Last week on farm

Monday after a long day doing farm work including sewing a curtain for the bathroom, I got all my laundry done.  I finally put all my winter blankets away and cleaned out everything in my truck and reorganized, realized yes I do need a shelf/bracer under my table and dried out all the places that had small issues with water (truck bed is not water tight when doing 60 miles an hour in a downpour. Note to self: stop driving when raining hard, or at least add some towels in key places.)

Tuesday after pouring honey basically all day, I went to home depot got the materials needed to add the shelf/bracer, put in said shelf/bracer (just slightly tighter than I was going for, took some pounding to get it in), made and ordered business cards for my wandering costumer alter ego, and went to the store to get some food so that I don't feel quite as beat up at the end of the week.

Wednesday, rain, rain and cold continuous rain.  Started making new chemise for german dress, being silly and doing it entirely by hand, oh those curtains were .  There will also be smocking, at both the cuffs and collar.

Thursday, dry but cold, normal day of pick and wash vegetables.  Worked on chemise (first sleeve is sewn, finished all edges and seams, and is ready to be attached to body) and picked up business cards.  I'm not really a business but I think I might do better at getting a sewing gig if I actually have business cards.

Friday, last day at farm, a very short day, am leaving and going to another SCA event and then to see the Florida keys.  Florida is very flat.

Having a lot of fun at this sca event, everyone down here in Trimaris is super nice and it is one of the few places where I've had lots and lots of just random people say hey I don't know you, who are you?  Still trying to figure out heading down to the keys.  Continuing the work on german chemise.

After the first week on the farm

I'm not minding the farm much, it just is at the it doesn't quite seem worth it.   With the food situation, we are suppose to be provided food, there is a whole list of what all is provided, anything that is not actually grown on the farm is rationed out and not all of it is actually provided.  Lunch is always done as a group and I can only eat about half of it as the common (only beyond salt and black pepper) seasonings are the peppers.  So I have been eating a whole lot of vegetables.   While good for me and making me feel a lot better than living on carbs, I do need some pasta/grain/protein/fat in my life.  I really realized this when I went to the SCA event this weekend and couldn't stop eating all the non-vegetables, I even ate my whole piece of salmon and I usually don't like fish especially salmon.  This combined with the lack of communication is really starting to annoy me and make me think that I won't be staying beyond my two week trial period.  Expectations are not clear, and since everyone else has been here 2-3 months, it is even worst, in that they know, and I'm clueless, with no one really willing to tell me what I need to know.

I did go to a wonderful SCA event this weekend, down here in Trimaris, it definitely has a different feel than events back home but still the same.  The it really doesn't matter what the door says, the bathrooms are unisex does take some getting use to.   They did an amazing job trying to dress up the ymca camp to feel less like a camp and more medieval. And they feed you for the entire weekend, and almost all of it was me friendly.  And yummy food too.  Also there are cabins available, much like black oak lodge back in Caid, but I get the impression that most the events here are like this.  Anyway I had fun and forgot to take pictures and learned how to do needle-binding, and now I want to make myself warm wool socks that don't run if they get a hole.

Since I'm thinking I won't stay beyond my two weeks here, the question is what next?  I'm still trying to decide, but if I had to answer the question today I would say Friday head out to another Trimaris event, and then from there head south toward the florida keys.  I still want to see the oversea highway.  Then slowly meander to Gulf wars, still really want to go.  Probably go to Everglades NP for a little bit.

More on Florida

Yes I was planning to talk more about the farm, I am at Orchard Pond Organics, they do pesto, honey, grass fed beef, and organic vegetables mostly as a CSA.   Yesterday when I got here I got to work right away, first helping put together the CSA bags and then spent the rest of the day weeding, not really all that interesting.  My hands were not prepared for this, no calluses in the places I need them.  Some muscles are very sore but nothing more than expected  Today was a little more interesting, I got to gather some broccoli (one of the weird varieties), make pesto (yum) and pour honey (so much honey).

The Cabin (office) with the honey hut (silver building)

Look farm fields

The hot house

Florida is covered in pretty trees like this.

I have not yet seen the honey bees or the cows, but I am told they are around here somewhere. Temperatures are in the nice area, low last night was high 40s, high to day was high 70s, I can do this.  I can stay as long as I continue working and not doing anything stupid and looking at average/record temperatures I should be comfortable for at least a couple months.  So I suspect I'll be here for a bit (and Rachel, I'm not sure of the mail situation, but I can ask, or you can send general delivery to the nearest post office that does that and just let me know so I can go pick it up.)

Looking at SCA stuff nearby, I hope to make it out to an event this weekend.  In general, I'm doing ok and having fun.

Florida

I'm in Florida now.  It was over 70 degrees today, I got to run around in short sleeves, very much like it.  And it's not going to freeze tonight, also a very nice thing.  So glad to be out of the snow, 18 ish inches in just 3 days.

Glasses finally arrived on Saturday.  And then yesterday, I had to dig the truck out of snow melted to refreeze into very solid chunks, before I could go anywhere.  Spent most of the drive trying to adjust my glasses to comfortable and make them so I don't look under the rims.  My regular drinking water is nicely defrosting, and after one day it's too soon to know but I think I'm going to enjoy myself.  Already have lots of dirt under my fingernails.  I didn't get enough sleep on the road so I am now exhausted.  I also get to learn new ways of cooking because what I think of as staples is not the same as what others think of as staples.  Coconut oil instead of butter and way more from scratch.  Plus a never ending supply of vegetables.

Antsy

You know how when something happens that is unexpected and messes with your plans and then you have to spend time waiting, sometimes one gets antsy?  That explains my mode for the last week.  My new glasses are taking forever to arrive.  I finally got a tracking number, so they should arrive this week.  I am ready to move on, go somewhere, I was really only planning to stay with my sister for maybe a month and then find something else to do.  I was starting to make plans, I was going to leave here last week but then I broke my glasses, and since then I have been waiting for the new ones to arrive.  And that makes me antsy.

Also I think my little sister is torn.  She likes having me around because I cook and clean and I am really not that much of a bother.  On the other hand, I am an extra person in her space and just another thing to deal with at the end of a long day.  Although I do make it better in that I am willing to cook her dinner and will even make some of the what should we eat decisions when she is in the I don't care type mood.  Not sure about the brother-in-law, but get the feeling it is a very similar extra person in our space but she cooks for us internal debate.

Overall, definitely time for me to move on to something different and today I made plans.  I am leaving soon, I have signed up for a volunteer position working on a organic farm in Florida.  I think it will be interesting.  I will learn a lot and hopefully it will help me on my big quest to figure out what I want to do with myself in general.  It will also help me not spend money, as I will get food while there, which is exciting to me.

My quilting project is coming along.  I have finished all the embrodery on my blocks and am currently sewing them into a quilt top.  Very exciting.

Things I've learned by visiting the cold...

... that are common knowledge.

Doesn't matter how much traction your shoes have that ice hiding under the snow is slippery.

Snow can hide some very uneven ground, and fresh snow will let you sink straight to it.

Below freezing weather is fine if you are outside in less than five minute intervals.

Watching people drive on ice is hilarious.

When the roads are clear get out and do stuff, or you will regret it when the roads are not clear.

Any amount of snow or low temperatures can cause issues if it is more than usual for the area.  (ie, eight inches of snow in Maryland is bad and people don't get out; eight inches of snow in upstate New York, they don't notice and everyone goes about their daily routine.)

Wow salt is amazing.

Ice/snow sublimate in dry cold weather.  (Although, salt will make it melt, then pretty puddles.)

Memory foam is very solid when cold.

If the daytime temperatures don't spend much time above freezing, my drinking water will be frozen solid. Need to find some warmer weather and thaw out all that water.

Wow, bad me, no cookie...

...but there are brownies.  I keep not blogging.  Not dead yet.

Thursday and Friday of last week continued with the I'm not sure I can actually get out of here with the ice and stuff, so I read a book (or two.)

Saturday, I went out to an SCA event.  This wasn't an event I would drive all that far to and as it was only about 30 minutes away I thought why not.  It was a little event, a few merchants, a few classes, and a feast.  A nice person was doing henna, so I have a pretty design on my hand.  I couldn't eat the feast, as most everything had paprika or other nightshades, and I was thinking I might stay for the merriment and whatnot at the feast, unfortunately my tummy had other ideas.  It did not like the smells.  Someone had definitely bought new paprika and by the time court was over the entire hall smelled very strongly of paprika, or I'm just really sensitive to that smell.  I went to a couple classes, learned about a museum I want to go to (they have a byzantine collection).  Realized I have one giant flaw in my plan of being a wandering costumer, and that is the which name should I go by problem.  Blog is Vivian, SCA is Theodosia, which are not the same and thus I won't ever get a hey I read your blog type comment (which a little part of me secretly hopes for from someone I have just introduced myself to).  The other problem is they are different faces of me.  So I need to decide do I want to try and change the name of the person that is this blog author (looks like a ton of work) or do I want to try to introduce myself differently in the SCA.  I realized very quickly that in out in Caid, I did not want to go by my real name, so picked an new name, not so sure my real name would have the same problems elsewhere.  I don't know, need to think on it some more, before I go to another event.

Sunday, went to brunch with my sister and her Jewish grandmothers, adopted because everyone needs a Jewish grandmother.  They of course tried to fix my life, I realized I'm not quite ready for it to be fixed.

Monday, broke my glasses, ordered a new pair because the ones that I have left are the ones that make it so I really need to really pay attention when reading and doing close work because I will look under the lenses instead of through and then get eye strain headaches. After that was kinda in a mood and didn't really want to get out, so read a book. I really miss reading for fun.  And I am staying in my sister's library surrounded by books, so I am doing a little bit of it.

Tuesday, I did get myself up and out and I finally made it back to the zoo.  I drove to the nearest Metro station and took the metro.  Unfortunately after I got off the metro, I found that the escalator up was broken, I decided to go for it and started climbing it.  Things for future reference: it was probably equivalent to four or five flights of stairs with no landings, dude there is an elevator, dry plus cold plus exercise equals asthma attack, oh and escalator steps are higher than normal stairs.  I made it up, hit my inhaler, caught my breath, and had no problems then walking up the hill to the zoo.  Which was worth it because I got to see all three Pandas.  The new little one was curled up in a bowl and sleeping, couldn't see much, Mom was eating.

And the third was pacing.

I went and saw more of the inside animals as it was a nice brisk 20ish degrees out and a bunch of the animals are not let out when it gets that low, as they are not designed for the cold. 

From the zoo, I walked to the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.  The walk was nice and cold.  I appreciated the beauty of the area I walked through.  And after the escalator earlier appreciated the mostly downhill. 

Rock Creek Park

I was walking through Rock Creek Park and Potomac Parkway National Park, by my map reading I thought it was just another park, but then I saw the sign.  I would have appreciated the beauty anyway.  I really liked the way ice froze near the surface of the stream.  Appreciate the pretty picture above.  

This is a floor mosaic,look purple, green and white
together in art work.  

About Museum, small but awesome.  Sorry about the quality of some of the pictures, low light, plus no flash, means bad pictures.

Simple bead on wire necklaces.

One of the things that the collectors did was they collected things that they liked because they were different, then later they donated the entire house to be a museum.  So it is one of the more random collections, but also one of the more fun to me museums.  

Amethyst graduated biconical necklace  

Really were else can you go from Byzantine floor mosaics and jewelry to Mayan masks and sculpture to renaissance tapestries to Indiana Jones collectibles.  I went for the Byzantine stuff because I have a byzantine SCA name and want to know more.  The tapestries were a nice surprise because I do love them.
The first piece that I really liked was the floor mosaic above.  Not only is it my colors, it is also fun and spirally, and I looked at it and thought this should be a quilt.  I then read the blurb about it and it says that the middle section is how they represent gingham, which just makes it so much better.

Pretty Tapistry

There was also some nice simple jewelry that would be appropriate.  And then the tapestries, so hard to photograph, but the one I looked at and went, all you people that SCA in hot places need to see the sleeves on this houpelande.  That's right, she has none.  Just a short sleeve and then the blue sleeve is her underdress.  It is hard to tell in my picture, but looking it it in person I am almost certain that she only has the one sleeve on most of her arm.  I think I need to find more of these small collections where I can go and not get quite so overwhelmed.  Anyway, if you are in the DC area and need someplace to go for a couple hours the Dumbarton Museum and Gardens is a good choice.  Unfortunately the gardens were closed something about icy paths.

After the museum I walked down to the nearest metro station, it was a pretty walk this time through a neighborhood, some of the houses have cute little courtyards and then through town, past some of the embassies.  Nothing interesting going on there.

Wednesday and then today Thursday, I spent going ouch, I walked over five miles on Tuesday up and down hills, my muscles are not use to that, plus that stupid escalator equals one sore me. I thought I would try to get out and do something today and technically I did, I went to the grocery store.  It was needed and then I did more fun cooking.  Tonight was broccoli and cheddar quiche, yummy.  I also made more box brownies which are always good.  Been doing more reading and relaxing.   I should sew, I have a quilt to make and only half my blocks have their embrodery.  Need to find something on hulu to watch while I stitch.