SCA: Making Mustard Medieval Style

We learned to make mustard medieval style. The class was taught for our local Society for Creative Anachronism branch by one of our members who plans to teach this class at events. Really good class–and good for kids too! Our class used brown and white mustard seeds, a choice of vinegars, herbs to add flavor if desired, water, sugar or honey to sweeten, and a mortar and pestle to grind up the seeds. It ages on the counter for days or weeks, developing its flavor and mellowing. My effort used apple cider vinegar, honey, 2/3 white mustard seeds, 1/3 brown … Continue reading

Links Page for Beyond Appearances Home School Co-op Presentation

Lovely Garb Links for recreating historical clothing: FABRIC TO INSPIRE: SARTOR:  Reference page to see fabrics recreated from archeological finds. Currently, they have a Viking fabric in polyester and rayon that could be trim. But this is more for reference as these fabrics (especially the silks) are very costly. LINEN:  The ILO19 is a nice weight and good for our climate. The price is reasonable for linen and they run daily sales. WOOL: absolutely period, for every region of the world, for every part of the period you are studying. Every person at every economic level would have had garments … Continue reading

Starter Book For Byzantine Studies

DAILY LIFE IN THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE by Marcus Rautman is a good starting place for anyone interested in the Byzantine Empire. Sections on every imaginable aspect of daily living can be found in this book and the author gives references for further reading by way of chapter endnotes and a Bibliography. The book includes nice clear maps, a glossary of terms, index, list of rulers and their years in power, timeline, and illustrations. Chapter titles and headings are bold and informational to make finding a specific bit of information easier for the reader. As an over-view of life in Byzantium … Continue reading

Eight things I learned at Bordermarch Autumn Melees 2013

My first SCA camping event was wet cold and fun. I didn’t know what to expect really, the wait for hubby to finish redoing the RV so I could use it did not go well so I purchased a tent, cot, and other needed items and went camping. I am very glad to have done so and learned a lot about camping. First, if you have a back problem– WAIT for the guys to unload the heavy stuff for you. I wanted to get it done so I unloaded one too many things myself and paid for it with pain … Continue reading

SCA: Common Sense Authenticity

Where do you fall on the spectrum between the creative in “creative anachronism” and historical accuracy when playing in the SCA?  I fall into the camp of doing the best you can with what you have. Personally, I love authenticity, and applaud those dedicated souls who spend their money and put in hours using historically accurate materials and methods to make historically accurate “stuff”.  I’m nowhere near that standard but it is an ideal toward which I gradually move. Still all the historical accuracy in the world MUST be balanced by common sense! HEALTH and SAFETY Glasses are safety, we … Continue reading

Braiding hair for SCA

Another incredible video by Janet Stephens.  I dislike doing hair but would love to find someone who wants to do hair for SCA activities!  I’m sure I can make some trim or something to exchange! For more, go look up her videos on youtube. She has a whole channel. I find her videos really really interesting!!  Try my previous post gushing over her work. Dear Lord, thank You for the many creative things You have made possible for human beings to do with hair. Help us to use well all that creativity You placed in each of us. +Amen … Continue reading

Ice and Fire Crown Tournament January 12, 2013

Ice and Fire Crown Tournament is a big Society for Creative Anachronism event for Ansteorra, hosted this year by the Shire of the Shadowlands.  I attended, had a lot of fun, and participated by helping to prepare all the food for the Soup Kitchen we set up for lunch for what may have been around 150 people or so. [official count 206 persons attended the event!] The cooking started in December.  I prepared the base for the beef stew and had planned to take it to a work day at Isabelot de Florin’s house but had a wreck that morning. … Continue reading

Looking To 2013

I love the pristine hopefulness of a new year. A New year has so many possibilities, so much potential and a whole 12 months of adventure in it. I shall make plans and enter into the New Year eagerly and energetically.  How will it turn out?  Will the New Year be a disaster, or success, or something in between? I resolve to cling tightly to my personal goals.  I plan to adhere to my healthy eating plan, geared to my issues with blood sugar, and my need to lose weight.  How?  I will combat the feelings of deprivation by pampering … Continue reading

Inspiration and Education

I have recently discovered the joys of browsing the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Online Collections. It began with my favorite time period and region to study which is Byzantium during the reign of Basil II.  Someone pinned a photo of a bracelet from around that period on their pinterest page and I saw it and followed the link to see more historical information on this artifact.  Thus began a several day, every spare moment, fascinating walk through the website.  I pinned lots of bits of fabric from around and before my period to aid in finding embroidery patterns that would … Continue reading

Ancient Games

Byzantium or the Eastern Roman Empire survived the fall of Rome for another thousand years or so.  During this time the people still played games and had lives that grew out of the Roman culture.  I discovered this fun set of videos on YouTube, and they have several others I did not embed that you ought to go see if the subject of Ancient times interests you. These are about games people played.  There have been found game boards and game pieces and dice, but the rules are much more difficult to discover.  Scholars have attempted to accurately recreate the … Continue reading