To Ti, or Not to Ti?

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Clothing, Events, Reenacting

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We’re at a critical moment: onward to Fort Ti, or not. We haven’t had a chance to ask the captain if anyone else from our regiment is going, so we could be on our own, and need to fold into another unit in the field. Fortunately, Mr. S has done that in the past, fielding with a NY Regiment at the School of Instruction. So that’s not the barrier.

We can probably borrow a tent from the Captain, perhaps even one that will not collapse in a high wind, or be ripped to shreds. (It’s a bit of a Swamp Yankee unit, stuff is kept and mended for years, which makes it all the more authentic for this recreation of the “Ragged Lousey Naked Regiment.”)

I can get the day off, and I bet Mr S can get off work early enough that we can get to Fort Ti before dark. I don’t want to set up camp in the dark…and I bet I can figure out food and eating and cooking and even coffee.

No, what’s stopping me is “Information for Reenactors,” or the authenticity standards. There aren’t any for the women attending the event, since we won’t be “in the line,” so it isn’t about me. It’s about the men. I think of the things I’ve made and the time I have and am convinced “We’re not good enough.”

Thanks, Fort Ti!

I get the standards, and I appreciate them. I’m a thread counter myself. But the standards are high and I don’t think we’ll meet them—I know Young Mr.’s footwear won’t. He only has modern shoes, he’s a size 12, and possibly growing. Could I even get him shoes in hand by July 19? Maybe… after that we get into the clothing, which for the boys would need to be re-fitted, and perhaps even made.

So I think, on the whole, we will have to pass on Fort Ti until another year, one when we can meet the standards. Sad for us, but at least the Fort’s staff and the other attendees will not be perturbed by the child’s rubber soles.

Or do I order shoes for the child, and start sewing like a madwoman on the off-chance that Mr. S really can get off at noon, or that I can pick him up by 2:00 at a commuter line station on the way north?

Decisions…and internal conflict. Feeling “not good enough” for standards sucks, especially when you take standards seriously. At some point, OSV is going to enforce the standards they have copied from Fort Ti and Battle Road. These are good things.  But the bar is high, and I think that the kid-shoe factor is a major irritant for some folks, and to a degree to me, though I can afford the shoes and can even, by force of will, cause them to be worn, as long as they arrive in time. (Fugawee, not Robert Land, would have to be the supplier.)

And that seems like madness, really. Better to focus on the mission, if you will, the core:  Improving regimental kit, and expanding civilian wear over time, for Battle Road and elsewhere. It makes participating in the hobby more like running a museum, and while I love my job, I was honestly looking to have a little more fun than I do at work.

 

Watson Farm

03 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in History, Museums

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20120703-061241.jpg Sunday afternoon we decided to go to a farm, and chose Historic New England’s Watson Farm on Jamestown. It was a good choice, I think, and perhaps this will be the summer of historic farms and landscapes.

I always wanted to be Tasha Tudor when I was little, live in a historic house, wear historic clothes, eat historic foods, perform historic chores. We lived in a ca. 1875 house in Chicago, so of course I wanted 1875 clothes for my school, which was also ca. 1875, at least in part. Fortunately, I did not get them, children being even less tolerant in the Dark Ages of my youth than they are today.

So Watson Farm’s ca. 1790 date and traditional methods appealed to me, and appealed to Mr. S, who wanted just “farm,” and the Young Mr. was just stuck with the decision.

20120703-061408.jpg The farm is largely uninterpreted. HNE provides a brochure and map for a self-guided tour, and there are cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, and cats scattered about the landscape. The fields are pasture, with the farm managers maintaining a vegetable garden for their own use. In terms of learning, it was not a stellar experience and knowing what I do about the farm, I can see why. With 285 acres that need to remain untouched, you can’t plant signs everywhere despoiling the landscape and getting in the way of cattle. In terms of beauty, it was outstanding.

The brochure takes you on a roughly 2-mile walk through the fields and down to the shore of the island. (There is a shorter loop option.) The view was lovely and on Sunday, with weather coming in from the west, the sky was dramatic and it was just about like walking in a Thomas Hart Benton painting.

I think the best moment for me was hearing the cows eat. I don’t remember ever hearing a cow eat grass before, but it was a wonderful sound, “like eating a whole lot of celery, with a pillow over your head,” said Mr. S. Well, sort of. I wish I’d made a recording of it, because it is a sound very few people ever hear anymore. Even the most urban among us can encounter police horses snuffling in their feed bags, and reenactors can visit the dragoon’s horses at battles. But cows snuffling up and chewing grass–that’s another kind of almost-lost sound altogether.

And that’s the whole point of these historic landscapes, preserving the things that would otherwise be lost: not just the vista, the plants and the animals, but the sounds the animals make, the smell of hay toasting in the sun, the sandy prints of burrowing animals, and the truly otherworldly, out-of-time experience of stepping off the asphalt path.

Shrubbery

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Food

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Shrub, or cordial

Country Living (UK) published a recipe for strawberry cordial that is remarkably similar to the shrubs found in earlier century’s cookbooks. Here’s the recipe in my interpretation, and a review of the product.

Ingredients
Two pounds of strawberries
About two pounds of sugar
600ml red wine vinegar
Three to four days

Rinse, hull, and slice the strawberries. Place in a medium-large bowl.
Add as much sugar as will fit in the bowl with the strawberries. I was a bit short, maybe three cups and not four. Stir to coat the strawberries as evenly as possible. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for three to four days, stirring twice daily.
The strawberries will shrink as they macerate, and each time you stir, less sugar will be caked on the bottom of the bowl.
When the sugar is completely dissolved on the third or fourth day, pour the mixture into a large pan. Add 600ml of red wine vinegar (I used the store brand and it was just fine).
Heat, and allow to boil for one minute. Remove from heat and allow to sit to 10 minutes. Skim off anything that has risen to the surface—the recipes warn you to do this, but my berries were well cleaned and the sugar dissolved fully, so there was nothing to skim.

Strain through a clean cloth, and decant. If storing for up to a month, pour into sterilized bottles or jars. If using promptly, a clean glass container will do.

We mixed the cordial with cold water, and it was delicious, though it would have been even better with sparkling or soda water than flat. We also served it with prosecco, and I assume that was also delicious because it went fast at the opening and I did not get to try it at all!

The syrup or cordial is a rich ruby red, and lustrous. The taste is an interesting twist of sweet and tangy that’s quite refreshing; that same description was used by most tasters. It was not a hit with the adolescent crowd, who prefer orange soda, but adults were surprised and enjoyed the taste.

I’ll have to make it again, and soon, while berries are in season. Some recipes call for raspberries, and I may try that in a smaller batch.

Got Lemons?

27 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Food

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The last lemons

Make Lemonade.

I use the Joy of Cooking recipe for Lemonade Syrup.Boil for 5 minutes:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • Rind of 2 lemons, cut into thin strips
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
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Syrup, with lemon rind strips

Cool and add:

  • Juice of 6 lemons

Strain the syrup. Store in a covered jar. Add:

  • 2 tablespoons syrup

To:

  • 1 glass ice water or carbonated water.
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Strawberry shrub in progress

I had 10 lemons, not the umpteen required to make 7.5 cups of lemon juice if making lemonade for 100. So I tweaked the recipe, upped the sugar to 3 cups and water to 1.5 cups. We’ll see…this, plus the strawberry cordial/shrub will. Be my contribution to the “historic punch” we’re serving tomorrow evening. Cake will probably be a sponge and lemon curd recipe adapted from the National Trust (UK). I’m feeling WWII, even if that lovely dress isn’t getting made. Next week…there’s always next week.