SCA enthusiam

[kareina]

Yesterday when I listed a few good things from the day I failed to mention another (isn't it wonderful when you have more good going on in your life than you remember to list all at once?). There is a new SCA family which has recently moved to Milan. I've been exchanging e-mails with them, and will head over to their house (about 6km away, and right near a metro station, so I can either spend a hour walking, or quickly take a train) on Saturday. They are keen to help wake the local shire back up. I think I may safely describe the local shire as having been asleep--our seneschal hasn't been to an SCA event in three years, though he's attended a large variety of other Medieval re-enactment things, many of which are in other countries. But this new family has been in the SCA about as long as I have (more than 25 years) and we have a variety of interests in common, and they are keen to do stuff and be active. Exchanging e-mails with them has kick-started my enthusiasm, and I'm looking forward to getting some local activities at which I can play.

Today I tired filling my first capsule. It is a very relaxing task first putting in the tiny amount of water, then the powder, then a tiny piece of graphite and then carefully cleaning all of the powder away from the edges of the capsule. That last part is crucial, because even one grain between the edges of the gold when crimped shut can prevent the weld from working. Having had one of my colleagues demonstrate just that (unintentionally) last week, I spent far longer than she did on cleaning the edges, Then, when I started squeezing the edges together I noticed that the powder was starting to creep up, so I carefully pushed it back down again. Alas, once the edges were shut enough that I couldn't see inside it must have continued to creep, because after I first crimped it with the pliers, and then also put it into the big clamp and then trimmed the edges smooth and tried to weld it the first attempt caused half of it to weld beautifully, and the gold to melt away revealing a huge clump of powder between the edges of the gold. Sigh. Tomorrow I can try again. I hope. I've got that meeting to go sign the rental contract and pick up the keys, so I may opt to clean the new place and start moving, which might interfere with doing uni work...

Comments

[sismith42.livejournal.com]

It looks like you'll be moved and settled into the new place before your stuff arrives then? Yay! Also, I was wondering- did you come home to roomates?

[kareina.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed, I'm all moved in. Now the goal is to get shelves before the stuff arrives, but if I don't manage that one, I won't be disappointed, as it will me the stuff is here.

Nope, no one has moved in to the other apt yet (as of my stopping by there yesterday to return the lamp). I wonder when/if someone will need that apt. It was a fine one, and I like the gas stove there better than the two-burner electric hot plate here, but I like the shower here ever so much better--it drains, so I can turn it to full pressure, it is easier to adjust the temperature, and the magnets along the shower door edge means that no water makes it to the floor. I am also *much* happier with my commute, and have been happily running back and forth between home and office.

[madryn-1960.livejournal.com]

Hans's mother sent us a page from her local newspaper about a big medieval event in Switzerland. Burgdorf, the town closest to Hans's village of Biembach was marking it's 800th anniversary, and it looks like a very jolly turn-out. The event was held at the 12th C Burgdorf castle, which I visited in 2007,a beautiful building, and I imagine an unsurpassed setting for such an event. The text was in German, but Hans could see no reference to the SCA, although some of the costuming looked very authentic, while others was just fun, dress-up stuff, which made me think perhaps there were some SCA folk amongst the plebs.