Army of One

Matching Orion Scrolls

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:54:11 GMT

For the Kingdom Arts and Sciences event a couple of weeks ago I was asked to create early period Award of Orion scrolls for a husband and wife. I didn't know them well but some Googling helped flesh out the wording. The husband was interested in forging, leatherwork, armouring etc. while the wife especially enjoys weaving, helping with feasts, the art of tea and soothsaying. So I did a very simple rhyming quatrain for the wife and a triplet for the husband.

The Signet, Kersteken, suggested it would be nice to have the scrolls work together somehow. I love Celtic metalwork and thought it would be nice to split the design of an annular brooch down the middle and use that to unite the two scrolls when they are mounted side by side. I was inspired by the Hunterston and Tara brooches and by the enamel medallions on the Ardagh chalice (all 7th century).

I inserted the award device into the brooch design. It's a little loud but what can you do. The current Royalty are attaching ribbon seals on their scrolls for this reign, which is great as it frees up space for design.

Materials: Pergamenata, brown micropen, gold, red and purple gouache, india ink.

Court Baronetcy Scrolls

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:32:19 GMT

I was surprised and pleased to be assigned the Court Baronetcy stepping-down scrolls for the Rising Waters investiture. Their Excellencies have early period Norse-Anglo Saxon personas as I understand it, and I have a soft spot for Aibhilin.

Master Hector had provided wording in advance using a Norse alliterative poetry format. I decided to do matching scrolls that would look good hanging side by side.

I am drawn to Celtic metalwork and my inspiration for this set is St. Patrick's Bell Shrine, an 11th century "house reliquary" whose "roof trees" on each end of the box are beautifully decorated with gold filigree and enamel. The design is said to be created by Irish craftsmen heavily influenced by Scandinavian design. As a Baron and Baroness protect and nourish an entire community, I thought erecting a golden roof-tree shelter with twining knotwork and enamel medallions over the words of praise for their service would be appropriate.

I did look at their heraldry (oak leaves and thistles) but I didn't see an easy way to tie it into the design as this sort of knotwork is highly stylized and adding acanthus-like shapes (for the oak leaves) would change the entire aesthetic right away. I also looked at their heraldic colours but decided to stick with red, black and gold in the medallions, which were inspired by the enamelwork on the 7th century Ardagh Chalice.

I did the design freehand once I had a reference point. I played around with the compass but the freehand result was better so I stuck with it. As pergamenata is translucent, I was able to trace through onto the second scroll once I had the first design ready.

I used a brown micropen to finalize the design. Then I used gouaches in red and gold plus india ink.

On Friday night I sat down to do the calligraphy in Elder Futhark runes. I used an A-5 nib. Once I had the rhythm going I didn't dare stop but did both scrolls in succession. My hand was cramping and I was afraid I would screw up otherwise. Before I finished the first scroll I had memorized the alphabet and barely referred to it during the second scroll (except for the W, which looks like a sharp-edged P). I was pretty happy with the results. The calligraphy is reasonably consistent.

13th century Anglo-Norman inspired scroll

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:51:44 GMT

I volunteered to take a scroll for Crown. I was surprised and pleased when it turned out to be a Scarlet Banner for Baroness Nicolaa, my Laurel . Her Excellency has a fairly strong persona and so I wanted to design a scroll that respected it with a 13th centry Anglo-Norman feel, a style I haven't really done before.

So I dug around the online British Library and found a few examples that I liked from manuscripts such as the Anglo-Norman verse Life of St. Edward the Confessor (wow! Bayeux-style storytelling), Guillelmus Gemmeticensis (Gesta Normannorum ducum), Royal 12 F XIII, Harley 4664 f.145v (lovely historiated initial of a fool), Royal 1 D 1 f.4v of Martin and the beggar, Arundel 233 f. 96v (historiated initial D for Domine, Psalm 101) and Harley 928 f.30 of Margaret emerging from the belly of a dragon (Lauds of the Virgin).

Some of the scans had good views of their accompanying Gothic-y text. I'm not very familiar with Gothic but these examples look more transitional than pure Gothic yet not Carolingian either. I only have one book of calligraphic alphabets and it's not very good. I tried the Gothic example that looked most like my examples but it just didn't flow, so I ignored it and copied out a rough alphabet from the extant samples. That felt much better.

I had been reading The Troubadour's Song by David Boyle, so for the text initially I looked at trouveres verse from the 12th century, including some from Blondel de Nesle, (according to Boyle likely one of Richard the Lionheart's lovers, yeesh. Gotta love sensationalistic history). Richard the Lionheart himself had written some songs and in one he used the same line to end each stanza for dramatic effect. This attracted me. I had decided to compare Nicolaa to the Roman goddess Diana (because the award was for archery), so I came up with the French line "Par raison on l'appelle Diane" (10 syllables) ("For good reason they call her Diana").

I did look at writing 2 or 3 stanzas of 7 lines or so, 10 syllables each. In the end I decided not to bother versifying the whole text as my calligraphy is not small and I would run out of space too fast. But I kept the Diana line. And rather than make the line a lacuna in a sea of English I decided to write the whole scroll in French - which caused an issue later :-) The other reason was that Nicolaa did my Award of Arms scroll several years ago in French, which touched me, and I felt this was a chance to return the favour.

For the illumination I wanted to incorporate elements of Nicolaa's heraldry. Nicolaa has a registered device that includes a gold pall, red crescenty-things, and counter-ermine (white bits on black). The award she was to receive has black wolves, a red wavy line and white for contrast. I wanted to use blue for contrast.

I decided it was best to historiate the N in her name, making the N gold, enclosing a scene of Nicolaa drawing the bow wearing a red dress wearing her characteristic veil and her coronet. The historiated initials found in this style of illumination often have diapering or chequey-style grids with little dots, ermines and other tiny designs in white, gold or sometimes red or blue on a contrasting background. Sometimes the grid lines are marked.

So I laid out a grid on the entire initial but I didn't consider the fact that the outer border of the initial should have had its own grid. As a result the border diapering of counter-ermine (black with white bits) is too infrequent and off-rhythm.

For the image of Nicolaa with the bow I was guided by an early 14th century ms (MS 47682, f.40, c. 1327-1335). It was later than my other sources but at least I could see the archer's stance. Unfortunately he was facing the wrong way and I didn't do a very good job reversing the stance. More importantly I could NOT draw a decent face (typical last-evening procrastination). I repainted it in white half a dozen times and finally gave up. Believe me, the blank white mask on the final is far better than the various haggish Joker visages I drew.

Initially the background in the initial was completely white but it looked too stark, even with some little gold dots in the cross-hatchings. I had already done the azur border around the Scarlet Banner device, so I decided to fill in some of the diamonds in the initial with blue. I left some blank and the overall effect is nice.

The wolves on the device turned out well, but they are rather individual and not the mirror images they should be.

I didn't have time to work out marginalia (e.g. using her comet badge or any of her favourite things like cats or ice wine ) so I feel the scroll is a little bare, not as dressed as it should be. I didn't find a place to use her red crescents either. However, I did slide in some white work on the gold N and some extra dots on the blue border of the award device. I also outlined some of the text capitals in blue or red and added a row of multi-coloured circles, an element I saw in Harley 4664 f.145v.

Note: I get the impression from some that whitework is hard. But after messing with tiny red dots on 8th century illuminations the whitework I attempted didn't seem too bad. What I found hard was not screwing up the counter ermine. I drew them in with pencil before I did the black fill, but had some trouble keeping them clean, so the diamond points are not that great.

I am not happy with the calligraphy as I didn't really understand the hand and I was rushed. Probably the best examples are towards the end of the first column where the rhythm and tightness look best. On the second column I was working around some damp paint and the angle of letters keeps changing. I was writing the text from memory at some points rather than from my pre-printed herald's copy, and as a result committed an error in translation that is not on the herald's copy - "champ de l'archerie" should have been "champ d'archerie". I also wrote patiente as patientente (the hazards of breaking a word across two lines) and had to use some white paint to cover it up. If I had more time I would have figured out a little marginalia for that too, but as it was I was still up to 5 am the day of Crown. Such is my life.

We couldn't stick around for Court as our guest needed to attend a Masquerade in Guelph, so I missed the presentation. I am quite sorry as I was looking forward to it, and I mercilessly chivvied Nicolaa's husband Gunther to let us know how it went. It's not often one gets to do an award scroll for one's Laurel! Especially one who has done two of my award scrolls.

As Nicolaa does the court heralding I was curious to find out how they would hand off that scroll. Beaudoin had been there earlier and reads French so I thought they would grab him, but he left early as well, so they hauled in Baron James Mercer. Hope he didn't have any problems.

Materials: pergamenta, gouache (cadmium red, ultramarine blue, white, gold), india ink, 000 brush, nib pen (C-4?), pencil, brown micropen.

A&S Sunday

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:31:16 GMT

So once a month we hold an A&S Sunday at our apartment. Today's was pretty good. House cleaned up fairly easily, I made chocolate cupcakes and lasagne, took some new people fabric shopping at Len's Mills, pulled out a mass of pretty portrait/fabric/costuming books, looked at fabric from our stash and finished off by critiquing Bram Stoker's Dracula. Nice time. And not too cold driving the folks home.

I told two of the girls I would help fit bodices for them Tuesday night at the meeting. One picked up some buttery yellow brocade; the other some pinky-silver brocade with gold patches. Both fabrics have potential. The ladies tried on my Venetian dresses previously and like 'em, and the essential style is not too difficult for a first dress.

Albrecht updated his YouTube Hallowe'en Mix (only slightly cheesy) and we used it to help us clean house earlier. I can do without the Monster Mash but I can't go without Bark at the Moon.

I've been eyeing a couple of my silk sarees for a potential new Venetian ensemble. One is a dark bluish rose, the other is a lighter rose with gold tones. We're not saying PINK here; rather something fairly restrained. Gotta think about it some more. But mayme Mama will have a new bag (warning: pun on obscure 80's pop song. Think City TV).

Have a scroll to do for next Saturday. Need to look at my research again and get inspired.

One thing I tried to express to the ladies today was the incredible continuity in fabric motifs from the Coptic Christian finds to the present. In my books are many beautiful examples of repeating, complex motifs in silk and linen-based brocades, and the same styles and pleasing shapes show up again and again across Europe and Asia for over 1700 years and probably longer. There are regional and religious differences, and sometimes colour vogues, but overall I am more struck by the consistencies.

The tree-of-life emblem is probably the most well-known repeat in fabric brocades, but there is a remarkable example in Great Italian Textiles of a dark purpley-red brocade with an abstracted leaf-like repeat that is very modern in feel. It's amazing it survived but it is truly beautiful. Looking at it few people would say it was a renaissance pattern, as the motifs are angled/flying instead of the straight x-y. I sure hope the dating is right.

One thing I like about the Arts and Crafts movement is that it remembered but lightened certain artifacts of renaissance and Egyptian design and other periods. I don't feel that Arts and Crafts is dilute, and I love the beautiful wedding of less-popular metals, enamel and semi-precious stones in the jewellery as well as some truly airy wallpapers created during that era. There is an air of delicacy mixed with practicality.

Over time I have come to believe that with age and experience the mind develops the formulae necessary to predict or identify certain small personal or family events. There are many small cues we receive or perceive and cannot immediately, consciously interpret but do not throw out just the same. A "vision" of a family member's onset of final illness when I didn't know he was going to hospital, a pregnancy identified over a distance of thousands of miles for someone I barely knew, prediction of jury duty for another family member, confirmed the following week, moments of real life. Nothing useful of course, just interesting.

There was a sidewalk sale at the local mall this weekend. Some better vendors lately, including a hermit crab stall (all the shells painted in bright patterns with acrylic paint) and more interestingly to me a hydrostone sculpter who made plaques and shapes with bas-relief renditions of Egyptian and Aztec/Mayan art. Some lovely pieces. Hydrostone is the kind of material that bongs when you rap it. We talked to him about Fair November, a craft sale normally held at the University of Guelph in November, and mentioned to him the Toronto store (don't know if it still exists) called Urban Archaeology. That store tended towards more Greco-Roman designs along with some Gothic-y stuff.

Tinkering with motivation

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:56:59 GMT

Some people know that I struggle with motivation for personal projects and tend to be too hard on myself. I have very high standards and expectations of myself and this can set me up for failure.

So I am constantly looking for new memes and quotes and strategies and tactics. I play with holistic vs. detailed approaches, I make lots of lists, I try to track progress, but in the end things often seem to come down to deadlines. Like the clothes for the Althing. Like a scroll due on a specific date.

I have lots of real life excuses (family, two young children, commuting, involved job etc.) and I get sick of talking about it. I just wish I could find a magical cure so I could stop being consumed with everyday busyness and media distractions, stop thinking I have to automatically sacrifice what "I" want for everybody else's needs, and actually achieve what I want more often.

Yeah, "schedule time for myself", I've heard that before. I'm working on it.

Anyway.

I was assigned a scroll in a style I haven't really worked in before. The recipient has a fairly strong persona in that period so I'm hoping to do a creditable job. Today I visited some sites and printed off some quality exemplars and found the calligraphic alphabet I will need.

Then I got groceries, took Matthew to a birthday party at the local conservation area (nice day for it, no rain, not too cold), tried to look at cars but no salespeople on duty on Sunday (whaa? that's when I have time!!!), ate a late lunch, started the slow beef stew, picked up Matthew, cut up the vegetables for the stew and then assembled a pear-plum-apple crumble.

The living room is an utter death trap. Our daughter is more dedicated to destroying than we are to tidying. In 30 seconds she can ruin what took us 15 minutes to pick up. Squalor.

After viewing several manufacturer sites and talking to lots of disgruntled people I think I want a used Toyota Sienna with fairly low kilometres (cheaper than Honda but very similar reliability). Speak now, or .... The Pontiac Trans Sport is getting really creaky, the electronics continue to die and the transmission is whining again. I wish Store'N'Go was universally available. Moving the 3rd row seats in and out of the current van is traumatically hard every friggin' time.

I am liking my pale "lichen" purple wool Norse coat with the red and gold Frankish pin so much that I want to make it a signature piece. Want to dress up the edges with some kind of edge binding and fix the heavy cuffs into place more securely.

There are so many things that I would like to do and so many promises that I have trouble choosing one at a time to accomplish.

Devotional cooking

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:42:36 GMT

Yesterday I got up at 6:30 am to prepare our Thanksgiving dinner. We had four friends coming over in the afternoon and I wanted to give them a real feast.

David took care of all the cleaning, vacuuming, bathrooms etc., kept the kids out of my hair, and picked up last minute supplies for me.

This is probably the first big dinner where we haven't had to run off detailed lists to get everything done. We've finally had enough practice and actually the place looked pretty good and all the food was cooked at the same time. We didn't get into each other's face and I didn't get stressed until around an hour before the guests were supposed to get there, probably a record for me.

So the first thing I did, bleary faced, was to bake a pumpkin pie spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and nutmeg. While that was baking I scalded the milk and butter for the white rolls as it has to cool down before you can think about adding yeast to it.

Then I sliced 2 English cucumbers very thinly (unpeeled) and covered them with kosher salt, sugar, some vinegar and fresh chopped dill. It's a kind of Scandinavian fresh pickle that I picked up many years ago.

Then I peeled a bag of potatoes and put them in water to soak. By this time the rest of the family was awake and starting to percolate.

Then I started my ice ring. I have this jelly mold with rose shapes that makes perfect ice rings. Pour in 1" water, let it freeze, then place orange slices with a cherry at intervals along the sides, let them freeze to the ice, then keep topping with water until it's full.

I peeled carrots, chopped them into wedges and stuck them in a pot with water to wait. Meanwhile I yoinked the neck and paper sack of organs out of the turkey and threw them in a large pot with water, onion, carrots and celery, sage and thyme from my mother's garden, pepper and a little salt and set it to boil to make the giblet gravy.

Then I started the rolls. Matthew helped me mix in the flour, a cup at a time. It takes 7 to 8 cups of flour. After the 4th cup the balloon whisk doesn't work and I move to a long curved dough stick that I bought at a yard sale. It tames the thickest dough. The kitchen was warm from baking the pie, so it was easy to get the dough to rise.

Then I made some pastry for the apple pie and stuck it in the fridge to firm up.

Then I made cranberry sauce and warned the kids out of the kitchen. The sugar syrup can be dangerous if allowed to sputter (napalm anyone?) but no injuries. Once it had boiled down a little I threw in the package of fresh cranberries and in just a few minutes the skins had popped and it was, suddenly, jelly. Beautiful.

Once the rolls had risen the second time and been baked, I threw together the Granny Smith apple pie. It was a little more spicy than usual (I was lavish while grating the nutmeg) but still acceptable.

Then it was turkey time. We had brined the turkey for 24 hours in a bath of water, kosher salt, orange quarters, fresh ginger slices, peppercorns, star anise, mustard seed and a bunch of other things. Now I wiped it dry and put it in my industrial catering pan to roast. I stuck the ginger pieces and star anise in the cavity to keep scenting it, and I swapped the bird down with a mixture of butter and honey which bronzed it very quickly.

When the turkey was 2/3 done I quickly made stuffing with 5 slices white bread, 3 stalks celery, 1 onion and more sage and thyme, moistened with butter and turkey drippings and stuck the pan at the bottom of the oven.

I had planned to make a pumpkin cake as I picked up a cool recipe from work, but just didn't have time. I think I'll make it tomorrow in a bundt pan with the excess as cupcakes and bring it to work as a treat.

I put the potatoes and carrots on to boil while I got cleaned up and dressed. Then I dressed the table with pretty layered fabrics that my son and I bought on sale at Fabricland (black with a tiny gold acanthus pattern, covered with a sheer bronzy fabric with golden starflake shapes) and put out our glass dishes and the silverware. The rolls were in a white tablecloth in my seagrass basket, flanked by the pumpkin and apple pies, a bottle of wine, the punchbowl, cranberry sauce and dill pickle, then the mashed potatoes (I love my old-fashioned ricer!) mixed with butter and cream, and the bowl of carrots. Then the beautiful turkey was ready. I finished off the gravy (yes, mine is scratch, like everything else here, thank you very much) and poured it into the boat.

We received two beautiful flower arrangements from our guests (thank you Doughall and Gunther & Nicolaa!) in autumn colours which really finished the display.

Once we announced dinner I carved the bird onto a platter and set everyone loose. Strangely enough all I felt like doing for the first 15-20 minutes was to sit and beam at everyone eating and enjoy how happy everyone was. One of our guests was a little held up by traffic so after she arrived and had a chance to get her plate I started to feel a little more like having something myself.

Today we have ignored the dishes and snacked on leftovers and watched movies, which is the best way to spend the rest of the weekend. Breakfast was pie. Yum. David thought the pumpkin pie was all gone and was mourning over the empty plate, but I suddenly recalled I had baked some leftover pumpkin custard in a mini pan. It was great to present him with this little flower-lobed pan filled with yummy pumpkin stuff.

My turkey sandwich is making me dopey now (Hello Tryptophan! Word of the Week!) but I never regret cooking my brains out for good friends.

Funday

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:39:30 GMT

You can blame that new penguin cartoon show for today's title. It's actually somewhat witty, and I love the voice characterizations.

Nice to labour at home today instead of at the office.

Today is supposed to be our Indian Day. To start things off, Albrecht played the Rowan Atkinson Indian restaurant "After the Game" sketch. Going to make a slow chicken curry and basmati rice and watch Monsoon Wedding. Oh yeah, and process buckets of laundry, cycle the kitchen and get more work done on our Norse clothes for the Althing.

Albrecht and the kids are watching remastered Star Trek episodes (Tholian Web anyone?). No escape from Trek this weekend, it seems.

Lots of good food this weekend. Oven baked chicken Friday night, bacon Saturday morning, beef stir fry with odon that night, fancy pancakes Sunday, a big 'ol steak dinner Sunday night with fresh cob on the corn and sauteed mushrooms followed by very late strawberries (not so good, kind of woody), then today we had peameal bacon sandwiches for brunch.

Yesterday I took everyone swimming at probably the best pool in Guelph - 3 indoor pools, various temperatures and depths, slides and shower trees. Elizabeth had a great time. I love family change rooms. Much easier to herd cats.

I was thinking of going over to Nicolaa's for the stitch'n'bitch but I just can't face driving today and leaving my kids at home. The roads will be full of stressed-out vacationers backed up from Milton, and I don't need that. I'd rather wash some dishes.

Poll on Sewing

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:20:57 GMT

View Poll: Hand Sewing

Clothes for the Althing

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:14:11 GMT

We have been fomenting cool clothes for the Althing next month. I have always regretted discovering the SCA in Eoforwic too late to catch the first Althing, Novgorod or the Italian event.

Our little quest began just before Pennsic with Tsivia's post about fire-sale prices on linen-cotton and linen-silk noil fabrics at Fabricland. I grabbed 6 yards of everything I liked, including a deep madder red linen blend that is just gorgeous.

Down at Pennsic I found some nice embroidery threads and we both got to-die-for brooches - Albrecht picked up a Norse rooster brooch and I got a Frankish red and gold enamel uber-pin that he successfully "traded" for somewhere, said negotiations probably involving armed henchmen saying "YEAH". He also picked up a heavy white linen shirt that will do for most early period stuff.

After Pennsic I raided my wool bins and found enough to make Albrecht a tunic in dark purple light-weight wool, a good orangey-brown for Matthew and a rather organic blue that will be a cloak piece for someone. I'm going to dress Elizabeth similar to myself with a miniature apron dress over little tunics. I might even make myself a "Norse cap" albeit I consider these more Yorkish than anything.

But I wanted something more. Reading through Carolyn Priest-Dorman's notes, I was intrigued by the Norse coats found in some burials. Although these are apparently Birka-area rather than Icelandic, and probably Rus-inspired, they sounded cool. Now as it turned out, while we were visiting my mother in Gananoque the 1812 reenactors were in town and there was a fabric merchant. Her prices were high, but she had a "boiled wool" in a nubby greyish brown that I loved, so I bought just over 7 metres for $100.

So Albrecht's purple tunic is assembled. I'm going to bind the collar and cuffs with a piece of tawny gold shot silk that I am hoping to embroider a little. His long coat is cut out. Although I did his tunic by hand, I'll probably do the coat and most of the other items on the machine as I don't want to run out of time.

We don't have an A-frame and probably won't, but I was taken by Albrecht's description of Sigridr's tent covered with (probably Jellinge-inspired) norse shapes. If I have time I want to do a white banner with a Norse interpretation of Albrecht's device and his new brooch.

Having lots o' fun. Albrecht is getting excited!

Pinky is pondering (LONG)

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:56:45 GMT

I am making this an open post as maybe my SCA family will find it illuminating.

There has been a lot of ugliness in my life the last 18 months. Stuff at the workplace (you name it, it happened), my father's long illness and death (breathing apparatus now make me sick instead of vaguely curious), negative social politics and a larger than usual dose of bad world news.

When faced with bad, one fights to maintain, overcome or ignore. Just keeping going is the important thing until it passes.

I thought that my strong family life would neutralize the toxic effects of the ugliness (after all, none of it was self-inflicted so no side helping of blame/guilt) but this protection has not been absolute.

This lengthy bad spell has done something to me. It's not irremedial, and recognizing it now will go a ways to correcting it, but it needs to be said.

I've always been somewhat shy and quiet (but never mentally!) but now this is starting to border on neurosis - fear of joining gatherings/not feeling welcome. For example, I could NOT go to the CD release party at Trilliums as I felt I had to be personally invited (how stupid is that!) and I didn't feel I could join other campfires. I stuck to home base and my camp work.

Lately when people approach me I immediately tense for trouble. Very much a learned stimulus-response situation - those who know what I do for a living and some recent history may see exactly how logical this is. And there has been a lot of trouble, so bracing for impact has made a lot of sense.

I am suspecting everyone of hidden agendas. My native suspicion is taking over, along the lines of "Who would want to talk to me unless they had a bone to pick" sort of thing.

Kind of puts a damper on one's social life.

I'm not mad, but I'm not feeling too great.

Now here's the segue to part 2 of my story.

Like everyone else in the SCA, I've been exposed to my share of politics, enough to make me shy away from canton-level activity with some legitimacy. I got a strong enough taste of it from people at higher levels to make me disgusted with the whole advancement process. I said to myself, Who in hell would want to be a peer if you have to work with people like that. I guess you could say that I lost faith, not in the pursuit of excellence, but in the SCA's fundamental good will.

It was moot to me anyway, as I had a new baby to look after, but as I started to emerge from the 2.5 year hiatus that pregnancy and childbirth impose on extra-curric, I took up my crafts again with a blighted spirit. I was very lonely and I felt my isolation followed me to events and wrapped me like a cloak.

Now I'm not saying that all this has gone poof with a magic wand, but I want to point out a couple of things that happened at Trilliums.

I went over to Kersteken to deliver 2 scroll blanks, and for the first time was able to find out who Rachel is. Everyone at this point is laughing their @sses off, but I don't tie names and faces well, if ever. I saw this little middle-aged lady in black with Kersteken. And later, at Court, I heard that she had done this and that gorgeous scroll.

At Court, I saw people get awards. The awards were for A&S, and Martial, and Service, and all that. It was fun and exciting and everyone was happy.

But later on I was thinking about what, to my mind, united all of the recipients. Remember, everyone, that I was entrenched in suspicion mode. Earlier in the day a couple of friends had given my family a bunch of valuable useful stuff and all I could think was Why? What did we ever do to deserve it? and How will we make it up to them? I felt even more indebted, if this makes sense.

But I thought about the recipients and I guess I would describe the uniting quality as a universal generosity of spirit.

And this generosity isn't the kind of forced obligation ("I will do X and Y at ABC event because it is on my to-do list") but the thoughtful kind that looks at people in their orbits, proactively identifies needs, real or potential, and tries to match them up with resources to hand.

(insert gospel choir here)

Whether or not I personally knew or even liked the people who were recognized, I could point to many generous, kind or thoughtful things I knew each person had done, not as part of a checklist drawn up in expectation of an audit but rather a balance of mindful action and heartfelt impulse, again focussing on individual needs.

Oh hell, I had some better words this morning but this will have to do.

I really welcome comments on this one.

Back from Trilliums (short post)

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:09:01 GMT

We almost froze last night. REALLY cold. Albrecht told me this morning he was concerned he would get hypothermia. But the kids were well bundled up, it was just us who didn't have enuogh blankets. A fridge-cold breeze was blowing on our faces all night. I really didn't sleep.

Got back to the house at 3:30 pm. Not too much traffic along the 401. I'm really tired. Have my yearly packing-up sunburn (never manage to put on enough sunblock on the last day).

Quite an exciting Court last night, we have some very happy people in Ealdormere today. Congrats to Baroness Nicolaa, soon-to-be-Mistress Gaerwen, THL Daffydd and many other folks. It was nice to see Gunthar get his Scarlet Banner - just last week I asked Albrecht if he had one, and we were going to check the OP - but no need now! :-)

Camping-wise the event was very good prep for Pennsic. I got basically all my logistics right - food worked out well, love my new camping kitchen from Canadian Tire (it passes the packing test in the field!!!)

Now I need to make some more clothes. Tunics for me, hopefully finish Albrecht's KRM outfit (black brocade). I also want to make a display scroll in the Lindisfarne style for the A&S display at Pennsic.

Gerrard Carpentarius has had a banner week (except for his car) - won two of 3 rapier tournaments and came 2nd in the third, if I understand correctly.

I wish I'd had a chance to throw axes but it didn't work out. I had promised 2 scroll blanks to the Signet for the An Tir presents - thought I could give them to her at Pennsic but it turned out the deadline was Trilliums. So I brought my scribal box and painted them on Saturday morning. They turned out well, although I nearly lost one to the strong breeze. It went sailing down the grass but didn't get stained.

We had a visit from the XBox Fairy which was cool and most unexpected. Matthew is nagging to go on the XBox but he has to convince us by doing some work in the house first. It is an incredible mess in here post-camping. Looking forward to a long hot soak in the tub.

I wish I had tomorrow off to recover but tomorrow is a big day at work. No rest for the wicked.

Thank you Jocelyn for being there.

Gerrard Carpentarius - Thank you scroll

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:32:55 GMT

This week I finished a commissioned scroll for the KRM (yes, he's my husband) as a thank you from the rapier community to THL Gerrard Carpentarius.

But before we get into the picture, here's the back story and text I dreamed up to recognize the guy's incredible skill in fencing and woodworking.

I'll talk about the method and execution in a follow-up post as there's more to this project.

======================================
Gerrard Carpentarius lives in the March of St. Martin's in the west, where the sun sets. Martin is also a name for a bird.. He is a skilled rapier combatant as well as a craftsman in wood who is clever at making toys and games.
===============================
Story:

The golden bird roosts in a magical tree on the border between night and day, the boundary between the real world and the unseen world. The river is jealous of the bird, whose beauty it mirrors but can never possess.

Gerard pined to own the bird and tracked it until he found the tree and the nest. He caught the golden bird with a silver net of fish-scale, and would have bore it away but the bird said, “If you let me go I will grant you great wisdom”.

Gerard agreed, but as he let go of the bird it vanished. In his surprise he fell out of the tree, catching a branch to help break his fall, which broke.

When he rose to his feet, the branch became a silver sword which he found he could wield with great skill, and he had gained the power over all wood.

But his heart still yearned for the golden bird. So he made his home in the grove surrounding the magical tree. From time to time he roams Eastward, sharing his sword knowledge with other warriors and delighting the small clan with his wooden toys and gentle games, waiting for the bird to return to his hand and be tame.

=======================================================
Scroll wording:

Golden the bird. Its roost of flames,
Door of undoing for evil men,
Guarding the boundary of day.
Jealous water below.

Fleeing the hunter, its shining feathers fall And sink into the ground.
All nets are ash, all spears a brand,
But not the weave of the water-children.

Chained in silver, sky-jewel’s ransom
An empty hand. A fall.

So great the hunter’s laments,
Water-diamonds silver the broken branch.
And Loki’s gentle twin is born.

Hold fast to Odin’s prize.
While light’s thirst still compels
Gerard will never forsake
The fire-martin’s home.

The rapier community of Ealdormere
Thanks Gerard Carpentarius for his generosity, His wisdom and his teaching.
May your games and sword-skill never abate.
===============================================

Apparently it was a true "gotcha" moment - Gerrard was thrilled.

Car pay diem

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:55:57 GMT

As in I dropped a cool thou on the car today. Brakes, fluids and tires oh my.

When the service person called me mid-morning to give me the bad news, I was polite and professional. But I couldn't help groaning when he called back 2 minutes later to ask me if I wanted to have the whitewalls facing in or out. The last thing I care about.

Baking on Saturdays is really working out lately. We have delicious goodies in the house that last longer than a baseball game! (normally equivalent to 1/2 bag of chips or 2 chocolate bars)

My mantra du jour is "Just show up". Sometimes I get so bound up in planning what will happen at each step in the day that I am tired before I start. But just showing up, no pressure, means I'll think about it once I get there. So far this has meant that lab tests, a storage unit drop and some other stuff got done with less stress today.

Now if I can only convince myself to sit down on the exercise bike without mentally tensing.

Wrote a smokin' good story for an SCA scroll on Sunday at our A&S session. Really happy with it. Got to get a move on the actual illumination, though. It's going to be kind of Kells - lots of gold, with some red, some blue and some silver.

Old-tyme religion

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:51:02 GMT

Periodically I embark on an experiment to identify a church where I might feel comfortable. Today's trial was not encouraging.

I finally left when the song-of-the-minute exhorted God to lay down his "Anointing" and lead his "chosen people" to "march across the earth". Urgh.

I'm more of the private small "c" Christian lead-by-deed as opposed to the flamboyant "witnessing", embarrass-everybody-in-sight type.

So let's point out the reasons why I was an uncomfortable fuddy-duddy today:

- Too much media and microphones. Guitar, full drum set. Pianos are OK but I prefer organs. A mighty organ, haha, as the Bursar might say. I don't like Powerpoint displays on the walls but can see how they are helpful. Don't let the performance take over the message. Church is no place for Marshall McLuhan.
- no reference to hymn books. I learned to read music by following hymn books. I like holding books much more than following the bouncing ball.
- Christian Lite Rock. I was raised on 4-part Wesleyan tunes. They were good. They were memorable. Why throw them out? Setting hymns to folksy swingy music is embarrassing to the church and to the music. Have some class! Have some dignity!
- female pastors and leaders. Give me a male minister, even the unctuous kind. I like 'em better than the penetrating voices of the 40-something smug broads I always seem to get these days.
- Lack of quiet and solemnity. Joyful noise doesn't have to be raucous. "Be still, and know that I am God."
- 8-year old kids with no shoes on. 4-year-olds I can understand, but an 8-year-old, no.
- Clapping to songs and after performances. I was taught you do NOT clap in church, not even at a wedding.
- wrong kind of cross. Grayish black wall in the shadows instead of a strong single unit surrounded by space and light.
- Collections for political activism. Separation of Church and State, baby.
- Announcements that take 15 minutes. Yet another female enjoys the sound of her own voice and wilfully embarasses someone who clearly didn't want to have her broken wrist pointed out to the whole congregation.

It was also sad to see a 40-something man, very clean, sleek and tame as a tomcat who has been fixed, remind the Gathering (not a congregation anymore, apparently) that the Men's Gatherings where Christian Men can Meet and Make Meaningful Relationships with Other Men will have a barbecue next Saturday night. I couldn't help elbowing my son. He can identify emasculation as well as I can. It's probably the only chance they get to be away from their wives.

Things I liked:
- inclusiveness. A man with Downs Syndrome had a flag he could wave in time with the music. I don't like flag-flapping in church but I liked that he had a part to play.
- lack of suits. Back in the 80s, church dress was very competitive and judgemental. The casual clothes are fine for me. But kids should not be running around in bare feet.
- good signage, good accessibility, good parking. The facility itself made sense.

There were lots of families and children running around. I'm sure this church works just fine for them. Just not for me.

So if someone can point out an old-fashioned church in Guelph with a male minister, with no "witnessing", without a mandate to interfere in politics, where they sing the old hymns, where a middle-aged lady plays the organ and occasionally screws up, with a real Choir, that serves a specific neighbourhood and actually helps that neighbourhood instead of playing with "global issues", please let me know. No church is perfect. I just want one whose imperfections match mine.

Baking

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:54:12 GMT

Kitchen 2, Jays 0.

Made a chocolate chip banana bread and a chocolate sour cream cake. Cakes, actually. There was more batter than the Bundt pan would hold so I filled 3 scalloped patty pans. Later on I'll make some cream cheese frosting.

E. hasn't had a nap yet, but as long as she doesn't stomp too hard in the kitchen and cause the cakes to fall (still in the oven) I don't mind.

I guess the family are catching the 5:30 pm bus back to Guelph. Apparently M. scored big time at the Jays gift store. He had a $100 gift card from a generous benefactor and picked up a new cap, a backpack, 2 sets of cards, and D. got a nice t-shirt. There were still a couple of dollars left! Which they then donated to the Jays kids charity.

Checking out Fire Mountain Gems again. Me want pearls, garnets and amethysts. And some pretty gold findings.

I took Friday off as vacation so we could take care of errands. The main side effect is that today feels like Sunday.

Now I need to work on the wording for the two Melee scrolls. I like to write cryptic/poetic wordings that are worth re-reading. Of the four components of scrolls; design, illumination, calligraphy and wording; I think wording is the most important. It's a legal document, after all, but it should also be personal and thoughtful, if constraints permit.

Regroup

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:05:58 GMT

Today husband and son are off to watch the Jays host the Marlins at the Rogers Centre. I was just waking up when my son came in with blue marker covering his face and arms. He wanted to be a True Fan.

One fit of hysterics later, I was glad to find out he had completely by accident used washable marker. Part of the problem was that he had used a mirror to write Go Jays Go on his cheek...backwards. Like the hapless idiot in the commercial who tattoos his chest. Anyway he was clean when they boarded the Greyhound to Toronto.

We have an A&S afternoon tomorrow and I'm going to make baked chicken and spiced potatoes, followed by fresh sliced peaches and ice cream.

I was going through some of my projects and realized I have a lot to catch up on.

C&I:
- brochure draft (due at Murder Melee)
- award scroll (ditto)
- commission scroll (ditto)
- 2 blanks (just before Pennsic)

Garb:
- wool suit for Albrecht. Herringbone wool lined with yellow ramie.
- more linen tunics etc. for Pennsic

Teaching:
- some prep for my Lindisfarne class at Pennsic

And lots of other stuff:
- Viking expansion article for the Althing website (have a lot of notes, it's a cool topic)
- seam finishing on my green linen tunic
- the Eoforwic history, 2001-2005
- a silk dress (marked out the bodice ages ago but haven't yet cut it)

One idea I've been kicking around is doing a lunch counter for a future event. After a bad experience with someone else's food earlier this winter I want to try my hand at it. The thing is I don't have a lot of equipment e.g. chafing dishes, crock pots, grill etc. As well, some of the things I like to cook are best day of and don't lend themselves to storage/freezing. So I'd have to think about it.

Dishes of mine that might suit:
Chicken curry with coconut milk
Beef stew with red wine
Lasagne
Chicken souvlaki

Desserts:
chocolate cupcakes
lemon curd phyllo pastries
apple crumble

I'd probably be best off making a few of these as there's no way I could make a gigantic batch of one thing. And that way people have a choice. Notice there is no pretense at making period dishes. People choose whether to feast, but lunch counters are more spur-of-the-moment-I'm-starving and it's nice to have something familiar.

And I'd want to have some kind of grill or mini-stove to heat things up properly as I don't like crock pots. They take too long.

At least I know the cost of the dishes so I can budget properly.

I thought it was cool at Lady Mary when Ludwig provided grilled cheese sandwiches as a kid alternative. My son certainly appreciated it.

Yesterday we replaced our broken VCR. We were in Kitchener for our passports and after lunch we passed by a hole-in-the-wall electronics shop. A 6th sense told me they might have a VCR that wasn't a DVD combo. They did, for the princely sum of $39 + tax. Yippee!

After some de rigueur swearing, carpet burns and sneezing on the copious dust behind the stereo, I managed to get everything connected properly again. The problem is that there is little clearance behind our tv unit and the wall, the backing on the unit has tiny holes that are hard to maneuver through, and I already have 3 other pieces with multiple wires going through said holes. Thank heavens for pencil flashlights (is that the yellow wire? No, it's red. Is the audio working? Nope. Wait, now it is.)

Soon Trilliums will be here and we can go camping and eat steak for dinner and bacon for breakfast.

Burned out world

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:34:43 GMT

While the day began well with a white-tailed deer bounding away from me on Guelph Line this morning, it went downhill with the arrest of two in the abduction and murder of little Victoria Stafford of Woodstock, the same age as my son.

Bastards.

Blogs are supposed to be cheerful, illuminating things but right now I'm not up to it.

Best little bunny

Tue, 12 May 2009 00:53:46 GMT

My real Mother's Day present was my littlest one finally calling me Mummy instead of Dada.

Happiness is ....
- finding a rogue package of spaghetti when you need it most
- exactly enough butter in the fridge for a dessert recipe
- just enough change to rent a table at Tim Horton's for 40 minutes ($4.60 for 3 people)
- coining a new phrase: "arpeggio of panic" to describe a series of semi-frantic emails
- having time and energy to update one's blog
- not having the overloaded granny cart tip over in the car
- getting good news from one's siblings
- realizing there is still one good CD left in the car
- fuzzy flannelette sheets on a frost-warning night
- not having to cook on a Monday night because there are excellent leftovers from Sunday
- going to sleep when you're tired instead of 2 hours later
- feeling hopeful again

Eve

Lady Mary, not contrary

Mon, 11 May 2009 02:00:11 GMT

Before we had kids, we used to go to the Lady Mary memorial tournament almost every year. We love the procession and the pageantry and how the event seems to open the warmer months. But little children and long drives don't go together, and for some time we called on our good memories rather than fresh experience.

Well, this year we came back. It had moved to Paris, Ontario, only an hour away. So we packed up the fencing gear, the kids, a full cooler, a Ph.D. student and a partly finished sage green dress (the 12 rules of packing, my true love screamed to me). A slight rain delay followed (not to mention buckets of hail) but we did get there in plenty of time for Albrecht to join the procession.

The sage green linen tunic was barely wearable - neckline and hem not yet felled - but the rest of it was done. I was so sick of having nothing comfortable and kid-proof to wear. I love my Italian silk dresses but they're in semi-retirement unless I'm at an event alone. So I flung on the green, put the herringbone apron dress on top with my big fat pewter brooches and lo, Asa was Back. I did manage to fell the front panel hemline while the baby feinted at napping.

Albrecht enjoyed his tourney and the kids loved running in the big mostly empty halls as nearly everyone was in the barn. My son played soccer all day and the baby ran like a mad thing, laughing. When we stopped by the lists Albrecht won 3 bouts in a row - my son was thrilled.

Part of what helped the day was the nicest Troll I have ever met. I believe her name was Muirne or a variation thereof. She was so warm and helpful that we felt genuinely welcome. Sometimes when a heavily laden family arrives at an event, the gate personnel seem almost hostile. "Give us your money and get the hell out of the way." Well, that's all we want to do anyway. But she was a sweetie.

I think we're reaching one of those cusps in the SCA attendance cycle where our old friends come trickling back and it feels like a reunion. It's a good feeling as we've been wandering the nadir for some years and I'm sick of it.

Saw Lady Jocelyn Cranewell's beautiful blue Elizabethan man's hat (likely a Truly creation) and admired some rather yummy brocades. Also got to paw over Lady Rusalka Galbraith's scroll portfolio (which itself included a nice bit of red-gold brocade interweaving in one of the borders).

And Ludwig ran the lunch counter. Mmm, chicken souvlaki and cherry pie. More happiness!

Spent some time with a friend who is having a crappy time. Hope things turn around for them very soon.

We didn't stick around for Court as the baby was tired and getting ready to howl from all the noise. Managed not to catch up with the rain front on the way back, scarfed down some take-out and crashed early.

Nice to see you again, Lady Mary.

Mother's Day

Mon, 11 May 2009 01:15:05 GMT

If I listen to the clucking hens, Mother's Day is about casually denigrating the little gifts and tissue paper flowers proffered by one's offspring while deliberately guilting one's partner into handing over just the right pair of diamond earrings and other favours.

To hell with that.

My Mother's Day started with pretty cards from my son and chocolate chip pancakes from me. The next phase was dropping my husband off to see Star Trek's matinee showing while the rest of the family got groceries and ran errands. Once we were all home again I went on a baking spree - key lime pie, chocolate mayo cake (wow, like a sour cream cake) and banana chocolate chip loaf cake - and then made my special spaghetti sauce for dinner.

My husband made me a rather good rum'n'coke at a critical moment but for me today was about doing things rather than waiting for my family to pamper me.

Besides, I hate diamonds. But amethysts are always welcome...

Runestone scroll - Bera of Bryniau

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:22:26 GMT

Working way too hard again but found time this week to contribute an AOA to Wassail yesterday. Albrecht said it was well received.

The recipient's name is Bera which is likely Teutonic (so many potential references, but this one seems most appropriate) so I did a norse rune stone using Elder Futhark, ripping off a particularly fine rune stone (no place/date, alas) that I found online.

Notes:
- Wrote the text a la Eddic poetry with a bunch of kennings, mostly coined for the occasion except sky-jewel, which is a common Norse kenning)
- The very last sentence is just to ensure the scroll is a legal document
- The circle at the bottom is where they will affix the kingdom seal and the two blank rectangles on the left hand side are for signatures
- I heard that runes are read right to left (thanks Nicolaa!), so that's what I did.
- Performed with nib pen and India ink on pergamenta

Here is the wording:

Bera of Bryniau Gold-girt and smiling
Guardian of needles Sky-jewel’s prize
Gentle key-holder Stranger’s protector
Hearth-maiden harkens to Yggdrasil’s rain

Etain au Neval Iron Forest’s Father
Valfreya, grass-grasp-ed Strong as swift water
Arm Bera of Bryniau Ealdormere is her shield

Waes hael the year’s ending Here in her own land
Warmed this hard season By Bera’s true heart
A.S. 43 Wassail Award of Arms

Translation:

Bera won the Frugal Garb Contest at Spring Crown. Sky-jewel is a common kenning for Sun, so it makes sense for Sky-Jewel's prize to stand for Spring, Crown and her winning the contest
Bera also ran a mini-event for newcomers at a fight practice this fall (Yggdrasil's rain = fall of leaves from the world tree)

Iron Forest's Father = leader of spears = king
Valfreya's last name, Greenspeare = grass-grasped
Strong as swift water = a simple honorific
Arm Bera = Award of Arms
Ealdormere is her shield = she has all rights and privileges

Waes hael the year's ending = the event is Wassail
Here in her own land = Bera of Bryniau is getting the award at Bryniau Tywynnog, her home group

Rant

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:04:19 GMT

Recently I had an annoying brush with a female acquaintance.

We were exchanging news and I mentioned that thanks to my company's recent relocation, my total daily commute was now two hours instead of four.

The person complacently said this was "much better for the kids", implying that my previous commute constituted poor parenting.

I disagreed, but she repeated her comment. I soon ended the conversation and got back to what the family and I were doing.

Her opinion made me very angry. It cut to the heart because I work damn hard for my kids and have sacrified so much for their safety and happiness.

How do you convey the back story?

- that your partner quit his job after the first child was born, so the kids would always have full-time loving parental care and never have to risk daycare neglect or abuse? Thereby occasioning years of minuscule disposable income with McDonald's a nearly impossible luxury?

- that you decided to move away from Toronto, thereby taking on this godawful commute, for your kids' sake - to shelter them from the bad neighbourhood that was all you could afford in Toronto?

- that you got up super early every day so you could get home by 6:30 pm, and deeply curtailed time spent on hobbies and interests so you could give proper attention to the family? [consequently losing esteem in your hobby circles because you weren't "active" or "committed" enough]

- that you and your partner have not had a single night out together sans kids in more than 2 years, because you only trust your Camp Grandmas, who live far away?

- that you did all this with love, grace, energy and gratitude, and very few guilt trips, no matter how tired you were?

Lady, the kids never suffered.

And to those who don't understand: wait until you have kids of your own.

Asa

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:09:05 GMT

Your result for The Hockey Role Test...

The Goalie

You're quick, dependable, and comfortable in solitude. On a hockey team, you'd be the Goalie, the rock of the club. Capable of deciding the outcome of a game all on your own, you are the most important piece of the puzzle for any hockey team. Chances are you're a little quirky, too.

Jose Theodore is certainly a goalie.

Take The Hockey Role Test at HelloQuizzy

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:45:32 GMT

Your result for The Can You Resist Being Brainwashed? Test...

You Cannot Be Brainwashed!

Congratulations you have a strong mind and cannot be brainwashed! Very few people can claim this honor! In order to brainwash someone; education, research and personal ideology must be easily manipulated. This will not happen to you!

Take The Can You Resist Being Brainwashed? Test at HelloQuizzy

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:44:01 GMT

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

HFPC - The Photographer

You perceive the world with particular attention to humanity. You focus on what's in front of you (the foreground) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the colors around you. Because of the value you place on humanity, you tend to seek out other people and get energized by being around others. You like to deal directly with whatever comes your way without dealing with speculating possibilities or outcomes you can't control. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You are a down-to-earth person who enjoys going with the flow.

The Perception Personality Types:

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy