Tzippi Reaches the Reach

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Celebrating the good weather, and eager for a more hospitable terrain than the Vale of Arryn, we journey South and West to the Reach.

Home of chivalry in Westeros, and of the most fertile and green lands in all Seven Kingdoms, the Reach is a center of culture, whether agri-, vini-, or high.

When we toured Dorne, we concentrated on important moments of Dornish history. In the Stormlands, we noted several important people who hail from that area. In the Vale, we celebrated a particular Spring tradition. However, with the history and important players in the Game of Thrones that hail from the Reach, this time we’ll focus on Geography, looking at some of the most important places in the what the maesters call “the most beautiful of the Seven Kingdoms”.

Highgarden rules the Reach. The Tyrell lords, and the Gardener kings before them, hold uncontested sway over the Reach. The Tyrell armies are large and well-fed, with many notable cavalrymen, due to the popularity of jousting and other knightly pursuits.

Highgarden deserves its name, as the tiered-walled castle has gardens and fountains, groves and small vineyards located inside and on its walls, and is surrounded by a briar labyrinth. It lies amidst the breadbasket of Westeros, which enabled Margaery Tyrell to feed the populace of King’s Landing upon her betrothal to Joffrey Baratheon, gaining immense political capital with the starving smallfolk. Robert Baratheon himself said of Highgarden “there are fields of golden roses that stretch away as far as the eye can see. The fruits are so ripe they explode in your mouth-melons, peaches, fireplums, you've never tasted such sweetness”

For Highgarden, I will eat four servings of fruits and vegetables each day, with one being a leafy green in order to count the day as a success.

 

We move from Highgarden to the seat of the Tyrell’s most loyal bannerman, Randyll Tarly. Horn Hill is a Marcher castle, set near the borders with Dorne. The Marcher Lords tend to be proud and fierce, from centuries of constant warfare across the borders. The Tarlys wield a Valyrian steel sword known as Heartsbane, and are counted as the strongest and most loyal of the Tyrell bannermen to join the war of the Five Kings.

(I’m not using the show version, because it doesn’t look very defensible, and what kind of Marcher lord keeps an indefensible palace? )

Withstanding (and carrying out) near-constant raids across the Dornish Marches breeds strong men and women, and creates the need for strong castles. To build and maintain defenses is the work of strong backs and muscles.

For Horn Hill, I will work out with weight of some sort (active yoga, bodyweight, shovelglove) 3 times per week.

Our travels now take us to Oldtown, the inarguable center of culture, learning, and piety in the Seven Kingdoms. Home to three major institutions and their three famous edifices, Oldtown has been a temporary home to scholars, septons, and seekers of mysteries from before the time of the Andals, and perhaps before the coming of the First Men to Westeros.

Oldtown is the home of the Citadel, where the Maesters train and study, before being sent off to serve lords across Westeros as scribes, advisors, and healers. Allegedly built during the Age of Heroes, the Citadel holds secrets untold to the rank and file of Westeros, even those who can claim some education.

The Citadel has been a depository of wisdom for centuries, perhaps millennia. However, little of it escapes the confines to be of help to Westerosi across the Kingdoms. Also, the studies of the Maesters can breed narrow-minded pedants.

For the Citadel, I will search and rearrange the archives. This will take the form of going through and either repacking, discarding, donating, or reassigning the contents of 4 drawers of boxes per week.  

If the Citadel is the mind of Oldtown, the Starry Sept is its heart. Built by the Andals as the center of their Faith of the Seven when they fled Andalos for Westeros.  Its black marble walls and stained glass windows awe the Faithful with their crystal insets, casting the refracted light of the Seven down upon them.

(no picture available of the Starry Sept)

The High Septon makes his residence at King’s Landing, but the Starry Sept remains one of the holiest places in Westeros to those who follow the Seven. In honor of this place of pilgrimage, I vow to rededicate myself to relflection and meditation, to walk with the Justice of the Father, the Wisdom of the Crone, the Bravery of the Warrior, the Beauty of the Maiden, the Tirelessness of the Smith, and the Mercy of the Mother*. I will practice self-care, in the form of meditation, stretching, prayer, or restorative yoga twice a week.

*We don’t mention the Stranger.

The political power in Oldtown, and it’s most notable landmark, is the Hightower. The seat of House Hightower, a First Men house and patrons of the faith and the order of the maesters since their introductions to Westeros. The Hightower itself is at the center of Oldtown, the city having grown around it, and it stands taller than any other structure in Westeros. It is said that the Wall is visible from its top. Its base is a labyrinthine fortress of oily black stone that predates the first men and may have been built by ancient peoples only theorized by the maesters. The Maze Makers of Lorath and the legendary Deep Ones are listed as possibilities. The First Men kings raised a tower atop that during the Dawn of Days, and the tower was said to have been erected by Bran the Builder himself. A beacon fire burns from the top day and night, guiding sailors to the mouth of the Honeywine river.

In response to the current Ironborn threat,  Lord Leyton Hightower is sequestered near the top with his (allegedly) prescient daughter Malora “the Mad Maid.” Whether he will be as successful as Aegon Targaryen, who consulted his maiden daughter Daenys the dreamer to escape the Doom of Valyria is yet to be seen. The common folk of Oldtown whisper that they consult books of spells to raise and army from the sea. If so, one has to wonder whether the Ironborn are threat enough to warrant such measures, or whether the Maid has seen something worse to come.

For the Hightower, I’m going to think literally about the leg power it takes to maintain a nearly entirely vertical keep. I will walk or run 3 times a week, for a minimum of 20 minutes each time. It’s nothing compared to the poor stewards who ferry meals to Lord Leyton and his daughter, but I have other stuff to do.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Woots and Accomplishments

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Week 1 Retrospective

 

Sunday

Highgarden – success! Hightower – Success!

Monday

Highgarden – success! Hightower – Success! Horn Hill – Success!

Tuesday

Highgarden – Success! Starry Sept  - Success!

Wednesday

Citadel – Success!

Thursday

Highgarden – Success! Hightower – Success! Horn Hill – Success!

Friday

Highgarden – Success!

Saturday

 

Highgarden goal of 4 F&V/day, including 1 leafy: 78%

Hightower goal of 3x/week walk run, 20 min, min:100%

Starry Sept goal of 2x/week self-care: 50%

Citadel goal of clearing 4 boxes or drawers/week: 50%

Horn Hill goal of 3x/week weights: 66%

 

Total: 68% success.

 

Reachman Sam Tarly is sad, but believes I can do better. I do, too.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Week 2 Retrospective

 

Sunday  -

Highgarden Success

Monday -

Highgarden, Horn Hill, and Hightower success. Prenatal yoga and 20-minute walk.

Tuesday -

Highgarden, Hightower, and Starry Sept Success. 30 minute walk and guided mediation.

Wednesday-

Highgarden, Hightower, Starry Sept, and Horn Hill success. 40 minute walk at lunch, dancing, and stretching.

Thursday -

Highgarden Success.Rained out for Hightower steps.

Friday -

Highgarden and Citadel Success.

Saturday -

Highgarden and Horn Hill Success. Prenatal yoga.

 

Highgarden goal of 4 Fruits and veg/day, 1 leafy: Success every day = 100%

 

Horn Hill goal of weight 3x/week: Success with two 50 minute yoga session and 1 90 minute dance session with a ton of arm work. 100%

 

Citadel - Archive reorganization- 4 boxes/drawers. Did Belly Dance costumes, workout clothes, and headscarves. Success! 100%

 

Starry Sept - Self care 2x/week. 2 meditations, 1 long stretching session at dance. 100%

 

Hightower - Walk 20 min+ 3x/week.  - Success. 100%

 

Total: 100% 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Week 3 Retrospective

Sunday -

Highgarden and Horn Hill

Monday 3 -

Starry Sept and Highgarden

Tuesday -

Highgarden, Horn Hill 1/2, Starry Sept, Hightower

Wednesday -

Highgarden, Hightower, Horn Hill

Thursday -

Highgarden

Friday -

Highgarden

Saturday -

Citadel 2/4, Highgarden

 

Highgarden - 100%

Horn Hill - 2.5/3 = 83%

Starry Sept - 100%

Hightower - 2/3 = 67%

Citadel 0 2/4 = 50%

 

Total of 80%. On to Week four, to finish even stronger!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Week 4 Retrospective

 

A little late on my week four retrospective and round-up.

 

Highgarden fruits and vegetables goal: 6.5 days / 7 = 92%

Hightower walking goal: 3/3 = 100%

Starry Sept self-care goal: 2.5/2 - 100%

Citadel archiving goal: 2/4 = 50%

Horn Hill Weights and training goal: 1/3 - 33%

 

Weekly total: 75% or a solid middle C

 

Prepping to travel was the big distraction this week, as well as prepping for camping SCA events this summer and getting myself and my husband garbed.

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Cleaning Mini-game

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following again.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Week zero interesting things:

apparently Tibba's inner ear bones are developed, so it's very possible that my voice, loudish music, etc. can be heard in there! I may get out our big headphones and do the stereotype a bit tonight:

 

Now I'm wondering about whether the first thing my child heard was Logan at the movies. Hopefully not. Probably not.

[Terra]

Lovely theme.  And I'm sure that the kiddo only heard muffled noises from Logan so you are OK!!!  

[Tzippi Longstockings]

11 minutes ago, Terra said:

Lovely theme.  And I'm sure that the kiddo only heard muffled noises from Logan so you are OK!!!  

Then again, *I* barely made it through that movie. I think I have to wait a bit on "kids in danger" media for a while, at least the R-rated stuff. I guess my Mama-Bear hormones are kicking in.

 

[Xena]

Looks great. Love the hightower/leg power idea!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Many, MANY thanks to @Katrin the Morag for introducing me to Bullet Journaling! I'm still very much a beginner, but am really enjoying it! I'm staying mostly monochromatic for now, and not worrying about fancy lettering, but love it all the same! (all fancy lettering and drawings that can't be made by counting boxes are traced).

 

Dailies and my belly dance costume prep.

I'm filling in the bottle with ideas for the journal.

  Questions and to-dos for 2nd trimester, and names.

 

 

[Xena]

Love your journal, and what a beautiful list of names!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 2:38 PM, Xena said:

Love your journal, and what a beautiful list of names!

Thanks. Mostly they're the names (or variations of) the names of family or friends who have passed away (Eastern European Jews like my husband's family traditionally don't name children after living relatives or people). I really like the idea of Miren, because it's the Basque (my side) form of Mary, and by extrapolation, Miriam, who is (was) a great-aunt of Mr. Longstockings.

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

WEEK ONE!!!

 

Sunday the 19th

Started out the day well with some (faux) sausage and some waffles topped with a bunch of fresh strawberries and a little drizzle of real maple syrup.

 

Went over to my Mum's and we walked the dog, then went down to walk around a Home and Garden show for a few hours. It was that tiring, mosey-and-stop kind of walking, but I got a decent step count in. Lunch was a salad and some creamy pasta with vegetables, and dinner was a tuna sandwich with all the veggies.

 

So I hit a walk and my veg goal for the day. After coming home from Pathfinder at almost midnight, I was too tired to meditate or stretch, but I'm organizing the rest of my wek to have only one lateish night in it.

 

Highgarden - Success Day!

Hightower - Success Day!

 

In other news, I got a ball to sit on at work, to hopefully help my back and hips. Sitting on it now - it's comfy, but weird. I may have to work my way up to using it all day.

  

[Tzippi Longstockings]

 

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 7:43 AM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Rangers.

Before us stands a shiny new challenge, full of promise and full of potential. That potential is for victory or defeat. The one factor that will determine which happens is the one factor that is entirely under our control.

Our ability to choose will be the sole cause of our victory or defeat. You will face hardships, that is beyond your control. You can choose to succumb to those hardships, or you can choose to adapt. If you adapt you win. So choose to adapt.

You will face the temptation to take the easy path. You will either take it, or choose the path of perseverance. If you persevere, you win. Choose to persevere.

You will face discouragement that will want you to believe you aren't worth it. You will either give in, or choose to believe you are worth it and keep going. If you believe, you win. Choose to believe.

You see, victory is not about not having any difficulty along the way. It's not even about eliminating the difficulty entirely. We sometimes think if something doesn't come easy we aren't any good at it and are a failure. I'm here to tell you, failure is not about getting what we want every time. Failure happens when we quit. If anything comes in our way to make things hard, we don't necessarily have to beat it the first time. We just have to not give up. As long as you keep going, you will win. Fitness is not about having a perfect game, it's not a destination, it's not one single achievement. It's about a journey, a way of life, a way of being. One undesired event does not change who we are, and it need not end our journey. The only one who can end your journey is you, and only by your choice will that happen. 

Even if your journey has stalled, even if you feel like you have given up, there is more good news. All you have to do is un-give up. Get back on the path, start walking again, and don't quit. The lie of the empire is that we have to use our willpower to keep us going the whole time. That way of looking at things is exhausting, for sustaining that much will power constantly is tiring. The truth is that things are the other way around. In order to truly lose, we have to keep choosing each day not to get up and move, each day not to make any effort. Constant choice not to work is what keeps us off the path to victory. For once you start journeying towards fitness, all you have to do is not stop.

This challenge you will succeed or you will fall, and you will do so by your choices.

What will you choose?

 

 

Copied over from the Great Hall.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Monday the 20th

Vernal Equinox!

 

Started off the day with a smoothie after an abysmal night's sleep. I think I need to invest in one of those awesome pregnancy pillows, I spend way too much of my bed time rearranging pillows.

 

Anyway, smoothie = 2 fruit, .5 leafy.

I'm moving kind of slow at the junction today. Been sitting on the ball most of today, and it's getting tiring on my lower back. I'm sure that's what I need to strengthen. Fun to do hip circles and figure eights in my chair, though. And bouncing is fun.

 

Plan is to do a quick, leafy lunch (probably either Mongolian BBQ with the bowl filled up entirely with veggies and a few noodles as decoration on top or the Vegetarian Power Bowl from Taco Bell - neither is perfect, but are reasonably quick, reasonably cheap, and get a grain, a green, and a bean in me) and then walk, as long as it isn't raining. I may have an umbrella in my car, though, so maybe even if it is. Then again, I'll also need to see if "my" section of the Greenbelt is literally flooded out. So I guess we'll see. There's also the more hilly Hidden Lakes Reserve nearby, but it's  a bit further to get to.

 (not yet this green)

 

Goals for tonight is yoga (or similar), and doing the email for my synagogue, and then getting to bed early because this "getting less than six hours of sleep" thing is not doing it for me.

 

Lunch was a mostly-cabbage and veg Mongolian BBQ (I ate a little more than half of the smallest size bowl). I walked about 20 minutes down by the river before I got to a deep enough puddle I decided to turn around (If I was going on a run from home, I might have gone through, but I don't want to deal with wet socks and shoes for the rest of the workday). The river is going so high, and so fast! I haven't seen it like this since I was a kid (those crazy snows this winter). I'm surprised they're all but emptying the reservoir now - they must be really worried about the massive snowmelt later in spring.

 

Got home and did my 50 minutes of prenatal yoga DVD. It's kind if between what I would call "active"  and "relaxing", so I'm not sure whether to count it as a Starry Sept or Horn Hill success.I think I'll count it as a Horn Hill this time, and see how it goes in future.

 

And I'm not counting this as self-care, per se, but got one of those pillows!Need to let it sit out of the bag for a while, but I'm very excited to use it soon!

 

So far today:

Highgarden: Success!

Hightower: Success!

Horn Hill: Success!

[Terra]

After seeing that picture I had to go see where you are from because that has to be out west somewhere.  I grew up in southern-Idaho, so no wonder it looked familiar!   

 

Sleep is precious these days, enjoy it!!!  

[Tzippi Longstockings]

1 hour ago, Terra said:

After seeing that picture I had to go see where you are from because that has to be out west somewhere.  I grew up in southern-Idaho, so no wonder it looked familiar!   

 

Sleep is precious these days, enjoy it!!!  

Yup, I a Boisean born, and we came back here from our year in Japan. I loved Sacramento too, but I have a louder, clingier, and more centralized family.

[Morag]

You have such a lovely challenge here! And your bujo is gorgeous!

 

:stalketystalk:

 

---

"Travel lightly, for what you bring with you becomes part of your landscape." -Anne Bishop

 

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

7 hours ago, Katrin the Morag said:

You have suhh a lovely challenge here! And your bujo is gorgeous!

 

:stalketystalk:

 

---

"Travel lightly, for what you bring with you becomes part of your landscape." -Anne Bishop

 

 

You inspired me! I'm still getting started, but so far, I love it!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Tuesday the 21st

 

Slept in rather than getting up to shovelglove. But I had a nice time cuddling with Mr. Longstockings and Vimes and Gytha (the two cats, who were being extra cute this morning.)

Still got smoothies made, a shower, and some time to belly-moisturize before work.

Smoothie the standard banana, berries, spinach, chia, and protein.

 

Morning snacks is peanuts and some pregnancy tea.

 

Vegan BBQ sandwich for lunch. Coleslaw makes 1 leafy. Didn't walk, because rain.

 

Salad for dinner, and then saw Lego Batman, which is adorable. And exactly what you'd imagine a Batman with Will Arnett as Batman would be.

 

Meditated before bed, in my awesome pregnancy pillow. Slept so nice.

 

Bad news is that my heels started killing me during dinner, and hurt all through the evening and night. I'm not sure if it's from wearing sandals for the first time this season or whether the yoga did something weird. For now, I'm blaming the shoes.

 

Highgarden: Success!

Starry Sept: Success!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Almost forgot to note this!

 

I quite liked my Prenatal Yoga DVD (it's from Gaiam, featuring a skinny blonde woman named Rey, or Ray, maybe?), but I was completely taken out of it at one point.

 

Because that nondescript background music that yoga DVDs always have? You know, that stuff you don't notice, with a gentle piano over some strings or really soft percussive elements and woodwinds?

 

It came full center and made me listen. It wasn't exactly, but there was something about it that reminded me so forcibly of this:

 

 

Then my mind was going nuts for a bit, wanting a "Black Lodge" yoga mat and thinking about pie and completely silent drape runners and whether I'll be able to watch the upcoming season on Amazon prime or something, since I don't have Showtime.

 

Anyway, the DVD definitely took a turn for the weird, if only in my head.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I've seen that one before, it had a lot of woo woo stuff if I recall.