Monday music and miscellany

in which our plucky heroine constantly cogitates...

Almost a thousand days, a long time, for some more than a lifetime, and so many lifetimes now gone...

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Fifty-three years ago...old words still true...may at least some of us live to see the dawn...

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What You Missed that Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade

 

Mrs. Nelson explained how to stand still and listen
to the wind, how to find meaning in pumping gas,

how peeling potatoes can be a form of prayer. She took
questions on how not to feel lost in the dark.

After lunch she distributed worksheets
that covered ways to remember your grandfather’s

voice. Then the class discussed falling asleep
without feeling you had forgotten to do something else—

something important—and how to believe
the house you wake in is your home. This prompted

Mrs. Nelson to draw a chalkboard diagram detailing
how to chant the Psalms during cigarette breaks,

and how not to squirm for sound when your own thoughts
are all you hear; also, that you have enough.

The English lesson was that I am
is a complete sentence.

And just before the afternoon bell, she made the math equation look easy.
The one that proves that hundreds of questions,

and feeling cold, and all those nights spent looking
for whatever it was you lost, and one person

add up to something.

"What You Missed That Day You Were Absent From Fourth Grade" by Brad Aaron Modlin from EVERYONE AT THIS PARTY HAS TWO NAMES copyright © 2016 Brad Aaron Modlin.

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well this is a new effing weird development... been just about five months out from my excision surgery on July 6, and while once I recovered the site looked odd but felt more or less normal, now I am getting peculiar stabby pain from that area, like an injection or an insect sting. Did this for two days in the last week, and I figured oh, body being weird but then it stopped. Now it has returned. The light touch of my clothing against my skin there is sharply painful, also if I barely run my fingers across the area, or if I twist my arm towards my body. Deeper pressure also has the same painful sensation. Doesn't appear to impede movement (other than movement also sets off the pain. I guess I should be grateful that this sort of thing has not accompanied any of my other surgeries. My online research is not particularly helpful other than to say sometimes there is pain if nerves are growing back, and sometimes it resolves and sometimes it does not... I phoned the Drs office and hopefully will get a message back at some point with more information.

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Spending time inside my head thinking about various longer range projects I want to pursue in 2023.

Artwork projects. (I want to do more with printmaking this coming year, and I also want to complete all the assorted scribal art projects I have committed to.)

Sewing projects (because always, but slower and with more care and details, and also The Raincoat Project, if not finished by the end of 2022).

Tinyworld projects. (Finish the houses that belong on Tansu Terrace, and also make an interchangeable room box for taking photos)

Housey projects. (Build a chook house. And also continue work on the fruit trees and creating and planting garden beds. And find someone to deal with the broken tree in the front yard. And find someone to take all the detritus to the transfer station. And The Roof, and The Window Awnings)

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Halfway done with the the skulls for a second skull lace collar, this one is intended for dear Aelflaed. The crocheting is getting faster, which is good. I have looked around online to see if there might be any other crocheted things I might want, but the only things I have seen that appeal are some botanical motifs, and floral motifs from Attic 24's blog, which might be fun to turn into hat decorations.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	recycle bin
5	large tray quince paste	add turtleneck to tie-dye	yard waste bin
6	6 jars quince jelly	pruned persimmon	x
7	11 jars Awesome Sauce	reattach vest buttons	x
8	4 jars vanilla rose quince syrup	x	x
9	black long janes	x	x
10	8 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I can walk over 10K in a day, and not feel completely flat
2. The purple corn husks are dry, so I can play with them soon...
3. Today while out walking I saw the better part of a parking strip covered in clusters of Chinese chestnut husks that looked eversomuch like drifts of soot sprites, though not black. Made me smile.

Time of Isolation - Day 999

Friday fragments and Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine notices tiny improvements...

Am I glad that I got out and about Thursday, as Friday was pouring rain. I attempted a morning bike ride, but before I had made it even a mile, the skies opened, and further riding became less than a good idea. I've been wearing cotton gloves (that came with my hand lotion) as an underlayer beneath my wool mitts, and they were immediately soaked; the hemline of my pinafore and the outer layers of my chore jacket were soon damp and then quickly soggy as well. Thank all the powers that be for my electric tumble dryer, where the various bits ended up as soon as I got home and changed into dry clothing and my beloved felt house slippers. Saturday was grey and chill, but I managed my goal of getting out for a walk before breakfast, which I am trying to make back into a habit, as part of my improvements in self care.

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Made another double batch of Awesome Sauce, this time not cooking the tomato mixture overnight in the crock pot. I think I like the less caramelised flavor and color better, it seems more flavorful without that bitter edge. Ah the perils of being a super-taster... Today my plan is to make a lasagna for dinner and to freeze the rest in dinner sized portions, which worked really well the previous time. I wonder if spinach rice bake can be frozen? I also want to go ahead and use the sweet limes from my last produce delivery to make sweet lime curd, because that seems the best wintertime use, and scones and citrus curd and tea are a lovely afternoon snack. (see recipe for "scone for one") Might as well do that bit of baking while I have the butter out to make the lime curd.

Wondering about using my scrap Polartec for gloves... seems as if it would be better in the damp than the cotton gloves, while serving the same function. Would be worth an experiment, to see if my machine will be willing to sew such a fiddly project from fluffy fleece. There will be plenty of days when there are gaps in the rain, or no rain and no snow, and a great need for warm fingers. If it is really cold I wear the striped naalbound mittens that dear Ariadne made for me years ago, which are almost a quarter inch thick and so dense that no draft can get through.

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I've been indulging myself in a small square of the quince paste in the evening, rather like how many people indulge in chocolate... coincidentally I have noticed that my common problem of positional heartburn has been greatly reduced. It may not be coincidence, as there is some scientific evidence that quince may have that effect. I will be turning most of my remaining quince into tasty medicaments

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Friday night, Jennifer Olson, an excellent SCA musician did a hour and a half long livecast of seasonal carols on her new kantele, which I had the pleasure of listening to while working on the final reverse applique border for my long janes.

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~ creativity challenge ~

in which the bushy-tail tree rats surprise me with a gift of craft supplies... I did not expect to see the remnant of someones harvest season decorations dumped in the middle of the fuschia bush! Rather than just toss it in the compost, I think that the pretty colored corn husks will make really nice cordage.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	recycle bin
5	large tray quince paste	add turtleneck to tie-dye	yard waste bin
6	6 jars quince jelly	pruned persimmon	x
7	11 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
8	4 jars vanilla rose quince syrup	x	x
9	black long janes	x	x
10	8 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I have an electric tumble drier that works. This is much appreciated, as hanging things in the furnace room is much slower, and there isn't much room for anything other than socks and dainties.
2. my cranky shoulder is noticeably less cranky today
3. My silicone ladle turns out to be the perfect thing for dealing with processing sauces for canning . Being flexible, it works even better than my former steel ladle, since it can scrape every last bit of awesome sauce from the pan into the jars

Time of Isolation - Day 997

at loose ends

in which our plucky heroine has an un-holiday...

It was, however, a nice bright not rainy day, and not even much too cold out. I went out for two short walks, one in the morning, and one later in the day as dusk was falling. When I saw the next door neighbors outside, I quickly masked up and gave them a new large jar of Awesome Sauce, which made us both happy. That most recent batch I had made using the tomatoes they gave me earlier this year. It felt odd to be alone, walking around seeing unusual groupings of people, knowing that all over the country folks were gathering with their dear ones to feast and be grateful. Of course, I am grateful as well, for my good fortune, for my good health, and for the good people in my life...

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My first attempt at quince paste, though it won't be the last. It has a lovely texture, although it definitely has occasional grit particles, quinces being even more stony than pears in that respect. Each of the individual bars will be wrapped in parchement for gifts. I may make more, or make puree and process that for shelf storage, for future turning into the more condensed paste as desired. I suspect that the paste itself is too dense to be safely canned, and I am unsure of how long it will be shelf stable on its own.I need to pack it up to send to friends and family, lest I simply give in to greed and eat them all myself. I do love the flavor of quince, indescribably delicious....

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One task I made progress on today was pruning. Not quite sure when the best time of year to prune persimmon is, but as I had time, the weather was cooperative, and the green waste bin was empty it seemed a suitable conjunction. The green waste bin is now full of pruned tree portions, as well as some of the overlapping black elderberry. In a continuing fit of enthusiasm, I then tracked down the broom and swept all the leaves off the front porch. This made the porch look a lot nicer, and will hopefully reduce the amount of dead foliage tracked into the house. Now for just a bit of indoor vacuuming, and the vacuum bag can also go in the rubbish bin before the trucks come tomorrow morning to pick everything up and cart it off to the various places. (Once, years ago, I was able to borrow a truck and get a yard of composted leaf mulch for the garden from the city compost facility, maybe someday again, if I know someone with a truck)

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Sister Gigi's Sweet Corn Cakes

4 ears sweet corn (or 2 c frozen) ½ c cornmeal or masa ½ c flour 1 t salt 1 t sugar ½ t baking powder ¼ t cayenne 1 large egg ¾ c buttermilk 3 T butter, melted and cooled 2 green onions, chopped small

If using fresh corn, cut the kernels from cobs, (you should have about 2 c) Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, combine all wet ingredients in a bowl, mix together and add the corn and the green onions. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least a half hour or more (cornmeal will hydrate, texture will be nicer) Fry like pancakes 'till both sides are golden. serve with green salsa and sour cream

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	recycle bin
5	large tray quince paste	add turtleneck to tie-dye	yard waste bin
6	6 jars quince jelly	x	x
7	11 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
8	4 jars vanilla rose quince syrup	x	x
9	black long janes	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. whoever in the distant past figured out how to make masa from cornmeal
2. using masa instead of cornmeal in Sister Gigi's Sweet Corn Cakes makes them more nutritious and have a much nicer texture. (Soaking the cornmeal first is a poor second IMHO.  So I guess I should really be grateful for the time when I didn't have any cornmeal, but did have masa.)
3. So very very glad that my Sewing Nomads pals and I abandoned ship just over a year to meet privately on zoom and discord, as it has now become apparent that Stitchers Guild message board is no longer in existence.

Time of Isolation - Day 995

wistful and woeful

in which our plucky heroine is feeling flattened by isolation...

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creativity challenge:

Finishing up the last pair of long janes before winter really sets in... denim-ish jersey with black vine applique stitched in chocolate brown. Now more than half of my long janes have decorative hemline edges, and I finally have made enough pairs that future ones need only be made to replace the ones that are worn past mending. I've mostly reached this goal with my wardrobe overall, after much thought about "what is enough", what do I actually wear and need, and many years of gradual effort. Acorn Cottage is small, and having a curated closet makes dressing simple, and allows me the luxury of taking my time with what I sew.

My future sewing adventures are about to include my long desired raincoat. The chore jacket I made earlier this year was intended to serve as pattern development for the raincoat project, and as it is now a very comfortable and practical part of my everyday cool weather gear, I can start with confidence that the pattern I will be using for the raincoat is the right size and shape, and free my problem-solving brain to deal with the construction details.

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I made the turkey roulade yesterday, using the buttermilk brine my sister recommended. It smelled so savory after baking that I ate some of the edges of it for dinner yesterday. And then, ignoring the holiday on Thursday I had originally intended it for, I ate the rest of it today for lunch and then for dinner. The brine really increased the tenderness noticeably but not too much, I will definitely use that again, but with a bit less salt. I know that there are at least two more turkey thighs in the freezer for future meals. I can just make a different dinner tomorrow, maybe lasagna and some bok choi. When I was in school my friend Cheryl always made lasagna as the festive holiday meal of choice for her family. I think I have the necessary ingredients. I miss getting together with folks for festive meals and good times.

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I am doing all the best things I know how to do for mental and emotional self care. I am not sure it is sure it is not enough, but I don't know what else I can do that I am not already doing. I mentioned to my PCP at my regular appointment today how I wish that there was some kind of supportive counseling (which is, of course, not available), as this year has been at least as hard if not moreso than the year I had surgery and treatment for endometrial cancer. I've been making sure that I am drinking water, have good personal hygiene, bedtime at a "normal" hour, some physical activity every day, and as much pixel human contact as I can manage to arrange. It isn't enough, somehow, and I begin to not feel much of anything at all. Very much a sense of "if this is what my life is now, and into the indefinite future..." then why bother. A number of my health metrics have changed in a less than ideal direction in the last few months, most likely due to my not being as thoughtful as I ought to be about what I eat. Beverage milk is very comforting, but plain water is better for my body. I am going to do my best to turn that around in the next three months as the alternative is to increase my medication dosages. I remember when I had hoped to do well enough to start weaning myself off the meds, but that was in the Before Times. I suppose it might still be possible. Mostly nowadays I just try and get through from one day to the next. I sure wish that there was something to look forward to that felt like it was possible. I worked so hard for so long to build a life that made sense to me, that was balanced and full of meaning. Mostly all gone now due to the dammit pandammit.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	-
5	large tray quince paste	add turtleneck to tie-dye	-
6	6 jars quince jelly	x	x
7	11 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
8	4 jars vanilla rose quince syrup	x	x
9	black long janes	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I am alive and reasonably healthy
2. I have a place to live that is warm and dry
3. I have food to eat, and friends and family who care about me

Time of Isolation - Day 994

bone brine bake

in which our plucky heroine tries a new technique...

So, Sister Gigi sent me a recipe for buttermilk brining a turkey. (1 c buttermilk : ¾T salt - 24 - 36 hr marinade) Since a whole turkey, or even a whole turkey breast, is far too big for Acorn Cottage nowadays, it seemed like trying it out with a boned turkey thigh might be a good option... First step after eating lunch is to bone the turkey thigh (with the intention of creating a turkey roulade roast of the correct size). I was first introduced to the concept by Maeva's friend Robin from Half Moon Bay.

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the incomparable Flanders and Swann:

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The bamboo lycra fabric I ordered arrived really quickly. It is thinner than I expected, and very silky, and I'm curious how it will react to being washed and dried, which is currently underway. Even though I usually hang dry my knitwear, I always pre-shrink it to start with. (edited to add it washed up nicely, but foolish me forgot to measure it before laundering, so I have no idea how much it may have shrunk. The print fabric looks just as nice in person, and will indeed coordinate with all my pinafores. The blue fabric was more of a cobalt blue than a dark teal, but still pretty. I am thinking that will be the underlayer of the future cardigan, because silky smooth. I will be waiting a while before starting the Alabama Chanin style cardigan, as that is less of a necessity and I don't yet have an idea for what motif(s) I want to use for the reverse applique or other applied or applique decoration

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	-
5	large tray quince paste	add turtleneck to tie-dye	-
6	6 jars quince jelly	x	x
7	11 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
8	4 jars vanilla rose quince syrup	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. two more cases of 4 oz canning jars acquired.
2. My tiny gift for winning the Grave Goods challenge arrived today, a wee fierce tuxedo cat
3. Steady preserving progress, a batch of quince syrup finished and another batch of Awesome sauce started. There are enough tomatoes in the freezer for several more batches after this one is finished, but only enough hot peppers for maybe two more, so there may be something else as well, we shall see.

Time of Isolation - Day 992

simple pleasures

in which our plucky heroine feels grateful...

Crafternoon today did a thing I often hope for, in that it made a space for deeper discussion and support than just surface social. I wish I hadn't needed to sign off to cook and eat dinner, but after spending most of more than half the day on zoom calls, there was a definite need for some edible replenishment.

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While out and about yesterday afternoon, the quality of the light on this particular tree was just glowing! Soon there will be no leaves on the trees at all, so I am taking my enjoyment while it is possible...

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Preserving continues apace... the double batch of Awesome Sauce yielded nine 4 oz jars and two 8 oz jars now cooling on the counter. The quinces that were becoming post had their browned areas cut away, the good parts spent overnight in the crock pot, and (now a lovely red) are ready to be turned into quince jelly. This small batch will get a bit of rosewater and maybe vanilla, for variety sake...  I'm hoping to get some advice from Marian about pickled quince, as Ursel has fond memories of some mustardy pickled quinces from Tullia's marriage feast back in the day, and it would be fun to make some to add to the quince assortments as I plan on sending out as holiday gifts... which means that getting some more of the 4 oz jars now is probably a good idea. Who knows when the supply chain will go haywire again?

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Sunday has a lot of zoom meetings, and that is good for handwork... I finished stitching the dancing creatures trim to the legs of the almost finished black long janes, which now simply need the waistline elastic added. It has also occurred to me that there are several of my jersey knit tops that are rarely worn, for assorted reasons, and that could be remediated. My lovely tie-dye top has had the addition of a turtleneck collar. Fortunately I had a piece of the same teal jersey I used for the body, so it looks like I meant it that way from the start! (realised that I much prefer my long sleeve knit tops with a turtleneck or other warm collar rather than just a plain jewel neckline - if it is cold enough to want to wear a knit top as my "base layer", I want my neck to be warm too!)

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Food for thought, some of which I am definitely in agreement with... Aside from the content thievery aspect of AI, I am seeing more and more AI generated visuals online, some clearly labeled, and some purposefully wrongly labeled. We talked during Crafternoon a bit about the problems this can cause. Not everyone has enough art history experience to notice when there is something "off" about the image being shared as "historical artifact", and most will take it at face value.

AI-Generated Arts and Human Creative Expression
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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	-
5	large tray quince paste	add turtleneck to tie-dye	-
6	6 jars quince jelly	x	x
7	11 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Enough years of practice that preserving feels straightforward...
2. I am honored with the few beloved friends who continue to come to my online weekly Crafternoon sessions. Without you my everyday life would be much more bleak...
3. I just found out yesterday that young Ivan is doing well enough that he is moving to a different and more intensive rehab, which is close enough that I can get there on transit. And going into a hospital is probably one of the safer spaces I could go, as they still require masks) This means I can add myself to the roster of folks who can visit him. His recovery is slow and miraculous and effortful, and I have been told by Jen that visits and phone calls help alleviate the boredom of his confinement. I will contact Vikki and get more details about how to plan this.

Time of Isolation - Day 991

unexpected bounty

in which our plucky heroine is surprised by a Useful Gift...

and the weather turns further towards winter, not surprising given the time of year. We've had strong winds, and a few hard frosts already. If ever there are affordable small rooftop wind turbines, the roof of Acorn Cottage would be an ideal location!

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printed bamboo/lycra jersey

So this week I had a message from an online sewing friend I had not heard from in rather a while... Ruthie had won a contest over on Patterreview, but the prize was from a shop in the US, and postage and customs duties between here and her home are rather a lot, so she very generously offered me the gift certificate as an early Christmas gift.

I was not familiar with the Nature's Fabrics online shop; they seem to have mostly knit fabrics, all either organic or sustainable in various ways. It was fun to have a chance to do some online fabric shopping, and I found several possibilities. I've never tried "bamboo/lycra" but figure it will sew like a combination of cotton/lycra, and rayon. Hopefully it will be a bit more substantial and durable than rayon/lycra.

Decided on two lengths of fabric, the above picture is the printed jersey, which will be made into a turtleneck top, my standard everyday wear in the cold season. The colors in the abstract print should coordinate with many of my pinafores, at least the black, grey, and brown ones. I also got a length of a deep blue, hopefully between teal and cobalt, to use as one of the layers in a new Alabama Chanin style cardigan (I already have a length of teal cotton/lycra for that project as well)

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Alas, I had been waiting to pick my persimmons, letting them get ripe while still on the tree. Apparently I was not the only one, as some two-legged fruit thief (the kind with thumbs, not the kind with wings) more than decimated my harvest this year. The tree is in the parking strip, so readily accessible and visible. They took all the ripe persimmons this year, which was most of them. All I can say is that I hope they were poor and hungry, and not just opportunistic. Still, I am sad, I wait all year for the tree crops, and this year there were no plums, because weather. I did get quinces though.

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The quince paste was a success. I have cut it into little rectangles, and begun wrapping them in parchment paper. I decorated a half dozen of the packages with little stickers, and gave them to Aeolus as a cheering sort of gift, and much of the rest will also get packaged up similarly and go out as foodie gifts to friends and to family, along with other quincely delights. I also put up six jars of quince with orangeblossom jelly, also dedicated to become holiday gifts.

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While I went out earlier this week to get rosewater for the pantry, I also indulged in a block of Kashkaval cheese, which will be delightful with the quince paste. And, I stopped at Mr Plywood, since I was in that neighborhood, and came back with two pieces of the wavy support boards that match up with wavy fiberglass roofing (which I already have). I can order the needed special fasteners online, but ordering 6ft long pieces of wood is more difficult! Eventually there will be a chicken house, and then there will be chickens, and then there will be eggs, and less lawn to mow... Gathering supplies for winter projects, I am doing, before it is deep winter.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	-
5	quince paste	-	-
6	quince jelly	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I made a delicious dinner tonight, a sort of riff on the Thai dish "swimming rama", but with steamed bok choi instead of spinach. I cut the recipe in half, and even then only managed to eat half of that (is okay, means a nice lunch for tomorrow). I had tried making it a week or so ago, and it was WAY TOO MUCH! The sauce is really rich, so I felt no qualms about adapting it* to my own taste.
2. Making good progress on my next pair of long janes, stitching the trim to the hemline edges
3. Both packages of yarn I ordered finally arrived, I can begin the projects that call for them!

Time of Isolation - Day 989

* stir fry some protein... cut into small pieces first, a chicken thigh, or a pork chop. Scrambled egg would probably work?
Steam some greens. If desired, cook rice or rice noodles.
Make the sauce: ½c coconut cream, 1t fish sauce, 1½t brown sugar, 2t red curry paste, ¼c peanut butter

eye spy

in which our plucky heroine is extra tired...

... so much so that I almost fell asleep on the bus on the way home from my eye exam. I woke before my alarm, and since I was awake, it made no sense to go back to sleep for another 20 minutes. Though maybe I needed that rest I didn't get? It will be an early night tonight for certain. I've not had any of the specialty eye exam portions in several years, for obvious reasons, as things like the visual fields test is only done in one or two locations.

I have some optical oddities that need checked regularly, as well as the normal issues of age and some medical risks, so it was more than time for an exam. That said, it was awful to be in the busy waiting room... and, then to discover that my nice secure P100 mask was too large for the machinery to cope with. I actually started to cry in the exam room, which was terribly embarrassing. The technician handed me some tissues, and gave me the option to simply go home and not do the exams... or, she suggested that she could instead get me some of the N95 masks the doctors wear there. Ugh, having to choose between possible Covid and possible blindness, I hate this pandammit with a terrible hate!

I decided that wearing a surgical mask, and then an N95 over it would have to do. The tech was very understanding and kind, and had a fun sort of jokey patter about the various machinery, which I appreciated. In the end, the doctor let me know that my eyes are still in good shape, that my range of peripheral sight is still complete, and that the other issues are only slightly changed from three years ago and that there is no need for either medication or surgery. Yay for decent (if myopic) vision!

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signs of autumn:

I was looking down whilst walking back to the Joan of Arc traffic circle in the middle of the day today, and found these absolutely splendid fractal patterned fallen leaves. Since I had no easy way to bring them home, I carefully tucked them inside my folded up printout of my future appointments, in the hope of being able to photograph them before they crumbled away to bright dust. Obviously I was successful, though it did take my being rather careful to not squash them inside my chore coat pocket.

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I don't have any more rosewater. I thought I had another bottle in the back of the pantry. I do have a bottle of orange flower water though, that might work as a substitute flavor/scent addition. Oh, why am I looking for my bottle of rosewater? I started making some quince jelly, and I like to add just a bit of rosewater to help bring out the floral aspect. (note: I just found a BBC recipe that calls for orange flower water, and several of my online more foodie friends had good things to say about the use of same with quince jelly) Since I still have about another 20# of quinces, there is room for trying a new thing...

My quince paste experiment is a qualified success... I have a tray full of very dark gelid sweet/tart highly flavored confection all about 3/8" thick. I have cut it into tiny rectangles, which I plan on wrapping in squares of parchment paper, since I cannot think of what other way to neatly store it, as it is still very slightly sticky on the outside. It could be served dusted with bakers superfine sugar, or even perhaps with confectioner sugar, or just laid out in a fan on a plate with some sharp cheese. I may send some along with a jar of quince jelly, and some quincemeat, as a holiday gift box to family or friends.

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Today seemed very cold, at least, the wind was strong so the wind chill made it feel a lot colder than the bright sun would have one believe. Another day with over 10K steps outdoors, so there is that. I am thinking I need to either buy or knit a pair of thin gloves to wear underneath my knitted wristers, to keep my fingertips warm, as my former pair of gloves is nowhere to be found. Since they were the tiny extra stretchy synthetic ones from a dollar store, they are no great loss to my budget, but the niche in my wardrobe still needs something. Maybe I should try the glove pattern I generated a few years ago, intended to be made up as outdoor garden gloves, I could use some thin leather as a sort of "wearable muslin"...

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	-
5	quince paste	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. My eyes are healthy, whew!
2. I did not need to get my eyes dilated. There had been some miscommunication, and the dilation portion done earlier this year is recent enough. While I understand the necessity, and am grateful for being able to get my eyes examined, it takes almost a full day for the dilation to wear off, and until it does, I cannot do anything that requires my eyes to focus. No reading, or any handwork, and even cookery is a bit dicey, at least the kind that requires sharp knives. So, I was quite happy to forgo that!
3. I rode my bike in the afternoon, and found a pokeberry plant full of berries. I will ride back again later this week and gather some to use to dye a small skein of wool. It makes a reasonably fast deep red dye (do not eat). It would be fun to do a bit of card weaving with home dyed wool using dyestuff from my own neighborhood. My freezer has a container with rather a lot of clerodendrum berries, gathered over several years, which would give me a blue. I might want a yellow as well, hmmm, must ask my more expert friends about that. At any rate this would be a fun middle of the winter project.

Time of Isolation - Day 986

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine walks and walks and thinks and thinks...

...so, being enchanted by my pal (Eugene) Cricket's advent calendar idea, but unlikely to have enough time between now and the beginning of December, I've been thinking that setting up a plan for next year with lots and lots of lead time would be great. My thought is to sponsor/facilitate a "Countdown To A Better Year" swap. Find a bunch of creative folks willing to each make (or share) 31 tiny things, gather the stuff together and then redistribute them to each participant in good time for an advent full of surprise goodies in December for either Christmas or Solstice or New Year. Treats would need to fit within a 1" cube space parameter, and wouldn't need to all be the same thing, in case the idea of making so many all the same would be dreadful instead of fun.

My thought is to set the group up, have folks make and/or gather things starting after the upcoming holiday season, to do the collecting and redistributing in September/ October, so folks can have their treats in place by the beginning of December 2023. I'd willing to coordinate the logistics, and moderate a FB or Discord group. I personally love the idea of getting to open a different gift each day for a month. What better way to head into a new year with feelings of love abundance and whimsy! Would you find this sort of thing something you might enjoy? Have you ever participated in an extensive swap? I have happy memories (and a number of mushrooms) of the longago mushroom swap that occurred during the Age of Blogging.

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~ creativity challenge ~

Yesterday I took some time to block print hemline trim for my next pair of long janes... this pair will be heavy black jersey, trimmed with medieval dancing crows and rats, a design inspired by regalia from Bujold's World of the Five Gods series. I first carved this design by request of my friend Michele, and have since used the block for various other gifts for friends, this is the first time using it for myself...

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I had my six week PT evaluation session today, and have been improving enough that I can switch from one session a week, to one every other week. Today was quite exhausting, as, of course, if I improve, the exercises get switched to something incrementally more difficult. Still, improvement is the goal, and I am glad that my efforts are helping my body to heal. Now if only I could manage to relax enough to get some flexibility, which is a real challenge for my southern hemisphere (lower torso and legs)

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My experiment in baked quince paste seems to be a success so far... the sheet pan full of quince puree has darkened from pale golden to a deep black/red, and condensed by half. It is still rather sticky, and has a chewy consistency and a strong flavor of quince. I'm not sure if it needs further oven drying, or if I should just cut into pieces and wrap in parchement paper. I do wish I had an Excalibur food dehydrator, as that would be ideal, though at this point I might be able to cut the quince paste into pieces and use the cylindrical dryer for this.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	-	black embroidered slip	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I had a fun afternoon zoom with Anti Karen and we came up with a great concept for a non-religious advent gift swap for next winter, and I am going to try and facilitate it actually happening.
2. I cut out two more pairs of long janes which are ready to be stitched up so I will have warm legs this winter. Plus the black ones will have dancing crows and rats.
3. Because today was PT day, and it wasn't awful weather, I walked over 10K steps today, and got extra exercises

Time of Isolation - Day 985

incrementalia

in which our plucky heroine uses the oven...

I don't do much real baking for myself, so although the stove has been installed for months now, this is the first time I've used the oven. The first 6# of quince processed left me with a substantial amount of quince pulp (almost 8 cups), and I decided to attempt the bake-in-the-oven version of quince paste. Cooked it down a bit on the stove, stirred in a few tablespoons of rosewater, and poured it into my big flat cookie sheet jellyroll pan, that I lined with parchment paper. It has been in the oven now for about four hours, and after another hour or so, I will turn the oven off and leave it overnight. Looking at it, the color has visibly darkened to a bright terracotta (as opposed to the golden color it was when I first put it into the oven, this makes me happy! Tomorrow it gets turned over, possibly baked a bit more, and then we shall see...

here is where some of the magic happens...

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I bit my tongue. Hard. While eating breakfast. Fortunately it stopped bleeding. Big ow. Now I need to eat soft food for the next several days. I know how to do that, had lots of experience after all the dental work back in 2019 and afterwards.  Dinner tonight was homemade mac n cheese made with rice noodle elbows, and some cooked spinach (chopped really small). Other goodies are tuna melt sans bread, hot cereal, rice with five flavor eggplant, scrambled eggs, soup of all sorts, and so on.

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Finished mending my black embroidered jersey slip, the new bodice fits well and lays flat when worn. Time to start cutting out another pair  or two of long janes. The weather is getting cold again. I can stitch them up, and then work on hemline trimming afterwards, though it would be good to have a small handwork project for riding the bus to PT tomorrow. If they are cut out, I can sew in the small bits of time between other projects. I intend to be as well prepared for winter as possible. More long janes, another slip or two, and maybe a pair of handknit gloves...

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	-	black embroidered slip	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I have good food in storage and know how to cook, and have a kitchen to do so in...
2. I figured out how to deal with Google Photos, and how to access it on the laptop instead of the tiny screen on my phone. And I got the album that was needed put together and emailed.Yay me.
3. I can go to sleep when I am tired, and the furnace works, so it is not awful cold indoors

Time of Isolation - Day 984

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine is sad...

Pretty sure that someone in the last day or two picked a significant proportion of the persimmons off my tree. (It wasn't birds, and it wasn't the wind) I was, perhaps foolishly, letting them continue to ripen, and more than half of them were getting finally orange. Went out to pick them today and the orange ones were gone. Saw places where the branches had been cut raggedly or broken. Pruning will be necessary, and the remaining fruit will be harvested and brought inside to ripen off the tree. I was hoping that the substantial number of persimmons would make up for the total loss of the plum crop this year. Well, maybe the people who took the fruit were hungry, I sure hope so, but I wish they had asked me first rather than harming the tree as well...

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I'll post this again on New Years Day, but when this turned up in one of my online searches, it reminded me of better times, and in these difficult days, I will cherish that modicum of warmth whenever I find it...

"Let the Good Guys Win" (recorded in 2012)

Charles de Lint - vocals, guitar
MaryAnn Harris - mandolin, vocals
Ken Heins - vocals
James Rooke - bass
Andy Clapson - drums
(c) 1988 by Murray McLauchlan

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Have been making some decent stitchery progress during today's zoom meetings, refurbishing my favorite slip, which needed the entire bodice replaced. Originally made from two thrifted garments: a lovely embroidered jersey skirt, and a plain ribbing tank top, and while the lower half is still in good shape, the upper half was worn to a ravelling. I have cut out a new bodice from a piece of black jersey ribbing, and am almost done with binding the neckline and armholes. Once attached to the skirt, which should be possible tomorrow, I will get a number of additional years of wear from it.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. My friend Mary sent me a little packet in the mail full of tiny treats for the tinyworld: some beaded decorations she made, a quartet of very little glass bottles with cork stoppers, a wee woven basket, and an assortment of ocean shells, starfish, little clamshells and the smallest sand dollar I have ever seen.
2. I made a yummy dinner - an approximation of "Swimming Rama" Thai recipe I hadn't tried before - I didn't have the right curry paste, so I used green instead of red, but it still tasted good.
3. I am continuing to make timely progress on the photo the whole house project... This project is on a timeline not set by me. I only have the two large rooms (living room and workshop room) left to do. This is a project that is difficult both physically and emotionally; as I am moving the clutter from room to room in order to take the images. I am enjoying the reminder of how nice my house looks when it is not all cluttered, so hoping it will help me be motivated to do the actual decluttering.

Time of Isolation - Day 983

"proficere lente" ... habitable habitat

in which our plucky heroine makes small but definite progress...

This winter one major task will be to declutter and tidy the house, clearing away various items and supplies that I no longer need, and returning my habitat to habitable. My goal is to have all the flat surfaces be useable for purpose other than storage. With that in mind, the need to photograph the interior of Acorn Cottage (for reasons) is also giving me a chance to remember how pleasing and comfortable the rooms are when they are not as overwhemingly full of useful but moopy detritus. I've not actually dealt with the issue, which will certainly take more than three or four days, but can store those somatic sensations of greater ease to help motivate the actual sorting activity.

I've been going room to room, picking up all the "things that don't belong" in each room, and moving it out temporarily. Taking the photos, and then returning the things in more tidy piles suitable for sorting. Then of course, I have had to figure out how the Google Photos app creates an album. And how to add text to a photo in the same app, since it will not allow me to move a photo from one app to another. And then, how to move photos within the album, since the program defaults to "order by date and time", which is not always ideal. I suspect that most of this would be easier to do on a larger screen than my phone, but that is where the photos live. Fortunately hopefully I will be done with this project by the end of the weekend...

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So pretty the leaves, so subtle the autumnal light...
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I finally managed to clear away the broken porch planter... the smaller pieces of wood are in the trash, since even untreated lumber bits are not okay for the green bin, the larger pieces will have to wait until there is a someday dump run. The used potting soil had been swept up into batches in the burden cloth  and is now in the large raised bed in the backyard. It is tempting to empty all the assorted random pots scattered around the yard into the raised bed, and then add in a layer of good compost and nutritive amendments, and sow it with a cover crop for the winter

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Took some time yesterday to cut out and sew one of the several pairs of long janes on my list for this month's sewing. These are light grey, with the light blue dotted border I appliqued back in late October. They are so very fast to sew, it takes longer to cut them out than to assemble them. A few more embroidered and/or printed borders will be a fun addition, as I have a number of pieces of jersey suitable for more pairs, and enough waistband elastic for at least three more... I also want to make a new top to repair my favorite winter slip, since the bodice has worn to a ravelling.

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well yowch, and also WTF?! Feeling perfectly ordinary with no unusual bodily trauma I was lying in bed drifting off to sleep last night... straightened my left leg and the knee gave an intense crunching sensation of pain?!? I was actually afraid to move again after that, and managed to fall asleep without changing position again. My knee doesn't seem unstable, or obviously damaged, other than being vaguely achey. I walked almost 7K steps today with no real trouble. I sure hope there are no repeats!

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Costco run with Wanda right when they opened today, and she was entirely willing to wear her mask when I asked. Now I am stocked up with things ready for the winter.
2. I am managing to accomplish the photography and moving the clutter around in a way that is only moderately stressful.
3. I have figured out how to create an album in Google Photos, and how to move the images around inside the album to put them in better order. Old dog can learn yet more new tricks.

Time of Isolation - Day 982

kweepeergelei begun

in which our plucky heroine continues the harvest...

It wasn't raining today. I thought that getting the rest of the fruit harvested would be a good idea, though it turned out I only had time to pick the quinces. Tomorrow I plan on harvesting the persimmons, which will mean also making space in the sewing room to store them at least for the time being.

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A total harvest of 26# of quinces this year, the largest one, at 14 oz, is almost a pound in itself...  6# are already cut up and partially cooked, as it is getting to be time for making jelly, and quincemeat, and maybe an experiment with making quince paste. A few will go into the freezer to share with the aunties when they come through town for 12th Night. Cut in half crosswise, the star shows their kinship with all the other fruit in the rose family, such as our more familiar apples and pears...

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	-
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	-
3	-	26# quinces picked	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. It was windy not rainy today, so I was able to get my laundry half dried on the clothesline, which may be the last one of the year.
2. the strange device I saw clipped to my gas line, when I went out to hang the laundry out, was not some peculiar thing done by unknown neighborhood weirdness, but part of some measurement of the gas pipe locations the gas company was doing. As I found out when I hollered "what the fuck?!" (not thinking that anyone was around) The gas man came over to the carport, from across the street, and explained to me what was happening, and told me a really funny story about how years ago someone called the bomb squad on them.
3. Quinces. pounds and pounds of quinces!

Time of Isolation - Day 981