| two scrolls from the weekend |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|03:21 pm] |
Here's the first, the one with the border that took me 2.5 months to actually complete:
And here's the second, the first in my Visconti Hours borders challenge:
I didn't bring my camera with, so I don't (yet) have pictures of Robert's pelican scroll; he'll photograph or scan it when he gets back home next week. |
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| Kingdom Uni |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|01:00 pm] |
This weekend was an amazing event. Tuesday morning I got an email from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mbroidress that Their Majesties had just remembered to inform her that there was going to be a new Pelican made this weekend, and they needed a scroll. She wanted to know if I'd do the calligraphy the day of if she did the illumination and sent it along with someone. I'm always up for that, but was even more pleased to be involved in the creation of the scroll when I found out it was for Robert of Canterbury (one thing that's nice about having a spouse not in the SCA is that when I get wonderful news like this, I can spill my excitement out to someone without telling any secrets!). About an hour later I got an email from bend_gules asking me if I could help with the ceremony, specifically translating some parts of it into Latin.
Tuesday evening I ended up spending finishing another last-minute scroll assignment (pictures in a post to come), and then Wednesday and Thursday were sucked up by sewing, so I only sat down to look at the ceremony Friday morning, and didn't have time to do much more than translate some of the phrases. I picked ones where I hoped it would either be clear what the meaning was from context or it didn't really matter if the meaning was understood, and then I left the English in so that the parties involved could chose whether they wanted to use the Latin or the English.
Bertrik and I got on the road about 2pm on Friday, and would've gotten in to site around 7:30 had we not spent about 45 minutes driving around Schnega trying to find the site! Our directions were not precise, and there was a sad lack of signage. But we did make it eventually, in time to get settled and for me to pass my scrolls off to Their Majesties before court. I went to bed almost immediately after court, since all of last week was just so exhausting. Saturday morning my class was at 9am, and I hadn't thought to bring my alarm clock, but thankfully Ælfwynn let me borrow hers! At one point I counted 12 people in my class, and then another 2-3 showed up after that -- I had only made 8 copies of the handout, and it took all of my spare nib holders, all of Ælfwynn's, and some of Mathias de Flintbeke's to supply everyone! I have never taught a class so well attended -- maybe I need to start teaching more mainstream topics more often. :) I think I was able to say useful things, and people had questions I could answer, and most everyone was doing quite lovely work by the end of the hour (an hour is not long enough for an intro calligraphy class...).
In the second half of the morning I went to devon_hh's class on silk banner painting, which was awesome. I have a banner with my arms on it! And it was so easy to do! I can't wait to get my hands on the relevant supplies and try making some more.
After lunch I sat down and got the first few lines of the scroll calligraphed, and then at 2pm I hosted a heraldic soiree; the purpose of it was primarily for me to meet heralds in the kingdom that I haven't met before, and also to have a relaxed opportunity to sit around and chat with people, in comfy chairs with nibbles and snacks, to give some people a positive experience with the heralds. For the first hour there were five of us and then someone showed up for the second hour, and it was really a good experience; I enjoyed talking with everyone very much, and we had lively conversations about all topics of heraldry and names, period and SCA. Definitely a success. After that, I went back to the room to finish the scroll; about 1/3 of the way through I could tell I had more text than I had space so I had to start crossing out phrases in order to reduce it, but I ended up with a text that fit the space I had exactly. I'm very pleased about that. By then it was nearly time for court, but I did get a few minutes with wortschmiedin who looked at my dress and told me exactly what I needed to do to get it to fit right, yay!
The pelican ceremony during court was quite frankly one of the neatest experiences in the SCA that I have ever had (I think only Winchester and Raglan cap it). Robert had actually written the ceremony himself, not knowing it was for him, which meant that it was strongly based in period practice and wording. The entire ceremony was of the flavor (nothing overt, it was extremely tastefully done) of the creation of a cardinal: his cloak was red, his cap of maintenance was a little red ecclesiastical cap, he was given a crosier as part of his regalia, and the addition of the Latin phrases (including the chorused response "Audimus et arbitramur" ("We hear and bear witness") of the Pelicans at every relevant point of the ceremony) made a wonderful final touch. And Robert himself is so good at ceremony, maintaining exactly the right sense of pomp and dignity throughout it all (though at the very end, he couldn't help a very satisfied smile creeping on to his face. :)). It was a truly amazing ceremony, and I am so proud and happy to have had a contribution in it.
Supper was by Giano, so of course it was wonderful, and afterwards I hung out in the tavern a bit with Robert, bend_gules, edith_hedingham, Lyonet, jpgsawyer, and others (including Freiman the Minstrel, who when he saw me in modern clothes (and without my veil on, hence displaying my gray hair) Sunday morning exclaimed in surprise "But I thought you were a teenager! I thought you were someone's daughter!"). I went to bed pretty early (but not the earliest in my room!), and all five of us were still absolutely sound asleep by 9am the next morning when Ælfwynn came by to get her alarm clock.
We caravaned with Floris, Hannah, Robert, and bend_gules on the way back, stopping near Bad Bentheim for Robert and bend_gules to switch cars; the four of us then went to Bad Bentheim to eat lunch (yummy German schnitzels, and waffles with hot sour cherries and cream), and then walk around the castle (since it was too late for us to go inside). So it took us most of the day to get home, but it was a lovely trip.
All in all, a great weekend. |
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| Pink bodys and purple dress - Part 2 |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|10:29 am] |
Welcome one and all to the second part of my dress diary. You can click all images to be taken to a larger version.
This entire dress diary has also been posted to my journal. The prelude to this dressdiary, e.g. the post with all the ponderings on what to make, can be found here. The first part of the dress diary can be found here.
( The second mock-up of the bodys! ) |
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| better to be good and lucky, I guess |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|11:42 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | poker | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  sick | ] |
The online poker school I'm in sponsors a weekly tourney, and I won it this week.
It wasn't a huge tourney - 128 people exactly. I made two big mistakes, one of which should have knocked me out of the tournament, but I sucked out on the turn instead. The second mistake came when there were 4 people left, and it did cost me a third of my stack, and let someone triple up to take the chip lead instead of doubling up to leave me with a comfortable margin.
But for the rest of the time, I both played pretty well, and several people decided to kamikaze against me. And in the latter stages, I was just stealing blind after blind, with nobody wanting to make a stand. All in all, a lot of fun, even if I'm still under the weather. |
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| Batch 19: Not Elderberry Mead |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|07:42 pm] |
This was going to be a batch of elderberry melomel, but when I opened and tasted the honey, I decided to make a straight mead instead. It's darker than any honey I've ever brewed with, and has an overwhelmingly strong caramel taste. I have a gut feeling that it wouldn't go well with elderberry, so I'm saving the elderberry base I have and will brew it with something else later.
( Wildflower Mead ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|10:18 pm] |
When Hollywood names your child, you end up with a little Israeli girl being named Ziva because the father really likes that character on NCIS.
Except ziva is the Hebrew word for gonorrhea.
And yes they knew what it meant. I know this for a fact because I told the mother last week, before the baby was named and she was telling me of all the various possible names up for consideration.
Poor baby Ziva Evangeline. |
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| Thoughts on the topic of "preserving the atmosphere" |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|03:16 pm] |
A friend does work to bring period music to the SCA. Their budget precludes the expense of obtaining replica instruments of the period, and what they use often requires a "technical assist" to be heard. The issue of "non-period instruments" and amplification were being discussed because they were concerned about offending sensibilities. I gave a tacit response that has been "policy" of our village in the past.
(Gentle reader, if you take exception to the following, take a powder and then let's talk. Have your dux call upon my noyan, and we'll raze your city in the morning.)
We are all collectively creating a mutual illusion of another time and place. Some are striving for an intense level of accuracy that will pass close inspection by academic authorities. For other things we do our best to disguise or camouflage so as to limit the disruptive impact on the senses. At the very least, we ask each other not to deliberately call attention to things that break the 'spell.'
I am an amateur magician, and understand the uses of misdirection in the art of illusion. It would spoil the effect if I kept drawing your attention to the hand that was "working the trick" instead of the other hand, now wouldn't it? There would be no magic. It would be as fascinating as watching a man chop wood. With a chainsaw.
The success in creating the mutual illusion is dependent on at least two parts; our willingness to believe (suspend disbelief), but more so our individual and collective efforts that grant us mutual ownership (enfranchisment.) The later is a strong motivator to stay engaged with the activity and also to propel it forward, keeping it pumped with our energy. Enthusiasm can be infectious, a viral vital avocation.
In all honesty, the possibility of recreating any ancient work today to exact detail is limited by the fact that we are not living in that time, or working with materials of that day. We are often compelled to mix media to accomplish anything (e.g. I could tell stories in Arabic, but who would understand them?) A period song played on a hand crafted instrument with nylon strings; a hand lettered and illustrated scroll on modern vellum; the list can be endless.
Therefore, let me speak to three degrees of tolerance in our illusion (kind of like close-up magic, parlor magic, and stage magic) based on distance for discerning details. That would be microscopic, the two-year-old-free-range-limit (about 10 feet or three MOM-steps), and bow-shot or battlefield range. Leave it to the presenter to chose the range of observation to be fair.
Which leads to the matter of tolerance of behavior. Perhaps the Almighty makes the young of the species cute so they are not killed out of hand for bad behavior? We often grant special license to Tyros (Newcomers) to make mistakes (just as we did, too.) Often that period is made easier to bear for the Tyro by aiding them in the first steps of the journey (mentoring, loaning them a bit of garb; they can be so self-conscious when just starting out. I was, too.) However, that license expires and is not renewable.
Being an old-timer (who, me?) bears a special burden, because they become the models of behavior by virtue of, well, age. Off-hand remarks, petty peccadilloes, sniping snarks, and ass-holier-than-thou demeanor too quickly are adopted as "The Way It Should Be." (Been Dur. Done dat. Had to clean it up.)
To bring this to a close, it is OUR magic. WE BELIEVE it. WE make it. We are invested, and WE enjoy the dividends. It grows be cause WE INCLUDE and TOLERATE others. WE ACT accordingly to preserve that magic for ourselves AND OTHERS, without let or hindrance.
Selah
mukhtar al-mustarib, wa durr al-jabal al-mukhfi |
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| Swan marks |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|02:12 pm] |
I am looking for the swan mark used by Elizabeth I or earlier. I have found several other known royal marks, but they are later (George III). I am also trying to track down any reference to chains being used to mark/adorn royal swans.
Thanks in advance,
Alesone |
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| Long Time No Post |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|09:07 am] |
I've been busy - and quite ill - so there hasn't really been time to post anything. Fortunately, the illness is for a good cause. I'm pregnant, due in the Spring. But I have severe hyperemesis, so I'm losing weight and dehydrated without IV Fluids. I haven't kept anything (food or fluid) down since mid-September. I had a week or two there where I could sometimes keep a Super Pretzel down.... but that time is past. With the triplets this lasted until two weeks before I delivered, but wasn't nearly as severe (I could keep water down most of the time with the triplets).
I have a PICC line, a Zofran pump, and home IV Fluids. If this goes on much longer, I may also have TPN (which I am not looking forward to - it just complicates matters). It's... good times.
When we told Julian, his eyes lit up and he said, "Is it a brother or a sister? Pleasesaybrother!" (for the record, we don't know, and I have no intention of finding out).
I'm seeing a regular OB concurrently with my Perinatologist for this pregnancy. Much as I love my OB, so far I am... unimpressed. They were handling the hyperemesis really well, until all the textbook things weren't working, and they... aren't so interested in thinking outside the box (there are other treatments I could try, but they are less common, so my OB just sort of made a face when I brought it up).
Anyway, that's most of the news here in Chez Cohen. |
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