AKA: Maine Renaissance Faire, weekend the third.
I have somehow managed to create a “Conservative Safe Space” at Ren Faires. I’m not sure how this happened, but it’s definitely an interesting thing!
As I’m writing this, I’ve just gotten home from the third and final weekend of Maine Renaissance Faire. I had a blast, sold a ton of books, and cooked my way through a heatwave and the smoke from Canadian wildfires. I’m slightly sunburned, though not badly, and I managed to avoid getting dehydrated this weekend. I’m rather proud of that. I made Good Choices LOL!
By choice, I stayed on site one extra night, both to get a bit of extra sleep and to not have to load and unload the truck while exhausted and filthy. Instead, I helped other people pack up their stuff on Sunday evening, and then at 9pm I retreated to my tent with some gatorade and my phone (which I basically didn’t look at for most of the weekend). With the big queen bed out of the tent and just my single low cot in there, I had room for my comfy chair and a table, as well as my basket (which doubled as a foot rest on Sunday night). I sat down and watched some Futurama, played a couple of games, took my meds, and was out cold by 10:30pm. I didn’t even shower, even though I could have, because the sheets were already dirty anyhow and I really didn’t care. Come Monday morning, I was up by 8am, feeling actually RESTED. Once the ibuprofin kicked in, I was in fine fettle. I organized all my stuff, packed it neatly, and piled it for easy movement into the truck when Chris arrived to pick me up. THEN I went and showered, and lordy, it felt lovely.
Anyhow, safe spaces. If you listen to people long enough, you can usually tell if they’re liberal or conservative. There are enough code words in both groups that you can pick up on and make an educated guess. I spent the last three weekends learning who the closet conservatives were. I say closet, because at a Ren Faire, you just don’t really talk politics. Well, definitely not conservative politics, but even liberal stuff is largely not spoken about. It’s supposed to be a place to enjoy the fantasy of medieval or Renaissance life, and most everyone does their best to stick to the fantasy and ignore the real world outside.
As I found those I suspected of conservatism, I found a way to privately ask if I was correct. Bonus, I was right every time! I’m sure I missed some people, but that’s fine. I invited several of those people here to the blog, because they’re awesome folks. I let them know that, in my kitchen, we have true equality. Everyone is welcome. I also made it clear that I make my money off of liberals as much (or maybe more) than conservatives, and so if patrons or others were around, we needed to not talk politics. They all understood. Every conservative on site is well versed in keeping their mouth shut while liberals say things they dislike. That’s the price we pay for enjoying the fair and selling our wares to the liberals. It’s fine, most of the time it’s not all that painful.
All that said, everyone seemed pleased that they had a place to come and talk when they needed or wanted to. None of them were doing or saying (or, I suspect, even thinking) the things that the liberals were so worried over. I’m sorry, but if you’re working at a Ren Faire, you’re just not going to be a Nazi. It just doesn’t work that way. An actual Nazi would go insane at Ren Faire. And when I’m at Ren Faire, I expect to see blue (and green and purple and rainbow and whatever) hair colors, because *fantasy*. I’m also going to see elves, fairies, unicorns, and a huge variety of other folk ranging from Star Trek and Star Wars characters down to obscure Japanese anime. It’s a fun place to let your hair down, chase your fantasy (that’s publicly acceptable around children), and maybe have a bit of overpriced mead among friends.
My blacksmith friend? Conservative. The folks across from my kitchen tent, who were selling lovely hand-made goods? Conservative. Chainmail dude? Not sure, leans very fiscally conservative but socially liberal, but is struggling because the Left is moving away from him more rapidly than he can process (ie new Conservative). It was nice to know I wasn’t alone. It was nice to know there were others there… just in case. People who would have my back. And so my Conservative Safe Space was created.
As someone who grew up being bisexual and unsure politically, kinky, pagan… I know what it feels like to be around people who don’t accept me as I am. Even though I’ve not been overly “in your face” until recent years about most of my stuff (except being pagan, I’ve always been open about that), I’ve had people accost me in public spaces when I was doing nothing wrong. I was once “exorcised” by a woman speaking in Glossolalia and waving her arms around like a maniac, because she saw a tiny, half inch pin I was sporting on my purse strap that said, “The Goddess is pro-choice.” It was the only visible marker that I was pagan. She had sat down next to me in a restaurant, then proceeded to go on with the “exorcism” while I sat there, staring at my coffee and cake and ignoring her. I didn’t speak to her, engage with her, or even make eye contact. About 3 to 4 minutes in, the manager had to evict her after several warnings about disturbing the peace. Of course she WAS evicted, because what she was doing was wrong. If it had happened today, and had been a liberal attacking me over being conservative, I’m the one who would be expected to leave.
So when I tell fellow conservatives that they’re welcome at my table, at my campsite, I’m telling them they have a place to go if someone is doing stuff like that to them. I’m telling them they can retreat and regroup. I’m telling them that I will go after people who are attacking them with every weapon in my arsenal (even though at events, that’s basically a giant wooden spoon and a bunch of cast iron… still counts). I’m telling them that I value them.
I made my beef rolls again on Saturday, but Sunday was my kid’s time to shine. They made a pork and fruit dish with maple balsamic vinegar that was so good we lured several vegetarians into eating some despite the meat. It really was quite remarkable, and I’m not just saying that as a proud parent. Most of my time on Sunday was spent tidying things, cleaning the cast iron for transportation home (it won’t be in use for a couple of weeks) and making sure all the wooden plates and bowls got cleaned and put into their bin.
There was a time when I would go home from events with a garbage bag full of dirty dishes. It was horrid. I’d be exhausted and dirty myself, and then have to stand around washing dishes for an hour. These days, I don’t do that. I managed to get a huge tub that is plastic but looks like the bottom of a wooden barrel, and that’s what I use for washing dishes in. It’s so handy! I keep it full of luke warm water, have biodegradable soap on hand for washing, and any time I use something, I wash it right away. There are no more large piles of dirty dishes. This time, I came home with a single dirty pot, and that only because I had saved some food in case I got hungry on Monday morning waiting for my pick-up.
My work later this week is more involved in sewing a waistcoat for Chris and getting myself ready to make Native Fry Bread with a bunch of kids. I have other 18th century events going on this month, and then over the long weekend it’s back to the Renaissance for a brief interlude. Generally, summer is for Ren Faires, and spring and fall are for 18th century events. There’s some cross over, and I’m always up for new stuff.
Sorry for all the rambling. I’m still tired from the last three weekends, and the three to come. But I wanted to let you know about my safe space, because I was rather proud to be able to have one. It’s perhaps not the kind of thing the Left thinks of, but it works. And I’m happy with that.
Over the last few years, the term “safe space” has become synonymous with a place where leftists need to run and hide because someone is ruining their delusions with facts, or even so much as disagreeing with their opinions. It is where toddlers go to get away from reality.
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Now, we have your “safe space” where the adults can go to get away from the toddlers of the left.
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I would bet $1 that if you polled the folks that came and enjoyed your safe space, the majority of them would be more than willing to discuss any political topic with a liberal or a leftist if the conversation did not devolved into anger, insults, or worse. If a leftist were to discover your safe space, and control any impulse to convert the conservatives to their way of thinking, I doubt anyone enjoying that space would mind at all.
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On the other hand, never, ever… EVER bring a differing opinion into a leftist safe space.
I used “safe space” on purpose because of its association with the Left. 🙂 The funny thing is… my “safe space” at various times DID include people from the middle (I have hard Libertarian friends) and a couple from the Left, who were willing to talk. Everyone managed to talk decently, and the few points that were just too sore, we tabled in favor of other items that allowed for actual conversation. It was nice! Short (because patrons kept wandering through LOL) but nice.
Exactly!
Your safe space is for everyone, not just those who think in lockstep with you.
Ayep. A *true* safe space. Like Chris’s “honest history.” I was pleased that people were willing to at least attempt conversation on a number of topics… but also that there was no one who stormed off if we deemed something too hot for the current conversation. Everyone just kind of went “yeah, let’s not, right now.”
and on the other hands thumb- never ever attempt to engage a liberal in ANY conversation… you are wasting your time and energy.
I disagree with this one, curby. First and foremost, a lot of people who are on the fence right now still consider themselves liberals. Hell, I pretty much was until last year. If no one had talked to me, if I hadn’t been asked *and trusted* to write for the blog, I might not be as awake as I am. So yes, I will continue to attempt to converse with everyone. I don’t expect EVERYONE to do that… I know some people just don’t have it in them to work thru the bull anymore. I get that. But this is very much a part of me. I am a bridge, and I have been for many years, in many different ways.
If we shut off all conversation with someone just because they self identify as liberal, we may as well burn the country to the ground right now. Shutting off that conversation makes the right as bad as the left. And it isn’t, and I won’t do it.
Curby:
You are correct, if we make one little tweak to your statement.
” never ever attempt to engage a liberal in ANY conversation…”
should read
” never ever attempt to engage a leftist in ANY conversation…”
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The problem with “liberals” these days is there is nothing liberal about them at all. The real liberals are OK to talk to, the leftists… nope. Getting nowhere with them.
up here “liberal “ equals leftist..
i have yet to meet one i dared have any type of conversation up here..
About dirty pots, it reminds me of the struggle cleaning cooking pots at boy scout camps, where we cooked over wood fires — often pine because that’s what we had available. Scrubbing that off, even with steel wool, would take a long time.
I learned a nice trick from a fellow scout. Coat the outside of the pot with soft soap — a kind of soap that comes in jars, the consistency of heavy bearing grease. A thick layer slathered on will keep soot and the like away from the metal of the pot, and while it melts, enough of it lasts long enough that the cleanup job is very much easier.
When you’re dealing with cast iron, you don’t want to wash off that soot. 🙂 It’s part of what protects the pots going forward. I was only interested in cleaning out the caramelized sludge from the previous day (or the same day when I caught up in time). No steel wool on my cast iron! I do use chain mail scrubbers occasionally, when something is really stuck on, and a bit of soap once in a while, but steel wool is too corrosive for cast iron imo.
Of course, the other side of that is that my hands are often blackened from touching the outer surfaces of my cast iron when I move it about. But that makes me look “officially medieval” I suppose. LOL!
“…I do use chain mail scrubbers occasionally, when something is really stuck on, and a bit of soap once in a while,”
I LOVE my ringer scrubber. Often that is more than enough to keep the cast iron working perfectly.
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As to soap… do not be afraid to use some on well seasoned cast iron. There is this belief that any soap, no matter how mild, will erase the seasoning. That is false.
The seasoning is oils that have baked into long chain polymers and they can take a pretty good beating from your average dish soap. (NOT automatic dishwasher detergent, that stuff is caustic enough to remove all seasoning, and you will pull a rusted hunk of metal from the dishwasher.) However, dilute well and do not let it soak. Even the mildest dish soap will erode away at the polymers over time, minimize that time.
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To avoid that erosion, a light coating of oil (flaxseed is best, but plain old veg oil works perfectly.) after you dry as you are heating it to get that last annoying water drops off. Got this from a chemist I know who also loves to cook.
Depends what I’ve been cooking. Sometimes, a little soap goes a long way. Other times, a fine scrub with the chainmail, a wipe with a lint free cloth, and a good application of hot water is all that’s needed. And while it’s true that a well seasoned cast iron pan or pot can withstand the usual soap use with ease, many pieces *aren’t* actually well seasoned. I point to the “pre-seasoned” pan someone gave me that was all ridges and bumps. That’s not seasoned. Geez. 🙂
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When it comes to oil, which one I’m using depends on what I’m doing with my cast iron. If I’m out in a field that’s cold in the evenings and hot during the day (and therefore can expect heavy dew and possibly cold rain), I will coat my cast iron with coconut oil. It hardens beautifully when cooler than room temperature, and forms a good barrier to keep moisture away. It’s not great for long-term storage, of course, but that’s another use. My personal preference for seasoning is bacon grease, because like y our flaxseed, the polymers are the right type to make that slick coating I love so much. For daily use, I generally just use a spritz of olive oil or maybe veg oil if I have nothing else. For long term storage (for items I only use a couple or three times a year, for instance), flaxseed is definitely the best, with olive oil being my second go-to.
The only headache with coconut and olive oils is the low flash point. They will start burning LONG before any other type of oil, and that burning can have some very bad effects on the good seasoning.
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However, for the purpose you are using them, they are useful. Keep the moisture away from the iron. Perfect. Just be careful when heating them again to avoid the smoke.
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Also, there are as may “perfect” ways to maintain and preserve the seasoning as there are cooks. Mine works, and I have no doubt yours does as well. The main thing is clean it, and make sure all traces of moisture are gone.
RE: “fiscally conservative but socially liberal” – Once upon a time someone like this was known as a “small-l libertarian” — as opposed to “Big-L Libertarian”, which refers to a member/supporter of the Libertarian Party — my understanding of the difference being that the “small-l” version is specifically ideological, aligned with what supposedly was the Libertarian Party’s original platform: small government, fiscal conservatism, and maximum personal freedom (a.k.a. social liberalism). However, the LP has since accepted so many people from all across political, social, and fiscal spectra that they no longer have a consistent platform on any major issue.
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I’m telling them that I will go after people who are attacking them with every weapon in my arsenal (even though at events, that’s basically a giant wooden spoon and a bunch of cast iron… still counts).
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Hey, don’t discount the martial value of cast iron pans! Anything heavy and hard can cause damage in self-defense, and the fact it has a handle just makes it easier to use. Heck, some of it could likely withstand small-arms fire.
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But don’t listen to me. Just watch the Disney movie Tangled to see it in action in a medieval fantasy setting. LOL!
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(Seriously, watch Tangled anyway if you haven’t already; it’s a modern classic. The fact that cast iron is featured is a contextual bonus.)