2015 SMART goals

in which our plucky heroine improves on her progress of the previous year:

  SMART goals challenge 2015

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Fox Paws wrap	furnace fan re-bolted	bag of fabric cabbage
2	10 jars quincemeat	proto-plinth built	bag to Goodwill
3	marzipan bees	planner guts	bag to Goodwill
4	bee skep cake	Kon-Mari 3 drawers	bag to Goodwill
5	pattern for twa corbies	nightstands cleared	bag to Goodwill
6	blue tunic	bed lamps transformed	paper recycling
7	blue tunic embroidery	lamp brackets installed	paper recycling
8	7 jars Seville marmalade	closet cleared	cardboard recycle
9	corbie cowl	dressers moved	monitor to Goodwill
10	gastropod needlebook	kitchen art rearranged	paper recycling
11	blue kitty needlebook	sill boards sanded	box to Goodwill
12	rosewater candied peel	front yard weeded	bag to Goodwill
13	ginger candied peel	close plum pruned	yard waste bin
14	9 tiny enamels	more mulch spread	yard waste bin
15	9 brooch settings	apple tree pruned	compost bin full
16	Bill SCA pants	arborvitae pruned	bin of twigs
17	Mindy undergown	salad table trays	bin of twigs
18	Mindy embroidery	worm bin renovated	bin of twigs
19	Mindy aprondress	salad table planted	weedblock fabric
20	Laurel underdress	strawberries planted	bin of twigs
21	Laurel aprondress	taxes done	bin of brush
22	kawaii coasters	front yard mowed	random plastic
23	blood orange marmalade	backyard mowed	bin of twigs
24	Seville orange juice	side yard mowed	bag to Goodwill
25	mouse tape measure	new garden bed	bin of twigs
26	mobieus apron	feral roses tied up	bag to Goodwill
27	sewing tools necklace	salad table thinned	bag of books
28	sewing tools shadowbox	front yard mowed	bag of books
29	heart in hand necklace	strawberries planted	bag of books
30	manyhands shadowbox	blackcurrant planted	bag of books
31	mouse family yoke	fridge plinth drawer	bag of books
32	medieval paint	chook house moved	yard waste bin
33	three tops for Joan	chook run fencing	driveway brushpile
34	big garden bed	chook shade run	recycle bin full
35	Mindy underdress	apples thinned	yardwaste bin
36	Laurel underdress	thinned apples	codling apples
37	Norseguy embroidery design	pruned pear cankers	yard waste bin
38	chook roost	access to window	broken lawn mower
39	nest box door	hallway shelf	rotary edger
40	Jen jumper	yard mowed	grill lid
41	grey popover	bigger chook yard	bag to Goodwill
42	blue Norse tunic	pear tree gone	500lbs debris
43	Jen jumper	fence gaps filled	bag to Goodwill
44	peach gown for L	arborvitae pruned	bag to Goodwill
45	blue tunic for B	chook shade tarp	bag to Goodwill
46	grey gown for M	toilet seat replaced	bag to Goodwill
47	linen gown for S	re-plant lettuces	bag to Goodwill
48	black batik popover	rattan chair seat	bag to Goodwill
49	Laurel brooch setting	brown chair seats	bag to Goodwill
50	buckwheat hull pillow	reattach computer desk	bag to Goodwill
51	one wire Laurel	scrub chook house	electronica x 2
52	Bill SCA pants	linen closet doors	yard waste bin
53	apron dress for L	shed roof patched	yard waste bin
54	DM coronet	front door latch	carpet
55	DM coronet	bike brake cable	carpet padding
56	red top for Joan	bike kickstand	mustard nightstand
57	Coptic stitch book	side yard work	Goodwill bag
58	duct tape clone	back yard work	shelf unit
59	whitewash	whitewash henhouse	another Goodwill bag
60	4 heraldic enamels	chook roost	paper recycle bag

overflow SMART goals!!!

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
61	10 shibori panels	kosode for R	folding shelves
62	8 stenciled panels	new flooring down	2 Goodwill bags
63	carved yukiwa stamp	four new shelves	Coleman stove
64	3 stamped panels	another shelf	2 Goodwill bags
65	Japanese kosode	external closet rod	big CPU
66	a silk obi belt	doorway threshold	small CPU
67	15 kai awashe shells	Mom slippers	2 random hard drives
68	two cotton obi belts	Barb necklaces	4 more Goodwill bags
69	new swimdress	bedroom flooring	old foam pad
70	18 jars salsa verde	painted doorpegs	carpet
71	8 jars pear/apple sauce	chicken waterer	carpet padding
72	11 jars salsa verde	plinth casters	refrigerator
73	10 jars grapefruit marmalade	shed door rings	bag to Goodwill
74	red hat for Mom	garlic planted	bag to Goodwill
75	charter painted	flowerbulbs planted	-
76	fabrics keyring	salad table planted	-
77	Elizabethan shirt	squirrelproofing	-
78	party cookery	-	-
79	reverse applique RTW dress	-	-
80	Elizabethan shift	-	-

goals not resolutions

in which our plucky heroine looks towards the beginning of a new year...

I have been thinking quite a bit lately about my ongoing goal setting processes, as one does towards the end of the year. My personal motto lately seems to be "incremental progress is still progress". With that in mind, I have been using the concept of SMART* goals for the last two years, in combination with this blog as a way of keeping track.

In those two years I have made significant progress in making things for self and others, in assorted mending and repair of my home and surroundings, and in my decluttering of Acorn Cottage... Because this format works for me, I intend to continue using this method of recordkeeping in 2016. Stay tuned for the Great Big Chart reveal tomorrow, of all that was accomplished in 2015...

My goals for 2016, in no particular order:

• Sew enough clothing to meet my personal goal of a weeksworth of wardrobe, to end up with eight pieces in each of six categories. Participating in online sewing challenges like SWAP 2016 and the seasonal 6PACs will help keep me motivated.
• Finish the major decluttering of Acorn Cottage. I've been gradually working on this project for the last two years, with the goal of having a living space that allows me to focus on vocational and avocational actions instead of on finding lost things
• Teach at least one artisanry* workshop every quarter, with the aim of ramping up to one per month. I will likely never be able to return to housecleaning as my primary income, so moving forward on a different aspect and not letting my fears and emotions keep me stuck is my goal
  *enameling, metalwork, stitchery, or handicraft
• Outside the house improvements: improve the chicken habitat here at Acorn Cottage, decentralise the yard tool storage and remove the old shed, add another garden bed for vegetable growing, and set up the carport as an outdoor room...
• Finally paint the interior of the house other colors than "former owner white" once the weather is warm enough for opening the windows
• Create a body of artwork suitable for gallery showing
• Continue to care well for my body, without which none of these goals are possible or relevant! This means continuing with water exercises/PT and some thought put towards better meal planning, and food journalkeeping

*SMART =  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (SMART) goals

SWAP sewing progress

in which our plucky heroine makes further progress on a new dress...

A quick notebook sketch done whilst riding the bus today, of the design concept for the black/brown linen dress. Sort of a Gudrun Sjoden lagenlook style, quite loosely cut; rectangular construction for the bodice in combination with my favorite gored skirt and capacious pockets. Managed to get it all cut out of the yardage I had on hand, by dint of some clever piecing...

It seemed advantageous to take the time to add a little stencilled motif to the pieced panels, which has the advantage of making a virtue of necessity. Also it is eversomuch easier to stencil on small pieces of fabric. (and, stenciling is a comparatively fast way to add surface design interest, compared to embroidery or applique) This will add a focal point just outside my shoulders, as well as adding some additional black accent to the brown/black cross dyed linen blend fabric. The stencils I cut for the kosode project earlier this year are continuing to be very useful.

progress on ALL THE THINGS

in which our plucky heroine ramps up her handicraft efforts on at least some of ALL THE THINGS

Beginning on the 2016 SWAP online sewing challenge, I'm almost done cutting out the first dress. I found some cross dyed black/brown cotton linen blend, which will work perfectly for one of the two garments in the "Colorway A + B" section of this year's plan. My original idea was to simply use this fabric and edgebind it in black. While I normally discard selvedges, one side of the fabric had this taupe fringe and blue edging. I will be adding this as part of the hemline decoration, along with the black edge binding...

:::

Years and years ago (back in the 80’s) I made wooly socks for my whole family to wear like slippers. New England had cold winters then. My folks are currently in the middle of decluttering (just like I am), and the socks I had made for my Dad turned up and were sent back to me for refurbishing. I decided that instead of simply re-doing the bottom half of the socks, I’d instead try out the Duffers Revisited pattern, make some hopefully dense felted slippers, attach the top half of the original socks to them to create slipper socks, and then sew non-slip to the bottoms.

The "Duffers" knitting pattern does go really fast, as I’m about 3/4 the way through after only two days of spare time random knitting. A bit worried about the felting part though, since the washer here is a front loader.

:::

Another holiday needlebook commission, this one based on trillium flowers. I love making custom sewing box treats, particularly needle books and pin cushions...

.

the initial sketch, and the finished needle book
:::

"wintery mix"... doesn't that sound like something you could buy in the bulk bins at the grocery store? or from a candy shop?... Why is it then falling from the sky instead??

later Sunday, our "wintery mix" turns to actual snow...


Boneclaw Mother and Nanny Og, in the first snow since they were born.
:::

My dear friend SR in the dress that I decorated with reverse applique (Alabama Chanin style). The project took months of my spare time, but I will say that the results really suit her. And fortunately the weather had been cooperatively (and uncharacteristically) dry for a few days, so she was able to have another friend take and send me this picture

:::

December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	shed door rings	bag to Goodwill
3	Elizabethan shirt	garlic planted	-
4	party cookery	flowerbulbs planted	-
5	reverse applique RTW dress	salad table planted	-
6	Elizabethan shift	squirrelproofing	-
7	trillium needlebook	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

unboxing

in which our plucky heroine celebrates by unpackaging gifts and beginning the 2016 SWAP sewing challenge...

Sekrit Santa sent me some intricate and unusual embroidered trim all the way from Turkmenistan! Guess I'll be making some new garb (when my schedule has some slack later in 2016) to properly display it;  it should look quite splendid on a new undergown to be worn with my Persian coat, which has many of the same colors in the stenciled patterning. I've been mulling over improving that set of garb, and hoping to find suitable fabrics as I continue decluttering my workroom. This new gift just adds another bit of incentive...

:::

Boxing Day is also the start of sewing of the 2016 SWAP sewing challenge. I've been enjoying the planning process, looking at both the contents of my closet and fabric stash, to choose what to sew in the next four months. The two garments I wear the most often in wintertime are dresses and long sleeve knit tops. Those are what is needed in my wardrobe currently. I know that some folks sew SWAP for the warmer weather we will have at the end of the challenge, but I really need clothing for now, not for late springtime. Hence a second revision: comprising five dresses, three pinafores, two knit tops and a rain capelet...

3 pieces color A - black

• DRESS - black/grey/blue striped cotton
• BOTTOM - black vertical pique pinafore*
• LAYER - dark grey plaid rain capelet

3 pieces color B - brown

• DRESS - brown/turquoise shot cotton
• BOTTOM  - brown pinafore, edgebound in black
• TOP - brown cotton knit turtleneck

Combo A + B (black + brown); both dresses edgebound in black

• DRESS - black/brown chambray linen
• DRESS - indigo tonal stripe linen, trimmed with brown chambray linen & indigo lace

3 pieces wildcard colors - indigo+

• DRESS - indigo pinstripe cotton
• BOTTOM - dark indigo pinafore
• TOP - pale blue/dark grey stripe hemp knit turtleneck

* I may substitute an additional dress for this pinafore, if I have time, since this is my one "already sewn" item, made in 2012

:::

Have been hunting for ages for a Scandinavian style tine box at an affordable price, with the idea that it could be both an "in the house" sewing box, and at "at events" handwork project box... When this one turned up on Etsy for $35, I took several months to decide that it was worth indulging myself, and since it didn't get snapped up by another shopper, my birthday present to myself it became!

:::

December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	shed door rings	bag to Goodwill
3	Elizabethan shirt	garlic planted	-
4	party cookery	flowerbulbs planted	-
5	reverse applique RTW dress	salad table planted	-
6	Elizabethan shift	squirrelproofing	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

axial tilt and the return of the light

from Acorn Cottage does our plucky heroine send Holiday Greetings to friends far and wide... wishing for all some bright and festive spirit to sparkle in your lives... however and whatever you celebrate, may the light shine for each and all of us!

Gower Wassail - Steeleye Span


God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Annie Lennox


Ring Out Solstice Bells - Jethro Tull


Run Rudolph Run - Grateful Dead


Wassail Song - Albion Dance Band


The Christians and the Pagans - Dar Williams


Christmas in the Trenches - John McCutcheon


Old Hippie Christmas - The Bellamy Brothers
:::

not a UFO*

in which our plucky heroine completes a long long project...

... back in July I began a complicated project of embellishing a dress, not for me but for a dear friend. The plans were to use handstitched reverse applique, in the Alabama Chanin style, to add colorful borders to a plain black eShakti dress. It is a lot more difficult to to embellishment on a RTW garment than on the nice flat pieces of homemade clothing, before they are assembled. About 42 hours of handwork later, spread out over months, the dress embellishment is completed.

The project began with my designing the neckline, and after consultation redesigning, cutting the stencil, and applying it, and then painting the neckline motifs. Then I also added small motifs to the sleeve cuffs, which were quite a challenge to stencil and embroider. Over time, all the scrolling vinework on the neckline was stitched, and the centers of the pattern cut away to show the green jersey underneath the black.

Then a related motif was created for decorating the hemline: black rabbits surrounded by foliage... It took almost as long to complete the hemline embellishment as it did for the neckline, which makes sense, as it covered a similar area. Had we chosen to extend the decoration all round the skirt hem edge, it would have looked even more splendid, but taken at least another 40 hours or probably more. There is a reason the Alabama Chanin garments cost what they do - handwork takes time!

needle and thread and thimble and a whole lot of hours...

.

The hemline embellishment covers almost a quarter of the circumference of the hem, and is surprisingly difficult to photograph well.

:::

December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	shed door rings	bag to Goodwill
3	Elizabethan shirt	garlic planted	-
4	party cookery	flowerbulbs planted	-
5	reverse applique RTW dress	salad table planted	-
6	-	squirrelproofing	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

*UFO = UnFinished Object

Solstice greetings

This is just plain lovely... happy Solstice one and all!

snippets and a subtlety...

in which our plucky heroine is delighted with yet more treats and tidbits...

Saturday here was the occasion of the Saturnalia Shindig, what is becoming an annual celebration here. My natal day often falls within the days of Saturnalia, a festive holiday we have begun to make our own. Dressing up in Ancient Roman, or similar clothing; possibly researching suitable edible tidbits, are always a fun option. This year, the theme inspired my pals Ursel, Marya, and Ariadne to even greater heights of creativity, and they surprised us all with an enormous replica of the Coliseum, built from graham crackers and fig newtons:

Ursel (an architect by vocation) designed the edifice, it was built by her and Marya, and the Naval Battle in the center of the arena, complete with blue gelatin water, gummi worm "sea monsters" and origami ships, was the work of Ariadne:

Truly I am blessed with delightfully creative and silly friends!! After much admiration, the Coliseum was sacked by the children at the party, who had no qualms about munching on architectural fragments, gummi bear Roman citizens, and blue Jello water...

:::

Prior to the party, much cookery happened here at Acorn Cottage. I tried for the first time a variant on my usual acorn cakelets, flavoring them with caraway (as is common in the British Isles) instead of the usual lemon/poppyseed. These were quite well received, and by the end of the evening they had completely disappeared.

My quincemeat tartlets suffered a similar fate; while not at all anciently Roman, they, in my opinion, a required part of winter holiday party food, and I'd not dream of leaving them out. Every year I make up at least one batch of quincemeat preserves, and eventually intend to plant a quince tree, to ensure a good supply of that amazingly fragrant pome fruit.

Tiropita, with a feta/herb filling were easier to make than I suspected, particularly since I indulged myself with a small kitchen upgrade, and got an OXO silicone pastry brush for the melted butter. This is a doddle to wash, and will surely not leave behind random brush hairs like my lovely if fragile natural bristle and wood one is wont to do. I was surprised and pleased at how nicely it handled the delicate fillo dough layers.

Lastly, but also not at all historical, I made a good sized batch of mocha balls, using the McMenamins coffee liqueur in place of our usual Meyers Dark Rum. This was rather a last minute substitution, made when I discovered that there was in fact no rum on the liquor shelf. There were, however, no complaints...

:::

During a rare sunbreak today, it was possible to replace the failing shed door fastenings. New shed door fasteners, bolted through the door frames. The former owners had attached a hasp latch with wee 3/4" long screws, which eventually simply fell off. I might not be a carpenter, but even I can do better than that!

(rings to be secured by an outdoor padlock)
:::

In addition, M and I managed to get three grow boxes now planted with garlic, mulched with cocoa hulls, and covered with chicken wire to deter squirrels. I know it is a little bit late in the year to get the garlic planted, but the weather kindly continued to refrain from dumping gallons of water down our necks, which has not been the case ever since the mail order garlic showed up here.

Also a bag full of flower bulbs of unknown type have been added to the front yard flower border. And some refurbishment of the salad table, in the hope of some tiny amounts of wintertime greens. Next year my intention is to do a much better job of preparing the salad table for winter. Preferably like in August... Half the salad table re-planted with some winter chickweed and mustard greens, temporarily covered with chicken wire to deter squirrels. I'll be building a better supported cover structure that can both cover the plants from frost and included mesh of some to keep the noxious tree rats away from the plants and the nice soft dirt:

:::

December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	shed door rings	bag to Goodwill
3	Elizabethan shirt	garlic planted	-
4	party cookery	flowerbulbs planted	-
5	-	salad table planted	-
6	-	squirrelproofing	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

a nifty natal-day treat

in which our plucky heroine begins the celebration a few days early...

This afternoon the doorbell rang, and a surprisingly large package was delivered.

Inside the package was a large bouquet of red and white tulips, along with instructions as to their proper care and feeding...

The attached card let me know who is responsible... I love how my parents refer to themselves - it makes them sound like Harley-riding wild folks!

These flowers need to rehydrate after their long airplane trip, so (as per the instructions) are currently still all encased in the cone of protection, with nice freshly cut stems and the glass vase full of clean water. Tomorrow I will release them and take a better photo of the full effect!

It is a treat to have cut flowers to decorate Acorn Cottage, it always makes me feel both festive and wealthy. Eventually there will be an assortment of flowers and foliage growing here to fill that niche, but as my natal day is Midwinter, actual flowers will always be a luxury, and one that my family indulge me in...

hippety hop on the bunny trail

in which our plucky heroine shares a photo in my files that I forgot to post earlier...

I've been gradually working away at decorating a RTW dress for SR, using the Alabama Chanin reverse applique techniques; this is the freezer paper stenciling for the hemline decoration... all the black foliage is stenciled in green, then stitched and reverse appliqued in a brighter green like the neckline.

The rabbits will remain black, with just a bit of green outline along the top edges to help define their shapes. I am debating adding an additional layer of black applique to further emphasize them against the black dress. Will wait until all the foliage is complete to make that decision. I just love this set of techniques, and wonder if they would also make a good set of classes to teach...

charter painting

in which our plucky heroine enjoys coloring for grownups...

Last week the state of the world and the state of my life just rolled over me like a big storm, and the best thing I could do was to take a mental health break and spent an afternoon painting an award charter. (Award charters are blank scrolls, usually inspired by particular illuminated manuscripts, that various SCA artists have drawn artwork and done calligraphy for, and then copies are made and said copies painted individually)

I'd long wanted to try this, just for fun, but usually charter painting happens in the evening, somewhere on the other side of the city. My friend Marya offered me a chance to come over to Rex House and paint one of the new Summits charters... As it turns out, this sort of painting is wonderfully absorbing, taking just enough attention that all else troublesome fades into the background, before the simple challenge of trying new paint effects.

As I began the painting, after looking at the original inspiraton, I added washes of color in the large areas, trying to balance the warm and cool colors in a similar way

More layers of translucent gouache, and beginning to add some internal detailing of the built and wild landscape

A lot more detailing work, on the architecture, and the clothing. The dimensionality is really surprising, considering how simple the shading is

Fine linework on the bricks, color and more shading on the clothing and the Grail...

The completed charter painting, with a decorated border. The various personages in the scene have now been given a variety of ethnic diversity, to better reflect the Roman world

This is the actual image that inspired Marya to create this design, and I gave my best effort to do the painting in a similar style. There is always more to learn...

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine grasps at bootstraps yet again...

Whoo hoo, on Wednesday at the pool, for the first time since my knee injury this summer, I was able to use the pool ladders in the deep end, instead of needing to use the shallow stairs!! It required using upper body strength as well, but it seems that all the water PT and exercising has been generating some improvement.

:::

Thanks to the "My Discovery Pass" from the library, I was able to go see "When Marnie Was There" at the NW Film Center this afternoon. Definitely worth trekking downtown in the rain to watch what may be the last film from Studio Ghibli. The animation was as spectacular as would be expected, and the story bittersweet

Japanese trailer, IMHO better than the Disney-fied one
:::

An online friend queried "what does happiness feel like, and whether it was possible to feel happiness in a way that would overwhelm all other emotions" and this was my reply:

When there was happiness in my life, to me it felt like a warmth in my center, the way that even in a fire that is almost quenched there can still be a live coal, and whatever else was my external situation I could still feel that. To me it was not a feeling that blankets all other emotions but one that rather underlaid them, as the earth and gravity underlay the bright world...

someday I hope to have that feeling again, at least I can still remember that there was a time I felt that, even if I can only remember it now in words and not in actual feel-memory...

:::

a tiny helper

in which our plucky heroine shares a favorite helper...

This is an easier adaptation of a useful sewing tool I have made in the past. Instead of making large tags with glue and fabric, this time I simply used fusible web to attach small pieces of chosen potential fabric for my 2016 SWAP to leftover index cards. Then, trim the pieces to a consistent size, punch holes, and they can all be stored on a key ring, leaving them handy to carry with when fabric shopping (or when shopping for RTW). When not in use they can be stored on a pinboard or hook in the sewing area.

:::

December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

media Monday

:::

December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

unboxing the fridge...

... in which our plucky heroine rejoices to have a properly equipped kitchen again...

Just before 11 the delivery truck arrived with the new fridge for Acorn Cottage... the haulers warned me that it was on a pallet, which actually was a good thing since it likely means that the fridge has been transported in the correct orientation and will probably not need to sit for 24 hours before being plugged in

The haulers very kindly were willing to deliver the fridge all the way into the kitchen (instead of on the front porch as the contract allows) They commended my patience in waiting the weeks it took to arrive, and I commended their willingness to go the extra feet actually into the house. Smiles all around. Now for the actual unboxing...

Just as the delivery men suspected/suggested, once the strapping was cut away, the outer layer of cardboard packaging simply lifted off the top, leaving the inner layers of cardboard to fall away

The interior bits are all neatly taped in place for travel, and the silly can holders are, upon testing, exactly the size to hold tall pint canning jars for storing leftovers

It turned out not that difficult after all to get the fridge up onto the plinth once I removed all the glass shelves... Happy to have a proper kitchen setup once again!

a bit of a progress report and other Tuesday tidbits

...in which our plucky heroine checks in on the SMART goals for the year...

so far the yearlong SMART goal chart has over seventy entries in each of the three categories, and there is still all of December in which to attempt to get as far as possible. Tonight I am going to attempt adding casters to the fridge plinth, since the new refrigerator should arrive on Thursday (tomorrow). Am reusing the gussets and casters from the former washer dolly, which necessitates drilling all new attachment points.


Thankfully this part of the process is relatively straightforward, and doesn't require learning an entire new skillset, or an entirely new toolset. I'm not much of a woodcrafter, less than a shade tree mechanic, and respect rather than fear power tools. Still the old motto IF IS IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME holds true... once it gets here I am sure it will need to sit for 24 hours before being plugged in, to let the coolant settle. Which will give me enough some time to find someone local to help raise the fridge up onto the plinth. Our plucky heroine cannot lift fifty pounds unaided.

:::

Here is a bit of sweet whimsey, all singing all dancing...

:::

December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	plinth casters	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-