Alaska Trip, part II

[madbaker]

General event stuff: the wife didn't finish my 14th c. heavy wool coat, but did get it to a wearable point. It looked really good, even if I didn't need it all the time (the weather ranged from 50s to mid-70s). I forgot my undershirt so I wore my wool doublet(oid - I know that's not the right term for that outfit but I don't know what is) bare. Fortunately it's not a scratchy wool. I haven't seen any pictures; sad, but since I'm not a fighter there it is.

The sleep masks worked brilliantly. Good thing since it never got darker than dusk the whole time.

The site favors were awesome; one of the people in camp poured 1-oz pewter drinking horns with all three Principality animals on them. She didn't do a perfect job: in places the pewter got too hot and discolored. (Things we learned making PPF spoons.) But we will put them in our tourney gear and happily use them in the future.

I brought small jars of quince butter as thank-yous, which people seemed to appreciate. I think it's a nice gesture - especially when we're being hosted and lent a pavilion, sleeping gear, etc. Along those lines, it's always odd to be in another camp where period food is not really a consideration. I know our particular camping group is an outlier because we are chock full of food Laurels* and we formed around a shared emphasis on display. Also, Oertha doesn't have any food Laurels, and hardly anyone interested in period food. But it's such a change for us to see modern food without even trying to make it period-compatible.

This is not a knock on the group we camped with - more an acknowledgement of anthropology differences. It would take a serious effort by someone committed to period food to really change the culture.
It was like when I read the journal of someone who camped Pennsic a few years back as a pilgrim, with just a bedroll, canteen, and a small sack. I thought it was awesome that he was trying something period and different. And then all of the food he mentioned eating was modern camping fare: spaghetti, canned beef stew, etc.

* You see what I did there.

Comments

[kareina]

I have gotten used to the period food at all of the "big" Drachenwald events, so it was kinda disconcerting that this weekend's menu at our shire camping event (which was huge at 55 people) was all modern, all the time, with a focus on convenience foods like hotdogs one day and hamburgers the next. Granted, all of the people running the event are kinda new, but clearly we need to do some period food workshops here.

[madbaker]

The wife has been mulling over trying to go up to teach some art classes; if we can manage that, I should try to tag along for period fud workshops.

[threadwalker]

I think it's fascinating to discover those differences. Thank you for sharing.

[tshuma]

Oh, which sleep masks did you end up going with?

[madbaker]

Dunno? Some $1.50 masks the wife found at the Japanese chain store. They look like little push-up bras, but their being raised from the eyes made them easy to sleep in.