Wayland (the husband-unit) and I moved from a central suburb area in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to a suburb north of Dallas in October of 2019. We chose to move here for a number of reasons – to be closer to our youngest while she finished high school, to be closer to friends we love to hang out with, for easier commutes to/from work, etc. One of the secondary benefits of moving was that we would be able to join the same local SCA (Society of Creative Anachronism) that our good friends were part of. For those curious, it’s the Barony of the Steppes, Kingdom of Ansteorra.
Wayland had been in the SCA years ago when he lived on the East Coast in the SCA Kingdom of Atlantia. He had frequently commented that he would love to get active again, as he missed “beating on people with sticks”. I have a love for way too many fiber-related crafts, and he knew I would also be right at home in the SCA as well.
I’d been in SCA-adjacent circles since I was a teenager, as I worked several seasons at our local renaissance festival at my siblings’ pottery shop. However, I’d always been warned away from the SCA because (and I’m quoting those other people, not agreeing with them) “those people have sticks up their butts” (aka “authenticity police”). Little did I know that these would be “my people” and I should have joined decades ago.
Anyway, by the time we got settled, the Pandemic was ramping up and in-person events were on hold. But we still wanted to get involved so we joined and started participating in virtual events when we were able.
Now, some 2 1/2 years later, we’ve been able to go to a few in-person events, Wayland has been able to start going to fighter practice (when his job and energy levels allow), I’ve gotten our garb started, and am starting to get connected with crafters on Discord and Facebook.
I’m excited to start documenting progress on my various crafts and improvement to our garb.