June Crown

I am taking big steps this week. I have three projects in the works to show people the wonder of bodily fluid use in the middle ages. I am dying with indigo in a urine bath, making verdigris and starting on the gunpowder. I also asked Eliska to be warrented as a scribe. Master Jimbear was there and he immediately volunteered to her that he would oversee my attempt at a scroll and do the calligraphy. I was going to do it, but it would require me learning uncial. He is going to probably be put out, but the point of the scroll will be early period. I have a layout in my mind's eye. I want him to give me his ideas. Now, I just have to do that sketch, send Eliska my contact information, send a class description in to Kira and create an outline and handout. Oh and my neice and I got a gazillion glass rods, several books, tons of amber jewelery and matching mugs.

The first is a bit of verdigris. I got copper plates from the metal shop and they cut them down for me. I cut a smaller piece with my dremel. I then drilled a hole in it and found a piece of wool thread. Actually, it was off of my spindle as I am a failed spinner. I used a canning jar for my experiment, with a good new seal on it. I strung the yarn through the hole in the copper plate. You do not have to soak the plate, you want to suspend it. I figured a canning jar would let me see what happens and allow the plate to fume over the stale urine. I got a canning lid and ring ready to top my jar.

Then I got some stale pee out of my purple bottle. Pee in the purple bottle is always collected right before dawn in silence. I don't normally talk to myself in the bathroom and I get up at 5am so there is a ready supply. This is one of the highest grades of urine. The reason is that it is highly concentrated. We know that modern times determines pregnancy through the detection of the hormone hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in a woman's urine. hCG is secreted by the developing placenta shortly after a fertilized egg has implanted in the uterine lining. Medical researchers generally seem to find concentrations of bacteria in morning urine. Is urine sterile? Sometimes. If you have an infection it isn't and you probably don't know if you do. I assume it is not sterile.

Oddly, serum proteins or albumin doesn't seem to change that much between first morning and later in the day. I am going to ask around more because that seems odd to me. The kidneys regulate blood acidity by excreting excessive alkaline salts when necessary. The chief constituent of the nitrogenous wastes in urine is urea, a product of protein decomposition. Urea is, among other things, a diuretic. Average adult urine production is from one to two quarts a day. The bladder, where urine is stored for discharge, holds on average about 16-20 ounces of fluid, though the average discharge is about half that amount. In addition to uric acid, ammonia, and creatine, urine consists of many other waste products in minute quantities. Basically, your kidneys work all night and the urine in your bladder is less active. You aren't running around or working in your sleep. Also, people tend to drink less during their sleep cycle than the rest of the day because...duh you are asleep! It works out to about half the volume you produce during the day, at night. Anyhow, there is more urea, uric acide, amonia and creatine in the morning and many medieval things depended on having the best or most pure source of these things for the best chemical reaction. The medieval recipe was chemically correct and the use of first morning's urine is sound. The romanticism of 'collected in total silence' is probably just good manners. After all, you shouldn't be babbling while peeing in a pot when everyone else is trying to get that last bit of sleep.

Knowing all of this, I put the stale first morning urine in the jar, suspended the plate and sealed it. Then I had to find a place in my house where the five adult cats and four kittens wouldn't tip it over or knock it down. I found a bookshelf they ignore and tucked my jar on top of it. A few hours later, I looked up from cleaning that room and was shocked to see that the copper plate look corroded. Wow! It probably only took 3-4 hours to see results. Currently the plate is a blackish green. I am going to do the scraping soon.

The vat of fermenting urine gathered from many people is ready to go. I can put the indigo in any day now, but I want to find my bolt of silk and get it ready for dying. I want a nice, solid blue. I probably only have enough for a tunic. I need to think up trim. That is going to have to be another project. Maybe leather done with dog poo? Maybe dye some cotton, linen, silk or wool thread in the indigo? I keep stalling on getting this done. It needs a few days to prepare and I just need to kick myself in the ass.

Finally, there is gun powder. I have a manure pile but I need to put it under cover and pour urine in it to boost the crystals. Either that, or go find a local barn with a manure pile. Mine is being slow and stupid.