The Long and Winding Post

Monday, Jan. 27, 2003
7:18 PM

Settle in, this is going to be a long one. Maybe you should go get something to drink.

Let's see... weekend in review. I taught the second half of my mosaic class at Michaels Friday evening - my students grouted the frames that they had worked on the week before. Three of them did great... Glue Girl, the odd one, just got odder. She showed up half an hour late, hadn't finished gluing her tiles on her frame (which I asked them to do at home last week), then didn't listen when I told her she couldn't grout until the glue had dried for 24 hours. She went ahead and slapped grout on there anyway, even after I told her her tiles were going to fall off (which they did). I gave up at that point and let her do whatever she wanted. She obviously was not that interested in learning mosaics - her mom had signed her up for the class as a Christmas present. I begin to understand Jeremy's frustrations. However, the other ladies did a great job and seemed to have a lot of fun. So I'm counting it as a success. I teach again in February and March.

So I headed home to finish packing up for Ice Castles - Kevin got home shortly after I did, and we eventually got on the road. We knew we were going to be heading out late but that's the way it goes. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed out. I finished sewing the buttons on Andrew's cotehardie on the way down - yay! I finally finished! - and we rolled into the hotel parking lot at roughly 2:15. We shared a room with Jason, Shannon and Regan and fortunately didn't disturb them too much when we stumbled in and crashed.

I had a great time at the event. It was very laid back and relaxed time - I got to sit and chat with folks, play with Regan, just hang out. I helped Thjora finish the hem on her squirrel dress (chi chi chi!) and chatted with her and Anastasia for a while. I was very happy to be at Court when Isobel was inducted into the Order of the Pelican - very well-deserved and a big surprise, which is half the fun.

Feast was lovely - we shared a table with Jason & Shannon, David & Susie and Hiram & Anastasia. Good company and great food... I was very impressed with the feast itself, there wasn't anything I didn't like and we were practically battling each other for the STC before we found out there was more in the kitchen. Talk about food coma...

We went back to the hotel after feast to change clothes and hang out. Kevin went out socializing for a while but I stayed back in the room and hung out with Shannon and then Jason after he finished tracing Padraiga's feet. Poor Regan was overstimulated and overtired and NOT going to sleep - turned out she seemed to be coming down with a cold but we didn't figure that out until the morning. Poor little sweetie - being sick sucks, especially when you don't understand why you feel so crappy.

Our drive back Sunday was uneventful. It was a long weekend and we were both pretty tired. Kevin dutifully went to the barony meeting to give his marshal's report but I decided to skip it and lounge on the couch. I rarely skip barony meetings but I just didn't have the energy. Just as well, it turned out to be a really long meeting and Kevin didn't get home until after 9:30.

Today and tomorrow I'm trying to get ready for Miami. I'm making arrangements to meet some other members at the airport and share a cab ride to the hotel. One of the ladies who was sharing the hotel room can't go now - she has a herniated disk in her back and her doctor said she can't fly. I feel really bad for her - she called to tell me and was near tears, she was so upset about not being able to go.

I still have to pack and get all my information together - where the workshops are going to be held, my flight info, etc. But I'm just about ready to go! Yeah baby!

To touch on other things: I don't think I can really add much to the fealty discussion. I really enjoyed reading Byram's post on the subject (yes, I read the whole thing) and felt that he was able to put into words my feelings on the matter much better than I could. Though there are actually very few instances where I would swear fealty in the SCA - and that only to the Crown of Atlantia. I am an apprentice but I didn't swear fealty to my Laurel - instead I made her a promise to always strive for excellence in whatever I do. This actually works out well from a persona standpoint. Giuliana is a 15th century Florentine lady, and Florence was not a feudal state, it was a republic. It wasn't until the sixteenth century that Florence even had anything resembling nobility, much less a feudal society. Anyway, if I were in a position to take on a student, I don't think I would require an oath of fealty to me personally. I think I would structure it more as a legal contract.

On events: I've been to a fair number over the past year - I won't recount them all, but during this reign I went to Coronation, University, Crusades, Crown, Lady & the Tiger, St. Fortunatus, Twelfth Night and Ice Castles. I might be missing one or two in there, but you get the idea. I have several reasons why I go - to visit with friends, to see friends get awards in Court, to geek with other artisans, to watch my sweetie fight and support him. It's also a together-type of activity for us to be able to spend time with each other. Some of these things apply to certain events, other things apply to others. I go to some events for "medieval fun", but only a few. Crown is one, University is another. It isn't the atmosphere at University that appeals to me, it's the knowledge and learning. I get really inspired at University and that's what makes the SCA fun for me. I think one of the best local events that I've been to which was huge on "medieval fun" was the Judgment of Paris event in Lochmere a couple of years ago - that was super cool! I wish there were more events that were as well done. It really captured the feel and intent of an actual medieval tournament (though I am probably not the best judge of such a thing) and it was the product of a lot of planning and hard work on the parts of a lot of people. The whole day is one of my favorite SCA memories.

I got an idea this weekend for an event - I don't know how feasible it is, and it requires a lot more research on my part. But I was thinking it would be cool to base an event on the tournaments organized by Lorenzo and Giuliano dei Medici in the 1460s and 70s. Lorenzo held one in 1469 in celebration of his upcoming marriage to Clarice Orsini, and Giuliano held one in 1475. I don't have a lot of details about the tournaments themselves yet, but I haven't really started the research yet (oh Theo? Can I raid your library?). I'd really like to do a really cool, different kind of event that has a very narrow focus but a big impact. I really have no desire to autocrat, but Kevin said he would so I'm off the hook for that. I don't know if this idea will ever come to fruition, but I'm kind of jazzed about it and I want to explore the possibilities.

Oh yeah, I tried to install my parents' backsplash last week. Tried being the operative word here... I got everything all ready, taped off the outside edge of the area, slapped thinset on the wall and then went to set the first section of the mosaic into the adhesive. Unfortunately the contact paper that the tiles were mounted on had dried out a bit, and a bunch of pieces fell off. Minor panic... I decided to abort the whole installation until I could replace the tiles on that one section and transfer the whole mosaic to a stronger backing. I put strips of blue masking tape (the kind you use for taping off trim before you paint a room) on the back side of the tiles - I think I'm going to leave the tape on the back, pull off the contact paper from the front and glue on brown craft paper with water-soluable glue. Then I can take off the tape from the back, and the paper should be strong enough to hold when I try again to do the installation. This has definitely been a learning experience.

Ugh... I've been working on this entry for going on four hours now. I've made dinner and answered a few phone calls in the middle, but I think I'm done now. I probably won't update again before I go to Miami, so look for a new entry when I get back. I know I'll have lots to write about.

Ciao!