It’s been a busy month since I got home from my micro-vacation. Way too much going on and barely time to breathe, let alone write on the blog. Right now I am working on preparations for BATTLEMOOR!
I’ve been repairing clothes and starting some new Viking pants for Dan. These are brown linen and should be much cooler than his flannels. I’m hoping to make some Beledi Dance clothes for me. I’ve got fabric for two pairs of sarouelles. (baggy pants) I’m using Folkwear Pattern #119. I’m also making a couple of tunics for one of the Battlemoor crew.
I’ve had lots of meetings, work in the garden, and trips to Pueblo. My mom has had cataract surgery, my nephew moved out, and it’s rained!!!! We also discovered part of the reason that our garden hasn’t done as well this year. Deer. They eat down all the new shoots. sigh…
The school district is trying to get a Mill Levy Overide to provide more money for the schools as well. Tonight there is a drum clinic at Washington school. Dan is doing the sound work. I’m just going to go deaf. 🙂
After a hectic beginning, I finally got on the road around 1pm. As I drove up HWY 69, I could see the smoke from the Hayden Pass Fire. The blackened ridges and smoke were reminiscent of the fire on the Spanish Peaks three years ago. The fire blocked part of my route as well, so I had to drive a slightly longer route. Missed two turns, but neither was bad. I got to Rapier camp, set up and then reported to the Hammered Eagle kitchen. Dinner was good, clean-up easy and then it was off to the Bardic Circle. That was a hoot! Stories, songs and jokes. Syr Teigr and the Beer Truck was my favourite.
Saturday. I was glad to get up! It had been cold that night. I helped with breakfast and lunch, and then off to photograph classes, sit with friends and then Court! A lot of my friends from Aarquelle got scrolls. 🙂 it was a very happy court. Afterwards, we had a hasty dinner and then over 120 of us headed off to the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. This one was great. The sulfur heavy ones make me ill. I rode up with Falnor, Axgar and his girlfriend, and Kata. It was a fun ride and I really enjoyed the hot spring.
Sunday. Up to help with breakfast and then off to classes. I packed up after lunch and headed home around 2pm. The drive was easy. Less smoke as the fire had lessened. Dan helped me unpack after we had some dinner. I think I was asleep by 10pm. Fantastic weekend.
Our neighboring shire, Aarquelle, was hosting it up in Canon City. We, Villaleon, were part of it too, as we were going to sell Outland Waffles! With ice cream, fruit and plum syrup. Yes, we are crazy, but… there were these waffle irons. They make waffles with stag heads on them. And… The kingdom’s emblem is the stag… so we just had to do it. 🙂
Coronation was a three day event. We left Friday late morning, after much craziness. To avoid the craziness, all of our SCA gear will now be stored in one place. We filled the subaru with waffle irons, clothes, food supplies, etc. We stopped in Pueblo to pick up the eggs and milk, and were just heading out when we had an accident on Northern and Pueblo Blvd. A fender bender. Ours!
No one was hurt, except the car. So, we were about an hour late getting to the Abbey in Canon City. We were camping in the gym, and after setting up and changing clothes, we went out to see what was happening. 🙂 Lots of fun. I worked on a new piece to my Viking outfit. An apron. Around sunset, it started getting cold. The Animal Fights were just starting. (knights as animals fighting other knights) We went to get our coats and discovered that our air mattress had died. So, in garb, we headed to Walmart, about 2 blocks away. We knew court would be after the fights, so we didn’t worry. Silly us!
We got back as quickly as we could, but obviously not quick enough. Court had started. So, we ran to court. Just as we got there, I heard someone say, “They’re here.” Ut-oh… Sure enough, a moment later, we were called into court. King Bela and Queen Anna gave us that look… “Have you been avoiding US?” “no your majesties…” “Do you owe us Taxes?” “no…” “ask her, she does the books”…. They teased us for a few minutes and then gave us our Awards of Arms. Apparently they had been trying to give these to us since January. So, we are now Lord Lothar and Lady Unna. 🙂 Of course, I had to tease him as we crawled into bed and say that I’d never been to bed with a lord before…
The next day was crazy busy and cold in the morning. Coronation! The last court of Bela and Anna and the first of Kolgrimr and Danielle! It was great! Kolgrimr called his wife into court to crown her, and she said that she would sing for him as she walked down the aisle. Just as she opened her mouth to sing, the church bells began to ring. Oh my! I got some good pictures. One of them is going to be used by the SCA media. 🙂
The rest of the day was spent making and selling waffles, attending a grand feast and just having fun. We did our third Walmart trip, and bought syrup and waffles for breakfast the next morning.
Sunday saw waffle making, court, heavy and rapier fighting and finally, time to head home. We were so tired, that we stopped at Greenhorn to eat lunch and take a 10 minute nap. We partially unpacked and were in bed by 8:30!
We spent the night on Friday! It was lovely. We hope to do this more often.
Saturday I worked on various projects upstairs while Dan continued to sort through stuff in his office. He was suppose to have a meeting, but it didn’t pan out. I’m starting to actually work on projects too! I’m switching printers with Dan so that I can use the scanner and copier to make patterns for various things.
Sunday I got a lot accomplished while Dan was off working the Tannahill Weaver concert in La Veta.
I started off the morning working on the guest room. Reorganizing the closet was first. It now is home to 8 tubbies of SCA gear, holiday tubbies, and odds and ends that I just don’t know what to do with at the moment. I put a few things up on Walsenburg Freecycle too. Then I moved tubbies to our room. Photos, family papers, etc. I organized the closet to hold things a bit better.
Tackling the desk and paperwork was next. I didn’t realize how disorganized I’d gotten during the crazy “box up everything and stuff it in storage” move a year ago. I sorted papers, threw things away and filed other papers in logical spots. I wrote up minutes, and updated a few websites as well.
Last of all, I refurbished three stools that were left her. I spray painted over nasty green paint and then tung oiled the tops. I think that they will look pretty good in the studio or library.
Life has been busy. Work for Dan, a school board conference and Saturday workshop for me, and lots of little interruptions. However, we’ve made progress on the house. We still have a lot to do, but in other ways we are so close to unpacking the rest of the boxes!
Since I last updated this blog, we have painted. Painted a lot. We had to go get more paint. Some for the touch ups in the hall corners and then more for the living room. I went ahead and did a crazy thing. I painted the dining room. With a really soft roller. It took about two hours, but… it looks beautiful. Very bright. 🙂
I’ve been stripping the cupboard doors and drawers in the kitchen and breakfast nook. I sanded a few, and realized that it was crazy. Since then, I have decided that Citrusstrip is my best friend! Ecological, smells nice, and it does not make me wheeze. I’ve done 11 drawers and I’ve done 9 of 16 doors. Tomorrow I will be doing the second coat of paint on the breakfast nook and kitchen. Oh, and stripping more doors.
Today I was on the ladder a lot. I cleared, cleaned and hung the light in the studio. I put up a curtain rod and attached the plate for the fire alarm. Pretty good for someone who has intermittent vertigo!
Today while I installed fixtures in the bathroom and tidied up things, Dan and Dayne cut back branches on two trees. We are due to have 60 to 80 mph winds tomorrow, and both of the trees had branches that rubbed on the house. I was sorry to have to trim them, but… it was needed.
Tomorrow while the wind blows and Dan fixes computers, I will be doing touch up work in the bathroom and begin to ready the kitchen and breakfast nook for paint! Once those rooms are painted, I can start unpacking a lot of boxes! Wheee!
We had a great time. It was held at Pueblo Mt. Park. The drive up was nice after the hectic morning of preparing the last of the food and packing up the truck. We left 40 minutes late, but we weren’t the only ones a bit late.
We took our little campstove, and while Dan heated up bread rolls in the oven, I began to roll/flatten out the rye flatbreads. We cooked about 50-60 of them. While it was a little cold, it wasn’t too bad.
The donation luncheon and challenge table was filled with luscious food. I contributed cabbage and venison soup, rye flat bread, a salad, plum cake with plum sauce, a Viking version of deviled eggs, tea, milk and sugar.
There was lots of good conversation and fun. I participated in a persona challenge. I was asked questions about Unna Farulfsdottir, and it was very interesting. I didn’t win, but it gave me a lot to think about. I also participated in the largess contest. I entered my 5 Valkyries. I got a penannular brooch in return for participating.
Finally, we headed home around 5pm. We were happy and worn out. A great day.
Well, now I know how to make my stats on views go crazy. All I have to do is post a new tutorial in the SCA section. 🙂 1367 views just today. Last time I had this many was when I posted about the Viking Hat. That was 1490 views.
Meanwhile, I’ve had a quiet week. Two days of no meetings, no crazy adventures. For the most part, I’ve been sewing, picking lovely tomatoes, working on websites and had lunch at George’s. 🙂 Tomorrow we are off to Pueblo. Shopping of course. King Soopers, Gagliano’s Deli, Walmart and then Chinese for lunch. Ahhh…
Oh, and sewing during the drive. I have a tunic to finish!
Yesterday, we took a day off. No meetings, no committees, no work. We went to Pueblo West and attended an SCA event called the Huzzah Bazaar! It was a combo jumble sale, demo and class event. Fun!
I dug out the clothing basket and got our clothes out. Nice Viking dress for me and tunic and trews for Dan. We grabbed the feast gear and headed out. Of course, we were a little late leaving, but not bad. When we were a block from the event, Dan turns to me and says “It is a dress event isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
Of course, by then, my brain is going ninety different directions. I’m re-reading the event announcement in my head. “Well, the way it was written, I’m sure it was.”
“Did it say it was?”
“Ummm… no.”
I’ve been in the SCA for 6 years and haven’t attended a lot of events, so there are times I wonder…. By this point, we are pulling into the library parking lot. Shire banners. No cars in sight. No costumed people in sight. I’m beginning to worry. Finally, Dan goes the wrong way in the parking lot, finds the back lot and there is a person in garb. PHEW!
We hop out and head into the library and find the HB. 🙂 It was a lovely small event. Classes, demo’s, food, and a jumble sale. (ie, old garb, fabric, etc) We took the Viking knitting class. It’s a bit of a misnomer, as it is actually wire work. This video gives a good idea of what we did.
We had lunch, I learned English Country dances while Dan chatted with a knight about fighting, and I even sold a few things. It was a great day.
Afterwards, we went round to one of couple’s house and had a great late afternoon. I think that there were 20 people in the house at one point. 🙂 We had a lovely time, and we will be visiting the Shire of Aarquelle for other events.
