A Very Good Weekend

Saturday night we did some prep work toward getting the house ready for choir practice, including moving the small floor loom down from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor, and fitzw partially assembled one end of the barn loom.

Sunday morning we finished assembly of the barn loom. One or two minor hitches - putting the cloth bar in without raising the stopper arm (slightly curved metal piece that catches on a toothed metal wheel), and putting the base support piece for the seat end of the loom in upside down. Both were easily taken care of, and the loom went together more easily and quickly than expected. Then we brought out the walking wheel and the smaller loom.

( Picture of Barn Loom )

Lunch, shower, decisions on baronial awards, then I had to go off to the scribal workshop. Phred is doing an excellent job of guiding people through the scribal process, breaking it down into manageable parts so that the new folks aren't intimidated. I essentially acted as a second set of eyes and ears, worked on calligraphy with a few folks, discussed design elements with a few others, etc. It's reassuring to have someone like her in charge of the guild, with the guild head having gotten a job in NJ just recently (starting in 2 weeks!), and I'm quite relieved not to have to take it over again and just be support staff. We'll have to have another workshop at some point, where I expect I'll be doing more with calligraphy, but things were looking great when I left.

fitzw had stayed home to continue moving things, washing dishes, vaccuuming, etc. There were a few things left for me to do (yay! we like to share :) but for the most part things were ready. There was supposed to be a couple of new people at practice, but they didn't show up -- have sent an inquiry to see what happened, hopefully nothing too serious. The core group was there (ellid, Pagan, and us two), and Eli was able to come on his bike. That won't work later in the winter, so we may have to change practice sites in order to keep him. He's from Amherst and is legally blind, so he can't drive. I know he likes to be as independent as possible, but we both acknowledged that icy roads at night were not really an acceptable combination for him, given the cause of his sight issues. We'll work something out. Magnus also showed up and worked on his embroidery while we sang. Then we got out the recorders as he's interested in picking up an instrument but isn't sure exactly which one he'll learn. He wasn't certain of it, but we assured him he'd done quite well for his first time, which is true. He'll have to decide if it's the thing for him, as he's also tried out Emma's harp, and I suspect that is a temptation :)

fitzw got to show off the farm loom to the choir members and Magnus (who of course is now wondering if he can build one...) ( Looms and walking wheel in studio )

I covered up the tomatoes and the rose bush (it's blooming again). ( Second Bloom )

Then off to Friendly's for a bite and more socializing, before sending everyone off to bed.

Good end to a great weekend.