Snow day

 My wife reminded me of the wisdom saying that Snow Days are God's way of telling you to slow down. In warmer climates, the siesta could do the same thing.

Anyway...

It has snowed a lot the past few days here in Southwestern Ontario. January was unseasonably warm and un-snowy. February hit hard. Friday night, I was home while Beth went out to a display event as a fund-raiser for the local hospital's special new-born ward. She came home cold and snow-covered. I pretty much decided then and there that I wouldn't be going to the Games Group on Saturday, despite the fact that Martin and I had scheduled a game of Pike & Shotte, a favourite period of mine. Saturday kicked off with an early phone call from Andy, telling me HE was not going to make it either. A Facebook post I saw a while later told me that Martin was hors de combat with some variation of the Creeping Crud.
It became the sort of wonderful day I looked forward to all throughout my school days - the amazing Snow Day! It's unexpected so no plans have been prepared. I had to go out and shovel some snow and clear the car in order to pick my daughter up from work; making her walk in such weather would be cruel and unusual punishment. 8 inches/24cm of snow and temperatures of -15°C/5°F is serious weather. (As I write it -12°C, but it's -33°C in Inuksuit School, Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavit, so why am I complaining?)

Our driveway and front yard after our neighbour used his snow-blower to clear things.
Everybody's gotta have a hobby!

The street. It looks cold? It was.

The deck and backyard before I got out the snow shovel.

Beth and I had made crepes a few days ago and some dessert batter was left. Beth decided to make it up as crepes she could freeze and use later. She said Katie and I could eat a few with our lunches. Well, the crepes became our lunch and Beth ate a few too. Since these were crepes made from a  sweetened batter, we filled them with peanut butter, Nutella, and some home-made strawberry jam given to us by a wonderful lady in my congregation. (Danke, Oma Frieda!) 

We were going to stack the crepes up with waxed paper in between, but... we ate 'em all!

Strawberry Jam and crepes

Beth cooks crepes in our kitchen.

Nutella and Jam -  prior to folding by Katie

Katie was picked up for work by a friend, and was sent home early since no sensible people were out in the cold. Beth and I and the dog went down to the family room to relax and watch movies. I got to choose! John Carter first, then Ant Man. John Carter is a better movie than many will allow and it's one that I enjoy from time to time. Ant Man is enjoyable, satisfying, and quite tongue-in-cheek although it'll never be a classic. So I painted during the movies until I cleaned off the van to go pick up Katie at her work. The time available allowed me to clean up some projects I'd been working on for a long time.

Snow Day Afternoon - Wife with laptop, tea, and blanket.

Beagle as still-life

A fighting bishop and his wife for the ECW or TYW
Unknown Manufacturer

Thirty Years War Swedish high command stand
Old Glory 15's

Another stand for the ever-expanding Hail Caesar! Gallic army.
Wargames Factory figures

15mm Scots for a Montrose Scots ECW Royalist army I've been working on.
Old, old, old Essex figs

Napoleonic Austrians (IR #28 Wartensleben) for my Austrian army
unknown manufacturer picked up at a Hot Lead bring-and-buy.
I've always liked the Austrian troops in helmets.

SYW Russian artillery
Old Glory 15mm

SYW Austrian artillery
Old Glory 15mm

Dinner was quite interesting - fried chicken with Texas-style milk gravy, and mashed potatoes. I don't remember having milk gravy when I lived in Texas, and I enjoyed the meal and the new experience.

Sunday, I'm off to church for a Service of the Word (straight from the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal). When I came back, Beth had made biscuits and gravy with the milk gravy left from the last evening's dinner. She added some more salt and pepper which added more flavour to the mix. Putting it over freshly baked biscuits was great. 

My daughter's photo of my wife's plate

My plate of biscuits and gravy

Well, this bowl of biscuits was full at the start of lunch.

Sunday was bright, clear, and cold as (insert favourite cold-related phrase here.)

My daughter received this photo from a friend. She is fascinated by these T-Rex costumes and she wants one herself.
Well... so do I.

Pooka appears to be saying "You're not going to make me go outside, are you?"
Early this afternoon, he went out and came back in limping, He had snow/ice between his toes on one foot.
We towelled him down and warmed him up and he much happier now.

So I didn't get to game this weekend, but it was quite relaxing and refreshing in its own way, Next week, the plan is to join with some other gamers from Cambridge and the Niagara area to have a huge ACW game using the Black Powder rules. I'm looking forward to it. The Weather Network is predicting temperatures of +4°C/39°F. 

Such a strange winter.

The Iron Horse Festival 2015

For the second time, the King's Company of Historical Reenactors put on a display at St. Thomas' Iron Horse Festival. This is a late-August festival of rides, shows, and displays put on in the city of St. Thomas, ON to celebrate the railroad heritage of the city. In year's past, St. Thomas was a hub for the Canadian Southern Railroad, the New York Central Railroad and the Michigan Central Railroad. Trains westbound to Detroit or Chicago out of New York City would come across the state of New York, cross into Ontario, Canada, proceed to Windsor, ON, and cross into Michigan at Detroit and continue west. The terrain was relatively flat, especially when compared to the washboard-like series of ridges that fill central Pennsylvania between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. It's far easier -and therefore less expensive- to lay track on flat land, naturally.

This year and last, our reenacting group set up a display at the Festival. We were closer to the centre of the Festival this year and we fired muskets, read a proclamation from President Madison on the reasons for the invasion of Canada, and explained the history and historical artifacts of the War of 1812, especially as it touched St. Thomas and Elgin County.

Engine 5700 - part of the collection of the local railroad museum.
A classic beauty from the age of steam.

Lining up the troops for a volley.
On the far end of the line, Tyler got to wear the red coat of the British Regulars.

Preparing to volley later in the day.
From the left - your humble blogger as first sergeant in summer kit, Kevin in militia kit, Nick as a Kentucky volunteer,
Tyler in the uniform of the US regulars, Andy in the same uniform with the 1813 "tombstone" shako.

A good volley!

Beth's display of her embroidery and woman's clothing.

We were set up in what was called "Kid's Junction" as part of the children's activities. Sad to say, the pre-festival advertising made the mistake of saying we were going to have a battle reenactment. Well, we had neither the numbers nor the space to do that, but we did see quite a few young people with their families, many of whom were quite interested in the musket volleys and the table of "Please Touch" equipment. We also ran a few mini-milita drills.

The "St. Thomas Select Embodied Militia" prepares to volley in the defence of the city.

With fine troops such as these, Canada will remain "The True North, strong and free."

At one point, most of the uniformed reenactors went up to the midway to mess with the people. We tried to recruit a number of people, but they had documents proving them to be apprenticed to various trades... or their moms and wives wouldn't let them. After a blast on my bugle, Nick read the actual proclamation penned by US President James Madison in 1812. Only a few people were impressed. Well, "God save the Republic" anyway!

Soldiers of the Republic! We've liberated the poutine wagon!
(For the uninitiated, poutine is a French-Canadian dish of french fried potatoes, cheese curd, and a sweetish brown gravy.
Tasty and artery-blocking; just the thing for a cold winter's dinner!)

Kevin, the ol' first sergeant, Nick, and Tyler in a photo taken by the tourist board.
We look pretty good, in my opinion.
The building behind us is the original railroad station which is an architectural gem and is still being restored.

As the day wore on, Andy had to leave because of other commitments, but the rest of us struck camp about 7:00pm. It was a good day;  we got to talk to folks and educate on the local history. We got to burn some powder and drill some young folks. We met some army cadets who were quite interested in what we were doing. We added some 'colour' to the festival and we supported the home town. Since we see ourselves as a community group with a educational role, we fulfilled our purpose. And we had fun, which is our REAL purpose for doing this!

Another volley... Make ready! Take aim! Fire!

A misfire! Andy's musket had some trouble during the day.
Again you can see Tyler in the red coatee of the 10th Royal Veterans Battalion.

Our full camp under the small fly.

A family looks over the equipment and tries on some of the head gear.

The look on the little girl's face is enough reward for what we do.

Every so often, a railroad handcart would pass by. It was fun to see and we considered walking up and "commandeering" it, but we never got around to it. We think they were selling rides from the far end of the property to down where we were.

Last and least, your humble blogger, as he takes a breather. It wasn't too hot but the uniform always makes me perspire.

"A face for radio and a voice for print."

Another view of the 5700, since it is a railroad-themed festival.

Family Fun Day at the Old St. Thomas Church

Yesterday was a rather refreshing summer day after a hot, busy week. Beth and I and a number of the King's Company of Historical Reenactors added our presence and noise to the Family Fun Day at the Old St. Thomas Church. (Kevin, Tina, Tyler and his son, Andy, and Jared and his daughter were there and Taylor joined us for the day.)
St. Thomas Church was built in 1824 as the first Anglican Church in the area. It is the oldest church to be found between Windsor and Niagara Falls. When our friend, Nick, retired from the active ministry as an Anglican priest, he was made the chaplain and administrator of the church. He took this family fun day and helped make it bigger. The festivities include tours of the church, hotdogs and pop, ice cream, face painting, and similar thing. Our reenactor bring out a display of the uniform, equipment, embroidery, weaving, and toys of the 1812 period. We do a musket firing display and a mini-militia every so often.

(Photos by Beth, myself, and our friend, Taylor.)

Nick laid aside his Canon persona and became a surgeon for the day.
The tools are authentic, quite scary, and an education all by themselves.

Your humble blogger, Kevin, and Tyler talk to the public about the uniforms and weapons of the War of 1812.

Beth shows the loom and some embroidery to the visitors.

Beth and Jared and Jared's daughter take a break under the fly we'd set  up.

The St. Thomas Select Embodied Militia present arms with Tyler as their drill example. A fine group!
Steve wanders armed behind them.

Kevin and Tyler in a quite moment.
For a display day like this, we often wear different uniforms. Tyler is in the regulation infantry uniform with a forage cap. Kevin is in a hunting frock, which the 17th wore as an emergency stop-gap in early 1813, with a straw hat quite appropriate for the summer sun.

Your humble blogger in his First Sergeant persona hands out muskets to the Militia.

Tyler... on duty...

and off.
("Never stand when you can sit; never sit when you can lie down; never stay awake when you can sleep, and leave no beer undrunk!" Bolla's First Law of Reenacting)

Our friend, Taylor, in her Regency finery. She wanted to try this reenacting out and Beth and I felt that the Family Fun Day would be the ideal time to see what it was like. She told us she enjoyed it very much.

Jared's daughter enjoying part of a hot dog on the hopscotch board.
Taylor discovered that hopscotch was very popular in the Regency era.

Tina and Jared's daughter ring the church bell.
That was a favourite activity for most of the young folks there.

Croghan's Company, 17th US Infantry moves to demonstrate a musket volley.
From the left - your humble blogger as First Sergeant, Jared as corporal of the battalion pioneers, Andy, Kevin, and Tyler.
Steve joined us with his musket a few times and Beth joined us with her rifle as well!

The St. Thomas Militia continues their drill... with some help from Mom and Dad.

Don't mess with this young lady!
Jared's daughter picked up a toy pistol we happened to have and would not put it down!

Tyler's son and another militiaman watch for zombie coyotes in the cemetery.
Don't ask. Please don't.

Taylor, who followed Jared's daughter around a good bit, strolls with her parasol.

This is a good little event and a lot of fun. It also helps a historic place. St. Thomas Church has no congregation at this time, but it remains a consecrated Anglican church. This event helps in the upkeep of this historic house of worship.