The Perfect Working Space

Many times I find myself thinking "If I only had a desk that was an inch shorter and a big comfy armchair, I would be able to write more," or " I can't possibly sew so much until I have a permanent spot where people won't keep moving everything." Many people have an image of what their perfect working space will look like: the space where they will finally get all of their work done.  Possibly, the perfect working space will have a large ornate antique writing desk and large windows that look out onto a breathtaking vista. This space will inspire and allow you to do work. It is the perfect space and it is a perfect lie. 

 Had your perfect working space ever materialized, you might find that it wasn't the perfect working space. One thousand new problems would materialize there. The windows might be distracting or the room too spacious. It is very hard to build the perfect space. This is why this type of perfect working space is false.    

The perfect working space is the space where you actually get work done. You might already know this space or have yet to find it. But the important thing is to not wait for the perfect space to do work. If you wait for the perfect space, you will never accomplish anything.

Many people have accomplished a lot in places that are perfectly average places. J.K. Rowling found that her perfect working space was in cafes. Thomas Mann liked to write in a wicker chair with an ocean view. It doesn’t matter where you work as long as you get work done. 

Some tips on being productive especially when working space is less than desirable:

Keep well stocked.

Even if your working space isn’t perfect, make sure you have everything you need before you start. It is frustrating to have to stop working every few minutes to find more paper or some scissors.  

Keep a schedule.

Depending on your situation and work you may have to plan to do work early in the morning, late at night to variable. Just make sure you set time aside to work. Make an appointment with yourself and don’t break it. It might be from “6 AM to 8 AM” or it might be “45 minutes a day.”

Work toward goals.

Set little goal and big goals. Little goals help break down a colossal task into smaller, more manageable bits.  

Take breaks.

Make sure you take breaks to prevent boredom and alleviate pain. Typing on the computer, sewing, painting ect. for a long period of time can make working more difficult. Breaks help keep you refreshed and focused.  

Easy English Colonial Dance: The Hessian, Dance Diagram and Music

A Hessian Soldier 

 This is a part of a program that a friend and I have been putting together for work. We will be teaching a colonial dance: "The Hessian."

Hessian soldiers were German soldiers who were hired out by their government to England. They were known as "Hessians" because many of them came from the state of Hesse-Kassel. England stationed these soldiers in America to keep the peace and later to fight the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. They were known for their brutal killing techniques and weaponry. 

 There is a grievance about them in the Declaration of Independence: "He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation."   

The Hessian is a very simple dance so anyone can do it. Colonial dances were set to a particular tune, normally of the same name as is true with this one. Below is a music clip and the instructions for the dance. In the diagram, circles represent the men and squares represent the ladies. This type of dance could be danced in groups of four or with numerous groups of four, lined up in lines.The partners travel through the dances and eventually dance with every other couple. Keep in mind, if you are dancing in a line, one or more couples may be "out" during a rotation, but they will soon be back in. 

Step 1: This is the starting position of the dance. The men are on one side of the line and the women are on the other. The men are facing the women. 

Step 2: The first gentleman offers the second lady his right hand and they make a complete turn and return to their starting positions.

Step 3: The second gentleman offers the first lady his right hand and they make a complete turn and return to their starting positions.

Step 4: The first gentleman stretches his right arm across to the second lady who does the same. Simultaneously, the second gentleman stretches his right arm across to the first lady’s. From above, the arms will form a cross. Together, everyone turns in a circle to the right. (From above the figure will look like spokes of a wheel turning.) 

Step 5: The first gentleman stretches his left arm across to the second lady who does the same. Simultaneously, the second gentleman stretches his left arm across to the first lady’s. From above, the arms will form a cross. Together, everyone turns in a circle to the left until back in starting positions.

Step 6:  The first gentleman will offer his right hand to the first lady, who will do the same. They turn in a circle to the right one time. The first gentleman should be in the first lady’s starting position and the first lady should be in the second gentleman’s starting position.

Step 7: The first gentleman and the first lady turn to the outside of the group and walk down behind the second couple. When the first couple gets 75% of the way down, the second gentleman offers his right hand to take the second lady’s right hand and leads her one step to the front. The first couple takes the position that the second couple has just vacated. 

Step 8: The first gentleman will offer the first lady, both hands and they will make one right turn so that both the gentleman and the lady are on the side that they started on. 

Step 9: While not a physical step, the couples change numbers. The first couple becomes the second couple and the second couple becomes the first couple and the dance is repeated until the song ends.

Please watch the video to hear a pretty boring rendition of the music. Imagine the melody played on the harpsichord or by an orchestra.  
 

Ways to Save Money Reenacting

 Reenacting can be expensive. If you add up the cost of gas for one event, the price of your gear, the cost of food and the price to register, you are talking about a lot of money. Many people are surprised to find out that reenactors are not paid to do what they do and, in fact, actually pay to be there. Most reenactors also buy their own cookware, tents, clothing and other equipment. 

Become a Nonprofit. If you haven’t already, make sure your reenacting group is registered as a nonprofit organization so that your clothing, weapons, equipment and gas mileage is tax deductible (save your receipts.) 

Focus on one impression. Would a poor farm-girl have 10 dresses? Probably not. Would she really want a new dress? Probably. Wanting what you can’t have? Priceless. Do you know how the guys talk of those magic moments on the battlefield when it “feels real?” It feels real when you sit outside of a ball, just listening to the music because you don’t have a nice dress to wear and your poor farm-girl couldn’t afford a ticket anyway. (If you are poor in the day, be poor at night. If you are a man in the day, stay a man at night. If you portray a wealthy person, make sure you have the money to do so properly and can afford nice dresses, bonnets, jewelry, ect. If you choose to be a wealthy person, it is much cheaper to not have a “farmer’s wife impression” and a “nurse impression” and a “general’s wife impression in addition to it. When you are ready to take on an entirely new impression and after a lot of research, you should have been able to have saved up enough money for it. ) 

Buy secondhand or trade for things you need. Once you have created a new impression that you like and want to keep, you can get rid of some of the old things that you don’t use anymore by selling them to reenactors that need them and buy things that have already been used. Used clothing has the added bonus of looking like it is worn everyday and not just one weekend a month for half the year. 

Do without. Limit yourself to what you bring to an event. It would be nice to be able to bring a dish for anything you might possibly want to cook but it’s costly, not practical and period incorrect. 

Learn to Sew. You might spend a little bit making mistakes when learning to sew but the mistakes will pay for themselves when you can make your own clothing. If you are truly a beginner, try to find someone to help you sew something simple to start out. 

Try to keep your “gear” to a minimum and sell the rest. In my tent, there is a rule that if something isn’t 100% necessary (dress, shoes, gun, cartridge box) than it must serve at least 3 other purposes. We have a tiny skillet that we use to move coals, dig holes, cook and as my plate/dish. Our 99 cent skillet has replaced a possibly expensive shovel and eating utensil. Less money and less to carry. 

Do research then buy at unexpected places. If you study fabrics and research well, you can find cheap, appropriate fabrics at thrift stores and yard sales. Make sure you are very well researched first, though. This works for cookware and furniture too. 

Share equipment. This can cause problems so be careful. Hammers, cooking utensils, some clothing can be shared. Make sure you are respectful and courteous to those you share with.   

7 Books to Read with Children

 Whether your a mom or a dad, older sibling, babysitter or teacher, these books are great books to read with children. A great benefit of reading along with a child is the ability for discussing the book. You can answer questions, discuss decisions that a character made and whether or not you both think that it was a good idea and what you would have done differently.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Brian's parents are divorced. He goes to spend time with his father but tragedy strikes and Brian gets stuck alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a hatchet. Will he survive? 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler  by E. L. Konigsburg

 A brother and sister decide that they are taken for granted so they run away from home and take up residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When a mysterious statue, possibly the work of Michelangelo, is sold to the museum for a few hundred dollars, the siblings can't rest until they get to the bottom of the mystery.  

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Okay, the appeal of this book might just be the reenactor's dream that this could come true.)

 

Jessie is a normal 13 year old girl in 1840: she lives with her family, goes to school and has never been far from town. That is, until children start getting sick and her mother tells her a huge secret: the year is really 1996, they live in a historical museum and the owners are holding them hostage and denying them modern medicine. It's up to Jessie to sneak out and find help in a modern world that she knows nothing about.

Anne of Green Gables

Anne is a orphan with flaming red hair and a temper to match. She is mistakenly sent to a brother and sister looking for a boy to help them on their farm. Anne likes to daydream which gets her into trouble at the worst times possible. She doesn't mean to be a bother, but will the family keep her after all the trouble she causes?

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter is an orphan whose parents died in a horrible car accident. He is sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle who hate him until he receives a letter in the mail telling him that his is really a wizard. He finds out that his parents were really killed by an notoriously evil wizard and in the wizarding world, he is famous. He is sent to school where he struggles through schoolwork, makes friends and comes face to face with the wizard who killed his parents.

The Sign of the Beaver

Matt lives with his father on a homestead in the early days of American colonization. His father leaves him to watch over the house while he brings the rest of the family there from the east. Matt is alone and without food when he gets injured, when he is saved by a Native American doctor. A Native American boy, Attean helps Matt learn Native American survival methods in exchange for English lessons. The boys don't like each other but they soon learn to respect each other.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huck sets out on an adventure, rafting down the Mississippi with an escaped slave named Jim. There is some controversy over the word choice in this book. The book is a period book and clearly a product of its time. 

According to US News in 2007, 1 in 4 American adults had read 0 books in the previous 12 months. We need to raise children who become adults who love to read. Children who are read to, learn to love books. Many students' only experience with books is in the classroom where they can link books with negative experiences. Children should associate books with having fun and exploring worlds with the people they love.   

Godey's Lady's Book Recipes for July

 We have finally had some perfect weather days this summer. Most of the days this July have just been too hot to want to cook.  Godey's Lady's Book was one of the most popular ladies magazine in America during the Civil War. Below are some recipes taken from the 1864, July issue.  

SNOWBALLS.-- Place some rice in milk to well ; strain it off ; put the rice round apples pared and cored, with a bit of lemon-peel, a clove, and a piece of cinnamon in each ; tie in a cloth, and boil well. (81)

SCOLLOPED TOMATOES.--Take fine, large tomatoes, perfectly ripe. Scald them to loosen the skins, and then peal them. Cover the bottom of a deep dish thickly with grated bread-crumbs, adding a few bits of fresh butter. Then put in a layer of tomatoes, seasoned slightly with a little salt or cayenne, and some powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover them with another layer of bread-crumbs and butter. Then another layer of seasoned tomatoes ; and proceed thus till the dish is full, finishing at the top with bread crumbs. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and bake it near three hours. Tomatoes require long cooking, otherwise they will have a raw taste, that to most persons is unpleasant. (81-82)

YOUNG CORN OMELET.--To a dozen ears of fine young Indian corn allow five egg. Boil the corn a quarter of an hour ; and then, with a large grater, grate it down from the cob. Beat the eggs very light, and then stir gradually the grated corn into the pan of eggs. Add a small salt-spoon of salt, and a very little cayenne. Put into a hot frying-pan equal quantities of lard and fresh butter, and stir them well together, over the fire. When they boil, put in the mixture thick, and fry it ; afterwards browning the top with a red-hot shovel, or a salamander. Transfer it, when done, to a heated dish, but do not fold it over. It will be found excellent. This is a good way of using boiled corn that has been left from dinner the preceding day. (82)

* A salamander is an iron tool that is heated up and used to brown the top of dishes. When cooking over a fire, a small frying pan or coal shovel can be heated up and used like a salamander. 

*Indian corn  is not the ornamental "Indian corn of today." Indian corn was edible corn that could come in white, yellow, red or mixed.

RASPBERRY WINE.--Bruise the finest ripe raspberries with the back of a spoon ; strain them though a slannel bag into a stone jar ; allow one pound of fine powdered loaf sugar to one quart of juice ; stir these well together and cover the jar closely. Let stand for three days, stirring up the mixture everyday ; then pour off the clear liquid, and put two quarts of sherry to each quart of juice or liquid. Bottle it off, and it will be fit for use in a fortnight. By adding Cognac brandy, instead of sherry, the mixture will be raspberry brandy. (83)

SPRING ROLL.--Four eggs, one cup of sugar, one cup of flour, half a teaspoon of soda, one teaspoon of cream of tartar, add any flavor to suit the taste. Stir well, and spread thin on bread pans ; bake quickly, and when thoroughly baked turn it out on a cloth, and spread with jelly and roll it up.(83) 

 

*My grandmother used to eat a similar dish when she was a child. She made a plain eggs, spread jelly on them and rolled it up. It is a different taste than we are used to.

Recipes from: 

 Hale, Sarah Josepha. "Receipts, &c." Godey's Lady's Book. July 1864, 80-84.