The great corpus that is medieval literature contains, at its very center, the tale. These verse and prose fictional narratives, as well as stories that are grounded in some degree of historical truth, are the foundation of what readers, scholars, and enthusiasts often point to as signifiers of the medieval age. These tales - from the skillfully crafted to the more rudimentary and plain - often make familiar to modern readers what seems so distant and foreign about the Middle Ages. This volume of essays focuses on the tale and its ability to create "mirth," what modern audiences would often define as "happiness" or "joy," and the significance that the book has had on the transference of this mirth to audiences. This volume also celebrates the scholarship of Thomas H. Ohlgren, a medievalist whose work encompasses a number of different areas, but at its center lives the power of the tale and its ability to create a lasting impression on readers, both medieval and modern.

Make your own custom-tailored and perfectly formed cold-process soaps! Learn how to use milk jugs and yogurt containers for molds, and how coffee, avocado, and even beer can add unique dimensions to your creations. This encouraging introduction to the art of soapmaking makes it simple to master the techniques you need to safely and easily produce your own enticingly fragrant soaps.

Despite using them every day, most software engineers know little about how programming languages are designed and implemented. For many, their only experience with that corner of computer science was a terrifying "compilers" class that they suffered through in undergrad and tried to blot from their memory as soon as they had scribbled their last NFA to DFA conversion on the final exam. That fearsome reputation belies a field that is rich with useful techniques and not so difficult as some of its practitioners might have you believe. A better understanding of how programming languages are built will make you a stronger software engineer and teach you concepts and data structures you'll use the rest of your coding days. You might even have fun. This book teaches you everything you need to know to implement a full-featured, efficient scripting language. You'll learn both high-level concepts around parsing and semantics and gritty details like bytecode representation and garbage collection. Your brain will light up with new ideas, and your hands will get dirty and calloused. Starting from main(), you will build a language that features rich syntax, dynamic typing, garbage collection, lexical scope, first-class functions, closures, classes, and inheritance. All packed into a few thousand lines of clean, fast code that you thoroughly understand because you wrote each one yourself.

Add a flannel flair to every corner of your life with this creative collection of DIY crafts: pillow covers, tote bags, fabric pumpkins, coasters, bookmarks, and more! Very few fabrics elicit such a cozy feeling as flannel. With its universal appeal and inexpensive cost, flannel is a terrific medium to create new décor for your home, a unique accessory to wear, or a thoughtful gift to give. Featuring more than fifty easy-to-follow tutorials, Crafting with Flannel is full of creative and inspired crafts appropriate for all ages and skill levels. From quick and easy projects that take just minutes to make, to more robust ideas on a larger scale, the step-by-step instructions inside this book will help you create: Handmade gifts Personalized accessories Cozy home décor Festive holiday trimmings And so much more! Plaid never goes out of style, so channel the flannel and start crafting with it!

Got fur balls? Are your favorite sweaters covered with cat hair? Do you love to make quirky and one-of-a-kind crafting projects? If so, then it’s time to throw away your lint roller and curl up with your kitty! Crafting with Cat Hair shows readers how to transform stray clumps of fur into soft and adorable handicrafts. From kitty tote bags and finger puppets to fluffy cat toys, picture frames, and more, these projects are cat-friendly, eco-friendly, and require no special equipment or training. You can make most of these projects in under an hour—with a little help, of course, from your feline friends!

Cook colorful, whimsical, eye-catching soaps right in your microwave! It’s easy and fun with C. Kaila Westerman’s guide to creative soap making. Westerman’s recipes are free of harsh chemicals and she encourages you to play with colors, scents, and shapes that the whole family will enjoy — from rubber duckies to sailboats, stars, and gemstones. With an inexpensive soap base, some food coloring, and a bit of imagination, you can quickly create handy bars for kid-friendly cleaning and hours of bath time fun.

Elevate your sewing with a bagmaker’s secret—cork fabric, a leather-like, upscale version of the cork you used to know! Learn how easy it is to work with cork from Jessica Kapitanski, the innovative designer behind Sallie Tomato patterns. Using only your regular sewing tools, you’ll learn how to sew seventeen cork projects with clean lines and clever details. Have fun adding cork fabric to elegant purses, boxy pouches, gorgeous accessories, and home decor. Available in a rainbow of colors, cork is eco-friendly, maintenance-free, pliable, and hypoallergenic, making it an irresistible choice for all sorts of handmade gifts. Create luxury bags, trendy wall decor, and fashion accessories Learn all about getting started with cork fabric—no special sewing tools required Sew something unconventional with durable, eco-friendly, and fashion-forward cork fabric