First Quarter RagSolution Progress Report

Lords and Ladies!!

 Can you believe that it is now a quarter of the time until next Ragnarok?

I thought the 25% mark would be a nice time for me to ask all of our Citizens to check in with their own RagSolution progress report.

For those of you who may not know, my penultimate RagSolution (first among many) was to improve my health and fitness level. I can happily report that I have found a few physical activities I actually *want* to do, and have started engaging in.  I don't have any sexy stats to throw your way (yet) but I am happy with the progress I have made in increasing my activity level.  As far as those other RagSolutions?  I have been fighting an itch to focus on a project that I bought materials for two Rags ago.  I bought McCalls 5647 a while back when it was discontinued, and picked up fabric during our Fabric Warehouse raid.

So Lords and Ladies...did you make any RagSolutions?  This is a great time to stop and reflect on your progress so far.  Did you start/finish those projects you wanted for next year?  Are you happy with the steps you've taken toward your goals?  If not, this is a great time to reassess and get back to it.  We still have plenty of time!

Let's check in again at the halfway mark, which is conveniently just before New Years :)

Cheers!

~Ravenna

Announcements and Dragons

• Next week (10-05-2013) is an Eryndor Event that we hope everyone will consider attending. It is out at Chippawassee Park in Midland, MI and is hosted by the Thieves Guild and Fury of the Called. It is a two hour drive, so this would be a good opportunity to car pool. $3 at troll, weapons check at 11 am, fighting at noon.

• Practices will be considered to be held unless otherwise notified. That is right, ladies and gentlemen. You will no longer receive weekly texts informing you that practices are being held. Cynar will now only send texts in the event of a cancellation (for reasons such as inclement weather or day events).  

• Dark Harvest Party will be held this year on October 26. There will be no practice on that day. Cost is $5 per person. Open to all Akronians and their guests. We are also requesting that each family/couple/pair/etc bring a side dish/snack OR dessert to share and a 2L of pop or something to drink.

And now onto the dragons...

Astrid and I are plotting and planning to have some animatronic dragons for Ragnarok next year. They will by necessity have to be small and we have no idea if we can get them done in time, but that is our goal! We have cleaned out a section of my basement and moved a worktable down there, so we are well on our way.

Dragon work station

 Now I know we are small and don't have a lot of money, but if anyone has an extra $30,000 laying around, you might want to think about investing in this:

It is 20 feet tall, 10 feet wide, with a 7 foot tall opening in the gate and a 15 foot wingspan, and moves, roars, and breathes smoke. Think about it.

-- Kaelyn

Hypnotic!

Last week I discovered the Tribal Bellydance by Rachel Brice.  She is crazy hypnotic.  Check the backbend drop she does about 1:15.




 Enjoy!


~Ravenna

Reminders

Practice tomorrow 09/21/2013 at 3pm at VFW Park. Practice will end between 5:30 and 6:00 pm to allow members to grab food before the Assembly Meeting.

Assembly of Lords Open Forum meeting to follow at 7 pm at Royal Oak Church of Christ. Garb required, as this is a formal meeting. Topics will include U of M group, Dark Harvest Party, practice schedule, and updates on units. All members are invited to attend the Assembly of Lords meeting.

You know you're middle aged when:

Found this...  It amused me.

-Riylan

Everyone should celebrate (my birthday)!

...or National Talk Like A Pirate Day (if you prefer).  :)

Oh...and Morric's birthday too!

 

 

 

I was really really really hoping someone would come strolling down the halls of the Science Building in full pirate garb but, alas, nothing.  I even took my camera to school with me.  The most interesting thing I saw was in lab (besides the sign at the martial arts studio for Zombie Apocalypse Training):

 

 

 

Should have a lot more info on the Dearborn start-up early next week.

 

Argh!

 

~Ravenna



Open Forum Council Meeting 9/21

Lords and Ladies,

The Council recently voted to begin holding quarterly "Open Forum" style meetings.  Citizens are welcome to bring any suggestions, questions or concerns to the Council of Lords during this time.  Our first Open Forum meeting will be held this coming Saturday, Sept 21st at ~7:00pm.  Location TBD.

The Council has requested that any matters to be addressed by Citizens should be added to the meeting agenda prior to the meeting.

If you would like to get on the meeting agenda, please email Kaelyn with you topic etc before 6:00pm on Wednesday the 18th.

Garb will be required at all Open Forum meetings.

Cheers!

~Ravenna

IMG Source

Maille: Some Points About

In ancient times, and not-so-ancient times, maille has been used to protect people from different types of injuries such as abrasion, laceration, avulsion, loss of  limb, decapitation, and death. This is a fact. 

What I have noticed in recent years, is there seem to be a few nonfacts, or misconceptions about maille, some of which I hope this video will be able to dispel.

We Could Go to Ragnarok in Style

... if we take a page out of House Greydragon's book.

This page was made by an SCA'er who gets his weeks worth of camping equipment for two people (garb included), medieval style, into a four door Honda Accord.

Say what?

ALL CAMPING EQUIPMENT FOR TWO PEOPLE IN A TINY LITTLE CAR. With room for the two people remaining.

Don't believe it? I'm not sure I believe it myself. Therefore, the only scientifically logical thing to do is test this theory.

Please visit the encampment to see everything this innovative person has managed to fit into his car. Oh yes, and he also provides patterns and instructions on how to make these items.

I'm going to shamelessly steal some pictures from House Greydragon to show you.

In this car...

It

Is this tent and everything it contains,

 including a bed, four chairs, a cooler, a couple tables, and a whole list of other things. All up to SCA standards.

Including these chairs (instructions can be found here)

which collapse completely to lay flat and can be made with a single sheet of plywood. Yep. Jack is making plans to cook up a couple of these for next year.

This goes right along with our plans to reduce the amount of space we will require to travel to Ragnarok next year, as well as upgrading our medieval experience. Any interested parties?

I can't help it. I'm a girl.

I admit that I have been spending more time than I should looking at shoes.

Medievalish shoes.

Potential Rag shoes actually.

There are a few online retailers that I ran across, as well as one Etsy shop that has been highly recommended to Cynar by a fellow Ragnarokian (?). 

From Medieval Moccasins

From RenBoots

Anifty Etsy shop

From Medieval Collectibles

These satin Maryjane's are pretty inexpensive at $15 a pop.  I wouldn't expect them to last through more than one Rag, but they might be a good option if you need time to save up for something more durable. 

Cynar has been talking about trying his hand at bootmaking some time before next Rag, and potentially making me a pair of shoes.  These links are my backup plan.

And...because they are just awesome...a Halloween choice:

Keep in mind, KoA hosts it's annual Dark Harvest party each Halloween season.  Start planning those epic costumes now!  Deets forthcoming.

See you at Saturday's practice at the usual time and place!

~Ravenna

Back to Class!

Hello all!

Since today was our first day back to class (for both Astrid and myself) I thought it time for an update on the UofM front.

As most of you know, House Valdyr has been working toward getting the Kingdom of Akron set up as a Student Organization on the campus of University of Michigan's Dearborn campus.  We have high hopes of setting up a mid-week practice on campus, both to offer a southern practice and to help increase our numbers.  We are in the final stages of preparation for submitting all of the documents, forms, etc to the school for review and consideration.  I'll try to keep everyone posted of our progress on this blog.  We should be able to get a Dearborn practice up and running before the weather turns sour.

Also, this is a quick reminder that dues will be collected at this Saturday's practice (the 8th) for the month of September.

Happy hunting!

~Ravenna

P.S. Krispy Kreme is giving away a free dozen to anyone who visits in full pirate gear on National Talk Like A Pirate Day (Sept 19th)
.  Linky.

Project Linus 2013

The advent of fall has reminded me that it is time to start considering Project Linus. For the last two  years, members of Akron have participated by making blankets for Project Linus, a charity that gives hand made blankets to local children in crisis. This is something that we typically do around Thanksgiving, taking advantage of the cold weather to stay indoors and get our crafty on. One of our favorite blankets to make is a tied fleece blanket, which is very easy, can be completed in a couple of hours, and requires no special skills other than a willingness to help.

Here are a couple of the blankets that we donated last year. I know there are more, so please send me those pictures if you have them!

I've enjoyed participating in this outreach for the last couple of years and am looking forward to doing so again this year. Is there any interest?