House Capuchin is trying to decide how to re-envision ourselves. The original idea of a group out here on the Coast isn’t working, as folks have had to move to the Valley for work, and the largesse focus isn’t going, either. We’re exploring options at the moment.
Mostly this week Anja was finishing her project, but there are some pictures

from other things going on, too, links, an updated page and the usual funnies. Still no camera, so only a few pix.
We have a potluck coming up this next Sunday! Everyone is welcome! Just bring your feast gear, wear garb if you wish and a dish that serves 6-8.
- Sewing Night – At Ancient Light, Thursdays, 6-8pm
- Herb Bunch – At Ancient Light, Saturdays, 11am-1pm
- Sewing Time – At Ancient Light, Saturdays, 3-5pm
- Project Day – At Ancient Light, Sundays, Noon to 6pm
- Cheese & Wine – Watch the schedule or the Facebook group! This is going to be irregularly scheduled for when tasks need to occur.
- Next Potluck – 3/18

Here is the direct Portfolio link which has all the past Project Day reports and various projects, original here: https://housecapuchin.wordpress.com/portfolio/ and new one here: https://housecapuchin2.wordpress.com/portfolio/ and number three is here: https://housecapuchin3.wordpress.com/portfolio/
Early Week – Anja was still working on that “secret project”. 59 hours in 9 days. Oof! But it went out Friday. Someday, when the next stage of the project is finished, pix will get posted.
Cookery – All week we intended to make Čočky (lentils) and finally went to get them going on Sunday and discovered that we’re apparently out of lentils. It turned into a pease pottage instead! Anja is starting to build up her stocks again of foods for potlucks and such. We also had the last of the dumplings during the week and then Loren got some semolina flour on Sunday, which Anja wants for pekanky, which are the little gnocci-like egg dumplings and froze some to be cooked for this coming potluck. Anja is doing some research into Mazanec, (MAH – zah- nets) a Czech Easter bread, which dates back to the 15th century.
Sewing Time – Saturday – Just Anja, but she got back to the blue embroidered kiss-lock pouch.
This is a kiss-lock pouch. The shape is very similar to some of the period purses and pouches, although manufacturing the snap closure probably wasn’t done until well out of period.
Herb Bunch – Just tending plants this week. Uncovered those starts from several weeks ago.
Project Day
Anja worked on clipart while Loren got things ready for her to make the Čočky (see above). He had some errands to run and picked up the semolina flour for the pekanky and some more lentils on the way back.
Also the onions in the big bag that we got for the feast are starting to “go off”. So Anja started the hacky-choppy-freezy part of that. …and got interrupted and interrupted…. in a good way, by shop customers, but stuff sat a bit more than she’s happy with.
Rafny and Gwynn stopped by for a short visit on the way up the coast! It was great to see them! …and she was too “oniony” to embroider while they were there, so the only progress was from Saturday night. More onions happened.
Amy stopped in for a few minutes, too. More onions happened.
Loren returned and sorted the dry skins (that we’ll use for dyeing) from the “wet” parts in the trash can and left it so Anja could sort into those from then on. More onions happened. Eventually 14 bags of 11 oz or better happened!
…and Anja was wiped, so quit for the night.
Miscellaneous pix
Music – We started Project Day with Ancient FM. http://www.ancientfm.com/flashplayer.php
…then went to the Carolus IV album.
Mazanec, Czech Easter Bread – This is another one of those sweet bread doughs that the Slavs do for holidays, like the kolache and babovky that we served at the feast. It is mentioned in a menu from the late 1300’s, but I don’t have more info than that. The original recipe probably used a starter of some kind, maybe from a mead, since a number of the older methods (you can’t really call ’em recipes….) do that a lot. Mead for sweet bread and beer barm for regular bread!
- The recipe page – https://saffronstreaks.com/recipes/mazanec-the-czech-easter-bread-and-onset-of-spring/
- The Wikipedia – https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazanec– In Czech, you’ll have to hit the “translate” function. …and as always Google Translate does a weird job. “Has to cuddle the dough”? 🙂
- The article with the history – https://ihned.cz/c3-51653330-000000_d-51653330-velikonocni-bochanky – Not a free site. I can’t get at the rest of the article where the documentation of the date is, just the preview, and the translation gets “interesting”.
Updated Pages – Other Reenactment Bloggers – https://wp.me/P8ngGY-QB
Links
- The Newberry opens up access to 1.7 million historical images – https://www.medievalists.net/2018/03/newberry-opens-access-1-7-million-historical-images/
- Sugar Paste and Pastry Knot Garden for the Vigil Table of Laurencia of Carlisle – https://ianeatsmedieval.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/sugar-paste-and-pastry-knot-garden-for-the-vigil-table-of-laurencia-of-carlisle/
- Met titles with full text online! – https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/titles-with-full-text-online?searchtype=F
- How the Brilliant Colors of Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts Were Made with Alchemy
- – http://www.openculture.com/2018/02/how-the-brilliant-colors-of-medieval-illuminated-manuscripts-were-made-with-alchemy.html
Funnies
Anja, Amy, Loren
Largesse Item Count – (includes gifts, prizes, auction items, etc.)
-
- ASXLVII = 24
- ASXLVIII = 88
- ASXLIX = 794
- ASL = 2138
- ASLI = 731
- ASLII = 273 plus 25 pouches for block-printing, 13 (plus 27 unfinished) pincushion, 2 sewing kits (except for bone needles), varnished stuff (124) 6 snap pouch, one double drawstring pouch, 4 brocade pouch
Total as a Household = 3633 handed off
In ministerio autem Somnium! Anja, graeca doctrina servus to House Capuchin
Page Created 1/28/18 & published ??/??/18 (C)M. Bartlett
Last updated 3/12/18
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