Travelling Time and Space

Almost done

- new German Renaissance Rock for Finndragon made from blue wool lined with darkblue cotton (need to finish the neckline, add possible decoration to the neckline - black velvet trim ? - hem the sleeves and add hook'n eye closure)

- 2 sleeves for butter-yellow wool dress (need to add black velvet trim to sleeves and whipstitch sleeves into place, then my dress is cold-weather-proof ... heh)

Just got started on

- cut out pattern for underdress from cream and gold bee brocade

- cut out pattern for a white linen hemd (you can never have enough of these)

- figured out how to transfer design to velvet sleeve and what embroidery technique works best

- Christmas decoration :o)

Need 

- my black velvet for overdress and gollar and a variety of other projects. Keep your fingers crossed it'll be here soon !

- stockings 

- decide how to set up the inside of the vigil tent and what to bring for the little display I'm thinking of

Me ? Bored ? Never :o) 

I'm insane.

Totally.

I've just sketched out the embroidery for my sleeve - just the sleeve, not the one that's supposed to go on the right half of the bodice part of the dress - and oh boy, am I in trouble.

It -is- awfully pretty though.

Obviously I have turned writing entries for my blog into a weekly feature rather than a daily blurp. I don't know if I'm too happy with that but on the other hand there is obviously only so much time during the days ...and evenings, for that matter.

Anyhow, Turkey Day came and went. We spent it at home this year with some family visiting us and had a great and relaxed time. Hubby did it again and dished up a wicked good turkey after brining and buttering and brewing up his special marinade recipe. Yum ! Today we ate the last Turkey we could possibly enjoy and the rest went into the freezer for later along with half the metric ton of mashed potatoes and some leftover stuffing we'd cooked for Thanksgiving dinner. Oy :o)

While Thanksgiving dinner is one of my favorite foods, comfort food is warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream and real whipped cream. That is heaven.

Not so much heaven but hell was "Razor", the little taste of BSG we were granted by the SciFi channel. Nothing really new, but rather a collection of moments that show why the show is so well loved. Slick, harsh, sexy and with twists and turns that make your head spin and steal the breath from your lips. Oh, and watching it didn't make it better that we still have to wait until next year ... *sigh* Not at all. Keep your fingers crossed that Santa or the Christkind will be good to me this year and wrap that DVD set up for me to go under the tree :o)

So what else is new ?
My favorite season of the year has just begun and Finn and I have been in cookie baking frenzy. Over the next couple of days we'll be pulling stuff from the Christmas bins to start decorating the house for the 1st Advent this Sunday.

SCA is keeping me busy as usual. There are scrolls to calligraph and to paint, clothes to sew and stuff to organize. The Doomsday report for my office is all done and in only two more weeks I'll be handing over the office of MoAS that I've held for the past two years. It was quite a ride, I had a good time and I learned a lot but now it's time to pass the torch on to somebody else for fresh new ideas. I'm sure I'll find plenty to keep myself busy *G* Preparations for C&C are coming along; I have 2 Crests pretty much done and two more that need stuffing and painting. Next on the list is a site walk-thru and then the layout and print of the event booklet and that's it.

Of course I still have garb to sew for a certain event at the event ... heh.

For the past couple of weeks the kids have been trading snot germs back and forth culminating in an ear infection for mini munchkin and a persistent case of the sniffles for Finndragon . Hubby and I have been feeling seriously under the weather craving sleep and going to bed early - to no avail.

Winter is my least active season and I'll happily admit family ties not only to lizzards but to bears as well. I wish I could just hibernate until spring and sleep, sleep, sleep.

However, there's no rest for the wicked. Today I ordered lots of fabric for a certain event in January. I really have to get started or else I won't have a new dress for the occasion and that would be a shame indeed.

I managed to scrape together some last bits of energy and cut the fabric for a Rock for Finn using some left over blue wool and a dark-blue cotton for the lining [the shade of baby blue just didn't go well with any of the possible lining fabrics I had in my stash to do the usual cold-warm contrast you find in manuscript paintings so often]. Somewhere I think I have some more black velvet ribbons and so this Rock [the German version of a doublet with a pleated skirt] will end up matching one of my favorite outfits, in case there're questions whose child Finndragon is :o)

Preparations for C&C are coming along and I'm dabbling with projects for the Big Day (tm).  I wish my energy level were at summer-level - that'd make it all a bit quicker. Right now I should be sewing the Rock for Finn together and here I am, hacking away on the computer updating my blog. My only excuse is that I've been sadly remiss in posting anything here in some time so there ... pfffrrrtt !

Baby squirrels, Pistachio and Filbert, are doing great, for those who are curious. They moved from the small cat carrier into a big cage now that their activity level has increased somewhat and there is a need to learn how to velcro oneself to branches and other climbing materials but they still spend most of the day curled up into the most adorable little furballs in their hanging nest-pouch. Pistachio, still half the size of his bigger brother Filbert, appears to be the smarter of the two ;o) And just in case you don't believe me, here's your own personal overdose of cuteness

Last Thursday did not only see squirrel babies but also the arrival of my Laurel, Master Terafan. We hadn't seen each other in two years due to his time in Iraq but after returning to the States we started making plans for another one of his visits.

We chose Mathom Trove's "Pilgrimage to Jerusalem" event for our get together and we had a great time. There was lots of catching up to do and planning and discussing so many things that the weekend zoomed by in record speed. While Finndragon kept me busy he was incredibly well behaved and I even managed to take a good number of pictures [which I'll post later].

He helped me fine tune my Laurel scroll wording and we collaborated on the ceremony, Terafan providing most of it. We had a great time and as always time just flies when you are having fun. All too quickly the weekend was over and we had to drive Terafan back to the airport, much to Finndragon's dismay who continued to howl for his new best friend until we got home ...

If I ever needed proof that God gives second chances I now have it. Actually, He gives second -and- third chances.

Remember Sputnik  ? The little flying squirrel Boots found only two weeks ago and that we tried to nurse back to healthy happy squirreldom ? The little guy unfortunately didn't make it through the second night, despite all the measurements we'd taken. Poor little soul...

However, somebody feels that I need to bottle raise a squirrel ... or two, and gave me a second chance [and here I thought I was going through life just fine not bottleraising cute little rodents - little did I know].

Thursday last week people around us started cutting down trees, trimming and pruning all morning. When we went for our late afternoon walk Finndragon and I found a baby squirrel - eyes still closed - screaming with all its might, which is a surprising amount. Then we saw the second one, just as miserable lost and forlorn out in the cold and without mommy. Now, I know they are rodents and they are 'just' squirrels of which we have plenty but they are babies and that's when I become the biggest and mushiest push-over between heaven and earth [don't know about the guys below but I have heard that roasted squirrel isn't bad].

We quickly pocketed the little guys who quieted immediately at the warmth of hands and shirtpocket and brought them home. After half a day of Pedialite we slowly moved on to Puppy replacement milk and now, almost a week later, both squirrel boys are still accounted for. Margie, our squirrel rehabber, has been a great help in giving pointers.

The two boys, however, do have stolen our hearts. A mere 4 weeks old, their eyes closed, they are scrawny long-leggedy little beasties with  short soft fur and the twitchiest thin tails ever. Most of the day they spend curled up together with the warmwater bottle sheep and get all excited when we reach into their nest for our feeding sessions. Finndragon is in love and gently handle our little babies, squealing with delight when the tiny treehuggers scale him or try to crawl into his shirt sleeves. I'll try to post pictures sometime later :o)

No, they still don't have names. After the quick demise of Sputnik I was just a little anxious to give them names right away. So ... if you have any suggestions, let us hear :o) 

A challenge is coursing the blogs of many SCA members and it's too funny to not participate in it : Find your oldest SCA picture and post it along with a brief description.

So here goes

This is me at Nibelungen War, Kingdom of Drachenwald, Frankmark region, in July 2002 right around breakfast time. We had pancakes with honey for breakfast cooked over an open camp fire for which Bridget and I had collected wood very early in the morning. Everything smelled like wood smoke and it was magical :o) While that weekend came with the greatest scare of my life it also presented me with one of the most magical mornings ever.

This is a mere 5 months into my SCA membership (I joined in February 2002). I've gained some weight since then but the grin is the same :o)

Tag ! You're it !