July: Another month of two baronial newsletters

In the wee hours of Saturday the 11th, I finished the July issue of the Drekkar, the baronial newsletter. (Yes, I know I should italicize it, but I'm too lazy.) It's due between the 25th of the previous month (in this case, June) and the 5th of the current month (July), so this issue was late. However, I've been late multiple times and the Kingdom Chronicler hasn't said boo about it. (Sssh!)

Since there is no baronial business meeting this month, and therefore no meeting notes to publish, I thought I'd do a bare-bones newsletter for August and publish it on July 25, when I leave for Pennsic. However, I was just informed this weekend that the Baronial Letters of Intent NEED to be published in the Drekkar by July 25. (I guess I should heed what I've already published!)

So that's just one more thing I have to do before leaving for Pennsic ... on July 25.

Here is the "to-do" list as it currently stands:

• Write two short freelance articles for pay
• Pack everything I could possibly need for two weeks at Pennsic (which probably means drawing up a fresh packing list to keep track of all the stuff)
• Buy odds and ends that I need for Pennsic (fresh batteries, non-perishable food, etc.) 
• Sew some new garb that is in progress
• Get some stuff together for the Slavic Interest Group meetup at Pennsic
• Pay a couple of bills that can't wait until after Pennsic
• Put the August Drekkar together and send it out
• Download the music I need for either the Known World Choir or the Pennsic Broken Consort (or both!) and practice it
• Warp up my inkle loom with the next Baltic pickup pattern I want to try
• Attend one more Laydes Fayre rehearsal
• Keep the appointment with the cardiologist (who had better NOT tell me that I shouldn't go to Pennsic)
• Write a note to my editor about the freelance feature article I will be working on between August 10 and September 30
• Pick up a bin or two of stuff for the Children's Fete from our Youth Officer and bring it to Pennsic with me

Plus all the usual stuff of day-to-day living (cooking dinner, doing laundry, serving as the timer for the Greenbelt Toastmasters Club meeting, yadda yadda). 

Late June update: more sewing

Well, I had high hopes of getting lots of sewing done last Saturday ... but I left the draft pattern pieces for the apron dress at home! Drat! I was still able to be productive, though, by finishing up the hand-stitching on a late-period chemise that I started way back during the pandemic. (I think I'd intended it to be an entry in a virtual A&S competition, but I hadn't finished it in time, obviously.)

Now I'm hoping to go to town on garb work on Friday and Saturday, when Storvik has the Cheverly Community Center gym for two consecutive days. I'll finish basting the apron dress draft together, and, if it fits, I'll start getting the real dress cut out and assembled. On Saturday, my friend Laura will teach a class on making a Roman stola, another thing I've been wanting to do. I also have enough lightweight white linen to make a tunica to wear under the stola. Last year I bought some fibulae for the tunica at Pennsic. (See this link for what I'm talking about. However, I don't think I'll bother with the palla. Not in Pennsic's heat and humidity. Plus, my persona is that of a widow, so ... I'm looking!)

Yes, I know that Saturday is a special Fourth of July and Friday is the corresponding legal holiday. I have reasons for not planning other activities for those two days, but I don't want to fill this blog with mundane politics. Besides, this whole region will be baking in a heat dome over the next few days ... and the community center gym has frigid air conditioning.

June update: sewing

My mundane life has been keeping me busy this month. I'm not apologizing -- obviously I need to make money to support my enjoyable activities. I'll still try to write a second post before June ends next Tuesday.

I'm continuing my pivot from going to a bunch of SCA events to performing various activities to support my SCA life. Last weekend, I and five other friends visited Lady Mirabella's cabin in the woods of Aethelmearc (West Virginia) for a sewing weekend. Granted, with seven people in the cabin, and almost all of us needing to cut out pattern pieces or lay the pieces out to pin them together, table space was at a premium. Nevertheless, I cut out a complete set of pattern pieces for a Viking apron dress, based on my measurements of an existing hand-me-down apron dress that fits me well. (Why reinvent the wheel?)

Next, I want to baste the pieces of the new apron dress together to see how it fits. (That's the main reason why I cut the pieces out of an old bedsheet instead of nice brown linen.) Fortunately, between now and Pennsic I'll have five or six "project days" when I can work on my garb. Maybe I can have something new to wear to the War!

The end of May

Right now I'm working on the June newsletter. I've written a lot of obituaries in my life -- mostly about old people, but also about a 5-year-old with a brain tumor, a victim of Pan Am Flight 103, and an elderly couple who died 12 hours apart after 49 years of marriage. But it sucks to be writing about a longtime friend. And not for the first time since I became the baronial chronicler in August 2024.

I hate death.

On a happier note, last week I spent a couple of days at Balticon, where I hang out with some SCA friends who don't go to Gem Joust, as well as non-SCA friends. I was one of the ringers for the Renaissance dance class that my friend Patches always teaches there. It was also a "Needles, Fiber & More" weekend -- a weekend every six weeks for working on some fiber-type project and reporting the results to a Facebook group. Dame Scholastica started this during the pandemic and it's still going on. I did a bit of knitting at the con; my inkle loom is too clunky to lug along to an indoor convention. I partially warped my next band, but I have to finish that. After all, it's newsletter time.

I'm trying to decide whether I'm going to On Target, a Lochmere archery event that's taking place this coming Saturday. I think I'm likely to enjoy it, but the weather might not be the best. Then again, we're still talking a long-range forecast, so things could change.

Finally, I am planning to lead a Slavic Interest Group Meetup during Pennsic 53. It will take place on Tuesday, August 4, at noon in one of the Pennsic University tents (exact location TBA). I might teach a class on Lithuania too, but it's too late to get it into the printed program book, so interested people might not notice it.

The month of May

As I expected, SCA stuff quieted down for me once May began. I haven't been to an event this month and won't be attending one till June, at least. However, the SCA is never far from my mind.

Examples:

• I finished the baronial newsletter on May 8. A few days late, but not too bad.
• I also finished my second piece of Baltic pick-up weaving and am working on a pattern for a wider band. I intend to work my way up to more complex designs.
• I prodded a few people to agree to teach heraldry classes at the June University of Atlantia, which I won't be able to attend because I have to work long hours on both days of the event.
• Now that my sewing machine is finally running again, I'm planning the sewing projects that I'd like to tackle in June and July (i.e., before Pennsic). New garb will make me feel great.

I have several other things to do in terms of Pennsic advance planning, but I will try to list them in the next entry.

Unfortunately, sadness has returned to Storvik. Master Igor Medved, Third Territorial Baron of Storvik, passed away on May 18, four days before his 51st wedding anniversary. He was a giant of a man, not just physically, but also in terms of his personality, his hospitality, his generosity and his sense of justice. The world is poorer without him.

The second half of April

The "big news" for the second half of April was that Storvik held its annual Novice Tournament on the last weekend of the month. We've been holding it in June for quite a few years, but we always get quite a few complaints about heat, humidity and mosquitoes. Now that we have added horses and dogs to the activity mix, it behooves us to pick a date with weather that's less likely to make the critters overheat.

This year, though, we inadvertently drew a weekend on the other end of the temperature spectrum. April 2026 has seen quite a few days in the 70s and 80s, but Saturday was cool and cloudy, with the threat of rain in the afternoon and evening. Things weren't too bad in the middle of the day, and my friend Patches was in charge of the archery range, so I went out there to shoot some arrows.

After a brief refresher lesson from a marshal-in-training -- who was named the next Kingdom archery champion during afternoon court! -- I started firing off my loaner arrows with my loaner bow. And I did not suck! It wasn't long before one of my arrows found its way into the center of the target! My instructor captured the moment on my phone camera. (I seem to be having issues with uploading the actual photo.) And more arrows hit the center zone, too! I really should be doing target archery more often.

Later in the afternoon, after I'd rested my feet for a while, the wind really picked up as the temperature dropped a bit. The site that Storvik rents for outdoor events is very flat -- it was a Black-owned airport decades ago -- and it sits next to a wide part of the Patuxent River known as Jug Bay. So when the wind blows, it doesn't encounter much in the way of barriers. Also, the various weather apps on people's phones converged on 5 p.m. as the time when rain would hit.

At many events, I stay for feast, while one of my friends (who has a number of dietary issues) eats her own food and plays the hammered dulcimer for the enjoyment of feast guests. This time around, she didn't want to expose her instrument to a potential rainstorm. And, truth be told, when afternoon court ended just before 5 p.m., both she and I were chilled to the bone (again -- I should have learned my lesson last month!) and I agreed that feasting in the rain didn't sound appealing (even though I just LOVE tacos, especially when cooked by my Pennsic campmates). So my $10 for feast became a donation to the barony, and my friend and I picked up a bucket of KFC on the way to her dry, warm home.

That's my tale of Storvik Novice Tourney 2026, A.S. LX.

Speaking of which ... tomorrow is the first day of A.S. LXI. Happy New Year, and Happy 60th Birthday to the SCA!

How things stand, mid-April

I enjoyed both Spring Coronation and Night in the Port. The latter was the Barony of Lochmere's annual rapier event as well as its Baronial Investiture. Laydes Fayre performed four vocal selections before the afternoon Great Court, and five of us Laydes performed an instrumental processional for the Last Court of the outgoing Baron and Baroness.

Yesterday I finished up and sent out the April baronial newsletter -- eight days late, unfortunately, but still better than my performance in March. This time last year I fell WAY behind, but my mundane-work-for-pay schedule was different.

Before I get any further, I should probably explain that I have several different "threads" of SCA activities going on, more or less simultaneously (or ebbing and flowing).

First of all: service. I'm serving as baronial chronicler. I'm Sea Tyger Pursuivant, the deputy senior herald in charge of education (though whether or not we'll have a University of Atlantia session in June is still up in the air). Those obligations aren't going away.

Second: Lithuanian studies. Often I shove this topic onto the back burner because so much else is going on in my life. However, I have a few goals in this area: schedule another Slavic Interest Group meetup for Pennsic 53, start working on a display or class about women in the medieval Baltic region, and maybe even start a website for SCA resources about the Baltic region.

Third: dance and music. I participate in the local dance group almost every Monday, even when my feet are hurting. I would really like to get back into instrumental music, because there will come a time when I am just too old and physically messed up to dance. I play soprano recorder and am trying to learn alto recorder (different fingering). I can also contribute percussion if necessary.

Fourth: weaving. I'd put my inkle loom aside for a while, but last Pennsic I took a class in Baltic pick-up weaving, and I love it. I'm slow at it, but I don't care. For once I am doing a craft that feels authentically aligned with my persona! I'm keeping a Flickr album of my work so far. I'm hoping to get as much done on the second band (gold design on a brown background) as possible before Storvik Novice Tournament on the last weekend in April, so that I can enter it into the competition A&S display there.

Fifth: Everything else ... making garb, fixing garb, knitting, making lucet cord and kumihimo braids, wire weaving, writing pysanky (called marguciai in Lithuanian), and doing all the other things I've tried over the past two decades.

Lessons Learned: Defending the Gate and Performer's Revel

(Before I get going on the weekend event wrap-up, let me just state that the missing cat came home. Now all three of my landlord and landlady's cats are sporting collars with Airtags.)

Now ...  on to the wrap-up of the end of the month. I've done a lot of things in the SCA, but never before had I gone to two separate events in one weekend. But now I've done just that: Defending the Gate in the Barony of Stierbach and Performer's Revel in my own Barony of Storvik.

Stierbach's Canton of Sudentorre actually runs Defending the Gate as its annual signature event in early spring. The fighters build some sort of temporary "gate" structure and the heavy fighting scenarios revolve around it. That's about all I know about the fighting. I've never been a fighter. At the evening feast, the servers hail from the Renaissance Club at the nearby University of Mary Washington, and any tips they collect go toward the club's activities. Personally, I think this is a great idea; I think more colleges should have such clubs that collaborate with the local SCA, given that most institutions of higher education these days make it tough for outside organizations to get a foothold on campus.

The thing I want to remember for next year is: Prepare for the WEATHER. The main building where food was served and court was held is UNHEATED. The day was sunny, but the site, so far away from the modern urban heat island, was chillier than I'd expected. I should have brought a warmer hat, fingerless gloves (for playing my recorder), and my wool hood. Really, I need at least one plain wool dress with long sleeves. As much as I fuss about having the right garb for hot-weather events like Pennsic, I really need to keep in mind that sometimes events are cold.

The Performer's Revel* was cozy as always, even though it took place in a community center gym. I danced, played my recorder, and did some drumming. So, yeah, I performed! A few of our regular attendees were away on a cruise, but maybe they will be able to come next year.

Next up on Lady Patricia's progress is Spring Coronation, also in Stierbach. (Impressive that that barony is holding two events one week apart!) Per the request of the incoming Royals, each barony will be given a display table so that people can make a pilgrimage through the Kingdom by visiting the tables. I've stepped up to organize Storvik's table, largely because no one else wanted to do it. I hope to have some photos to show for it in future entries (however, I haven't yet downloaded this weekend's photos off my DSLR, so don't hold your breath).

* I think the event should be called "Performers' Revel," but people keep spelling it "Performer's Revel," so I'm just going along with it. 

Really quick report...

Still working on the newsletter. Hoped to finish it tonight, but one of my landlord/neighbor's three cats has gone missing, and I feel terrible about it.

I was at Awesome Con on March 14 and 15. I was one of the "ringers" during the afternoon dance sessions and hung out at the Storvik booth, which was ... awesome. 😊 My biggest purchase was a hardcover book on the classic Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles," written by David Gerrold himself. And I bought it at his booth on the exhibit floor. I follow him on Facebook and I know that he's in his early 80s and not in the best health, so I'm glad I could say hi to him. And he signed the book for me. 😊

I haven't done much weaving lately. Need to get back into that. Laydes Fayre rehearsals continue.

I'm worried about the kitty cat. 

Progress report, end of February

Whoo-eee ... I am up to my ears in non-SCA work right now. But I did not skip this week's Laydes Fayre rehearsal, as singing groups work best when everyone shows up to practice.

Also this week: Storvik's A&S night featured a viewing of a Turkish documentary called Osman's Dream: Ottoman Janissary Band of America. (Don't worry, it was in English, with Turkish subtitles.) The film follows the Janissary Band around Pennsic 50 and shows the great lengths to which the group has gone to get their depiction of the band historically accurate, from a lot of original research to much hand-sewing. A couple of my friends participate in the band, so it was great fun keeping an eye out for them. You can watch the film yourself by clicking on the title.

Something to noodle over: I was looking over an unofficial website of songs related to the Kingdom of Calontir and found a song that is basically an SCA filk of "Charlie and the MTA." The lyrics are Calontir-specific, of course, but perhaps I could tweak them for Atlantia. (Insert evil grin here.) Then I'd have something to pull out of my hat if I'm at one of those bardic circles where everyone is asked to participate.