Busy Pennsic Bees

I know we haven't been posting a lot, but we've been busy hosting couchsurfers and getting ready for Pennsic!! If you don't know about Pennsic, check out their website to learn all you want to know. Pennsic is the biggest event in the SCA, and people come from all over the world to participate. It is two weeks of friends, fun, arts & sciences, and battles of all kinds.

Here are some pictures of Clanne Preachain and our camp and previous Pennsics:

In order to get ready for such a big event, a lot of preparation must be done. Unfortunately, we're a little behind this year and haven't gotten as much done as we'd like. But, we have gotten a few things done!

For one, I finally jumped outside my sewing-box-of-comfort which generally consists of t-tunics and chitons, and I made a viking apron dress that consisted of multiple pieces. Surprisingly enough, it fit with very little adjustment. You can find out more about viking apron dresses in this article. Here's a pic of the dress (with hand sewn hem and straps):

To finish off the top of the dress, I used some awesome hand woven trim made by my Anglesey friend Yzzy. She gave it to me months ago to cut in half and use as leg ties. But I thought it was so beautiful, I never could bring myself to cut it, hoping that another more suitable use could be found for it. Viola! It perfectly compliments the color I dyed the dress fabric (with no foreplanning!). See?

I also sewed another plaid dress and tackled a huge pile of mending and alterations. Here's a picture of the pile:

On other fronts, the Celts loved the mead I entered in the A&S at Novice Tourney so much, they asked for more for Pennsic. So, today I brewed two gallons for the Bar-Bar. It is a short mead, and the last time I used this particular recipe, it was perfected right around three weeks of fermentation- which would be just around the time of Bar-Bar! Here's the recipe I used, from this website:

Syr Michael of York Mead

Ingredients
1 Gallon Water	2 1/2 lbs Honey
1 Lemon	1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 pkg Ale or Champagne yeast

Syr Michael of York, raised in the East Kingdom, wrote the original article in the Knowne World Handbook on brewing. He has won East Kingdom brewing competitons several times with this recipe.
Boil the water and honey. Add the juice of the lemon and the nutmeg. Boil, skimming the foam that rises to the surface, until it stops foaming. Let cool to blood temperature, actually under 90 degrees F, then pitch the yeast.
Let it work two and a half weeks, bottle it and let it age two weeks.
PUT IT IF THE REFRIGERATOR, AS IT CAN BECOME EXPLOSIVE IF LEFT OUT AFTER THIS.
Drink at your leisure!

Instead of using commerically purchased honey, I bought honey from some beekeeper friends in Tennessee. Also, instead of the lemon and nutmeg called for in the recipe, I substituted orange, clove and cinnamon for a different flavor. I'm really excited to see how it turns out, and it is my first brewing experiment (deviating from a recipe). That beautiful Tennessee honey made a rich amber color! Here's a picture of the fermenting bottles:

As you can see, we've been busy little Pennsic Bees. I still have some more sewing and banner making to do, and Murdiagean still has to finish the slat bed he's making for our War Lord. I also have to plan our menus for Peace Week and can all of that food. I'm thinking hamburger helper, chili, goulash, and ravioli, as these are things that have canned well for us before. They also mean less food taking up cooler space, which means more room for drinks, ice, and of course, booze! Plus, it's easy enough to slop the canned food into a pot and throw it over the fire.

We still have lots to do, but we'll keep you updated.

~Ceanag