Last post of 2013

     The past year has been full of ups and downs and I am grateful it is over and we're ready to start fresh in 2014! Major surgery and the continuing saga of renovating an old house certainly cut down on my crafting and sewing time. I was able to complete two new linen dresses for Constanza prior to Raglan Fair and have just begun two apron dresses for her this week. I sent one home with her to finish today and the second will be my kickoff project for 2014. I also have an exchange project underway, which needs to reach its recipient by the end of the month. Better get cracking on that one!

     I only made it to a few SCA events in the past year (notably 20 year Anniversary/Midsummer Coronation in Germany), but I hope to make it to more in 2014. First will be Insulae Draconis' Coronet Tourney in February. Lady Constanza will be inspiring Viscount Finnian in the tourney, so I need to be there to cheer! I also want to go to Double Wars for the first time, to Midsummer Coronation (back to Bolton Castle!), and all of Raglan Faire X. I also hope to see the College of Saint John of Rila host at least one kingdom event again this year, in addition to the regular local events.

     I don't really have any lists of resolutions. I just want to see the last few bits finished on the house so I can just enjoy living here and to have at least a little more time for doing the things I love!

     Happy New Year!

Long awaited pictures

I've promised photos of the house as bits get done and I'm finally ready to post some. Here we go!

The Entry and Dining room (those are ALL cookbooks).

 

 

The Laundry room. (Ignore that woman in the mirror!)

The Kitchen

And both ends of the Living Room. Yes, we do have many, many books!

How could I forget?

The biggest UFO in my entire sewing room is the pavilion started in June! There are literally miles of seams to finish. That may take the entire month of November!!!

Reworking of NaNoWriMo

Recently, a post on the SCA Garb Facebook page caught my attention. It referenced the annual National Novel Writing Month program for November, but with a twist. Instead of writing, the poster suggested we all gather up our half finished garb projects and try and finish as many of them as possible during the month of November. She noted that most seamstress/tailors/embroiderers all have projects that just haven't made it to completion and that this might be a way to avoid starting new projects and abandoning old ones, for at least one month out of the year. I'm in! I'm gathering up incomplete projects and figuring out what I need to do or have to get them done. So far I have two heraldic dog coats that only need buttons and button holes and a heraldic banner for my mother that need the casing finished. I'm sure there are more projects lurking in my sewing room and I plan to go fishing for at least 30 minutes each evening. This should be both fun and productive!

New Books

As a herald-in-training for the SCA, I've started to stock a basic reference library. I was happy to receive Reaney & Wilson's Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames and Withycombe's Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names in today's post. These are very useful!

I also started work on a secret project for an Arts & Sciences exchange in the SCA Kingdom of Drachenwald. I doubt my recipient reads this blog, but just in case, I'm not going to say any more! When the gift is completed, mailed, and received, I will post photos here!

Fall fruits

Tomorrow's job will be jam and jelly making. I've got three buckets and a large box of grapes from the vines by my front door that were picked today. (by my mother and our housekeeper - I'm still not limber enough to get up on a ladder to harvest!)

 

 

Temperatures are supposed to drop tomorrow, so it seemed like a good idea to get them in today.






There are also a ton of quinces ripening that will eventually be made into jelly, marmalade, and paste. Yum!!

Back again!

Since April I have made major steps forward with my home remodeling, attended Drachenwald's 20 Year Anniversary/Midsummer Coronation in Germany (a major road trip with my friend Sorcha!), and just recently have had a total replacement of my left knee. Circumstances have prevented me from blogging about any of it, but that changes, beginning now. I am still on medical leave for the knee and hope to get caught up over the next couple of weeks. Watch here for updates!

Speaking of libraries...

For the first time in twenty years, all my books are in one place (same continent, same country, same house.). Yay!

My builders are working on a second floor library, in addition to the eight Billy bookcases (with extensions) currently residing in the living room, so there may actually be room to sort and shelve them soon.

 

 


I really needed to get them out of the boxes, which were getting squashy after a year of sitting around in the garage, so they are in piles around the room, as you can see. It's like meeting up with old friends after a long separation!


I've got the ones that were already here in Bulgaria cataloged on

 LibrayThing (1600 +), but there are at least four times that many to still be catalogued that came in from the US. It should be an interesting task.

Pretty!

I have a new book in my library and I'm looking forward to using it!

Gates

Things have been moving forward at home, despite my lack of updates. The car and pedestrian gates are finally in place and they look pretty good, if I do say so. Now all we need out front is a little stucco, some post caps, and some decorative stonework and we can call that area done.

To all my bee-keeping friends

February 10

Happy Saint Haralambos' Day! This saint is the protector of bee-keepers and shepherds.

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A cross of fire and jars of honey for St. Haralampiy (St. Haralambos) Blagoevgrad -10.02.2012

Thousands of jars with honey and burning candles are arranged in the form of the Holy Cross in honor of St. Haralampiy. The ritual is unique and takes place only in the Blagoevgrad Church -Vavedenie Bogorodichno (The Blessed Virgin). There is a belief that the fiery honey cross brings health and a good crop to the beekeepers. They say that the blessed honey has healing and magical powers.   http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/405/Blagoevgrad— in Blagoevgrad.

House Update

Since I last posted about the house, the front privacy wall has been finished and only needs the gates, which are expected shortly! (They will replace the functional, but very ugly, ones in place now.) The wall itself needs stucco and the columns will be stone-clad. It should look very good. The last cable on the front of the house will be removed in the next week and will be replaced with an underground electric cable. No more power outages due to strong winds.



As you can see. the conservatory is also structurally complete and needs only finish work when the weather warms up a bit.

 We still need to finish the second-floor balcony, which is missing the floor finish and railings. It's a two day job, once it's a little warmer

The conservatory is full of all the stuff from the living room, because that room is in the middle of finish work - the drywall is getting tape and mud today, the wiring & sound system are finished, and the floor will go down as soon as the painting is finished. Then the furniture and books can go in and the builders can move on to the kitchen and dining room!

Since we're having a very mild winter and it's snow-free, here's a shot of the lawn in all its "glory". It doesn't look too bad, especially since the dog (good boy, Archie!) dealt with the miserable moles. Terriers can be quite useful!

The pile of lumber and roof tiles in the left corner will someday be a summer kitchen. It's sitting on a concrete slab and the water and electrics are already in place. The "lovely" little outhouse will go the way of the dinosaurs at the same time and will be replaced with a proper bathroom for the summer kitchen. The wall here will also get the same stucco and stone treatment as the front wall. On the right is the start of a long perennial bed, which has nearly a thousand spring bulbs, plus poppies, chrysanthemums, lilacs, primroses, and roses so far. We'll be starting perennial seeds in the conservatory next month and will fill it all in, cottage garden style, as the spring and summer progress. The ugly pipes in the foreground are the basis for the irrigation system, which will all come from the well. That should help keep things green in the heat of the summers here. The apple, peach, and quince trees all need a second pruning to get them back in best form, but all of them produced well last year and hopefully will for many more years.