Anabell!

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She came to visit! Her mom and stepdad are in town visiting family and we got to visit with Anabell for about 5 hours.

We made tortillas, burritos and then I made a carob mayonnaise cake. Morgan and Anabell put mint chips and carob chips in the cake as well. It was heavenly. After dinner, we watched Tangled. Plus I gave Anabell some of my dolls. A Navajo doll, some worry dolls, and a big porcelain doll from England that has red hair. Oh, and I found a book for her. She was in heaven.

Then today, Dan sent me a picture… he was teasing me the other day about having to rip out some of my knitting, which is called tink-ing. 🙂 (knit backwards) I laughed!

Life is a bit slow at the moment. We are trying to get the house cleaned up and ready for some major construction work. That includes the Wendy House as well. Do I have the energy? Nope! Not today. I’m a slug. Hmmm….. maybe that noneuclidean sweater ate my ‘get up and go’.

Oh, and today is Erin’s 29th birthday.

Return from Battlemoor II

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Yesterday, the 4th, we packed our camp up and returned to the 21st century. sigh…

Battlemoor was great! Probably should have been called BattleDUST, but we had a wonderful time. The rain on one day did help, and made  the dust/powdered cow patties settle. I swear we inhaled/ingested at least a pound of that dust. Ughh! However, the Stroh Ranch is a working ranch and there are cattle!

We arrived Wednesday and set up camp in a lovely little dell. Amazingly, it was only 50 yards from the Town Hall. There was a cool tree that had fallen and it looked all the world like the Pi symbol or a henge. While we were all part of the Shire of Villaleon, we were also in three separate areas. So, there was the main camp, Persia where Arty and Nyusha lived and then ‘the Savages’,… us. 🙂 Rather appropriate as I’m a Viking and Dan is um…. Lothar de Savage. This lead to many jokes. “Oh, that isn’t Viking,… Oh. Wait… you plundered that didn’t you…”  and “I’m a Viking. You going to hand that over or shall I just take it?” It was a lot of fun. We teased Lothar as his era didn’t write…. “Don’t worry dear, I’ll teach you how to write…” and other bits. “He’s a savage, be glad he’s wearing clothes… eats with a spoon… cooks his meat…”

The week was busy with a number of tourneys and classes. I learned how to tablet weave and to spin!!!! Oh, and how to write/send a letter. 🙂 That was fun. I took tons of pictures and they can be seen on my Facebook page. I really enjoyed the spear tourney. Dan of course was watching most of the tourneys. Between answering questions, making comments on fighting, patching up a few fighters and other bits and pieces, he got offered belts three times! So, while he didn’t accept a belt to be a squire, he will be getting his armor together and will be getting his heavy fighters card. He teased me at one point calling me his armor bunny. I about spewed with laughter. (an armor bunny is someone who helps their knight with armor, spotting weaknesses, etc.)

There were also courts every night and revels. (parties!) Thursday night was Hafla. Rolling Thunder played drums until probably 4am. Women belly danced, people chatted, good beer was consumed and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Friday night was Halls of Valhalla. There was a Viking ship where you could memorialize someone and then the boat was burned. We payed homage to Sir Starhelm. Once again, there was great conversations and lots of beer. I had one called Vikings Drool. It was a lovely dark stout. OMG! Oh, and there was a non-alcoholic ginger beer that was heaven, as well as a sarsaparilla to knock your socks off.  I drank more of those than the beer. 🙂

Saturday was the Medieval Red, White and Blue celebration. Everyone tried to dress in red, white and blue and still stay in character. It was a riot. The drummers played again and it was about 1am before I got to bed.

Sunday night was the Farewell Siege Revel. It was a time to eat and drink all the leftovers, say goodbye to people and unwind. It was another late night, but well spent.

Monday of course came Way Too Early. However, we broke camp in about 90 minutes. We said our goodbyes and headed home. Once we were home, we unpacked, showered, checked a few things on the computers and then crashed. I even got my article written for the Huerfano World Journal and pictures sent. 🙂 We napped from 4pm to nearly 10pm. We got up for a little bit of food and were back to bed by 1am. Damn we slept heavy! I have to admit that about the only thing I missed was my BED! So, we are planning on making a Viking bed for next year. Whether we make a Viking tent or a yurt is still being discussed.

Today we are putting stuff away, cleaning and washing things and trying to move. All the aches and pains have come home to roost. We didn’t get too badly sunburned, but there were lots of bites and Dan got all itchy from bucking bales of hay used at some of the battles. Yes, we clean up after ourselves so that the ranch can be a ranch.

Only a year till Battlemoor III. 🙂

 

Ludlow Massacre Memorial

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Today was the UMW memorial service held at Ludlow, the site of the 1914 Ludlow Massacre. The actual event occurred in April 20th, 1914 in Ludlow, Colorado. The coal miners were on strike for decent treatment in the mines. If you want to read about it, visit this site   or Google the event.

However, this has a family connection for me. The Sudars were coal miners. In 1914, Paul Sudar Sr, his wife Rose and their four sons, were living in the tent colonies. One of those sons was my grandpa John Sudar. He was four. Grandpa said that his father got nervous about the machine guns being set up on the hills around the camps. During the run up to the Ludlow Massacre, My Great-grandpa Sudar sent his wife and children out on a flatcar with lots of other women and children. The flatcar sat out on the plains for four days as they waited to hear what happened to their husbands and friends. It was cold, as that April had been very snowy. They had only what they could carry. When they came back, Ludlow was burned. People died. Mainly women and children who suffocated in a basement under a tent.

I realize that if my Great-grandpa hadn’t been nervous about what he was seeing, we might not be here. The Ludlow Massacre was part of a war that most people don’t even know about. They don’t know how one small place in Colorado became so important to the unions and the history of the labor movement.

Today we had local union reps,politicians, clergy, a Mother Jones impersonator, national union reps, an author and most importantly, two Great Granddaughters who’s families worked in the mines and were at Ludlow. We had welders who presented the site with a memorial sign that they had welded. One of the welders had started out as a miner and changed jobs to become a welder. We had awesome barbecue to eat. Most importantly, this was a family event. Families of miners, union members and community.

I’ll be there again next year.

Agggghhh!!! Life Interrupts!

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Or, how I went crazy trying to get ready for Battlemoor.

It’s been quiet. Not a lot of business, (boo!) not a lot of stuff because of school, or weather, etc. I figured I’d have lots of time to sew. Battlemoor is at the end of the month. Then it got busy. Business has picked up. (Yeah!!!)  We had a BUNCH of meetings. South East Workforce Board, South Central Workforce Board, State Youth Council, school boards, etc… Then the classes… SCA classes and computer classes.

I finally found time to sew and started on Dan’s stuff. The tunics went together beautifully. The trews were a bit of a hassle, but I figured out a combo of modern pattern and old fashioned pattern. It took a little to get the gusset right, but then everything just worked. So, I started on my clothes. The under tunic went together fairly easily. Then I started the Apron dress. To say that I fought with that pattern is an understatement. I finally discovered that my printer had not printed everything. However, the whole experience has been so frustrating that it took me nearly 5 hours to work one dress. Now, I’ve sewn for 40 years. I started when I was ten. I’ve drafted patterns and done things that have gone from a 14 inch drawing to a 1860’s ball gown. Never half the issues I had with this dress. Why? I don’t know. However, I have decided that it was a mix of non-seamstresses and academics trying to engineer a garment. I thought about all the issues, redid the pattern on some basic levels.  The next one I did I had the drafting, cutting and basic sewing done in 40 minutes. So, when the dust of Battlemoor settles, I will be sharing my new way to draft and sew a Viking Apron Dress.

Below are pics of my new sewing companion, and Dan in his tunic and trews.

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Preparations for Battlemoor II

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Or how I will spend most of the next two weeks sewing!

Last year, the SCA kingdom of the Outlands held a new event called Battlemoor. It was on the Stroh Ranch up near Greenhorn Mt., about 10 miles from Walsenburg. We went up and took lots of pictures and had a great time. However, we only did the one day thing.

This year, we have a new Shire in town… So to speak. Next thing we knew, a bunch of SCA people poured out of the woodwork, got together and *poof*, we had the Shire of Villaleon!  You can check it out here  And you can check out Battlemoor II here

As with last year, I am covering the event. This time though, from the INSIDE. yes, we are actually attending the whole event. 🙂 So, I’m making clothing like a mad woman. I’m a 900-100o AD era Viking who hooked up with a Lombard Mercenary from approximately the same era if not a little earlier. So, Jaye and Dan will morph into Unna Farulfsdottir and Lothar de Savage at the end of the month.

Last night, we attended the shoe making class held by two other SCA members in the Shire. We got to cover a sock in duct tape and then make a pattern for our shoes. The big test though will be getting them sewn, by hand, before June 29th. Oh, and all the tunics, underdresses, apron dresses, and trews. Wheeee!

If you’re in the area at the end of June, Stop by. Dress up and come play for a day!

 

An End of an Era

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Yesterday was Morgan’s 8th Grade Graduation. It was a big day in so many ways. It started early with all of us getting up and trying to find an eyeball per socket. Dan dyed Morgan’s hair and helped her with her nails. The chemicals just kill me. Then after we all got dressed in the ‘nice clothes’, we headed to Gardner.

Keep in mind that Gardner School is a small family type school. Under 80 kids, Pre-K through 8th. Rich, poor, rancher, townie or alternative lifestyle… one big family. We had lunch with Morgan and the other graduates. Afterwards, I helped Morgan into her dress and it was time for the ceremony. There were five graduates this year, and Kevin Crossen, their Science/PE teacher gave the commencement speech. Kevin is a big guy. Well over 6ft. He’s standing there giving his speech about these kids he thinks of as his own. Some of them he’s taught since they were 5. He started out saying that he wouldn’t cry, and we could see him trying so hard not to do so. For the most part. We cried with him.

Morgan got the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence and she was the Valedictorian for her class. They did an imovie and gave speeches. Best part though was that Morgan, legendary for her Morgan Moments, didn’t trip once, stumble or fall. 🙂 She’s a klutz, and for once, she was graceful. In heels no less!!!

Afterwards, there was a reception in the cafeteria. Dan videoed the graduation and we took lots of pictures. It was a great day!

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Rapture Day?

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Or so some people thought it would be. As it stands at the moment, there have been no mass ascensions to heaven. I have the feeling that we will see the same thing happen in December when so many believe the end of the world will arrive because of the Mayan Calendar stops then. I’m not sure who I feel sorry for. Those who get disappointed because the Rapture didn’t arrive as promised, or those people who’s lives were damaged by people close to them who believed in the doomsday scenario in the first place.

Meanwhile in Walsenburg, the mornings are still cold and the afternoons warm and windy. It’s always windy here. We still have snow on the Spanish Peaks. It has been dry enough that I am going to pull the weeds out of the garden area and plant seeds. I had planned to do it earlier, but it has been such a cold May, that I didn’t want to loose everything to frost or snow.

It’s graduation week. La Veta and John Mall did their thing today. Gardner graduates on Wednesday. Morgan has her dress and she looks so grown up! She got a bespoke dress from Shanghai off a website. It fits her perfectly.

We’ve gotten the main room of the Wendy house (aka the guest house)  set up as a combination sewing area and work station.All the damp weather has made the front porch ‘move’ again. So, we decided to get the weight off of it. We are cleaning up the Wendy House to move into while we do some major reconstruction on the main house. I don’t want to try and breathe when we open up the floor to do the plumbing. Too many critters and dirt for my lungs. It would be a different matter if there was a real crawl space, but there isn’t. Whatever was there has been filled in by the hill moving south. I am looking forward to running water and a totally functional bathroom!!!!

Next will be relief of the dirt away from the garage wall. That will be a major undertaking unless we can get the city to help us as it is their alley which is rolling into the garage. I want to get my umbrella clothesline up too. It was my Grandma Pauline’s. I know where I plan to ‘plant’ it, we just have to get a sleeve for the end of the pole. I figure that with all the lovely sun, that it’s a shame to feed quarters to the dryers at the laundromat. 🙂

Here are some pictures of the new workspace in the Wendy House, and Morgan in her new dress.

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Think Big Conference!

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Dan and I went to a Think Big Conference sponsored by the Colorado Workforce and department of Labor and Employment this week. Monday through Friday. It was really good. The worst part was some technical hiccups with power point presentations. The best was the speaker on the last day. Robert Wendover spoke about the generations and the Millennial Mind. I thought it was going to be a bomb, because the guy looked like a total nerd. “How can that guy in his 50’s talk about people in their 20’s”  I thought. Well, he did it very well. I was surprised. Happily surprised.

I got to see my sister and her husband too. She works for the DOL&E. She was running an information booth. We got to visit for about an hour which was good.

Of course this conference started with temps in the 70’s and finished yesterday with it snowing as we left! BRRRRrrrrr!!! Colorado in the spring! Damn!!! Today of course it is cold and damp. We might get a high of 60. sigh.

Today is a kick back and take it easy day. I was so glad to sleep in my own bed last night! Oh, and tea. Our box of tea came yesterday. We’ve been out for a week. Akkkk!!! Which reminds me, I need more tea.

May Spring Weather at Last!!!

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Well, we did have typical Colorado May weather on May 1st. Snow! It was very cold wet snow. The early part of the week wasn’t much better. While warm during the day, the nights were still very cold. And Windy!

Thursday we went to Denver. While the sun was shining and the weather was warmer, the wind was still chilly. Yesterday was warm and today it is a balmy 73 degrees!!! Springlike May weather at last! Who knows, at this rate I may be able to plant my garden by May 15th!

This year I plan to plant pumpkins, squash, onions, beets, salad greens and lots of marigolds. I’ve been avoiding working in the garden plot because of the wild violets. I’m allergic to them. sigh… However, they have about run their course and I can pull them up without needing an oxygen mask. 🙂

We have three small trees to chop down as well in the front yard. Suckers from an elm that went wild. I’d like to put a few apple trees out front, but that will have to wait a bit. Our front porch project may start sooner than we expected. The stairwell is beginning to crack more. So, we have almost totally evacuated the two front porch rooms. Business stuff moved to the back porch and the ‘Wendy House’ aka the guest house. My sewing room also moved out there. Weird. First time in 33 years that my sewing machine hasn’t been under the same roof with me. It does give me more space, but I need to finish up the organization of it. Dan has a shelf unit to build for me.

Part of the reason for the move was that I have been talking to one of the local SCA’ers and said I’d be available for costume work. With computer work as slow as it is, I’m back to sewing for cash. I’m also grateful that our local yarn shop, Edla’s Yarns, sells some basic sewing supplies. I needed zips for a couple of outfits and luckily she had some! Otherwise it would have meant a trip to Pueblo for a $2 item. So, while Dan goes to the Fox Theater to run the lights for the El Fandango show this afternoon, I’ll be cutting and sewing. Wheee!!!

April Showers bring May?????

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On April 4th, we had snow. A good sloppy 6-8 inches of the stuff.

Well, today has been sort of dark and cloudy after a rather warm 70’s kind of spring day. It’s about 45 out right now and while the weather forecast says a 50% chance of rain, they forgot to mention the 100% chance of SNOW!!! Not a lot, but once again those big flat flakes. It’s coming in waves as it cascades over the Trincheras and the Spanish Peaks.

This may be one of those years where the first of May sees snow on the ground. Aieee!!!

I think I’ll go have a cup of tea.