last night???" Sweet girls!

Hurry back to our rooms to get ready for the OC.

Everyone looked so beautiful in all our finery!! Wiz's son set up a webcam so those Shieldmaidens who couldn't come could be with us regardless. There were some glitches, but all in all it was a good first attempt. Hopefully next year we can perfect it!

So lots of tears... lots of laughs... I can't speak to the success since I wrote the ceremony, but I was pleased with how it went. It was nice to have more people involved this year. I really don't know what the theme will be next year -- this one was so perfect!!

We got our moot bags with all the little goodies in it. One of the items was a river rock that Wiz and her Jerry collected for this purpose. We wrote our cages on the stone with a Sharpie then walked out to the river and threw it into the water! And we toasted with genuine Portugese Port (provided bySofia) and nibble on Canadian chocolate maple leaves (provided by Laurelindë). Then sat down to review last year's moot DVD (Kally - Cathy Carey - started but had other commitments interfere, then Molly & Chris took over, but had the programs crash on them at the last minute). We thanked them profusely for their efforts, but enjoyed last year's DVD just as much! :-)

After the OC, Bagshot Row was the happenin' place once again... Ted made an appearance and it was shocking how he toyed with Bella's Alpaca...

Saturday morning we met for breakfast again downstairs then trooped up to the moot room again to watch a tribute DVD for our dear mapmakerLlewyn (Karen Wynn-Fonstad) who sailed into the West exactly a year ago that day.

Anyway, at noon we assembled down in the lobby to walk down the river a bit to an outlook. There Saelind led us (admirably, I might add) in a tribute to our lost family & friends, including Llewyn, over the past year. At the end, we all threw a red carnation into the water to let the tide take them out to Sea.

Several of us stopped there at a cafe for lunch. The food was delicious, but the service lacked quite a bit. We had a very surly, unhelpful waiter. We did not leave him a generous tip. Hmpf!

Saelind and I had a nice chat on the way back to the hotel (the group was us two, Pansy [Betty Bigelow]; AmyG; Kitty [Kathryn Higgins]; Jackie Latestarter & Joie) and then I headed up to Bagshot Row for a well-deserved nap. A little later Pansy came and found me to share a hard cider -- yum! Then I had to get ready to meet the Catholic group for Mass at Wiz's church.

Mass at Saint Francis de Sales was a delight! What a vibrant, welcoming parish!! It was cozy with real wood paneling on one wall and windows facing the water on the other. It was a good thing we were on the paneled side as I doubt I would have paid much attention looking out at the beautiful view on the other! As it was, we had difficulty enough focusing on the sermon thanks to the little "darling" in front of us (I hope you read that as sarcasm). Anyway... it was wonderful to celebrate mass with my Shieldsisters. (That group was me, Saelind, Bella, Mehl, Molly, Sofia & Wiz)

After mass, Wiz took us to her house for The Party of Special Magnificence!! One of the main reasons for having moot on the Western Shores was to celebrate Wiz's 50th birthday. And what a celebration it was!! Wiz's family put on quite a shin-dig for her. And their home is so beautiful -- quite hobbity, in fact -- including a sign greeting us saying "No Admittance - Except on Party Business." But for me, it was the view outside the windows on the back side of the house that took my breath away!!!

I don't think I have ever experienced such a party... usually when there are so many people you will find a wall flower or two, but you could join any grouping and feel a part of the conversation. The webcam was again set up for absent Shieldmaiden viewing, hanging from the ceiling, in fact! It seemed to work better than the night before??

Wiz adorable grandbabies made an appearance -- Nikolai & Gabriel dressed in hobbit gear down to knitted slippers that looked like hairy hobbit feet! (They are called Merry & Pippin too). I believe their mom Raingirl (Peggy) created their ensembles -- I was so impressed with the embroidery on their little shirts and pants! Nikolai greeted me with a pretzel at the door then fed me a grape a bit later -- and when ever Queenie (Sally Miller) asked him who's his favorite girl, he'd say, "Sally!" Until Valkyrië got in on it -- much jealousy between these two august ladies for his favor!! Pretty little Lindsay (Maidenette) & Emory, the children of MaidenettesMomma (Heather) also beguiled us for a time. But soon it was bedtime and they were all swept off to dreamland.

In the meantime, Ranger Jerry & Raingirl were minding the kitchen! Such food! Every little while new dishes were brought out -- the best was the fresh fish -- grilled salmon and garlic shrimp! Yum-O!

And the crowning glory was the birthday cake -- seemingly an ordinary, bakery confection with yellow roses and a photo of little Wiz -- but then one bite told us it was no ordinary cake. They put raspberry flavoring in the batter. It was delectable!

Gifts were given and appreciated (the group gave her a beautiful wool stole made from the same wool as used on the Fellowship cloak in the LOTR movies) -- Wiz looked as if the stole was made with her in mind! She also received a statue of Legolas that was part of a set of the Fellowship that Queenie found right there in Astoria!

We also saluted Valkyrië's birthday for March 13th!

And then... an appearance by the sexy Marylindë (ie: Laurelindë/Ina), stealer of the Ranger!! It was a hoot! The Queen (Sal) was properly appalled!

But soon it was time to go back to the hotel. Wiz led the way back since many got turned around on the way there. Bagshot Row was hoppin' again, as we knew quite a few would be leaving in the morning. Those that were leaving betimes we reluctantly said "good night" to... I packed my bag, only to repack it several more times -- including the next morning! In our moot bags we had a book put together by LadyD with help from Rayna, Kai (Cathy Hess) Elhf (Elaine Foster) & Estelina (Sheri) -- with illustrations by Rayna & Pansy, and many of us sent our books around to each other to sign, just like our yearbooks in high school. I think there might've been some belly dancing going on in the other room too. Once again, it was the raucous room! In the quieter room, I had a great conversation with Alatariel (Lynn Wilkerson), Laurelindë & Evermind about movies. Rayna and I also shared a few quiet moments together -- including my trying on the gown she bought but couldn't wear. It's a bit tight on me, but I'm confident by next moot it will fit me just fine! (HOPE, HOPE, HOPE!)

Breakfast had to be early since a big group of us were trooping to the airport at 9am. I sat with Pansy, WhiteFox (Clare Cronin) and Darth Jedi (Cinnea). I should mention that at the OC, White Fox and Saelind presented the threadbearers with citations created especially for each of us. Frink's (Barb Dominey, who couldn't make it) husband came up with the wording and White Fox painted & lettered each one by hand. I treasure it!

Finally it was time to say "good-bye." Many tears and fervent hugs later, I climbed in the van with Saelind & Kally to head to the airport. But we got there and who should we meet but some of the Shieldmaidens we said "farewell" too! We also discovered that Starr's (Pat) daughter Maegan had incorrect flights, but there was no room to get them changed. So she had to stay an extra day! After some consternation, Starr entrusted her girl to Estelina & Wiz and came with Molly, Queenie and me to our gates. We stopped for a bite then went through security and suddenly it was time for me to board!

Farewell to the Western Shores -- but I would be with the Shieldmaidens again on the boards!

The trip home, while not exactly harrowing, wasn't exactly smooth either. Storms were pounding the midwest and left us circling the Chicago area while they passed through. We finally landed about 45 minutes late. Fortunately my connecting flight had also been held up, so I didn't miss it. I went looking for the gate, which I misread the first time and ended up at the wrong end of the terminal. I finally made it to the correct gate, sat there for 20 minutes and then got sent to a new gate. My 8:30pm flight was bumped back to 10:30pm and then bumped again back to 11:30pm. We finally took off, just before the airport closed the field again, and flew into Indy at 2:45am. *yawn!*

I managed to get hold of my family to deceminate the news, as well as call my boss and my work out buddy... I would be sleeping in!!

All in all, it was the most wonderful vacation! I would go back to Oregon in a moment!!

What & Who else did I miss, I wonder...

Oh, Tarfalathwen (Bonnie Petros) was ill most of the weekend! Wiz & Rayna actually took her to the ER so she could get some decent medicine to combat her raging sinus infection!

Celtelven (Charlene) was a new Shieldmaiden to join us this year. I did not get to spend very much time with her, but she seems lovely.

How could I forget the Moot Queen (Beccaie) & Deen (Jennifer Christensen) getting turned back in the snow storm!! They were driving across the country and the snow was bad in the Cascades. They closed the road and had to turn back. So instead of mooting with us, they drove to Boulder, CO to mini-moot with Kementári (Katrina Doumbia), who couldn't come at the last moment.

Arwensrose (Chenoa Torklep) came from the Oregon shores with her DRK (Dear Ranger Kevin). She looks wonderful and happy and her ranger seems perfect for her!

So I think I've at least mentioned all that went. If I have missed anyone, it's not because they weren't important enough to remember! Everything is still a jumble... :-)