The Passing of a Friend

I met Owain many times. We spoke several times, and he was kind, shy, gracious. No, more than that. He was a constant for me at Pennsic, and each Ren Faire I went to. He was one of the first minstrels I heard, and one of the best. His voice was recognizable from a distance, and I often changed course in the evening to hear him sing, even if I was planning on something else. Once I was walking through the bog and heard him singing this song, and it was so very poignant... I will never hear it again without a lump in my throat.

My eyes are wet, and I cannot sing along this time, Owain, but I have lifted a glass to you, and I remember.

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Late, but Finally Up!

Cars everywhere, and mine is stuffed!

rain advances....

and surrounds me....

oh my, it is a very bad storm....

but only lasted about 25 minutes, then cleared like a squall at sea.

Arrival at my annual vacation was late, harried and confused because of the detour sign had been removed. After 20 minutes on the road, waiting, I was on site, in the middle of a long line of cars...with a dark line of clouds fast approaching. Then it hit, and we took a lightning strike and lost all electronics.... Check in took almost 5 hours! What a mess. The staff and volunteers were tired and hungry, and the ground was too soupy to put up my tent. After dinner and changing clothes, I set up in the common tent for our group, several of us talked for a few hours and then collapsed into bed and slept the sleep of the young. And I am not!

Pennsic had begun, and I was happy!

 

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Pretty Pretty Pretty

Now that I have a butterfly bush outside my front door, I have a plethora of pretty things visiting me every day.  Can you see all three of the Eastern Swallowtails in the 6th picture?  And the first pic is of a Spicebush Swallowtail.  The myriad smaller ones won't hold still long enough for me to get a good shot.... Is it a rule that the smaller the 'fly, the shorter the time it stays on a flower? 

The sky was a little too hazy to get really good quality photos of the last blue moon for almost three years...but in real life, it showed up much clearer.  The rabbit in the moon was alert and active!  I am glad I went out to look at it.... the skies hold wonder for me that does not diminish with age, but ever grows, letting me see myself as a small bit in a large universe.  Wonderful creation!

In Your Face, Bravo!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444508504577593051585000234.html


I LOVE Chesty.  I may have to get a bulldog and name him Chesty.  I just love Marines that poke a little finger into the eye of the civilian establishment.  Good Dog, Chesty!

Look What Walked In!

 

Two ladies with a beautiful cloth of gold (real gold, not the cheap metallic stuff) cope walked in to the store where I work. It is well over a hundred years old, and they are going to restore it. The cloth of gold is good, as is the fabulous embroidery, but the lining is molding and disintegrating. The gold embroidery is done over bits of wood in most cases, and over what looked like stuffed cloth or cotton in some. My word but it is gorgeous.

The pelican in her piety is in great shape, the silver untarnished, the stitches perfect. I have not seen gold fringe like that before... Slk I think, like rayon chainette only so much better.

Oh, it is just wonderful....

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Ottoman Turk Outfit

For the O'Choda hafla, I wanted an outfit that was reasonably period and suited to both the weather and dancing in a, well, vigorous fashion. I made a silk shirt, down to my knees, and an entari a little longer in aqua. I had a longer coat and shalwar already, so all I needed was headgear. I found some wool felt in a deeper aqua, and used the fabulous Bernina 830 to embroider a swirly scroll...and then pinned a silken veil with gold embroidery ontop.

It was entirely successful, and I wore it more than once, and danced a bit too! Found muscles I had forgotten I had!

 

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Jerry The Goat

My but he is looking tasty!

 

 

 

 

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Busy Week

So once again, there is alot to do and only a tenday until Pennsic, but this time, I am actually getting done!  This weekend, I got my stove's windscreen painted, and decided to paint my Pennsic jewelry box as well.  I have been meaning to do it for years, and haven't "gotten around to it" yet.  So two coats of gesso, and a blended creamy off white coat later, I thought I would try to do a couple of dogs, an update on my coat of arms.  Still not quite as medieval looking as I would like, but getting there. 
I also decanted and triple filtered the citrus-elderflower liquor I had brewing, though the limoncello won't be ready until the day before I leave.  It is pretty yummy, though I am not sure Meghan will leave me any to take with me! 

This week, I finished the pop up sunshade slipcover I have been working on, and gotten a gunna and a short entari cut out.  I got some sewing done on the entari, that is being done by machine, but the gunna will be handsewn, probably at Pennsic first week.  I have a gomlek to cut out and sew, but can't get started until Monday when a friend will be back from vacation to help.  Never done one of those, not sure how, but I am going to find out!  Eek!

I Have Had Such A Craving....

So I decided to indulge it, and make berry hand pies.  Yum.  So I looked around the internet and didn't find exactly what I wanted, and went with what I had...
I took 12 oz of blackberries, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and mixed it all together, crushing the berries as it said to do in several of the posts.  LOTS of juice.  I had Pillsbury frozen pie dough, so I cut it into four wedges.  I beat an egg with a little water to seal and glaze them.  Ready. 
Well, let me tell you, it was a lot messier than the photos show.  I couldn't get the juices under control, no matter what I did, but finally decided that painting the edges with egg first, then plopping berries centrally, quickly flipping shut and pressing with a fork was the least juiciferous way to achieve my goal.  Most looked like the second photo of the wedges.  Two were pretty neat and tidy.  Then I slashed, glazed with the egg and water, and popped them in the oven at 350f  for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile I melted a couple tablespoons of butter, and mixed in powered sugar and milk until it looked right for an icing glaze.
 Buzzz went the timer, out came the pies, and on went the glaze.  I waited 5 whole minutes, then transferred them to a cooling rack.  I broke one, it wasn't my fault, I had to eat it.  Really.  Yummm.

Friends and Tasks

One of my heart friends stopped by this weekend with her daughter.... The Princess-in-Training was truly pitiful though. She hobbled in on crutches with a foot cast, having broken a metatarsal on her stairs. Poor Princess. But she also brought her very cute deerhound puppy, 18 weeks old and about 38 pounds!

 

We had our annual rental inspection earlier, and though our agent is so nice, it is a relief to get it done. I also made limoncello and a yummy sounding citrus elderflower liquor. Hopefully I will take some to Pennsic... Though the limoncello may not be ready.

 

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