Thoughts

My vision is coming back into focus. That is one less worry for me.

My Pennsic staff members have sorted out all their difficulties (so far as they are letting me know) so I am feeling very positive about how this year is going to go. And now we're into the 'fun time' - pre-packing for the event, whittling down, in my case, the things that I've been bringing every year so it won't be such a burden for my husband when it comes to loading up the truck. Besides - I have too much miscellaneous SCA stuff. I have a perfectly good, if somewhat eye straining, pink collapsible basket I could bring for trips to the shower, except it is full to the brim with SCA tchotchke I've been holding on to, meaning to 'find the right place' to pass it on or to use some time in the future. I am determined, this year, that it get emptied out and all that stuff removed from my house or actually used.

Three weeks of living in the muggy outdoors was exhausting. And yet not. For the first time I had an air mattress on my bed rather than a real one and it was a joy. The mattress predictably lost air during the first night and then stayed in that state for the rest of the time. Its softness was an awful lot like sleeping on our waterbed. For once I came home without sore shoulders and hips. And slept deeply, too, almost every night.

The Deputy Mayor job was fun. Great, even. I'm going to miss doing it next year.

I'm taking a year 'off' from the SCA. Or more specifically, from my local group. Maybe two years, I don't know. I've been very excited about my plans ever since I made the decision - projects that I had waiting are now things I am looking forward to, and I'm even planning new ones. They are all for my own satisfaction - no deadlines, mostly, and no pressure to please others or work around their expectations. So relaxing.

This break time will eliminate the time sink volunteering has had over me so I cannot use any more excuses about getting stronger and building muscles & mobility. I'm looking forward to camping next summer and being able to be useful during set-up, or rather, during unpacking and erecting the pavilion. I AM useful during set up after the pavilion is up, as I am the one who arranges all the furnishings and creates the kitchen set-up. But the heavy lifting has been done by my husband and it's not fair.

Yesterday started the 'build muscle' regime. Minorly, just one exercise done here in the house, but I feel good about it. Today I return to my food log. It was lovely to set it aside for a month (a whole month!). I ate double-stuffed Oreos last night as my celebratory farewell to unmonitored munching. It wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be - the dietary changes have modified my dining desires. I would have killed for some decent cherries instead. Alas, the season has passed.

Today I also pull out my sewing machine to put together the rest of the blank sheet walls our camp will use for War of the Wings. Or at least 'this batch' of them. I've had the fabric sitting there for a year and was never inspired to finish it up, even with a whole bag of bias tape hanging from one of the cabinets in the craft room as a 'reminder'. Now I want to do it.

After I get some sleep. It's become fugitive again so I guess the "Pennsic Recovery Period" has passed.

We shipped our (ruined) brand-new pavilion back to the manufacturer a couple of days ago. Today I drafted and sent a letter to them about it basically demanding a replacement. I think that if a tent fails on the first use of it, replacement is not unwarranted. I do not, however, expect that my hopes will be met - in fact, I foresee a lot of hemming and hawing about it. The business has changed their warranty policies since the original owner passed on and they are not as good as they once were ("warranty repairs up to $50 will be made for free" - anything more involved means the tent owner pays for it, and that after shipping & handling in both directions. Which, from our place, was $148US _one way_. Our tent is now more expensive than if we'd ordered one from the Big Box suppliers like Panther.)

I included photos of the damage and the poor quality in my letter. It ended up being more in a 'chatty cathy' sort of tone - I wanted to invoke a desire to 'do right by these poor folks' sort of reaction in the manufacturer but, well - I don't expect I shall succeed. And there may be a lengthy conversation leading me to demand a full refund. We're within our bank's "shopper's support" time limit to have them take action about the charge. That sounds weird. I mean that we may have to contact the bank & Visa about them getting involved in attempting reimbursement. I sure hope not. I sincerely hope that "chatty cathy' will be enough to inspire them to make everything right with us.

In the long run, however, we can no longer recommend the small family business that once was so golden. The original owner has died and his heirs have turned it into something not worth the investment... it saddens me.

So here's what happened about halfway through Pennsic, thanks to a defective central grommet in the roof:

And here's the type of quality that already had me unhappy about the dags - notice the sloppy sewing on the edging? The whole thing was like that.

It is the middle of the night and medical thingies have me awake for a while longer*. I had been playing a mind-numbing solitaire game but decided to leave that and go to LJ for some catching up.

I haven't read a thing recent. My hand slipped with the mouse and I ended up opening a 'tag' and reading the entries that were there, and now I am filled with love for my friends all over again, because I have such loving ones. I'm so very lucky.

Vacation time (Pennsic) is coming. I have a big job this time around and it isn't one I know the duties of even after a year of holding it. There is no guidebook, no "standard operating procedure" text. Strange situations come up and others look to me for answers - and I have no clue what the right one is because I have no personal experience with the departments involved.
(Example: "How many radios does Cultural Affairs need this year" "I don't know. There isn't a record anywhere that Cultural Affairs ever used any. We'll take the same number as last year." I guess. As a dodge. And once I get on site I can look at the radio check-out sheets and count up who gets them so I can pass that information on to my successor.)
Luckily, I have resources to turn to and things get hammered out, but wow, am I going to be relieved when this job is concluded. It is a situation where a title, a position, was offered and it was one I'd wanted to try for years, so I took it - and was woefully ignorant. The same title/job in a different division would have been a piece of cake but I got my ego wrapped around 'finally' being given a chance to do 'that job' and jumped when I should have backed away. I don't think my people suffered from my inadequacy but neither did they thrive. I want them to thrive. The sad thing is that I doubt, based on this year's performance, that I will ever be offered such a position again and wouldn't you know it - now I know what's required for it so could do it so much better than I have.

I think I might have a lot more free time this year than I have had in the past. There are daily (? Some mayors have had three-times-a-week ones instead) meetings to go to and multiple departments to check on twice a day, but barring something blowing up in any of them after that I have no duties. And all of my department heads are competent and resourceful so I don't think I'll be seeing much in the way of explosions.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing with myself. Bossman surprised me buy pushing for purchasing the camp stove/oven combo that I'd been lusting over. I'd talked myself out of it, finally, since I'd wanted one for years and had never bought (or was given, as it was on my 'gift lift' for holidays) one... and then he up and surprises me with "I think we should buy it" during our trip to replace the finally-dead propane stove. (Poor stove. We've had it for over 30 years of camping and it just wore out. The newer ones are not nearly as good in quality, for the most part.) Anyway, I am looking forward to playing with my totally-non-period camp oven and producing new things to eat at Pennsic.

And we have a brand-new tent, a 16x16 'single pole' pavilion. It's still in the box. We haven't opened it yet. We probably should do that soon, assuming the rain ever lessens. I'm making hanging oil lamps for it per Master Bedwyr Danwyn's class. The effect should be lovely although I am concerned about the amount of light they will produce at night. Most likely there will be pictures after Pennsic. I suspect that Bossman and I, or mostly "I" will be spending a good amount of time arranging and re-arranging our tent layout until it is pleasing and efficient for our needs. We are going to have a much larger and more comfortable hospitality area.

I should have the time to visit the Herald's Point more often than I have in the past - that would be fabulous - although I don't trust my heraldic ability much right now. I've been slack, I tell you, in keeping up with it, instead working on other things I'd let slide over the last few years, so I'm not sure how useful I could be. But I'm being forced to bring my computer to the event so if nothing else, I could maybe help in the 'names' department. Names are fun. Blazonry still has me scrunching up my forehead a bit.

And classes - since I need to check on Pennsic University and the Dance staff as well as Performing Arts, well then maybe some classes might fall into my lap too. Just since I'm there.

The new walker means that I can stroll the merchant area too. For years I've been rushed, at best, whenever Bossman and I go to the merchant area, since there are few places to sit down and restore circulation to my legs. Now I can sit on the walker's seat any time I want. Any time! And I bought a cup holder for it, too, so the only hassle is going to be running across a merchant's tent that is too packed for me to bring it in there (it is wide). But I'm pretty sure no one would take it if I had to leave it outside while I went it. I can use it as a 'base' to return to and the booths as new frontiers to explore.

Oh - and my two classes at our recent University went over well. They were small but full of excited comments and questions, with the students wanting further information for their own research. That's a win.

So was being there when Ranvieg was given a writ for her Laurelling ceremony at Pennsic. That alone would have made attending University worth the trip.

*Contrast iodine during a CT scan can encourage a barely-there-and-going-away UTI to wake up and roar. Guess how I found that out?

We came to Pennsic site late this year, in the middle of service week rather than at the beginning of it. That started us off in a very surreal mood. A dear friend, Treestone, came to camp and helped us erect our loaner tent... he was working the night shift so I appreciated his kindness and was in a rush to get everything done as quickly as we could so he could get home and go to bed. Not to mention his girlfriend was in town for a visit and waiting for him back at his house.

While we were setting up the tent other staff members came by to welcome us back. To each one, as they complimented the pavilion, we explained that we were borrowing it and had plans to sell it for the owners during Pennsic-tide, to be delivered when the event was over. (And thusly we wouldn't have to pack it ourselves at the end when we would surely be the most tired and sore.) One staff member bought it right then! Even after seeing the silly dayshade.

We divided the tent as we had planned with curtains separating out the rounded ends. Bossman devised curtain rods of PVC pipe with holes drilled into the ends of the wall-side of the poles so they would fit over the tent pole spikes and be more secure. We had a connecting piece for each pair in the middle where the support poles for the ridge pole were, and after putting the 'raw' edges into that connector the whole mess was securely lashed to each support pole. As it turned out, the small section of curtain rod that Bossman cut into an "L" shape so he could drill a hole in it was a bit too long and poked out a little beyond the wall pole's spike, just enough to allow water to leak a bit into the tent at that spot during rainstorms - four spots in total. But the leaks were minor and by putting the tent poles on the bare earth rather than near our tarp/ground-cloth, the water simply flowed down and away from the interior anyway.

Our little 'bedrooms' were oddly shaped but we were able to fit both beds in there, albeit smack in the middle of each curved area, with the rest of the furniture on either side of the bed. Kitchen items (storage and garbage container) crowded in on one end since there wasn't enough room for them in the designated kitchen area. The drinking cooler and 'room temperature' water bottles were on Bossman's side while the stacked cases of drinks, the garbage container, and our dirty clothes hamper was on my side. It wasn't too bad but certainly not optimal.

One thing I hate about camping is the daily emptying of water from the ice chest before each ice refill. A couple of years ago I solved that in the food cooler by adding in three containers dedicated to storing the ice - they get filled and the rest of the cooler stays dry, so I no longer have to deal with coming back to camp to find water-logged cheese goo or pink water from leaking meat containers. And the daily routine is a simple matter of removing the ice containers one at a time to be drained and refilled. It is much easier on the back. This time, I took our left-over 'leveling wood' (the bits brought along to act as wedges to level furniture since we were camping on a hill) and used them to build a platform to put the big cooler on. Oh, that was nice! It was about the right height for digging into if one was sitting on a chair. Prepping dinner and putting away groceries was much easier than in the past! My back thanked me.

Our 'drink' cooler was filled in the normal way, bottles and cans covered in ice. It had to be drained everyday but it didn't weigh nearly as much as the food cooler did and was easier to maneuver around. It was also handy for storing store-prepared salads on top of the ice since I usually ate those within a day of purchase. They didn't fit well in the food cooler.

Through all the rain and the unseasonal cold, we were comfortable enough to be able to lend extra blankets to other camp members. I love wool blankets! I especially love wool-silk blankets! I've been using lengths of fabric to make blankets for camping since they store better than purchased blankets and I can be more sure of their content. Well - except for my Pendleton Wool blanket, that is. I just buy seven yards of material, cut it in half and then divide one half lengthwise to sew to the selvage edges of the full half. That gives me a good queen-sized blanket with the joining seams (mostly) along the edge of the mattress. After sleeping on a linen-covered pillow for the last two years, I've now decided to do the same with lengths of linen and make sheets for my bed too, if not for Bossman's. He's a little less 'adventurous' when it comes to bedding and holds tightly to his sleeping bag and bedrolls.

First you take something like this:


and you cut it up into the strips that most appeal to you.



And then you use your stripes to decorate garb.

I didn't make anything really resembling period clothing, with the possible exception of the pseudo-Italian Renn (which I then ruined the lines of with a Velcro opening). The mother of this 18-month-old baby works in Pennsic Staff and is not in the least concerned about authenticity. She just doesn't want to run around with her child in a onesie. So I indulged myself, since I'm not charging her for these and bought inexpensive fabrics (how long do these have to last? About a week, maybe a week and a half).

I photographed them with my phone so they don't show as well as I'd like. But I wanted to keep a little record of what I'd done, for future days when I'm feeling down on myself. ( tunics, gown, and surcote in modern fabrics )

I have secured 4-inch bed risers for my camp bed. These will make up for the height that is going to be lost since I won't be using a box spring. They were surprisingly inexpensive. And the selection alarmed me - why on earth would someone want bed risers that looked like red plastic party cups? Whose bright idea was that? (Mine are plain old dark brown plastic-to-look-like-wood. I eschewed the actual wood ones since they were a pale blond.)

( oversharing feminine camping woes )

Bossman is out mowing the lawn, trying to get as much done as he can before those clouds overhead open up. I can hear thunder - it's five in the evening so the summer heat-storm is only adding to the weight of the hovering rain. We expect three or four days of it. I have plenty of indoor jobs to do... most of them having to do with fabric.

All I wanted to do was make a tunic (a surprise tunic made possible by the purchase of twice the amount of fabric I needed to make my night-rail. Most likely I thought I was going to use it to make a chiton). I thought it'd be fun to use the off-set neck opening such as the one on Roger II of Sicily's tunic. And I thought it'd be easy to find examples of the style online.

I was wrong. It does appear in middle-era Russian garb, and in Magyar's clothing (referenced but the research no longer available online), which they seem to have gotten via the Avars, and in some cases this style is called 'middle-period Byzantine' although I could not find a single example of it using that search phrase.

I have now thrown caution to the wind. I shall make my surprise tunic, of the deepest purple someone such as I should never wear, in the style of Roger's tunic and just not worry about it. Perhaps while I'm wearing it at Pennsic someone will bounce up to me to say how delighted they were to see someone wearing "_____style clothing" and I can pick their brains.

It is very, very purple. And my sleeping gown will be of the same fabric. I am actually thinking of using flower-patterned trim on it, because, um, because it is just a nightgown of cotton/linen blend and is more a private garment than one I'd wear out and about. I have two yards of printed-stripes fabric that will make great bits of trim for both of them once I decide which stripes will be sacrificed in order to use the others. I do love striped fabric for trim-making.

On the plate this evening is the beginning of sewing my own clothes for Pennsic. Last year I lost a tunic mid-vacation thanks to that weird "we're just going to shred when you aren't looking" linen game and my night dress had come to the end of its usable life. I shed a tear over the loss of the night-rail. I loved that thing.

I've decided to attempt tackling dels again. I've made two - one of wool that I didn't care for and gave to Bossman since it fits his chest better than my own, and the other I modified by stitching up the sides so even though it appeared to have an overlapping front, it didn't really. That way I could get it to cover my chest in a manner conducive to modesty. That particular 'del' was the first item of clothing I'd had go the way of the shredding-linen surprise¹ and I never tried making another. I did love that del.

So I am going to be approaching my cutting table with trepidation and yet not too much - because if all else fails, I can stitch the danged neck openings to stay where I want them to on a permanent basis. But first I'm going to sew a new nightie. It is going to be of cotton flannel plaid, merely because it appears that I've already cut the thing out. Whether or not it is actually my camping gown will depend on my sense of aesthetics... I haven't a stitch of cotton garb left, barring certain bloomers made of silly fabric that no one will ever see. People will see my night-rail, though, during early morning trips to the porta-johns, so I may end up just using it at home and making a different one for Pennsic.

I was going to be sewing clothes for a sweet little boy but someone else beat me to it (or rather, they forged ahead while I was waiting on news about the parent's plans to attend) so he doesn't need anything from me now. I shall have to hold off on the "spiderman medieval tunic" until he outgrows his new stuff. Just as well since it will have to have long sleeves.

¹ I have since learned that this comes about by disasters in dyeing, which are acerbated by our washing and drying processes. Apparently, it hits dark-dyed linens more often than lighter-dyed ones, and I'd wager that the source of the fabric means a lot - although we, as the end-customers, may not actually know from whence the store purchases the lot.

[EDIT: Perhaps, instead of sewing, I took the time to finally read all 300 or so messages waiting for me on the SCA-Heralds and Submission-Heralds email lists.]