Weekend Update - Birka and the SAG Awards
I ramble. But you knew that already.
Friday I ducked out of work a bit early so that I could go pick up Jennifer at the train station. We headed back to Frogholm, where I went spelunking in the sewing room for garb. Dammit, I have way too much fabric, reenactment gear, and garb in there. Definitely need to devote some time to tidying up so that the room is usable again.
After I’d pulled out Magda and a couple of linen gowns in case we needed to dress for Friday night, I called Bob. (Thank god I got a non-business number for them a while back!). “Your ears must have been burning.” I’d been worried that dinner would be carryout balanced on our knees while they manned their tables. But Bob told me that we didn’t have to get into garb, they were going to cover the tables and we could eat like civilized people in the restaurant. I told them we were about a half hour away. “We’ll be in the bar, getting a head start on you.”
We found Kass and Bob sitting at the bar in JD’s Tavern with a friend (whose name escapes me now). They settled up the bill for their booze, then we moved to a booth at the back of the restaurant and ordered dinner. We had a lively conversation over dinner. My two high points where when Bob cycled through his collection of accents from various places in the United Kingdom, and when Bob broke out into Peter Gabriel’s Biko and Kass and I joined him.
September '77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
-The man is dead
When I try to sleep at night
I can only dream in red
The outside world is black and white
With only one colour dead
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
“We’re Irish, we drink and sing.” Kass quipped.
After we paid the bill we discussed what to do next. I thought we might head up to a room party, but we ended up chatting with folks we ran into in the hallway, then headed back to the dealer’s room. While Kass and Bob tried to sell some vintage stockings to a couple of women, I wandered over to Poison Pen Press to check out her books before all the good stuff was gone. I picked up a copy of The Queen’s Servants. Which was a good thing, because by the time we got back Saturday morning, she’d sold out.
We hung out until around 10:00, and then I said I was going to turn into a pumpkin, so we headed home. Even so, Jennifer and I didn’t go to bed until after midnight.
Saturday morning I got up around 7:30. We got our stuff together, then headed to Panera for breakfast. We arrived at the Center of New Hampshire around 10:20 and checked in at Troll. Barbara found us before we’d even gotten through the line. And I spotted a couple of camp fraus behind us in line while we were waiting. I gave them a wave and a cheery “Guten Morgen!” It was a little weird to get a blank stare in return. But I found out later, they're new to being German.
There were hugs all around and we headed into the dealer’s room. We stopped by to say good morning to Kass and Bob. And ran into Petra and Matt (who later gave me a CD of his research! *glee*) After a bit of chatting, we started our circuit of the room. Back at Poison Pen Press (no, I don’t spend a lot of time with the book dealers, why do you ask? *looks innocent*) I ran into the two camp frau again and introduced myself. They turned out to be a mother and daughter. The father was there too, but not in German rig. Turns out they’ve recently changed centuries/personas to something new, and they seemed eager to learn a bit more about Landsknecht. The good news is they’re on the Maine/NH border, and might actually be close enough to us to come play with the Guild.
As usual at Birka, we spent the day wandering around, shopping, hugging random friends, shopping, and people watching. Unlike previous years where I usually run into a ton of people that I know, this year seemed to be a bit light on friendly faces. I know Clint and Dede were there, but I only saw him from across the room. Rhuff and Ready were MIA. Kirk posted over on FB that he was going to be in CT and would miss Birka. And Small Churl Books was missing. So it didn't quite feel like a regular Birka for me.
We spent the morning shopping, and made plans to have lunch with Mike. Since he’s vegan, we left the hotel to forage for lunch. We walked down the street (OMG the weather was lovely!) and ended up at an Italian place (I think it was Piccola Italia Ristorante, but I won’t link to a site where the music comes on automatically.). Barbara and I had the pesto pasta, I had chicken on top of mine. Jennifer had something with red sauce, and Mike had the garlic with pasta (OMG, the garlic!).
On the way back to the hotel we passed Rick from my reader’s group on the street, he was just arriving. And when we got back down to the parking garage, Chris and Todd were just walking in(he looked awesome in his Landsknecht! Wish I’d thought to snap a picture.)
After lunch was more shopping and visiting. We visited the Armory to check out the fighting. We spotted Erin and Dennis amongst the fighters of their household. We hung out on the railing, watching the fighters for a bit. It was very amusing hearing one of the fighter’s gushing admiration over the fresh bruise on another fellow’s shoulder. I’m always impressed at the wide variety of arms and armor that these guys cobble together. And at how much the armor has improved over the years from when it was more duct tape than metal. Note to Self, Marc sold Hickory Arms to someone else, you have to remember that and stop thinking he’s there when you see the sign.
Then it was back to the dealer’s room for a couple more circuits around and more shopping. I picked up some rose colored wool from Alison that will go into the project queue to become a gown at some point.
I’ve been wanting to meet rufinia for a while now since I enjoy her reviews over on Smart Bitches Trashy Books (written as redheadedgirl). Kass knows her, and gave her my description, so we did end up meeting and I got to be a gushing fangirl. “I’m harmless, I promise!” Then she ran off to retain for royalty. If I was in the SCA, I’d probably end up retaining too. It’s pretty much being a squire, but for higher class (less smelly) clients. ;-)
This year I remembered the fashion show in time. But it was rather disappointing. I think there were maybe a dozen people in the show, and seven of them were women in Viking apron dresses. There was one woman in Russian that I’m sure we saw last year. And a little girl in a green Italian that Barbara is sure we’ve see twice before in the same dress. And only one guy, in a “hand sewn” leather doublet that looked like he could have bought it at a renn faire.
After the fashion show we went back to have a final walk around, and I picked up a pitcher from That Pottery Guy that I’d been eyeing. Turns out he owns the same John Buck spoon that I do. I said we’d have to both bring them to an event and have a spoon duel.
Since it was in the car, and I was wearing the pack basket, I’d stuck the Spoon of Doom in the basket. You always see camp frau with spoons in their packs. It was hilarious, all day I was getting compliments on the spoon. And it was really funny watching people’s sight lines be above my head.
On the way out I had a nice chat with Resa Nelson, who I know from when we took a class together at the Higgins. I can’t remember if I knew she was a technical writer too before she switched over to full time author?
I spotted a gentleman with lovely long brown hair wearing a Henrican robe and a German style hat, but since the crowned woman with him was wearing German, I jumped to the conclusion that they were Germans too. I walked over, bobbed a short curtsey and said I had to introduce myself to fellow Germans. “I’m Greek!” he said (could have fooled me) but he turned and say, “But let me introduce you to Her Majesty [name I forgot]” She smiled at me and complimented my garb. *glee* I’ve checked the East Kingdom web site, and they’re not our current King and Queen. So I have no idea who they were. *shrugs* There are so many crowns and coronets in the SCA, I’m just not impressed by it as much as I suppose I would be if I were more involved. But then again, I have a problem with any organization that has too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
We got changed and then headed over to Applebee’s (like the past two years) where we could get Weight Watcher’s friendly dinner. OMG, the under 550 garlic steak was fantastic. We lingered over dinner as long as we could, but finally we had to head out. I drove Jennifer home, then headed back to Frogholm and put my feet up. Lord, those concrete floors really kill my feet!
Sunday I slept in late (so delicious!), then spent most of the day watching movies on cable. I swear, I’m my own worst enemy sometimes. But I couldn’t pass up seeing Mr. Bond in Quantum of Solace. It’s always so lovely to watch Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench verbally fencing onscreen. And even though she only gets to whisper “Thank you” as she slips out the door, Stana Katic (Detective Kate Beckett from Castle) still gets to call herself a Bond Girl.
After that there was Mission Impossible, which I haven’t seen in dogs ages. It was kinda odd that the first face I recognized was Emilio Estevez, who, despite the size of his part, was uncredited in the movie. Then I watched Ed Harris (love him!) and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio get wet in The Abyss.
It seemed like a good warmup to watching the SAG Awards, which between the pre-show and the show itself, sucked up most of my Sunday night. Who knew that Kira Sedgewick had a tattoo? (It’s of her and Kevin Bacon’s initials, on her side. She was wearing a cutout dress, so it showed.) It’s so darn cute how Betty White has no idea how beloved she is and looked completely gobsmacked when she won her award.
They always do such a lovely job with the “people we lost this year” montage. *sniffles*
Friday I ducked out of work a bit early so that I could go pick up Jennifer at the train station. We headed back to Frogholm, where I went spelunking in the sewing room for garb. Dammit, I have way too much fabric, reenactment gear, and garb in there. Definitely need to devote some time to tidying up so that the room is usable again.
After I’d pulled out Magda and a couple of linen gowns in case we needed to dress for Friday night, I called Bob. (Thank god I got a non-business number for them a while back!). “Your ears must have been burning.” I’d been worried that dinner would be carryout balanced on our knees while they manned their tables. But Bob told me that we didn’t have to get into garb, they were going to cover the tables and we could eat like civilized people in the restaurant. I told them we were about a half hour away. “We’ll be in the bar, getting a head start on you.”
We found Kass and Bob sitting at the bar in JD’s Tavern with a friend (whose name escapes me now). They settled up the bill for their booze, then we moved to a booth at the back of the restaurant and ordered dinner. We had a lively conversation over dinner. My two high points where when Bob cycled through his collection of accents from various places in the United Kingdom, and when Bob broke out into Peter Gabriel’s Biko and Kass and I joined him.
September '77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
-The man is dead
When I try to sleep at night
I can only dream in red
The outside world is black and white
With only one colour dead
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
“We’re Irish, we drink and sing.” Kass quipped.
After we paid the bill we discussed what to do next. I thought we might head up to a room party, but we ended up chatting with folks we ran into in the hallway, then headed back to the dealer’s room. While Kass and Bob tried to sell some vintage stockings to a couple of women, I wandered over to Poison Pen Press to check out her books before all the good stuff was gone. I picked up a copy of The Queen’s Servants. Which was a good thing, because by the time we got back Saturday morning, she’d sold out.
We hung out until around 10:00, and then I said I was going to turn into a pumpkin, so we headed home. Even so, Jennifer and I didn’t go to bed until after midnight.
Saturday morning I got up around 7:30. We got our stuff together, then headed to Panera for breakfast. We arrived at the Center of New Hampshire around 10:20 and checked in at Troll. Barbara found us before we’d even gotten through the line. And I spotted a couple of camp fraus behind us in line while we were waiting. I gave them a wave and a cheery “Guten Morgen!” It was a little weird to get a blank stare in return. But I found out later, they're new to being German.
There were hugs all around and we headed into the dealer’s room. We stopped by to say good morning to Kass and Bob. And ran into Petra and Matt (who later gave me a CD of his research! *glee*) After a bit of chatting, we started our circuit of the room. Back at Poison Pen Press (no, I don’t spend a lot of time with the book dealers, why do you ask? *looks innocent*) I ran into the two camp frau again and introduced myself. They turned out to be a mother and daughter. The father was there too, but not in German rig. Turns out they’ve recently changed centuries/personas to something new, and they seemed eager to learn a bit more about Landsknecht. The good news is they’re on the Maine/NH border, and might actually be close enough to us to come play with the Guild.
As usual at Birka, we spent the day wandering around, shopping, hugging random friends, shopping, and people watching. Unlike previous years where I usually run into a ton of people that I know, this year seemed to be a bit light on friendly faces. I know Clint and Dede were there, but I only saw him from across the room. Rhuff and Ready were MIA. Kirk posted over on FB that he was going to be in CT and would miss Birka. And Small Churl Books was missing. So it didn't quite feel like a regular Birka for me.
We spent the morning shopping, and made plans to have lunch with Mike. Since he’s vegan, we left the hotel to forage for lunch. We walked down the street (OMG the weather was lovely!) and ended up at an Italian place (I think it was Piccola Italia Ristorante, but I won’t link to a site where the music comes on automatically.). Barbara and I had the pesto pasta, I had chicken on top of mine. Jennifer had something with red sauce, and Mike had the garlic with pasta (OMG, the garlic!).
On the way back to the hotel we passed Rick from my reader’s group on the street, he was just arriving. And when we got back down to the parking garage, Chris and Todd were just walking in(he looked awesome in his Landsknecht! Wish I’d thought to snap a picture.)
After lunch was more shopping and visiting. We visited the Armory to check out the fighting. We spotted Erin and Dennis amongst the fighters of their household. We hung out on the railing, watching the fighters for a bit. It was very amusing hearing one of the fighter’s gushing admiration over the fresh bruise on another fellow’s shoulder. I’m always impressed at the wide variety of arms and armor that these guys cobble together. And at how much the armor has improved over the years from when it was more duct tape than metal. Note to Self, Marc sold Hickory Arms to someone else, you have to remember that and stop thinking he’s there when you see the sign.
Then it was back to the dealer’s room for a couple more circuits around and more shopping. I picked up some rose colored wool from Alison that will go into the project queue to become a gown at some point.
I’ve been wanting to meet rufinia for a while now since I enjoy her reviews over on Smart Bitches Trashy Books (written as redheadedgirl). Kass knows her, and gave her my description, so we did end up meeting and I got to be a gushing fangirl. “I’m harmless, I promise!” Then she ran off to retain for royalty. If I was in the SCA, I’d probably end up retaining too. It’s pretty much being a squire, but for higher class (less smelly) clients. ;-)
This year I remembered the fashion show in time. But it was rather disappointing. I think there were maybe a dozen people in the show, and seven of them were women in Viking apron dresses. There was one woman in Russian that I’m sure we saw last year. And a little girl in a green Italian that Barbara is sure we’ve see twice before in the same dress. And only one guy, in a “hand sewn” leather doublet that looked like he could have bought it at a renn faire.
After the fashion show we went back to have a final walk around, and I picked up a pitcher from That Pottery Guy that I’d been eyeing. Turns out he owns the same John Buck spoon that I do. I said we’d have to both bring them to an event and have a spoon duel.
Since it was in the car, and I was wearing the pack basket, I’d stuck the Spoon of Doom in the basket. You always see camp frau with spoons in their packs. It was hilarious, all day I was getting compliments on the spoon. And it was really funny watching people’s sight lines be above my head.
On the way out I had a nice chat with Resa Nelson, who I know from when we took a class together at the Higgins. I can’t remember if I knew she was a technical writer too before she switched over to full time author?
I spotted a gentleman with lovely long brown hair wearing a Henrican robe and a German style hat, but since the crowned woman with him was wearing German, I jumped to the conclusion that they were Germans too. I walked over, bobbed a short curtsey and said I had to introduce myself to fellow Germans. “I’m Greek!” he said (could have fooled me) but he turned and say, “But let me introduce you to Her Majesty [name I forgot]” She smiled at me and complimented my garb. *glee* I’ve checked the East Kingdom web site, and they’re not our current King and Queen. So I have no idea who they were. *shrugs* There are so many crowns and coronets in the SCA, I’m just not impressed by it as much as I suppose I would be if I were more involved. But then again, I have a problem with any organization that has too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
We got changed and then headed over to Applebee’s (like the past two years) where we could get Weight Watcher’s friendly dinner. OMG, the under 550 garlic steak was fantastic. We lingered over dinner as long as we could, but finally we had to head out. I drove Jennifer home, then headed back to Frogholm and put my feet up. Lord, those concrete floors really kill my feet!
Sunday I slept in late (so delicious!), then spent most of the day watching movies on cable. I swear, I’m my own worst enemy sometimes. But I couldn’t pass up seeing Mr. Bond in Quantum of Solace. It’s always so lovely to watch Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench verbally fencing onscreen. And even though she only gets to whisper “Thank you” as she slips out the door, Stana Katic (Detective Kate Beckett from Castle) still gets to call herself a Bond Girl.
After that there was Mission Impossible, which I haven’t seen in dogs ages. It was kinda odd that the first face I recognized was Emilio Estevez, who, despite the size of his part, was uncredited in the movie. Then I watched Ed Harris (love him!) and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio get wet in The Abyss.
It seemed like a good warmup to watching the SAG Awards, which between the pre-show and the show itself, sucked up most of my Sunday night. Who knew that Kira Sedgewick had a tattoo? (It’s of her and Kevin Bacon’s initials, on her side. She was wearing a cutout dress, so it showed.) It’s so darn cute how Betty White has no idea how beloved she is and looked completely gobsmacked when she won her award.
They always do such a lovely job with the “people we lost this year” montage. *sniffles*