A Period Tent

Well, I've finally done it! After much pondering (and changing my mind several times) I've ordered a "period" tent. Not authentic for my time period but my 14th-century merchant persona wouldn't have camped anyway. This is creative anachronism!

I was tempted to get something pretty like a Regent's pavilion with an eye-catching scalloped trim and a big fly. It would look so impressive with all the right accessories! It would have cost a bit but I could pay for it with the profits from garb sales.

Reality check: 1. How many years before I'm "too old" for tenting? 2. Can I set up a big tent all by myself? 3. How much space do I have for hauling and storing a tent (and all the pretty accessories)? 4. How will I dry it if it comes back wet from an event?

I settled for a small tent, a "mini" wall tent. Big enough for two cots, a table and some gear. Tall enough for me to stand upright in the centre. Small enough so I can drag it around and set it up by myself. Versatile enough so I can paint it, add a fly, attach various embellishments, combine it with other tents, etc. Cheap enough so I won't feel bad about disposing of it when I've had enough of camping.

Of course, now that the tent has been ordered I will hear from my friends that it's a flawed design, that I paid too much, that I should have chosen the medieval color option, etc.  Too late! Already I've wasted a couple of years mulling over the pros and cons of various tent designs and suppliers. The decision is made and now I can go on to planning the contents of the tent: carpet, blankets, cushions, lanterns, tote boxes.... I may have to go thrift store shopping again!

Playing With the Oven

We just came back from a wonderful weekend at the cabin. There was no one else on Merchants' Row so it was very peaceful and we got quite a bit of work done. And we relaxed: wandering around the site, reading a book, sitting back in the shade with a cool drink, planning future improvements, gazing at the night sky....

Looking east from the hill above "The Lost Vikings Estates".  I love these rolling hills!

Pepper roamed freely along the deserted Merchants' Row

Dirk spent a lot of time climbing up the ladder!


I spent a lot of my time stoking the fire in the newly-built oven beside our cabin. Kataryna built the oven (all by herself?) just before Quad War but  didn't get a chance to fire it up. Why right next to my cabin? Because it's so central and because I said I would help look after it.

I kept the fire going for about 48 hours. The ashes were just barely smoldering in the mornings but came to life again with a bit of coaxing. The two sticks are for pushing burning logs around.

Side and back view of the oven. The clay had a few cracks through which smoke escaped, but most of the structure held up well during this firing. More layers of clay will have to be added next year.

Time to see if this oven can actually be used for baking. I used the "arm test" to estimate temperature. Barely two seconds -- thats a hot oven! Should be good for biscuits....

Lacking the usual biscuit ingredients I did the best I could with commercial pancake mix. It took about 10 minutes to bake them. The back ones were definitely darker than the front ones. Turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking would result in more even browning, I suppose....

I broke open one biscuit to check for doneness, and I turned two over to check the bottom. Yes, some were dark brown underneath but still quite edible. The flavor was about what you would expect from something that was supposed to be a pancake....   Looking forward to more experiments with this oven next year!