There's going to be an Arts & Science competition at Live Weapons in June, 'cause apparently, the royals think that the LIVE WEAPONS-centered event must also have EVERYTHING else SCA, cause the a&s competition and the heavy tournament won't steal the spotlight away from live weapons and archery, and defeat the entire purpose of a live weapons event. I don't really mind the a&s, it sounds low-key and the tourney entrants are supposed to either enter or sponsor an entry, so that's somewhat integrated. Also, it's a kingdom-level event, so the pool of potential judges is a bit higher than the average local event, so taking advantage of that makes sense. Having a heavy tourney, though, that's kind of.....tacky. I don't think there should be classes, unless they are thrown weapons/archery related classes, and I don't think any other form of martial activity should be available. But, that's just my opinion, and until some fool decides that unleashing Queen Medb on the unsuspecting kingdom is a good idea, and that fool fights for me and wins Crown List, my opinion doesn't count for much. Of course, if baking bread determined the next crown, I could be queen by my own hand. Hey, it got me a husband.

So, I've been working on a handkerchief embroidered with peacocks. The motif comes from a shawl that I have that's imported from India. It's all chain stitch, which was a specific type of embroidery done in India, I forget the name. The stitch is definitely period. In Turkey, people used embroidered cloths to wrap things in, called bohca, think ridiculously elaborate gift wrap. I think all I really need to do is tie all the elements to India, or tie the design to Turkey. I'm sure the Mughals had linen, and some kind of small embroidered cloth, handkerchief, goblet cover, whatever. This will require some thought.

I has dress! Yea!

I'm opening this week, and I took my half day yesterday. It was pretty productive. I finished the dress, and even wore it to school today. I must make more of these, although the neckline could be a bit higher. It's comfortable, it covers well (except the cleavage when bending over), it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. I just need to go back and zigzag over the raw edges. I cut out stuff to make the skirt for the lengha choli, and pre-washed the fabric, but I did that in the reverse order from what I wrote. We'll see how fast this one goes. I need to post pictures. I'll do that soon.

I was thinking about buying a new cotton sari, but I found out today that fixing my bridgework, which needs to happen this year, is going to cost $6,900. I think I'm going to be shopping around a bit. I may actually be going to my old dentist in Pine Bluff, if he charges significantly less for this. So that's put a damper on my day. Just a bit.

On the plus side, Star Trek kicks ass and takes names. We saw it twice, and it was still good the second time.

I've finally had enough of trying to work with people who's idea of working together seems to consist of them doing whatever the hell they want, while I do the best I can around that, and if I am somehow screwed over, inconvenienced, or left hanging, too bad. Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that we're supposed to be working together? Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that working together is a good thing?

I've started on a dress. I've had the pattern and fabric for over a year. I was going to make the dress for last graduation, and never quite made it. It's a Simplicity 2 hour pattern. The 2 hours is specifically sewing machine time. Nice cya, there. So far, I think I've used about 20 minutes. Clock-wise, I think it was more like 30, but I wasn't really in a hurry, and did a good bit of fiddling with pins and stuff, so I'll say 20. The dress is the kind that was popular in the mid-90's, and looked fabulous on me, and is, of course, no longer made. It's a long, princess seamed dress with ties and short sleeves. The dress can be made in long or short versions, with long or short sleeves, and with or without pockets. I could make work dresses forever with this pattern. (And for Neale, probably a couple of short ones for going out, too.) I'm starting to have second thoughts about the pattern, it's dark blue batik with this curlicue pattern on it, sort of like climbing vines with no foliage. I've got the front of the dress put together, and holding it up and looking in the mirror......it's more pattern than I'm used to, but I'm trying to reserve judgement until it's done.

When I got the material for the dress, I also got a couple of yards of tan batik to make a wrap skirt out of. That's a project I'd like to tackle before school starts, but first, after graduation dress, will be a lengha choli. I want to make a lengha choli as a dance outfit for live weapons. I bought some pretty, but synthetic (and expensive!) sari fabric for the skirt, a yard of so of kona cotton for the choli, and a couple of yards of chiffon with a brocade border as a veil. I just have to make the outfit and, oh yeah, maybe figure out a routine before the first weekend in June. I'm thinking of using something from my Sevara Nazerkhan cd. She's from Uzbekistan. Not part of the Mughal empire (Indian-themed event), but a neighbor. I wonder if I could borrow Mom's old sword......

The choli pattern I have is from a costume pattern, either Simplicity or McCall's, I'm not sure which. It's supposed to zip up the back. I adapted it to close in the front. Either there's way more ease in the pattern than I thought, and I made it a size or 2 too big, or I added way too much to allow for the overlap in the front, because they're way too big. I'm going to try using the big size for the top part, and actually making it a little longer, so it will fit over my breasts a little more closely, and then make the band a little longer, to cover my midriff, and size it to fit my rib measurement, even if I have to mismatch pattern pieces to do it. I also want to make the front and back in one piece, and lace the choli closed on the sides. I'll sew the sleeve closed, and then a few inches into the underarm seam, and I think the rest, from where the band of my bra would start, to the bottom, will probably need to be laced, to get it to fit. We'll see how it goes....

It's here!

My rosebush came today, yea! Right now, it's in the bottom part of an old violet part, soaking in lukewarm water. Tomorrow, I'll actually put it in the ground. The thorns on that sucker are wicked. It drew blood before I'd even taken it out of the box.

I'm making lamb shanks braised in Guinness. So far, looks good. I didn't quite get the nice browned bits on the pan, from browning the lamb. I think I had the burner set too high. The loose flour burned a little, and the smoke detector started beeping before the meat really got good color on it. It still tastes pretty good, though. I figure after it's been simmering for over an hour, the braising liquid's probably safe to taste, even if the meat's not quite tender yet. Sometime, I want to do lamb shanks braised in I.P.A.

Today is Children's Day in Mexico. One of my students is originally from Mexico. Actually, I think she was born in the U.S., but her family is from Mexico, and they still have really close ties. Her mom came to the school at recess and told the kids about El Dia de los Ninos, and she brought some little treats for them. The tradition is for the adults to just do some nice fun things for the kids. It usually includes presents, although they may just be little things, like cool pencils. I have to say, I think that should go along with Mother's Day and Father's Day. Not everyone will be a mother or a father, but everyone was, at one point, a kid. Especially today, when the media, among other things, make kids grow up faster than they used to, it would be nice to have a day to celebrate being a kid. I think we should organize a school-wide celebration next year. It's multicultural, could be educational, if the kids research the traditions that go along with that festival in Mexico, and it would be a lot of fun. Crazy, hectic, maddening fun, but fun. The other primary teacher's response? "I think we do too many festivals." Pbbbbbt!

I have little green things coming up in the bed I planted seeds in. Yea! I think I might actually have one or two sweet peas coming up. I don't know why I'm so hot on growing the things, I've never actually seen one growing, that I know of. I just like the pictures, and they're supposed to smell good. My rose was shipped on Monday, so it should be here soon. That's going in the middle of the round bed. Unfortunately, I think one of the strawberry plants died, or will soon. Most of the leaves are brown and shriveled. The stems look okay, though. These are the ones that I didn't plant, because the bed wasn't ready. With all the rain we've had, the peat pots buried in mulch may have waterlogged them.

I really need to take some pictures to put up. I haven't actually taken any pictures of the house at all since we moved in.

The newspaper in the big bed seems to have broken down fairly well. I'm going to try a similar trick with the rest of the bed, but I think I'm actually going to turn the grass first, then bury it under newspaper and mulch, and see if it works better. I really need to start my cucumber and melon seeds. It might actually be a bit late, I'm not sure. In fact, I should go do that.....

Beltaine

Beltaine was an okay event. Some great things happened, like the two elevations, that I was really glad to be there for. I enjoyed getting to hang out with people I don't see as often as I'd like (missed one or two, unfortunately, due to time). The whole thing was...... not ruined, but stained by Friday night. The trip itself was pretty bad, because we got stuck in a traffic jam caused by a wreck on the I-30 bridge, and it took an hour to get from the house to Prothro Junction, a trip that normally takes about half that time. Then, when we got there, I realized that I had packed my toiletries, including my prescription meds, but I hadn't put that bag in the suitcase. So, we went all the way home, got the bag, stopped for gas and a quick bite at McDonald's, and headed out again. It was about 8:30 by this time. We arrived on site around 11:00, exhausted and (in my case) desperately in need of a beer (which I didn't have, damn dry site!). It was rather off-putting that we were the last of a group of about 3 couples to troll in. Neale was in line first, but the other couple were friends of a certain Laurel/Pelican, and apparently standing off to one side chatting with her was as good as standing in line....second in line, in fact. But, things got better after that.....until it was time for bed.

We didn't know anyone in our cabin. There was an older lady, who was quiet, and I didn't see much of. There was a younger guy, we'll call him J., and a bunch of people's stuff. The lady came in and quietly went to bed. I tried to go to bed around 1 am. J. and several female friends came to bed sometime around 1:30 or 2. I understand that people must make noise in getting ready for bed. It's inevitable, when looking for a toothbrush, etc., that things will be dropped, people must say things, and as long as the people are making an effort to be quiet, I'm cool with that. These rude, inconsiderate people did no such thing. They were extremely loud, obviously didn't care that there were several people trying to sleep, knew that they were keeping me awake, and continued. They switched bunks, and re-arranged their stuff. They giggled, and chatted at a volume that would be more appropriate for a crowded bar than a room in which at least 3 people were trying to sleep. Then, the lights went out. It was still like 12-year-olds at summer camp. Eventually, I had to go to the bathroom. One of the chicks said "we keep waking you up, don't we?" and I said "Yeah, you do," and walked out. That pretty much ended the giggling.

I still had a hard time sleeping, because the mattress in the bunk was about as cushy as my kitchen countertop, and there was no room for the air mattress we'd brought. I don't know for sure how much sleep I actually got, but I would estimate I fell asleep between 3 and 4 am, and was up at around 8. That put a serious damper on the event, because I just wasn't rested. I have never been so grateful for Panther cabin.

Feast.......to be fair, we left after the second remove, because we had decided to retreat to Neale's parents' place, for better climate control, and a MUCH more comfortable bed, and we wanted to get there before it got too late. The food tasted good. There was a caramelized onion and cheese gallette that I thought was way too sweet, but I know that's just my personal taste. My big issue was the length of time between removes. It was not well timed at all. To quote Gordon Ramsey, there was a "two-week holiday between courses." I don't know the exact time, but long enough that people were getting restless. When the second course came out, the food was cold. We debated staying longer, but it was already close to 9 by this point, so we slipped out.

One other issue. Bread. If you are going to serve bread at feast, particularly one with royals, make the damn bread. I know it's time-consuming, but the Italian bread from the grocery store just doesn't cut it. If you can't bake, buy artisan bread, or simple baguettes and re-heat them to crisp the crust. It takes minutes. Hire someone to bake for you. Bribe someone with alcohol. Hell, use the brilliant trick that I know was used at a Midsummer Night's Dream a few years back. The feastocrat started weeks in advance, making batches of bread in her machine. She stopped it right before it was ready to bake, and froze the dough. Once she got to site, she thawed the bread dough, shaped it, and baked it. Done. But please, no generic Italian bread. There are few things more disappointing than anticipating freshly baked bread that never materializes.

I have SCA ADD

We went to Beltaine this weekend. I'll probably post more later about the event. There is much to critique. But for now, I'd prefer to dwell on the highlight of the event. A very lovely lady was elevated to the Order of the Pelican, and I can't think of anyone who deserves it more. I can, however, think of one or two who are equally deserving, but that's another issue. This lady is probably the most gracious person I've ever met, and I'm very glad that her hard work and chivalry have been recognized. One peer in particular, a local and not-so-local legend, said some amazingly complimentary things. I don't remember the exact quote, but something to the effect of "I've been a peer since 1977, and I've never met anyone who deserved peerage more." The ceremony was lovely, although they omitted the part where a member of the populace speaks on behalf of the person, which I think sucks, big time. I think a lot of the high and mighty forget that they are there BECAUSE of the populace. Without the peons who actually do the work, there are no events at which one can dress up and play king. One might think the "royals" might be a little more appreciative of the populace, since they don't actually HAVE things like armies, or the power to imprison or execute people to fall back on to enforce their status. I don't think that the populace would have been left out if the elevation had occurred under the original monarchs, but then it would have happened at Gulf Wars, and we wouldn't have been able to be there. But, I digress.



I started thinking about wardrobe. Because, in keeping with this gentle's general grace and loveliness, the gown she wore for the elevation was GORGEOUS. It was a 16th-century French gown that looked like it could have been in a Holbein portrait. She had the Spanish farthingale, French hood, and I didn't see the undergown, but I've been told that the undergown could have been worn all on its own, and been suitably impressive. This got me to thinking, if I were to be elevated, what would I wear? This led to yet more evidence that yes, I have SCA ADD. There are so many cultures and time periods that I find interesting, I just have a hard time settling on one. Eventually, I'll probably end up with, like four personas. I love my name, Medb, which is early period Irish. Go figure, I go for the queen from the Tain who told her husband where he could stick this idea that her queenship and fortune were entirely dependent on his sufferance. I've kind of settled on early 14th century, cause I like the clothes. Early cotes are comfortable, and flattering.



Irish is great, but for one thing, it's really hard to research, unless you go for the expensive archaeological reports, which I don't. Plus, an Irish bellydancer (in period), well, kind of offends people's feng shui. So, at the very least, must have Middle Eastern garb for that. I like Turkish or Persian, personally. It's really comfortable, although the layers get a little warm in summer. I'm sorry, saris are the only way to go in summer, especially if you can go without a petticoat.


Then there's Italian. Late 15th/early 16th century Italian are my favorite Impressive dresses, particularly the Florentine style with the tabard-like overgown. Italian is good, because it's lighter than the English and French styles usually are, but it's suitably impressive. It's also pretty simple and modest, as Renaissance fashions go. Florentine gowns were usually solid colors, with a contrasting band, sometimes two, around the neckline. Of course, if you go earlier to get the tabard, there were more patterned fabrics.


So, I think for the court when I'd be called to vigil, I'd probably go with a cote. For the vigil, I'd want a Turkish haremlik. Lots of carpets, and cushions, and probably some kind of divan-like thing made of, like, boxes, so people wouldn't have to sit on the ground. Of course, I'd need the garb to go with it. For the ceremony itself, definitely Florentine. I'd go with the pearl-studded net caul to hold my hair, embroidered chemise, tied-on sleeves, the whole nine yards......and hope I could talk the royals into doing the elevation at Diamond Wars, or Winter Wonders.