my freezer is a stasie

in which our plucky heroine is intending to have a better day than yesterday...

It is raining! A soft gentle rain to bid summer adieu, and even though I forgot to bring in the dishtowels from the clothesline last night, I am so glad for the change in the weather. Hopefully today will be better.

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~ what I ate this morning ~

Tasty tasty Sister Gigi's corn pancakes aka using what I have on hand to make breakfast... Since I was all out of wet dairy product this morning (today is Alpenrose delivery day) I decided that it was cool enough that something cooked would be nice, and I remembered I had a package of frozen corn. Since I have started using masa instead of cornmeal, mixing up the batter did not require the added "soak overnight or suffer gritty results". I have noticed that I need to add some additional water to get a good texture for spooning out onto the griddle or pan. I added a small slice of Gruyère cheese (for a dab of extra protein) to my plate of a few pancakes topped with salsa verde, and put most of the them into the freezer for future meals.

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grrrrr... Yesterday had a rough start, with yet again a silent junk phone call at 6am, then one with what sounded like a live person at 6:20am... the kind that tries to get you to answer "yes" to a query so the have a recording of your voice "agreeing" to who knows what. These sorts of calls refuse to identify who they are, and I'm angry at being awakened so early. (Yes our phone is on the "do not call" list, for all the difference that makes)

So, when the phone rang today at 6:30, I fought a lifetime of conditioning and didn't answer it, knowing that the call would be picked up by the answering machine; if it was an actual human with important information I could choose to pick up or just let them leave a message. Sure enough, when no one picked up on our end, the "caller/bot" just dropped the call... Time for this plucky heroine to develop a new habit!

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Wednesday morning I went out on the front porch (a parcel that just arrived,  (a replacement for my retractable sewing tape measure that exploded, yay!) and saw that the bushytail tree rats aka squirrel varmints, had attacked my new baby crocosmia that I had put on the porch to allow them to become properly rooted before planting them in the garden bed... I hadn't weighted down the wire mesh encasing it, and it was knocked over, holes dug in the potting soil, and worst of all, the new foliage had been chewed off and then spit out! It didn't occur to me that they would damage the plant itself, as the ones that are growing out in the front yard are untouched.

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"how to keep house while drowning" book (and workbook) arrived this morning, which will be very helpful for the presentation I am giving on Sunday. In addition, I had a Useful extended conversation online with Mikki about preparing for same, and we will be spending time tomorrow making further progress, with the result that I'm feeling less stressed about my talk. I am improving on accepting and asking for help...

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Managed to get outside when it was mostly just drizzling, and pick up all the damaged windfalls to put in the green waste bin (where they go to make compost and won't draw more danger bugs to the back yard). Added a bit of random pruning to the bin as well, and noticed that the plums are just about ready to be picked... Time to make some space in the freezer! I wish I had kept better records about what six varieties of apples were on the former espalier. I am pretty sure one was Gala, which has survived. I did write once on the blog that one branch was Golden Delicious, which sadly did not survive. I wish I knew what the green apple was that is the other survivor, it is not Granny Smith, but is obviously a cooking apple as it is firm and tart. I thought it might be a Yellow Transparent, but it refuses to turn yellow, and is not tender at all.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
4	sunhat toile	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
5	fungi linocut	hemmed rainbow gauze veil	yard waste bin
6	fire linocut	epoxy blocks to wood backs	yard waste bin
7	x	windfalls picked up	recycle bin
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

todays gratitudes -
1. shrimp stir fry for dinner last night, when I realised that there was no reason for me not to use some of the frozen shrimp for an everyday meal! I somehow had the idea that they should be saved for something "special", when in fact they make cooking dinner easy and fast!
2. "How To Keep House While Drowning" is a very useful book indeed and I am looking forward to sharing information about it to other folks
3. I have a variety of ways to preserve food available to me: canning, drying, and freezing, to make use of what will hopefully be a good fruit harvest year

Time of Isolation - Day 1162

tinyprint Tuesday and other tidbits

in which our plucky heroine appreciates cleaner air...

The weather remains damp and cool, and our AQI has returned to the green zone, which makes going outside pleasant. Now and again, I have heard raindrops on the window awnings...

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Today I printed on a sample strip to fold up and take a look at how my "F is for fun" book is coming along. Haven't made a cover for it yet, but I'm right pleased! Gluing the lino block to wooden backing cubes made them eversomuch easier to handle, and I didn't get any ink on my fingertips. Next step will be to prepare multiple strips for printing, and to cut out some card stock for covers... Some of these will be for the "Advent of a Better Year swap challenge, and some for my miniature loving friends. Finished book will be just over 1" square.

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On the importance of labeling food in the freezer... I took out what I thought was a small package of bacon strips. I wanted to set off the lovely homegrown tomatoes from my neighbors by turning them into a BLT salad. Oops! when I opened the package, instead of three (raw) bacon strips, there were three strips of cooked corned beef!! Making the best of an odd situation, I hacked them up and added them to the salad. Didn't taste like bacon, but was very tasty nonetheless...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
4	sunhat toile	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
5	fungi linocut	hemmed rainbow gauze veil	yard waste bin
6	fire linocut	epoxy blocks to wood backs	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

todays gratitudes -
1. corned beef is nice as a salad topping
2. the sound of drizzling rain on the window awnings
3. The blue silk jacquard woven silk shirt the Aunties found at the bins is perfect for cutting up into decorative bias binding. There will be more than enough for the rainbow panova I am currently finishing, and the rest can go into my box of "leftover bias" (which always makes me laugh when I see those words on my sewing shelves)

Time of Isolation - Day 1160

playing with blocks

in which our plucky heroine enjoys the cloudy day...

When I'm sick, I just sleep more than usual because tired. Now that I'm finally on the mend, instead I wake up anxious in the wee small hours of the night and cannot sleep. I'm quite sure I prefer my throat in a healthy condition, but I could gladly do without the those 3AM brain weasels... and the insomnia led to spending the entire afternoon fast asleep. Not Useful! Hopefully my sleep/wake times will get sorted back into something more functional soon.

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A E I O U... my lino blocks for "F is for fun" are completed. Yesterday I epoxied them to little cubes of scrap wood; at 3/4" square, they are so small that I had a great deal of trouble applying the printing ink without also running the inky brayer over my fingertips. The wooden "handles" will make printing the tiny books easier, and I am excited to find out how they look together...

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Apparently this story has made the rounds online for quite some time, but it was my first read through... and well worth the time. Here is a graphic novel version of "The God of Arepo"

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
4	sunhat toile	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
5	fungi linocut	hemmed rainbow gauze veil	yard waste bin
6	fire linocut	epoxy blocks to wood backs	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

todays gratitudes -
1. cooler weather, overcast skies today ♡
2. my good neighbors gave me three tomatoes from their garden. So yummy! I forsee a bacon lettuce and tomato salad tomorrow
3.somehow my pedometer registered over 10K steps today, probably cos I took two bike rides, but I was eager to be in movement, after days and days spent sedentary. That also explains why my legs were a bit sore and I was feeling extra tired, the jump from around 2 or 3K to 10 is significant. I am quite pleased however that it was doable, even if it did require a nap in the middle.

Time of Isolation - Day 1159

not heavy just awkward

in which our plucky heroine rides the bus...

I decided that acquiring an additional box fan would let me assemble a Corsi-Rosenthal filter box, since our AQI, while not horrible, is also not great, and not likely to improve for a while yet. I was going to use my "spare" box fan, but that one suffered a breakdown last month and is still waiting for me to attempt to repair it.

Since there is no easy way for me to attach a box fan to my bicycle, a bus trip to the hardware store was my first task of the day after breakfast. I did check online first to make sure that they had a box fan on the shelf. The carton is about two foot square and about 4" thick, a difficult armful to tote to the bus stop, and to tote home. I alternated between resting it on my head (steadided with one arm or the other) and carrying it in my two arms like a sort of corrugated box baby. Most of the time I don't miss having an automobile, but sometimes I do.

Later today I will put the filter box together, and figure out where to put it in my bedroom, I suspect that some rearrangement will be needed.I am also sorely tempted by the more expensive but much more quiet kits from Clean Air Kits that use computer fans instead of box fans...

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~ thank you Past Me ~
.

Past Me made up a half batch of pot stickers earlier this month, which means many tasty meals that only require simple cooking with no preparation. Since no neighborhood store carries the wrappers, I trim the corners off wonton wrappers to an octagon shape and use those. Easiest preparation is just dropping them into broth, or steaming, but sometimes I want that browned on the bottom flavor, which is almost as easy. It is so worth my taking an hour or two to make up a batch to store in the freezer, and the Hex-Clad pan my friend Jenna gave me several years ago is ideal for cooking the little morsels. 

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I combined one of the cubes of frozen meat broth with some chicken bouillon, and made egg drop soup for lunch. Took the last bits of the cooked chicken thighs to boost the protein, and followed the suggestions in the cookbook I have been listening to, which definitely was an improvement from my former method. I hadn't thought about adding a cornstarch slurry to thicken the broth, and I also added a few drops of toasted sesame oil along with the usual green onion garnish. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this simple fast soup, and it will be a good alternate breakfast in the winter.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
4	sunhat toile	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
5	fungi linocut	hemmed rainbow gauze veil	yard waste bin
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

todays gratitudes-
1. My sense of smell has returned enough that the line dried bedsheet was delicious. I am so grateful that whatever the sick I have been struggling to recover from is not covid. The mere idea of losing an entire subtle sensory interface with the world is terrifying
2. Past Me made pot stickers. Past Me fairly often makes pot stickers. I am glad I have taken the time to learn a simple style of assembly so that I can have this treat often, and homemade with fillings I make from scratch. I remember the very first time I ever ate pot stickers, in a small storefront restaurant not far from my first apartment in Waltham.
3. Every day I am just a little bit closer to regained health. Today I noticed I am not needing to clear my throat as often, and my video meeting folks noticed I was sounding more like myself
4. Had some very fascinating online chat discussions last night with my Madrona Tribe pals

Time of Isolation - Day 1158

some Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine continues incremental improvement...

I skipped the intended pruning Saturday, as I noticed that the weather forecast was for two days of possible rain this week, which would be lovely for me, but not for the plums. I will try and get a bit more done on the apple pruning instead, which are not as sensitive to rain. Also today was even hotter than yesterday, and I just was feeling too tired.

Instead, I decided to use blue tape to repattern my Alabama Chanin cardigan, as I want to make another one. I seem to have lost my TNT cardigan pattern, and rather than tear the house apart trying to find it, decided that duplicating the pattern from the existing garment would be less time consuming. Indeed, the first taping only took about an hour or so to complete and transfer onto some scrap paper. Next I will smooth out any irregularities, true the seams, and stitch up a quick toile using some leftover jersey to make certain the pattern does what I want it to. This felt like the perfect way to start my morning, before making up some breakfast and sitting down at the computer for the fortnightly Sewing Nomads meeting... It was a real treat to return, and to hear about everything my online friends have been doing in the last month while I was absent!

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"A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold, rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen, instead."

this essay "Libraries: Cathedrals of Our Souls" is well worth reading! and brings to my mind the Anne Herbert quote (from The Next Whole Earth Catalog, 1980)  "Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries."

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Having finished hemming the rainbow linen veil, today I cut out the rainbow wool plaid to make the panova and/or shoulder shawl, and decided to use some pretty jacquard woven blue silk (salvaged from a bins find) to narrow bind the edges. It will be fun to eventually have some FAFO clothing for SCA wear, even if I am not able to go to events right now. The handwork keeps me sane, and I can share photos online.

(this is the rainbow wool fabric, ignore the floss)
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Still working on getting the tinyprint blocks set up for actual printing. They are so very small, that I am going to use them more like rubber stamps. I found a scrap of wood that was close to the right size, and cut little ¾" cubes, which once I sand off the rough edges will be epoxied to the back of the blocks. Then I can hold them to apply the printing ink and not simultaneously ink up my fingers! Stay tuned for further developments...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
4	sunhat toile	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
5	fungi linocut	hemmed rainbow gauze veil	yard waste bin
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

todays gratitudes-
1. my Sewing Nomads pals! Just like having TNT sewing pattern, the best thing ever is to have TNT sewing companions.
2. little Kestrel really liked the origami dragons I sent her, and I got to talk with her about what sort of clothing she would like made from the Spoonflower kestrel and Totoro fabrics.
3. video with my Mud Bay pals... I got to see the sunhat toile I made for Cathy, as she was wearing it, and we discussed how it needs to be changed to work even better, plus it is always a treat to see Jen and Kestrel.

Time of Isolation - Day 1157

a mostly formless Friday

in which our plucky heroine takes two steps forward and one step back...

The middle of the night was loud enough that it woke me from deep sleep, the rumbles and bangs of very nearby thunder, which always makes me first think earthquake*, before I realise it is slightly less dangerous. The thunder went on and on, long enough for me to leap from bed and go unplug all the tech, and eventually there was a very short intense burst of rain, and finally quiet and a return to sleep. Whatever weird weather pattern that was did not clear the air, as by this evening our AQI was inching upwards again, and the thermometer as well into the low 90's.

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~ out and about ~

I really don't know clouds at all...

Last night the sky was really spectacular, with the clouds almost the metallic color of koi scales.

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Does it count as fixing my home blood pressure monitor if all I did was think of looking up the error codes online? I think it might, as it turned out to be "user error" in that I was snugging the cuff onto my wrist too tightly. Since I have hands the size of a young person, the poor machine was confused. Being a little less rigorous with tightening the velcro strap yielded more useful results

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I am slowly improving, as the antibiotic takes effect, but today felt a little bit of a backslide, as in the middle of the day I was overcome with a wave of exhaustion and decided to have a lie down, even with the bed entirely sans bedding, as I had taken advantage of what felt like clearer air to do laundry and air dry it all. Next thing I knew it was several hours later and my phone was ringing...(it occurs to me now that my very broken up night of not sleeping because loud banging noises may have something to do with my sudden afternoon sleeping)

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
4	sunhat toile	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
5	fungi linocut	hemmed rainbow gauze veil	yard waste bin
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

todays gratitudes -
1. The internet still has quite a bit of useful information, and I was able to "fix" the issue with my blood pressure monitor.
2. found the missing brown stripey sock behind the washer, just before I was going to give up and throw away the singleton
3. a nice long phone chat with my pal Wanda

Time of Isolation - Day 1156

turn-the-corner Thursday

in which our plucky heroine is halfway well...

in the last two days, it feels like the walloping huge antibiotic pills are sending my illness an eviction notice. I am hoping that this trend continues, and that soon the medicinal mentholated lozenges and assorted chemical throat sprays will become nothing but an unfortunate memory!

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I am going to make my friend a sunhat, similar in style to my own hats, but styled like the cute hat they got at the farmer's market for their kiddo. The difficulty in this project is that we live over a hundred miles away from each other. Today I finally felt well enough to finish sewing together the first toile (XP1) of the hat for her. I decided to sew a piece of wire into the edge of the brim, to add stability so that the brim would appear flat rather than floppy. This worked quite well for a toile, the actual hat will have sturdy interfacing instead, but the wire could be easily folded to fit inside a padded envelope. I rode my bike to the post office in the middle of the day, and it should arrive at their home on Saturday.

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Yesterday, I walked out into the backyard, and was shocked to see that what I had thought earlier this year was a walnut sprout (there is a tree in the neighbors yard) had grown to almost the height of the gable end of the roof! Not walnut at all, but the dreaded Ailanthus (aka tree-of-heaven)! I was able to cut back almost all of it with the loppers, save for the very base which was about an inch and a half in diameter and calls for the pruning saw. I will have to keep an good eye on the spot, and continue to cut back any further sprouts if they show up. as I do not want to purchase and use herbicide. While I was out in the back yard and filling the green waste bin, I also began cutting back the upper sprouting branches on the apple tree, which is also just about ready for me to start picking the apples

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~ F is for fun... ~

F is for fun, and also for fungi...
did a bit more linocut carving last night while zooming, and finished up the "fungi" block, which turned out rather adorable. Just need to do "fire" and I will be ready to create the master pattern for the tiny book.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
4	sunhat toile	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
5	fungi linocut	hemmed rainbow gauze veil	yard waste bin
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

Todays gratitudes -
1. I forgot to mention that on Tuesday, while waiting in line at the pharmacy, the gentleman in front of me turned around and told me that he was really impressed with my whole outfit and demeanor, and that I looked like a total badass!
2. antibiotics that still work, and that are currently available
3. a number of encouraging and inspiring conversations with friends

Time of Isolation - Day 1155

tinyprint Tuesday

in which our plucky heroine hopes for a corner to turn around...

After phoning my doctors office yesterday, because still sick after almost three weeks, I was given an appointment today midmorning. Apparently the local clinic is really getting hammered, according to the front desk staff, I was left to wait in a room in a part of the building I haven't been in before. Also the medical staff were all wearing masks, gowns, and eye shields. Though most of my vital signs were good, the doc was concerned about inflammation in my ears?!, and given my symptom history, thinks that maybe I have some sort of "back of the sinuses" infection. So now on amoxicillin for ten days. Given that, I stopped at the grocery on the way to the pharmacy and home, and picked up a big tub of yogurt, I suspect I am going to need it!

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~ tinyprint Tuesday ~

After doing some touch-up carving on the tiny linocut, I am pretty happy with my results, the feather block has the sort of "floating" look I was aiming for, and will be a good addition to my "F is for fun" tiny book. I think I am going to glue small wooden blocks to the back of these tiny linoleum pieces, at ¾" square it is really hard to hold on to them while inking them with even my small brayer; treating them more like rubber stamps will be an improvement! Just ask my very inky fingers and they will concur!!

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I can never watch this without tears in my eyes... so much has changed in so few years

I went looking online to try and find the excellent Scholastic Storybooks version of this Woody Guthrie song, from the book illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen and sung by Arlo Guthrie. Turns out it is available on Kanopy via the public library (which is where I ran across it), but not on YouTube... Go look it up if you want your library offers Kanopy, it is really well done. But instead, I found the version above, which is equally moving, (and they both contain the controversial verses... not just the ones I learned in elementary school.)

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	feather linocut	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
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

Monday's gratitudes -
1. AQI back into the green zone as of Monday
2. figured out why my keyboard was typing backwards
3. the replacement pads I ordered for my bike helmet arrived today, It was easy to remove the old disintegrating pads and attach the new ones, and my helmet will be a lot more comfortable now!

Today's gratitudes -
1. The air was clean and the temperature was perfect midmorning when I rode my bike to the doctor's office. And I had enough stamina to ride that far.
2. I was able to have a zoom meeting with my Art Pal (Leslie) who I had not seen online in three weeks because of how ill I've been...
3. I'm now on systemic antibiotics, in the hope of clearing up what my doc thinks might be an odd sort of sinus infection. I will say that even after one dose, I may be feeling a bit better, less choking and coughing this afternoon. Fingers crossed this will do the trick!

Time of Isolation - Day 1153

the light is wrong

in which our plucky heroine has all the windows closed...

This morning the sky was not blue. It was a yellowish color, as fire smoke is being pushed westward by the currents of air pressure. Our AQI has been rising all day, from yellow to orange, from orange to red. It is, of course, much worse closer to where the fires are actually burning. My heart goes out to the folks in Hawaii, to the folks in Yellowknife, and to all the folks in places small enough to not be mentioned in the news...

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~ creative handcraft ~

I last did any carving on my "F is for fun" series of tinyprints back in June, and thought to myself, some more tiny blocks would be a just the right size to ease back in to printmaking... They don't take more than an hour or two to carve. Though printing them is more of a challenge; I am considering just gluing wood backing and using them like rubber stamps.

Here I am partially done with "feather" - the first proof showed me where I needed to do more carving. I have also drawn the images for fire and for fungi, which will get carved later on. These are made from scraps of lino, and are about ¾" square. Eventually there will be a Very Tiny book, or more likely a set of tiny books made, with fan, feather, fire, fox, and fungi as content.

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I've been choosing one small thing to do my best to accomplish each day...

First, I used the serger to overstitch the edges on all the flannel squares (that I was using for warm eye compresses) that I cut out with pinking shears. I found out that pinked edges on flannel do not hold up at all well in the washing machine. I already know that serged edges do. The little flannel squares will go live in the medicine cupboard, to be handy in case they are ever needed again. I am glad I had some undedicated flannel, when my eyes became infected, as otherwise I would have needed to sacrifice one of my pillowcases!

The next day, I decided to cut down the bathmat I have been using under the bathroom scale for the last several years to the size of the scale, instead of continuing with the edges all rucked up. I used some herringbone linen to bind the raw edges, and now the whole thing looks a lot more tidy. Keeping the scale on a mat means it is easy to slide it away from the corner when it is used, and easy to slide it back again.

Today, as I mentioned above, I put in a bit of time doing some creative linocut carving...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
3	-	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
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. cool clean air Saturday morning, a real (if very short-lived) treat.
2. dried mushrooms to add to supper
3. made it through the day without napping, for the first time in weeks

Time of Isolation - Day 1151

throwback Thursday - documentation or it didn't happen

in which our plucky heroine is still sick...

The outside temperature has begun to moderate, just a bit, if temps in the mid/high 90's can be called that. Still, next week looks more like highs in the 80's and some cooler nighttime temps, which will be very welcome indeed!

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~ time it was ... ~

Zuma Beach, 1962... It wasn't a dream, or a false memory. We moved to California, and Zuma beach was my favorite, was the one with the horse sculptures we could clamber atop. I have been trying for years to track down evidence of these horses, but the internet has kept its secrets. This image in one of the photo albums from my childhood, currently in storage along with a few other bits from my parent's home. (One of the projects I want plan to do this winter is to spend some time doing bookbinding and create a set of small blank albums to hold the images, photos, and xeroxes as memory books.)

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My throat is slightly less sore thank it was a week ago. No fever. Still coughing, still having some digestive issues. Still really really tired and falling asleep for hours during the daytime. If I hadn't had a negative PCR test I would be worried that I have COVID. I have been sick now for 16 days. If I didn't know that partial loss of the ability to smell was sometimes associated with other viral infections, I would be terrified right now. I have had multiple days now with minimal ability to detect odors I normally enjoy. This is not a symptom I have ever had with things like colds or flu in the Before TimesI have not had any "symptoms" in my nose at all. I do have some post-nasal congestion, in addition to the 2+ weeks of sore throat, but my actual nose and sinuses are dry.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
2	more bed socks	-	-
3	-	-	-
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. I have more bits of my past life because photos found
2. it took me three days, but I finally got the batch of pot stickers made up and frozen 
3. sun dried pillowcases

Time of Isolation - Day 1149

incremental progress report:

in which our plucky heroine continues to hide from the hot yellow day star...

'Tis another Very Hot Day here at Acorn Cottage. I rode my bike very early this morning (around 6:30), because I am going stir crazy in the one room, and stopped at the grocery store to get a few nectarines to have with breakfast this week. By the time I was home again it was already warmer than I am comfortable with. I took a quick shower to cool off and was then tired enough to return to bed and sleep for another three+ hours.While I am not vastly improved since yesterday, I am noticing a difference between this week and the previous. Less coughing, pain, and exhaustion. Last week all I could do was the barest of minimal self care and sleeping all day and all night.

large succulent inflorescence, seen at the grocery store
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Found the partially finished sample from when I was working out the pattern for bed socks, so I decided to go ahead and finish that pair, and add the cuff extension. Now I have two pairs, both made from off-cuts of Polartec. These are for the times when my very dry skin needs lotion, so perhaps more accurately called bed-protecting socks.

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I meant to get back to doing another tiny print for Tinyprint Tuesday, as I have finally tracked down the missing blocks. I can set up a tiny carving station in my cool bedroom, using the wee folding table, an LED table lamp, and a bench hook. It would be great to make some progress on the "F is for fun" project - still need to do "fire", "fungus", and "feather" blocks

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I began to listen to the audiobook version of The Wok again from the beginning, since somehow fumbling my location in the book. I had missed the publishers note at the very start, that it was possible to access and download the supplemental PDF (which contains all the recipes as well as myriads of instructional photos) from their website. So I did.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	-
2	more bed socks	-	-
3	-	-	-
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. I rode my bike today, just a little bit
2. a 364 page PDF of potentially wonderful wok-based recipes
3. the weather forecast is for significant cooling (down to 80) on Friday

Time of Isolation - Day 1148

collateral damage

in which our plucky heroine peeks around the corner...

Got up to 84 in the living room yesterday, while outdoors was about 20 degrees hotter. It didn't cool down much last night: 10:30 pm, 82°F indoors, 92°F outdoors. By waking up at 5 am I managed the fans to bring the house temperature temporarily down to 74°F which was about the same as outside by the time I shut it all down at around 7.

I walked into the backyard early this morning and realised my baby pear trees may be dead, a casualty of my being ill for two weeks now. Their leaves have all burned to a crisp in the heat. I feel awful; I completely forgot to water them, and they hadn't been in the ground long enough to be strongly rooted. I've pruned back to where their skinny trunks and branches are still green underneath, and given them water. They may survive to regrow?

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removing window decorations from the driveway window... years ago I pasted decorative rice paper squares to the window so as to allow light but also add privacy. Then I removed them from the lower half and painted a rainbow (facing the street) as part of the "be of good cheer, even this flood will end" sentiment at the beginning of the pandammit. Well, we all know how that turned out. And, over the intervening years, mold has begun to grow, probably because that window is often blocked out with mylar bubblepack, which can allow condensation to form on the inside glass. Time to remove it all and sanitize the window.

My long range plan is to add a permanent awning to shade the window. My current action has several layers of shade cloth tacked up over the window to help block the afternoon light. I am also thinking about making an insulated roman shade, similar to the ones I have in the kitchen, but made from recycled mylar insulated food bags, of which I have saved many for just such a use.

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I might be finally around the corner and on the path to recovery. My sore throat no longer feels like broken glass. I am going to up my salt water gargle, and cut back on the lidocaine. Maybe I can stay awake long enough to sit up and do something more productive than a blog post today. We shall see.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	driveway window cleaned	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
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. Last year I made plenty of Awesome Sauce. Mixed with nut butter, tamari, rice vinegar, dark brown sugar, and fish sauce, it makes even plain noodles delicious. Soon it will be time to make more, once it is tomato time at the farmers markets.
2. throat is less sore, and I was able to do a small task today before falling asleep all afternoon
3. a zoom visit with Karen and Beth

Time of Isolation - Day 1147

in the danger zone...

in which our plucky heroine hides from the heat ...

day 13 of random viral crap - I may (finally) be slightly less ill, as I did not wake myself up repeatedly during the night with coughing, and swallowing is observably, if slightly, less painful. Still really tired though. If I feel well enough to sit up and do some handwork later today tomorrow, I will move my tiny folding table and a little tabletop LED light into the bedroom so as to have a comfortable spot to stitch or draw...

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~ Monday music ~

Here is some California history I never learned about, even though I spent a number of years living there back when I was a schoolgirl...

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Since today consisted mostly of more sleeping, with a few interludes of wandering the internet on the phone screen, I have yet to do anything productive other than attempting to recover my health. I have been making a list of various tasks, projects needful, and projects fun, so that once I am well again I can dive back into life. I have been listening to the audiobook version of  "The Wok" by J. Kenji López-Alt, and even sans the recipes and illustrations I have been learning useful things and being inspired for future cooking. I will be borrowing the actual book from the library once I feel better. I really want to try making my own fresh wide rice noodles (so impossible to acquire locally even in this metropolis blessed with multiple asian markets) so I can attempt homemade chow fun. The idea of using a torch to add the charred edges to the stir fry impossible to get with a home stove just tickles me, and is a thing I could do!

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Last night the house indoor temp had reached 78F when I went to bed at around 9:45pm or so. It was still well above 80 outside at that point, so no reason to open up the windows.  Woke up at 5am and turned on fans for 2 hours, which lowered the house to around 72F. 'Twas hotter outside by then so shut fans off.  Forecast high of 105F, it will be another day in the bedroom.

After too many nights of becoming tangled in the top sheet, I had the brilliant idea to use the lightweight handwoven cotton ikat tablecloth as better bedding! It is just the right size to cover my body (if desired), but smaller than the size of the mattress. It allows the tactile "comfort" of a covering, without the draped and unintentionally tucked edges of even the lightest of bedsheets. Am I odd? Yes. Do I care? Not at all.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
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. a while back I bought some jars of Looza Mango Juice. Which can easily be turned into a cool and gentle on the throat mango jello. Which I did early this morning, so I could have a few spoonfuls of cool sweetness this evening. Yay for having gelatin in the pantry.
2. public library access to information: books, ebooks, films, etc
3. throat that is very slightly less painful

Time of Isolation - Day 1146

embrace crepuscular life

in which our plucky heroine admits the window AC is a lifesaver...

Here comes the heat wave... Today it is only dancing just over the edge of the three digits, but the next several days will be pretty bad compared to our usual (up to 107°F/44.6°C) and not enough cooling off at night to be of much help. As I am still feeling quite ill, my plan until the heat eases off a bit is to hide in the bedroom with the window AC running, and sleep as much as I can manage. By gosh, whenever I am finally well again, I will likely not have any sleep debt left!

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~ this might be crazy ~

back in May I began a wool cardigan, the third try for using my lovely Lettlopi yarn... Somehow, I got about a quarter of the way along with the body, and it has been languishing ever since; I found it under some pillows in the living room! While the idea of anything wool seems like the last thing needed right now, it occurred to me that knitting just a few rows every day, (once the heat wave is over, that is...) would be not particularly onerous, and it would be fun to have a new cardigan when the weather (eventually please oh please) becomes cooler...

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Since between the heat, and my viral ailment and malaise, there is very little I can do besides the minimal of maintenance care for self. (I did pour some water on the infant crocosmia, and on the big pot of skirrets in the side yard, so they won't die of baking) I have, however, been able to order a few small bits to replace missing, broken, or damaged kit. I will have a new Clover Shiro tape measure arriving before too long, and I also managed to find some replacement bike helmet pads for my old Bell helmet. While looking around online at bike helmets, I found what is probably the most attractive and enticing helmet of all: the Bike Pretty Helmet, which has an outer cover in the form of a straw hat with a 3" brim! I am trying to not sorely tempted to resisting immediately purchase one in my size!! It is just my style, and I think I will put it on my wishlist...

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really wondering what sort of small projects or repairs or even discarding could happen in the next week, my SMART goals chart is looking rather forlorn! At the very least I can spend some time cogitating and maybe making lists of both what needs done, and what could be done to improve Acorn Cottage and our own plucky heroine self... so that once I feel well again, I will be set with a plan.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
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. window AC
2. electric toothbrush - since I am living on throat lozenges, were it not for my trusty cordless brush, my teeth would be very sad indeed. I have upped my brushing to three times a day
3. video call with Mom today

Time of Isolation - Day 1145

Nothing new...

in which our plucky heroine continues all sicky and raspy...

This is boring, sleeping is boring, not feeling well enough to be making things is boring. That is all the news from Lake Wobegone.

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My favorite retractable tape measure broke today. It sprang open as if in a cartoon, and the steel spring literally went "sproing" into curly coils! I have had it for many years, and never expected this. Currently searching online for a replacement, which is turning out to be a bit more difficult to find than I would have expected, but fortunately not impossible. My guess is that it is no longer being manufactured...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bed socks	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
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 fever remains under 100F
2. I managed to stay up and upright long enough to wash some of what is becoming a scary pile of dishes.
3. My electric teakettle, which allows me to make both warm salt water to gargle with, and broth to drink.

Time of Isolation - Day 1144