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

sociable Sunday

in which our plucky heroine leans into her current obsession...

It seems that lately all I want to do is refurbish my worn clothing, sew a few new garments to replace those too worn to mend, and plan out how they all will interact nicely. In this time of multiple systemic collapse, why am I focusing on such a frivolous thing. It isn't all I focus on or take action about, but it is the only thing that brings me any delight, pleasure or even satisfaction. I can't make there be snow in the mountains for summertime water, or sanity in the halls of power, but by golly I can have clothing that pleases me to wear and amuses and delights random folks out in the world. 

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~ is grey okay? ~

The finished stripey shirt finished, plus details... As currently existing, the fabric reads as light grey from any significant distance, with the handmade glass buttons definitely and defiantly taupe and black. While am still tempted to overdye it, so as to let it join with the brown sector of the wardrobe, that color group already has multiple shirts and blouses, while the grey/black group is quite sparse (and also missing any pinafores in good condition) Alternatively, a taupe overdye would let it play happily in both colorways.

... I tried on the finished shirt today, and discovered that I have two (2!) different and unmarked sleeve pattern pieces in my pattern envelope. One is for a three-quarter sleeve, and one for a full length. Guess which one was used to mark out the shirt fabric... Yup... a significant oops!... the shorter one, which makes the sleeves about two inches too short. Fortunately, there are fabric scraps remaining large enough to cut two wide strips, which will be given a bit of embroidery decoration, then used to lengthen the sleeves. A bit below the intersection of armscye and side seam the entire sleeve will be sliced open and the additional fabric will make the sleeve the correct length in the least disruptive way.  And, two new sleeve pattern pieces will be cut, and each one will be labeled with RED magic marker as either "full length sleeve" or "three-quarter sleeve"

 . 
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The beets that came in my produce box still had their tops. I remembered to cook the beet greens while they were still in good condition: first melting some butter in a saucepan, adding some of the Ethiopian spice alternative that the aunties gave me, then some green onion and the chopped up greens. It was, when mixed with a scoop of cottage cheese, just enough for a single lunchtime serving. I miss life in the Before Times when we could safely eat in restaurants, but at least the savory flavors can still be enjoyed. 

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Today was alarmingly warm, for the beginning of April. It was almost 85°F on my front porch this afternoon. This does not bode well.

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	glass button shirt	apple tree pruned	recycle bin
2	-	tiny beaded star>	greenwaste bin
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
-Sunday is the day of the week when I get the most social contact, usually three zoom meetings with different groups of people. - faux ayeb begomin for lunch
- Bartlett pears are so delicious
- being able to share a few sewing tips online
- most of the time, I've enough colors of embroidery floss for the projects that I want to make

Time of Isolation - Day 2096

Pi Day

in which our plucky heroine remembers to celebrate...

I always mean to, each year, but rarely remember in time to cook something special. This year I managed to. Dinner was shepherd's pie, made half from leftovers, some diced up frozen lamb slices from when Beth and Karen visited a while back, and some of yesterdays cooked carrots, added to some sauteed onion, and sugar snap peas. I made gravy in the same pan as the onions, seasoned with homegrown thyme and some of Penzey's Justice herbs, and a splash of tamari. I never make gravy, but pie needs it. While doing all this, was also steaming two little yellow potatoes, so the 6" oval dish was topped with some golden mashed taters and stuck in the convection oven to brown. Made enough for a meal tomorrow as well.

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~ pies for today ~

Once the improvisational shepherd's pie was in the little convection oven, I started working on the tiny pecan pie(s). It turned out that there was no pan of a suitable size that the recipe called for; switching to using silicone cupcake liners made a half dozen tiny "pie-lets". The only change I made was to use Lyle's Golden Syrup instead of maple syrup. The recipe was not at all difficult, other than dividing the shortcrust, and later on the pie filling, into six individual compartments. OTOH, it is as easy as pie to peel the liner from one of the rather sticky baked miniature pies, and the (⅙/recipe) small thin confection is just the right amount for dessert.

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There are two green eggs in the remaining egg carton from Drusa. I shall save the shells, once the insides are used for cooking, with the intention of making some sort of eggshell mosaic for the tinyworld.  I did that ages ago, back in May 2020, with an excellent result.  

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The Icelandic cardigan remodel has been quite successful! It is currently already wearable, as proven this morning while out and about. The length is just right, and the new front button bands look like they have always been there. The too long ribbed cuffs will be removed in favor of the narrower double row of matching dark I-cord, and might add a neckline edge row of the lightest color. Maybe.

It is being fun sorting through not yet stitched up fabrics and current wardrobe to pick out all the various possibile options, and I've devoted an entire page in my journal for the notes. There are plenty of knit tops, and several print blouses already in the closet; enough lycra cotton jersey for two pair of fresh long janes, and the already dedicated brown linen for a new pinafore. A second pinafore would not be amiss, maybe using the brown ikat wrap that was originally a gift from Marian? I'm much of a mind to turn things currently stored on the resource shelves into garments to actually wear. You can't take it with you after all...

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I've been enjoying Brenda Dayne's textile and knitting podcasts for many many years now, and wondered why her posts had stopped. Her story is fascinating and horrifying at the same time: a routine antibiotic treatment causes unexpected and anomalous long-lasting neurological effects.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- there has been enough of the various colors of Lopi yarn
- years of cooking has me able to improvise. 
- no howling wind last night, so sleep was easier

Time of Isolation - Day 2074

tiger tiger indigotiger

in which our plucky heroine has a basically mundane day...

Is it winter? Is it early spring? depends entirely on where you live and on where you look... I'm calling it late winter, as we've gone from almost warm enough to go without a jacket back to almost cold enough to snow. There is the tiniest bit of green showing here and there on the tree limbs, not leaves yet of course, but signs of where there will be buds. There are snowdrops flowering in the front border, and under the Wanda plum. (saw a video yesterday about how to lift and transplant snowdrops to spread them around the yard; must needs remember that once ours are done flowering

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~ burning bright ~

tiger 7" wide, 6" tall

The teal linen pinafore is done, and I have decided that it does in fact want to have the bodice pocket added... This is one of the sample block printed tigers from last year used here as decoration, needle-turned applique onto some of the teal linen. Being able to leave just an edge of the black background around the tiger helps set it off from the almost but not quite the same teal color. Once the applique is finished, it will be faced with another layer of linen to protect the hand stitching, and then the whole thing top-stitched in place as the front bodice pocket. 

In general, I prefer to design my garment embellishments so that they can be worked on separately from sewing the clothing, and added on afterwards, and/or removed at the end of a garment's life span, and used on another piece. I'll be doing that with the "time is a dressmaker" hemline applique from my (made in 2019, and now sadly threadbare) brown corduroy pinafore, which is planned to be replaced with a new brown linen one this year...

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A day to cook up an assortment of things, so as to have an assortment of new things to eat. Kale from yesterday's produce delivery will become some kale bulgar salad, and the rest of the cilantro and green onions will season the greens and rice bake breakfast casserole, and seasoning for some of Sister Gigi's corn pancakes. Right grateful that I have so many good recipes, and really need to get on with creating hardcopy of all of them!

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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	teal linen pinafore	hydration station	greenwaste bin
4	bedroom shelves	grey felt slipper	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- handwork, ever consoling, ever satisfying
- mulitcraftualism
- Quah, 1974, Jorma Kaukonen
- the knitting needle size gauge, rarely used for its intended purpose, but ideal for stripping cilantro leaves from their stems

Time of Isolation - Day 2051

workaday Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine is determined...

...to prepare for an actual, rare, timebound occasion of weekend guests, today has been full of getting-things-done.

After morning medications and stepping outside for daylight on eyeballs time, but before breakfast, it occurred to me that one side benefit of condensing sewing and fabric clutter would be to free up a half height rubbermaid tote. This would allow me to shift the precious spare cedar shakes into a more appropriate size container and to discard the partially shattered much too large one currently in use. Which I promptly did. Good thing tomorrow is trash-out day, as now the garbage wheelie bin is completely full.

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~ several days of drawings ~

day 12 - this pair of classic stork "embroidery scissors" were a gift to me when I was still a schoolgirl. They are stamped ITALY inside the body. Later, when I was in my twenties and working at the leather shop, I made them a little case of tooled calfskin, with a sunrise and lotus flower on one side, and a design of a sitting cat on the reverse. With all the objects that have been lost over the years, these have been with me for more than half a century!

day 13 - Apparently snips and their cases are a favorite of mine. These are little Chinese snips, very similar in style to ancient medieval and viking age scissors. I formerly bought these by the dozen, stitched up little leather sheaths for them, and sold them. Still have one or two left from those days, and they are handy to carry around in my daypack with my embroidery, or to keep at the desk, or next to the sewing machine to snip threads

day 14 - This is a very cleverly designed ratcheting screw driver. It has been in my tool collection for years, and is my favorite full size screw driver, but I've no memory of when I first acquired it. The little flower shaped part where the handle joins the shaft rotates, allowing access to three interior compartments one at a time, that are sized just right to hold the assorted tips. The fourth lobe is the forward/reverse toggle. It will be interesting to see what proportion of my Objects of Affection are tools...

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Last night I started making the candied orange peel I promised Mischa. It is a slow process, but not difficult. Several repeated blanching of the peel, then simmer in simple syrup until the peels are saturated. Then, depending on desired results, one can immediately use them, or roll in granulated sugar and dry them further, or even go on to dip in chocolate for a special confection.

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I know I've mentioned WAWAK previously, as I am one of the myriads of sewing enthusiasts (or professionals) who depend on their excellent catalog of supplies, extremely reasonable prices and wonderfully fast shipping. I placed an order on Monday that arrived here this afternoon. This at their regular flat rate shipping, not any sort of special speedy spendy rate. I now have the right color zippers for the next sewing commission, as well as several packets of sewing machine needles, a few spools of thread, and spool of 2" elastic for long jane waistbands. Figured that since I needed to order the zipper(s) might as well go ahead and add in various items that had been running low.

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I have been having all sorts of problems with video chat in the last several weeks. Today, Zoom which is so erratic and dreadful on the laptop,worked without any difficulty on my mobile phone?!! This was a big relief, and also suggests where the difficulty may be. Perhaps one of the various "updates" caused issues? Maybe one of the too many apps? I am wondering about doing a total reset on my laptop?? Also Norton keeps telling me I have too much junk, maybe laptop needs some kind of declutter? I miss the old "defrag" from earlier versions of Windows

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	final alphabeast drawing	painted mini tree	recycle bin
2	calendar master pages	new bin for  cedar shakes	orangeflower water
3	-	-	large broken bin
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- zoom seemed to work without difficulty on my mobile phone?! 
- the newly emptied half height tote was just the right size for holding the cedar shakes.
- remembered to begin the candied orange peel for Mischa
- the wonder that is WAWAK, speedy shipping, very good quality supplies, and more than reasonable prices. In these enshittified times, it is a treat to remember and experience again the best of how it used to be...

Time of Isolation - Day 2026

six years is a long time

in which our plucky heroine makes a somewhat festive dinner while attempting to keep in contact with folks faraway...

The wind is howling outside as I finish up writing here tonight, before doing the last of the evening chores and heading off to dreamland. I am right grateful that the wheelie bins are weighted at the bottom, else my recycle bin would surely have blown over and into the street by now!

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~ a singular feast ~

It was a meal in parts, not a "sit down all at one time dinner". The festive part was attempting to have at least one ingredient in each thing be homegrown. Probably the best of the bunch was the kale bulgur feta salad, where some cubed up persimmon stood in for my more usual tablespoon of raisins. If only fresh persimmon was not so perishable... the taste, texture, and color were a delightful change. (remind self to include fresh persimmon in salad more often in the next week or so). The additional tiny green salad featured some of the last homegrown Juliet tomatoes and home pickled farmers market beets. The roulade, last out of the oven, is stuffed with a local sourdough roll cut into tiny cubes, and seasoned with herbs from the front yard.

Making the turkey thigh roulade is quite a process. Not difficult, just time consuming. First step is to de-bone the turkey thigh, which would have been easier if the thigh purchased had not also included a good-sized chunk of the spine. (Indeed when first unwrapped, my first thought was chicken breast not turkey thigh; not amused to have paid thigh prices for backbone). Marinate overnight in a buttermilk brine: 1 C buttermilk/ ½ tsp salt. (I've been keeping dried buttermilk on hand since 2020, very convenient for things like pancakes, or in this case, marinade) Then remove from the marinade, pat dry, layer a small amount of stuffing over the meat surface, roll and tie roulade into a tidy bundle and roast for about 1½ hours @ 350°F until the skin is crispy and interior is 165°F. 

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Cut up one of the more well used vintage terrycloth towels: half to squares for dishcloths and half as a hand towel/hair towel. The overlock machine makes it really quick to do enough finishing to the edges for their second life. Some of the dishcloths made this way 7 years ago are starting to be worn to a ravelling, but their serged edges hold up quite well. (I pretty much only use paper towels for cleanup too gross for reuseables, but often use more than one cloth dishcloth per day.

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Just saying... Two factor authentication is beyond aggravating. I appear to have turned it off in all the settings (which seems to do as much as pushing the crosswalk button, which gives an illusion of having an effect, while doing nothing), but it persists every gorram time I log into the book of face, AND to my email accounts, AND to my blog. Yes, I understand it's "purpose", but to have to spend sometimes HOURS jumping between various devices typing in numbers too slowly for their preference, having to do it over and over again, and trying to delete links to broken mobile phones I no longer own. Visiting the land of Face is not so much delightful that this gate is worth repeatedly jumping over, though I am loath to give up my emails or my years long hobby of blogging. Such intensive security might be useful for someone with vast numbers of followers, or famous, or an "influencer" but I am not any of those. Sorry not sorry for the yelling, but I am almost tempted to turn Luddite at this point

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Have made a bit more progress on the knitted shrew project, am now all of 13 rows in, and almost to the point of beginning some really complex head shaping. This is probably the most complex knit pattern I have chosen to make; while Fox Paws is a complicated pattern, it has a limited number of rows and repeats, the Shrew has almost every single row different, and the gauge is miniscule. Not much to see yet, just a bit of the pointy end of the muzzle. By doing just a few rows each day, it is remains satisfying to see the small amounts of progress, and keeps my hands happy. (knitting for any length of time with tiny needles makes for unhappy wrists and fingers)

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief dots	greenwaste bin
2	5 jars pickled beets	more chopshop repair	recycle bin
3	1# hand weights	printer connection	greenwaste bin
4	a dozen owls	black knit slip	recycle bin
5	many jars of Awesome Sauce	15 origami giftwrap	recycle bin
6	24 more owls	case for phone	x
7	7 jars of Awesome Sauce	horse kerchief details	x
8	8 dishcloths	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the discarded autoclave-safe German stainless steel bandage scissors Nicole gave me years ago, ever since a handy pair of kitchen shears...
- my everso handy overlock machine, one of many thoughtful birthday gifts from my parents
- one of the random, not yet discarded, pot lids fits on the little crock pot, as a (temporary?) substitute for the broken original lid, hopefully it will work well... metal instead of glass should be okay, I use metal lids on all of my other pots and pans

Time of Isolation - Day 1980

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine has one problem sorted...

So far up until today, it has been a struggle to find a way to process photo images. My pal Leslie pointed me towards Canva's Affinity, a robust three-fold program recently released as free. It seems like it will be a suitable replacement for my beloved venerable Photoshop, once I've learnt my way around, and Affinity also has layout and vector graphics capability, which are things new to me... A chance to learn some new skills, with a friend who is really familiar with the program to share pointers and answer questions. Who could ask for a better outcome?

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Attempted baking a small gingerbread, following this recipe. I suspect that using gluten free baking mix instead of wheat flour affected the results, as it was drier than I was expecting, and I could have been a lot more generous with the dried ginger. Using the other half of the lemon from the recent Demonology (Avgolemono) soup, a lemon glaze will probably improve it. (mix powdered sugar with fresh lemon juice, drizzle over cooled cake and let sit for at least a half hour) I'm really happy with my new wooden lemon reamer, which works much better than my former plastic juicer, though it leaves me the task of catching any lemon seeds...

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Late last month I ordered some new charger cables, initially thinking that was the problem with my phone. And having a few more cables is always useful. But I must not have been paying as much attention as would be advised when I placed my order, since I ordered one of the two Startech cables with the wrong type of connector, a "mini USB B male" instead of a "micro USB B male". Oops! The difference was obvious when they arrived. So... I phoned B&H customer service to find out what my options were. It was a pleasant surprise to find out that they would willingly take back my error, and indeed emailed me a return FedEx postage paid form, and will refund my payment once it arrived back in NYC. I will of course be ordering from them again, good customer service ought be rewarded!

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~ slightly more subtle ~

When this kerchief was new, the horse had appaloosa spots made from blue sequins, but in the interim, repeated laundering removed the blue color, so the center front had instead a group of very bright sparkly sequins, which didn't please me as much. Today all the sequins were removed and replaced with simple embroidered spots instead, just a bit less obtrusive...

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This is a fascinating bit of information, about how we come into the world wired for tactile communication... 

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief	-
2	5 jars pickled beets	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- Leslie pointed me towards the free "Affinity" graphics program
- generous return policy B&H Photo/Video (in NYC)
- the scent of gingerbread

Time of Isolation - Day 1960

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine remains a bit discombobulated...

For some reason, kept thinking on and off that it was Friday? Probably because I had a video chat this afternoon with my pal Mischa, which we usually do on Fridays.

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~ "...these truths to be self-evident..." ~

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Today my eye feels like it has almost returned to focused vision, and is mostly pain free. Tomorrow is the last day of 7 days of antibiotic drops. Two more days of steroid drops and then I go back for a second optical followup. Fingers crossed there is no permanent scarring.

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~ more than halfway done ~

Working on a set of "jingle bell" ornaments to add to the Advent Of A Better Year in 2026 Swap treats. Quite pleased with how they look, very similar to my initial concept sketch. When I finish these 10, and the "lucky penny" set (waiting for me to carve a four leaf clover stamp to decorate their envelopes), I only need to make or find 23 more wee gifts of some kind to meet my goal of three "bonus" sets of 31 by the end of the month. And several other participants are also contributing "bonus" sets, which makes me so happy; we will be able send advent boxes to even more folks

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The afternoon weather was very cooperative, so managed a bike ride to Groc-Out, brought home two packages of chicken legs, roasted them, then put the meat in the fridge and the bones are currently cooking down in the crock pot to make some nice strong bone broth. (It will be even nicer than Better Than Boullion, which has been the base of egg drop soup for the last two breakfasts, as I try and soothe my poor ibuprofen abused insides...)

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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	-	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	-	-
5	18 penny luck envelopes	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- chicken bone broth cooking overnight in the crock pot
- enjoyed a good bike ride today
- seeing some of my Sewing Nomads pals online this morning

Time of Isolation - Day 1945

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine wonders...can she do it?

After chatting with Ursel last night, I realised that there are actually (at least) four folks I really want to send a "bonus" Advent of A Better Year box to, not just the two initially thought of. (We did this last year, as a pleasant surprise for two different folks who whose year had been really challenging. It didn't just make them happy, it made everyone involved happy) So am wondering if by the end of the month I can come up with a good assortment of additional sixty-two tiny treats. I made 5 more lunaria canal rose ornaments already. If I make/find/buy/forage on average five things every two days, it could happen before the October 31st deadline.

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~ "Le plus ça change" ~

Arlo Guthrie song from 1974 (50+years ago) ..."Nobody elected your family, and we didn't elect your friends; No one voted for your advisers, and nobody wants the men...

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Lunch today was a delicious improvised egg drop soup. A few chicken thighs were defrosted overnight, then were poached while I washed dishes and did a bit of kitchen cleanup. The cooked meat, mostly intended for dinner options, went into the fridge, and the poaching liquid had a concentrated broth cube added to it (those get made and stored in the freezer whenever there are enough leftovers to warrant it). Next some finely chopped green onions, some Microplane grated frozen ginger, and a about a tablespoon of the cooked chicken chopped small. Since I've a surfeit of carrots currently, I dug out my julienne peeler and tossed in some finely cut orange shreds; they cook in a jiffy! For more protein, a single beaten egg was drizzled in for the egg drops. Lastly, a slurry of cornstarch and water was stirred in and cooked, to thicken. No recipe needed, just appetite!

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~ mistsy moisty morning ~

Euphorbia covered in spiderwebs and spangled with heavy mist. Today was partly damp, and partly grey, and even had a few sunbreaks.

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Back in 2023 I made an improved duvet cover, with the underside from a flannel sheet, and internal corner ties. It is a really simple sewing project, basically two identical rectangles sewn together with an opening on one edge fastened with snaps. The internal corner ties keep the actual duvet properly spread out inside the cover, and with one side flannel side there is no need for a separate top sheet.

This year the plan is to make a second one to make laundry rotation a bit easier. My current duvet cover features a whimsical foxes patterned flannel sheet my friends Beth and Karen found at the bins. Last night was chilly enough that switching to the duvet instead of coverlet seemed wise; it made clambering into bed ever so much more cozy, and the cloud-like down puff duvet really tempted me to stay in bed just a little longer this morning. Some people really like heavy, even weighted, blankets. In case it isn't obvious, I definitely am in the opposite group.

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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	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- that first night switching to the wintertime duvet is so cozy!
- my julienne vegetable cutting tool
- Friday evening chats with Mischa

Time of Isolation - Day 1937

do corbies fly at night ?

in which our plucky heroine is startled (and also grumpy)...

Wednesday night, walking the dog just after sunset, something flew overhead, barely caught in my peripheral vision. A silent darker shape silhouetted against the dark blue night sky, and at first I thought it was a bat. But it didn't move like one, and then swooped up to perch on a power line. Was too dark on dark for me to identify what it was. Could it have been an owl? I'm pretty sure that our local crows roost at night, and don't wander about in the darkness??

*edited: Thursday evening I spoke with a woman in her yard near there, who told me they do have an owl in their neighborhood! She's heard it but never seen it, and congratulated me on my good fortune.

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The last of the now overripe bananas were made into banana bread, which will be cut into little slices and frozen for future teatime treats. The recipe is as good now as it was decades ago, though now it is gluten free baking mix and pecans instead of wheat flour and walnuts...

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I am more than displeased. Just got a text from Century Link that they can't fix issues today and rescheduled for tomorrow. That will make 4+ days with no service (insert bad words here)

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I very much enjoy adding photos to my blog posts. But until I get internet again, and can do the convoluted contortions that get images first to my laptop, then processed and uploaded online, I'm limited to tapping out words (and HTML punctuation) one finger at a time, hunt and peck on my mobile phone. Plucky heroine says "bah!

edited 10/4: I can, with some difficulty, capture already posted blog photos and re-use them, like this corbie enamel pendant for example. No easy way figured out yet to use any of my current photos, alas...

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes -
- found a laundromat so I can use their dryer to preshrink the plaid flannel
- plenty of varied clothing layers to don and doff as the weather demands
- dogsitting adds at least a mile or two to my daily steps total

Time of Isolation - Day 1930

tragedy narrowly averted

in which our plucky heroine has tooth marks on her sandal straps...

Adrenaline is my least favorite drug. Today, while out on the way to get some errands done, riding my bike in the bike lane past a sidewalk cafe, an unleashed dog attacked me. First biting the front wheel, then immediately biting my foot. I started screaming. Some guy, presumably the dog's owner, came and pulled it away, but rather than asking if I was okay, left the scene (with the dog) as fast as possible. There were two other men also sitting eating lunch at the outdoor tables, one tried to follow dog boy, and the other helped me to sit down so I could remove my shoe and sock to check my bitten foot. Fortunately it is only bruised; had the skin been broken, I would need to get rabies shots, since no one managed to catch up with the dog or their person.

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~ progress ~

Slow knitting is what I do and enjoy... by the time this cowl is completed, the weather will be cool enough that wearing it will be a welcome treat. 

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I went out and walloped the hinges on one of the backyard gates, that had gone so awry as to make the gate hang crooked. Now that it is more correctly aligned, it is obvious that I need to do more re-contouring the surrounding area which has built up a layer of thatch and soil over the last howevermany years, which also impede the free motion of said gate. This latter task can wait, however, until the rains come again.

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Still working on adapting the recipe for fruit crisp bars. My most recent iteration had more pleasing texture, substituting my home canned fruit sauce for chunks of fresh fruit worked okay, but finding the best size of baking pan for a half recipe still needs attention. The 5"x5" pan was a bit too big. Might need to increase the crumble part of the recipe a bit, as I needed more than half of that to cover the base of the pan

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 amanita softies	planted sprouty taters	yard waste bin
2	Laeriel enamel	dyed yarn brown	recycle bin
3	Laeriel setting	replace clothesline	danger bug
4	-	new smoke alarm battery	yard waste bin
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the dog that bit me today did not break the skin on my foot, so I don't need rabies shots
- Ariadne sent me Kestrel's most excellent illustrated "resipei for straberie ice cubs". I shall have to acquire some strawberries and try it out!
- found a source for Very Small shipping boxes at Copy Pilot

Time of Isolation - Day 1793

unexpectedly damp

in which our plucky heroine has a slightly soggy excursion...

There were a number of small errands to accomplish this afternoon, but I'd foolishly neglected to double check the weather before heading out. By the time I was walking from the bus stop down Glisan to visit the new free little art gallery, what had started by occasional drizzle had turned to swaths of intense rain. Even so, the weather was mostly manageable, and the #19 bus took me back to catch another bus to stop at Trader Joe's.... and then there was a deep puddle to step into, a crosswalk where the gutter was running wider that could be jumped, and deeper than the tops of my shoes. While looking for safest passage across, an impatient driver managed to splash my legs more than halfway to my waist. Splish squelch all the way home...

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~ a succulent assortment ~

Seen in the grocery store houseplant zone yesterday, the diversity of the leaf colors, patterns, and arrangement is delightful

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One additional reason for my visit to a new Free Little Art Gallery was seeing what looked like a tiny ceramic vase as one of the "art-ifacts" to be exchanged. It looked perfect for the denizens of the tinyworld. I brought with me an assortment of other small artwork, with hope that it would still be there. Much to my delight, it was, and proved a gorgeous 2" tall "hand painted made in Japan" bit of vintage porcelain. Shades of Miss Happiness and Miss Flower! and well worth the cold wet return journey home...

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Today included surprise chocolate milk! Apparently Alpenrose is actually part of Smith Brothers Farms, and has been for a number of years. Finally they are changing the name of the delivery service to reflect that, and as a way to sweeten the shift, added a quart of chocolate milk to the delivery?!? As it is a thing I never purchase, I tried it and yes, it is a thing I never will purchase, but it can be a perfectly useful ingredient.

Saturday is a ten year anniversary of an organisation I participate in, which will be having an online celebration. (since the suggested snack is cake (I am assuming because birthday), I will use an appropriate amount of said surprise liquid as part of the recipe I have for making a tiny cake, only it will be mocha, not just chocolate. (the rest will be frozen in suitable cubes for recipe uses)

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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	6 quince breads	worm bin bedding	recycle bin
7	x	cleaned hallway air grilles	x
8	x	hem long janes	x
9	x	points on fibulae	x

today's gratitudes -
1. a "welcome to dairy provider change" gave a gift of chocolate milk! I never buy this, tried it, and decided to save it in large cubes in the freezer for baking, as it would be useful for, say, a mocha cake...
2. a house to go to and dry clothing to put on
3. Past me made corn pancakes and put them in the freezer for future meals

Time of Isolation - Day 1712

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine gets ready...

Tomorrow is the planting day for Friends of Trees in our neighborhood. I've baked six small loaves of quince tea bread as my volunteer contribution to the potluck breakfast for the tree planters. I still need to fill at least one more bucket of water for when the baby persimmon gets planted in the yard...

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~ singularly lovely~

Rather than lie down in the wet grass for a portrait photo, I took a trowel and carefully dug up just one of the violet plants*... Somehow, for the first time ever, the drift of violets in the front yard is all white instead of cerise pink?!? Can they change color?? This is a puzzlement...

I know I never planted the pink violets, but once they arrived allowed and encouraged them to remain as part of my ongoing if informal effort to have things growing around the yard for both resilience and beauty or interest. Violet leaves and flowers are nutritious, being full of vitamins. In addition to all the various fruit trees, I've walking onion for allium flavor, a perennial lovage for celery flavor, and an whole assortment of culinary herbs: horseradish, rosemary, sage, savory, salad burnet, thyme, and more.

* plant was immediately and safely returned to location after photo...

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I am attempting to smooth out the corrugated cardboard and paper mache wastebasket with a mixture of spackle and white glue, as suggested in various YouTube videos on model making. Unsure yet if it will do what is needed, but this whole project is experimental. I have also "plastered" some of the outside walls of Caer Cardboard with the same mixture, for similar reason, hoping it that case for a stucco effect...

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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	6 quince breads	worm bin bedding	recycle bin
7	x	cleaned hallway air grilles	x
8	x	hem long janes	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I figured out a good way to safely transport the quince breads to the FoT site tomorrow morning
2. answered one of the two difficult queries ("if money were no object, and there were no pandammit and societal disruption, what would fun be". I would very much enjoy attending handcraft workshops at various folk schools... this is a definite part of what I have enjoyed in the past about the SCA. Face it, our plucky heroine just plum loves learning new hands on skills, and always has)
3. Got to chat with Mikki this morning

Time of Isolation - Day 1707

"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

dine upon mince and slices of quince

in which our plucky heroine has a nursery rhyme dinner...

... well more or less, anyway. If for mince one counts meatloaf (made from ground meat), and the most tiny of crumb topped quince pies to celebrate Pi (π) Day. I used ingredients and proportions from this mini apple pie for one for the crust, but pre-cooked the quinces, which take a lot longer than apples to soften. I did add a green salad and some mutual aid winter squash puree, and had thereby a most colorful meal.

The quince for the pie comes from the quince tree that grows on the south side of Acorn Cottage, planted in 2018. The tree was part of a legacy memorial gift to the neighborhood from the family of Brian Duncan, who was active in the community association, and in encouraging folks to grow gardens and fruit in their yards. So far, the last few years the quinceling has provided an abundance of delicious, fragrant, and pectin rich fruit, enough for home use, and to share with others...

(fork for scale)
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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. my beautiful quince tree, that leafs out so early in the year, has gorgeous flowers and large fragrant golden fruit, all in their proper season
2. I was able to offer a helpful wake-up phone call for two different friends
3. My tiny pie experiment worked fairly well. I'd like to try it next time using the really tiny patty-pans instead, and glazing the top with some of the quince jelly rather than a crumb topping...

Time of Isolation - Day 1700

pick up sticks

in which our plucky heroine plans (tiny) furbishment...

but before that can occur, must have body, mind, and creative spirit all in alignment, which is not currently the case. Because ugh! Woke up at around 2 am and could not get back to sleep despite my best efforts (and usually successful) sleep hacks, and today has been a challenge. Some of the regular Tuesday activity didn't happen, and some of what was intended for today has been put off to later in the week.

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a different sort of handwork... I am always looking for projects that can be done while sitting, on the bus, or while waiting for an appointment, or in online meetings, as I find it soothing to let my hands be busy, and rewarding to have used interstitial time to be creative. Most often this is knitting, or embroidery, requiring the least amount of concomitant infrastructure, but this weekend I realised that the flooring of Caer Cardboard was also a thing that could be done while at the computer desk.

My current intention is to turn the building into a combination art gallery and garret studio for Kenya Ogidni, inspired by the recent acquisitions from the Spring Art Exchange. Some online research suggested heavy paper or cardstock as floor substrate, and some black Bristol board was the perfect solution. No idea where the bundle of coffee stir sticks came from, but they are just the right widths for a wood floor for the gallery.

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Caer Cardboard has wooden floorboards being fitted
downstairs, and Kenya resting in the upstairs garret
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Yesterday it took quite a bit of bike riding to find a free local newspaper box that still had papers inside. Torn shreds of  newsprint makes fine bedding for the worm bin in the kitchen, and it was time to add another layer.

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Today I managed to make another batch of corn pancakes, most of which made it into the freezer (aside from the ones that were part of dinner) This time I decided to slightly decrease the amount of corn kernels to what was in one can (a bit more than a cup and a half) rather than open a second can for another half cup worth. The other change tried was using the "cookie scoop" tool to portion out the batter, which worked a treat. Yes, the pancakes were smaller, but they were mostly more uniform in size, and will be easier to package once they are frozen. Two or three of these smaller ones with some thin sliced cheddar cheese make a good meal, particularly with some sauerkraut to go with.

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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	worm bin bedding	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. headache mostly gone!
2. the white violets continue to expand their front yard territory, and the remaining ornamental plum has drifts of pink blossoms
3. There may be signs of fermentation in the new kombucha

Time of Isolation - Day 1697