weekend whimsy and whatnot

in which our plucky heroine determinedly focuses...

The ramp up to eventing season is leaving me wistful. It feels like a whole lifetime would have to arise again for those good times to be possible, but wonderful that they ever did occur is what I tell myself.

Once every two months or so, a booklet of once a week coupons from the grocery store arrives in my mailbox. Mostly not much use, for things I never buy, so the whole booklet is recycled. The coupon for this week, though, was for a pound of ground pastured beef free with a 10$ purchase! Hence, there will be meatloaf tomorrow, mostly made into patties and plonked in the freezer for easy future dinners.

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~ homage to the 5th god ~

Almost all the lost things have been found, but my box-o-blox with some of my larger lino printing blocks is still missing... so re-carving will be the fastest way to have them either turn up again, or at the very least allow me to once again have this motif, I've begun. 

Bujold's "World of the 5 Gods" books are favorites of mine (and of a number of my friends) so a while back I carved a block with dancing rats and crows, inspired by a description of embroidered 5th god regalia decoration in one of the novellas. I wanted to use that block to embellish new pinafore, but discovered the block missing. So... have re-drawn the image, and begun carving anew. The lino I picked up from I've Been Framed is excellent, fresh and soft enough to carve easily. Am thinking that also drawing and carving a corner block with the "no hands but ours" motif would be a good addition, to help make a block printed border for a summertime kerchief, once at least one of the yard square pieces of cotton lawn gets a rolled hem.

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After making so many (5) boro baskets, it occurred to me that the same layered and stitched scrap technique would be a fun way to create a hat. However, after measuring my noggin, it turns out that there are no suitable objects inside the house that are the correct circumference. Kitchen canisters are too small, and the mixing bowls are much too large. Maybe one of the smaller plastic buckets used for yardwork  Maybe a plastic plant pot that was the right size?? OTOH, while checking out the buckets, found two different sizes of rounded square containers, which would be interesting to attempt...

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Yesterday, drilled a hole in the red paring knife handle, so as to allow it to hang up over the sink to dry. Mostly the over-sink hooks work well to dry cooking utensils like spatulas, slotted spoons, and colanders (the smallest cutting board just fits as well). All my other kitchen knives are carbon steel, so they get hand dried to avoid rust, but this Victorinox paring knife is stainless, but sharpens well and holds an edge. 

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The linen fabric pieces, which at first appeared to be black, instead daylight proves are a very dark blue. Which isn't bad, but still leaves me with only the black/white stripey patchwork fabric to make a pinafore from. That robust fabric, originally a gift from Luz Clara, would really be even better as a pair of overalls. Shall instead focus my garment sewing efforts on the other three colorways: brown, teal/turquoise, and possibly indigo/denim.

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Rosa sketch	Bad Smell gone	greenwaste bin
2	boro thread basket	dishrack tray	recycle bin
3	boro basket 2	paring knife	-
4	boro basket 3	-	-
5	boro baskets 4 & 5	-	-
6	sharpening box	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- tools and knowhow
- mailbox coupon that was actually useful
- lino from I've Been Framed is excellent quality
- Super Supportive

Time of Isolation - Day 2137

finally back...

in which our plucky heroine goes 16 day sans internet ...

It has been a challenging several weeks, with no interaction online other than what I can call up on the mobile phone. Despite my best attempts, "typing" on that tiny screen is not really feasible. So I could check my email, but not really respond, and posting here, which is one of my favorite hobbies, was right out! I did continue with my 100 day drawing project, but with no way until now to access and process images, it will take some time to play catch up taking the photos and sharing my sketches

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~ incremental progress ~

On Monday I desperately needed some dopamine, so finished sanding and drilling the pieces and attached (using wall anchors and long screws) the new clothing storage shelves to the corner of the bedroom wall adjacent to where all my shirts, dresses, and pinafores live. It is a very pleasing addition, highly functional.

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not sure where I read this Useful Hint, but as someone who embroiders on a regular frequent basis, I only just learned that there is a way to pull thread from a skein of DMC floss that removes it smoothly without tangles... The floss skeins have two bands around them with information, one is narrow and one is wide. There is a loose end of the skein at both, but if you pull from long end, you will have a happy experience (if you pull from the other end, you end up with an unholy mess) Given that I have been embroidering for over sixty-five years, living proof that an old dog can learn new tricks!

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We are still planning on sending out postcards of friendship as a non-romantic suedo-valentine activity. I keep thinking of more folks that it will brighten my day to send them a surprise. While some of my bay area pals plan on shipping me some cards and postage, I wanted to make use of the friendship valentine block I carved back in 2020, at the very end of the Before Times...It was fun to swirl and dab watercolors across the "art" side of postcard blanks, and once they were dry, the black ink showed up well and looked festive. I really like the Caligo Safe Wash relief ink. It prints well, doesn't dry out too fast when in use, but took only a few days to cure. All in all a better ink than Speedball IMHO

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After days of wrestling with Century Link's various departments of only rarely sometimes helpful but mostly not support and customer service lines, and spending more of my hours and hours on hold, it began to seem like being caught in sunk cost hell. The result being that the internet here is now being provided not via DSL (the phone line) but via "fiber"...found an option that was only ten dollars more per month, and promises faster data speeds and more reliability. Fingers crossed it isn't just hype, installed on Friday and is working well. Even better, since there was no need to mess with the phone lines, our land line is still functional.

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This morning I decided to head over to Ikea to buy a treat, not remembering that Saturday mornings are a prime shopping time. Fortunately I was there on a specific mission, not for "recreational shopping" , so was in the self checkout line as quickly as possible. Much to my surprise, there was a clerk offering folks free dark chocolate bars (full size large ones, not tiny samples; I guess it was Ikea's way of wishing everybody a sweet Valentines Day!

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	plaid flannel shirt	rice bags	greenwaste bin
2	23 postcards	INTERNET!!	recycle bin
3	-	-	greenwaste bin
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- finally back online
- free Ikea dark chocolate bar
- learned a way to smoothly remove floss from DMC skeins 

Time of Isolation - Day 2047

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine mends and makes do...

Finished the decorative refurbishment/mending of my beloved ChopShop cardigan yesterday evening. Given that it was created from pieces of old wool sweaters cut and pieced into a new form by my pal Karen, from time to time it has developed holes or parts of the hand stitchery come loose. I love it and wear it often when the weather turns cold. Most recently it wore through at the center front, where the back of the I-cord button loop rubbed against the body next to the placket.

Rather than sew on a patch centered at chest level, which would be an unfortunate focal point, I instead made a virtue of necessity and created an extended decorative motif running down each side of the center front adjacent to the placket which incidentally also covered the hole. I used some two color horizontally striped grosgrain ribbon, couched some handspun dark brown wool, and folded some of the wide twill tape into little triangle shapes that tucked behind the ribbon and yarn. Once the whole long pieces were appliqued in place, the final step was to add a bit of fern embroidery stitches on each of the triangles: darker brown on the tan and lighter blue on the navy, in a sort of counterchanged effect. The whole combination references "folk art" in a non-specific and urban fantasy sort of way, which is just right for my personal style. 

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~ proto kweepeergelei ~

Since yesterday was dry and clear, seemed like the best time to harvest the quinces... while not as much as last year, still twenty-four pounds is a hefty haul. Will take a bit of doing to convert these into shelf stable foodstuff, but in the meantime, the house smells wonderful!

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Eeeee! This Ursula LeGuin exhibition is close enough that I can bike there!

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Very much enjoyed the presentations from Block Printing Fest, as I was able to fit in watching a wide assortment of both project and interview based videos. "Studio Visit : Making Friday" video interview with Heather Moore was a treat, as I remember reading her blog many years ago:

"Skinny laMinx is the pattern-filled, colourful brand of Cape Town designer, Heather Moore. Heather retreats to her studio every Friday, where she plays with cut paper, stencils and block printing to come up with her fresh and delightful prints and patterns."

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My intention today had been to make the tarp gutter to span between the porch roof and the walkway roof, before the "atmospheric river" arrived. The rain is begun, and surely playing hob with the children's Halloween, but my gutter project is nowhere near finished. Placing screw hooks overhead on the rafters of an angled porch roof is more challenging than initially thought, particularly when they need to line up with the screw hooks that are more than a foot away and on a different axis. These are the sorts of challenges that tend to stop me in a paralytic way, which isn't useful. At this point, all the holes are drilled, all the screw hooks on the walkway side are in place, and most of the ones on the angled porch side are at least started (those being much more difficult to screw into their spots)

When it was obvious that the project wouldn't be completed, getting the part done that required the electric drill took priority, as our plucky heroine will not run outdoor power tools in the rain, much less clamber about on stepladder ditto. If I cannot find a tarp on hand that is at least 8 ft long, I will kludge the tarp aspect and overlap two smaller tarps like flexible shingles. My plan is to make a sort of gradual trapezoid shape with grommets on the edges to connect to the ceiling hooks and hold the tarp gutter at enough of a slant to guide the water out to the front yard. At least that is the concept. Which I have only been trying to figure out for years and why there are at least two boards on the porch that need replaced. Incremental progress is still progress.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 lunaria pod ornaments	wheelbarrow tire	greenwaste bin
2	5 more lunaria ornaments	cardigan cuffs	recycle bin
3	5 golden origami dragons	reattach wheel to wheelbarrow	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	vegetable steamer leg replacement	recycle bin
5	18 penny luck envelopes	leather scissors sheath	LFL books
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	chopshop cardigan mended	recycle bin
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	greenwaste bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- I bravely spoke to the appliance repair man in the shop near St Johns while I was out on my bike yesterday. He phoned me back with more information, once I was able to tell him the make and model number of my broken dryer. They can get parts, but given the age, the parts are hard to get and spendy; his advice was my money would be better put towards a new used dryer rather than an expensive service call. Food for thought.
- new chapter of Super Supportive to read today
- I learned about two new block printing techniques 

Time of Isolation - Day 1956

things of unexpected size and other tidbits

in which our plucky heroine takes advantage of a sunbreak...

Yesterday when speaking with Maeva about if the quince might be ripe, her advice was to go outside and have a good sniff, and if they were, that would make it clear! Sure enough, when the weather allowed earlier today, not only was it obvious even before immediate proximity, but one of the larger ones was on the ground next to the downspout. (Wondering if they were thinned early this year, as the ones on the tree now are so MUCH LARGER than any prior year) The one windfall quince weighed over 1½ pounds and is about the size of a baby's head. There will be much preserving this year.

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~ no bigger than my own wee paws ~

Time for a bit of exploration and adventure, an excursion to part of the city far from Acorn Cottage. PDX Dinorama had mentioned online a "tiny Little Free Library, and sure enough, it was so small, being only a bit taller than my (admittedly stumpy) hand length. And there was an assortment of very small blank books, one of which came home with me to eventually join the other volumes in the Shadowbox Library, once it acquires some content...

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Next week there will be three days of free ephemeral online presentations as part of  "Block Printing Fest 2025"... I'll definitely try and find time to view some, betwixt and between. 

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(whinges) Day four of medication. Less heartburn (which was not my main complaint), but throat "lump" sensation (which was) is, if anything, more bothersome, and appetite has not returned. Sigh. 

Further attempts but still the laptop doesn't know there is a printer. Deleting and reinstalling Photoshop did not give me a useable program, so now there is no image processing program either. Snapseed on my phone can do some image correction, but the photos remain too large in dimension and in data.

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Lovely alternating rams horn variation card weaving pattern, seen on FB's "suggested" and managed to track down. Has me wanting to set up a band loom of some kind again. The pattern is from Cerelle Woods, who says "Picks 1-16 repeated yield the band pictured. Picks 17-32 repeated will reverse the twist." There's S threading, which is when the thread comes through the holes from the back side of the tablet, and there's S slant, which is when the threaded tablet, when it's tensioned in the warp and viewed from above, has the same slant as the letter S (\). For Z threading the thread comes through the holes from the front of the tablet, and for Z slant, the warped tablet has the same slant as a Z (/). So! Depending on the weaver, S and Z can mean one thing OR its exact opposite. When I use S and Z, I'm referring to the threading, not the slant." 
If I try this, I will have to experiment to figure out if the threading shown in her diagram matches or is opposite from the Applesies and Fox Noses notation for threading, which is what I prefer.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 lunaria pod ornaments	wheelbarrow tire	greenwaste bin
2	5 more lunaria ornaments	cardigan cuffs	recycle bin
3	5 golden origami dragons	reattach wheel to wheelbarrow	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	vegetable steamer leg replacement	recycle bin
5	18 penny luck envelopes	leather scissors sheath	-
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	x	x
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- the scent of quince fruit
- having Mindy show up at Crafternoon
- found a free online utility to resize JPEG images (one of the several tasks that I'd normally use Photoshop for, sigh)

Time of Isolation - Day 1951

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine has multiple tasks...

and only manages to get some of them done, the easiest ones of course! More laundry, the entirety of Mt Dishmore, and filling all the now finished canning jar boxes. (There are still several dozen unboxed, of less uniform sizes, an inventory of which will be useful for planning additional storage)

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~ it's a start ~

This is going to become a Laurel wreath border, for printing fabric. The motif is inspired by, though not a direct copy of, the border on this 8th/9th C woven silk textile fragment. I'd already carved a confronted pair of horses block back in January 2016, when I was starting to get enthused about the idea of using block printing to evoke the complex woven silk of early eras... That block has always been intended for the central motif.

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One of the tasks on my list for today was to contact Dr E and ask what was happening with the bone density scan she suggested. Lo and behold, today the phone rang and it was the scanning receptionist, wanting to know if I was ready to schedule an appointment! We had a pleasant thorough chat to clarify what would happen and how to be properly prepared. My only question was about masking, and she was very encouraging, and said that a note would be placed on my chart so there would be no surprises. I will be most curious to find out what the results are, given that I am fairly active.

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The next sewing project will be turning the turquoise batik fabric, acquired last year, into the popover dress it was always intended to become. And incidentally, making a start on the teal/turquoise themed sewing plan... Do need to remember to not partially cut out pattern pieces without leaving self a note and a diagram about what was intended for the remaining yardage 

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	4 jar storage trays	tiger block	greenwaste bin
2	4 jar storage lids	bright rayon top width	recycle bin
3	-	indigotiger popover  hem extension	recycle bin
4	-	-	window AC
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- bone density scan is scheduled
- hiding indoors is a legitimate strategy when the thermometer on the porch shows triple digits
- I did buy enough of the rayon batik fabric last year to make the next popover dress

Time of Isolation - Day 1848

weekend whatnots

in which our plucky heroine gets turned around...

at least it felt like that waking up Saturday morning with vertigo. A new and different experience, that hopefully won't return. For no apparent obvious reason, upon arising for my usual everyday morning routine, the world seemed to be spinning towards the left, as if my head was the still center of a turntable. Very disconcerting, as it continued for some time (I went back to bed and shut my eyes, which toned down the effect) and had never happened to me before. Once it eased off, everyday life was able to resume, and fortunately it did not happen again the next day... weird, eh?

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Repaired the tiger block by using sharpie to mark the location the lino needed to be on the substrate, then mixing enough epoxy to adhere the entire loose tiger back into place. Let the whole thing sit overnight under heavy weights and it will hopefully remain in one piece going forward. Currently adding several additional layers of acrylic paint to the edges and back of the block, for further protection when cleaning ink after printing.

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While putting away some of Mt Washmore, uncovered the missing batik summer top that had been folded away inside the grey rayon top! If it is possible to eke out enough bits of fabric from various batik scraps, the top can be adjusted to have a better fit, just by adding a narrow strip to either side of the center front panel. Not sure why I'd cut the cap sleeves in such a peculiar way initially, probably something to do with how limited the fabric on hand had been, but my intention now is to alter the current garment to be a closer match to the ones that I prefer.

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~ a snare and a delusion ~

The potato growing experiment was a failure.... not in that they didn't grow, but that they were not yummy at all! They looked lovely, and definitely were freshly harvested. I was careful when tending the plants to make sure that the layers of garden soil were properly built up, indeed I had no idea there would actually be potatoes under there until I turned the pot upside down and rummaged about and found them. There was almost a pound of what appeared to be lovely "new potatoes"... I decided to simply steam them, then add a bit of melted butter and some fresh thyme. Much to my dismay, though they had skins that were thin and tender, and were cooked through, my first taste was unpleasantly and horribly bitter! I have no idea what went wrong, and the internet is not giving me any helpful advice.

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For the most part, my computer usage has been self taught in a totally random and haphazard way. While this has the advantage of not getting entangled in incomprehensible pedagogy, it also allow for unexpected and unknown gaps in what is common knowledge for other folks. A day I learn new (useful) things is a good day!

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	tiger block	greenwaste bin
2	-	-	recycle bin
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- Mischa patiently explained a bit more about how to use "File Explorer" and PrtScn.
- there was just enough epoxy left to repair the tiger block
- today, while sunny in the afternoon, never got beastly hot
- found the missing sewing pattern in with the knitting patterns

Time of Isolation - Day 1840

baren and brayer

in which our plucky heroine creates a sort of carousel...

and also gradually making progress on various other fronts, remembering that it isn't insurmountable (even if it takes the rest of my life).

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~ baby bear's blue ink ~

The carved trapezoidal tiger block makes really attractive prints... and there are now 14 of them curing while pinned to the indoor drying rack, to stay out of the way until they get attached to the popover dress. The turquoise ink was too light, and the blue barely showed against the black fabric, so some of each mixed together was just right. 

My usual method of inking the block then turning it face down onto the fabric and hammering didn't work really well for some reason (maybe the ink I have is too old so not as "juicy"?), so instead I left the block inked and face upward, then carefully laid the individual fabric pieces in place and rubbed them with the baren. Got really clear images as seen in the photo. While this would not work well for yardage, for these individual patches it worked a charm.

Then, oddest of all, when I was cleaning off the block after printing, the entire carved linoleum peeled clean away from the substrate. The jute backing stayed attached to the lino, and there is a layer of very slightly sticky adhesive on the chipboard! In all my years of block printing this has never happened to me before, and there is almost no mention of this problem online, other than "don't soak lino blocks in water" which I was not doing!? I will need to figure out a solution, either to reglue, or to cut a new backing block from something... 

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"V-SEAT" replacement saddle for bike arrived today. After a fair amount of rude words and some WD-40 I was able to loosen the bolt that holds the seat to the seatpost, and it was not too difficult to remove the old one and attach the new. I do Very Much like how much more room I have between the saddle and the handlebars. Not sure that my personal sit bones match up well with the intended zone, but that will take a longer amount of time than just riding to the corner and back to suss out, at a time when it isn't the hottest part of the day. The silicone seat pad is grabby (they describe it as "non-slip"), compared to the smooth material that was my original bike seat, probably intended to help folks feel securely attached, but somewhat annoying me.  Edited to add: grabby silicone seat is a non-issue. Hardness of the seat is. I may want to make a slipcover with some additional padding...

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Twenty-one days of good luck, found two dimes and a penny in the street while I was riding my bike early today...

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Another bit of today's organising was to look through my sewing pattern box, to think about what gets used vs what is just stored there because of "someday might be useful/wanted... There is at least one older pattern totally missing, at least seven or eight that have never been made up, and four of my TNT patterns that will ideally be transferred to Costco cardboard whenever I get some more. 

The shirt pattern was missing any of the pattern pieces from the one time when it was modified to have a proper shirt cuff, so all of that information will need to be reconstructed. Fortunately I was able to find the excellent online tutorial that I followed when creating the tower sleeve placket. As it seemed like having it in hand when sewing another one would be useful, and as the computer is not anywhere near the sewing zone, my first thought was to carefully take notes and sketches of each of the very clear images. Then my pal Karen told me that using Ctrl-P would bring up an interface that would allow printing the blog post as if it were a document! Old dog new tricks... how in all these years did I never know this!! Now I have some Useful Pages that need a notebook to live in...

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in yard and garden news - since the potato experiment seemed to be ending, I tipped out the pot and found a number of smallish new potatoes under the plants, which turned out to be almost a pound. It wasn't a difficult project, other than making sure to keep it watered. They will make a tasty side dish. Also managed to do a bit more pruning just before wheelie bin day. Pruned a lot of watersprout growth from the apple tree, and cut back the worst of the grapevine, and removed the young grape bunches to prevent wasp incursion later in the summer. Thinking it might not be too late to try for putting up a jar of canned grape leaves for pantry storage. Hmmm...

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took a look at the items currently stored up for the Advent swap; things made bit by bit over the previous months, and surprisingly if only another twelve whatevers are found or made, there will be sixty-two items in the storage box (ie enough for two whole advent swap sets) It was so much fun last year when several folks decided to share additional sets so we could send gift swaps to friends who for various reasons couldn't join but who could still get to enjoy a month of dopamine joy...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	-	greenwaste bin
2	-	-	recycle bin
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

today's gratitudes -
- managed to remove old bike seat and attach new one
- printed many tiger patches
- learned that Control-P exists
- current AQI is acceptable here, the sky is the correct color

Time of Isolation - Day 1838

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine has an overall better day...

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~ well begun ~

Given that the size of this block, at 6" x 8", is almost exponentially larger than my miniature book blocks, it is taking longer to carve. Particularly since my wrist is still sore from the weeks of wrangling my bicycle U-lock attempting to get it to unlock. Still, I think that the print will be fun, both to decorate the extended hemline on my indigo tiger popover dress, and it is just the right size to be a "patch" on a future pinafore pocket

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This morning, unlike last week, there was no problem connecting to the Kryptonite customer service, other than an ordinary amount of wait time. Even better, if all goes well they are shipping me a new U-lock! Not sure how long that will take, but it will be wonderful to be able to lock up my bike without worries and without needing to spend the rest of the day rubbing Voltaren anti-inflammation cream on my wrist.

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Am currently listening to the audiobook "The Book of Hope - A Survival Guide for Trying Times" by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams. I very much enjoy hearing books read by their authors, as this one is...Much food for thought, and have only listened to about 20% into the content so far.

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Raven scroll	6 prs Beth pants	recycle bin
2	black floral scarf	prune² Wanda plum	greenwaste bin
3	4 jars strawberry- rhubarb preserves	mulch peartrees	greenwaste bin
4	sunblock mitts	Eames top	greenwaste bin
5	catch tarp for porch	filter box legs	recycle bin
6	x	new house roof	x
7	x	defrost chest freezer	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- knowing that the rainbow snake bench was there made heading out to catch the bus much nicer. Being able to sit down in a shady spot is really nice compared to standing on the concrete sidewalk in the sun.
- being able to nap when tired
- Kryptonite is going to send me a new U-lock
- the 1:12 miniature display shelf (1¼" square) that Sam printed out for me arrived in the mailbox here today. I am eager to find Very Tiny things to decorate it with...

Time of Isolation - Day 1827

Trapezoidal tiger

in which our plucky heroine prepares...

Tomorrow is the start of the roof replacement. Today an assortment of roof things were delivered to the side of the driveway, and a porta-potty on a tiny trailer is now in residence next to the driveway ramp. I still need to rearrange the front porch, so as to have suitable space for cold drinks and salty snacks. After chatting with Mikki this afternoon, I decided that adding some homemade cookies into the offerings would be a good idea, so am making quince crisp bars, being right out of any other suitable frozen fruit.

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~ just a sketch ~

My indigo tiger popover dress is too short. There are several possible fabric options for adding a bit of length. The turquoise rayon that could work is really too bright, compared to the printed fabric. In the end, it will probably be the black silk noil skirt taken from the lace top dress; cut into many trapezoids in an attempt to fill in the hemline. Inspired by some gift wrap I saw, and by the dress fabric motifs, this recent sketch will be transfered to either lino or soft-cut rubber, carved, then block printed in teal on the black, to best echo the smaller more varied indigo tigers on the dress...

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"The River Has Roots" by Amal El-Mohtar... not sure where the recommendation came from, but the story evokes a classic ballad while remaining original, and the writing is beautifully complimented by truly lovely illustrations. It was a pleasant surprise that the audiobook also goes beyond the ordinary, with sound effects and singing interspersed with the reading in a way that feels right rather than excessive. I enjoyed them both.

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So tired right now, even though it is only a bit after 6pm, and much too hot  try and re-energise with a walk or a bike ride. Had a very hard time falling asleep last night, and then woke a bit before sunrise. The good part of such early rising was getting the fans going, and being able to do a small amount of yard chores before it was time to hop on my bike to the medical center for my annual physical. Dr E suggested a bone density baseline test, given my age. I was appalled to find out that I was shorter than I had been last year, which is common, but distressing. Still, older is better than the alternative, at least for now!

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Raven scroll	6 prs Beth pants	recycle bin
2	black floral scarf	prune² Wanda plum	greenwaste bin
3	4 jars strawberry- rhubarb preserves	mulch peartrees	greenwaste bin
4	sunblock mitts	Eames top	-
5	catch tarp for porch	filter box legs	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- it is 77°F in the living room, it is 100°F on the porch outside
- the audiobook of The River Has Roots has some delightful audio embellishment, sound effects and songs, in addition to the reading   
- I found the other folding table, hidden in plain sight in the workroom, the one that is about 2 ft by 4 ft. This will be very helpful tomorrow.

Time of Isolation - Day 1822

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine remembers that a hole is to dig...

Today, went and did outdoor/yard tasks first, once awake and before breakfast. There is much research that getting outdoor light into eyeballs first thing when starting the day is helpful for better sleep hygiene and sleep/wake cycle. Actually doing this has been an unrealised goal of mine for ages. It was less awful than expected, better for mental health than screen time and shall work on turning it into a daily habit.

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~ informative, not failure ~

The secondary concept for this project was as "a blue print on a yellow background", but the next proof (once carving and detailing the print block finished) was unsuccessful. My blue ink is translucent, I discovered, yielding green-on-yellow instead. While at first impression it felt like failure, further thought shifted to "what did I learn here"... a much healthier point of view. to find a place where the desire to try is stronger than the fear of failing

It is very much the maker experience that not everything attempted works out as initially hoped. I'd never used the blue ink before. Indeed, straight out of the tube it was more of a cyan color, and even with some violet ink mixed in, it didn't turn really blue. I shall need want to do more experimenting with both ink color mixtures and possibly a different brand of ink, but in the meantime, this print must needs remain instead as a counter-changed black and white design, as my initial concept called for.

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So what did our plucky heroine actually do in the yard and garden this morning: the biggest thing was to empty and move the large blue planters (made from a 55 gallon barrel cut into two halves). Dug out the weeds and dumped into compost, dug out the dirt and added to raised bed, then moved the planters away from where I want the FoT tree planted. I also picked up and stacked the random empty pots. And removed the entire temporary backyard clothesline so no one gets tangled in it. (I'm short, most folks less so) Finally I repotted the baby rhubarb into a larger and deeper pot, so it can continue to expand it's roots... eventual plan is to put it in the ground.

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As the tiny crock pot was busy turning the corned beef into dinner, I also cooked a batch of quince pieces on the simmer burner. Once those were well softened and turning pink, they were mashed to a rough puree, measured out in 1 cup increments and put in the freezer, ready to turn into several batches of fruit bread. The banana bread recipe from my childhood works just as well with other fruit puree, as I have made it with persimmon pulp and with various sorts of squash puree. Banana is so strongly flavored that it needs no additional spices, but most of the others get some form of poudre douce (usually cinnamon and nutmeg, those being my favorites, sometimes ginger, and never cloves, because I don't want food that makes my mouth numb)  ancestral banana bread recipe

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 dozen cookies	grey pinafore	art exchange
2	lino block carved	pruned marjoram	many dead weeds
3	tiny faux patchwork quilt	slipper soles	recycle bin
4	quince pie	bicycle derailleur	yard waste bin
5	multiple lino proofs	"a-y-a" replaced	recycle bin
6	x	worm bin bedding	recycle bin
7	x	cleaned hallway air grilles	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. two hours of body doubling via zoom this morning with Karen, and I was able to do the most currently vital admin tasks I have been putting off for months. It took less than an hour. 
2. past past me put a chunk of corned beef in the freezer; it is in the crock pot and destined for dinner tonight, along with yellow potatoes and green cabbage turned into colcannon.
3. sometime today the hole digging volunteer(s) obviously arrived and did their digging, as the spot for Future Persimmon now has a hole (with a flag next to it), instead of just bare ground with a flag

Time of Isolation - Day 1703

the banana bread recipe:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ cup dry milk + ⅓ cup water
(or ⅓ cup wet milk)
½ tsp salt
⅔ cup sugar
1 cup mashed banana
1 egg
1 teaspoon vinegar
⅓ cup melted butter
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan (or 2 mini loaf pans), lightly greased
bake at 350F for 50 to 60 minutes or until done

Preheat your oven.
Sift all the dry ingredients together (not nuts, though).
Mix all the moist ingredients together in a good size bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the moist all at once, and mix
Quickly mix in the nuts (once wet and dry are mixed, the sooner you get the batter into the pan into the oven, the lighter your bread will be.)
Fill the pan(s) and bake.
Begin testing as for cake at about 50 minutes.

Let cool before slicing, very important.

"Si moriturus es, morere plenus tortae"

in which our plucky heroine remembers the days of "if you are going to die, die full of pie"

and made another delicious and new to me dinner: cottage pie... The (slightly too dense) meatloaf leftover was chopped into dice, combined with a rich brown sauce well seasoned with onion and celery and herbs, and tucked under a covering of yellow Finn potatoes mashed together with Greek yogurt. Once baked to crisp the mash it was a homely savory treat!

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Second proof print of the current linocut block; the repaired lettering was totally successful... needs a bit more clean up around the outer edges of the block, to have it better fit the post card stock on hand, and might want to also try out adding color to the background, but I am calling this a success.

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Didn't get as much done in the yard today as originally hoped for, due to extra sleeping combined with extra extra rainy day. I did start moving the big pots in the back yard to make space for the Friends of Trees "dig a hole" crew, and will do more of that tomorrow irregardless of rain, since it needs to be done by Monday. (also found a good temporary pot for tiny rhubarb)

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Indoors today the first layer of paper mache on the wastebasket project was completed. Not entirely happy with the outcome, using corrugated cardboard as the substrate means that the appearance is NotFlat surface, but visibly ridged. Reminding self that it is only a wastebasket and not a precious object. Wondering about laminating on a layer of medium weight cardboard over the surface before adding more layers of paper. If there is some of the Costco cardboard still around... hmm...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 dozen cookies	grey pinafore	art exchange
2	lino block carved	pruned marjoram	many dead weeds
3	tiny faux patchwork quilt	slipper soles	recycle bin
4	quince pie	bicycle derailleur	yard waste bin
5	-	"a-y-a" replaced	recycle bin
6	x	worm bin bedding	recycle bin
7	x	cleaned hallway air grilles	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. leftover poached quince made an easy addition to my morning museli cereal
2. Mud Bay zoom time
3. cottage pie for dinner, something I've never made before, but will definitely add to the repertoire

Time of Isolation - Day 1701

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine wants the headache gone...

but despite that, a whole assortment of things happened today.

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~ repair ~

The wrongly carved letters were cut away (along with the "y" between them) all the way through the lino block. Then looked through my lino scraps for a piece that was perzactly the same thickness, and transferred that part of the design to the surface. Inked it very carefully before carving them, cutting the "a-y-a" out, and making sure everything fit together properly.

The last step tonight was cutting a backing of thin plywood, spreading wood glue over the surface, and aligning the lino/plywood sandwich with the repair in place before weighting it down to dry overnight... Tomorrow I will paint a few layers of acrylic paint over the plywood for water resistance, and then it will be ready to attempt printing proof number two!

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Last night I had a dreadful headache, so made sure of abundant hydration and went to bed early. Woke up still with a headache but not as bad? WTF? (usually a headache means I've a fever, but my temp is normal) It seemed to be intermittent, but quite persistent, so I gave up by midafternoon and tracked down a bottle of aspirin.

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"Botanically Unhinged Gardening" was the title of a pair of zoom meetings on Saturday. Sharon explained a new-to-me idea of stacking planting pots vertically to get more space; basically plant something in the upper pot, and cut away the bottom of that pot placing it into a lower one that is also filled with soil and compost - lots more root space without taking up more square footage. Brilliant!

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Started on the flooring for Caer Cardboard Art Gallery - gluing coffee stirrer sticks to a piece of black bristol board cut to the size of the floor. It isn't at all fast to do, but will look very good when finished. The larger wire cutters are just right for cutting bits to length. This project is doable handwork while zooming.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 dozen cookies	grey pinafore	art exchange
2	lino block carved	pruned marjoram	many dead weeds
3	-	slipper soles	recycle bin
4	-	bicycle derailleur	yard waste bin
5	-	"a-y-a" replaced	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. aspirin - which can be swallowed without being tasted. I gave up after a day and a half and took one. It toned down the headache quite a lot.
2. Neighborhood has a new manga cafe, and a beautiful new pottery studio. I rode past them both yesterday.
3. the bundle of coffee stir sticks is finally being used

Time of Isolation - Day 1695

double dang

in which our plucky heroine notices an error...

~ oops! ~

Error fortunately reparable, with some changes to the block... Somehow the two letter "a"s in Maya were drawn in reverse, and carved in reverse, and I didn't notice it at all until this first proof printing tonight! My guess is that when the graphite transfer happened it was vague enough right there and I drew them in wrong way to at that point.

Anyhow, I do not need to recarve the entire block, thankfully! What I think I can do is to cut away each of the wrong letters, glue the carved block to a backing, cut two new small sections the size of the cutaway portions and carve the corrections into those, then glue them in place instead. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work, assuming the linoleum is of equivalent thickness. Still rather frustrating though.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 dozen cookies	grey pinafore	art exchange
2	-	pruned marjoram	many dead weeds
3	-	slipper soles	recycle bin
4	-	bicycle derailleur	yard waste bin
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
1. my bicycle is back home again, all rideable and shiftable, and it was a just right for riding day to pedal home on...
2. figured out a way to repair the block carving error
3. hoping that some ibuprofen or aspirin, some extra hydration, and going to bed early will deal with this dreadful headache. I am grateful that I have no other vital chores to do tonight, after I bring in today's laundry.
4. sunny and breezy day meant laundry mostly dry

Time of Isolation - Day 1694

wishful Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine wishes that there was some way to shift to a better timeline..

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~ partly carved ~

Slowly but steadily, progress is happening with the new block, now almost three-quarters of the way carved... Not yet sure if I want to give the block a wooden backing, or leave it as is. A backing makes it easier to handle, but thin lino is simpler to register on the paper. Don't need to decide yet, and can always add a backing later on if that seems like a good idea.

I've decided to share my progress on FB, despite my media diet, so as to reach more people and hopefully generate more interest. I wasn't sure what organisation I was going to suggest to folks, but it will probably be World Central Kitchen, as their good works are world wide, and they are highly rated (A+) by Charity Watch. Though of course in these times, there are many many organisations that could use our help...

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Did a modicum of gardening today, by cleaning up around the marjoram plant in the front yard. It was becoming overgrown by dreadful lawn grass, and needed all the last years flower stalks trimmed back as well. The new garden kneeler/seat works well. Weeding this one plant is such a small thing to take me over an hour, but "proficere lente sed proficere"... I salvaged all the little leaf clusters from the pruned marjoram stems, and dried them in the dehydrator, so now my herb and spice shelf has a small jar with a tiny label "marjoram"

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I mixed up the dough for Nena's "chocolate crinkle cookies", which is cooling overnight in the fridge, so I will have treats to bring to the bike store boys... Tomorrow I will bake and the house will smell delightful.

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I've tried, but I still can't skip, though my body remembers the motions, it just remains earthbound. I can do the other thing, that is sort of like flying lead changes, but I can't skip. Maybe if I keep practicing, I will be able to again. There is hopping involved in actual skipping, and my legs don't want to do that .

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I cooked both the zucchini from the previous grocery order, some as roasted chunks, and some as long roasted wedges. This condensed them considerably. My intent is to make a tomato-y cheese-y bake from them, so I hope I have some tomato sauce in the pantry

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	grey pinafore	art exchange
2	-	pruned marjoram	many dead weeds
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Ursula Vernon's book Swordheart just hit #5 on the NYT Bestseller List!
2. Rainbow heart chime in my pocket all day.
3. today I learned that hashtags are a thing on Blue Sky. I will use them, going forward...

Time of Isolation - Day 1691

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine is somewhat effective...

Pink hellebore is blooming in my front garden, and other springtime bulbs are showing green leaf tips. The snowdrops are almost done for the year. It is educational to look through the blog posts of past years, and notice when various things have bloomed. Maybe there could be a chart?

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~ image transfer ~

Today's art activity started with taking the proof of concept drawing, adding a thick layer of graphite pencil, and then transferring the image to the actual linoleum. Because this is only ever partially successful, the next step is to refine and darken the lines with a marker; I usually use one of the Pigma Micron pens in an appropriate thickness.

Once that is done, actual block carving can ensue, and progress happened during Crafternoon. Much of the smallest easiest letter forms, (light on dark background) are completed. The Very Small Japanese carving gouge was exactly the best tool for the job, and I am quite glad I acquired it last year!

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Took some time this morning to go out in the yard and pull up a good assortment of already dead weed stalks. It was damp but not raining, and the ground is soft. Also began hacking back the overgrown fern clumps next to the north side of the house, and around the external part of the heat pump. Did enough to get a bit out of breath, but not so much as to cause continuing pain. Incremental progress is still progress.

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Yesterday being so warm, it seemed a good chance to get the duvet cover washed. I was worried about getting it dry without the tumble dryer, but a few hours on the clothesline gave a good start, and I dragged it into the house and hung the damp but no longer wet thing over the shower curtain rod. While it meant one night with a flat sheet instead of the proper duvet cover, it was dry by morning! Pretty sure it is the heat pump moving air around the house that does the trick. It doesn't ever feel particularly "warm" but it isn't cold either (I could make it warmer with raising the temperature setting, but that would also raise the electric bill) I am starting to wonder if I need to replace the tumble dryer at all? Though it would be a probably be good thing to find out if it is repairable...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	-	art exchange
2	-	-	many dead weeds
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Was able to repair accidental gouge in lino with wood glue
2. There is a whole bag of cooked winter squash cubes in the freezer, and there are more winter squash still in their transport box. Cooking the squash thoroughly makes all the difference in how tasty the resulting puree is. The rest of the squash needs to be turned into squash cubes soon!
3. Spring flowers planted in the front yard, including the wonderful pink hellebore that Sharon gave me years ago

Time of Isolation - Day 1689

motifs and media

in which our plucky heroine shares a trifold wish for better luck: rabbit! rabbit! rabbit!...

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~ art exchanged ~

A wonderful range of techniques and motifs to see in the first art exchange. I am completely charmed, and look forward to putting together a tinyworld art exhibition soon. Today all the envelopes were mailed out to the eight folks who participated, and it was fun to mix and match the various contributions. I hope everyone is as delighted as I am right now!

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After spending a fair amount of time at the post office getting all the mailings and tracking sorted out, it seemed like a good plan to stop on the way home to refill my transit pass with more dosh. I did so at New Seasons, for while I am still not shopping there, the transit fees do not actually go to their store, but directly to TriMet. And NS is a more pleasant store, as it lacks the armed guards and barricades of Fred Meyers (the other place on the peninsula to refill transit passes)

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The chickweed in the salad table is very vividly green right now, so a good handful made an excellent topper for some open face chicken sandwiches for lunch today, um gum yum!... am wondering if it is possible to encourage it to establish itself in more places around the yard as a resilient bit of "salad"??

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A bit more work preparing to carve the new blockprint, using pencil to carefully color in all the places in the sketch that will print, so I can transfer the design to the linoleum...When chatting with Mischa about my desire to address the Ukraine situation in a supportive way through art, she had the idea of changing the color of my print to golden yellow and blue! I like that idea, and the quote is relevant there as well... 

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	-	art exchange
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I managed to get all the art exchange envelopes mailed out, and all the tracking numbers matched up to the correct folks
2. Sister was not travelling through LAX on the day of the measles exposure
3. Chickweed makes a great addition to sandwiches
4. Salon with Mischa and Stef... always great to spend time with them, and came away with a good idea re my current block print, two films (both of which I can view on Kanopy) and a book that I put on hold from the library.

Time of Isolation - Day 1688