Dirty Dozen Largesse Challenge

This will take some explaining for my non-SCAdian friends….

In our medieval society the Kings and Queens, the Princes and Princesses, and the Barons and Baronesses (the ones we jokingly refer to as "pointy hats") love to give gifts to their loyal subjects. Alas, our modern Royals do not have treasure vaults in the depths of their castles. They depend on the artists and craftspeople of the populace to donate gifts which can then be passed on to others.

At events attended by many "pointy hats" it is the custom to exchange baskets of largesse so that, for example, an embroidered handkerchief made here in the Barony of Borealis (Edmonton) may find its way to our King and Queen on the West Coast and from there to a different Kingdom on the other side of the continent.

To encourage the donation of largesse items a "Dirty Dozen Largesse Challenge" will take place at Avacal Coronet Tournament in Bitter End (Red Deer) next weekend. Individuals or groups of people are asked to donate a dozen items in one category , e.g. a dozen napkins, a dozen cloak pins, a dozen tent pegs, etc. (Don't know what's dirty about this process; it's just a name someone came up with.)

I had hoped to weave a dozen colorful bands on my inkle loom. Such bands could be used for leg wraps, belts, bag straps or trim on clothing. It was a good idea but I ran out of time. Now I'm wondering…. is it better to donate half a dozen items or to donate nothing at all this time (and maybe have a full dozen ready next time someone organizes such a challenge)? Are there more people like me who wanted to make a dozen items and saw they would run out of time and maybe they just gave up? Is it possible that there are people out there who didn't even try because they knew a dozen would be too much?

It'll be interesting to see how many dozens of goodies make it to Coronet.

Fortunately I have other skills besides weaving!

A dozen odd bottles

Filled with a peculiar brew…. Too bad the calligraphy smudged when I applied the labels!

And those inkle-woven bands --- I think I'll hang on to them a while longer. I promised to teach a class on inkle weaving at Yule Feast and it'll be handy to have a variety of finished bands to show off. I can always donate them for largesse after that….

Made on my favourite loom, each band is just over 8 feet long.

And the Small Stuff….

Yesterday I spent a lot of time blogging about the "bigger" events, the ones which involve travel and/or  major expenses. Now I want to catch up on the small, everyday stuff that makes up my life. (Where did I read "Take care of the little things, for someday you may discover they were the big things" ?)

I enjoy being with people. I spend a lot of time with my family -- my parents, my children and grandchildren. (We don't get together with the siblings as often as we'd like because they all have their own families.) We always enjoy getting together with friends -- both the church friends and the SCA friends. Then there are the people I meet through my volunteer work: the Food Bank clients and the ESL students, and the people who call on Dirk with their automotive problems. Oh, and I almost forgot my Sunday School kids! (Yes, I still enjoy teaching.)

I enjoy my dogs, Pepper and Parker. We have small dogs now (downsizing) but I still "have" to go for a walk or two every day, and that's a good thing (as I keep reminding myself while the weather gets colder).

I enjoy my time spent alone, working on my hobbies. I know I have too many hobbies and too much "stuff" associated with each hobby but for now we have the room to accommodate my pack-rat habits (and Dirk's pack-rat habits too).

I visit my parents at least once a week. Often they "need help" with a puzzle.

Sometimes my grandchildren help me with dog-walking.

The medieval cooking group met at my house to plan Yule Feast (with home-made sausages)

I've been doing some inkle-weaving.

 I've been buying books….. some are easy reading and some are definitely not!

Then there's the sewing…. slowly working my way through the fabric stash (and buying more fabric, shhhh!)

Brewing also takes up time and space

At the end of the day it's good to sit down with a glass of wine. I make a lot of wine (with some help from friends) but much of it is given away to family and friends. To me, wine is symbolic of good times and abundant blessings -- which I love to share!

Long Time No Blog

Where did the time go?

Oh, I was busy with lots of  things…. too busy just doing to write about doing.


I'll admit that my Tribal Wars game takes up more time than it should; however, the end is in sight. It looks like the game world I play on will end mid-December. I get dizzy just thinking about all that "extra" free time -- so many possibilities! 

My new tent arrived. We had time to set it up in the back yard before the snow came. A big "thank you" to Hjalti who helped make the poles! The first chance we'll have to actually try out  the tent will be at Estrella War in February (that's down near Phoenix , Arizona).

We found the side walls were much straighter with the addition of a short pole at each corner.

We put some furniture inside, just to see what would fit. It's not big but big enough. 

At the end of September we went up to Grande Prairie for Vinfest. That was before the tent arrived, so we took the Boler. Juliane (Jennifer) came along with us, and so did our dogs. Beautiful drive, beautiful site. I sold some garb and also bought a few items from other merchants.

I think the Boler has even less interior space than the tent does.

The merchant and her wares. Note the belt pouch -- a gift from Joan the Just.

Juliane shows off her dress, which she completely hand-stitched (with some supplies and direction from me).

The people of Vinjar provided a delicious feast!

A couple of weeks later we drove into Saskatchewan for Thanksgiving Day celebrations with our daughters and their families. Along the way we took in Myrgan Wood Anniversary (in Dalmeny, near Saskatoon).

There were lots of craft activities to keep my rambunctious grandsons  entertained

A hunker-down game (like tug-of-war on a wobbly platform)

We had fun!