Happy New Year: 2016 New Skill Challenge- anyone wanna play?

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Straelbora
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Re: Happy New Year: 2016 New Skill Challenge- anyone wanna play?

Post by Straelbora »

Elleth wrote:It’s almost 2017!

This is a great idea- changing habits and setting goals, making practice (at anything) part of a daily or weekly routine really gets stuff done.

First off, looking back at 2016 - I got a LOT of niggling little details done - purses and pouches and a nice knife sheath and need wallet and not a little digital work. I’m really happy with what I did get done this year, but the fact remains I’m still walking the woods in modern jeans and blouse. That is going to change this year. This isn't a new skill per se, but more an item that desperately needs to come off my plate.
Goal One: complete a rudimentary kit

I've got a mixed bag of gear. Some stuff is wool, like a premade Viking-style tunic I bought online and then had a tailor friend of mine (who also does all sorts of historical costume) retrim with pieces of an old Army blanket. It's functional and looks great. A lot of my other clothing is left over SCA garb made from thin cotton cloth. In photos, I've noticed that it looks like salvaged bedsheets. I need to get some linen and other 'period' material to make more clothing. My biggest problem is that I don't handle heat well, and in the summer, I'm tempted to go "Bakshi" and wear a sleeveless tunic with no pants or leggings.


Also, given my sewing skills versus disposable income, I'm likely to go to my tailor friend for any new clothing. I spent a lot of time over the last week deer hunting and realized that I need better Ranger winter pants. I'm thinking of double layer trousers- wool on the inside and canvas on the outside, to make them more wind/waterproof.

Secondly, the big ball I dropped last year was my archery goal - and frankly I need to get out and exercise more anyhow. So fitness generally and WMA-ish specifically is my other big goal next year. I don’t need to be a Ranger: but I want to be reasonably “survival competent” with bow and blade.
Goal Two: Fitness/WMA

As I sat there in the cold and wind every dusk and dawn for the last few days, my longbow on my lap, waiting for some deer to cross my path (no luck), it ocurred to me that I don't even know if my archery skills are really up to the task of hitting a skittish whitetail. I think I need to set aside, say, 1/2 hour minimum of archery practice every time I'm at my place in the country.

I was also tempted to try and shoot a squirrel while the elusive deer kept to other areas. Then I realized that if I have doubts about hitting a deer, a squirrel is likely out of the question. To try and practice squirrel hunting, I bought some squirrel-sized teddy bears at the Goodwill 'by the pound' store the other day. I'm going to mount them to a board (or on a tree trunk with a backstop) in order to practice archery squirrel hunting.

There’s lots of other goals I’d like to add - music and art and language - but diffusion is the enemy of completion, so I’m sticking with just those two in 2017. Plus, I suspect life is gonna get kinda full this year, so I’m limiting my plate.


DETAILS
============================

Nothing helps real progress like nailing down exactly what a goal means, so -

Kit goal
By trekking season this fall, have at LEAST trousers, tunic, cloak, belt, and boots.
My stretch goal is a completed quiver, proper bow and arrows, waterskin, sidearm blade and completed Greg-style bedroll/snapsack setup with carry strap, blanket, and ground cloth.

Most of the clothes and some of the hard kit is already somewhat far along, so I think completing them all by early fall is doable. New bow maybe not, but the rest I think I can make happen.

I'm seriously thinking of giving a try at calf-high boots this year. I've to the Tandy Leather 'Plainsman' plan. Not sure if I'm brave enough to try.

Fitness/WMA goal
Part 1 (most important): By the first day of fall, be able to make it to the top of the giant behind our farm without stopping for breath.

You have a giant behind your farm? Lucky! Yeah, I'd like to be able to get up and down the hills we have with a bit more ease.

Part 2: By the first day of fall, be able to get 8 / 10 arrows in an 18” circle from 15 paces.
Forget waiting on perfect period kit - just practice with the darn bow more.

Precisely. At this point, I don't need any Peter Jackson Legolas trick shooting, just getting most of the arrows reasonably where I want them to go.

Part 3: … some metric for handling a largish blade with rudimentary competence. I really don’t know how to judge this, and would welcome some advice. Some kind of cutting test?

Do you have a fencing pell? I made one for practicing with an SCA rattan sword. It's basically a 4"x4" post with two arms (a cross), with old carpet duct-taped on it. It's mounted on an 'x' of wood so that it wobbles when hit hard, but most of the time, won't fall over. On a whim, I mounted a helmet made out of an old propane tank so that it has a head that 'clangs' when hit.

Finally -
“Achievement Unlocked!” as our godson would say. :)
These are five things I *can* do already, but want to put in writing so I’ll get off my butt and make time for at least once in the following year:

* cook one family meal on the hearth inside
* cook one family meal “camp style” outside
* do one little drawing or piece of tengwar calligraphy on a scrap of vellum in period materials as an “in character” memento piece.
* listen to that audiobook reading of the silmarillion all the way through
* make the walking trip to our neighbor’s pond he’s told us about but I’ve never seen. This will take a bit of orienteering from satellite pictures, but it should be a fairly easy day trip.

I've been doing some hearth cooking in a Dutch oven over the last few weeks. Have you seen the video series on Youtube by Jas. Townsend and Co. They are here in Indiana, and make all sorts of equipment for Colonial historical reenactors. They have a great video series about cooking in that period.

Whew! That’s enough.

What are y'all up to?
Well, you've got me fired up. Keep us posted.
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nær verðr á vegum úti geirs um þörf guma
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Elleth
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Re: Happy New Year: 2016 New Skill Challenge- anyone wanna play?

Post by Elleth »

Hunh... surplus teddy bears in the trees. That's clever!
(Don't think I have the heart to do it though.. poor teddies. )
I've been doing some hearth cooking in a Dutch oven over the last few weeks. Have you seen the video series on Youtube by Jas. Townsend and Co. They are here in Indiana, and make all sorts of equipment for Colonial historical reenactors. They have a great video series about cooking in that period.
I have! Here we call it "the pudding channel" :)
Persona: Aerlinneth, Dúnedain of Amon Lendel c. TA 3010.
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