Another Crystal Chamfron in the Books

 Crystal Chamfron was this weekend. I couldn't attend for long, unfortunately, but I got to spend quality time with a friend I rarely see, briefly saw other friends, and rode long enough to maintain authorization. It is still brutally hard to be around horses, but all in all it was a good morning. Had my recalcitrant body not dictated otherwise, I would have stayed longer.

The Argent Scriptorium

Years ago (has it really been YEARS now?), our Barony had a scriptorium, a guild of scribes who gathered on a regular basis to work on projects and generally hang out and be supportive. And then various Real Life circumstances interfered, and the scriptorium ceased to meet. I have been wanting to see if it could be stirred back to life, so I started poking people. I was met with a great deal of enthusiasm, and I'm very pleased to say that the Argent Scriptorium will have its first meeting tomorrow night after shaking off its dormancy.

A work in progress

 

I unfortunately do not know the source of this lovely B, as it was a printout given to me to try without further background. If I ever find more information, I will add it here. It is proving to be a nice learning piece, though.

Just in time for the new year...

 ...I have a shiny new badge.

Suggested to me by our wonderful herald Kallinikos of Rhodes, it is fieldless, a Persian double-bow azure. I had been mulling possibilities for ages but would never have come up with such a perfect and delightful badge on my own. I already have a lengthy list of applications for it!

I finished a thing!

 This bar and vine piece has been lingering in my scribal box for awhile...since before the pandemic, in fact. Today I dragged it out and finished it. It only needed the whitework and lining. My hands shake much worse than they used to, but I'm still happy with how some of the whitework turned out. I love the little arrows and half stars; the little leaf highlights look a bit clumsy here and there, but they add some interest and were worth trying, I think.

Chamfron

 We attended our first in-person event since the pandemic began, and it was Crystal Chamfron, the event I started. As with all Chamfrons since I lost Aziza, my feelings were mixed; I want to support the equestrian community, and I hope to take part in it again someday, but being around horses tears my heart out all over again. On the positive side, it was absolutely delightful to spend time with friends, especially those from outside the area. A rider and SCAdian I admire sought my input on a personal matter, flattering me tremendously, and later Wylle was called up in court (twice!) to receive awards (including one that utilized one of my scroll blanks, funnily enough). Despite it being a soggy Saturday, the event was a great success. It was my favorite Chamfron in a long while.

I rode enough to keep my authorizations. I had intended to spend some time on the archery range, but that got rained out. I did, however, get my bows inspected, including the "new" Pony bow that I haven't even gotten to fire yet, so when Wylle gets the range at the farm cleared, I can resume practice. I'm looking forward to it. I am not a good archer by any stretch, but I do enjoy shooting. It is one of the more medieval/immersive SCA activities for me. There is a fundamental satisfaction about archery buried somewhere in my lizard brain, I think!

Our Barony has been meeting in person for a short while, and if things continue as they are, we will likely start attending again soon. I'm eager to return to fighter's practice. Between that, archery, and my scribal interests, I definitely have enough to keep me busy for awhile.

The Right Direction

Today, with Wylle's help, I managed to gather all of my scribal gear in one place for the first time in an age. It is still a manageably-sized pile, and now contained enough to take projects to meetings and events once they begin happening once more. In the meantime, just handling the pads of paper and tubes of paint made me itch to work...perhaps in the next few days I'll find myself a corner of the table and play with some designs.

Changes in the wind

A lot has happened in only a few days...today I tendered my resignation as an equestrian marshal. It feels very strange, but I am certain it was the correct thing to do. I should have done it sooner, but such is my stubbornness. I consulted all three of my peers and received nothing but support. I feel fortunate in that regard.

As for what else has happened, I now have three peers. Master Avery Austringer took me as a protege at Festival of Maidens last Saturday. I am his first protege and as such, he has no contract in place for me to sign. We'll see how that works out for him. :D

So in the immediate future, I will be continuing with the steps I have already taken (learning to fight, working on A&S projects, working up to teaching), but I will also be investigating ways to serve the equestrian community without being a marshal. As in all things, I may not do it well, but I will do my best.

Intrigued

This crossed my feed elsewhere today:

Historic Skills Challenge

I am intrigued by the idea, and while I know I wouldn't be able to complete a bingo card as it were, I still like the idea of laying out challenges this way. So I am saving the link here for myself for later, and if anyone happens to see it and wants to try it, as well, then all the better!

In the meantime, I am entertaining the idea of entering my Barony's upcoming poetry challenge. I've previously written one poem in an attempted Middle Eastern style, but I would also like to write one specifically for the occasion. I have less than two weeks. Wish me luck, ha!

Ups and Downs and Sideways...es

Real life has been interfering with my A&S projects for a little while, but seems to be settling a bit. I had to drop uke lessons for the time being, but that doesn't stop me from working through lesson books on my own at home. I have a lovely little sopranissimo that's just begging me to finish learning some early 20th century songs, but also a laminate pineapple that I'm hoping will work well as a portable, not-too-obviously-modern instrument for playing at events. It already has a checkered past-- I will likely never order from the seller again, in spite of a stellar reputation-- but I am hoping to make new, better memories with it. I was fortunate enough to attend Known World Cooks and Bards this year, which I quite enjoyed, and took the class "My Guitar's Persona is a Lute" with Lord Drake Oranwood. While guitar doesn't translate exactly to ukulele (baritone ukes aside), I still found the class useful and look forward to seeking out some of the music discussed.

Latest Efforts

I have a few projects going right now, and one of them is actually exciting! (To me, at any rate.) My best-fitting-- but oldest-- kamis was showing its age. My second and third, made of linen, are holding up pretty well, but the old cotton one had accumulated some marks and frays. But since it fit better than my others, I decided to disassemble it to see how I had deviated so far in my measurements over the three. I've taken what I hope are careful notes and over the next week I'll be cutting the pieces for two new ones. I also have a research paper that I'm hoping to write and polish up as an actual faire entry within the next six months or so. Whoo!

Even better than that, though, this week I started ukulele lessons. While the uke isn't period, there are arrangements available of medieval lute music for the uke. I don't know how long I'll be able to take lessons, but the first one went well and I'm hoping I can stay with them for awhile. There's a particular piece I would really like to be able to play at an event come November.

Not A&S, but still a milestone

Last weekend I traded in my man-at-arms belt for a squire's belt from my knight, Sir Seto Gesshuko. I have absolutely zero delusion that I will become a knight; with my age and disability, I am not imagining this is a path to a white belt. However, it does represent its own set of goals: to be better than I currently am, to respect where I have been and where I go, and to strive to represent myself and my households with honor.

In that regard, it is very much like my green belt. I may never achieve the "end goal" of the associated peerage, but for me, that isn't the point. Just guidance on a path to becoming better than I am is the point. As is often noted, it is the journey and not the destination that is important, and though I will never be a great fighter, I will wear my belt with pride and respect.

Still Journeying

I haven't been as diligent about my arts as I would like, but I am still here! I haven't much to share, but I will note that I am endeavoring again to learn MENAT dance...and I'll probably make an attempt at learning a few drum and finger cymbal rhythms, as well.

I have no sense of rhythm, so I've had a hard time trying to learn to dance before. But that doesn't stop me from drifting back and trying again every decade or so.

Oh, and I have beheld the power of good presentation-- I did the scroll on the left in this photo, and as usual, wasn't thrilled with the outcome. It looks much nicer matted and framed, in my opinion! (I'm not sure who created the scroll on the right, but if I find out, I'll credit them, definitely.)

Wow, I did a thing!

I got the scroll done before the event! It hasn't been given yet, so I won't post a picture of it until later. Happy happy it is done, though.

At the event I spoke with a friend of mine about becoming his protege. I will not ever be a pelican-- I have a greater chance of becoming a laurel, honestly-- but it is wonderful to have my efforts acknowledged!

And I am hoping to bring my armor to our next Baronial meeting. I need more strength, more stamina, more activity...I need to be doing more. Harumph. So I will.

Why do I say yes to these things?

Our lovely Baronial Destroyer, Briana, asked me last night at our Barony's meeting if I could create a scroll blank by Saturday. I said yes. What was I thinking? Nevertheless, I think I have found an exemplar/tutorial I can use that will result in something simple enough that I can make it look decent, but pretty enough to fit the award it will represent. I hope!

"I'm not a musician!" but...

I'm not. I'm not a musician. I have no sense of rhythm, I have difficulty sticking to anything, and I hate performing in front of people. But a variety of circumstances have compelled me to pick up my cheap, impulse-buy ukulele and start practicing on it.

Its origins are medieval, though its distinctive sound places it firmly out of period; but the lingering thought remains that with a minor (no pun intended, I swear) string swap, it can pass relatively well within the SCA setting. I have no idea if I will ever be comfortable playing it in front of the real musicians in our local groups, but it is a fun notion. As with so many of my endeavors, I will just have to push forward and see what happens!

Far too long

It has clearly been far too long since I posted. I don't have much of an update, but I have been working on a research paper. I added a bit more to it today and was struck by how long it's been since I wrote a research paper. And how much I disliked them. Annotations make me nervous; I'm always afraid I'll mess something up.

Translating titles

Many of us who portray non-English personae in the SCA like to translate our titles into our persona's native language. I've tried this in the past, but the more "obscure" (at least to English speakers) the language, the more likely people will misinterpret the name-- I tried Sayyidah for awhile as the Arabic translation of Lady, and a few thought it was my name. I finally stopped using it.

Now that I'm a Lancer, though, and that title in particular carries more meaning for me, I'm looking into a translation for it. What I have found so far is "Ramaha." Again, if I use it without explanation it's liable to be mistaken for my name, but it's still fun to do the research and mentally try to project myself back to the time and place where, in an ideal circumstance, I might have been styled as such....

Post-Chamfron recovery :)

Another Crystal Chamfron has come and gone. Highlights for me were my beloved, Wylle, receiving a Baronial award for service and contribution, and myself being named Baronial archery champion. Don't get too excited-- I was the only Baronial member who participated in the tournament and therefore the only one eligible for champion. However, while I wasn't the best shooter, we were shooting tic-tac-toe and I did achieve three in a row, so...at least I didn't have to search for more arrows than hit the target. That's always a good feeling.

I also received my blue man-at-arms belt from Sir Seto. It was lovely hanging out with him, and I'm more determined than ever to get my endurance built up so I can authorize heavy.

Right now, though, I'm just recovering from a weekend-long event. It'll be a few days before I'm full speed again, but that's all right. It's the price I pay for a good time with good friends and family. :)

Wow the projects

It's possible I've over-extended myself. Again.

Crystal Chamfron, our Barony's annual equestrian event, is coming up in a few short days. I'm co-autocratting, casting the site tokens, helping make signs, and illuminating four scrolls for the Baronial champs and one tourney winner. Craziness!

Even crazier, I'm hoping to try out for Baronial archery champion. I'll be going up against some VERY accomplished archers, and I've gotten to practice once since last summer. And I wasn't much good then. ;D  Still, it'll be fun, and any excuse to ping arrows at a target is a good excuse. I really enjoy archery, and I look forward to the day I feel competent enough to do it from horseback. And being able to shoot well at a canter? That's a dream. Not quite the level of dream as having a horse again, but it's up there. And that starts with standing on the ground, pinging arrows at a target. :)