Mouse's SCA Natterings

Hi! I've been busy, which is why I haven't posted lately (like a month, yeegh). But busy in a good way! As my living space has slowly been coming together, I have been able to do SCA stuff! For example, I went to Coronation a couple of weeks ago, ostensibly to help out my friend Maegan with her merchant booth thing place, and I really quite enjoyed myself. The traditions and ceremonies here in Northshield are so different than the West, and quite frankly I like the way Northshield does things. Yeah, in the West you get a sense of the early days of the SCA and that can be pretty cool, but in Northshield, the newest Kingdom, the coronation ceremony manages to convey the full gravitas of what it means to reign, which I feel is important to impress upon an incoming King or Queen. It's a big deal to rule, it's a huge amount of work, time, and expense to reign. There's an old SCA song by the great bard Baldwin of Erebor, "Burden of the Crown", and it's so true. Look it up, and be prepared to shed a few tears.

I was going to go to Crown Tournament this weekend, but it's too far to daytrip, so my next event will be Bardic Madness up in Inner Sea (Duluth MN) in a couple weeks. It should be fun!

ALSO I find out next week if MusicMakers can repair my harp for me! \o/ They're local-ish, so I'm hoping they can. I really would like to have my harp back and playable for the class I'll be teaching in July at Warriors and Warlords (and again at Pennsic eeeeeeeeeeee), "Harping on Harps: An Introduction to the Medieval Harps of the British Isles." Excited and nervous at the same time!

Right, lunchtime. Onward!

I'm still working on getting my wee harp repaired after the time spent in the dryness of Starkhafn caused more of the old glue to fail, resulting in part of the soundboard to separate from the box and some staves on the soundboard itself to split. The wood itself isn't damaged, just the glue holding it together disintegrated. I'm trying to find someone local/regional to do the repair, since I really don't have the tools or the space in my studio apartment to do the work myself. I want the harp that's Siobhan ni hEodhusa's legacy to sing again!

ANYWAY YES, harp class at Pennsic!!! Regardless of whether I can get the harp fixed in time, I'll be doing a class at Pennsic on the harps of the British Isles -- not the music, the harps themselves. I wrote a paper a few years back called "Harping on Harps" that covered this topic; I entered it with Telynor's encouragement in the Wreath of Athena arts display competition, and I tied for second place! So I'm taking this paper and revising it, updating and expanding it a bit into a lecture-based class with handouts and plates, and I hope to hold two sessions of it sometime at Pennsic 52.

To say that I'm nervous and excited would be an understatement! XD Will keep y'all updated!

Well, my friends, it's officially official -- I am relocating at the end of January from the dry desert climes of the Barony of Starkhafn (Las Vegas), Kingdom of Caid, to the snow-covered reaches of the Barony of Nordskogen (Minneapolis), Kingdom of Northshield. The reasons are numerous, not the least of which being I don't get along with the summer heat here any longer cause I'm old and broken. Another big reason is financial -- it's just overall less expensive in Minneapolis. Plus I have friends there, and a solid support system.

Moving date is 27 January, looking to arrive in Minneapolis the 30th or 31, depending on weather and road conditions and whatnot. This ain't my first transcontinental rodeo, not by a long shot, as those who have known me for awhile understand. XD I have an apartment lined up right in the heart of the city, so I'm pretty well set. ^__^ I will totally keep everyone updated as the move progresses so no-one worries about me. <3

I'm really looking forward to getting the hell on with my life.

Greetings! My name in the SCA is Nadbroicc inigena Druisten (pronounced vaguely like NAWDbrick INNYgena DRISTden), aka Mouse. And I'm a harper who is relearning the wire-strung Gaelic harp, or clairseach! And I'm an old used scribe too! And a former herald who's looking to learn more! Persona-wise, I am a retired 5th c. Pictish warrior of the Catt tribe from Inse Catt (the Shetlands) who once raided as far as Dal Riada, and earned the nickname an Luch (the Mouse) because I am wee but fierce. I content myself these days with music and relearning to play my wee harp. SCA-wise, I'm a Companion of the Order of the Maunche (grant-level East Kingdom arts & sciences award; mine was earned in "Diverse Arts"). XD I currently live in the Barony of Nordskogen, Kingdom of Northshield, but I have lived in Caid, the East, the West, the Outlands when it was a principality of Atenveldt, the Middle, Meridies, and Drachenwald when it was a protectorate/principality of the East Kingdom. Yes, I am very well-travelled! I have been playing in the SCA since AS X, when I was known as Ommadan (names were a different beast back then XD). That makes me a bit of a geezer, but hey, I own that.

This journal is largely to document my endeavors in getting my harp playable again and relearning how to play. It'll also be my home for SCA stuff in general -- scribalry, heraldry, life events, like that. For more random witterings about the SCA and harpery etc., I have a Facebook page here. I also have an SCA resume here.

Welcome, have a seat and a cuppa! XD