Spring 20th, 519av, 9 Bells
Gemma was taking the day off. It was her birthday, after all. But rather than being like other girls and going out shopping or baking a cake for her birthday, Gemma was working on a gift for herself. She had been mulling over the idea for a while now, and was now finally taking the time to get it done. All she needed was to combine what she knew of herbalism to make a strong adhesive paste that would bind her mortar to a board, which she would then bind to the heavy grinding stone they used.
The reason for her attempt at ingenuity was the frustration and aggravation of having to tell other people how to make her herbal blends at work. She was tired of it, and she was determined to find a solution. She felt horrible about always asking people for help when she should be able to do something on her own, but with her lungs and shoulder messed up like they were, there was little she could do. That was, unless she could find ways around her handicap.
Of course, even if she was able to successfully cement down her mortar, there would be other problems that she would have to resolve, like how to move water in large batches. But for now, she was focusing on one problem at a time. Sadly, she needed her mortar to grind the components into a paste, and to do that she still had to awkwardly hold the stone bowl with her left arm while it was tied to her side.
Gemma had gone to All Things Wild to buy a few kinds of tree sap that were known to be especially sticky and thick. She had brought the sap home separate, but she was now heating it over low heat. She had then commissioned tar from Tyan at The Starry Chalice, which was normally used for waterproofing, but also happened to be strong and sticky. The tar was distilled from wood, so Gemma reasoned that it would probably mix well with other plant-based adhesives like what she was preparing already.
She added about a quart of tar, which was a little bit less than she had added of the other ingredients, mostly because of the strength. The mixture smelled really bad, but hopefully the open windows would prevent any issues. She stirred the thick mixture together with her one good arm and tried to keep herself from overdoing it.
With all the ingredients now mixed together, Gemma took a plank of wood and set it on the table next to the mortar and grinding stone. She then took the smelly adhesive mixture off the heat, but she didn’t carry it because that would have been hard on her shoulder. So instead, she took the spoon and scooped up a good amount of the goop, watching to make sure it wouldn’t drip, then quickly brought it over with one hand to the board. She spread the mixture on the board slowly, put the spoon back, and with her good hand flipped the board over onto the approximate center of the stone. She pushed it down, hoping it would be enough, and went to get some more mixture, which she brought over once more. She spread it in a circle on the board. She put the spoon back again and pushed the mortar into the goop, pushing it down until she was sure it wasn’t going anywhere. Now she just had to wait.
The reason for her attempt at ingenuity was the frustration and aggravation of having to tell other people how to make her herbal blends at work. She was tired of it, and she was determined to find a solution. She felt horrible about always asking people for help when she should be able to do something on her own, but with her lungs and shoulder messed up like they were, there was little she could do. That was, unless she could find ways around her handicap.
Of course, even if she was able to successfully cement down her mortar, there would be other problems that she would have to resolve, like how to move water in large batches. But for now, she was focusing on one problem at a time. Sadly, she needed her mortar to grind the components into a paste, and to do that she still had to awkwardly hold the stone bowl with her left arm while it was tied to her side.
Gemma had gone to All Things Wild to buy a few kinds of tree sap that were known to be especially sticky and thick. She had brought the sap home separate, but she was now heating it over low heat. She had then commissioned tar from Tyan at The Starry Chalice, which was normally used for waterproofing, but also happened to be strong and sticky. The tar was distilled from wood, so Gemma reasoned that it would probably mix well with other plant-based adhesives like what she was preparing already.
She added about a quart of tar, which was a little bit less than she had added of the other ingredients, mostly because of the strength. The mixture smelled really bad, but hopefully the open windows would prevent any issues. She stirred the thick mixture together with her one good arm and tried to keep herself from overdoing it.
With all the ingredients now mixed together, Gemma took a plank of wood and set it on the table next to the mortar and grinding stone. She then took the smelly adhesive mixture off the heat, but she didn’t carry it because that would have been hard on her shoulder. So instead, she took the spoon and scooped up a good amount of the goop, watching to make sure it wouldn’t drip, then quickly brought it over with one hand to the board. She spread the mixture on the board slowly, put the spoon back, and with her good hand flipped the board over onto the approximate center of the stone. She pushed it down, hoping it would be enough, and went to get some more mixture, which she brought over once more. She spread it in a circle on the board. She put the spoon back again and pushed the mortar into the goop, pushing it down until she was sure it wasn’t going anywhere. Now she just had to wait.