~cara's~ work

[Cara McKenna]

cara's work even before speaking with the Queen 9-17-09
=========================================

(13:27:06)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: coming down the stairs from where she had spent most of the morning,cara smiles softly to herself as she shakes her head.Twould be a miracle if she were to remember and be able to put to practice everything she was told to do and nay do.But she had intentions to try.The Knight it seemed was completely and utterly at odds with anything or anyone she had ever come across.And truth told it surprised her.His words still so shocking, still rang in her head as she walked making her step lighter as she slipped into the kitchen to see what things neeeded to be done.As usual the Cook in brusque fashion lets her know that indeed there is much to be done,so even without knowing what the Queen might say cara slips quietly off toward the Great Hall to start her rounds, asking if one of the other girls can bring in a bucket of soapy water..

(13:45:28)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Great Hall, and say to ALL: slipping into the Great Hall cara moves slowly toward the hearth seeing the fires have died down to nearly naught.So taking the opportunity she kneels down before the hearth and lifts the hearth spade,using it to scoop up black soot and dump it upon the remaining red embers to put them out so as to nay get hurt, then she begins the task of scooping up the nasty,dirty mess and dumping it into the metal bucket,with a splat each time the spade tilts.Over and over her hand and spade work clearing the stone flooring of the hearth of any left over ashe before finally cara grows still for a moment,laying the spade aside.

(14:01:12)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Great Hall, and say to ALL: Dragging the small bucket off to the side of the hearth to allow the contents to settle and cool, so as to be used later in making soap,As the bucket of water is brought in cara thanks the young girl who accomplished such softly and lifted the brush from the waters to scrub the inside of the hearth floor clean turning black covered stones to gray once more.Knowing that if she were to put fresh kindling within the hearth while twas wet that she would ruin it, cara then slowly begins to dry the stones with a cloth making sure that no water remains to ruin the fire before finally replacing the wood.Using the flint stone cara then showers the logs with sparks that soon have a new large warm fire crackling merrily for the Nobles soon to be resting within.

(14:03:47)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Great Hall, and say to ALL: Once the Great Hall fires were redone cara rises and moves off with wash waters in hand,toward the next Noble's chambers to do the same thing all over again.It will be a long days work, she thinks to herself deciding to surprise those Nobles in attendance at the Castle with fresh fires and hopefully freshly cleaned rooms by nightfall..

[Cara McKenna]

CLEANING NOBLES CHAMBERS 9-19-09
===========================
(11:37:08)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL:
=Inside the Castle Nobles chambers=
making her way down the hallway of the Castle cara settled the tray inside the kitchens to be washed before turning and making her way toward the Guest Chambers of each of the Royalty and Nobles from other Kingdoms currently staying within the Castle.Pausing to grab the work items from the servant's cupboard before continuing on knowing most if not all of the Guests would be out doing something at this time.Leaving the first of the work items in the first chamber cara heads back down to the kitchen with bucket and scrub brush in hand asking the cook for some hot water as she heads out to gather the cold water herself..There was too much work to be done and she could nay simply stand about...

11:54:00)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL:
=Inside the Castle Nobles chambers=
Once the waters are brought in cara begins to mix hot and cold together to make it workable, before carrying the now heavy bucket back to the first Nobles chambers,lifting the scrub brush as the bucket is set down and shaking off any excess soap suds as she begins to scrub the hard floors of the chambers,intent to make them look fresh and new..Scratch scratch snick snick...goes the brush across the flooring lifting dust dirt and grime as it goes.Only once the brush and waters have done their job does she pause, long enough only to pick up the first of the drying cloths, using them to soak up the excess water left upon the floor from her work.As water is soaked into each cloth she lifts it and wrings it out over the bucket before beginning again until the cloth is so saturated it cannot hold any more.Once her work to the floor has been completed and tis all dry once more cara rises and begins to use the bottle of citrus oils to rub down the fixtures within. Once done in the first of the rooms cara moves off to the next Noble's room intent to make them homey and clean for those residing within as quickly as she can.

[Cara McKenna]

MAKING THE BED OF THE KNIGHT 9-19-09
==============================
(12:05:05)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: Once she has finished with the work she had set herself cara moves to the Castle doors to dump the now dirty waters outside.Slipping back inside she places the work items away before turning and heading up the stairs.Slipping inside the chamber of the Knight, cara paused, holding her breath until she is sure that even He has gone to His work.Seeing that this is indeed the way of it cara relaxes a bit and heads further into the chamber seeing His bed in shambles.Laughing softly to herself she begins to strip it slowly,giving the linens and furs that serve as His blanket a gentle shake before beginning to relay them

(12:22:26)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL:
=In the Nobles Chambers of Sir Kyle Draven=
Laying first the sheets,back to the bed, cara begins rubbing her hand over the soft fabric smoothing it slowly gently out until it is perfect,making sure that every inch of the fabric was laid just right and covered the mattress below.Tucking the linen in here and there to make it look presentable she then turns and lifts the heavy fur from its place, giving it another gentle shake before drawing it too over the bed, she lays it just so, allowing her hands to roam over the soft top layer,smoothing out every wrinkle that is present there,making it smooth and smart looking.Humming softly as she does feeling her heart light as she works, cara finally steps back, happy with what she sees, peering around to see if any other things need to be done within the Chamber this day..

(12:35:28)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL:
=In the Nobles Chambers of Sir Kyle Draven=
Giving a soft nod as she sees another thing to deal with and slips quietly to the hearth,easing to her knees where she lifts a small log or two and carefully lays them to the glowing embers within the pit.Easing back a bit so as to naught get burned cara leans in and begins to blow upon the embers,stirring them, awakening them to the knowledge that there is indeed more kindling to consume.Very quickly there is a warm roaring fire within the chamber to heat the chill room and take the nip of fall from the air...with that done she slips from the room and closes the door so as nay to concern Him that aught had been done that should nay have been...

[sofia]

(beautiful roleplay, I love how you put in the details)

[Cara McKenna]

MAKING DRINKS AND JUICES FOR THE NIGHT'S MEAL 9-22-09
===========================================
(21:18:37)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: The day had been a long one,but twas a good one at least in cara's eyes.Now however she was helping the kitchen wenches of the Castle prepare the evening meal.Pages were hard at work turning the spits while wenches worked all around her stirring kettles and slicing fruits, cara however was busy making kettles of tea, and pitchers of sweet juice.As one tea kettle would begin to whistle cara would hurry to snatch it safely off the hook only to hang another to allow this one too to heat and steep...

(21:25:44)

~cara~
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: Twas true, she had naught actually spoken to the Queen yet about her place here, or even if she would be allowed to stay.A sudden thought that made her heart ache for many reasons...but for the time being she wished only to help with the work around the Castle in hopes of proving herself worthy of the time it would take one of the Nobles to teach her the way of things here.Because the Lord only knew that she had no idea what it took to work and serve in a place such as this..her life had been farm work up until the night she had been taken by those bandits!..Shaking off such thoughts as she finished preparing the first pitcher of juice cara then turned to take the second kettle of tea from the fires setting it aside on a cloth to cool for a few moments as she made her way out of the kitchens...

[Cara McKenna]

MAKING SOAP AND WASHING A CLOAK 10-8-09
=================================
(18:03:00)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: Moving through the Castle from chamber to chamber making certain that each hearth has been cleaned out and reset, Cara then paused to collect each and every metal hearth pail filled with the remains of each fire,black soot nearly bursting from the rim of each pail that she carries out of the Castle to the Courtyard.Twould be long hard work and very messy and the last thing that she wished to do was mess up the Castle with either stench or mess. This was only the first of what she must do this day and it would nay be easy but she had to...Standing then and brushing some of the spilled soot from her dress Cara then made her way to the area where she had set her working tools Cara set the specially made wooden buckets together, a proper one holding a second with holes punched in the bottom.


(18:14:46)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Courtyard, and says to ALL: Pouring several buckets of dirty soot into the larger pair Cara then moves to the well hauling up a fresh pail of water before moving back to where she left the twin buckets, pouring the water atop the ashe she then leaves it to do its work as she begins to heat some tallow on a makeshift fire in an old kettle that the Cook had said was too damaged to be used for cooking anymore.So it was just right for the work she needed it to do.Once the soot and water mixed Cara seperates the two buckets finding the bottom one has been filled with lye just as she expected it to be. Saying a prayer of thanks to her Da for teaching her this, something she felt at the time was mundane and unnecessary she adds the lye water to the tallow and watches as it heats, slowly beginning to stir it with a large wooden paddle like contraption

(18:23:40)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Courtyard, and says to ALL: This process takes most of the afternoon to complete but soon enough the lye and tallow combine to create a thick white mixture which Cara quickly carries over to where she had laid out the several wooden moulds that had been in her Da's woodshed out back of the burned out cottage.Pouring the mixture into the moulds she leaves them there to harden. Once hardened they could be put in the storage room or servants cupboards for Millie and Mollie to use..at least some of them.But for now Cara heads back to the well and gathers more clean water to heat and some to leave cold as she sets about her next task..

(18:39:42)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Courtyard, and says to ALL: Pouring some of both parts of water into a wooden tub Cara then draws out the article of clothing that she had held for a few days. Stained and dirty the cloak would take quite awhile to come clean but Cara set to work on it anyway, after adding a sliver of one cake of newly made soap to the water and swishing it about to make a cloud of soap for cleaning, she kneels down before the tub and begins to scrub the cloak in the steaming liquid.She intended to make certain that every stain of mud and blood was removed from the garment within...Working upon the garment for a very long time rolling twisting and scrubbing it until she has no strength left Cara finally lifts the cloak, now soaking with water and wrings it clear, looking it over with a critical eye and smiling as naught a stain is found upon it any longer.This she would hang up to dry in the afternoon sun before dumping out the wash waters and collecting the hardened cakes of soap for the Castle's use.

[Cara McKenna]

REFILLING DRINK DECANTERS AND SERVING AND SUCH 10-30-09
==============================================
(22:14:08)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: Humming softly, the night wearing on slowly Cara moved about the Castle,her soft 'house slippers' as they had been called making a quiet -snick snick snick- with each step.There was a smile upon her face for she had now decided her place though she still needed to discuss things with Her Majesty first...until then...she headed for the kitchens to gather drinks and such..making sure that she remembered to stop by the side bar to refill the decanters as she slipped into the Great Hall...it was after all late fall and the last summers planting had been harvested...so for the time this was all she had to do...and do it she would!

22:22:03)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Great Hall, and say to ALL: Slipping silently into the Great Hall the soft hum stops as she nay wishes to disturb anyone as Cara makes her way to the side board and opens each decantur there,filling them with the appropriate liquids restocking the amounts within before corking each once more and settling them back to their places before setting each pitcher of other collected drinks out on the table as well, though out of the way, for quick use if a Noble was to ask for a drink...with this done she turns and heads for the kitchens again this time to put the tray away.

[sofia]

oohhhh how lovely to see your rp again! Hope you're having a lovely time, cant wait to read more! :-D

[Cara McKenna]

COLLECTING WATER AND EGGS 11-2-09
============================
(08:01:57)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: Cara awoke about a half hour before the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon, rising to dress in one of the new brown dresses she had been given, smoothing it down just so before drawing on a pair of high stockings and her leather slippers, making sure that they settled just so pon her feet. Once her hair was combed and brushed back she then slipped from the room and down the stone hallway toward the kitchens. Slipping inside the massive smokey chamber she finds breakfast has already been started and so goes about the chore of gathering the day's water and going down to the animal enclosure to collect the day's milk and eggs..

(08:09:59)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Courtyard, and says to ALL: Grabbing a large bucket with a wooden handle Cara also found a small basket and headed outside and across the dew covered ground the wet grasses sticking to her stockings and slippers and chilling her feet inside them as she moves off toward the well pausing only when she is next to the stone cylindrical structure to place the bucket next to it,wood against stone.Grabbing the rope pull of the well bucket she begins the task of hefting up the water heavy pail with a soft grunt...tugging and pulling until the pail tops the lip of the well where she grabs it and tips its contents into the waiting bucket below, her breath appearing before her eyes in small puffs of white vapor as she works, dropping and pulling the pail many more times until the bucket has been filled.

(08:16:47)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: Once the Castle bucket has been filled Cara hefts it carefully up and heads for the small animal enclosure to retrieve the day's allotment of eggs from the keeper of the fowl.She nay says much to the young worker as even she is naught quite awake yet and has naught even had a morning drink yet so she merely waits until the basket is filled properly before waving kindly to the girl and taking the basket up to head back toward the Castle and whatever work she can find for herself this morn..Slipping through the doors and into the Castle once more she gives a soft grunt as she makes the final turn into the kitchen area again and finally settles the bucket against the wall before handing the basket of eggs off to the cook before finally heading to the fires to collect a mug of fresh hot tea

((thank you Dear the words are much appreciated))

[Cara McKenna]

Changing bed linens and beating quilts 11-2-09
==================================
(16:14:07)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: soft leather slippers made a snick snick sound against the stone flooring of the Castle as Cara moved from one room to another, beginning first with the Royals and Nobles chambers slipping inside each one in turn to collect their used bedclothes and underlament linens,dropping the linens to one basket and the quilts to another. As she does this however Cara replaces the removed items with fresh ones,smoothing each layer of bedclothes with her soft touch before hefting each basket and turning to make her way to the next room...

(16:22:44)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: As she worked her way from room to room taking and giving fresh linens to each member of Noble status within the Castle's residency Cara continues to hum lightly a rousing playful Irish jig to which her slippered feet skipped merrily along the floor...As she exited her third room she heard the clank of metal upon stone on the lower floor but knew Molly or Millie would be able to take care of it...hefting the baskets up a bit more sturdily in her arms she slipped down the stair to take the linens to the laundry girls and move the heavier quilts outside to be beaten and cleaned of any dust and dirt that has accumulated upon them.

(16:32:31)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: Leaving that basket outside in the light breeze of the late afternoon Cara then takes up a fresh basket and heads back into the Castle to scurry back up the massive stone staircase to the upper floor where she slips into the next room and begins the same tasks again,removing old linens and Quilts and replacing them with fresh ones whilst the old ones get dropped into either of two baskets to be washed or beaten clean and stored once more...from one room to the next she moves,taking from each Royal or Noble's chambers and replacing with fresh items before finally taking the last load down the stairs with a snick snick snick toward the doors and through into the fading light of day where the second basket of quilts is laid beneath the tree with the first and the basket of linens is taken to the laundry to be washed...heaving hard breaths as she tries to settle herself enough to begin her next task Cara drops to sit before the Castle doors,sweating a bit and panting as she settles there to cool off...

((more to come))

(18:20:18)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Courtyard, and says to ALL: she could smell the scent of the roasted meats floating through air of the Castle but kept herself away from it for a time for she knew she still had things to attend to.It had already fallen dark by the time she could get round to it..so with a big stick in hand Cara made her way out into the courtyard toward the big tree she had set the baskets of blankets under...Lifting the first of the blankets to toss it over the thick limb she begins to wack the fabric as hard as she can with the heavy piece of wood sending puffs of dust wafting up away from the blanket into the night's sky...

(18:27:57)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Courtyard, and says to ALL: As each blanket comes clean of the dust that had collected within them Cara lifts them off of the branch and lays them,folded, within the basket nearest her and continues on with her work,ignoring the chill that was fast coming to the air and the way her teeth begin to chatter together...twas something she had to see through, for she had started it albeit late, this day and this day was when she would finish.

(18:36:35)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Courtyard, and says to ALL: Finally everything has been completed, but by now there is a defined chill upon the air and her damp skin,chilling her body as she hefts up each basket and turns to make her way back into the Castle.As she enters the Castle doors Molly comes rushing up and takes the baskets from her assuring her that everything will be put away..thanking her softly Cara then washes her hands and heads for the Hall...

[Cara McKenna]

Seperating the Wheat 11-5-09
======================
(20:56:31)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: There was no hum coming from Cara's lips this night as she stood inside the Castle store area.she had asked one of the maids to take her there today and so they had.But now as she looked at all the unsorted wheat she began to feel a bit overwealmed.Shaking her head slightly at this a soft laugh is heard, or could be if any were near her.Kneeling down pon the floor with a large bucket and a goodly bit of thread with her she begins to go through the first handful of wheat laid there, picking out the shaft and dropping the un-usable parts to the bucket.These she knew would make wonderful bedding for the goats during the winter in the pens and there was certainly enough wheat here to supply enough of the other for such a task...As she finishes seperating handfuls of the stalks Cara then uses a small amount of the thread and ties off the good stalks together to be cleared or whatever the Queen wished of them at a later date.

(21:09:10)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: By the handfuls the wheat is gathered and the process of clearing it begins again, yet if any were to look at her they would think she was doing so mindlessly, for her thoughts were turned inward upon the events of two nights previous.She closed her eyes remembering only the good of that night, smiling as the memories of His presence came forth.He had made it a point that night to seek her out, naught once but twice, the second to calm her, and so it had...A smile flickered momentarily across her lips as she continued to work,oblivious to anything going on in the lower chambers of the Castle, for she knew what she was doing now would help everyone survive the coming cold.Dropping the last of the shaf from this handful into the bucket she ties these stalks of wheat in a larger grouping to keep from being wasteful with the thread she had been given, making a larger bundle.Within a few days, she thought, this room would be neat and tidy, with stacks of wheat to be used as the need arose.Though most she surmised would be used to make the Kingdoms breads each day.That was after all a staple part of the diet in most Kingdoms..

(21:31:53)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is somewhere in the Castle, and says to ALL: The light was fading fast from view now and she knew she nay had much longer to work, so Cara merely finished the handful of wheat in her hand and tied it off with the rest..it would do naught good to any one for her to try and work blindly in the dark of the upper chamber.So with that done she rose and turned to reach for the bucket,only to stop and look down quickly as she felt something sticking her foot.From within her leather slipper she can see a long sprig of shaft there.Pulling it free she drops it too to the bucket and with that skips her way down the steps toward the Main room, for a time keeping her weight off of her stinging foot but by the by able to use it again with naught a problem...

[Cara McKenna]

HELPING TO CREATE THE EVENING MEAL 11-9-09
==================================
(18:22:32)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: Having dressed carefully, drawing on her apron afterwards,Cara slid her feet still bare into her slippers, wiggling them about some before leaving the Guest chamber she had been allowed and heading for the kitchens...slipping inside she glanced about seeing a few Castle wenches about their duties..she too moved deeper into the smokey room gathering the items needed to make the nights bread...Lightly washing the small prep table she sets about drying it thouroughly before giving the top a liberal dusting of flour.In a bowl she begins to mix together the ingredients needed to make the nights flatbread and adding in a pinch or two of salt before mixing it all together to create a thick mouldable dough.Once done she dumps it all out onto the table and begins to knead and work the dough slowly...pushing and punching it down with each roll before finally finding it ready, adding it to a skillet to bake in the oven..sliding it deep in the chimney oven she turns and heads for the next item on the list for dinner...

(18:53:14)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: Upon the fires turned a set of large haunches of deer meat from a hunt that the lower Knights of the Castle had conducted in the last day or so.It would probably be like this for awhile into the winter,but she was glad of it for the meat smelled wonderful upon the flames as it roasted.Looking to the young page that turned the spit Cara smiled a soft thanks to him praising his work,peasant though she may be.she knows that one day this lad would surpass her in rank and privaledge.But she cared naught for this thought for know it she did and she would abaide by it...for now however the lad looked to her as if she had given him a star from the heavens and she could naught help but laugh...Taking a smaller kettle from the wall Cara then poured in some water and dropped about four measures of beans within to soak and bubble within the cauldron for awhile..beans meat and bread, her mam would be proud that she remember that much of her teachings of what a good meal would be...

[Cara McKenna]

MAKING BREAKFAST FOR THE NOBLES 11-18-09
=================================
(08:17:56)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
: moves from her room down to the kitchens,humming softly to herself...

(08:28:30)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: Once inside the kitchens Cara makes short work of tying her hair back carefully before setting to work,of her own volition, to help make the morning meal.By now the sun had begun to rise and the day's milk and eggs had been brought in by one of the young lads in the animal enclosure.So after a quick wash of her hands Cara set to work cracking eggs and laying strips of freshly cured bacon and sausage to the hot plate to cook hearing the satisfying sizzle that shows everything has begun

(08:38:42)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: the delicious smells soon waft their way through the Castle corridors as Cara turns her attentions to the morning beverages.Soon kettles of hot tea are brewing and at least one pitcher of sweet juice has been procured.It would be a grand breakfast for the Nobles of Windstorm this day!

(08:59:36)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Kitchen/Servery, and says to ALL: Placing this pitcher here or that bowl there Cara moves about the kitchen in this choreographed chaos as if she were meant to be there, removing the pan of flat bread from the chimney oven started fresh before dawn, to be ready for the day. And soon sausages, bacon and eggs join the lot.These items are set on a rack above the fires, to stay warm but nay burn until the Royals and Nobles, Guest and Residents, come a hunting breakfast.

(09:13:58)

Cara McKenna
Peasant Woman
Guest of Windstorm
is in the Great Hall, and say to ALL: Once breakfast has been completed Cara moves to wash her hands, drying them upon the clean apron and dropping it back to its place before seeing to her own breakfast,taking a small amount of each item and a cup of tea before settling down to eat inside the Great Hall, near the deliciously warm fires.Outside the windows she can see the lashing rain and driving winds that have assailed the Kingdom this day but she is greatful to be warm and dry within.