Eleanor's Closet Opened

Despite the fact that I had to move my February workshop from balmy Tampa, FL to Fort Knox, KY just before Christmas, I found myself really relaxing and generally being lazy over the entire vacation.  I had to check e-mail a few times and keep things moving along, but in between?  I lazed. 

I had a list of to-do stuff.  Like get my act together for the persona pentathlon.  Work on projects, write documentation, etc.  Maybe sort a closet or two.  Clean up the garage.  Any number of things really needed doing and I did nada.  I cut out and finished a leather knife sheath.  Not exactly a stretch, there.

But it was fabulous.  I don’t normally allow myself guilt-free laziness.  There is always something that need tending, doing, or organizing. 

And you know what?  I don’t feel behind the curve right now either!  I just now planned out the event calendar to make sure we have puppy sitting.  I was feeling a little pressured over the persona pentathlon, but there’s always a display instead of actually competing.  Pressure off, and I still have goals to complete the projects. 

I think I like this.  I can’t wait for retirement.

Last night I candied violets.  This is a project for the pentathlon.  This batch turned out better than the first batch, but I think the violets in the garden are done now.  The mild weather allowed me to be lazy in getting to this project, but when I went to gather more yesterday, I think I got the last I’m going to see until spring.

I have one knife sheath done.  Nothing fancy, and definitely nothing embellished.  Just a knife sheath.  It was something new for me, so I’m trying it.

I have one shift sort of done.  It’s actually an old shift, but I drafted the pattern out, etc., etc., and should I actually hem it, it would be fine for entering.  With a little ironing first. 

I have something I need to work on in the garage but it’s been cold.  I think this weekend will be any last possibility of mild temperatures (for January).  We’ll see how far I get. 

And the food.  I think that one is obvious, but I still have to work out what recipe.  Something that doesn’t need heating, can be served at room temp and still be tasty.  I’ve worked out a few recipes on my own, but not that many. 

And they all need documentation.  I have notes, sources, etc., just nothing formalized or written J.

Maybe this weekend J

I love the holidays and I hate the holidays.  I think that pretty much sums up most everyone’s opinion.  I love the holidays because things (supposedly) slow down.  You take a minute to breathe and look around (at the messy house) and take stock. 

I can’t help thinking “where am I and is this where I want to be?”  What is it about being in your 40s that you start looking back and also looking forward and not sure of either?   I could conceivably be forced into an early retirement and we’re definitely not ready for that (mentally yes, financially – oh, hell no.)  It’s not something being discussed at my place of employment, just reading federal tea leaves really.  But that’s how you prepare, right?

December is the month of spending money on other folks.  I love doing things for family and friends.  But I hate spending too much money, which we inevitably end up doing.  I prefer making things for folks, but for that you have to plan :).   Maybe next year, which I seem to say every year.  But next year!  So far I have exactly two trips scheduled.  Two!  I may be able to plant a garden and perhaps, gasp! plan on making Christmas presents. 

But back to navel gazing.

The holidays always seemed to be some sort of personal turning point for me.  I make decisions more hard and fast and with more thought and conviction than any other time of year.  I guess because of that supposed slowing down I have time to contemplate.  This year I’m taking the week off between Christmas and New Year’s with not much planned other than some sewing.  I can’t wait.  Maybe I’ll actually plan what I want in the garden. 

I ‘m decorating for the holidays the week after Thanksgiving so I can have some fun with the decorations.  Carla and I wandered Williamsburg briefly Saturday and found the dried citrus fruits quite pretty.  I dried orange, lemon, and lime slices last night and I think they are going to work fabulously on the fresh wreath. It’s been awhile since I’ve been excited about decorating for the holidays.  
 
 
 
 
 
 

What a fantastic weekend! 

An outbreak of plague kept the muster down to 19 folks all together, but it was a fine day for manly pursuits and other random frivolity.

The morning saw Master Hamilton training the troops with basic pike drills and maneuvers.  The men of Gardner’s did put on a fine display and no one got hurt (much).  The spectators were appreciative of the manly display and voiced their approval throughout drill :).

After drill and a brief repast, pay was distributed.  Mistress Jane broke out various table games and Mistress Ester taught folks the card game Post.  Master Stewart brought some goff clubs, including a Sophie sized club and a few adventurous souls played goff across the lawn.  Master Beddingfield set up an archery target and several folks tried their hand at the English long bow.  That was interesting as the goff game played through the archery field.

There was interest expressed in learning the shot, and Master Hamilton, Master Pennington, and Master Bilgewater all helped with firing and shot drills.  The Spanish were shaking in their shoes!

After dinner, there was gaming and singing.  The new game seems to elude Master Hamilton’s understanding, but he gave it a good try.  The Glukhaus board seemed to take everyone’s money, and a few games of Goose were enjoyed as well. 

The evening ended a little on the early side, but everyone had a great time.  The weather was perfect and not too cold. 

Pictures!  The following pictures were taken by Andrea Ewing Calicutt (Mistress Drea) and she has kindly given me permission to post them here. 

Master Beddingfield preparing for Pay:


Sewing:



Tavern activities




Waiting for Dinner to Finish

I’m exploring the idea of replacing my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  I have the Classic size, which is undersized for what I was trying to do on Tuesday.  The mixer was having issues with 6-7 cups of flour bread recipe.  Granted, this isn’t the first batch of bread that size that the machine has kneaded for me, so it may be showing age.  But it’s not that old.

So, in the modern age we live in, I started googling different types of stand mixers, capacities, reviews and ratings.  I went to Consumer Reports, Amazon, and Cooking.com.  Now I’m conflicted.  I’m torn between Kitchen Aid and Viking.  I put more stock in the reviews on cooking.com because, for the most part, they are posted by people familiar with using stand mixers.  Not so much the case on Amazon :).  However, both machines had comments about the motor protection shutoff actually shutting off during a batch of bagels or bread.  So, if the machine isn’t *really* designed to handle that much dough, why advertise it as such?

It seems these models of machines are a compromise between the home baker and the professional baker.  You’re not quite making enough dough to purchase a Hobart, but more batches of bread than June Cleaver ever did.  But aside from that, the Viking is over $500 and the Kitchen Aid Professional is over $400.  That’s a lot of money. 

I’ll keep researching.
 

So, I came across an e-mail from Mistress Branwen announcing the persona pentathlon for Kingdom Arts and Sciences.  Hmm, I mused to myself, I could do that.  I’ve got a few things finished that just need documentation, and it would kick me in the rear to start and/or finish a few other projects. 

Now I really feel overwhelmed :).  There’s so much I want to do, but time is definitely a limiting factor.  Carla and I are still sewing things for the shop, but we are approaching the end of the tunnel.  After this weekend every. single. weekend. is booked.  Crown, Fall Muster, Holiday Faire, Jamestown.  Then December is here, and all the holiday madness, not to mention that it will be too cold to do wood working - at least the staining/finishing part, anyway.

Today, the new tent is to arrive via UPS.  Fortunately they usually deliver later in the afternoon and someone is home then.  It’s raining today and I don’t want it sitting on the porch getting damp.  Then I have to contact Argh about starting on poles!  I’m commissioning Argh for the poles because, as I’ve stated before, table saws scare the crap out of me.  I want pretty poles and I know Argh will do a fantastic job.

What happened to the year?  It’s October already!

The appliances ... they hate us.  Last month the water heater sprung a slow leak.  Replaced.  Now the dryer isn't.  No heat on any setting means cold wet towels.  Service call placed as the dryer is only 2 years old.  We'll see what happens.  The printer died weeks ago, I've just been too lazy to replace it yet, but we definitely need to.

Entirely first world problem - last week our cleaning lady quit.  Now it's either clean our own house, or find someone else.  It would save us some money, but the reason we hired someone in the first place is still there - lack of time.  We've got a feeler out to someone else, but we haven't heard back yet.  The schedule may not work out for them. 

Just add that to the to-do list.

 Well, it wasn’t.  We thought it was, but the rain pointed out our error.  The night before I left for yet another TDY, the skies opened up and the rain came gushing into the basement.  I grabbed the shop vac, towels, and anything else absorbent.  Jim pried off a section of drywall so we could see what was happening with the block wall.  It seems the basement door was installed incorrectly.  The framing for the door didn’t go all the way to the floor, and there was a space under the threshold.  All the way through the wall.  It had been patched over with caulk and parging.  This apparently worked for almost 4 years when the caulk finally quit.  Hydraulic cement is your friend.  The space under the threshold and wall has been concreted through.  There was heavy rain again that evening, and Jim reported a completely dry basement.  Go us.  We’ll still need to have a new door installed correctly, but now we can save up for it instead of charging an emergency. 

Instead of going to Coronation, which I should have really gone to, I bought Round-up and worked on the vegetation taking over the deck.  The mint (along with the false grape and other climbing weeds) reminded me of the plant on Little Shop of Horrors.  We’ve got critters living under the deck and I’m sure they loved it because it was so protected.  Heh, not any more :).

Sewing has taken over my life.  Carla and I are trying to get together some serious inventory for Holiday Faire.  I missed this event last year and the shop did very well.  We’re going to have quite a number of shirts and shifts, trunkhose, venetians, and other cool things.  Oh, and blackwork!  My mom and I have been working on some new patterns and they are coming along nicely. 

But it has sucked all my time.  I have so many projects I want to work on that are Not shop-sewing related.  I want to build a knock-down cupboard.  I have drafted the plans, I just need to purchase the materials and then actually build it.  I’ve wanted to create a changing room for the shop that doesn’t depend on the day shades for support.  For Holiday Faire specifically, since hopefully we’ll be indoors.  I think two cheap garment racks from Wal-mart are going to have to do.  Realistically, we need new dayshades, but that can be a winter project.  And Jim needs/wants some nicer 14^th Century clothes.  This takes time because I have to actually research and draft the patterns. 

And it’s been an age since we have done any period cooking.  Any!  Maybe at this coming Gardners Muster we’ll have some fun things to prepare.  We still have to set that menu, too.  November has filled up fast, and I’m already running out of October.  Yikes!
 
 

Things seem overwhelming, too much is going on, and you feel as if you’re barely keeping up, much less getting ahead.

I’ve had water in my basement (fixed), a leaking hot water heater not related to the wet basement (fixed), a hurricane that knocked out power (fixed), a business trip almost before the hurricane was gone (done), an SCA event (done), various work related deadlines resulting from the trip and other pressures, and our debit card number stolen (fixed) all in the last week and a half. 

So things fall off the plate.  Things you wouldn’t normally allow to fall off the plate.  You feel bad and you feel like a loser because you can’t keep up.  Thus starts the negative self-talk and what ifs.  It makes me feel isolated, down, and dismayed when there is a lack of understanding.

Because we’ve all been there. 

We all have weeks or periods of time where there is just too much going on and we don’t reach out.  We keep things in instead of letting them out (or letting them go).  It's a circle of hell, we don't talk because we're down, we're down because we don't talk, and then are upset when no-one knows what's going on. 

I try very hard to prevent this sort of negativism.  I'm not always very successful, especially after a couple of overwhelming weeks. 

We all make mistakes. 

I’m pooped.  I’m back from a week at Tennessee where I participated in an ISO audit as an auditor.  It’s a constantly on, constantly interviewing more folks, and then synthesizing the information situation.  You’re just tired at the end of it, especially if one is more introverted :).
 
But the cool part was on Sunday when I and a co-auditor friend landed in Memphis.  We went over to Graceland and toured around.  It was pretty cool and not what I was expecting.  I don’t know why, but I was expecting some outlandish, garish building, but it wasn’t.  Not really. 
 
And for some reason, I felt more connected to my dad’s family.  It was an odd insight into a generation and mindset and I never got to meet. Growing up, my uncle always played Elvis music whenever we visited, somehow linking that part of my family with Elvis.  I never thought about that until we toured the house.  I’m glad I went, and I’m glad I took pictures.
 
Now a shower and sleep.
 

Pennsic was fun! Things went very well, especially accommodating were our hosts, Vair and Ermine. We have the coolest camp mates in all of Pennsic.

We have the coolest camp in all of Pennsic. I find my way home by scanning for the war standards flying high over our camp. I need find out what products are being used to create these, as we have a couple of flags to create for Gardners.

Looking around various camps and definitely within our camp, there are so many talented people coming up with cool things. I am so unfocused and I want to try everything. I found a good source for lighter weight leather at Pennsic and came home with two hides. I have the book Purses in Pieces and I want to try making some of these. 

Carla and I found some cool fabric for continuing our sewing for the Company Store. We have a lot to accomplish in the next three weeks. Yikes!

Jim and I sold our tent at Pennsic. I’ve been wanting a different tent for awhile now, so now we have to find something before next Pennsic :). It made packing out interesting. While we suddenly had more space, it changed the load/weight dynamic. 

I’m such a slug at Pennsic. I attempted one class, and it was cancelled and attended another. I shopped and purchased a few things, but didn’t really spend all that much. I picked up a couple of books, some bling, and the leather. Afternoon naps were mandatory. 

We arrived and set up in dry weather, and were able to tear-down and pack-up in dry weather. Unloading at home was another matter. I think we got about 2 inches of rain this morning. We backed the truck up to the garage and unloaded that way. Most everything was kept dry that way. Now for the piles of laundry and right placing of things.