My Kit

This is my Reenacting kit and tools, or most of them anyway. Some things are a little hard to get together for a picture.... like my anvil....

Let's see... in no particular order... 3 knives, 2 spoons, a fork, a pair of carpenter's pliers, a roll of tarred marlin, 2 belaying pins, a set of woodcarving palm tools, a workman's cap, a square, a mallet, a watch, a pair of woven garters, a hammer, a tomahawk, a level, a leather jack, a stoneware mug, 2 leather pouches, a belt, 2 canvas bags, my leather working kit, which contains a bunch more stuff, like awls, pins, dividers, etc, a Spanish musket drill command cheat sheet, a sharpening stone, a copper tube, a 'pirate coin' that was in my tip jar at the tavern one weekend, my bit roll, a brace, 4 chisels, a carving knife, a left handed hook knife, a blade for a right handed hook knife, pencils, a tinker toy, a sharpening steel, 4 large leather scraps, a flint and steel kit, and a length of flannel to make char cloth.

There are a few things in my kit that aren't period correct. Like the level. The public rarely sees these things, but occasionally, you need a level, so you try to find one that will blend in with the bench if it's set down as a visitor walks up. You try to avoid the public seeing these things, but if they do, you hope it blends in well enough that they don't really 'see' it.

In this picture, the things that aren't correct: Pencils, the 'pirate' coin, level, tinker toy, and the musket drill sheet.

The drill sheet is an aid for, well, musket drill, the tinker toy I use as a teaching aid to explain a pegged joint to children, the pencils stay hidden when visitors are around, and I haven't even looked at the 'pirate' coin since I dropped it in my bag weeks ago.

I guess the level is the only one I don't feel 100% comfortable with having in my kit.

Please, don't call me a Farb! It's just a level!

Early Christmas

We had thanksgiving at my Wife's grandmother's house, and we decided to do an early christmas there as well. Now, this isn't going to be a long post, but I figured awesomeness on this magnitude deserved it's own post.

Grams, as we lovingly call her, is one of the best gift-givers around. She actually takes the time to think of thoughtful gifts that truly represent things that the reciever cares about.

I got: The illustrated book of Guns
A set of leatherworking tools
2 boxes of .38 special target loads
1 box of .357 1/2 jacketed lead nose bullets.

Thanks, Grams!

The Crew

Yesterday marked my last day at the Colonial Spanish Quarter. The day started out right with Julia (the girl in the pink skirt with the beautifully embroidered pocket), the resident all-around-awesome-sister/aunt figure,-depending-on-relative-ages-to-her, stopped me in the parking lot and handed me a bottle of Glenmorange single malt scotch. To me, anything more than Maker's Mark is fine whiskey, but I hear it's great. She also gifted me with a spool of tarred marlin, a wonderfully awesome tarred twine that smells like pure man.

Marquito, the guy in the in the tan waistcoat, brought a venison backstrap, and he roasted that, along with a pork tenderloin for lunch. Julia made mashed garlic potatoes and seared eggplant, as well as some garlic and rosemary dipping sauce for the bread that Cookie(the guy in the white t-shirt) brought over. Cookie (Gene, actually) is a baker, and owns the Spanish Bakery across the street from our site.

Skadi, the guy with the beard, made an egg custard for dessert. it was perfect. His Girlfriend, Amberlynn, is in the red hoodie. She's a sweetheart.

Greg's the big guy in the blue wool cap. T.C. is the guy in the straw tricorn.

After work, everyone met in the tavern, including everyone who was off. Greg brought a pecan pie that was to die for. Bill, not pictured, Gave me a mug with the name of our site on it. Cookie gave me a jar of home made jelly. Jenny, the tavern keep, again, not pictured, bought me a round. Greg also poured me some grog from his private reserve.

I'm missing the crew already.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Leaving this afternoon to spend Thanksgiving with the wife's parents and grandparents. I'll be back Sunday.

Everyone, have a happy Thanksgiving. I'll see ya'll on the other side!

Role Reversal

The wife, kidd-o, and I went to wally world this evening to pick up a delightfully random assortment of things. Some spray bottles, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and some gift cards later, we were leaving the checkout line and walking toward the exit.

I saw him standing there, using his buggy more as a crutch than a basket to contain his goods. He was tall and lean, but bent with time. His watery eyes spoke of many untold sights. Perched atop his head he wore one of those veteran's caps. Foam front, mesh rear, all black. It had a golden WWII emblazoned across the front. He was wearing a light jacket, even though the temperature was in the upper 70's.

I reached out a hand. He took it with a questioning look, fingers cold due to poor circulation.

"Thank you for your service, sir".

He mumbled in a surprised fashion for a second before a whispered "your welcome" came through. I nodded, and continued on. He was choked up at being thanked for what he gave, and you could tell he was warring with being proud or embarrassed. I left quickly so that he didn't feel embarrassed. That wasn't my intent.

I've made it a point to thank the men and women in our armed forces, as well as veterans, firefighters and police officers. If I can recognize them, I thank them. They give a lot, and rarely receive thanks for their sacrifice.

But my encounter tonight got me thinking: Shouldn't the roles be reversed? Shouldn't we look at him and be slightly embarrassed that so many people pass by our veterans and service men and women without thanking them?

It shouldn't be a thankless job, being in the military, or being a police officer or firefighter.

And it doesn't have to be. Go thank the heroes in your life.

And be damned sure to thank those you pass on the street as well.

Busy Day

Well, I'm properly sucked into book 13 of the Wheel Of Time series, which just made a busy day harder, because all I wanted to do was read. Around 10am, I pulled myself out of my book, and I took some library books back.

Since the park is next door to the library, I took the kiddo. we rode the carousel, and he swung and slid for another 45 minutes. We then got lunch at Zaxby's, a regional chicken joint.

On the way home, I stopped by Auto Zone and picked up oil and filters for our vehicles, then the boy played in the yard for a half hour.

We then went to the doctor so Boy-o could get a checkup and so we could get his medical history and vaccine record for the move to Louisiana. On the way home, we stopped by a liquor store to pick up boxes for the move, then swung by the grocery store for chicken stock and beer.

I have a gumbo simmering on the stove for dinner, and I plan on watching some Ghost Hunters in another couple of hours. The wife is gonna cut my and the kiddo's hair when she gets home.

It's been a busy day!

Tomorrow, all I gotta do is change oil in 2 vehicles and get laundry done!

Stuff

Well, I went to work today, after a weekend from hell. There was a Pirate Gathering that has been advertised statewide for months this weekend, and being the only period tavern, we were flooded with pirates (I hate the word 'argh!' now). They came in draped in polyester, called themselves reenactors, and proceeded to act like asses, because, hey, pirates were assholes, right? But hey, everyone had fun, no one was hurt, and I made a killing in tips, so I'll call it a wash.

Anyway, so I went into work at 8am, after 4 good hours of sleep because I closed the bar the night before, and my supervisor Greg had a project for me. I was in carpentry today, and we needed a new gate built for the entry way to the sight. I was kinda less than thrilled about a serious project after a long night, but I got to work, and I got into what I was doing. The design turned out great, and the blacksmith made a set of pinnels for the hinges, as well as some large clench nails for hardware. We hung the gate, and everyone said they liked it.

Greg came by after we hung it and pulled me aside.

"Bet you're pretty damn tired, huh?"

"Well, yeah, you could say that."

"Think you woulda fallen asleep if I hadn't given you something to work on?"

I thought about it, and realised he was right. "Yeah, probably"

He smiled. "See? There's a reason I got you to sweat today. You were so busy, you forgot you were tired, didn't you?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I did!"

"It looks great man. You did a good job. Thanks."

"No problem Greg. It feels good to do something productive."

"Yeah. Hey, I got you a going away present." He pulled a knife and tomahawk from his bag. "here"

The tomahawk is Amish made, and it's the highest quality. the steel bit goes all the way back to the eye of the head.

The knife he forged himself. It's made from a lawnmower blade, and has a heavy spine. It's a primitive bowie pattern, but the only thing primitive about it is the design. Greg is a Master Knifemaker. The knife will still be useful after I die. It's superb craftsmanship, and I feel honored that he would make a knife specifically for me, as a gift.

And he remembered I was left handed when he made the sheath!

My throat got a little tight. I fumbled a quarter out of my pocket to give him, lest the knife cut our friendship.

" Thanks, Greg. You have no idea what this means to me."

"No problem, man. We're gonna miss ya."

I'll miss them too.

Update

Well, expect some pretty sporadic posting, folks. We're gearing up for the move, and I just don't have much time these days. Couple that with me downgrading my phone plan (I only have phone and messaging now, no 3G), and my blogging has suffered dramatically. Again, I'm not getting rid of the blog, but posting is going to be spotty till the move is over.

Thanks to my tens of loyal readers, and I promise you some good blogging in the future!

Times, they are a changin'

Well, we're not in the 'pack like hell' phaze yet, but we are starting to pack up non-essentials. About half of the books are packed, and I'm stealing empty boxes from work and liquor stores on a regular basis.

Moving is usually a chore for me, but I'm happy about where life is taking me, so it dosen't seem so bad, yet. of course, I'm not at the 'pack like hell' phase yet....

We had a garage sale last weekend, and only made 80 bucks, but hey, it was all crap we didn't need, so no loss there.

In other news, tonight should be pretty nice: Beef stew for dinner, the wife baking bread and cookies after dinner, and just generally hanging out and relaxing. Can't ask for much more than that.

Man, I can't wait to be back in Louisiana.

Sweet Home, Louisiana

Well, it's been a long time coming, but my little family is headed back to Louisiana. We've been considering moving back for over a year, but certain changes in my wife's working environment coupled with unexpected child care issues have forced our hand. It's a good thing. Not to sound too hippie-ish, but it's almost like the universe is pushing us back to where we want to be.

A simpler, happier existence. Less stuff. More family.

My brother and his wife both had houses when they married, so they have an extra house that they are going to rent to us, and I spoke today with the manager of the state historic site that I want to work for. He's personally mailing me an application, and says everyone at the site speaks highly of me.

With a house and a job shaping up, all we're waiting for is to finish out November with our employers. We decided to give a month's notice, to help out our bosses, who are good people. I won't make it back in time for Thanksgiving, but I'll be home for Christmas.

I'm keeping the blog, but I won't be changing it's name. I think that I'll always be The Displaced Louisiana Guy. Maybe being displaced isn't just about location.

I'm happy to be going home, folks, and I'll keep ya'll updated!