ancient tech, ancient enemy

This little fellow is eating all of my asiastic lilies. It's called an Asiastic Lily beetle - what an original name. I hope the lilies come back next year when I'll be prepared to kill the beetle, now that I know how.



Let's hear it for ancient technology! This little bit of wood is based on an artefact in Viking Artefacts (James Graham-Campbell, ed.). The original is just 10cm in length, but this recreation is just a little longer to fit my hand better. It's called a pin beater.



I've been weaving for a few years now, and I admit it, I'm slow. I just didn't see the purpose or usefulness of pin beaters. But since I've been using this one, I'm in awe. It's a great tool, both for weaving on the warp weighted loom and as I'm using it here to beat the tablet weaving header of my new project. Both the new pin beater, and new weaving project are part of the preparations for our trip to L'Anse aux Meadows.

DARC does L'Anse aux Meadows

Text below has been cheerfully thefted from the DARC blog, where I'm also an administrator. Darrell actually wrote the text 'though and made the webpage that is linked here.

At the request of a reader, I'll try to make a few posts about our preparations for this adventure, and I'll certainly be blogging from the road as it happens. Darrell tends to be more of a big picture guy and his posts will show up on the DARC blog, so it might be interesting to follow us both.

the Viking Age comes to LIFE
August 15 - 25, L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC

http://www.warehamforge.ca/DARC-LAM/DARC-LAM-2010.html

The Dark Ages Re-creation Company has been asked by Parks Canada to mount a major presentation at L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC. The 10 days of living history is to help mark the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the archaeological site in Vinland.

Leif, will be much missed

I will miss my friend and companion, Leif, very much.

He was my first dog, and the bestest.

Leif died on sunday. I hope he knows how much we loved him.

Tagged!

Nina tagged me with a few questions! I love getting tagged.

1- What would your perfect day consist of?

There's lots of elements to make a perfect day and they don't all need to be in one place at one time. Fudge, warmth, new experiences, sleeping in, good food, friends (or sometimes just that special one - the hubby), my garden, my pets, Iceland.

2- How would you describe yourself if you were an item of clothing?

Hmmm... have never really thought of myself this way. A big cozy blanket or tunic dress, probably.

3- What hobbies are you currently working on?

It's gardening time!

4- Walking in the woods in Wellies or Barefoot on the beach?

Depends on my mood. :) I'd be totally content in either situation.

5- Have you ever hugged or sang to a tree?

I got married under a tree, and we left the flowers at it's base when we were done. Does that count?

6. Growing your own veggies or nipping to the supermarket.

Growing my own! It's so rewarding to watch the whole cycle of birth to growth to eating. And yummy too!

7. Have you found anyone exciting in your family tree?

I've never explored my family tree.

8. Slap up meal in a posh restaurant or fish ‘n’ chips from the wrapper?

Posh restaurant, man. Hands down. Not because it's 'posh' per se... just because, generally, you really do pay for quality and fresh new experiences.

In Toronto this past weekend, we ate at Colburn Lane and Lee restaurant. These two folks are considered to be Toronto's top two chefs right now.

I wouldn't go back to Colburn Lane because it just wasn't worth it's pricepoint. This is high end molecular gastronomy - something I could never do for myself at home, but there's a whole experience thing, the big picture, that I expect out of a high end experience and Colburn Lane was missing a few parts. I can't complain of the tastes - that was delightful! But the portions were small, the time lag between dishes was annoying, the music was a bit loud and they had fake cheap candles on the tables instead of real tealights.


Orange in Reykjavik,was also high end molecular gastronomy but it was more fun, the portions were bigger, the waitress couldn't crack a smile for the life of her, and a mad scientist mixed up liquid nitrogen smoking meringue bombs at our table. They served their dessert on liquid nitrogen chilled rocks from the Icelandic earth. The appetizers came floating a few inches off the table attached to perfectly filled helium balloons. The restaurant is mere feet away from the dock and the fish tasted like it was caught that morning and died only seconds before cooking. And!! the drink menu wasn't confined to stiltifying perfectly suited wine choices but had wild tasty fun choices instead. I've never met a cocktail menu more alive!

Lee, on the other hand, was fantastic food, served with perfect timing fashion, and larger portions. It was however - crazy busy (which didn't intere with the service!) and the music was a bit loud.

9. Which element do you most resonate with, Earth, Wind, Fire or Water?

Depends on what I'm doing, and what mood I'm in. I'm mostly Fire and Water - all steamy and in conflict, but I've been blown away by Iceland's sheer physical earthly beauty. :)


10. Do you believe in fairies?

I haven't seen one myself, but there's just way way too many stories out there to not have some basis in truth. :)

Weekend - Shoes, peaceful setting

Bunches of interesting things this weekend. Met up with friends in the Dark Ages Recreation Company to learn how to make turnshoes. We're using modern tools, but the end product should be pretty much the same as Viking Era shoes.

This is our teacher, working on a pair of shoes for his daughter while we're all off on earlier steps in the process.



Our hosts for the weekend have beautiful garden spaces and right now, their tulips are in full bloom. Long time readers will likely realize that I have a special thing for tulips. :)

This picture seems to have turned out pretty darned well. I like the luminous sunlight and slight fuzziness around the edges of the photo.



They also have chickens. I think this is the rooster.



And horses, and cats, and a deeply peaceful farm out in the boondocks of Ontario. Sitting on the porch in the early morning ... it was so peaceful.

Our host was Grondzilla and his partner, who dislikes seeing her name in print. Grondzilla has been engaged in a commitment to blog every day for a year. I'm intrigued by the idea. I briefly considered the idea. Generally speaking, I update my Facebook status once a day anyway.

But I'd have to be crazy to consider it right now. DARC is gearing up pretty heavily for a gig at L'Anse aux Meadows in August, my boss just went on mat leave again leaving me busier at work, and there's that gardening thing. I have way too much to do these days already.

Ahh.... yes. :)

Forward Into the Past XX, and unknown flowers

The 20th anniversary Forward Into the Past has come, and gone. It was fun.

Awesome amounts of fun! And utterly exhausting.

Sadly, I was too busy to take photos.

Now, there's been a warm streak happening in Ontario and my garden is starting to grow. Again, I'm faced with I-didn't-keep-the-tag-and-I-don't-remember-what-that-is. Bad gardener girl.

So, dear readers.... help. What is this?

Mmmmmm..... seafood!

We had a lovely dinner at Solé tonight. We went because they had a special Celebration of the Sea menu and we both love seafood.

Neil had a crab cake appetizer, and the Thai Seafood Bake (little neck clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, sticky rice croquettes and baby bok choy, steamed in a banana leaf with a spicy lemon grass and lime leaf broth). I had a crab tower appetizer, and the Baked Icelandic scampi tails (sweet potato, banana bread and pecan hash, saffron and vanilla bean cream, steamed asparagus and blueberry reduction).

For dessert, we split a lemon and poppyseed cheesecake with a raspberry coulis.

Delicious!

We're restaurant-testing, you see. We have to decide where to take Michele for dinner next friday.

Well, it's a good theory anyway.

Comment moderation

Sadly folks, I've had to enable comment moderation.

I've now had the comments section spammed a few times too many. I had hoped it was an isolated incident or two, but it's becoming more frequent. I promise for those of you who are actually writing a real comment, I'll be quick to approve them.

Karen

Spring!

Bet you're wondering where the month of February went to, right?

So much for that New Year's resolution. :)

It's just that it's so much faster and easier to update my Facebook status then it is to blog. One needs real content for a blog, or pictures.

Anyhoo.... I am otherwise a tad more organized. I have all the kid's (nieces and nephews) birthdays on a wall calendar, and I've remembered birthday cards for two of them so far. Neil and I worked out a gifting scheme based on their ages.

And I've been reading more then the goal set worth of articles or book chapters in my field so far.... but I do have incentive.

Forward Into the Past is a yearly event, on March 27th this year, at which I laughingly pretend that teaching doesn't scare the crap out of me. This year, I'm teaching a class introducing people to the warp weighted loom. I had a real fit a few weeks and called in someone more likely to teach me a thing or two. What the heck am I doing teaching if I can't figure it out myself? But I digress.

I learned a few things, and I'm in the middle of warping up yet another new project on the loom to apply said things.

Hopefully I'll know what I'm doing enough by then...

But if not, if it's an utter failure, there's another incentive to keep researching... DARC is going to L'Anse aux Meadows this year in August, and apparently I'm the weaver. Eep.

I feel.... well, a little panicked, to tell the truth. And the hubby wonders why my body is showing stress symptons in back and muscle pain, and intestinal distress. *rolling eyes*

On the bright side.... I didn't mention this one as a New Year's goal because everyone does it, and everyone fails at it, but I wanted to exercise more often this year. And so far.... while I can't yet call it an established habit, I am doing okay on this goal. Well... better then last year anyway. The jury is still debating the outcome.

Spring, here in Ontario, does seem to be making itself known. There have been warmer temperatures (although we still have snow), some bulbs in really really warm brick wall braced south facing gardens are showing (on campus of course, not at our house), I've changed out of snow boots, birds have been heard singing, ducks on campus are abounding, and the sunshine is getting lengthier. All to the good.

But this is still Canada, and I don't want to be skeptical. :)


Karen

New Year's Resolutions

I made a few. Maybe I shouldn't have, 'cause they do have a tendancy to fall away and not get followed up on.

But I would like to:

Not skip whole months blogging. re: December. Sorry folks, it was busy and I have been less than organized.

Be more organized. :) I'm thinking mostly of remembering people's birthdays and anniversaries. Facebook is so interesting, in that if you enter your birthday in your profile, it tells all your friends a few days ahead, and it's just so darned easy to go to their wall and write a quick 'happy birthday' and it makes people so happy. Why would it be that much harder to remember to send cards? I'm an aunt, I've got to step up.

And on that organization thing - making notes all year when I come up with ideas for presents for people. I do get them all year round and then I forget them when it's time for christmas shopping and then that process becomes painful.

Read just two chapters or articles in my field of research - Viking Age textiles and women's studies - per month. I'm not convinced that isn't just wimpy as a goal, but maybe I'll get inspired and want to do more. I don't want to stress the New Year's Resolution curse too much.

Last year's goal - to take pictures at least one per week and blog them - well, that didn't entirely work out. It was Neil's idea. He was hoping that I'd get comments about the the quality of the photo and work to improve my skill, but it didn't really work out that way. I didn't take one photo every week, but overall I did take more then one a week. Approximately 150 a week actually. My photography probably did improve.

What can I say? We went to Iceland this year.

This year I'd like to learn a bit more about post processing of photos in one of them fancy computer programs.

So there you have it. A few gentle goals. What are yours?

Another smelting thing...

Well, there was another smelting thing..... I like the people, I love the husband.... but I'm getting a little tired of the smelting.

On the bright side, Snorri came back for a visit.



And the beating of the hot rock is still amusing.



Wareham also had a few very attentive bluejays hovering about. I haven't seen ours in quite awhile.

mini vacation!

Went to see the new Cirque du Soliel show - Ovo - in Toronto recently.



The show was a matinee so I took the whole day off. Neil worked the morning - he tends to be more gung-ho that way. Gets paid more for his dedication. I packed and lounged around the house.

Ate bad food at a fast food place on the way out. Had time to check into our favourite hotel before the show. I love the Cosmopolitian. It's technically just outside of the business district in Toronto, but you could throw a stone at it. The views are fantastic from the windows (we could even see the big tops of the Cirque on the waterfront), and the place is so Zen-like.

Meandered over to the Cirque tents and settled in to be entertained for a few hours. Lots of kids in Halloween costumes in the audience. The little girl next to us was so fascinated by the show, we hardly heard a peep out of her.

The little girl inside me was so fascinated I hardly moved myself. :)

After the Cirque let out, we meandered up to Vertical Restaurant. I'm always interested in trying new high end restaurants when we come to Toronto. I'm looking for that perfect mix of a quiet atmosphere, unobtrusive but friendly service, and food so good that it challenges perceptions and delights the senses. Vertical comes so close..... but I am getting harder and harder to please as I gain more experience in high end food.

I'm looking for that stillness that comes down around me when it's just about the experience right there in front of me and everything else fades away. High expectations, I know, but I've been there.

Anyway - excellent service, reasonably quiet atmosphere, good mix of music in the background, and the food was excellent. Not transporting, but there it is. We opted to split the appetizer in order to indulge in the Italian mult-course experience. New food experience - grilled octopus! Then we both had the half size portions of the lobster tagliatelle, and he had the black cod and I had ummm.... darn, it escapes me... another fish. We both had the creme catalana for dessert.

Although the fish was perfectly cooked, and the veggies a nice mix that worked well together, I think the dish needed a little dribbling of some sort of sauce to pull it altogether.

It was a beautiful night as we walked back to the hotel some 2 hours later, much relaxed. He walked, I limped - haven't worn those heels in quite awhile and they were trying to break my feet in again.

The next day we went shopping! Efston Science and Capital Leather and Findings managed to eat a few of our dollars respectively. At some point, Neil turned to me and expressed the feeling that it feels like we've had a full weekend already and how delightful it was that we still had another day before having to go back to work again. I was feeling the same darn thing. :)

Drove home to mundane food and candy handing out duties, shamelessly eating all the good stuff and giving out the stuff we didn't want. Did not get as many kids as most years so we've had to clean up the leftover candy this week. It's been tough. :)

Weaving with the handspun is progressing, but it's difficult to get a good picture of it. I've broken 5 of an original 120 warp threads so far, just in these first 4 rows of weaving. I'm hoping it will settle out and find a stable point of weaving. I'm having no end of grief with opening one of the sheds.



Karen

Fleece, Garden

The reporting is getting a bit behind the reality. It was a few weeks ago now that I was at the Woodstock Fleece Festival, where I found this delightful fleece waiting to be taken home by someone. The vendors and displays inside weren't nearly as much fun as the creatures on the outside of the building. No pictures there. And although I didn't find a new spinning wheel, which I was hunting for, I did gather some new Shetland rovings, which I need like I need a hole in the head.



Came home that weekend to discover that somehow we'd managed to overlook this nest all summer long. Can't imagine how. We did notice an increase in wasps in the yard, but I guess neither of us ever looked up.

It's gone now. I had some guys from the local nursery do some yard work last week, and handed off the task to them amongst the other chores.



Leaves, of course, are everywhere. Neil got this new gadget that sucks and mulches them. It's been very handy.

But this one leaf paused on the way down to attach itself to the bird feeder.

Pretty.

Bird feeder by Darrell Markewitz at Wareham Forge. Advertising is intentional - he's our friend. And I really like the bird feeder!

Bogenschutzenfest, the pottery, handspun on the loom!

This is one of my favourite pieces from the clay firing. It started out as a bowl, and collapsed, and turned into a small vase.



We made our yearly usual appearance at Bogenschutzenfest. I love this event. I don't really know why.



Maybe it's the archery, maybe it's the silly factor. You see, there's this styrofoam bird on top of flag pole..... and the bar opens halfway through the day.



On a more serious note, I have finally decided to weave with my handspun.



There it is, in mid-warp. I'm holding my breath. It's scary.



Karen

Viking Althing

So.... it's been a busy few weeks again. I'm way behind.

Back in September, one of the groups in the SCA held an event loosely based on a Viking Althing. The Althing is basically a gathering in Iceland's history where all the people came together to hear the laws read out, and some legal cases decided. Because they only happened once a year, the Althing was also sort of a party / merchant / craftsman mecca.

The Dark Ages Recreation Company - www.darkcompany.ca - and Regia - www.regia.ca - and Torvik - www.torvik.org - were all asked to participate as well and show off our unique Viking Era skills.

I'm a part of the DARC group. This is what the 'viking' street looked like, with DARC folk front and center and Regia and Torvik at the far end.

It's hard to parse from this picture, but DARC had 'booths' with a money changer and pewter caster, a fellow working on a pole lathe turning wood, a tavern for the group cooking appropriate foodstuffs (and boy, was that ever a discussion in the planning stages!), a textiles co-operative, a wood carver, a blacksmith, and a bead merchant.



I was mostly spinning all day in the textiles co-operative and sometimes helping out in the kitchen.



Kadja is also part of DARC and was experimenting with pit firing clay vessels. She and Foote the Potter (from Regia) are seen here covering the pit fire.



It's a process that takes a full day. Digging a pit, carefully placing fragile pottery and building a smoking fire on top of it, and then burying the whole thing to burn out underground, gradually 'curing' the clay.

The next morning, we all (those who had pots in the fire) helped dig out the pots... it was really neat. Some of my pots actually survived!



Snorri showed up to peruse the pots....

Remember Snorri from our trip to Iceland in July? Well, when we got home, we sent him off to Peterborough to travel back to Iceland and then on to Denmark and England with another couple, who returned and gave him back to Steve, his maker. Who knows where Snorri will show up next?

Doggie

Aka Leif the Licky.

It's September and....

The students have returned to the campus, en masse. *sigh* To be that young again.

I haven't seen The Tool yet. Usually the engineers have to strut obnoxiously through Arts Quad at least once with the thing. But it is still early in the term.

Still early in the term, and one of my more unflappable co-workers has already been heard to mutter something to the effect of "I think they're trying to kill us."

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The September long weekend, created compliments of Labour Day, brings it's usual trip up north for the annual SCA event at Bonfield.

Vikings everywhere, oh my.



Well, just Viking tents apparently.

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My tomatoes are starting to hit the production level. Sort of. Finally.

It's been a bad year for the tomatoes. Big plants, but relatively few tomatoes - I think I'm seeing the results of a critically reduced bee population. Next year I may take the precaution of pollinating by hand.

But between my own and the farmer's market, I've managed to stock up enough pasta sauce to last for the year, I hope.



Yes, that is an entire shelf in the upright freezer. Maybe a few more batches?


Karen

Bubbles and the garden

On the weekend, I went with the menfolk to Cedar Hills Park in Wiarton, to watch the bubbles while they went scuba diving. Isn't it a pretty place? And a beautiful day? *sigh*



Da boys had fun. :)



And they taught me something - it took us 3 hours to get there, and they took another 40 minutes or so to get their equipment on and tested. Same in reverse afterwards. All for about 40 minutes underwater where the real fun is.

I should apply this to my weaving. The warping takes a good solid 8 hours of work. And it is a terribly picky fidgity boring annoying thing to do. But really, in perspective.... a small price to pay for the joy of weaving.

Anyhoo... I digress. I was up to my usual tricks of trying to tag the wildlife too. This seagull graced me with his presence. I sense he was disappointed 'though that I didn't try to bribe him with food.



Back home in the garden, this sunflower is thriving under the birdfeeder. Apparently the birds missed one or two of the seeds...



And.... my tomatoes are starting to ripen!! Hooray!

Back home

Have you ever been someplace that's so special, so different, that it's hard to let it go when you go back to your normal life?

Iceland's like that. I've been back for almost a week and I feel like.... without seafood and restaurants, I don't know what to have for dinner. Without the clean, clear, fresh air - I don't know how to breathe. It is incredibly hot and muggy here. Without being in Iceland, I don't know what to blog about!

*sigh*

Have I mentioned yet how two weeks of near constant rain and summer temperatures affect a garden? We didn't ask the house/dog sitter to do anything other then water the garden if the weather didn't do the deed.

The lawnmower broke just before we went on vacation anyway, and I didn't want to educate a city boy on how to care for the tomatoes.

So.... the grass was overgrown and the tomatoes were every which way out of control and there were weeds.... everywhere.

We hired a friend's 13 year son - Peter - to help with the weeding this weekend and got started. Peter cleared the driveway, the path to the back gate, the flagstone pathway and the front garden. Neil handled the fenceline garden, and cut the lawn with a rental lawnmower until ours can be fixed.

I weeded, and weeded, and weeded, as much of the rest of the gardens as I could. And staked the tomatoes, and cut their suckers. And discovered why the irises didn't bloom much and died abruptly - I think they are too crowded, too covered in mulch and plant remains, and two weeks of constant rain have rotted many of the bulbs.

Anyway... things are mostly back under control.

Neil's freshly weeded fenceline garden.



Neil's shade garden. It's his thing. We have distinctive garden preferences.



The tomatoes - back under control, sort of. While I don't have a person standing in the shot to give you perspective, consider that I am 5 foot 4 inches tall and standing to take this photo. It is not angled up in any way.



Something else that I found strange upon returning home are these black eyed susans. It just doesn't seem like it's the right time for them. It feels too early yet in the season. For me, black eyed susans are the harbinger of fall.