House Capuchin Shield2We’ve been pretty busy this week. A lot of stitchery, some cookery, some herbs, some cleaning of tools and containers… but it culminated in a really good herbs workshop and then a visit from a grandbaby. Certainly a period thing to have a grandbaby…. 🙂 That meant that a few things like the birth sampler and the embroidered bib went out, along with a batch of more mundane goodies. …and the sewing kit is nearing completion as I’m writing. Hopefully that

Raven with the sampler

will hit the mail tomorrow along with Arlys’ oak galls….

Meetings will be on time this week, possibly cheese on Wednesday, and then Potluck on Sunday! We already know that there will be a beef/veg stew and a pork roast, probably girdle cakes and some other bread, cheese, if we manage to make some on Wednesday and beyond that? Well, who knows!

  • 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 and Wine happens irregularly, usually announced with little notice on our Facebook group.
  • Next Potluck – 7/21, 8/18, 9/15, 10/20, 11/17, 12/15
  • The berries on Sunday. l-r, blue, straw (oldest), straw, rasp

    Winter Feast Date is 2/16/20, Theme German Renaissance

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/

A post in the Shire of Briaroak’s Facebook group referred to their fight practice as, “Meet and Beat”!

CuMhara O’Holyhead – Posted 7/8/19 on the Facebook Group SCA No sh¡t there I was……

Some stories should be told, although I feared that by the telling of this one that I would be considered braggartly. It was then pointed out to me that in order to brag, the story must relate that I had performed incredible deeds. In truth, I merely fought on my knees for a few passes, produced no victory for my Queen, and got gutted by a spearman. But the way I remember it was so much more:

Although time has worn some of the details from this day, it is still a battle worth describing. At Gulf Wars the Might of the Midrealm held the gate fast from the approaching Ansteorran army. Alas, there was a mighty press, and many were laid low. As this was combat mock, the marshals called a hold, and those who had been vanquished retired from the field. So many had been defeated that, upon their removal, there was a twelve foot gap between the opposing armies. Unoccupied save by a lone spearman, who had lost her both her legs and her spear in the press. The Ansteorran Army was six feet in front of her, her Midrealm brothers almost a spear length to her rear.

From atop the gate, where He had full view of the battle, the King of Ansteorra looked down upon this spearman, who was soon to be crushed beneath the shields of his army.

“My lady, are you alright?” he called down to the fighter.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she replied, a little confused at his concern.

“Would you like to yield?” He asked, not intending to insult her with his Southern grace.

“I have my dagger!” she explained, thinking that he meant her to retire from the field due to being without a weapon.

He shook His head, and allowed the marshals to call “Lay on!”

Get it off me!

Now a strategic problem arises when a line of war scutums crosses a soldier on her knees with a dagger. They can not reach over their awesome shields to kill her, and once past her, they can not pull their swords inside in order to dispatch her. So she gleefully stabbed upward with her dagger (a generous gift from Sir Will Ransom) and gouged into the unarmored spots of the army as they stepped over her, adding an “ARGH!” for effect with each blow, just because it felt like the right thing to do. It should be noted that many warriors were felled, indeed a pile, and as the fighter on her knees could not see the spears of her brethren who were dispatching the soldiers, she let herself feel the power of dropping the enemy left and right about her, with the upward thrusts of her dagger.

As this was combat mock, a hold was called to clear the pile of dead. So many had been defeated that there was a twelve foot gap between the opposing armies. Unoccupied, save by a lone dagger-wielding spearman, on her knees, with her spear supine only two feet to her left.

From atop the gate, where he had thought to witness the crush of this woman, the King of Ansteorra called down, “My lady, would you like to yield?”

Seeing her spear within easy reach, and the enemy at a nice spearing distance, “No thank you, Your Majesty,” was her reply.

“Lady,” he said, in a way that showed he truly did not understand what could inspire a minion of House Stahlgeist, “You’ve got balls of brass!”

As He permitted the marshals to call “Lay on,” she grabbed her spear and prepared to shoot from her knees. At this point, the might of her brothers came up behind her, and she heard her inspiration call out: “I’ve got you covered, My Love!”

This moment has not been hazed by the time since it was said. She still recalls the feeling of invulnerability that came over her as the Love Of Her Life stepped over her left shoulder, and began wrecking havoc on the opposing forces with his own nine foot spear, his very leg acting as a shield for her body. Although swept up by the grace of his love, she quickly regained her composure as a soldier, and proceeded to use her spear to knock down the weapons of the enemy, while her husband sent a score or more of fighters back to the waterbearers. Oddly, it seemed that the Ansteorran spears were much more interested in killing off this harmless, legged spearman, and continued to focus their efforts on her, as her husband reduced their numbers.

As all stories must end, a spear finally forced its way to her gut, and she died, happily, between the legs of the man she loves. Her brethren pulled her body backwards, behind the line of battle, and she gladly got up off her knees and went for a drink. But from that day until this one, when she feels outnumbered, overwhelmed, and outfought, she can still hear his voice, from behind her, stepping up to act as her shield in the midst of battle, calling out: “I’ve got you covered, My Love!” And she knows that victory is always close at hand.

Early Week – The organizing last week helped. Anja managed to get 1/2 a dozen small projects finished in two days, now that all the materials were actually findable. Some garden things kept going on, especially when it rained on Tuesday.

We talked to Taran about doing an all-day German Costume workshop at some point. She’s checking her schedule.

Estella stopped by the shop to use the phone on Thursday. We got to hug and say hi. 🙂

The berries on Sunday. l-r, blue, straw (oldest), straw, rasp

Cookery – We set up a sugar-preserved raspberry jar on Monday, then strawberries on Friday, adding to the previous jar and starting a 2nd. Also set up a mushroom catsup, the sugared blueberries, stew, pork roast…. that kind of thing.

Sewing – There was a lot of mundane sewing this week, but some small projects happened early in the week, pieces for a sewing kit that’s going out soon. …and of course, all the pieces vanished as soon as we went to take pix. How does that happen? Along with the snip case, there was a 2nd one that matches the main case, plus a small biscornu, and an emery bag.

Sewing on Saturday concentrated on finished the small projects for the sewing kit.

Herb Bunch – With the rain on Tuesday, only some of the plants needed water, so we got some photos in the rain.

Saturday’s workshop ended up headering some of the bagged herbs and talking about various herbal remedies. After that we sugared some blueberries and talked about how sugar was made, (pre-industrial revolution) and used, also about preserving soft fruits in honey and how that probably led to melomel. After that we set up the mushroom catsup and later, set up a veg stew.

These are the berries on Sunday.

Project Day – Got sidetracked…. Anja and Loren *had* to spend time with the baby, of course! Anja was having enough trouble hearing that she couldn’t work on embroidery, because she was lip-reading. We did sit down and eat the pork roast and the stew. After that, the shop got busy, so they finally settled down to projects around 4pm and most of that was pictures.

Miscellaneous pix

An Tir West War photos by Miriam Pike & Lisa Jacobsen

Music

Links – Some headings have two links attached. The 2nd is usually the PDF of the full article. 

Funnies 

A spoof

Anja, Loren, Stella, Amor

divider black grey greek key

Largesse Item Count – (includes gifts, prizes, auction items, etc.)

  • ASXLVII = 24
  • ASXLVIII = 88
  • ASXLIX = 794
  • ASL = 2138
  • ASLI = 731
  • ASLII = 304
  • ASLIII – 146
  • ASLIV – 113+2 plus 2 puppets, 20 powder fort packets, 25 pouches for block-printing, 1 medium pouch, 8 bookmarkers, 5 in-process kisslock pouches, 20 unfinished pincushions, 1 sewing kit (except for bone needle), varnished stuff (124)

Total as a Household = 3944 handed off

moving writing pen motifIn ministerio autem Somnium! Anja, graeca doctrina servus to House Capuchin
Page Created 7/3/19 & published 7/15/19 (C)M. Bartlett
Last updated 7/15/19