Flashback Blog Tuesday – Who GNeW?

Yes, I just made up Flashback Blog Tuesday for this occasion. I just discovered this post from right after GNeW 2013. It was still sitting here as a draft. Now I’m preparing for my third GNeW, my little Battlefield Bakery 2 cookshop has morphed into Solivagi’s Public House. Last year I created a household and created a badge for the house. This year I am making that badge into banners and duct taping it on every piece of stuff that’s coming to GNeW.

In this picture I am happily showing off my wares (a lot of shortbread and some mint drink) in the extreme heat. The next day my forearms were so blistered I had to shut down the shop through the most lucrative hours of the weekend because I was too sun-damaged to function. The following year I brought a 10 x 10 shelter for my kitchen and a 10 x 20 shade tent to offer as a ‘food court common area.’ This year, I will repeat the set up with expanded menu and services, a lot of household colors flying, a small staff of householders helping me shine and finding their own ways to shine as well. Sydney proved a VERY helpful addition to the family and is now brewing mead for sharing with friends this year with an eye to bigger bolder brewing plans which might lead to our own household label on fine mead and wines down the road!

So, all in all, a lot of progress since this picture of a hot, burning, over-sun-exposed woman with a lot of shortbread. (Looking more like my mother every day!) I think this photo shows a transition, like a certain stage in catepillar to butterfly metamorphosis. Here I am expressing my mother’s style while searching for my own. Last year I began to morph into my own way. And this year? I’ll be showing my new colors, flapping my wings and soaring up, establishing my own style! Very very happy and full of gratitude to be here and now. As of today, most of the cooking prep is behind me and I have a week or two of hard core garb production to tackle. I have catering jobs or planned events/happenings almost every weekend from now to GNeW. Wow. What an interesting and strange trip these last two years have been. What follows is the original post from 2013:

So I’ve returned from the Great Northeastern War (GNeW). I sold out of everything I made ahead and everything I made on site! That felt good! I went through the process of re-connecting with SCA which is something I’ve been avoiding or putting off for many years.

I had a really good time! I enjoyed being a merchant in my own right and I really really enjoyed getting to know other merchants. I very much want to do this again next year. Oh, yeah!! I am even considering going to some non-merchant-opportunity events. I want to go to summer camping events and then see what happens.

So I’ve pencilled in Harper’s Retreat, Stonemarche (New Durham, NH) Aug 31 – Sept 3. No vending, except possibly tarot readings for tips.

Then I’ll be camping and vending at Eastport Pirate Fest Sept 6, 7 & 8. Menu: Pirate Hat Cookies or Black Jack Davy Tashen (chocolate hammentashen); Shortbread Planks in Plain, Almond & Gingerbread (same as I just sold $250 of at GNeW); Treasure Chest mini-loaf-cakes (zucchini bread). Drinks: Persian Mint Drink (Sekanjiban) and a Ginger version of same. That’s it. No kitchen, no pasties, no cooking on site. (Except for what I bring to eat and share at camp.)

Also penciling in Coronation in Bridge on Oct 4-6.

Winter Plan, work LL Bean or whatever work comes along and refine and revise menu, practice, practice, practice. Improve website, create logo, and generally prepare for Spring 2014

February 2014: Get myself to California, obtain use of Honda 450cc and take my Dad for a ride in the desert. Possibly get up to Seattle and see Bonnie and maybe Caera, too.

Then get back home in March and rock the bakery biz!

Okay, that was the OP and here’s a postscript reality check:

I did work LL Bean for awhile, then after the seasonal work ended I walked out of my living situation and went camping in the snow. I sold my Honda Rebel 250 but never acquired a 450. I have yet to get out to CA to see my Dad. It is still on my list of things to do this coming fall/winter or next. I didn’t make it to any other SCA events.

The ‘bakery biz’ took a hit with the homelessness. I lost all the baking gear I had been accumulating — maybe $1,000 or so of sheet pans, muffin tins and loaf pans. Also a mixer (yes, a Kitchen Aid, damn it. Sabotaged by the bad house guest and tablet thief. Never even got to use it before he cut the power cord off under the base. Grrr.), a blender, a lot of tea service gear and linens and paper goods.

Also I lost the use of the tablet I’d bought and had stolen by a homeless house guest. He later went to jail and I claimed my tablet which was in his personal belongings locker. I had the paperwork showing it was mine and the lovely jail staff retrieved and returned it to me. Sadly, the bozo had added security and passwords so that Verizon, various geeky folk and I could not manage to remove it. Therefore it was useless to me. I gave it back to Verizon and went on with managing my own homelessness.

Still got to GNeW last year in my truck/home. This year I will need to be ferried to the site but once arrived I feel confident about feeding people and having a fine public house experience. Thanks, GNeW for being my anchor in this recent and very chaotic phase of life! Hooray, it’s GNeW time again!