Friday fragments and figments

in which our plucky heroine is tired...

Today started with an early wakeup call on the landline, from a bot. Adrenaline is my least favorite drug.

Today I
- snuck out on my bike just before sunset to go to Grocery Outlet and get some produce.
- signed the pledge to not shop at New Seasons until the workers get a contract and they reinstate Randy
- started looking up what alternate sources are accessible for the groceries I had been getting at NS
- zoom chat with Karen, whilst also began the reconfigued armholes of the dreaded knit vest
- gave my input into the reconfiguration of the Madrona Tribe discord
- pre-cooked a big box of greens, and chicken legs, to make future meal prep easier. Put the chicken leg bones in the freezer until I make broth.

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~ this is not a bowl of soup ~

Last night I put in a few hours overdyeing the bandana for Acantha. It has been years since I did suchlike, and never with green. The initial dyebath with salt (1½ C) and dye (1t) was very bright and transparent, and seemed perhaps too pale, though I was going for a light green. Then, when at the right time, I added the soda ash solution (¼ C/2C H₂0), the dyebath color immediately changed, to what at first looked like murky swampwater, and eventually to a deeper green. The bandana was rinsed out and on the drying rack overnight, this is what the final result looks like (the color is lighter once dried)

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this recipe for lemon potatoes sounds delicious; I will try it out next week when my grocery order arrives with both yellow potatoes and a few pounds of lemons

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I've been doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out the outdoor shoes/indoor shoes actual doorway logistics, if the goal is to not track in bird flu fomites. I've read various suggestions online, such as setting up a step in disinfection tray, spraying your shoes with various compounds, take your shoes off outside, or just inside, or etc... What I cannot suss out is how the procedure is supposed to work.

So, imagine that I want to return home, after being out for a walk. I sit down on my porch, and remove my outdoor shoes, and tuck them into a storage cubby on the porch. Now I am just wearing socks. And I am still outside, on a porch where birds and squirrels are known to cavort.

Do I walk over in my stocking feet and open the door, go inside and step all over the indoors to where there is a chair so I can put on indoor shoes (thereby walking fomite germs across the floor inside) OR do I put on the indoor shoes outside (thereby walking fomite germs across the floor inside) Do I, as one friend suggested, keep a set of towels to lay down in front of me for each step I take, and then disinfect them in the washer, thereby exponentially increasing my laundry expenses? (I have thought that perhaps this might be a good use for the throwaway newsprint junk mail)...

This may be overthinking, and bird flu has not quite yet reached human pandammit status, but I'd rather suss out the logistics before they would be vital. This reminds me of the word problems we had in elementary school. And it also reminds me of the S Harris cartoon:

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	recycle bin
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	aluminum stitch markers	pear tree planted	x
7	x	stripe sleeves	x
8	x	milliput handles	x
9	x	horse earring	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Last nights over-dye project came out looking well, with the clear two-tone green effect I hoped for. This means I got the proportions correct on how much dye for how much fabric, which is a bit tricky when dyeing such a small amount. 
2. Since I am not knitting sleeves, I do not need to buy a new set of double pointed needles, and can wait for either a sale, or a gifted set...
3. Wellington arrived this evening; I am dogsitting for the next week.

Time of Isolation - Day 1660

throwback Thursday

in which our plucky heroine bakes cookies...

Remembering back in 2011, when my Resiliency Ranger pals and I baked dozens of cookies, and took them to the ILWU union hall in Longview. Today a much smaller strike, my local grocery store has had their NSLU picket lines out for the last three days, and I can't do much, but I can bake, and let them know I support them

I don't know where I read that if you crumple parchment paper and smooth it out two or three times, it will stay much flatter when placed on a cookie sheet, as opposed to if you just cut some off the roll, when it keeps trying to curl up. Makes life a bit easier when baking cookies

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Isn't this a pretty thing, a bit of a variation on a classic. I am keeping one for a summertime kerchief, and overdyeing one in green for Acantha...

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Back in the LongAgo, when my Crafternoon was a thing that happened once a month or so, a gathering of friends at my home, for treats and tea and talk... my friend Ian (may he find peace in the next world) and his lady Karen often made the trek here from their home in Silverdale. Because Ian was a committed vegan, I always made sure to have at least some of my provender something that he would enjoy.

In point of fact, almost everyone that has tried these cookies likes them. They do have sugar, and usually wheat flour and the cornstarch that in powdered sugar, and sesame seeds, but no eggs or dairy.

~ Open Sesames ~

Preheat the oven to 375F.

1½ c flour
1 t baking powder
½ c + 2 T olive oil
½ c sesame seeds, toasted
½ c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
½ T cold water
½ t cinammon
1¼ t nutmeg

In a bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. In another bowl, combine the oil, sesames, sugar, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and the water alternately to the oil mix. The dough will look oily and crumbly. Divide it into portions and form into small rounds with your fingers. Set on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 20 min.When the cookies are lightly golden they are done. Let them cool, and enjoy!

These cookies are a kind of rich shortbread, not too sweet, and even with all the olive oil they do not taste like salad dressing! You could easily vary the spice mix. I usually divide the dough into enough pieces to make 4 dozen cookies , but then I like smallish dainty tea-cookies.

(I think that the next time I try making these, I will substitute rosewater for vanilla, and just nutmeg instead of cinnamon+..)

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My second trial of the frozen eggs went better than the first time. As before, they scramble up just fine, and mixing in just one little breakfast sausage, chopped fine and browned a bit, made the salt unnoticable. (Our plucky heroine does not salt her eggses, but sausage and its even more spendy cousin bacon are supposed to have salt as one of their flavors) I suspect that this could even be done without meat, by adding some smoked paprika to well seasoned veggie additions to the scramble.

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"The European Space Agency (ESA) has revealed it is closely monitoring an asteroid the size of a football pitch that could hit the Earth in a little over seven years"... I realise that 2032 is a way down the road, but I didn't have asteroid anywhere on my bingo card. I know that asteroid ≠ comet, but I've very vivid memories of reading "Lucifer's Hammer" when I was younger

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	recycle bin
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	aluminum stitch markers	pear tree planted	x
7	x	stripe sleeves	x
8	x	milliput handles	x
9	x	horse earring	x

today's gratitudes -
1. parchment paper for baking
2. "open sesame" cookies (I saved out 3 small ones for me)
3. purple carrots.
4. all the supplies for fiber reactive textile dyeing, neatly put away inside the dedicated dyeing kettle. Thank you Past Me.

Time of Isolation - Day 1659

wishful Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine contemplates the handbasket...

Every day, I wish we were in a better timeline. On a hard day, I struggle to function at all. On a good day, more useful and beautiful work of my hands becomes real. Every single day, I stubbornly continue...

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I'm remembering a trip back in the Long Ago Before Time, when I wandered the streets of the Bay Area with Mr Dawson ... eating oranges, and shopping for trinkets and gems. It was a different world, and not much remains but some synapses in my brain, a postcard on my wall, and a strand of grey pearls...

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This is intriguing : A Box of Unfinished Things: Revitalize, Redesign, Repurpose!... and I shall try and remember to check it out next month (zoom, third Wednesday, 4:30pm PST)

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~ very local wildlife ~

This critter has shown up in my front yard walkway garden bed several times in the last week. Yesterday was the first time it held still for a few minutes when I walked out the front door and took this photo; usually it takes off when the door opens. In the last twenty years, I only ever saw a bunny in the yard one time. I suspect this one may be living somewhere nearby...

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This is the store where I (formerly) shopped... This week, after New Seasons fired Randy Foster, a 19-year employee, for helping a disabled coworker close a register while he himself was off-the-clock, Arbor Lodge workers are ON STRIKE! (this likely is entirely unrelated to him being union shop steward...)

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	aluminum stitch markers	pear tree planted	x
7	x	stripe sleeves	x
8	x	milliput handles	x
9	x	horse earring	x

today's gratitudes -
1. One more day I could ride my bike
2. Managed to get a bit more of the wood chips atop cardboard
3. My new passport came in the mail today

Time of Isolation - Day 1658

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine enjoys forward momentum...

Tomorrow is Lunar New Year of the Wood Snake. Should time allow, I will make a small linocut as part of a future lunar animals tiny book...

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~ heart armatures ~

When this tutorial for spun cotton hearts was posted online, I immediately added it to the "things to make for advent swap" list. In the interest of using what is here, rather than using the suggested super glue gel, I simply glued the two parts of the armature (made from Q-tips) together with tacky glue.

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tried this recipe for "addictive cabbage"... The texture was really wonderful, and I will probably make it again, but with even more adaptations than I preemptively made. First off I cut the recipe in half, using only a quarter of a cabbage. The "cut to pieces, massage with salt" worked very well, but definitely needed a rinse cycle next as TOO salty for our plucky heroine. Toasting the sesame seeds worked well. I cut the sesame oil in half, and that was just right. The microplaned garlic though, was far too intense for me; I am just not a fan of raw garlic. Might have to try somehow pre-cooking the garlic, maybe in the sesame oil?? I cut the bouillon amount in quarter, and that could stand to be less (or maybe try without any), because it was more salty than umami...
My redacted ingredient list: ¼ green cabbage cut up, ½ t salt, 1T sesame seeds, ½ garlic clove or less, microplaned, ⅛ t bouillon paste, 1T toasted sesame oil...

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~ well mended ~

The Milliput broach handle repairs I added last thing yesterday have turned out wonderfully well. They hardened completely overnight, as did the tiny scrap of Milliput that was used to repair a broken ceramic horse earring (which will be painted matte black to better match the other unbroken original of the pair)...

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	aluminum stitch markers	pear tree planted	x
7	x	stripe sleeves	x
8	x	milliput handles	x
9	x	horse earring

today's gratitudes -
1. Milliput works really well as a repair material!
2. TIL that you can personally mute internal Discord channels, and rearrange the whole menu setup
3. Lately I have been wearing my wool/cashmere gollar, made from Mill Ends offcuts, adding needful warmth in wintertime.

Time of Isolation - Day 1657

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine woke up to the yard all frosted...

We are due for a few more dry sunny days, though the tail end of the tenday forecast shows precipitation that could be snow or rain or wintery mix. Do more laundry that needs dealt with soonest, such as the duvet cover and assorted bedding. Line dried in the sunshine has a fresh pleasant smell, if fugitive...

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~ on your mark ~

While on the zooms Saturday, I turned unused mask making wires (leftover from 2020) into twenty new stitch markers for current knitting. I've lost track of where my tiny box of stitch markers went, but even when/if found, more will be useful.

Saturday I removed the knitted sleeves I've begun in the last two weeks from the cardigan bodice. (yes this seems backwards, but they just weren't playing nicely with the already completed body.) I have a Different Plan for this ongoing challenge of a knitting project - the body will return to vest status (I wear the two knitted vests I've made in the past often, and this will be a welcome addition), and the armscyes will have a double row of I-cord (teal and black) to echo the front borders. The knitting already done to begin the stripey sleeves will be saved, and will eventually be part of a multicolor cardigan or pullover, thereby still making use of all the various random single and partial balls of yarn

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Spent about an hour today doing some yard work... mostly scraping loose some of the wood chips (now in a large frozen heap in the driveway) one spade full at a time, filling a white bucket, and dumping them over atop the cardboard on the lawn. Another few hours and all the cardboard I have down so far will be covered, and I can try and extend the area. Not sure where I can get more cardboard... I also walked around the backyard a bit, to think gardenish thoughts, and start to figure out what the next steps will be...

I need to order garden seeds, primarily greens: asian mustard/cabbage, bok choi, peas, pea greens, cilantro, purslane, claytonia, the Aunties suggest dragon tongue beans, and I really want to find a good spot for attempting asparagus...

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It was a very zoom-intensive weekend. combining my regulars (sewing nomads, Ariadne, and Crafternoon) with Eva's talk on "Growth Mindset", several online scribal presentations via vKWHSS, and a The Way Forward evening "sewing bee"

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Today I went to my workbench and retraced the shape I need to cut out again, but this time did it correctly with all the edge adjustments. (this being the very first step in actually getting work done, the doing of first steps almost always leads to further progress) I carefully made a sample of the tiny angles needed for the pearl brackets and cups, before marking the rest of the outline. Ready to do more cutting tomorrow.

Since the Milliput I ordered arrived late this afternoon, I put the rest of the bench work on hold in order to use it to make new handles for the cutting broaches. Glad I have protective gloves, as spending that much time kneading epoxy together would not have made the skin on my tiny paws happy. There are now three turquoise handles doing their chemical thing, and should be totally hardened by the morning, and I will hopefully be able to enlarge the holes in the pearls (a necessary step) prior to fitting them into the fabricated brackets.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	aluminum stitch markers	pear tree planted	x
7	x	stripe sleeves	x
8	x	milliput handles	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the fresh scent of line dried laundry
2. I SAW A BEE in the snowdrops today
3. finally made it back to the workbench
4. our peculiar weather has meant that I have been able to fit in a daily bike ride almost the entire month

Time of Isolation - Day 1656

is it origami?

in which our plucky heroine folds some food...

I tried a new idea seen online, a pseudo-sushi-wich. While it was possible to make, it does not make the repeat list. Maybe using canned salmon was less than ideal, and fresh or smoked would have been a better choice?

Basically you use a big square of rice paper as the outside, then a layer of nori, then half gets some salmon salad, sliced cucumber, avocado, and the other half gets cooked rice (everything in thin layers) The whole shebang gets folded into quarters and sesame seeds on the outside. Pan fry until crispy on the outside.

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~ well begun, not half done ~

The best way I could think of to get the sleeves close to a good size and length, was to lay the partially finished cardigan atop one already finished that fits pretty well. A few more rows have been completed since the photo, but it is a slow slow process. No one local seems to have any wood size 7 double pointed needles, and 4.5mm is not a standard US dowel size.

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The Ultimate"Leopards Ate My Face" rendition
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There is quite a bit of aluminum wire of various gauges in the "big wire" box, all leftover from making masks back in 2020. Some of it was coiled around a dap and turned into stitch markers for the stripey sleeve sweater today. Particularly good since there is no real other use for that wire currently.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	aluminum stitch markers	pear tree planted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's (and yesterday's) gratitudes -
1. Woke up before the alarm went off on Wednesday, and had an odd adventurish dream set in a Dreamlands analog of my teenage neighborhood, all about sidewalk wedding parties, and a horse drawn cider wagon giving out free samples
2. Managed to sort out the confusion about my prescription coverage
3. So many suggestions for favorite invertebrates! Who would have guessed at what folks liked? I will have to make more than one volume!
4. Managed to not burn up the entire pot of candied pomelo peel, and most of it is salvageable
5. Almost a quarter of the way done with the stripey sleeves.
6. I tried a new food idea seen online, a pseudo-sushi-wich of filled rice paper, layered folded and pan fried. It was tasty, but does not make the repeat list...
7. Some stitch markers made from aluminum wire leftover from 2020 homemade cloth mask making.

Time of Isolation - Day 1652

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine bundles up to keep warm...

on a cold if dry day, it seemed a good plan to put on my Keen boots to ride down to the post office this afternoon. The almost knee high leather makes a definite difference in comfort. I was able to bail out the postage due envelope, which contained the first set of items for the springtime art exchange

(I must make sure folks know that anything (even if it fits in an ordinary envelope) other than a few totally flat pieces of artwork on paper will be deemed a "parcel" by USPS. Parcels have different and more expensive postage, depending on both size and destination.

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~ quick and easy ~

Checked out "Making Things: Finding Use, Meaning, and Satisfaction in Crafting Everyday Objects" from the library, because it was very pretty, and also new-to-me... while there wasn't tons of skillset info I didn't already have, this origami box (inspired by Sok Song's "magazine box") delighted me. It uses rectangular pieces of paper, is easy to fold up when a small temporary container is needed, and the folding sequence is easy to memorise.

(I disagree however with their avowal that two folded the same size will work well for bottom and lid; yes you can squoosh them together that way, and again would be just fine for very temporary, but a lid just slightly larger will work better)

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The venerable set of tiny (smallest about the size of sewing needles) pentagonal broaches that I use for enlarging the holes in pearls (among other things) are probably at least 30 years old. Their plastic "handles" are starting to shatter, which renders them almost unuseable, since without the handles the angular sharp steel shafts are exposed.

After much research, I found "Milliput" a specific epoxy putty that seems an ideal substance to form new handles from. But said putty is not available anywhere I called in the city, indeed most of the places I found to purchase it were not in the US. As I've mentioned, I prefer to not patronise the behemoth that begins with "A"; fortunately I did find Atlas Preservation, who sell supplies for gravestone restoration! and they had several different colors and grades of Milliput. An order has been placed, and there will be future experiments. (Also ordered some terra cotta color, thinking that some wee little 1:12 planter pots may be possible? worth at try...)

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Very incremental progress on my stripey cardigan sleeves... I need more practice on the jogless join, as I don't seem to be able to remember it from one round to the next. Must needs sit with the photo tutorial open in front of me each gorram time, or tink backwards to try again... Still, the eventual results will be a wooly bit of whimsy. At least that is my hope, since it looks nothing like my inspiration, and nothing like my sketch.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	x	pear tree planted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the amount of delicious food I get from my plum thicket
2. figured out a way to use two circular needles instead of my preferred double points (which I don't have) and instead of "magic loop" (which I really dislike)
3. found a domestic and non behemoth source for Milliput

Time of Isolation - Day 1650

use what you have...

in which our plucky heroine is slow but steady...

and bearing in mind that the perfect is the enemy of the good, there now is a pot lid rack on the kitchen door...

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~ it took three days ~

I've been using the top of the washing machine as a staging area for the assorted tools needed to make this project happen, though there were some detours to the tiny drill press for some nice perpendicular screw guide holes. Relieved the sharp edges of the very small angle brackets with files, as there must needs not be places where a careless hand might get cut.

There is no door between the entryway/living room, but there is a door between the kitchen and the workroom (which several owners ago was a garage). Most of the time, that door is left open, and the noren provide a visual border, though the door does get closed when stovetop cooking happens, because the smoke alarm is a very special snowflake and likes to scream at any steam arising...

... but now, behind the noren, there is a tidy line up of pot lids for those that can't be looped around their pot or pan handles, where they are easily accessible and entirely out of the way. I'll certainly be painting the door later on, when it is warm enough to have the windows open for a few hours, and may add labels for which pot or pan each lid is associated with.

It was pure good fortune that the space available on the door was just right for the four pot lids that needed to be stored there. Now I get to figure out what (if anything) needs to be in the spot above the bakers rack where the lids formerly lived

This is the structure of this whole project, made from bits and bobs from around the house... Since the wooden framework of the hollow core door was less than ¾" wide, the attachment points must also need be no more than ½" wide. Two pieces of scrap lumber cut square and glued and screwed perpendicular form the risers, with appropriate grain direction so all the screws are not going into end grain. Figuring all this out took far more time than it sounds like it should, aphantasia is not my friend.

There was also a fair amount of wrestling the two detached brackets in place, with the yardstick balanced atop so there was a spot to place the level, as the brackets need to not only anchor the cross piece level, but also need to be offset from the actual door edge just enough so the door can close! Our plucky heroine is right pleased that this turned out as well as it did, and that the pot lids will also be much easier to reach now.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	pot lid rack	passport applied for	-
6	x	pear tree planted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Pot lid rack successfully completed
2. A bike ride on a cold day, all the way out past St Johns, for a total of 8K steps
3. Had a chance to talk with my brother on the phone
4. New social media "diet" may be why my chronic nightmares have decreased. I know that correlation is not causation, but am hopeful nonetheless

Time of Isolation - Day 1649

a slow Sunday

in which our plucky heroine is still not a woodworker...

...though somewhat obsessively continuing to glue and file and drill and assemble parts. I hope it will all work as I have imagined, once it is properly attached to the door. And I cannot paint the door until warm weather returns, so will remain a bit kludgy looking till then. Incremental progress is still progress.

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When preparing ingredients for the lasagna earlier, it occurred to me that one of the glass weights for fermentation would also work really well to hold the dried mushrooms under the boiled water to rehydrate, which means the weights are not single use.

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Almost a sixth of the way done with the stripey sleeves. The benefit of using scraps for stripes means partial balls of yarn get used up. The drawback is many many yarn ends to weave in. I am alternating sleeves, doing only a few rows at a time, to avoid second sleeve syndrome. Also the design changes color almost every row, after three inches, there were so many ends I had to stop and weave them all in before continuing, and will have this as a policy decision. I hope that I like the cardigan when it is finished, and that it doesn't look too peculiar!

(parking the tutorial for jogless stripes here)
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"...in the hall" said Tottie, "was the figure of a butler."
No one asked her why she said "the figure of a butler" instead of "a butler." They knew that whoever had made, or tried to make, that butler had not been successful. There are some dolls like that. There was no need to pity him because he had never been a butler.
    ~ from "The Dolls' House" by Rumer Godden

Thinking about what I like and don't like in books I read, and part of it is about real/not real... if the writer can create and describe characters that I care about, they take on a reality that makes me interested in knowing their story. There are many books where I long to know both what happens after the book ends, or what happened before, or the books that I re-read, sometimes repeatedly. Those, to me, are good books, whatever the genre. "Okay" books are ones that while I read the whole book, they don't really resonate for very long, the sort of books where I say "I think I may have read that, but I'm not sure". Then there are the books that I start, and decide, nope, not a book for me, for a whole assortment of reasons.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	-	passport applied for	-
6	x	pear tree planted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. slow but continued progress on the pot lid rack, also I found the wood putty, huzzah, and it was still useable
2. short visit with Helga, to give her the calendar
3. Ursel reminded me about vKWHSS* next weekend, which has several classes I want to attend. As a result, I have canceled Crafternoon next Sunday.

* virtual Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium

Time of Isolation - Day 1648

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine does her level best...

I need to keep remembering, that what I do does not have to be perfect, indeed does not have to be done in the correct fashion, as long as it serves the intended purpose, and doesn't appear aggravatingly dreadful. There are so many aspects of being a householder that this applies to, skills I never learned as a child, (or, like gardening, that are a necessity I'm unlikely to ever become adept at.)

Currently I wish I knew woodworking, or had a woodworker on tap... but I can run hand tools and with luck solve a long term difficulty.

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~ well begun not half done ~

Starting in on making a door mounted pot lid rack... Using assorted bits and bobs that are around the house: some wood scraps, an old yardstick, very small angle brackets, and some 1" screws. I'm going to cut out a double layer of the scrap wood which I will layer and glue perpendicularly, so as to not need to screw and glue into end grain.

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trying to decide between two themes for my next series of miniature linocuts for a new tiny book: either "lunar year animals", or "favorite invertebrates"... I'm inclined to do the former first, and do more research about what to include in the latter. (I know I want to include pillbugs, and ocotpi, and bumblebees)

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It may seem early to be thinking about the *next* Advent swap, but I realised that if I make (or buy or find) just six+ things each month, then by October I'll have accumulated enough tiny treats for TWO sets of advent goodies!

I recently found this spun cotton heart tutorial, which while intended for Valentines Day, might be fun as one of many things for the future advent swap... additional notes: "kit" is optional; gel super glue needed (no mention in the instructions) and using cotton swabs to create the armature is genius...

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	-	passport applied for	-
6	x	pear tree planted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. a toasted slice of Heather's onion herbal sourdough bread made a really good base for the leftover lasagna ingredients.
2. It was so sunny this afternoon that my laundry, still very damp after being on the line all yesterday got almost all the way dry today.
3. I've enough random stuff around the house to hopefully create a door mounted pot lid rack.

Time of Isolation - Day 1647

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine keeps warm ...

I'm going to make lasagna tonight, as it is a cozy sort of dinner. I have been slowly cooking onion for the last few hours, there are some rehydrated mushroom in the fridge, and a bit of ground beef. Alas no cooked spinach to add a green layer, but it will still be yummy. I have some of the square rice paper sheets to try out, which should be easier than turning the discs into rectangles! Wish me luck...

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~ from barrette to brooch ~

Years ago, it was fun making and wearing hair barrettes, trying various embellishment techniques such as ribbonwork flowers, or the beaded embroidery shown in the photo above... While it has been quite a while since I'd the abundance of hair to have much use for these, their storage box turned up when clearing off a shelf in the handcraft resource center. It occurred to me that I could slip either end of a hair clip through the neckline stitches of my lopi handknit pullover; the gauge of the knit wouldn't be distorted by the very lightweight beadwork. And, another option would be as additional hatband decorations.

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Spent some time thinking out how best to create pot lid storage racks on the door from the kitchen to the workroom, and have made significant design progress. First off, drilled tiny holes in the back of the door, to find out how much internal structure supports the actual door - the framework under the door skin is only ¾" wide!! Not a lot of width to work with... but I have ideas. Fortunately there are ½" angle brackets in a box on the hardware shelf. Then it was actually sort of fun to play around with bits of things to mock up what depth would be just right to let the lids slide into place, but still catch hold of their knobs/handles... which turns out to be 2¼". The door width between the door jambs is 31". When the right sort of wood scraps turn up, this project will move forward.

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Since we are going into a bit of a cold snap, even if not what folks in most of the rest of the country will have on their plates, and likely have many nights in a row below freezing, it seems a good idea to go ahead and dig the planting hole in the front yard for the pear tree. A few days ago, after chatting with Karen, I looked at the small shovel and while it is as I recall intended for a child, it is very much shaped like a full size shovel, with proper angulation. And when I tried stabbing the front yard, it went in all the way up to the footrest. Of course! The ground is not yet frozen, well softened by the rains.

So, I used the shovel to cut a circular slice in the yard, about twice the diameter of the pear tree pot, then dug away everything inside the cut to about the depth of the pot. I just managed to carry the tree from the side yard around to the front, and slid it out of the nursery pot. It did not look at all root bound, which is good. After much additional effort, I moved most of the loose soil back in around the baby pear tree. Now I am truly worn to a ravelling, but hopefully baby tree will have a better chance of surviving the freeze, and be ready to begin adapting to its new home come spring.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	-	passport applied for	-
6	x	pear tree planted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. my former beaded and ribbonwork barrettes can have a second life as neckline or hatband brooches
2. did I already mention the truly excellent clothespins that Acantha gave me a while ago. Not only are they stainless steel rather than plastic, but they grip really tightly, much more effective than the plastic ones I had previously.
3. managed to get the pear tree planted before the really cold weather hits

Time of Isolation - Day 1646

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine makes slow if steady progress...

This morning I noticed the snowdrops blooming. If it hadn't been so damp, and very cold, I might have tried to kneel down and take their picture, but they are nonetheless a cheering sign that spring will eventually show up. The pink hellebore shows signs of eventual buds, but nothing much yet.

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~ part of the cloverleaf ~
.

Yesterday I did a dry run to the county offices... the directions have you get off at a really odd bus stop literally in the middle of a cloverleaf on ramp, but there is a narrow walkway that continues to the actual sidewalk. Glad I checked it out ahead of time!

Consequently the trip to the passport acceptance office today had no surprises. I arrived about half an hour early, but since things were going smoothly, my number was called immediately. All my paperwork was in order, and the clerk even complimented me on my "tidy handwriting". If all goes well, I should get my old passport back fairly soon, and the new one following on a few weeks after that.

The photos show where the bus first leaves one off, and then once the peculiar interesection has been traversed, looking west across the street at a different part of the complicated roadway interchange heading onto the Hawthorne Bridge. Not sure what the story is about the large openwork sculpture...

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Since I was out and about on transit anyway, I spent another few hours going all the way to Mill Ends, as they had some specialty waterproof fabric that I needed a half yard of for a particular experimental project. I resisted the temptation to wander about the store lest I be tempted to add more "someday" fabric to my already abundant resource shelves.

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Not only did I make a fresh blue tape "pattern" for the full length narrow leg long janes, but I also found the previous iteration of the very same thing! I suppose now I needs must try each of them, to find out what works best. Fortunately I still have some cotton jersey sheets to make samples from.

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I've read five books so far this month, which doesn't include books I started and decided not to read. Now that I have figured out a bit about was making reading less enjoyable, and conversely what I do like, I feel free to not finish books. Overall, I seem to prefer "character-driven" to plot-driven fiction; if I don't find the characters engaging, reading seems pointless. Hopepunk rather than grimdark, always. I retain hope for F/SF labeled "cozy" but most (though not all) of what I've perused with that label has been more like "romance + nonhumans" and I am not terribly drawn to romance novels.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	recycle bin
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	-	passport applied for	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I took the time yesterday to do a dry run of the bus routes to get to the county offices... made today's actual trip easier
2. snowdrops are the very first frontyard flowers to return each year...
3. The passport office clerk admired my tidy handwriting

Time of Isolation - Day 1645

the lime and the coconut

in which our plucky heroine makes a warming soup...

It has been chilly enough lately that I'd been craving the pumpkin red lentil curry soup, and it occurred to me today that I could substitute some of the cooked winter squash for the called for canned pumpkin. (ofttimes canned pumpkin is actually winter squash). I've been slowly working my way through the mutual aid box, and finding another recipe that makes good use of winter squash is helpful. I did give the soup a quick blitz with the stick blender to smooth it out at the end, and it was as good as I remembered.

After making the soup, it was apparent that the jar of locally made Thai red curry paste was now almost empty, but later, when shopping, I didn't find any at the store. Looking for it online, there was the behemoth (as always), and (surprisingly) Etsy, but I also noticed a mention of a source on SE Division, which turns out to be "Kati", the restaurant of the same folks that make the curry paste! As I would much rather support local and buy direct, I forsee a transit adventure sometime in the next few weeks.

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More small fixits... The hole in the workroom ceiling has been a source of a waterfall of icy air down the back of my neck when at the sewing machine, as said hole is directly overhead! Now there is a temporary cover: a big piece of mylar bubblepack held in place with sturdy metal push pins. May not be the most elegant solution, but it does the task. Also I took one of the small bottlebrushes and consigned it to the bath sink, as for some reason the sink drain there needs to be brushed?!? out from time to time. Not sure why, I've never known a sink to do that, but it does return the plumbing to proper fast drainage. This makes three tasks to add to the "do this once a month" list.

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After chatting with K about yard design and garden tools, went to take a look at my sad wheelbarrow. Which is still useable, despite the cracked handle, though it is surely not a good sign when the wooden handles are beginning to grow tiny shelf fungus. After careful examination, at least some of the holes need drilled in a new set of handles actually are at 90° angles. I still need to turn it rightside up and check the front attachment points, and also need to find out if the current set of screws can be loosened enough to remove the old handles. I'd much prefer to refurbish what works, before buying something new.

The small child size shovel, while it might not fit K, is just right for me, and not a toy, but rather designed like a normal (adult big man) size shovel. I took it into the front yard and tried cutting through the lawn around where I want to plant the pear tree. Much to my surprise, it cut right in all the way, probably 'cos the ground is well watered and not frozen! I could cut away a hole and put the pear tree in the ground, thereby keeping it safer should we actually get a chunk of time with a hard freeze, and also incidentally fulfilling my obligation to the Department of Urban Forestry. It would be a start, too, on my idea of filling in the front yard with more planting and less lawn.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	crayon roll	crystal necklace	-
4	xp2 undies	pattern longjanes	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. In the winter, wool is our friend, particularly layers of wool.
2. a surprisingly pleasant "appointment confirmation" call from the passport acceptance office, that ended with him wishing me a "Happy Tuesday!"
3. successful XP2 version of undies, now can renew my lingerie and move the peculiar striped and floral cotton lycra fabric (purchased for $2/yd when Girl Charlee closed their online store) off the resource shelves and into the clothing drawer.

Time of Isolation - Day 1643

wistful weekend

in which our plucky heroine is appreciating exchanges...

This was 12th Night weekend, when for many years in the Before Times I was at a large indoor event with many many SCA friends, and I miss how carefree we all were back then. All the more reason to be grateful for the small interactions of kindness these days, I tell them over and over in my mind, like prayer beads, which is, I guess, what my daily gratitudes are.

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~ ¾" tall ~

It is all in how you look at it... when I opened the well wrapped package from my Mud Bay pals, I thought this was a tiny ceramic mug with the peach logo from OCF, which made me tear up. Then I noticed that the tag attached to it said "harvest moon owl fairy mug", and realised what the artisan intended. Whichever way looked at, my tinyfolk are as delighted as I am with a new addition to their world!

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The stripey sleeve handknit cardigan is starting to get sleeves, a little bit at a time, since I only really sit and knit when I am on Zoom. My intent is to work on each sleeve a few stripes at a time, alternately, so as to keep them symmetrical and the colors equal. I am also attempting to learn the "jogless stripe" technique, which I have never done before, and must needs keep referring to the instructions.

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I'd forgotten that Heather was coming through here yesterday, thinking instead early February for some reason. This slightly scrambled my plans, as I really wanted to have the gifts for her children finished. So, posthaste, I put down jewelry saw and soldering torch and picked up scissors and sewing machine and put together a roll up pouch to hold the big box of crayons for Liam. It did me much good to get to watch him tear open the wrapping and hear his gleeful "CRAYONS!" I also used the mystery crystal beads, combined with some black crystal beads from the Advent Swap, to string a necklace for Ace, as that seemed sort of their style...

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Went ahead and opened a small space where the Sky is Blue; many folks I know have begun to migrate. Not sure about it yet

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic lozenge enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	patchwork crayon roll	crystal necklace	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
1. a very small ceramic mug
2. Triple ginger cookies from cross-the-street neighbor, as they brought back the plate I'd originally sent there with sliced tea bread for new years...
3. gifts from Heather: sourdough bread, 2 packages of frozen oxtail, and a dozen eggs from their neighbor.

Time of Isolation - Day 1641

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine remembers...

... that a rainbow can be a promise, and a rainbow can also be a bridge. So many stories; all true, or all holograms of true; "there is no one true way"...

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~ it's like a rainbow ~

I've cut little inch squares from the assortment of Kaffe Fassett fabrics one of my online pals sent me, for a rainbow stripe of patches. I want to decorate a fabric holder for the set of bright crayons I got for little Liam, the child I've never actually spent time with, for they were born after the beginning of the pandammit, and his parents live many miles away. But as one does, the urge to connect, to send little gifts of caring, cannot be ignored, and I like to imagine a bit of receptive delight...

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Rode to bike shop this sunny afternoon. They remembered me! Asked about a replacement valve cap (which they had), and asked about something to replace the broken stretchy silicone strap that holds my bike light to the handlebars. They had a whole box full of random silicone elastics, and found one that was a good size. When I asked "what do I owe you", they suggested I stuff a dollar in the tip jar... since sadly I had brought no flat money at all, I suggested I might bake some cookies and bring them some the next chance I had. This counter offer was received with much enthusiasm

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right now I have no words, watching the nightmares of the LongAgo Los Angeles child I once was, now come to life in the much too bright hot world... This is not the timeline that child wished for and believed in, the timeline we are in where this is the calmest best most pleasant moment/day/year we will ever see going forward. I still persist in seeking out what there is to be grateful for every day, and in doing what I can in the cause of beauty and creativity and connection, because that is all I have to give to the world.

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Here, have something tasty, lest all I share today be edged with sorrow. I was craving this, the only recipe I have that includes kale that I willingly eat. The various ingredients combine to make a complex taste that balances the bitter kale with other strong flavors, in a most satisfying way. I usually substitute lemon juice for the wine, and chopped green chilies for the jalapeno (since our plucky heroine is a spice weenie), and add raisins to the cilantro and green onion garnish; the recipe is a guide and not a scripture.

Bulgar Salad with Kale and Feta
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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blood orange marmalade	bike headlamp	yard waste bin
2	heraldic lozenge enamel	passport photo	recycle bin
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. The bike store gave me the two small things needful! I am going to make them a batch of cookies...
2. an excellent enjoyable conversation with Mikki brainstorming ways to solve the bike light attachment problem
3. Bulgar salad with kale and feta is still as yummy as I remember

Time of Isolation - Day 1638