Duckford

Awards

2011-11-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

Keith/Gunwaldt and I are in Texas visiting our oldest (Kirby/Magnus). I heard from Bardolf (Marty) last night that he and Kendrick (Brett Henry) were named companions of the Order of the Heart of the Scorpion of al-Barran at al-Barran's Toys for Tots event. And Bella (Ashlee) was made a member of the Order of the Scorpion. Those are good awards both Gunwaldt and I have received, and I think it's very sweet that one of our children is still that involved in the SCA.

Bella also got the baroness's prize for arts and sciences (?official name?) for a banner she made.

I don't have any photos from yesterday, but here's something from our garage not so long ago. :-)

Great review, and insanely bad review ("for balance"?)

2011-10-21T07:37:00.005-06:00

October 19, 2011, I was tagged in a facebook post, so I dutifully went to read what it said, and was flattered. The one response at the time was interesting, and made me curious.

David Peters (Wade Averey)

David Peters

Since I find myself with more time than usual I have been exercising that mass of grey between my ears. As luck would have it while trudging along the web I stumbled upon a great resource. If you have not yet read it do so and if you live near enough to Sandra Dodd I am officially jealous.
Humility and Formality
www.sandradodd.com

Rob Hotch-r
I mean the best way possible, but you need to hit yourself with something heavy until you forget everything yoil read. Once people read that book they are never the same. I've seen it ruin people, primarily because it does make a lot of sense. Do what you want but you've been warned.

David Peters
‎Rob ~ Are there specifics you have in mind? Feel free to reply privately if you wish.

Sandra Dodd
Perhaps he means that people who have high ideals and principles can become disappointed with the realities of the SCA. I've seen that some with my students and associates. They thought they wanted to know lots, but the more they knew, the more they saw reality fall short of ideals. (If it's not that, Rob, reply privately because I probably don't want to know. :-) )

Rob Hotch-r
I mean that every person I've known who's read that book was one person before they read it and then different after (usually feeling that they need to tell people that they've read it-almost an instinctual "hey I've been baptized" response). I don't know if there are spores ala' Invasion of the Body Snatchers somehow hidden in the physical pages or if there's a hypnotique trance induced by repeating words, phrases, etc. (I don't really think any of these things) but it literally changes people and, I personally feel, not usually in a good way. Maybe, which has been a suspicion, there is no fault with the actual tome necessarily, but the content is interpreted by the reader as to give some sort of permission (not necessarily intended) to those who've got a latent arrogant streak or secret egotistical urges, to let those respective flags fly proudly. I've only glimpsed pages and veiwed small sections (as I've intentionally avoided an actual full reading-specifically because of this.) and though there is a lot of what I know about it that I agree with, it's just not going to happen and I will never advise anyone to read it. Write me off as a cook, or as jaded former society, whatever flavor you please. I realize that you're proud of your work Sandra and have every right to be. There's just bad ju-ju in there.

Sandra Dodd
‎#1, it's not "a book." It's ten e-mails. So if you don't even know what it is, and you haven't read it, it seems odd that you would appoint yourself a guardian or even reviewer. "Bad ju-ju"? "Tome"?

#2, What do you mean,"Write me off as a cook"...? A kook, did you mean? There's nothing in there that should bother cooks.

Rob Hotch-r
#1 Bleh #2 Bleh Bleh I'm doing this little email geek dance with you. You created poison and that's it.

Oh. Then I guess he deleted that one (which I had cut and pasted) and put this:
‎#1 Bleh #2 Bleh Bleh I'm not doing this little email geek dance with you. You created poison and that's it.

Doing this, not doing this. It didn't seem like a "geek dance" to me. It seemed like someone attempting to seem knowledgable and important in the absence of any real knowledge or weight. It seemed like someone flinging poo on someone else's happiness. Monkey poo.

Wallet, Scrip, Satchel, Shoulder Bag (but not purse)

2011-10-16T07:11:00.003-06:00

New page on the site, blast from the past, about the fairly recent past (A.S. XXV and thereabout), the medieval past (naturally), and documenting with dictionaries (again).
http://sandradodd.com/duckford/bag, and my abiding joy in connecting dots.

The image here isn't part of that other page, but is a bonus image. I was at the Victoria and Albert museum this summer with the once Lady Adelicia sans Coeur of Gloucester (now Carolyn Pihl, living in the UK and Sweden, alternately). There was a display of art salvaged from churches that were no longer standing for one reason or another. Other photos from that day can be seen here: http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c111/SandraDodd/Europe/Sandra2011/June%2025%20LondonCarolyn/

Recipe site

2011-09-08T06:47:00.000-06:00

Recipes with photos, from various periods of history. The one I clicked right too is something my mom used to make and I didn't like when I was a kid, but if it were made with better salmon than canned (which wasn't so easily available or affordable when I was a kid), it could be good. :-) I do feel bad, in retrospect, that I said "yuck!" and then went on to really care about Saxon recipes. So it goes. And she used corn meal instead of oatmeal, and I made corn bread just yesterday, so the connections just keep rolling on.

When I was in Hampton Court last summer there was a good fire-building demo in the kitchen, starting with flint and tinder and moving on to an all-day sustainable serious-business fire the likes of which I had never seen. And they have a website with Tudor recipes:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace/WhatsOn/tudorcookery

"Clusters of Ash Keys"

2011-08-29T06:57:00.000-06:00

That is the registered device of someone who won't be using it. Lady Mariassa Ashgrove of the Marche of Norborough in the Middle Kingdom. I've just put an obituary up for her. I should have done it sooner, but other things kept jumping ahead of it on the list.

http://sandradodd.com/people/obituaries/sca

I feel very at peace keeping this page. Mariassa's device is beautiful. Per bend invected Or and vert, two clusters of ash keys counterchanged. When I put up a new note, I think of creating and tending a grave in a peaceful cemetery. This summer I got to stay in 'the manse' (the minister's house) in the Yarrow Valley in the Scottish Borders. The house had once had servants, and there were service bells in the kitchen, mostly disconnected. There was a wall along the back of the house, separating the garden of the manse from the church and cemetery behind. I went out and walked and took photos felt the quiet peace.

That was a home education connection ("home ed" they call it in the UK; homeschooling in the US), and I might return there. One morning very early I went to the unlocked church and played the organ.

When I add the notification of another passing, I think of my own friends who have passed from life or maybe just from my own life, as I have passed from being a physical presence in some people's lives to being a memory, and I feel rich in remembrance.

Maud's Toy Horse

2011-08-07T21:33:00.000-06:00

Here are the photos I have of a recent project by Matilda:

Because this project was contributed to the war effort (A&S, to glorify the Outlands and all that good stuff), there is documentation, and the PDF (words and the best of the images) is here:

http://sandradodd.com/matilda/ToyHorse.pdf
Give it a few seconds to load.

Ye Headless House Handbook...

2011-05-19T14:33:00.001-06:00

Ah, the things you stumble across when you try to procrastinate on work by surfing the web!

In this case, I came across a note in ThinkWell#6 on your website regarding Ye Headlesse House Fighters' Handbook and Training Manual. Yes, it is still available in hard copy. (Some day I may get it scanned in so electronic copies are available. Who knows, I might even put up a website and post it!) The price is unchanged. [US$8.00 each, plus $US2.00 postage (US$4.00 for Canadian addresses)]

Copies can be ordered from
William Jouris
684 Gwen Ct.
Danville, CA 94526

Cookery resource

2011-05-18T16:45:00.000-06:00

tudorcookery.com

Master Ark Kazad wrote something beautiful

2011-05-12T09:06:00.000-06:00

What the SCA means to me

I was just at the An Tir Crown Tournament in Fort McLeod, Alberta and I was interviewed by a reporter from the local paper. He was curious about the Society and what had held my interest for so many years.

I love playing in the Current Middle Ages. I like the pageantry, the costumes, the comraderie, the creativity. I realized, though, that the most important things about the Society for me are things you can't see, thing not apparent to a reporter walking through an event for the first time.

The SCA is a place where people can come and be the person they really want to be. It is outside of normal time and normal concerns. No matter what you do to make a living or what your social status is, here the playing field is equal. Here you can be your ideal self.

The SCA is based on the code of honor and chivalry. We say it is not the Middle Ages as they were, but as they might have been in the best of all possible worlds. It is a historically based fantasy, a Utopian society. Everyone starts out equal and rank is earned through your own effort. It is a place where you can take risks, because it is, when all is said and done, a game.

I am something of a recluse, but in the SCA I am social. I am an ordinary craftsman, but in the SCA I am respected as a Master of the Laurel. I don't have much of a singing voice, but in the SCA I became a bard. I am a pacifist, but I took up the rapier and became a passable fencer. I shot archery and always came in last, but I had fun.

I have seen troubled young men enter the Society and be taken on as squires by knights. They found an acceptable outlet for their aggression, and in the process they were taught to be honorable and chivalrous. They learned self control and they were taught this by a man they admired and respected.

Yes, when all is said and done, the SCA is a game. But there is a lot to be learned in the playing. I know I am a better man for the years I have spent in the Current Middle Ages.

I am Master Ark of Ringholden, O.L.

That is from this page: http://masterark.com/SCA.aspx
and he's also just come to facebook, in case anyone who comes by this wants to communicate with him there. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002410205798
The photo below is part of one at masterark.com:

The part about knighthood made me think to link this, too:
http://sandradodd.com/Knighthood, something I wrote fifteen years ago, when I was very active in the Society.

Atenveldt Reunion Songbook (1983)

2011-04-29T19:33:00.005-06:00

Mistress Kate Holford created a PDF of "The Special Edition 25¢ throwaya Atenveldt Reunion Songbook," March A.S. XVII (1983).

http://sandradodd.com/sca/AtenveldReunionSongbook83.pdf

My favorite parts are the advertisement for Honest AElflaed's Used Treasures on the back, and this part of the intro:

"The Keeper" doesn't really fit this category [drinking songs], or rather it wouldn't in a proper big book, but as it's neither a round nor a ballad, here it falls. It's a cheerful and innocuous little thing, and I dedicate it to a world which could use more cheerful and innocuous little things."

Kate also scanned the cover of an Outlandish Herald. I'll link that near its proper month in the history notes, fall of 1982.

Kate's PDF

Nice quote about leaving the SCA

2011-01-28T14:35:00.001-07:00

"I miss all the good parts. I tend to view the SCA like the Princess Bride or Moby Dick. With just the good parts it’s really wonderful but with the whole unabridged version it can get to you. (Chapter two --- the Whale.) Still, even though I don’t do much with it. I’m grateful for all it did for me… I would be missing such a large part of my life without it."

Clare RosMuir St. John, Ansteorra

We were chatting by e-mail, and she said she's not angry about anything, she just outgrew the need and interest and some other things, like cleaning her house, are more interesting now.

I think that's true of many people. For various reasons another interest or focus takes more of one's life until the SCA is smaller.

Comments, ideas, theories and disputations are welcome. :-)javascript:void(0)

Art, contrast and anachronism for sure!

2010-09-16T13:53:00.006-06:00

Gather Ye Olde Suburban Knights
September 15, 2010
by CLAIRE O'NEILL

That is from an NPR blog article by Claire o'Neill, interviewing E. F. Kitchen, the photographer and author of Suburban Knights.

The web page and the project are fascinating. Click on the other shields at those links for other details, images and information. the book isn't ordered directly from the author, but sources are listed in North America, Germany and the UK.

My favorite detail is the 19th century technology for photographing 21st century medieval knights. It reminds me of the images of the Eglinton Tournament of 1839. Photography was starting to happen, but not of such things as that yet.

Thanks to Christine Sanders for send me the initial link!

Chronicle of Aten Coronation, Outlands Investiture 1977

2010-08-02T14:22:00.004-06:00

A few days ago I scanned a couple of photos of when I got my Award of Arms on December 17, 1977 (A.S. XII).

This morning in an entirely unrelated situation, someone asked me to check whether Einrich Armpittsbane was knighted by Ton or Koris. "Probably Koris," I said, but said I would check. I called Gunwaldt. "Probably Koris," he said. I said I would check.

From the January issue of Southwind, which was published in Caerthe in those days, and please note that Meridies was still part of Atenveldt. Atenveldt was the fourth of four kingdoms. Meridies was soon to become the fifth. I left that part of the page to place it more clearly on the timeline.

Here's my during and after award of arms photos. "Lady AElflaed" sounds much prettier than any title I've ever had.

The Stag and Chalice

2010-07-17T17:57:00.004-06:00

Awarded to Gunwaldt in March 13, 2010 by Bela and Anna.

The scroll was made by Rosslin Katrin Von Hohenzollern. The notes from the back are here:

The passing of Leif Ivarson

2010-07-17T17:32:00.002-06:00

Being old, my memories of Leif Ivarson are most vivid from when he was a young man, not yet a squire, not a knight. I knew him through those stages. I knew him as he served as king, and grew older, but he moved and I took refuge within walls.

On Tuesday, July 13, he died in an accident at work. One memorial page is here, and if anyone who reads this knows of others, please leave a note below.

http://sandradodd.com/people/leifivarson

This photo was taken just over a week before his death, at Battlemore, by Gabrielle Angel Dee Lilly:

Trivia or history or biography?

2010-02-02T14:06:00.002-07:00

I was invited to do a list of things about me on facebook today, and when I went to see whether I had already done it, I found this. It's probably more likely to be of interest to people who come by here than on facebook.

SCA MemeShare
Friday, May 15, 2009 at 5:52pm | Edit Note | Delete

GENERAL SCA
- Been an officer? (Local, Regional, Kingdom, Society?) – All those levels, shire, barony, principality, kingdom and Society
- Do you have an SCA name? – AElflaed of Duckford
- Do you have an SCA persona? – Saxon, father's a stonemason and wood carver... some stuff like that.
- Changed persona because of different garb? – There used to be "Come as you aren't" revels...
- Been adopted by a person, household or clan? – Founded households and adopted others, I suppose.
- Had a name and/or device accepted by the SCA College of Arms? – Yes
- Had a name and/or device rejected by the SCA College of Arms? – No.
- Been taken or taken as an apprentice, protege or squire? – It wasn't the thing in those days.
- Have rank higher than an Award of Arms? – yes

EVENTS
- Been an Event Steward/Autocrat? – Yes.
- Kingdom level or local level? – shire, baronial, principality, kingdom
- Cooked an Event? – Dishes for a feast but not whole feast; smaller period meals for formal camping and household, sure.
- Taught a class at an event? - yes
- Run an activity at an event? - yes

FIGHTING/MARTIAL ARTS
- Ever fought at an event? - nope

ARTS & SCIENCES
- Have you ever entered an A&S contest? -Yes
- Have you ever won an A&S contest? - Yes (categories and bardics, but not championships)
- Ever run an A&S contest? - Bardics, speed calligraphy, never a whole event
- Ever judge/critique items in an A&S contest? - Yes
- Ever Wordsmithed a scroll? - Often
- Illuminated a scroll? – Yes
- Done the Calligraphy for a scroll? – Yes
- Made your own paper? - No.
- Made a book? - Yes
- Make someone's order medallion? - No.
- Write someone in for an award? – Yes
- Have you ever sewn your own garb? - Yes.
- Sewn Garb for others? - Yes.
- Ever been sewing on the way to an event? - Yes
- Ever finished an outfit before an event? - Yes
- Researched and completed an outfit from said research? – I guess a "have you ever researched an outfit?" question is missing. Yes. And made one. Yes.
- Ever taught a class on sewing? - T-tunics and faced facings
- Finished a hat? – yes
- Do you know how to spin? – Have tried for learning purposes but not produced.
- Ever woven your own fabric? - No.
- Do you know how to knit? - No.
- Do you know how to do njalbinding or fingerloop braiding? – No.
- Have you ever dyed your own yarn or fabric? - Yes
- Embroidered a garment? - Yes
- Beaded a garment? – No.
- Ever entertained at a feast? - Yes
- Ever ran a bardic circle? - Yes
- Ever performed in a bardic circle? - Yes.
- Had songs requested from you at such? - Yes
- Ever competed in a formal bardic? - Yes
- Know any period songs? - Yes
- Been banned from a bardic circle for a song/performance, or have a piece you perform banned/controlled? – No.

COURT IN THE SCA
- Ran a court as Royalty (King/Queen or Baron/Baroness)? – Yes
- Ran a court as Herald? - No.
- Heralded at Court? - No.
- Been an Attendant, Guard or Champion at court? - Yes (in coronations)
- Been called to court to receive an award, if so which one/s?- Yes http://sandradodd.com/duckford/awards">

Duchess Carol of Bellatrix has passed away

2010-01-24T17:40:00.005-07:00

Today have I learned of the passing of a gentle lady, Duchess Carol of Bellatrix.

More details are available here:

http://sandradodd.com/people/obituaries/sca

If any have other details, photos, comments or links for this or any other of those souls who are remembered there, or details of those who are not but should be, please write to me at AElflaed at Sandra Dodd.com, or leave a note below and I will contact you.

First Outlands Coronation

2009-09-08T06:13:00.007-06:00

Michael Schneider's Photos - SCA - Outlands First Coronation

That's a link to page two of 29 photos of the first Outlands Coronation, put up on facebook by Michael Schneider (Grimkirk ap Greymoor), in the Atenveldt group area.

For those who aren't on Facebook, you can look here: http://s26.photobucket.com..., thanks to the photographer's generosity in sending me the photos! If you're in there or you want to save photos of friends or of moments, please do, but save the credit with the photo somehow. And Photobucket will say it was me, but I tried to credit Michael/Grimkirk in each comment field.

He has photos of the first Crown Tournament up here: Michael Schneider's Photos - SCA - Outlands 1st Crown (1986)

A twenty-five-year-old love poem

2009-07-10T09:33:00.001-06:00

A 25-year-old love poem in the style of a 450-year-old-love poem:

For a love letter contest at a Love Revel in al-Barran in the mid 1980's, I wrote and calligraphed a poem. I might have an image made of it someday, but the text was:

                 GUNWALDT

Like warmth of sun on rocky wall
      When summer's still was here,
As fire makes safe the darkened hall
      And melts all chill of fear,
Your nearness doth my soul enthrall—
      I long to hold you near.

Like morn's first rays o'er vine-clad sills
      As nighttime goes below,
As candle's gaze the darkness fills
      When winter storms may blow,
The gaze of your blue eyes instills
      A bright and lasting glow.

When birds flit down around my bower
      And merry songs all sing,
When dew and breeze make quick each flower
      Which glorious spring did bring,
My heart recalls your gentle power;
      To memories fond I cling.

Your love gives heat to warm my night
      And light to make bright day;
The joy you give is yours by right—
      I give it back straightway.
From deep inside, with all my might,
      I hope you'll always stay.

                 ÆLFLÆD

(It won, and Gunwaldt stayed too; probably unrelated. As I put the text on this page, we've been together for 31 years, and married 25 of those.)

No news is not news

2009-04-11T15:21:00.002-06:00

I helped Gunwaldt with a song he was learning, and found a source and text for another one.

A couple of days ago I spoke with Dermod at length, by phone.

I've spent some time lately with Ashlee (Bella) who is Bardolf's love interest of late.

Today I went to a book signing. Three Laurels were there (though we were out of character)—the author, me, and Mirhaxa.

Humility, and the TW list

2009-01-27T10:56:00.002-07:00

The list is active this week—downright busy. ThinkWellTNG

I've added a quote from Balthazar to the humility index page:
http://sandradodd.com/humility

Now it will become the humility index and samples page, so if there are other samples people would like to share, maybe leave them here or e-mail them to me.

Artan, Charles, Martino

2008-10-14T13:32:00.003-06:00

I got to have lunch with three fine gentlemen today, and I was very glad to be able to visit with Martino in person. This is the sort of photo that's unremarkable when it's new, but twenty years from now will be very cool to have. Weck's on Juan Tabo in Albuquerque, October 14, 2008, photo by Sandra (AElflaed of Duckford). Feel free to stash the photo in your own storage area.

Yes, I know, it's just a little snapshot of an unimportant moment. Yes, I'm sure, in a few years it will be cool.

Francois, and other obituaries

2008-09-20T20:06:00.003-06:00

There is a new piece of writing on Count Francois Duvant, who passed away three years ago.
http://sandradodd.com/people/obituaries/sca/francois3

I have added several times to my obituary page. I welcome input or additions.
http://sandradodd.com/people/obituaries/sca
I could use information (dates and cause of death, or links to places where information is already available) for Duke Andrew of Seldomrest and Count Theo of Mightrinwood. There are many others I would like to add, but these two names have arisen of late, and they aren't on my list.

Local groups sites, and a GREAT map

2008-06-24T06:51:00.009-06:00

Some of you probably know about this map, but it's just wonderful:
Map of the Known World. On mouseover, you see a kingdom's arms, and if you click you have information and links to the kingdom's page and to their local groups page.

I found it very indirectly, but I've linked it here on my links page so I can find it again, but it's "googleable" and now it's here, too.

Before I found that, I was looking at the website of the Baron of Skraeling Althing and then I looked at their canton of Caldrithig site, which has this line-up of links:

I wasn't doing SCA things this morning at all. I was reading the blog of a new unschooler (and some other current and related blog posts), and it led to an SCA reference, which led to a personal SCA blog... there I was. Forgot all about unschooling and was jumping magically from barony to barony all over Ealdormere until I remembered to come back home.

So, no hurry on this question, but if you're by here and know of an SCA group's site that is really spiff or has some element you think is commendable, please leave a note!

Current topics on ThinkWell list

2008-06-14T20:51:00.003-06:00

The ThinkWellTNG discussion list has been busy lately with bio and link exchanges (which I'm collecting nearly as fast as they come in, and those on the list can get to the list), and these topics:

is the SCA's competition pulling ahead? (and what IS the SCA's competition?)
what does the SCA do best?
history of law
"mundane"
writing, teaching (what about people whose favorite activity is research?)
and a couple of split off topics:

flash, respectability and morbidity
work, laziness

That list is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThinkWellTNG/

Life

2008-05-23T23:05:00.004-06:00

For what is it to die,
But to stand in the sun and melt into the wind?
~Kahlil Gibran, from "The Prophet"

I used to read a lot of Kahlil Gibran, when I was young. I don't much like my people melting into the wind, but it was happening before I ever saw the sun.

Fairly often someone will come by who hasn't been away from the SCA for a while, and they want to know whether their old friends are still around. Sometimes people write to me and ask about one old-timer or another, and sometimes I do happen to know what they're up to and that.

New Orleans and Houston have losses this week. In SCA terms, Yang the Nauseating and Janet of House Morningstar have passed from this world. I spent the day making this page:
sandradodd.com/people/obituaries/sca
I don't recommend reading it through like a book. It might be useful to know it exists, though.

I welcome information, links, devices, corrections; I apologize to anyone for whom sorrow is stirred.

Let us all spend a little time wishing we had lived differently in regards to some who are gone, and then a LOT of time mindfully living with those who are still here.

History in the Duckford News

2008-05-16T10:35:00.002-06:00

http://clarionhall.blogspot.com/2008/01/thinkwell-is-back.html
Clarion Hall: Thinkwell is Back
That one sat in outgoing mail a while. It's not so new.

This is newer, and yet really old stuff!
http://sandradodd.com/duckford/chronicle
If I ever finish it, it will be a record of every SCA thing I've ever
done. Well... events and offices, maybe. What I've autocratted,
which board meetings I went to, which events, what I remember, what
was special... What I've put in has been fun to revisit. It's
leading to a few other pages, such as this history of the Cordon Royal:
http://sandradodd.com/duckford/chronicle/cordonroyal

I continue to work bit by bit on the Outlands History, and I invite
any and all of you, and your friends, to add to it!
http://outlandshistory.blogspot.com

History: collecting and dissemination

2008-04-14T11:46:00.011-06:00

Rhonwen's page on Outlandish V and related bits.

I love Mistress Rhonwen's history pages, and there's a link that will get you to the rest.

Here's something I sent in an e-mail to someone who's been in the SCA longer than I have and with whom I'm still in contact.

Another part of filing and cleaning up. I keep coming to history stuff that's not Outlands history, so I'm putting it as personal history if I have a tie-in. While I was looking for some things for the Wednesday night discussion, I found a diary from 1975 to 1978 or so, and so look what's there on 1978.

and here's the page I sent her: sandradodd.com/duckford/chronicle.

There are a couple of drawings William Blackfox did of me in October 1994 (and more of the day, at the chronicle link).

So there's a new and different way for me to gather and make available (to me with a search, which is nice) where I was (and Gunwaldt, and many other people) at various times. I'll keep adding to it as I come across things, and when I'm putting things in there I can add to the Outlands History blog, too.

Remember that anyone can add comments and memories and links to other accounts or photos there! Please bookmark it and if you come across any accounts or memories, or if you want to go and put comments about awards you got or when your first event was or anything, it will be there.

Children (grown, and segregated)

2008-03-10T23:21:00.003-06:00

http://sandradodd.blogspot.com/2008/03/marty-as-bardolf-at-crown.html
Our second son was in his first Crown Tournament.

http://aelflaedofduckford.blogspot.com/2008/02/segregation-and-other-wrongs.html
Some commentary on "children's activities"

People I Miss

2008-02-01T11:22:00.002-07:00

http://aelflaedofduckford.blogspot.com/2008/01/people-i-miss.html

There are other posts I have in the works. For many years I have withheld many personal opinions, except in conversations with friends and students. I might as well get some of them out there. (Yeah, you thought I couldn't possibly be withholding ideas, right? )

I had to make a new blog to make a new profile

2008-01-27T21:03:00.001-07:00

And here it is: http://aelflaedofduckford.blogspot.com/2008/01/to-have-another-profile-i-needed-new.html"

I wish I had thought of this a year or two ago, but I didn't. I'm glad I thought of it today instead of a year or two from now.

The Outlands History blog has a new feature—a list of recent additions/updates. I can't be methodical about it. For on thing, I'm just not so methodical. For another, though, I don't want to bore the old timers OR the more recent folk with just the 70's, or just last year, so I want to do some and some, and eventually just fill it all in.

My helpers so far are Masters Balthazar and Gunwaldt, who are more back up and advisory at this point, as they have much less time and many fewer newsletters.

Formality of Address (new etiquette bit)

2008-01-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Formality of Address

This is about understanding the principle behind formal address, instead of trying to go by a rule. When Artan VI was king, I was steward of the household and his squire Dermod asked me by e-mail to clarify something. Here's our exchange from October, 2006. Dermod came up with a great phrase, as you'll see...

There are links there to other etiquette pages, too.

A repository for any little bits of Outlands history

2008-01-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

For those outside the Outlands (those in the Inlands!?):
If you know of a history site for your kingdom that should be shared, please let me know by e-mail or in a comment below.

Outlanders, or former Outlanders, or visitors with vivid memories or diaries or something:

I'm setting up a blog for the collection of historical bits by month. At the moment it goes from 1970 to 1986.
There will be more tomorrow, and I hope to finish by the end of the weekend.

As people add their recollections, it should jog others' memories.

The only three months with entries at the moment are

http://outlandshistory.blogspot.com/2008/01/december-1970.html
http://outlandshistory.blogspot.com/2008/01/january-1971.html
http://outlandshistory.blogspot.com/2008/01/june-1986.html

Comments can be left on any of them, even if the main entry has no details yet. You can add links to comments (notes are here for those unfamiliar with this little code; it's not hard) http://sandradodd.com/hotlink
Photos can't be inserted in comments, but the other two options there will work.

If you want to send a photo, send me a link or an e-mail image if you want me to put it in the main body for that month.

Links to other history sites are there and I'm willing to add as many more as people know of.

Eventually each month should have details on who the king and queen were (and prince and princess, in the day), events, investitures, some awards, details on tournaments and wars. Feel free to add those to comments links any time, starting now (up to 1986 or wherever it is when you go there).

If you have any particular memory of the event—weather, injuries, feast dishes, interesting phenomena, weddings—those kinds of details should jog other people's memories. If you want to tell who autocratted or cooked or heralded or organized the parking lot for an event, go ahead. If you have an old newsletter scanned for that month, put the link (and if it's not online, send it to me and I'll put it where it can be linked).

This can have tons of links to (and maybe from) other resources, and it won't conflict with the wiki because that's by subject/group/person and this is by date.

We can rush to fill it in or we can meander through the years adding photos and chronicles written in those times as we come across them. I would love to have heralds' reports (or links to them, maybe) and tourney reports and lists of honors from the day. Just add them as comments or e-mail them to me (there's a link on that page).

AElflaed

Kingdom differences

2008-01-13T05:23:00.001-07:00

Traditions of what to wear, chains on squires who move to kingdoms where it's not the practice to wear them... Ideas surrounding that are being discussed at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThinkWellTNG/

Article in T.I., and interview

2007-10-26T09:56:00.000-06:00

For the first time in thirty years, I didn't get a T.I.
The explanation involves separate memberships, two T.I.s coming, then one T.I. coming, and me thinking it was Gunwaldt's and him not even thinking about it at all.

So I did get a copy and a Tournaments Illuminated t-shirt for being a contributor (gold on black! My barony's colors, and my household's colors!)

The editor wanted to use something I wrote long ago in Bright Ideas, "Concrete Suggestions for Helping Newer Members."

A new title was negotiated, and it became "Help Newcomers Directly."

Beacuse it's not very long, the editor wanted to fill up the space with an interview. I think the desired response was "Newcomers are the most important part of the SCA," but that's not the response I gave. Still, the topic of the interview was to have been about newcomers.

Because I'm an oldtimer I wish every member still got Tournaments Illuminated. Not so many do anymore. Not even me, I discovered to my sorrow the other day.

thirty years ago, almost...

2007-10-16T11:54:00.000-06:00

Two months from now, thirty years ago, I sent an application/resume/introduction/biography to the seneschal of Atenveldt, because I had been appointed (not so legally, I found out later, when the Aten Seneschal pointed it out...) It wasn't really an application, because I was already "in office" (though I could've been taken out).

sandradodd.com/duckford/1977resume

When I joined, it was generally believed and held in Atenveldt (maybe more broadly; I forget) that the feminine form of "seneschal" needed an "e" at the end. If they were going off formations like Michelle from Michel, they should've doubled the "l" but no matter. The whole deal was dropped before long.

This was done on a typewriter, naturally; everything was then. I have carbon copies of many letters. (Yuck, carbon copies—may you never see or touch one if you haven't already.)

Within just a few years, I had a Kaypro computer with a daisy-wheel printer, then a Mac IIsi with a laser printer, and before I knew it, here I am looking back 30 years.

I think the benefits and disadvantages of one time and place or another are six of one, half a dozen of the other. It evens out. We had more newness and opportunity but less information and example. Nowadays one can learn more just clicking around the internet than we could've learned in a year of dusty library stacks where we were lucky to find black and white line drawings (or occasionally color plates, but nothing like we have now in books and on the internet).

Blogs and webpages are way better, even though less medieval, than typewriters and carbon paper.

Enjoy your SCA life. Enjoy your mundane life, and if you have other side-lives, find the joy in them too.

Humility

2007-10-14T13:56:00.000-06:00

Humility's hard to keep up with. I forget, I get grumpy, I work through my tools and tricks again.
I know, too, that it's been the hardest thing for some people to understand when we've discussed it here, and hard for people to transfer from the SCA to regular life. I'm glad to have found some recent and "mundane" things (if something so useful in the SCA and to one's immediate peace can be considered that).

Humility: A modern explanation and example, and link to another site.
http://sandradodd.com/duckford/virtue/modesty

I added a link to the bottom of the lists of virtues.
http://sandradodd.com/duckford/virtue/lists

easy contact page, and camping

2007-10-12T07:28:00.000-06:00

http://sandradodd.com/anchoress

Streamlined, direct contact, easy to remember. (Well, easier than sandradodd.com/sca/aeanchoress)

I've moved camping links to a central location and will add more. Recommendations (or writings, or checklists, or photos of your camp or of medieval camps, or links to camping pages already out there) are welcome.
http://sandradodd.com/sca/camping

AElflaed the Anchoress

2007-08-03T01:41:00.000-06:00

After years of always the same, I've made a little change in the status of my persona.

The special art (over there at the right, and also on the pages below) is by Galen (sometimes known as Bo) who was at the Readstan philosophy discussion a week and a half ago with me and Asta.

The first time I ever heard of the concept of "anchorite" was when I was a teenager and read a novel, years before I was in the SCA. In recent years quite a bit of research has been done, partly because of a surge of interest in archeology in England, partly because of Women's Studies and the interest in a class of previously marginalized historical figures, and partly because of the internet itself, by which people can share their ideas and research and photos so quickly.

This idea has interested me for a long long time, though. If anyone has more I could add to my pages there, please let me know.
Later is as good as now. I'll keep working on it over the years.

http://sandradodd.com/sca/aeanchoress
http://sandradodd.com/sca/anchoress

"Welcoming Newcomers" pages upgraded

2007-06-30T12:41:00.000-06:00

In the Welcoming Newcomers section of Bright Ideas, two pages have been redone. The second one never did have scans of the letters to which it referred, and someone pointed that out. There are a couple of paragraphs and some links following that, too, from the original writings.

http://sandradodd.com/ideas/newcomers1.html
http://sandradodd.com/ideas/newcomers2.html

Change isn't really a constant

2007-06-24T15:47:00.000-06:00

I've commandeered this blog. It was to have been dedicated to ThinkWell, but I couldn't get the address thinkwell.blogblahblahblah, so I used Duckford. That's fine, because some of the recent announcements have been my more personal stuff and I hate for a blog to just sit so quietly, so although this will still definitely contain ThinkWell news (when there is any), it will not be so limited.

Site announcements by e-mail:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Duckford/, or you can read through the older site news there.

That's me, Lore de Lorraine of Atenveldt (the former Princesss Lorene of the Outlands), and the honored Kate Holford, of Caerthe. We were watching a tournament at Grand Outlandish, the other day.

If you want to look at lots more photos of Outlandish or other recent events, go here and poke around:
sandradodd.com/photolinks

"self-reverence"

2007-06-12T11:02:00.000-06:00

For the benefit of recent philosophy partners, I've added something to the page on mindfulness, about "self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control..."

It's not earth-moving, but it's okay. Look in the box at the bottom.

Guest Fest continues, for a while. Soon the unschooling conferences start to pile up and I'll be out of town too many days in August, September, early October.

Two anniversaries in one

2007-05-20T15:18:00.000-06:00

Thirty years ago this Grand Outlandish (5/29 to be more precise, but Outlandish is close enough), the Outlands became a principality within Atenveldt. The same day Gunwaldt, who later became my husband, was made a Master of Arms.

Thirty years.

Cool.

I've put up a photo of the petition for the Outlands principality status here:
http://sandradodd.com/outlands/ppetition
along with some commentary written sixteen years ago.

New Students

2007-04-07T19:45:00.000-06:00

Here's me, a few days ago, happy that I had just taken a new student, Lady Kymma Godric. Kymma is the chronicler of al-Barran and Wimble Herald of the Outlands.

In February I took Karl of Gulbjorn for a year and a day even though he was very new to the Society, because his potential and interest, courtesy and modesty stunned me.

Artan has this squire who's bursting with questions and ideas and the desire to learn, in a season when Artan is busy being King of the Outlands. So Lord Dermod of Killarney is kind of majoring in Artan and minoring in AElflaed.

I'm invigorated.

The photo is by Kymma's daughter, Sierra, and any of the links above should lead you to other photos of that and recent days.

The Wednesday night philosophy discussion series ended, as their regular Wednesday night fighter practice resumed when it got lighter and warmer. I would've mourned its loss longer had the replacement Monday night discussion not turned out to be wonderful!

Knowledge of Progress—self-awareness

2007-03-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of ways one might know whether he's making progress toward being better (whatever "better" he might be headed toward, though this was in the context of practicing virtues). The came out of a philosophy discussion last week:

other people's reactions

consciousness of self

discovery [things work better and more easily than they did before]

external feedback / manifestations

reflection before and after

Does anyone here have other indicators to add, or ideas on these?

Bio page and Issue #6

2007-01-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

The old TW issues are up to #6 now.

Biographies are starting to need a place to go. Several back issues contain bios current at that time, and some of the new posters who weren't involved before (and some who were) have posted bio information on the yahoo list. Here's the beginning of a collection: http://sandradodd.com/tw/bio

Anniversaries of Peerages

2006-11-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Eimile Seilide as Draeghean (Ansteorra) ...
Today I'm working on TW #6, October 1991 (#5 has been there for weeks but I forgot to announce it) and I found this:

CALL FOR QUICK INPUT
If you receive this issue in time to assist The Honorable Lady Eimile Seilide as Draeghean in her request, please write directly to her:
c/o Emily Egan
[an old address that's probably not good anymore...]
League City TX 775....
In TW#2 (page 17, 6th paragraph) I was charmed by the description (in parenthesis) of passing the medallion to the circle. If you or any of your friends have a copy of this ceremony, either in part or in whole, or any other suitable for a laureling ceremony please send me a copy. I need input by November 1 because on November 16 the Crown will leaf me and they are expecting to be presented with a written ceremony for their prior comments/ approval. I have never written a ceremony for anyone so I am looking for as many examples as possible to study.
—Eimile Seilide as Draeghean (Ansteorra)

Today's the fifteenth anniversary of that Laurel ceremony. I went to find her to send her an e-mail to congratulate her and point out the cool coincidence, but she's listed as inactive on Ansteorra's Laurel page.

If anyone knows her and thinks she'd be interested, though... maybe forward this to her.

Last Saturday was the sixth anniversary of the elevation to the Pelican of Master Balthazar Tegero, who was my student. I knew in advance. I intended to say something on the date. We were sitting at the same feast table, at a coronation. I forgot. (Sorry, Balthazar... I hope to make it up to you on a tenth or fifteenth, maybe...)

TW #4, with working links

2006-10-17T11:12:00.000-06:00

ThinkWell #4, early September 1991

ThinkWell #3 is readable; 28 members on discussion list

2006-10-14T10:36:00.000-06:00

ThinkWell #3, which was published on paper in late August, 1991, A.S. XXVI is available here:
http://sandradodd.com/tw/3

The file isn't perfect. There's one footnote mystery (though most of them work perfectly well), and I can clean it up later. The topics links in the righthand column were part of the default file but will be fixed within a day or two.

The text, though, is readable. Feel free to send me corrections. There's an e-mail link at the bottom, and if your e-mail hates those links, use Sandra@SandraDodd.com

#2 is up, and the discussion list has 21 members

2006-10-10T22:53:00.000-06:00

These numbers will be outdated soon, but that's good!

ThinkWell#2, late June 1991
It probably has a few formatting glitches. I got sleepy and so I quit for the evening. The original file was a Word 6.0 on a Mac IIsi which is "blah blah blah" to most people; point is, there are some formatting characters in the text and I might not have gotten them all, but will make other sweeps later. I'll add more internal links, too. I did a couple to make sure they would work.

Meanwhile, over at the discussion list, there are several topics going.

One topic page is actually started and a few more exist in rougher form, but here's the first really established:
http://sandradodd.com/thinkwell/squires

tw/ (in a URL) will be for the old ThinkWell, generally, and thinkwell/ will be for the new stuff. Some still needs to be sorted, but that's the plan.

Squires

2006-10-07T14:05:00.000-06:00

What makes a good SCA squire?

If you can think of a particular story of a moment when you saw a squire do something that added to the magic of an event for you, or if you've been involved in a squire/knight relationship or close to a good one, what might be some good bits of advice for someone wanting to be a particularly good squire?

Are there existing articles or instructions for squires online that a curious squire could get to?

Input can be left as a comment on this post, e-mailed to me at Sandra@SandraDodd.com, sent by mail or you can join the discussion list.

The best bits will end up here: Squires

many doors; welcome in

2006-10-06T22:09:00.000-06:00

I've had some good input here and by e-mail about likely problems with an attempted ThinkWell revival. AEdward mentioned synergy. The past month has been a festival of re-connections for me, and new connections. The past dozen years have prepared me for knowing enough about webpages and managing mailing lists to do something cool with a new version of ThinkWell, I believe. And the best thing about ideas is that a few are fine, and a hundred are great, and there's never a point where idea-getting is finished. An hour-long conversation can be fantastic, and the effects can last for years. About the time some people get tired, new people come along for whom it's all new.

No one has to finish, no one has to contribute, and there won't be a test.

Clarity, purity and usefulness are important to me. Cynicism and ethnocentricity will be discouraged.

There are several ways to contribute ideas--blog, discussion list, e-mail, paper mail or links. Details are at sandradodd.com/tw.

I expect and accept ebb and flow, wax and wane, wax on - wax off. Life is lumpy.

Here's something to remember or consider as news: When ThinkWell used paper and mail, there were many filters through which ideas passed:
Worth writing down?
Worth filling out an envelope for?
Worth buying a stamp?
Worth remembering to mail?

That was before it even got to me. Then I had some filters:
Worth sharing?
Worth transcribing?
Worth formatting?
Worth printing hundreds of copies?
Worth mailing?

Others read all that, and decided:
Worth reading?
Worth considering?
Worthy of comment?

And then they went back to the beginning, deciding whether it was worth writing, mailing...

But even things that weren't worth writing and mailing and transcribing and printing still helped people think. Even readers who never wrote a word benefited from knowing what others thought, and from seeing others grow and change.

Often locals would read ThinkWell and it would inspire in-person discussions, none of which made it back to the larger group. Still, that wasn't a problem.

I think all those things will happen here, but without the benefit of the time and effort that helped rarify the writing on the original ThinkWell.

Put some filters on your own writing, then. Maybe compose it and look at it with an eye toward whether you'd be embarrassed to see it on paper, mailed out. Could it help someone become a better person? Will it make the world better? Will it help someone think? Would you be willing to ask someone to calligraph it (or to calligraph it yourself)?

Again, that link is sandradodd.com/tw.

Thanks for being here.

What do you value?

2006-08-20T16:16:00.000-06:00

When thinking, musing or pondering, it helps sometimes to consider what we value, and why. Sometimes if there's a mental stalemate or stuckness, if one looks at it in terms of what's most valuable in the long run, or even in the moment, that can help.

Which people's opinions do you value most? Why?

What kinds of discussions or information exchanges are most useful to you? Some like in-person, some love books, or e-mail. For some, the phone is fine; for others it's torture.

In a hobby, do you value group-participation activities over singular pursuits?

In re-creation, do you value utility over beauty? Historical appearance over modern? Period methods of construction over expediency?

Thinking about it all at once might be too much work, but once you begin to evaluate such things, you'll start to know what your values are.

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

Ideas about Ideas

2006-08-09T11:43:00.000-06:00

Years ago, I had a publication called ThinkWell, which was on paper and mailed. Political and personal circumstances caused its untimely death. Many people mourned and asked me to take it back up. It just couldn't happen. I spent the next dozen years concentrating on my children, and a few SCA students for a while in there.

I never stopped considering and discussing the ideas, though, and was recently asked to start up another discussion series. Local in-person discussion is fine, but we might as well gather more input and disseminate the best of what's discussed. Technology has come to the point that we can do more with less organization and effort. If old issues of ThinkWell are still somewhat useful (and might all be available to read online at some point, I hope), discussions with SCA folk who are sorry they missed all that are much more important. They shouldn't be trying to live in the SCA's past.

This could be a great medium for slow-moving SCA discussion. If the topics are really philosophical and timeless, it won't matter at all if people comment on year-old posts, or five-year-old posts.