Three Stags - Sunday

An early Sunday trip to the garderrobe predicted that the day would dawn clear and bright. The weather did not fail to disappoint. Since Savina and I had intended to attend Jentien's hosen class at 10:00, it was deemed a good day to patronize the breakfast offered by the event. I have to say that Mistress Kate's waffles were excellent, and although it wasn't exactly period food we ate indoors at a plastic table sitting on plastic chairs. It was not a medieval moment.

Jentien's class was top-notch as usual. Not being particularly adept at hand-sewing, it took me longer than Savina and Sancha to stitch together a stocking. I did take measurements of Robert and Evan for future use, though. After class we all returned to camp. After doing the dishes, I again went to the market. We'd invited Jentien, Arwen and Guillaume, and Domingo and Sancha to supper, and although Domingo and Sancha, and Jentien contributed to the meal, I of course worry that there won't be enough food. I picked up two more loaves of bread and some olives at the market, as well as some hot chocolate for Evan's breakfast and another two gallons of water. I also picked up another box of Kleenex, as the box we'd brought was quickly running low.

After lunching with Jentien, we went back to the building for the turnshoe class. By this point, all of us were becoming impatient with the apparent allergic response we were having to the environment. Savina passed out the antihistamine, which proved to be a mistake. I was fuzzy all during Jentien's class, and had to keep running to the bathroom for something with which to wipe my nose. Once at a stopping place, I excused myself to return to camp to get ready for supper. I had pre-cooked a mince of meat from Le Menagier, according to Anne Marie d'Allieurs' version, although I used beef chuck roast rather than lamb. I happen to like this stew-like dish very much. It of course had to be heated up.

Heating food is a bit of a trick when you're running a period camp and can't have a fire. We had compromised by installing our propane stove inside the Northstar. It was nice to have hot water for tea, coffee, and cocoa, and for dish washing. I have thought a bit about creating a separate tent, situated in the rear of the camp and unobtrusive, to contain such necessary appliances when the site prohibits other means of creating hot comestibles. It was convenient in the Northstar, but somewhat inconsistent with the otherwise period interior. Oh, well, I suppose the stuffed blue bunny, the puffin, and the small turquoise hippo probably did their part as well.

Sir Domingo and his Lady wife Sancha contributed an excellent lemon-flavored chicken dish to our simple fare, as well as delectable almond tarts. Lady Jentien brought cheeses and pears, Arwen and Guillaume contributed several tasty tidbits. There were olives and dried fruits, and hippocras as well.

We lingered long into the evening talking and enjoying the candlelight and company. It was perhaps one of my most memorable medieval moments, made magical by the delectable
period food, the fine company, and the setting. Topics of discussion included continuations of several conversations of the day, notably one we'd had with Matilda about communicating the joy in what we were doing. It's an elusive thing, how to show people that authenticity is fun. As a group, we're still mulling that one over.

Evan had asked to go to bed at about 8:30. I tucked him and a little later organized Robert to drive him the 45 minutes home. Although he had to work yesterday, it was OK - we like the overtime pay. Leaving a sleeping Evan in Savina's care, we headed home.

I was eager to get a shower, and pretty much made a beeline for our bathroom upon arriving home. I also took Savina's suggestion and donned a pair of sweatpants for sleeping. I had been coldish the night before with Robert in the bed, and this night was to be just me - that is until Evan would crawl in with me. After a fill-up at the Conoco, I headed south.

This time, I took Mapquest's directions, and used I-25 and E-470 for the first legs south and west. I found it shaved about 10 minutes off the drive time. I arrived back at camp shortly after 11:00 and found Evan in pretty much the position in which I'd left him. I took some Benedryl for the allergies and crashed. Predictably, Evan joined me some time in the middle of the night, and I noticed for the first time that he was suffering from allergies, too. I think I blew his nose all night so he could breathe.