| GETTING READY FOR MY FIRST CAMPING EVENT |
The wonderful world of SCA... First lured in by bawdy fun at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire... (And who doesn't
look great in a bodice?) I embark on a journey to become a bonefied Scadian after furtively seeking information on
Elizabethan clothing... and finding Alexanders' Pennsic web page... which makes me dream of camping at Casa
Bardicci.
Of course, I am a thirty-something-happily-married-mother-of-three (ages 13 on down to 3) who has no business
renting three Uhauls to go camping... but obviously, this is not a deterrent. In fact, it is an odd incentive. As we all
know camping is a buggy, dreary endeavor. I can never keep my kids clean and I hate can 'o beans. I once brought
an adapter for my espresso machine on a camping trip to Bodega Bay.
First step is to find out what SCA is. Lots of interesting web pages devoted to this subject. My personal favorite is
the one on SCA camping which directs people how to find prophylactics at any event (they are NOT period, and I
as a happily married woman, will not be serendipitously foraging for such items anyway). All I wanted to know is
how to construct Casa Bardicci and how many mundane Uhauls would be necessary for transport!
Second step is to figure out when and where events are held. The web site for "The Kingdom of the West" implied
such exotic and far flung locales as Fendrake Marsh and Danegeld Tor. Sadly, I have no idea where these places
might be.
I finally brake down and buy a membership to SCA, without ever attending an event, or knowing anyone whose
participated. I eagerly await my copy of the Page. In the meantime, the person who told me about SCA and I are
doing our due diligence on research into etiquette and pre-17th century Europe. Weekly visits to Panther Primitives
to ogle the various medieval tents and a near-obsession with SCA items on eBay assure us we are going to love
being in SCA.
My Page finally arrives with our local calandar of events and our local meetings are held in Concord! Just a 10 minute
drive from my house! Our shire is small but everyone is friendly and helpful. The first meeting is five people, including
myself. It seems that they don't camp and don't share my freakish Casa Bardicci obsession. Our Senchensal is the
best; an archer named Iosef with twin tweenagers. His wife arms me with several books on period garb and shows
me her personal fabric stash (I don't realize until later how my own fabric stash will eventually occupy my entire dining
room... before I've even camped for the first time!)
I ask if it's ok to start a web page for our shire of Teufelberg and get the ok, which is a relief because I could not get
any information online about Teufelberg. I am hoping future newbies will have an easier time than I finding us. I am
sure the officers think I am a completely overeager arse-kisser... But I figure, if the chiopine fits, I have no problem
hobbling around in it!
It turns out that one of the local events is coming right up and I will get to meet a few other people in the shire. I must
bring a dish and I do my best to find something that is palatable. I find a few dishes that are truly frightening. I settle
on a gourd dish and drag my son and best friend, who is just as fascinated by Casa Bardicci as myself, to the local
Yule feast.
Everyone seems as curious about us as we are about SCA. The Prince and Princess are very gracious and give us
small tokens of welcome. Princess Catherine constructed her own pavilions for Pennsic and other camping events
and I long to monopolize her time and ask her many questions about this. My visits to Pather Pavilions has shown
these types of pavilions to cost in excess of $1000.00 and often much more for a complete outfitting. But I am not
sure what the ettiquette is on monopolizing the royalty, so I hang back.
There are many royals and former royals at Yule. I try to keep all of the various titles and salutations straight, without
much success. The pirate gift exchange is much fun and the hot ticket of the night is a large batch of chocolate chip
cookies. I vaguely remember reading that chocolate is not period but no one likes a fascist-period-monitor, so don't
mention this.
I wear my Renn Faire bodice and skirt to Yule and find that it is oddly inaproriate. Most of the people in the room
are many years my senior and garbed in simple medieval kirtles; the bodice is overly buxom-ish and tarty looking in
comparison. I really need to make myself some decent garb, but I've never sewn anything in my life and I am
intimidated by the amazing clothing I've seen to date. I hate to buy all of the stuff to make an amazing gown and have
it turn out disastrously but I cannot keep showing up in the same tarty outfit to every event.
I find a nice Bliaut pattern from Period Patterns and buy 7 yards of a beautiful yellow and pink brocade, plus I bid on
a yard of mink fake fur on eBay and a pear red silk sari with a gold trim. I immediately cut the sleeves out on the
selvage edge instead of the fold and have to go buy 2 more yards of fabric. After getting it all cut out, I find the
bodice was made for a size 10, but the skirt was made for a size 24! I have to cut the skirt pieces in half. After
pinning it together 10 times, the front seams still don't lie flat and I find myself remarking out loud that the pattern
maker is an errant-fool-born-canker-blossom and other appropriate Elizabethan curses.
After getting the thing sewn, I note I've never quite seen anything look so bad on the inside. My mall purchases
certainly don't have seams like mine! How can it be that they look SO bad? I pray that no one ever asks to see the
thing when I am not wearing it. I make my daughter two bliauts and myself a kirtle and the worst looking Italian
Gown you've ever seen. It lumps and bumps everywhere. I lining is much smaller than the dress, which is made of
very shiny stretch velvet. It is nothing like the gorgeous gowns I saw in Dangerous Beauty. I pray that the belt and
armband jewelry I bought on eBay will improve the looks of the thing.
My friend and I go to Twelfth Night before I finish my other garb and I am tart-city again. We are late and miss the
court part of the day. I look for our local herald inside, but can't find her. I look for anyone local and see no one.
Everyone is in Germans. I am told Germans are hard to make and no one gets dirty at Twelfth Night, and the New
King generally wears Germans, so people wore theirs out of respect. Either way, I look like a low class beer wench
that wandered away from the Faire in my bed-clothes. I am tempted to take over behind the bar at the Doubletree.
At least Victoria makes a decent kirtle out of solid brown wool before we go.
Victoria and I hook up with two ladies from Caid (Los Angeles) and hang out. Adriana is former royalty and is
wearing a crown. I try to figure out how I can become queen but most people say it is difficult to do without a
boyfriend/husband who fights. There are only 4 or 5 women who have been "queen in their own right", or won a
battle to become queen. I am happily married, but there are so many good-looking guys around, I contemplate the
boyfriend avenue briefly. Adriana strongly suggests that no dating should commence in any form until one has seen the
prospective horizontal tango partner in their mundane clothing. It is entirely possible the dashing knight from the night
before wears torn t-shirts and birkenstocks in his "other" life. I manage to get totally loaded and end up with pictures
of several leather clad bottoms. I am not sure whose bottoms they are, but I tell myself I was probably trying to get a
picture of the back-side of garb... Victoria just gives me a funny look and makes a strained choking noise when I tell
her this.
Daily I fantazise about my clean white canvas tent and furs on the floor of the tent and a dutch oven stewing a whole
rabbit over the fire. Getting to that point seems impossible but Victoria and I are slowly collecting things towards that
end.
After attending a shire meeting where I am the only person there besides our Senchensal, I get an email the next day
from Richard of Aldertree saying he had gone to the shire meeting the next night; on the date given by the Pitchfork
Press (our local newsletter), which had been incorrect. He is looking to put together a Scribal practice. Victoria's
husband is a graphic designer and we think he would like to try illuminating. Thirty convivial emails later, Vitoria and I
are attending Scribal practice, which we really enjoy! I meet a bonefide female fighter who has been princess in her
own right! Of course, she is my new hero. She is also one of the first people I have gotten a chance to talk to who is
about my age, has a small child, and camps regularly. Brynne's four-month-old daughter, who sleeps like an angel all
thru scribal practice, has not been camping yet however (It's been winter!). Brynne is also an illuminator. We meet a
couple from Caid who knows Adrianna (I am finding SCA is a small world)!
I learn more about March Drown (or March Crown) which is a battle that determines the next Prince and Princess of
the Mists. This is a camping event and Victoria and I decide we must go! What could be more fun that camping in the
rain?
I find a complete canvas tent at Cabella's Outfitters online which costs about $350.00, which comes with the poles. It
is 20ft by 10ft. The poles are aluminum but they are all inside, so I am hopeful we can still camp near the Eric.
Everyone tells me it is a waste to buy the poles and pay for shipping. But the shipping is not too bad at $32.00 for the
whole tent.
I have a bin I am filling with items that might be pretty and useful. Silver goblets, wooden candle holders, tapestry
pillows, covers for the coolers, a dutch oven, raised air mattresses, Rugs are still too exspensive, but we keep
looking! Rat's (Richard of Aldertree) wife says we should scout the local swap meets.
Everyone says bring wool cloaks because it will be cold. I am looking all over for cheap wool to make something
warm for the kids. Someone on the clothier's guild suggests a place in Berkley. Any excuse to go to Berkley is a
good one!
I mostly invision the March Camping trip as a humorus tale of wet dreary weather but (hopefully) good times we will
remember for posterity. I consider postponing camping until June, but I can't wait! My husband is buying the tent for
my birthday and he is sure I will never camp again after March. He is too shy to camp in garb, so this wouldn't be so
bad in his estimation. He asked me to video Victoria, Howard and myself trying to set up a 140 pound tent in the
rain. His exact words were,
"I am going to buy you this tent just so I can see the video of you setting it up in the rain. I know you will never set it
up again."
HAH! I'll show him!
look great in a bodice?) I embark on a journey to become a bonefied Scadian after furtively seeking information on
Elizabethan clothing... and finding Alexanders' Pennsic web page... which makes me dream of camping at Casa
Bardicci.
Of course, I am a thirty-something-happily-married-mother-of-three (ages 13 on down to 3) who has no business
renting three Uhauls to go camping... but obviously, this is not a deterrent. In fact, it is an odd incentive. As we all
know camping is a buggy, dreary endeavor. I can never keep my kids clean and I hate can 'o beans. I once brought
an adapter for my espresso machine on a camping trip to Bodega Bay.
First step is to find out what SCA is. Lots of interesting web pages devoted to this subject. My personal favorite is
the one on SCA camping which directs people how to find prophylactics at any event (they are NOT period, and I
as a happily married woman, will not be serendipitously foraging for such items anyway). All I wanted to know is
how to construct Casa Bardicci and how many mundane Uhauls would be necessary for transport!
Second step is to figure out when and where events are held. The web site for "The Kingdom of the West" implied
such exotic and far flung locales as Fendrake Marsh and Danegeld Tor. Sadly, I have no idea where these places
might be.
I finally brake down and buy a membership to SCA, without ever attending an event, or knowing anyone whose
participated. I eagerly await my copy of the Page. In the meantime, the person who told me about SCA and I are
doing our due diligence on research into etiquette and pre-17th century Europe. Weekly visits to Panther Primitives
to ogle the various medieval tents and a near-obsession with SCA items on eBay assure us we are going to love
being in SCA.
My Page finally arrives with our local calandar of events and our local meetings are held in Concord! Just a 10 minute
drive from my house! Our shire is small but everyone is friendly and helpful. The first meeting is five people, including
myself. It seems that they don't camp and don't share my freakish Casa Bardicci obsession. Our Senchensal is the
best; an archer named Iosef with twin tweenagers. His wife arms me with several books on period garb and shows
me her personal fabric stash (I don't realize until later how my own fabric stash will eventually occupy my entire dining
room... before I've even camped for the first time!)
I ask if it's ok to start a web page for our shire of Teufelberg and get the ok, which is a relief because I could not get
any information online about Teufelberg. I am hoping future newbies will have an easier time than I finding us. I am
sure the officers think I am a completely overeager arse-kisser... But I figure, if the chiopine fits, I have no problem
hobbling around in it!
It turns out that one of the local events is coming right up and I will get to meet a few other people in the shire. I must
bring a dish and I do my best to find something that is palatable. I find a few dishes that are truly frightening. I settle
on a gourd dish and drag my son and best friend, who is just as fascinated by Casa Bardicci as myself, to the local
Yule feast.
Everyone seems as curious about us as we are about SCA. The Prince and Princess are very gracious and give us
small tokens of welcome. Princess Catherine constructed her own pavilions for Pennsic and other camping events
and I long to monopolize her time and ask her many questions about this. My visits to Pather Pavilions has shown
these types of pavilions to cost in excess of $1000.00 and often much more for a complete outfitting. But I am not
sure what the ettiquette is on monopolizing the royalty, so I hang back.
There are many royals and former royals at Yule. I try to keep all of the various titles and salutations straight, without
much success. The pirate gift exchange is much fun and the hot ticket of the night is a large batch of chocolate chip
cookies. I vaguely remember reading that chocolate is not period but no one likes a fascist-period-monitor, so don't
mention this.
I wear my Renn Faire bodice and skirt to Yule and find that it is oddly inaproriate. Most of the people in the room
are many years my senior and garbed in simple medieval kirtles; the bodice is overly buxom-ish and tarty looking in
comparison. I really need to make myself some decent garb, but I've never sewn anything in my life and I am
intimidated by the amazing clothing I've seen to date. I hate to buy all of the stuff to make an amazing gown and have
it turn out disastrously but I cannot keep showing up in the same tarty outfit to every event.
I find a nice Bliaut pattern from Period Patterns and buy 7 yards of a beautiful yellow and pink brocade, plus I bid on
a yard of mink fake fur on eBay and a pear red silk sari with a gold trim. I immediately cut the sleeves out on the
selvage edge instead of the fold and have to go buy 2 more yards of fabric. After getting it all cut out, I find the
bodice was made for a size 10, but the skirt was made for a size 24! I have to cut the skirt pieces in half. After
pinning it together 10 times, the front seams still don't lie flat and I find myself remarking out loud that the pattern
maker is an errant-fool-born-canker-blossom and other appropriate Elizabethan curses.
After getting the thing sewn, I note I've never quite seen anything look so bad on the inside. My mall purchases
certainly don't have seams like mine! How can it be that they look SO bad? I pray that no one ever asks to see the
thing when I am not wearing it. I make my daughter two bliauts and myself a kirtle and the worst looking Italian
Gown you've ever seen. It lumps and bumps everywhere. I lining is much smaller than the dress, which is made of
very shiny stretch velvet. It is nothing like the gorgeous gowns I saw in Dangerous Beauty. I pray that the belt and
armband jewelry I bought on eBay will improve the looks of the thing.
My friend and I go to Twelfth Night before I finish my other garb and I am tart-city again. We are late and miss the
court part of the day. I look for our local herald inside, but can't find her. I look for anyone local and see no one.
Everyone is in Germans. I am told Germans are hard to make and no one gets dirty at Twelfth Night, and the New
King generally wears Germans, so people wore theirs out of respect. Either way, I look like a low class beer wench
that wandered away from the Faire in my bed-clothes. I am tempted to take over behind the bar at the Doubletree.
At least Victoria makes a decent kirtle out of solid brown wool before we go.
Victoria and I hook up with two ladies from Caid (Los Angeles) and hang out. Adriana is former royalty and is
wearing a crown. I try to figure out how I can become queen but most people say it is difficult to do without a
boyfriend/husband who fights. There are only 4 or 5 women who have been "queen in their own right", or won a
battle to become queen. I am happily married, but there are so many good-looking guys around, I contemplate the
boyfriend avenue briefly. Adriana strongly suggests that no dating should commence in any form until one has seen the
prospective horizontal tango partner in their mundane clothing. It is entirely possible the dashing knight from the night
before wears torn t-shirts and birkenstocks in his "other" life. I manage to get totally loaded and end up with pictures
of several leather clad bottoms. I am not sure whose bottoms they are, but I tell myself I was probably trying to get a
picture of the back-side of garb... Victoria just gives me a funny look and makes a strained choking noise when I tell
her this.
Daily I fantazise about my clean white canvas tent and furs on the floor of the tent and a dutch oven stewing a whole
rabbit over the fire. Getting to that point seems impossible but Victoria and I are slowly collecting things towards that
end.
After attending a shire meeting where I am the only person there besides our Senchensal, I get an email the next day
from Richard of Aldertree saying he had gone to the shire meeting the next night; on the date given by the Pitchfork
Press (our local newsletter), which had been incorrect. He is looking to put together a Scribal practice. Victoria's
husband is a graphic designer and we think he would like to try illuminating. Thirty convivial emails later, Vitoria and I
are attending Scribal practice, which we really enjoy! I meet a bonefide female fighter who has been princess in her
own right! Of course, she is my new hero. She is also one of the first people I have gotten a chance to talk to who is
about my age, has a small child, and camps regularly. Brynne's four-month-old daughter, who sleeps like an angel all
thru scribal practice, has not been camping yet however (It's been winter!). Brynne is also an illuminator. We meet a
couple from Caid who knows Adrianna (I am finding SCA is a small world)!
I learn more about March Drown (or March Crown) which is a battle that determines the next Prince and Princess of
the Mists. This is a camping event and Victoria and I decide we must go! What could be more fun that camping in the
rain?
I find a complete canvas tent at Cabella's Outfitters online which costs about $350.00, which comes with the poles. It
is 20ft by 10ft. The poles are aluminum but they are all inside, so I am hopeful we can still camp near the Eric.
Everyone tells me it is a waste to buy the poles and pay for shipping. But the shipping is not too bad at $32.00 for the
whole tent.
I have a bin I am filling with items that might be pretty and useful. Silver goblets, wooden candle holders, tapestry
pillows, covers for the coolers, a dutch oven, raised air mattresses, Rugs are still too exspensive, but we keep
looking! Rat's (Richard of Aldertree) wife says we should scout the local swap meets.
Everyone says bring wool cloaks because it will be cold. I am looking all over for cheap wool to make something
warm for the kids. Someone on the clothier's guild suggests a place in Berkley. Any excuse to go to Berkley is a
good one!
I mostly invision the March Camping trip as a humorus tale of wet dreary weather but (hopefully) good times we will
remember for posterity. I consider postponing camping until June, but I can't wait! My husband is buying the tent for
my birthday and he is sure I will never camp again after March. He is too shy to camp in garb, so this wouldn't be so
bad in his estimation. He asked me to video Victoria, Howard and myself trying to set up a 140 pound tent in the
rain. His exact words were,
"I am going to buy you this tent just so I can see the video of you setting it up in the rain. I know you will never set it
up again."
HAH! I'll show him!
April 30, Finally got the tent and it is a huge dissapointment. It
looks like white plastic. Really cheap white plastic. But we
figure we can use it untill we find something better. Rat says we
can probably camp two tents away from the Eric. I am thinking
I would probably rather camp near all of my new buddies.
Hopefully they can prevent me from making any drunken social
gaffs. V tryies very hard, but apparently I am quite the handfull!
Everyone in the shire is helping us gear up for March Crown.
We have a talented laurel costumer helping us put together
some middle class Venetian gowns. We had a draping session
at Erin's house on Tuesday and it was very interesting! Take a
big square of cloth and make a customized bodice pattern in
70 easy steps!
I am also learning how to do calligraphy with Richard of
Aldertree, who is an expert calligrapher. I love calligraphy!
Sadly my children have decided that I shall never finish a scroll.
After 27 sheets of exspensive calligraphy paper, I finally have
ONE usable scroll so Rat optimistically gives me velum for my
next project. I immediately mess it up. I spend the rest of the
evening fuming at myself. I am doing calligraphy practice with
V's husband, Howard, and he is totally naturally gifted AND
teacher's pet! I just want to kick him under the table when I
see how good his stuff looks. I think there are more
illuminators than calligraphers, so our skills will be put to good
use. I am particulary fond of our local calligrapher, Bryne, who
has been Princess in her own right (this means she kicked a lot
of ass) and has the cutest little four month old you've ever seen.
I recieved two emails this week from newcomers who found
the web site and are interested in SCA. I am fairly excited
about it and I know the shire officers will be happy to see more
new faces.
Ascelin has taken on the challenge of a June Collegium and we
are all pitching in to help out as much as we can. I have never
been to a collegium, so I am not sure what to expect. I offered
to help with the web page so I have been checking out other
collegium web pages and it looks like a lot of fun. I think I
would go to every class if I could! We have many talented
individuals who live locally and Ascelin is very pursuasive (it
must be all of the positive strokes and love she doles out to her
minions that gets them all fired up) so our roster of teachers is
very impressive already.
V and I will have to put to tent together in my yard in the next
two weeks. I am dreading this task, but I will try to post
pictures of the plastic horror once it is up.
Part 2
looks like white plastic. Really cheap white plastic. But we
figure we can use it untill we find something better. Rat says we
can probably camp two tents away from the Eric. I am thinking
I would probably rather camp near all of my new buddies.
Hopefully they can prevent me from making any drunken social
gaffs. V tryies very hard, but apparently I am quite the handfull!
Everyone in the shire is helping us gear up for March Crown.
We have a talented laurel costumer helping us put together
some middle class Venetian gowns. We had a draping session
at Erin's house on Tuesday and it was very interesting! Take a
big square of cloth and make a customized bodice pattern in
70 easy steps!
I am also learning how to do calligraphy with Richard of
Aldertree, who is an expert calligrapher. I love calligraphy!
Sadly my children have decided that I shall never finish a scroll.
After 27 sheets of exspensive calligraphy paper, I finally have
ONE usable scroll so Rat optimistically gives me velum for my
next project. I immediately mess it up. I spend the rest of the
evening fuming at myself. I am doing calligraphy practice with
V's husband, Howard, and he is totally naturally gifted AND
teacher's pet! I just want to kick him under the table when I
see how good his stuff looks. I think there are more
illuminators than calligraphers, so our skills will be put to good
use. I am particulary fond of our local calligrapher, Bryne, who
has been Princess in her own right (this means she kicked a lot
of ass) and has the cutest little four month old you've ever seen.
I recieved two emails this week from newcomers who found
the web site and are interested in SCA. I am fairly excited
about it and I know the shire officers will be happy to see more
new faces.
Ascelin has taken on the challenge of a June Collegium and we
are all pitching in to help out as much as we can. I have never
been to a collegium, so I am not sure what to expect. I offered
to help with the web page so I have been checking out other
collegium web pages and it looks like a lot of fun. I think I
would go to every class if I could! We have many talented
individuals who live locally and Ascelin is very pursuasive (it
must be all of the positive strokes and love she doles out to her
minions that gets them all fired up) so our roster of teachers is
very impressive already.
V and I will have to put to tent together in my yard in the next
two weeks. I am dreading this task, but I will try to post
pictures of the plastic horror once it is up.
Part 2
La Balena Bianca aka The White Whale. It went
up fine!
up fine!
Victoria and Sam lounge with two of the cutest
baby girls you will ever see! Rowan is off to the far
left.
baby girls you will ever see! Rowan is off to the far
left.