by Krista | Jul 28, 2018 | Winter
It’s incredibly still this morning as I sit on the back veranda, bundled up in my red, wool, medieval cloak, watching the magical eclipse and waiting for the sky to lighten in the east. There’s no wind, no birds calling, and the dogs are sound asleep after a night of vigilance.
So much has happened in recent months, good things, hard things, things that have healed me in new and lovely ways. I will tell you more in the months to come, but for now I’ll focus on the most recent.
Abbey Medieval Festival.
This place, this event, is really special to me. Bear and I go a week early and spend Sunday with our Blackwolf members getting every tent erected and as much done as we can before sunset and everyone else has to go home.
Then it’s just us for 5 days. We work hard during the days, getting all the little bits and pieces of our medieval encampment in place, but early mornings are all mine.
I slip out of bed before Bear wakes, brew a big mug of coffee, and hunker down in our Gathering Tent surrounded by books and notebooks, markers and pens, and a cozy blanket to keep me warm. I write and draw, read and think, write some more, draw some more, then tell Bear all about it when he gets up.
It’s the one time of my year when I don’t have any demands on me. There are no animals to feed, no gardens to water, no articles to write or photo shoots to set up, no clients to meet, no phone calls to return, no emails to answer, and no meetings to attend.
I get to just be. And that’s a precious thing.
It’s always a bit weird in the beginning. I feel fidgety and distracted, my body certain that there must be something I should be doing and looking after. But soon the silence and morning light, the smell of gum trees and damp earth, the sound of fires crackling and cows lowing, they calm and settle me and I begin to truly relax.
Abbey is always a time of healing and growing for me. As I mix my medieval remedies and hang fresh herbs above the market stall, cook over the fire and sit by the dancing flames at night with a glass of wine, visit with dear friends who stop by and slowly transition from modern to medieval life, my brain calms and spirits settle and I’m able to focus and work through things.
I make time to be alone, to heal the things that need to be healed, and spend happy hours planning and dreaming and clarifying what’s important to me.
I make time to hang out with Bear and talk or read together, sharing our latest medieval research, figuring out ways to support our people and make our group stronger and better.
I make time to connect with others, old friends and new ones, never failing to find kindred spirits among enactors and public alike.
We had a wonderful time.
I loved doing my demonstrations on medieval folk medicine and medieval Bedouin food, and made some great connections with people who want me to do workshops in the Brisbane area. I loved wandering through everyone’s camps and seeing their amazing tents, garb, food, and crafts, and I loved learning about basket-weaving and medieval farming practices and the history of henna.
My favourite memories are those shared with my loves.
Early mornings around the campfire frying bacon, eggs, and sausages, everyone huddled in their cloaks, hands clasped around steaming mugs of coffee as we visited and laughed and told stories from the day before.
Dessert and cold beer in the afternoons, talking for ages about everything from history and our daily lives to genealogies and gardening.
One of the best moments was at our feast Saturday night, 18 of us gathered around long tables aglow with candlelight, sipping wine and clapping along to live Celtic and medieval music provided by our neighbours. I loved looking around at the light flickering on so many dear faces, hearing the whoops and hollers, clapping until our hands hurt. It was a great night.
We returned home sore and tired, so excited for hot showers and our electric blanket, full of great memories with the best of people.
I kept lists and sketches of all the things I was inspired by at Abbey, and I’ve been making them happen one by one.
I redesigned my gardens, making more room for the healing herbs I love so much, completely cleaned and organized one end of one shed, and brewed big vats of elderberry cordial spiced with black pepper, cinnamon, and star anise and elderflower tea with yarrow, spearmint, hibiscus, and peppermint.
It’s lovely to get away and restore our spirits and invigorate our zest for life, and it’s equally lovely to come home again and add in the things that make life here even more special.
Where is your favourite place to restore your spirits? xo
by Krista | Jul 21, 2016 | Winter
My favorite time of day at medieval camps is early morning, especially at Abbey Medieval Festival. The sun casting shadows through the towering trees is sheer magic and never fails to stop me in my tracks and make me so happy to be alive to see such things.
I like getting up before everyone and brewing coffee, trying, yet never succeeding, to be quiet enough in our kitchen tent to keep from waking our friend Sue. Soon she’s up too, cute as a button in her elfin hat, spooning in mounds of freshly ground coffee, getting our cups ready “just so” – decaf for Bear, black for Sue and Vincent, white and one sugar for me – keeping water warm for Adam when he wakes up.
Soon enough the fire is blazing, water boiling, the blissful scent of wood smoke wafting through camp.
It is an exquisite way to start the day.
This year I did three demonstrations: medieval folk medicine, medieval Bedouin food, and medieval cheese-making.
Although I’ve made cheese at home plenty of times, I hadn’t done it over a fire yet, so made sure to practice before the crowds arrived to make sure I had the process down pat.
I hung thick yogurt to drain in cheesecloth and set milk on to heat for a simple fresh cheese just as the sun slipped through the tree branches and turned my cheese-making into a veritable fairyland of light and shadow.
I stirred the milk as it steamed into roiling billows of light, watching for telltale bubbles around the edges before drizzling in homemade cider vinegar, then a bit more. Then the magic happened. Whey separated from curds and I poured it into a cheesecloth-lined basket, letting it drain until nothing but lovely, creamy cheese was left.
I gleefully danced through the smoky sunbeams to Bear – “I made cheese!!!” He laughed and we cheered and I tasted and all was well.
While I’d been making cheese, Sue had made breakfast and we happily noshed on toast and eggs and sausages, topping up our coffees to warm our bones.
After washing up I went for a wander, delighting in the play of light and campfire smoke around the tents of our friends.
Sunlight streamed through the market stall of the Templars where our friend Farina would soon be selling her fragrant packets of spices and ripe oranges for mulled wine.
Sunbeams shimmered through the Viking loom near the camp where my friends Paula and Nikolaj were making breakfast. Paula is an amazing weaver, making gorgeous linen out of the finest of threads.
I love the Viking encampment with its forest atmosphere and the welcoming faces and hugs of so many good friends. I wandered from camp to camp, getting in quick talks between building of fires and stirring of pots as everyone got ready for the first day of Abbey.
With promises of pending visits to make me smile, I headed back to camp.
xo
by Krista | Jun 12, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
One of my favorite parts of medieval camping is waking up before sunrise while nearly everyone else is still sleeping.
The grounds are quiet and peaceful, and it’s lovely to get the fire burning, brew a hot cuppa, and sit near the warm campfire to watch the sun come up over the sea of medieval tents.
I love my morning cup of strong Earl Grey tea, and somehow it tastes even better made with smoke-scented hot water served in a medieval pottery mug engraved with my Aussie nickname.
Breakfast is hearty fare: pan-fried shortcut bacon (the good, meaty parts), scrambled eggs tossed with the delish crispy bits of bacon left in the pan, and thick slices of flatbread.
After breakfast there’s time to check out some of the medieval displays near us.
I love the gorgeous honey-scented beeswax candles made by my friend Stacey (see top two photos) and these beautiful medieval Hungarian glory beads made and worn by my friend Ann (see below).
One of my favorite encampments is the featuring Iron Age Vikings.
I especially like their food displays showcasing the foods that were available during their time in history. There were no potatoes then, or bell peppers or tomatoes, but they were able to make hearty stews with turnips, parsnips, and elegant purple carrots.
They made soup with dried peas, fried up eggs, and snacked on all sorts of nuts and dried fruits.
I was intrigued to learn that they would make a healing, nourishing tea by steeping pine needles in boiling water. Pine trees are in short supply in my part of Australia, but as soon as I track some down, I’m determined to try my hand at making Viking Pine Tea.
I love learning about new cultures and the foods they treasured. What food culture is most interesting to you?
by Krista | Jun 11, 2013 | Bits 'n' Bobs
Good morning! I am home again after a jolly weekend of medieval camping with dear friends.
I have heaps of stories and recipes and pictures to share with you over the next week or so, but today I’ll start with my favorite meal of the weekend: fire-roasted venison.
Our friends Greg and Steff are hunters and gave us a beautiful deer for our medieval camping trip. Part of the rules for participating in these gatherings is that everything, from utensils and clothing to recipes and menus, must be authentic to the medieval time period we represent. Since our group is 12th century, that means spit-roasted meats, hearty stews, flat breads, and all sorts of dried fruits and nuts.
At past encampments we’ve roasted goat or pork, so venison was a real treat.
We started by slicing up heaps of garlic, chunks of salty pork fat, and fragrant bundles of fresh rosemary. We made incisions all over the venison and inserted these flavorful little nuggets. Since venison is a wild meat, it can get quite tough, so tucking in bits of pork fat adds much-needed moisture with the added bonus of even more great flavor.
Once Neil got the venison prepared and on the spit, Ann, Stacey, and I set to chopping root veggies for a thick veggie stew. Turnips, parsnips, tubers, carrots – they all went in to a big cast iron pot to simmer over the fire.
Then came the hard bit – turning the spit. The venison takes about four hours to cook through and must be turned continuously to prevent charring or raw bits. No one can crank the spit for four solid hours, so we take turns.
It’s pleasant sort of work, not riveting or difficult, and you fall into a kind of peaceful, dozy trance as you turn, turn, turn. I loved watching the public as their eyes fell on the spit. They were entranced! Especially the little boy below. I don’t know how long he stood there, mesmerized by the roasting deer and the crackling flames.
Needless to say, the slow roasting meat smells AMAZING!! We never can wait until it’s completely finished before we start sneaking over with our medieval knives to slice off a piece of meat.
Oh my.
The roast venison surpassed all our expectations. It was tender, moist, and absolutely bursting with flavor. It was especially good when you bit down into chunks of roasted garlic and crispy rosemary. Yum!!
After the public went home, we gathered round the fire with Aussie beers, shooting the breeze while we waited for the venison to be well and truly done.
Then we gathered around the long wooden table and ate bowl after bowl of savory veggies and tender, smoky venison, washed down with earthenware cups of homemade mead.
Soon darkness fell and the stars came out and one by one we ambled off to our tents to sink into the deep sleep that only comes when you’ve worked hard, eaten well, and are sleeping in the fresh air.
What is your favorite memory from your weekend?
by Krista | Jul 5, 2012 | Fabulous Friday
I’ve been bustling non-stop for the last few days baking loaves of garlicky, Turkish flatbread, mountains of cookies, and a big bucket of chicken curry, all in preparation for three days of medieval camping with my dear friends this weekend.
We’re heading over to beautiful Bribie Island for the annual Abbey Medieval Festival and I am so excited.
Three whole days of camping in our oh-so-cozy Bedouin tent, making cheese and smoking homemade sausages over the campfire, and spending hours talking and laughing with old and new friends.
I can’t wait to taste steaming mugs of my friend Jack’s homemade chai tea cooked in a little cast iron pot – a recipe he’s been perfecting over the last few weeks. It will be so good on these frosty winter mornings before the sun warms us up.
And now I must check my to-do list one more time then head to bed where no doubt I shall sleep like a rock.
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
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