Abandoned - Sugar and Spice - Story 23 NWS

[Abandoned]

Chapter 12


  We studied our inventory again.  We had no logs, and the firewood supply was low.  Laborers again went out to cut trees.  When the number of logs improve so would the firewood supply.  We would keep an eye on both.



  Our coat supply increased but was still low.  We have wool and leather but only the one tailor who did her best to keep up with demand; she often had to wait for leather.   A large herd of deer was spotted across the stream not far from the mill.  A hunting lodge was built there and hopefully our supply of venison and leather would be more regular.  By the time the first snow of the season fell, we had a woolen mill built across from the hunting lodge, on this side of the stream near the sheep shed.  Warm woolies would be most welcome when the temperatures dropped again.



  Our food supply was very good.  Besides venison and roasted venison, we had rabbit meat and duck meat.  There was a good supply of wheat and flour plus lots of potatoes.  We needed to gather more mushrooms and onions for our holiday feasts.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 13  ( note: Some info from Wikipedia)


  Here in the north, the 13th day of early winter begins the Christmas season with the celebration of the life of the martyr Saint Lucia; her name means "light".  She is a symbol of hope and light. "According to legend, she brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way, leaving both hands free to carry as much food as possible."  Before earlier calendar reform, her feast day was on the shortest day of the year.  Her feast day is called the festival of light, it is a day of reverence, feasting, and fun.

  We began the day with homemade saffron buns with spices picked fresh from our greenhouses.    Room was cleared and tables set up in the small red barn for a late afternoon feast.  There were platters of meatball and roast meats and vegetables and special dishes of potatoes and fish.  Santas's workshop and the Christmas baker made pepparkakor (gingerbread).  Have another cookie, eager explorer.

  It was dark by the time the meal was done.  The girls dressed in white robes with red sashes led a procession from the barn to the tiny chapel carrying candles to light the way.  No, eager explorer, they weren't cold at all; they had their winter woolies on under the robes.  And yes, there was plenty of room for all in the tiny chapel; it's a lot bigger inside than it looks.  That's part of the magic of Christmas.

The boys and younger children also participate in the celebration that lasted late into the night.  Some of the boys wore a coned shaped hat decorated with golden stars called stjarngossar (star boys). 

  The star boys learned a song to sing telling about another martyr, Saint Stephen, but it was getting late and long past the time the younger children should be home in their beds.  Candles were lit around town to quide us safely home on that dark winter night carrying the youngest children who had long since fallen asleep in their parent's arms.

[taniu]

@Abandoned.Thank you for the beautiful Christmas videos with songs  

[Abandoned]

   I am glad you liked the Christmas videos @taniu    I hope you and your wife have a very Merry Christmas.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 14


   Laven, the music teacher, thought the children should have a school; they were quick learners and did so well with the St. Lucia Day celebration.  Well, that was something to think about but there were other building projects underway.  A nut roaster was built by the small red barn and pit houses where a lot of the chestnuts were stored.  A handful of roasted chestnuts warmed the children's hands after building a snowman or having a snowball fight.  The outside workers and laborers appreciated them too.





  A large red storage barn was built closer to the sugar and spice houses; a 2nd sugar house was built next to that barn.   The older couple in the nordic house next to the spice house did build their chicken coop and were happy to have the big barn close by; they could take the chickens into the barn on the coldest days.  With a supply of milk and eggs, the couple hoped there would be some traditional eggnog for Christmas.



  There was no eggnog yet, but there was now hot apple cider being served at the new Yule Tap tavern.  A cup of cider went well with a gingerbread cookie from the Christmas baker next-door.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 15




  A 3rd spice house was built across from the Christmas baker, and a 2nd worker was assigned to each of the 2 sugar houses.  It was getting closer to Christmas; we had to increase production.  Down the road, across from the song shop and chapel, a tiny schoolhouse was built.  Laven and her husband Elbertus from the song shop would be the teachers.  Some basic lessons and more song learning would help keep the children's mind off what seemed to them the long wait for Santa.

  Another Christmas treat would help too.  A Julmust store was being built by the nut roaster; Julmust was a tradition Christmas drink especially liked by children.  It was made with sugar and spice and was very nice to have with a gingerbread cookie.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 16




  The sleigh that arrived in town shortly after the school was built was not Santa but more of Santa's elves.  There were 19 of them, 15 adults with 4 children.  They came to help and to pick up what sugar and spice we had for Santa and to bring us some Christmas decorations for our houses and the town.  They would not all be staying with us, 2 young adult elves would return the 2 sleighs to the North Pole; the sleighs were needed to help pick up supplies for Santa.  No, eager explorer, no boats can get to the North Pole because of the icebergs surrounding it; only sleighs can reach Santa.

  We had a few more builders so house building went pretty quickly despite our usual shortage of logs.  The laborers again took to the forest to cut trees; our foresters could not keep up with demand; the trees grew slowly.  The laborers went far afield to cut the trees; the town needed the wind break that the pines close by provided.

 A Nordic wood house was built by the stream south of the mill for a couple with an adult son and daughter.  Two red cottages were built over by the big red barn; glass, bricks, and rooftiles from the stockpiles were used for those 2 houses.  Both couples had an adult child and a younger one.  Three red Christmas houses were built on the road behind Santa's workshop; a young single male and 2 couples each with a 1-year-old daughter moved into those 3 houses.
 


  Not only did that last group of elves bring festive decorations with them but they brought us some grape vines too.  A small grape house was built on the road behind the Yule Tap.  There would be mulled wine brewing instead of apple cider when Christmas grew near.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 17


  We were very disappointed with how little sugar and spices we could load onto the sleighs; we had 95 sugar but only 33 spices.  We knew the elves back at the North Pole would be happy with however much they could get.  We built 2 more spice houses next to the other pair for a total of 5 spice houses.  Two elves hitched up the reindeer and were soon on their way back to the North Pole with the sugar and spice.  The festive decorations they brought that had not yet been used were stored in the red barns.



   There were already wreaths on the doors of houses and shops, and small decorated trees here and there.  A small park was built across from the Yule Tap, and festive colored lights lined the main street. 





  We were again short of firewood and logs.  Again, the laborers went to the forest to cut trees and gather branches.  Our warm coat supply was still low, but the laborers had their woolies to keep them warm.  A branch cart would now be emptied at the main stockpile and at the smaller one by the big red barn.  We thought it would be nice to trade for logs and firewood; sleighs brought logs and firewood from Riverboat Depot to the North Pole; log barges brought the logs and firewood to the Depot from Woodland Woods.   As I said, ships did not stop at the North Pole because of the icebergs; we never saw a ship there and certainly never thought we would see one here.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 18


  It wasn't long after the elves left with the sleighs and the sugar and spice for the North Pole that, much to our surprise, a ship came down the swollen river and crashed into our shore between the clay pit and the fishing pier.  We rescued 2 very young boatmen.  They were still in training and had picked up cargo at Dwarves Quarry but took a wrong turn and ended too far north.  They escape the icebergs, but our fast-moving winding river was too much for them; their cargo shifted in the hold and the ship tipped over along our shore.



  The boys were cold and hungry but determined to go on foot to Newburg for help.  The ship was not damaged but the cargo would have to be removed to get the ship upright again.  If there was anything we needed, we should feel free to help ourselves, carefully.  Yes, eager explorer, it was too bad that they didn't get here a bit sooner so a sleigh could have dropped them off in Newburg, but they were determined to go; they'd been away from home a long time and knew their families must be worried.  We knew from working with Santa, how many letters he got from children wanted their fathers or big brothers to come home for Christmas.

 We fed the 2 boys good hot meals and bundled them up with woolies, warm coats, wool-lined hide boots and mittens, and hooded capes.  Small bundles of food were tucked in under the caps so the food would not freeze.  We hated to see them go; they were so young.  We are very glad to hear from you that they made it to Newburg and then to Riverboat Depot.



  After the boys left, we needed to replenish our clothing supply.  Another sheep shed was built next to Santa's workshop behind the other shops.  We had plenty of wool, but our supply of leather was low, the reindeer herds did not often come within range. The tailor-made fur coats whenever enough furs were available.  Checking inventory, we discovered that we had quite a bit of down from the glades as well as furs.  Down and flax that was gathered would make quite a few warm coats.  A workplace tailor was set up behind the nordic tailor to make those warm coats.  Our clothing supply finally improved.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 19


  At the time, eager explorer, we did not know if the 2 young men made it safely to Newburg or if another ship would be coming.  Before they left, they said we could probably expect one that would try to recover the cargo and get the ship upright.  We assigned a worker to scavenge some of that cargo; we were in need of logs and firewood.  There was a lot of stone, iron, and even some coal in the hold.  A lot of each were added to our nearby stockpile and would be easy to reload onto the ship once it was upright.  The coal quickly disappeared from the stockpile; it helped ease our firewood shortage temporarily.



  In expectation of another ship arriving, we built a lighthouse by the clay pit where the small stream flowed into the river.  Further downriver near town, we built a trading post.  It was more of a pier than a trading post, but it would provide a secure place to anchor another ship.



  It was difficult to remove logs from the cargo ship without removing a lot of stone and iron first; it was dangerous and painstakingly slow work not wanting to cause the cargo to shift again.  We needed the logs, more for firewood than for building, but we needed to increase our tree harvesting.  We built a 3rd garden shed for 2 more foresters across the stream to the north.  There was a lot of stone and iron to remove from that area as well.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 20


  A sleigh with 1 elf arrived from the North Pole, hoping to get more sugar and spice.   The elf brought a message from Santa; we could expect a visit from a Riverboat Depot merchant who was also looking for sugar and spices.  We should keep in mind that the Pole was our first priority.  We assumed that merchant's visit would have something to do with the capsized cargo ship on our shore.



  We had just finished building a nog nook near the pit houses where most of our milk and eggs were stored; the animal barn was close by.  The eggnog would use some spice to brew; it was so good with a little nutmeg sprinkled on top.  The mulled wine the Yule Tap was now making also used spices, as did the Christmas baker for gingerbread or plum cakes. The baker used honey instead of sugar.  Santa's Workshop was making traditional sugarplum candy but required no added ingredients.  Our Julmust store used both sugar and spice but only made the Julmust for special occasions.   


  We gave the elf 133 sugar and 102 spices to take back to the North Pole.  We would soon have more for our needs and hopefully some for that merchant that might arrive.  We build our 6th spice house across from the group of 4; the 5th one was across from the Christmas baker.  There was room to build 2 more spice houses across from the 4, but we were concerned they might not get enough sun unless the pine trees were cut and we hesitated to remove that windbreak.