The Old Northwest

 The Old Northwest Primitive Rendezvous is now over! At least for me. It was fun while it lasted though.

So our rendezvous started with me showing up early (everyone else in our camp was late) and picking out a spot to camp. We didn't end up camping were I picked but after the first big storm I was happy for this as the spot I'd originally picked flooded! More on that later. When the rest of my group (Uncle Greg and Philip) showed we pitched the tents near Ramrod's camp ... technically right in front, effectively blocking the evening sun from his camp. Of course with the trees and his camp the morning sun was blocked from ours so it worked out quite nicely.

We had four tents this year. One for each of us and a storage tent. The storage tent worked out well as it left more room in our tents for us to sleep. I might have to come up with a way to set our bows next year so they don't have to sleep with us. We could use the other gun rack but we need a way to keep the bows from slipping off. The tent stayed fairly dry which is good as the guns and powder were all in there. I'm going to make some modifications for next year though. I also hear we might have a fifth tent, a single pole - almost tepee tent if we can figure out how to put it up proper like ... unlike last year!

Uncle Greg got a sign made with the camps name on it and I took a photo of Uncle Ken into Photoshop  and made it look like a painting then printed it on metal. Turned out pretty good and sort of period correct. I still wanna go back with real paint to give it the texture to match. It was Philips idea to package it in sinew to hang.

The Colonel's camp

After camp was set up and we donned our camp clothing the fun really began. This year I was in charge of cooking. Turns out my shopping list was a bit lacking but in the end this worked out in our advantage as Ramrod cooked a few meals for us and he partook of some of ours. We left with no food to take with us! The two noted dinners consisted of Brunswick stew, which Ramrod helped us eat the first night and we finished for lunch the next day. And chicken kabobs which I had to pass out the left overs! These were requested for next years menu! The stew was a bit challenging as it was supposed to stew for over 3 hours but with the temperature of the fire only took some were between 1 and 2 hours.With the kabobs... well let's just say bamboo sticks burn really easily and leave it at that.

Stew stewing over an open flame

Kabobs over an open fire

The chef

 Back to that storm! Our second night there, after having suffered 80 degree high humidity weather a nice cool storm swept the muggy heat away. The sky darkened fast! Clouds rolling in, blocking the sun, all the time emitting loud peals of thunder. Then the lightning became visible and the rain began to poor. By this time Uncle Greg was snoring away in his tent. I was wrapped in his frock knitting and watching the storm come with Philip. The rain stopped for a short time then gushed at an angle. Effectively making our dining fly useless. I quickly tossed my knitting basket into my tent and checked that my back flap was closed tightly and Philip snagged his frock from his tent. Then we waited at the other end of the dining fly. Which BTW if you don't know what a dining fly is it's the canvas covering the fronts of all our tents in the top photo.

Turns out my back flaps were not snug enough as rain came in the very bottom and soaked my ground cover. I got it mopped up and luckily my blankets didn't get wet.

Big bad storm clouds

Storm on the horizon

Then on Tuesday night after the Highland games we had another bad storm. Worse then the first by far! Constant flashes of bright lightning and loud peals of thunder. One lightning bolt at least struck something nearby and a few people had downed canvas awnings. One chap we helped to fix his. It was a pretty sweet storm, that one. If I had a cover for my camera I would have been out in it taking some wicked lightning shots! The other photographer agreed with me. We were both lamenting our lack of equipment during our morning showers.

 The time went quickly this past week. We stayed busy. Moving from one event to the next. Daniel came to visit us on Sunday and brought my bow and a few other things for me as I plum forgot. During practice for shooting the muzzle loader I hit just about every target. Including this chain they had hanging from a downed tree. During the competitive shooting of the same targets but from different angles ... not so much. I think I got 3 targets out of 11. Horrible! However, after getting my bow, trading for some arrows and a wrist guard I tied for 1st place in archery. They dropped me to second based on the amount of missed targets ... I got one so I got second place with 29 points. Got myself a few bulls eyes! So at least I know with a bow I can bring home dinner but probably not with the gun! [watch out buglers my bow is close at hand, easy to sting and I've got a hell of a shot!] I got myself a nasty bruise on my wrist before getting the guard as the bow string slapped my wrist and busted a vain. Swelled up nicely and immediately until my flesh redistributed the blood and fixed the vessel. It's not even sore no more but it sure looks nasty!

Me shooting Philips old 45 muzzle loader

I participated in what is called a 'round robin' were people sit around a canvas and trade their goods. It was terribly fun. I'm glad Philip and Uncle Greg convinced me to try. I used my jams and other crafts as trading goods and got myself a few items I could use at rendezvous and a few to trade again next year. I even sold a few things and got myself a commission while there. Either people really like my stuff or they are a sucker for a pretty face! ... or both!

There was this bow maker set up this year. I noticed him working on a bow when I walked in that first day. I told myself I would go back and milk him for all the information I could ... turned out he was very willing to comply. He's even willing to come out to my house and spend days working with me on building my own bow for the other parts of the tree I wont be using. We'll see if I need him to do this. I took extensive notes and with the book I rented from the library and this knowledge he gave me I hope to have a long bow by next year. I'd read the book just before going to rendezvous and had a vague idea of what to do but it's so much easier to understand when you can see it in person being made. He even gave me the dimensions for his string jig.

While camping we also got the Strawberry moon. It's the full moon in June and it was the closest it's been in a while to the Earth. HUGE! I'm so happy I got my new lens so I could get a good photo of it!

Full Strawberry Moon

And a side note:  my garden markers are still not done! LOL! Maybe by time I start harvesting I'll have them done!

Garden Markers

Rendezvous 2013

Yay! It's almost time for Rendezvous! I've got a few more days to finish getting ready as well as finish my last few commissions. Things seem to be going wrong though. Last night as I was preparing to make my jam our water had to be shut off due to a water main failure. Fun right! Our poor neighbor came home to a flooded front room. It's back on now and my Balsamic Strawberry Jam is done. Now all I need to do is label it and put the pretty little toppers on then pack it away for the Old Northwest.

Hand sewing the cap

I managed to convince Daniel to finish the money box for me. I had this simple idea of turning an old cigar box into a money box and Daniel just flew with it. I'm not surprised though as he made me the cutest jewelry box years ago. It's not entirely what I was picturing ... it's better! It originally was for craft fairs but since I'm trying to sell at Rendezvous I figured I should bring it along.



Inside the box with lid open

 

Inside the box with lid closed

Starting in 1/2hr I begin teaching wee little people how to knit. Granted a lot of those 'little' people will probably be taller than me. Any who! They will each get a packet ... as long as there are less then 12 people in this class we're all good. I ran out of material for the packets. Then they get to use the knitting needles but since the library purchased all them and it was pricey they can't keep those. Should be fun. I'm going to have everyone sit in a circle and knit.

Knitting 101 packet

THE GARDEN:

IT'S GROWING! OMG. My potatoes are getting so big and are so pretty with their blue foliage. I've only seen a few corn so I will have to pop some more seeds in to thicken the plot but the beans are shooting right up. I lost a few beets and none of the carrots grew so I'm taking all my seeds out to fix this problem. We've gotten plenty of rain and sun so I'm expecting crazy changes every time I go out there!

Garden twig markers

The Power of Thought

Like everything else in my life, I have to keep motivated in the things I wish to do. It really is harder than it sounds. For instance it's possible to sculpt my body to a wicked shape, I know this because I've done it in the past. Ripped abbs, toned thighs, sculpted glutes and lean arms. Then I graduated high school, went to collage for graphic design and completely stopped working out. In comes my loose, sagging musculature. But knowing it's possible, wanting it back and actually working hard for it are all a little different.

I've found though that if I believe something it tends to be/come true. If I feel a certain way people tend to treat me this way. All my psychology books say it but attempting to train my mind to think and thus act a certain way is not so easy. After thinking a way for years it's so easy to fall back into the same EASY habbits again. Change is hard no matter how much we want it does't change that fact.

Now I'm listening to a new book, 'The Psychology of Achievement' by Brian Tracy. He's not saying anything I already didn't know but he's reminding me that I want this change and remotivating me to go for it. I hope this time to stick with it. I do still write the things I wish to be on the bathroom mirror right after my shower when it's all steimed up. Things like 'I am courageous, I am serene, I am wise, I am loved' I'm sure you get the point. Write down and think or BELIEVE what it is that you wish to be. The kind of person you wish you were. Sure you don't believe it yet, not trurly but give it time. Keep telling yourself and act/pretend you are this person. Soon enough you wont have to try but will BE. I AM CONFIDENT! I think for me it's starting to work but I don't do it enough. Just have to keep reminding myself. Those times patrons try to get me to lose my timper I find myself taking a deep breath. Here is where I need to tell myself that I am serene. I am confident.

This sort of reminds me of a favorite prayer.
'Lord grant me the courage to change the things I can,
Serenity to accept those I can't,
And the wisdom to know the difference.'

I used to say this or think it everytime I felt depressed, or wanting change. I guess it would be an example of powerful thinking.

The Garden: Part IV

Did I mention yet that my garden is now planted?! No, good! Well it is. I've got

• Blue potatoes
• Garlic
• Beets
• Carrots
• Red Onions
• Spinach
• Bok Choy
• Mild peppers
• Corn
• Beans
• Tomatoes

Once the corn comes up and the beans get bigger I'll be planting squash and of course as the others get close to ripening I'll plant more so I can keep a continues harvest of my favorites throughout the seasons. I still have a partial fence but the critters seem to be leaving my plants alone. Could be the dangling chimes I hung from a branch I planted or my wee kitty who has been seen bunny-ing (as apposed to mousing) near my garden. Either way I'm not complaining.

CRAFTING:

I'm going to generalize at this point. I'm still working on my shrug. At the rate things are going I might have it finished at the end of summer. :3 I'm also sewing my NOLA skirt ... by hand it would seem. Using the back stitch and french seams it's taking forever but in the end I'm hoping it'll be pretty stable. I may end up using the machine as I feel it's more secure. Perhaps I should just make smaller stitches. I did come across a neat trick. Wax your thread. Keeps it from tangling as easily and allows it to glide smoother through your fabric.

NOLA skirt

Then on Wednesday my sister brought her children and took me strawberry picking. Fun stuff and I now have enough strawberries to make some jam. On top of my Strawberry Balsamic jam I'll be making Strawberry in Pinot Noir. It's going to be yum! I just need to remember when I'm at my sisters to hijack her stock pot.

The Garden: Part III

So after spending days working about 4hrs each day and seeing little to no results on my digging the garden up by hand I decided to hijack my sisters tiller. I took it over to mother's yesterday and in 2hrs I got 75% of the land turned. Crazy! Of course when I left I couldn't grip anything and this morning my forearms are sore.

I went through 2 wee tanks of donkey fuel (that's what I call gasoline and oil mixes) which I of course had to spill some on my hands. The whole time it was sprinkling on me and the sun was beating down. Mother nature just couldn't decide on which she wanted to do. I was fine with it though. I lost my over-sized man dress shirt and got some sun on my paleness.

I noticed while working last night that my left knee was hurting. I kept working and when we got off at 9 I joined Jen and David for some ice cream while the rain came down hard, then rode Saoirse home. So I plum forgot to check. This morning eating breakfast I sit on the couch and I'm like 'ow'. When I pulled up my pant leg it was a nasty sight. The skin is shredded and there's this nasty black bruise. I can't for the life of me figure out when or how I even got this. I did squat down a lot picking up rocks from the bed but not on my knees until I had to take the blades off the rototiller. I got a large rock stuck! I think I would have felt if one of those rock had flown back and hit me.

After work today I'm going back out and finishing the last third of the garden and putting up the fence. Depending on the time from there I'll mix in some seasoned horse manure and further prepare for top soil and planting. Though I feel late in this venture I still have to wait out those frost dates. My potatoes are impatient like me. They have stems growing already. I might just put some soil in a largish pot and cover in straw till I'm able to plant them. Of course I'm debating how I'm wanting to grow these little blue buggers; with a straw covering, buried, or a little of both.

I'm hoping to keep it clean this winter so I don't have nearly as much work next year.

CRAFTING:

I'm still working on that shawl pattern. I had to stop for a short time as I thought I left my pattern notes in Daniel's truck (they were actually hiding from me in my notebook) and I need DPN (double pointed needles) to work the sleeves in the round so I don't have an ugly seam.

I'm also working on charcoal silhouettes for my sister's three children that she will then be framing in white and making a copy of my horse charcoal 'Communications' for another lady.

I still have costume pieces to finish. I keep putting them on the back burner to all my paid projects so it's taking forever. I might just have to take them all with me and hand sew them during Rendezvous.

LIFE:

I'm definitely keeping busy. I've even got a job interview tomorrow. Which if I get it will cut back on my time a great deal. Both a good and bad thing!

Gardening Day 2

Okay so I got into my garden again on Tuesday. I got out  there at about 11am, didn't stop for a break until 2:30pm and finally quit for the day at about 5pm to feed the horse and take care of some of those chores. It still doesn't look like I made a dent! I edged everything first with the help of my little nephew.

My sister brought the rug rats over at the same time I showed up and ended up staying till 2pm. I think she got in a nap from the chair she was sitting in the whole time watching me sweat. Evelyn was sleeping since before they showed up until they left and Mallory was collecting flowers and worms! So cute! I need to get my paws on the photo of me showing little Ryan how to use the hoe!

Anyways, all that labor in the scorching sunshine and not much to show for it. I didn't even get so far as a third of the garden loosened up to even begin tilling. Then yesterday was all cold and rainy and this frost last night and only getting up to 54 degrees today. Oui! I'm feeling like I'll never get this garden done in time to plant.

Homemaking:

I decided a while ago to be as frugal as possible. Making my own lip balm, yogurt, and such. I succeeded so far though I'm not sure how much I've saved. So far I am avoiding making my own pasta as I remember doing this in school and it was a pain in the bum. I did make some greek yogurt the other day. It was good, delicious when I added some of my blackberry peach jam. The only problem I found with it was the consistency was like plain yogurt rather than greek style. I'm going to try again with some changes, maybe let it sit longer or put them in the oven on super low.

Crafting:

I've done some knitting. I even have an art trade that's almost done ... on the other person's part, mine's done. I'm getting two hair sticks of my own design (I sent him the schematics ... okay sketch and he worked from that) and he wanted a pair of my bomber gauntlets.

The Garden

The Garden Plot

So I went out to mothers and plotted out my garden. It's going to be 25'x~18'. Huge no! The pieces of wood mark my boundaries. The next step, which I'm working on, is to dig a 6" trench around the border and sink a fence so the wee bunnies and other small vermin don't eat my goodies. So many goodies to boot! The rain is helping in spats with this project. It's softened the ground to make digging easier but then I get too much and have to stop for fear of flooding and making everything fall back into the darn whole! Tomorrow though! If I can just get that fence in before it starts poring again I should be fine! I might steal my sister's tiller with some wishful thinking that I could get around to that tomorrow as well.

Blue potatoes, corn, tomatoes, squash just to name a few. So excited but I gotta dig fast so I can get my seeds in the ground!