Pennsic War XLVI

 Pennsic 2017 had it's ups and downs. I've been questioning whether or not I've wanted to return for the past couple years, and I still am. I spent several days in pain, first I damaged my knee on day 1, and the tote with my knee brace was forgotten home, luckily a camp mate had a brace I could use. After I was back on my feet from that, I aggravated an old back injury and was in severe pain for a couple days from that. Even after it was relatively better, I couldn't bend or lift the rest of war without pain, which made me reliant on others. Those of you that know me, know the stress of this for me.

On top of all that, it was a very emotionally draining event. The inability to do things for myself on top of some issues I was having with a couple of people there left me emotionally drained and ready to go home. This seems to be a trend the last few years, and it makes me question whether or not it is really worth the stress of prep and set-up, and the exhaustion of tear-down and the after-mass of cleaning once I get home.

On the bright side, our neighbors in Die Fledermaus were wonderful as always. They were there when I needed a smile, and one member in particular had a very infectious laugh that got me through some of my down times. At the end of Pennsic I received so much love from everyone over there, it reminded me why I go.

Another bright side is I got some editing done on Midnight Town as well as some reading of Infinite. I also started knitting a new basic shawl with light lacework. It is a super easy pattern which made working on it while sitting in my camp rocking chair relaxing. The yarn color is Gilda: Queen of the Sea and I picked it up at The Black Purl just for this purpose. It seems knitting shawls at Pennsic has become a tradition for me, and this particular yarn was perfect.

I made it up to the merchants four times (a record for me), and I bought a great Comfrey salve from a merchant called Pine Knoll Herb Shop that worked miracles on my bug bites. I also picked up the most amazing Peppermint Soap from them. From Brush Creek Wool Works, I picked up some amazing chocolate raspberry tea and some fun yarn for socks. I also made one big purchase. After being in the SCA since 1993,  I finally got myself a real cloak. I'm talking heavy, water resistant and warm. I've been putting it off for a very long time (obviously) but there was a merchant that had one on sale for a price I couldn't pass up. So, after 24 years, I am the proud owner of a real cloak.

Now here I am, resting after washing five loads of garb/clothing, one load of my fleece blankets and two sleeping bags, oh and the feast gear (eating utensils). Now to finish one more sleeping bag and 2-3 loads of the bedding from the a-frame and I will be done, which is good because I lost steam a long time ago.