Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. Sadly, this past reenactment season was really disappointing to me. It was partially the lack of spectators in most of the events we participated and probably partially due to how I have unrealistic expectations of the events. Oh, and the heat, the unbearable sweltering days where one moved in slow motion due to the temperature. Woe is me.
There were a few first's for me:
At Reynoldsburg, I participated in a ladies tea! I always shied away from the tea as I never really had a nice dress to get all dressed up and join the pretty ladies for the event. The other ladies encouraged me to go and one of our young women even french braided my hair! (Thank You Elizabeth!) So I put on a clean laundry lady dress and had myself a lovely time eating cookies and cakes and sipping tea. We got in a line to select a tea we liked from a basked filled with teas and a tea infuser! How very thoughtful! We also sipped from pretty flowered tea cups that we were to take home as a souvenir! How nice was that? I'm so glad I went! Most reenactments I've been to have had a ladies tea. From now on I'll be there.
Another event I never go to is the dance. However this year at Reynoldsburg, I went to the dance because my son wanted to go. I thought I'd go and watch. How surprised was I that I was asked to dance 3 times! Once by a young boy! Wasn't that nice? Still, I was all laundressy sitting there in my mucho faded work dress, apron and bonnet. Truly, it was such fun. Sadly, I left after 3 dances because how winded and out of breath I was, but I will try it again! Too funny! That's it for now!
Highest Regards,
Mrs Peters
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Starch, so its not as easy as I thought...
Wow, I got up today and decided to master starching and ironing. I achieved success in neither task.
I keep my skillet and irons oiled while I'm not using them and since I never use them I forgot that I keep them oiled. So imagine what happened when I put the skillet on the stove and fluttered around the house. Yep, smoke. Sux doesn't it? Like the lazy sloth that I am I decided to just let it burn off. No biggie, and yes the smoke and smell stopped and I was able to continue on in comfort.
Using squares of cotton fabric, I made 4 examples of starches: light, medium, heavy and extra heavy. I think I have no short term memory. Making different batches of starch was a little bit time consuming then, I forgot that I had to boil the stuff accordingly and after that I kept forgetting which level of stiffness I'd just completed and the more I re-starched, the more frustrated I got, and the more frustrated I got the messier my workspace What a mess! It was a winter wonderland of cornstarch by the time I finished! Finally I finished my 4 masterpieces and hung them out in the trees. While damp I collected them from the trees and with excitement, put iron to cotton. I scorched the fabric on my first 3 tries. That didn't happen the last time I experimented with the irons!
This time, because I have to go to work tonight, I put the skillet on the stove and the irons were unbelievably hot. Way hotter than last time. And not only were the over-the-top hot, my sloppiness in 'letting the oil burn off' came back to bite me in the bustle. The irons left dark greasy stains on the fabric. Guess that shows me huh? Bad, bad lazy laundress! I kept ironing anyway as I realized that I needed a lot more practice to become one with the irons and to judge heat, movement and the feel for what I'm doing. I mean seriously, even the ironing pad was wrong and I ended up taking it off and ironing on the bare table.
Oh well, I learned lessons and I'm confident the next time I try, it will be a more positive experience.
Regards, Mrs Peters
I keep my skillet and irons oiled while I'm not using them and since I never use them I forgot that I keep them oiled. So imagine what happened when I put the skillet on the stove and fluttered around the house. Yep, smoke. Sux doesn't it? Like the lazy sloth that I am I decided to just let it burn off. No biggie, and yes the smoke and smell stopped and I was able to continue on in comfort.
Using squares of cotton fabric, I made 4 examples of starches: light, medium, heavy and extra heavy. I think I have no short term memory. Making different batches of starch was a little bit time consuming then, I forgot that I had to boil the stuff accordingly and after that I kept forgetting which level of stiffness I'd just completed and the more I re-starched, the more frustrated I got, and the more frustrated I got the messier my workspace What a mess! It was a winter wonderland of cornstarch by the time I finished! Finally I finished my 4 masterpieces and hung them out in the trees. While damp I collected them from the trees and with excitement, put iron to cotton. I scorched the fabric on my first 3 tries. That didn't happen the last time I experimented with the irons!
This time, because I have to go to work tonight, I put the skillet on the stove and the irons were unbelievably hot. Way hotter than last time. And not only were the over-the-top hot, my sloppiness in 'letting the oil burn off' came back to bite me in the bustle. The irons left dark greasy stains on the fabric. Guess that shows me huh? Bad, bad lazy laundress! I kept ironing anyway as I realized that I needed a lot more practice to become one with the irons and to judge heat, movement and the feel for what I'm doing. I mean seriously, even the ironing pad was wrong and I ended up taking it off and ironing on the bare table.
Oh well, I learned lessons and I'm confident the next time I try, it will be a more positive experience.
Regards, Mrs Peters
Saturday, February 25, 2012
More Thoughts on Lightening the Load
So Lately I've been starting to think about what my real needs will be for the upcoming season. I know I haul around a lot of stuff and I've been telling myself that I need it all, and for the most part I do. However, there are a few things I really do need to add to the impression.
Last year was a very rainy season. There were quite a few times it poured and an in some cases we were dealing with little creeks running through the tent and fly. With that much water and dampness in the air, drying clothing became a real battle, and since I really don't get a chance to hoist up a clothes line it becomes a losing battle. So this year I decided to add indoor hedges/clothes horses/drying racks to my gear. These things aren't small so its time to get down to the business of deleting some major baggage to allow for the room to add them. One of them resembles this one here. ------>
Last year I added a trunk to actually organize my things. What I learned was that I have a lot of organizing to do. Adding the trunk really did add space in the van. Unfortunately, I didn't really take advantage of it so when the weather gets a little bit warmer, I'll start organizing the trunk. Instead of it being a catch-all, it needs to have specific items assigned to it, things like my cooking & dining gear all in one place, the cups and jars, food and the first aid kit, personal hygiene items and lanterns. My laundry goods have their place in one of my barrels, the other used to hold my clothes pins in their own holder as well as my ropes, tools and canvas buckets.
The washtubs, iron kettle and buckets have their own space. The cots are tucked behind them. Its all pretty compact almost towering up to the roof. The wood planks are spread out over the floor of the van, the rugs cover them just like they would any floor, the trunks and barrels are on top of that. The racks would be put in at that time along with the stools, chairs and whatever else is left.
And its the what ever else is left that gets me! I sincerely can't tell you what else I put in there. I'm thinking its my clothing "props" and our real clothes but geez, there isn't THAT much of it! I guess the only thing I can really do is to rehearse packing up the van. Oh what a joy it is to even think of having to pack the van up one more time than I really have to. I think I'd rather walk over hot coals in my bare feet.
Last year was a very rainy season. There were quite a few times it poured and an in some cases we were dealing with little creeks running through the tent and fly. With that much water and dampness in the air, drying clothing became a real battle, and since I really don't get a chance to hoist up a clothes line it becomes a losing battle. So this year I decided to add indoor hedges/clothes horses/drying racks to my gear. These things aren't small so its time to get down to the business of deleting some major baggage to allow for the room to add them. One of them resembles this one here. ------>
Last year I added a trunk to actually organize my things. What I learned was that I have a lot of organizing to do. Adding the trunk really did add space in the van. Unfortunately, I didn't really take advantage of it so when the weather gets a little bit warmer, I'll start organizing the trunk. Instead of it being a catch-all, it needs to have specific items assigned to it, things like my cooking & dining gear all in one place, the cups and jars, food and the first aid kit, personal hygiene items and lanterns. My laundry goods have their place in one of my barrels, the other used to hold my clothes pins in their own holder as well as my ropes, tools and canvas buckets.
The washtubs, iron kettle and buckets have their own space. The cots are tucked behind them. Its all pretty compact almost towering up to the roof. The wood planks are spread out over the floor of the van, the rugs cover them just like they would any floor, the trunks and barrels are on top of that. The racks would be put in at that time along with the stools, chairs and whatever else is left.
And its the what ever else is left that gets me! I sincerely can't tell you what else I put in there. I'm thinking its my clothing "props" and our real clothes but geez, there isn't THAT much of it! I guess the only thing I can really do is to rehearse packing up the van. Oh what a joy it is to even think of having to pack the van up one more time than I really have to. I think I'd rather walk over hot coals in my bare feet.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Civil War Reenacting in Germany
My husband owns an independent record company. He brings bands over to Europe to do heavy metal festivals every summer. He's been going over there for like, the past 10 years and this year, if we can afford it, he would like to bring the entire family with him.
Metal Festivals in Germany
Heavy metal is his thing. I'm into Civil War reenacting and guess what? Not only is heavy metal popular in Germany, but I've recently found out that so is American Civil War reenacting!
German Heritage in the Civil War
I guess its no surprise since there were scores of german immigrants in the war, almost 200,000 I've read. It seems they reenact for similar reasons as we do and they're just as enthusiastic as we are.
Germans love American Civil War Reenacting
Confederates on the Rhine
The South Rises Again
I wonder if they have women and civilians and if the same us against them authentic/progressive/mainstream thing is going on there as here.
Metal Festivals in Germany
Heavy metal is his thing. I'm into Civil War reenacting and guess what? Not only is heavy metal popular in Germany, but I've recently found out that so is American Civil War reenacting!
German Heritage in the Civil War
I guess its no surprise since there were scores of german immigrants in the war, almost 200,000 I've read. It seems they reenact for similar reasons as we do and they're just as enthusiastic as we are.
Germans love American Civil War Reenacting
Confederates on the Rhine
The South Rises Again
I wonder if they have women and civilians and if the same us against them authentic/progressive/mainstream thing is going on there as here.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Life in Civilian Land
http://www.ushistory.org/us/34c.asp
I was looking up information on what was going on on the civilian side of life in the north during the civil war and found this article on the rich getting richer and the middle class suffering because of inflation. Great information to use if portraying a civilian impression.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
This and That
I started to go through my gear in another effort to lighten up my load. I'm not really finding much to toss that would add any more room. Surprisingly folding my sheets and laundry items actually does create a little more space. I decided until I can actually put the tent up and all my stuff with it, I really can't judge it.
I found quite a bit of sturdy white fabric on a roll at a thrift store. I'm going to try and make some of sort privacy curtains for the inside of the tent. Again something I'll have to do when the weather gets better.
I must dress in the dark and never look in a mirror! My blue dress is dreadfully faded! I don't know why I'm surprised because I'm out in the sun so much but the old thing has been ravaged by the sun! Other than the sun its fine and dandy so I'm going to try to dye it. I really don't have a lot of luck with dyeing stuff. I dyed another dress a year or so ago and the color was great at first but then kind of faded away.
My children got me a chimney iron for Christmas. It looks like this one. I kept telling myself I wasn't going to get another sad iron,
I have 8 1/2 of them already but like the Mrs. Potts style one I bought, its a completely different style and it was a gift from my children so I'm allowing it into the collection as a "must have" as opposed to an over indulgence.
I found quite a bit of sturdy white fabric on a roll at a thrift store. I'm going to try and make some of sort privacy curtains for the inside of the tent. Again something I'll have to do when the weather gets better.
I must dress in the dark and never look in a mirror! My blue dress is dreadfully faded! I don't know why I'm surprised because I'm out in the sun so much but the old thing has been ravaged by the sun! Other than the sun its fine and dandy so I'm going to try to dye it. I really don't have a lot of luck with dyeing stuff. I dyed another dress a year or so ago and the color was great at first but then kind of faded away.
My children got me a chimney iron for Christmas. It looks like this one. I kept telling myself I wasn't going to get another sad iron,
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