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Catching up on the past couple of weeks
May. 8th, 2017 09:00 pmLets see, where was I? When last I posted anything about what I am up to I was still sick, and my apprentice did a talk in my stead at the Ore Deposits seminar. Since then...
I recovered and my friend H. spent a week visiting. We worked on sewing projects and I fitted him for a pair of Thorsbjerg trousers (without feet), since he hasn't been happy with the pair he fitted for himself. We went out to Storforsen to admire the power of Europe's largest rapids in early spring, before there is much melt water feeding the river. (He was surprised how much snow we still had in the yard, since he lives in Umeå (three hours drive south) and grew up in southern Sweden.)
We revised and improved his CV and wrote him a couple of new cover letters that will be a good base for other job applications in his field (forestry). We cooked him yummy food despite the fact that he is alergic to milk products, gluten, wheat, corn (maize), and even oats. (I strongly recommend ice cream made from coconut milk with shreeded coconut and toasted walnuts--but watch it closely, it will freeze hard enough to stop the electric ice cream maker much faster than my dairy based recipes do).
We dropped by the Frostheim Smithy weekend at the Forge in Gammelstad, where he made a steel tool for sparking against flint for fire-starting, and I made a twisted rod for holding toilet paper (which has been hanging from a string from a towel bar since we bought the house, since the upstairs bathroom didn't come with a toilet paper holder).
We helped our friend L. go through her many boxes of Larp & SCA stuff that has been stored at our place since she moved to France to start her PhD, years ago (she has long since finished the degree, including time off for medical reasons). Now she knows what she wants to keep, what to sell, and has tossed the rest.
We, along with L. and her partner M., joined my friend W. and his friend M. for a game of Daughters of Verona, which was much fun. Three of us had never played (H., M., & M.), and they all liked it so much that L. bought a copy (W. wrote the game) to take back to Umeå.
We stayed up way too late talking each evening, yet I managed to make it in to work in the mornings. Not that I accomplished much at work that week, but certainly more than if I didn't go in.
After he left I had a couple of days back to 'normal', with gymnastics in Tuesday (first time back after both easter break and missing a week due to being sick). I had been tempted to go home after the first hour, but I had riden there wirh C., who wanted to stay the full two hours, and I am glad we did, since we ended with a silly fun game that involved pairing up and carrying one partner in various poses the leader shouted out, and C. let me be the one who was picked up.
Wednesday afternoon I spent time with O. and Wednesday evening was 'date night' wirh D., who was feeling a bit sick himself, so we spent most of that time sitting on the couch talking about what our plans are for yard work and earth cellar this summer.
Thursday morning I dropped my car off for service and to have the breaks looked at, since the "check breaks" light had come on the week before, and this was as early as they could take it. Of course, it turns out that they weren't done that day and asked if they could keep it overnight.
That evening was Frostheim social night, and C. had one last dance rehearsal before her big middle eastern dance weekend, so she took D's car to town and I borrowed O's car (which he stores at our house while he waits for a parking spot to be available for rent near his apartment, since residents are not permitted to park in the guest spots) for Frostheim.
The jesters got their fabric order so a bunch of them joined us to begin their costumes. I helped one boy cut out the base for his costume. He wanted a odd spiral of the two colours going around his arm, which we mosly accomplished by cutting the sleeve fabric diagonally from one corner by the shoulder to the other wrist and then swapping them with the other sleeve (one with a purple base, the other green). After he gets these bits together we will cut flames from the (required for this group) orange fabric to applique onto the neck and hem.
Friday morning I packed my SCA stuff, and loaded L's stuff into the roof box that my friend Å. gave us after he bought a new car recently--the car came with the box and he didn't need it.
The car was finally ready at noon, so I picked up E. and took her to pick it up so she could drive the second car, and then I pucked up L&M and we finally started loading the car.
Å giving me that roof box turned out to directly benefit him, as he wanted to ride to Lövspricket (SCA in Umeå) with us, but we couldn't have gotten all six of us, our gear, and L.'s stuff there withou the box. Even with it it was a very full car, as we had me, L., M., E., O., and Å. in the car, plus all our stuff.
But it made for a fun trip to have so many. We gave Å the driver's seat and O. the passenger seat (everyone whose name is pronounced "Oscar" in the front), L., M., and I took the middle, and E. took the back seat, where she slept comfortably much of the way, as the bedding was piled next to her so she could lean on it (had I been sleepy I so would have taken that seat, but I was awake enough to sew, so I did.
We drove L&M and her stuff home and picked up H. and his stuff (since he lives in the same apartment complex) and went to the event, arriving only an hour after site opened, which meant that for the first time ever at that site I actually got a spot to put my bed in the "stay up late" room. Normally D. and I don't start driving till after he gets off of work on Fridays, which means arriving between 22:00 and midnight, but this time he opted to stay home and relax and attend one of the dance workshops with C. I would have enjoyed attending the dance workshops too, but the SCA event was higher on my priority list.
The event was much fun! Dancing, singing, good conversations, walks, archery, and I performed at the feast (both the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales and my Prologue to Double Wars). There were a handful of new people who are better in English than Swedish (one from Romania, another from the Netherlands, I didn't catch the homelands of the others), so I didn't feel guilty speaking English this time.
Gee, no wonder I haven't had time to post...
I recovered and my friend H. spent a week visiting. We worked on sewing projects and I fitted him for a pair of Thorsbjerg trousers (without feet), since he hasn't been happy with the pair he fitted for himself. We went out to Storforsen to admire the power of Europe's largest rapids in early spring, before there is much melt water feeding the river. (He was surprised how much snow we still had in the yard, since he lives in Umeå (three hours drive south) and grew up in southern Sweden.)
We revised and improved his CV and wrote him a couple of new cover letters that will be a good base for other job applications in his field (forestry). We cooked him yummy food despite the fact that he is alergic to milk products, gluten, wheat, corn (maize), and even oats. (I strongly recommend ice cream made from coconut milk with shreeded coconut and toasted walnuts--but watch it closely, it will freeze hard enough to stop the electric ice cream maker much faster than my dairy based recipes do).
We dropped by the Frostheim Smithy weekend at the Forge in Gammelstad, where he made a steel tool for sparking against flint for fire-starting, and I made a twisted rod for holding toilet paper (which has been hanging from a string from a towel bar since we bought the house, since the upstairs bathroom didn't come with a toilet paper holder).
We helped our friend L. go through her many boxes of Larp & SCA stuff that has been stored at our place since she moved to France to start her PhD, years ago (she has long since finished the degree, including time off for medical reasons). Now she knows what she wants to keep, what to sell, and has tossed the rest.
We, along with L. and her partner M., joined my friend W. and his friend M. for a game of Daughters of Verona, which was much fun. Three of us had never played (H., M., & M.), and they all liked it so much that L. bought a copy (W. wrote the game) to take back to Umeå.
We stayed up way too late talking each evening, yet I managed to make it in to work in the mornings. Not that I accomplished much at work that week, but certainly more than if I didn't go in.
After he left I had a couple of days back to 'normal', with gymnastics in Tuesday (first time back after both easter break and missing a week due to being sick). I had been tempted to go home after the first hour, but I had riden there wirh C., who wanted to stay the full two hours, and I am glad we did, since we ended with a silly fun game that involved pairing up and carrying one partner in various poses the leader shouted out, and C. let me be the one who was picked up.
Wednesday afternoon I spent time with O. and Wednesday evening was 'date night' wirh D., who was feeling a bit sick himself, so we spent most of that time sitting on the couch talking about what our plans are for yard work and earth cellar this summer.
Thursday morning I dropped my car off for service and to have the breaks looked at, since the "check breaks" light had come on the week before, and this was as early as they could take it. Of course, it turns out that they weren't done that day and asked if they could keep it overnight.
That evening was Frostheim social night, and C. had one last dance rehearsal before her big middle eastern dance weekend, so she took D's car to town and I borrowed O's car (which he stores at our house while he waits for a parking spot to be available for rent near his apartment, since residents are not permitted to park in the guest spots) for Frostheim.
The jesters got their fabric order so a bunch of them joined us to begin their costumes. I helped one boy cut out the base for his costume. He wanted a odd spiral of the two colours going around his arm, which we mosly accomplished by cutting the sleeve fabric diagonally from one corner by the shoulder to the other wrist and then swapping them with the other sleeve (one with a purple base, the other green). After he gets these bits together we will cut flames from the (required for this group) orange fabric to applique onto the neck and hem.
Friday morning I packed my SCA stuff, and loaded L's stuff into the roof box that my friend Å. gave us after he bought a new car recently--the car came with the box and he didn't need it.
The car was finally ready at noon, so I picked up E. and took her to pick it up so she could drive the second car, and then I pucked up L&M and we finally started loading the car.
Å giving me that roof box turned out to directly benefit him, as he wanted to ride to Lövspricket (SCA in Umeå) with us, but we couldn't have gotten all six of us, our gear, and L.'s stuff there withou the box. Even with it it was a very full car, as we had me, L., M., E., O., and Å. in the car, plus all our stuff.
But it made for a fun trip to have so many. We gave Å the driver's seat and O. the passenger seat (everyone whose name is pronounced "Oscar" in the front), L., M., and I took the middle, and E. took the back seat, where she slept comfortably much of the way, as the bedding was piled next to her so she could lean on it (had I been sleepy I so would have taken that seat, but I was awake enough to sew, so I did.
We drove L&M and her stuff home and picked up H. and his stuff (since he lives in the same apartment complex) and went to the event, arriving only an hour after site opened, which meant that for the first time ever at that site I actually got a spot to put my bed in the "stay up late" room. Normally D. and I don't start driving till after he gets off of work on Fridays, which means arriving between 22:00 and midnight, but this time he opted to stay home and relax and attend one of the dance workshops with C. I would have enjoyed attending the dance workshops too, but the SCA event was higher on my priority list.
The event was much fun! Dancing, singing, good conversations, walks, archery, and I performed at the feast (both the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales and my Prologue to Double Wars). There were a handful of new people who are better in English than Swedish (one from Romania, another from the Netherlands, I didn't catch the homelands of the others), so I didn't feel guilty speaking English this time.
Gee, no wonder I haven't had time to post...