Dedication

Hail the Natturer!
Hail our Ancestors!
Hail our Tivar!

Heimat Hof's dedication was perfect! End-of-year in November and we had 70* days and 40* nights. Incredible! The food was outstanding, the mead and beer endless, the laughter of children everywhere, kinship unbounding!

The Lord and Lady of Osprey Bay arrived with their children and kindred hund (Fred) on Friday. They traveled from Florida. With them was the Chieftain of the Kindred Folk, Raven Hawksson (he and his men are also Dryht to Osprey Bay).

Lord Garrik, Cheiftain of Varangian Kindred was there with his beautiful Lady Gwen; who is soon to give birth to Garrik Jr. We were blessed to have them drive from north Georgia considering Lady Gwen is due any day now!

Gator, Sara and their son Casey jouneyed from Claxton, Georgia to grace our high table. With them was Lisa - who is notable for her willingness to learn and grow!

From Alabama came Marc and his lovely wife Leisa. Both of them have become very proactive in Heathenry here in the Southlands - organizing meet and greets and maintaining a yahoo list (the Alabama Heathen Society). Their good cheer and ready smiles were a welcome addition!

Also at high table were our children and grandchildren: Our beautiful daughter Carina, her loving husband William, our wonderous granddaughter Amber, and three-month old grandson Nathan. Our horn truly ran over this night!

Unlike Lunch and Lore, where everyone contributes a dish, Heimat Hof's dedication was our gift to our guests. Tim prepared two Boston butts and two large dishes of golabki, or Polish cabbage rolls - filled with sacred Boar meat; to accompany this we had baked potatoes and Polish carrots and fresh snap peas. Aside from food, our other gift was all the mead, beer and wine enjoyed by our guests. (Heathens can drink an enormous amount of mead and beer in three days! :D )
Later still - after the husel and samal - we catered sandwiches from a local deli, so that no one went hungry. Many folk stayed the night, and those that did were greeted with a hearty breakfast!

For three days our guests were made welcome, and for three days they were impeccable guests. Without asking folk were cleaning up after every meal, bagging up trash, hundreds of beer bottles and mead flasks, wiping down tables, carrying firewood, and ever at hand willing to help out. Thank you all for being such impeccable guests!

Husel was early afternoon, and before everyone had their full - twice over! - Lord Garrik hallowed our table with words of great might. Saturday afternoon I asked all our women to join me in decorating the new horgr that sits outside the hof. We - the Worth-bringers and Worth-keepers - accompanied by our children, adorned the horgr with fresh-made bread, eggs, fruit and vegetables, meat and fish.

At sunset we extinguished all lights in the house. Tim went down the hill to our permanant wihstat to ignite the sacred fire; I then led our guests down the hill to join him. We stood there around that warm fire - our faces aglow - in the first sacred space created on our property - and I asked notable folk gathered to assist in our offering upon the horgr. I offered a flask to the Tivar, Lady Rachel offered a flask to our Altmag, and my son-in-law William offered a flask to our Words and Deeds.

I then collected that sacred flame and carried it up the hill - 'Brand from Brand, Fire to Flame, Ur-might is passed' - with all gathered following. Gathering around the newest horgr, the sacred fire was passed - from wihstat to horgr. Once again I offered a flask of mead upon the bountiful harvest offered there; Sara offered the second bottle, and Leisa the third. That flame was then collected and carried into a dark hof. In the back, before the Hof's stallr, the flame was passed a third time, bringing us all from darkness into light - from wihstat to horgr to hof! I then asked all gathered to take that flame and light the candle on the table where they were to sit; and so it was the sacred flame was passed from wihstat to horgr to hof to high seat within Heimat Hof!

Hail the Many Hands of our Folk!

When all were seated, I addressed all gathered, "Silence I ask, of the hallowed kindred, children of Heimdallr, both high and low born. We shall now speak of Tivar, Altmag and Oaths, relating well our word for all to hear!" Samal than began with words from the Lord and Lady of Heimat Hof, then, that draught poured into the faining bowl: "Words Wending Weal to the Well!" The hof horn was filled again and the first round begun. As I passed the horn I proudly introduced each folk there - honored guests - speaking long of their contributions and our thanks for their attendance; for sitting within the hof is a holy matter, meant to aid the overall magan and goodly luck of all gathered. After the first round I again emptied the horn's words into the faining bowl .. until the final round.

At the third round Tim and I brought out our gift box and it was with great pleasure that we gifted each guest - so that the threads of kin and kith were woven, shild created and frith maintained. Tim and I are proud to be the Lord and Lady of Heimat Hof, to be Ring-givers by gladly demonstrating our frith towards guests, our generous open-handedness, and shild between kinsmen. Likewise, many gathered also shared gifts with *all* gathered - contributing to the high tables overall wealth.

Hail the Ring-Givers! Hail the Gold-Haters!

Samal was ended with these words, "Now the sayings of the folk have been uttered in the Hof, for the weal of all gathered and for the woe of Jotuns! Hail, those who have spoken! Hail, those that know! Hail, you who have listened! Use, those that have learned!"

Taking up the faining bowl, containing the words of might spoken, I then asked all the ladies present to accompany me outside. Gathered around the horgr I sang a vardlokkr to call our Altmag, so that they may witness the pouring of those words upon sacred stone might. I then reminded all there to, 'Remember well your place as Worth-bringer. We are the mediatrixes of authority, the Honor-bearers and King-makers!' (And the remainder of what was related is woman's wisdom!)

Returning to the Hof, to rejoin our menfolk, the spirit of the good cheer met with the merriment of early morning. And so it was that those that had to leave, left far later than they had originally planned, while others simply chose to stay the night.

There are far too many remarkable moments to recount, but one does stand out in my mind above all others. I carried more steins to the hof, so that all gathered would have one before husal and samal. Morgan and Lil' Ev followed me (bright children of Osprey Bay). Outside the door, Morgan - who is four - stopped with her brother, turned and yelled down the hill, "Daddy! Me and Ev are gonna play in the hof!" Standing right inside the door, by heart swelled with joy and tears came to my eyes. Truly, there can be no greater words than those, and no greater thought than our children being able to play in a hof! May they ever play there, and with fond memory be the next hof builders!

After the last guest had departed, Tim and I noticed that the candle upon the hof's horgr was still burning. And so it was, sometime last night, that this flame final burnt itself out. What a blessing that the sacred flame would remain there - where it was lovingly placed - for three nights!

Hail Heimat Hof!
Hail our Guests!
Hail our Children!
Hail my Might-filled Husband!

Live Deliberately!
Yngona