short but very sweet

in which our plucky heroine is delighted...

Most of my Mud Bay pals were headed south this week so Kestrel could visit her great grandmama, and they stopped off briefly on their two day trip south for a bit of a porch visit/drive-by hugging from three of my favorite humans on the planet. Took some time to walk around the yard, stretch their legs, and eat some snacks. I got to meet Leche, their new dog. I love all of them so much (as well as Maeva who was staying home to mind the garden and the chickens) and hope that someday visiting with them in person will be possible again.

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~ proto-pears ~

In January of 2025 I planted the Bosc pear tree in the front yard that was my response to the Urban Forestry permit requirement for replacing the ornamental plum tree removed in 2024 While I suspect it isn't large enough yet to really support fruiting, it has done well enough to open a singular cluster of flowers this year!  The Shipova and the Seckel seem to be doing well but of course are about half that size. With luck, there will be some of my favorite tree fruit in a few years, though I expect to have to baby them and hand water every summer for quite few years to come, particularly given how hot it already is and that the forecast is for a dreadful El Niño season...

Bosc pear planted in 2025
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The disorder in the house is getting to the point where it is interfering with my ability to function. My thought is that once my taxes for the year are done (in the next ten days) I will then take at least the next six weeks or more and focus time every day on creating more order from the current chaos. If I focus each week on one aspect or room, it should make a big difference, and maybe allow me a chance to get some of the refurbishment projects underway as well. I am going to go ahead and order the window awnings that have been on my wishlist for years now; aluminum is only going to get more and more spendy, and while the prices are a lot higher than last year,  it is not yet in the "unobtanium" category, and shading the east and west windows will make a big difference in the summertime .

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Brenda Dayne has connected all her past catalog to her current Substack site. This means that I have a lot of audio content I can enjoy (again). Cast On was one of the first podcasts I ever ran across, and despite looking, I have yet to find any that I like anywhere near as much. Her voice, selection of music, and mixture of content just feeds something in me that nothing else does. I wish I could articulate what about Cast On makes it just right.

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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 -
- Beloved friends Bill, Jen, and Kestrel stopping by on their trip south
- meeting Leche the dog, large and quiet
- "Cast On" with Brenda Dayne

Time of Isolation - Day 2097

it's log...

in which our plucky heroine knows all good things must end...

at least for the moment. My visitors had to pack up to go home in the middle of the day, and return to their everyday life. It was lovely having guests, particularly my dear friends with whom I've been sharing a story for so many decades now.

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~ day 19 ~

This "stump" is about hip height on me, and 12" in diameter. It was a kind and thoughtful gift from my dear friend and former studio colleague Bill, who knew I'd always wanted one ever since I moved away and set up my own workspace.

Why a stump? It is an alternate work surface for tasks that are improved with a stable high-mass non-resilient surface, (for example, stamping designs or using drive punches on leather or metal. A bouncy surface like an ordinary table, makes such tasks a lot harder...

 
※※※

Given how long it took to clear out the space to (temporarily) store Ikea BEKVAM, and how long it took to tidy my workbench, it may realistically take me a month or more per room for sorting, tidying and decluttering, since I am unlikely to be able to allocate anything like whole days at a time. This is Useful Information, and I can use pixel-world body-double time to help me continue progress.

BEKVAM, a wooden Ikea kitchen cart with shelves, is a gift from B&K to be used in my future/someday kitchen reconstruction, that for now, is living in the corner of my living room. At some point it will need it's tabletop cut narrower, and the legs fitted with proper full rotational casters, but for now, it will be useful out of the way storage, in a former clutter haven. 

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~ a vast improvement ~
.
before and after

The other declutter/tidy task I really wanted to work on while I had in person companionship was returning my workbench to an orderly state of being. It seems as if it shouldn't take that long, since the surface area is fairly small, but it was several hours in before the results in the "after" photo. This is not only much more appealing and functional as a work space, but my friends also had several useful suggestions for additional/alternate storage for some of my tools. I now have clear decks to begin some work that needs doing, and a few simple changes to implement next.

I'm going to make some storage "pockets" for my metalworking files and rasps that can hang on the wall next to the workbench, add a small pinboard or bulletin board to the back of the workbench for notes about current project(s), and turn the vintage sewing machine drawers I bought years ago into a kind of narrow-but-tall rolling tool chest.

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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	5+ jars fig mostarda	drawstring cords	large broken bin
4	page 2 resipei	workbench tidy	2 bags paper
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- my workbench restored to tidy pleasant useability makes me want to go do some metalwork and enameling, which I have been avoiding for ages
- I might be able to use BEKVAM's lower shelves as temporary canned goods storage space, which would clear counter spaces in the kitchen! 
- listening to various tributes to Bob Weir and his legacy
- several chances over the last few days to walk around the neighborhood with company of Beth and Karen; I miss being able to walk with friends, as most of my most local pals have moved away...

Time of Isolation - Day 2030

Wonderful weekend whatnots

in which our plucky heroine enjoys in-person time with friends...

While Friday was a bit scrambled, as my friend M had vehicular difficulty and didn't end up staying here overnight after all. On Saturday my dear pals B and K arrived for the long weekend. We ended up cooking lamb roast for dinner that evening, and then staying up late talking and doing handwork.

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~ day 16, 17, and 18~

These are the warmest mittens, as they are at least a quarter of an inch thick or more and completely block the wind. I wear these when I am riding my bike in the winter. My dear friend Ariadne made them for me, using the naalbinding technique. Naalbinding pre-dates knitting, and was commonly used in the Viking Age, for obvious reasons.

This small handmade pouch started with a sample block print of a design I made for a friend, inspired by Bujold's "World of the Five Gods" series. The design so charmed me that I wanted to make the sample into some object of everyday use, in a way that characters in the books sometimes have done. 
The pouch has a square base with a full lining, and double drawstring closure, simpler to sew than to describe how to sew. The felt beads are both decorative and provide handles to open and close the bag. Lastly, I over-stitched the background of the block printed portion with small cross stitches, to add both texture and additional stability.

Much larger than it looks in this drawing, my maslin pan is one of the best kitchen purchases I've ever made. It seemed like a huge indulgence to get a special pan designed to make cooking fruit preserves easier. It turns out that it is a great pan for all sorts of cooking: soups, stews, and suchlike, as well as preserve making. When putting up fruit in various ways, I sometimes start cooking it in the maslin pan, then when it is closer to the desired result, I transfer the almost-jam to a smaller pot, and use the maslin pan for water bath processing the jars for stable shelf storage.

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Yesterday spent time transferring page one of Kestrel's "resipei" artwork to linen for embroidery. Page two is already finished, and I am looking forward to the relaxing time stitching more of her words and pictures. I love kid art, (particularly from this kiddo) and the finished stitchery will have pride of place in my kitchen.

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A plan to convert my venerable Muji A7 binder into a hardcopy recipe book sadly has been delayed as my initial order of filler paper and dividers went astray. I ordered it from an eBay seller, and for some reason (that remains unclear to me despite hours on the phone to both eBay and UPS customer service) the package was not delivered to Acorn Cottage, but to some unknown Wells Fargo bank "front desk" and signed for by someone named "Dani"?!? If all goes well, I'll get a refund, and try and track down something similar. It will be very handy to have a small kitchen notebook with all my favorite most often used recipes in a legible and convenient form. "Soup, Savory, Sweet, and Shelf-stable"

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Today we had minor but very pleasant adventures in the form of shopping excursions, much facilitated by the automobile. Started out by heading over to Mr Plywood for a piece of 1 x 10 lumber to make shelves in the bedroom to hold my wool handknit cardigans and pullovers, an improvement long desired. From there, we decided to walk the few blocks to the international market for various grocery and confectionary items unavailable in my neighborhood or their town, like a new bottle of orangeflower water to replace the one that broke last week. 

Since that shop did not have kasha (roasted buckwhat groats), which I'd been seeking for quite some time, I wanted to try one of the Russian grocery stores in outer SE. Now I've a 3 kilo bag of kasha in the pantry, and K found some interesting cheese, and zefir (a marshmallow made with apples). After heading back home, we ordered takeaway sushi, which made our dinner extra special (along with the cucumber salad and green salads that B made to go with). Our visits aren't just like the Before Times, but embraced a similar "flavor" both literally and figuratively...

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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	5+ jars fig mostarda	drawstring cords	large broken bin
4	-	-	2 bags paper
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the braided nylon cord I ordered arrived safely, and worked perfectly to repair my rat and crow drawstring bag.
- sushi dinner takeout, such a special treat
- Karen makes homemade toffee, and the contrast between the very thin layer of unsweetened chocolate and the very sweet sugar and pecan topping is wonderful.
- with companionship, yesterday I was able to tidy about a 2.5cuft chunk of the living room, with much of it going directly to recycle, and today sorted through about two grocery sacks full of random papers, of which more than half also went to the recycling bin.
- Mr Plywood. I just love everything about that place, particularly how the men who work there are always courteous and helpful. And how they always have what I need for projects. Plus today when I was checking out after buying the lumber for my shelves, and I told them how I loved their store, they gave me a sticker that said "I love Mr Plywood", with an image of his very rectangular retro line drawing self

 

Time of Isolation - Day 2029

Sunday betwixtmas

in which our plucky heroine has an unexpected visitor...

Early this afternoon, the doorbell rang! I practically jumped out of my skin, as I had been sitting and reading, but to my surprise and delight it was my friend Drusa (Kate). I'd not seen her in person in I don't know how long, certainly since before she moved away, so getting to exchange multiple hugs, and some porch visit time was really special. The knitted shrew I made earlier this winter was for her, as shrews are her special favorite animal, and she really likes it. And is enjoying the bonus Advent Swap treats. She gifted me with some homegrown eggs, and an assortment of her homemade goat milk soap. I am so happy she stopped by to visit!

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~ moar Advent Swap treats ~

an additional assortment of tiny treats, including a maneki neko bell, a lampwork pendant that is also a top, a crocheted/knotwork flower?, a star bedecked packet of rhubarb seeds, a hand painted gold star sticker, a box of red bead cubes that look like coral, and a delightfully painted mushroom depicting a tree in a floral landscape. That folks come up with such a wide variety of things that fit in 1¼" space never fails to amaze me!

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Today I found out that the Liberty-esqe fabric is truly Liberty lawn, and was a gift a number of years ago from my friend Cricket, purchased when she was in London. I shall treasure it even more, and enjoy adding it to my new sewing project. It will become the accent fabric for my teal plaid shirt

Speaking of which, Past Me cleverly downloaded all the many pages of the tower placket instructions and put them in a notebook, in the bookcase with the other sewing tomes. This will be everso useful when I get to that stage in the shirtmaking, since I have only ever made a tower placket once before,back in February of 2020, when I made the grey houndstooth plaid flannel shirt.

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Winter 6PAC Lucky7

dk neutral overlayer - dk neutral bottom - dk neutral coat - alt color overlayer - alt color bottom - alt color top - color link top-

- brown linen pinafore - brown jersey long janes - brown raincoat - teal linen pinafore - teal jersey long janes - teal floral blouse - teal/cream/brown plaid shirt

This is the current wardrobe sewing plan, subject to change as whim decrees, but this group of garments will be a very welcome and easy to integrated addition.  It's tempting to add accessories, a la Vivienne Files - thinking about an Alabama Chanin headscarf, or blue painted shoes to replace the pair that wore out...

※※※

Thinking ahead to New Years, it seems like a good idea to do some cooking ahead. The menu is fairly set. Black-eyed peas, greens, carrot coins, and Sister Gigi's corn pancakes (an optional but delicious and appropriate addition). Since the big box of greens was on sale at GrocOut today, I will cook those today and freeze them. There may be room in the freezer for some of the corn pancakes as well, if I use frozen corn as an ingredient.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pairs underwear	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	knitted shrew	shrew eyes	yard waste bin
3	1 pair undies	Gamma bucket lid	recycle bin
4	2 alphabeast  drawings	one page of the embroidery transfer	recycle bin
5	1 alphabeast  drawing	daypack mended	recycle bin
6	phone pouch	cleaned keyboard	x
7	transit pass case	undie waistband	x
8	x	Otterbox case	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- a clear instructional tutorial for sewing a tower placket
- a surprise visit from Drusa
- "Digger", by Ursula Vernon

Time of Isolation - Day 2010

axial tilt and all that...

in which our plucky heroine hangs on...
while we swing around the Sun towards lengthening daylight

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~ seasonal song ~

TIL that there is two degrees of separation between our plucky heroine and Cat Farber! The musician was one of the founding members of the Caer Lutris SCA household (along with three of my good friends) though she had left before I ever joined ...

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Finished all of line 5 on the resipei embroidery and begun line 6. There was a lot of time on zoom today, and embroidery is perfect handwork. Eventually this portion will be done and I will start on the other half: lines 1 - 4, and the ingredient list

Tomorrow I'll be back at working on the final two drawings for the 2026 calendar, and will check in at the copy store to find out what my printing options are; my timing was off yesterday, and I arrived after they were closed. I'm hoping for some resume weight stock in a warm Kraft paper color, or barring that, light cardstock. We shall see...

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"The Shortest Day", with the venerable words by Susan Cooper (first written for Christmas Revels in 1974) and with gorgeous illustrations by Carson Ellis, is my very favorite picture book...

"So the Shortest Day came and the year died 
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow‐white world Came people singing, dancing, 
To drive the dark away. 

They lighted candles in the winter trees; 
They hung their homes with evergreen; 
They burned beseeching fires all night long 
To keep the year alive. 

And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake 
They shouted, reveling. 
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them 
Echoing behind us ‐ listen! 

All the long echoes, sing the same delight, 
This Shortest Day, 
As promise wakens in the sleeping land: 
They carol, feast, give thanks, 
And dearly love their friends, 
And hope for peace. 

And so do we, here, now, 
This year and every year. 
Welcome Yule!"  

~ Susan Cooper

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Young friends coming to visit in person is a wonderful treat. That they had made gifts for me (and for all the tiny folk who live here) was extraordinary, and made this longtime birthday feel very special indeed. They made a miniature lighted tree, and a tiny rosebud brooch, a fancy apron for Almandine, a soft dog bed for Sequoia (though he also claimed the sparkly tiara) a palette of paints and an assortment of paint brushes no longer than ½", a garland of glittery origami stars almost taller than I am, a hand embroidered "Sign of Iron" from The Dark Is Rising, and a terrarium ornament with a mushroom cap lid. How I am worthy of all this generosity I don't know, but will accept with as much grace as I can. 

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pairs underwear	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	knitted shrew	shrew eyes	yard waste bin
3	1 pair undies	Gamma bucket lid	recycle bin
4	2 alphabeast  drawings	one page of the embroidery transfer	recycle bin
5	-	daypack mended	recycle bin
6	x	cleaned keyboard	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the younger Olympia friends, who brightened my birthday with an in-person visit and many many handmade gifts
- phone calls from family far away
- leftovers for dinner that were very tasty and meant I could spend my time being social and not cooking dinner

Time of Isolation - Day 2003

a few tiny Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine is grateful for homegrown bounty...

The persimmons, picked before tree ripe (because squirrels) have been finally getting to the right stage to be peeled and cut into slices for the food dehydrator. Which is now humming away sitting on top of the washer. I shoved the bag of cement currently in residence there as far over to one side as safely possible to make space to run the dehydrator. There are enough additional persimmons on the folding table in the kitchen to do at least one or two additional batches once the current batch is dried. I also put aside 2 cups of pulp to make spiced persimmon pecan tea bread. 

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I started the "resipei" embroidery (in red on linen) project, and had to hold myself back from just doing that all the rest of the day. The difference once the stitchery follows the marked out lines is so satisfying. I'm using a single strand of the DMC floss, doubled; the stitched lines nice and thin, and chain stitch will smoothly follow the sharp curves of letters and words. This will see me through the December and into the new year at the very least.

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Currently re-reading Digger (the Omnibus Edition) by Ursula Vernon, and Basin and Range by John McPhee. Reading about geology is about as peaceful as reading cookbooks, when it comes to bedtime books. The omnibus Digger is much too LARGE a book to read in bed, but makes a nice mealtime companion. Very grateful to Mischa for sending it to me, back in the Before Times.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pairs underwear	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	knitted shrew	shrew eyes	yard waste bin
3	1 pair undies	Gamma bucket lid	recycle bin
4	2 alphabeast  drawings	one page of the embroidery transfer	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- "Digger" by Ursula Vernon
- homegrown persimmons = homegrown sweetness
- Helga remembered I wanted eye dropsfrom Costco, they were on sale, but not in stock when we shopped a few weeks ago, so she picked some up for me today while she was there. 
- Gersvinda is going to give Ursel and I a lift from Metro Paint tomorrow. 

Time of Isolation - Day 1998

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine gets unwelcome news...

Today I got a "denied payment" letter telling me that my emergency room visit in October for my injured left eye is not an insurance covered service! WTF!?! I am going to challenge this denial, of course...(not that adding an additional metric crapton of dealing with paperwork and bureaucracy was on my bingo card, but what else can one do?)

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~ sour, savory, salty, spicy, sweet ~

Doesn't this look delicious? Just realised it is another "five flavor" recipe... Made enough salad on Thursday to have for lunch for the next several days...The fresh persimmon is so pretty and so tasty!!

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This evening had a visit from Ashe & Co - and an exchange of unexpected gifts. They kindly brought me the half pound of organic black-eyed peas from OFC, and the swift from Karen, both of which I'd asked if they would be willing to bring me from Olympia. They were coming down here to pick up their Advent Of A Better Year boxes, but also brought some surprises: one of their Halloween Trick or Treat bags full of treats: homemade crayons and coloring pages, a fancy pencil, stickers, a glowstick, and a few mini candies. They also made me four little advent surprise packages to make up for how I only accidentally gave myself 27 instead of 31 of the tiny gifts.... Awww, they are so thoughtful! Plus I got hugs!!

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Today was sunny in the middle of the day, and after hanging laundry out to get partially dry, pruning seemed like a good next thing to do starting by cutting back the overgrown mint under the clothesline. Moving a bit further east down the chain link fence, the feral grapevine got quite the haircut. Not only as much as I could reach of what has grown into the neighboring yard, but rather a lot of the vines as well. Next in the wheelie bin, valiant Juliet, the tomato plant met her end. Late November is beyond tomato season, and while she was still attempting to get her remaining fruit to ripen, the rain was causing it to split open, and the leaves were beginning to look rather blighted. (I imagine that in a greenhouse, one could keep tomato plants going far longer than out in the open: I remember that Chuck and Joan had a little room upstairs in Boxborough with a huge cherry tomato growing under lights all winter.)  Finally, as there was still plenty of space in the bin, I got the pruning saw and cut away some of the excessively tall elderberry branches, and the larger end of what I'd already pruned away from the green fig.  Not pruning related, but in outdoor news, earlier in the day I saw two hummingbirds, both with a vivid red spot on their necks that flashed when the light hit it just right...

※※※

An interview with Naomi Kritzer, a SF/hopepunk writer I enjoy very much, and some links to two of her stories... 

"So Much Cooking"
"The Year Without Sunshine"
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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 - 
- Ashe & Co came to visit, bringing unexpected gifts
- a new yarn swift from Karen to replace my broken one
- found six yards of waistband elastic in the notions cupboard, which will make my intention of several new pairs of long janes much easier to accomplish, having all the materials needed already on hand 

Time of Isolation - Day 1981

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine gets an unexpected visit ...

It has been well over a year since I last saw my dear friend Tullia, a far cry from the days when she lived closer. This afternoon she came over for an outdoor visit, and as it was not actively raining, we could walk around the neighborhood and chat. And, she thought of me on her recent trip to Japan and brought back two tiny maneki-neko for my collection, which with these additions now numbers 23, all different, and most under 1" tall.

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~ more tiny treats ~

so far, doing well on track for the increased timeline of 12 more groups of five trinkets or treats for bonus "The Advent of A Better Year in 2026" Swap boxes. Item 1: five more painted lunaria decorations, item 2: five golden origami dragons, and have started but not quite completed item 3: five very small amanita ornaments made from acorn caps and q tips... While it is easy to choose complex tiny treats, the big challenge is figuring out 12 different simple-to-make options before the end of October.

※※※

After my computer spex broke, I was (thankfully) able to order a new ones from eyebuydirect. Since there was a BOGO sale, two backup pairs. Both arrived today, and now I need to order some replacement nose pads. My skin reacts badly to the soft silicone most nose pads are made from, so it is off to "NosePads.com", niche shopping for hard plastic ones in the correct size and configuration. All their nose pads are also two pair for the price of one, and having some extra on hand is not a bad idea. My intention is to put together a spex first aid kit (tiny screwdriver, extra screws and nose pads, lens wipes, loctite, etc) to store in the medicine cabinet.

※※※

Suddenly, in the last two days, the bay nuts have begun to fall from the bay laurel trees. It would be good to gather some this year, enough to share with my friend Mr Dawson who enjoys them... The nuts do require a fair amount of processing; husking, drying, then roasting. (I've also always thought about a version of Almond Roca toffee with roasted bay nuts...)

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

today's gratitudes -
- new computer spex
- a visit with Tullia
- two new tiny maneki neko

Time of Isolation - Day 1938

well that was fun

in which our plucky heroine tries something new...

Today was the "Creative Learning: Intro to 3D Printing" class at the Albina Library. I'd headed out for my transit time a bit early, so stopped at Cà Phê on the way. In the interest of doing new things, decided to try one of the black sesame gluten-free "mochi donuts", which aside from topological shape, were not what I would describe as a donut, but rather a delicious tender cake that may have been soaked in syrup? 

There were eight people in the class, of varying ages and experience. Our instructor was thorough and enthusiastic. There were 5 printers, so very little time waiting our turn, once we had completed the conceptual part of the instruction. With practice, it seems that just as with image processing, it will become more comprehensible and familiar. It was a bit awkward to use a mouse instead of a trackball, and the library iPads are very different than my laptop at home. Still, I was able to not only print out the Altoids tin insert (one of the five pre-set options for us to choose from) but also was able to find, download, and print the 1:12 scale plant stand from a website of free designs...

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~ old meets new ~

This tiny (1½" x ¾") plant stand echoes the shapes of Arts and Crafts Bungalow style furniture. It was the second thing I made* at the Intro to 3D Printing class at the library today. I like the shape and details, and will try some layered paint colors to add subtlety to the bright green plastic.

*To be clear... I was able to find a free file online, download it, and get it into the correct program and send it to the printer. I did not design or create the file myself

※※※

Somehow, at some point, the right side temple wing of my spex was bent at the attachment point, though fortunately the headband elastic of my P100 held them in place on my noggin. Once back home, one of the first tasks was to carefully bend the frame back into shape. Much better now!

※※※

A sweet if short visit this evening from my OlyWa pals Beth and Karen. They were in town to pick up some pieces of Marmoleum for the kitchen refurbishment they are gradually having done. They brought me dinner: a chicken bulgogi rice bowl from a food cart down near where Mindy lives (they stopped to visit Mindy on their PDX loop as well, because friends!). We sat very far apart in the front yard having a meal together, I was about 20 feet away with the breeze at my back, so safe enough for my comfort. 

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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	mini 3D plant stand	new house roof	greenwaste bin
7	x	defrost chest freezer	recycle bin
8	x	repair garden hose	x
9	x	right eyeglass temple	x

today's gratitudes -
- GF black sesame mochi donut
- inspiring and successful 3D printing class
- an unexpected visit from Beth and Karen

Time of Isolation - Day 1830

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine is tuckered out...

Staying up late last night and working like a madwoman was needful, despite not having the stamina of thirty or more years ago. And my project is a success, both in itself and to remind folks that I am not gone but just isolated. And a success to remind self that I can do complicated things, which ever bears repeating.

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~ 15½ hours... ~

The Laurel medallion I finished working on last night... with a complex two-sided setting that required much cogitation to fabricate, and the disc background under the blue enamel engraved and stamped with a charge from Laeriel's heraldry. This is what I do. The whole piece is 1½" (38mm) in diameter.

Since it needs to be at JuneFaire for her elevation on Saturday, it was most propitious that Mr Dawson was coming down here today and could hand carry it north to Olympia. This meant it need not be trusted to the tender mercies of the USPS, and could be then carried the rest of the way to the event by Elanor. I love it when our impromptu SCA courier crew works out.

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Always a treat to see my friend and colleague Bill, though the days we shared a studio space are decades past. He's always a font of fascinating information, and today, among other topics, I learned about "pine bark iron", one of the materials in his most recent set of inlaid spindle whorls. The texture on the reverse of the one made from that iron was like Ponderosa bark made tiny, (those trees being what we called "ice cream trees" when I was a child, for the sweet vanilla scent). 

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Long ago, there was soup made, but spell check translated "avgolemono" as "demonology" (which says something about common vocabulary?!?) and so it has been renamed in my lexicon. Nonetheless, it is a favorite simple meal. As I also wanted to bake a lemon cookie, which requires 1 egg yolk, the extra white was added to a second egg, and along with a cube of rice from the freezer and a heaping spoonful of "better than bouillon", dinner was ready in a trice. The cookie(s) baked while I was eating my soup, and now the kitchen is filled with a toasty lemony fragrance.

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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 -
- demonology soup (avgolemono, according to spell check)
- gifts from Jen: Totoro origami, and a recipe from Kestrel
- a visit from Mr Dawson, with conversation and a hug
- many positive comments on social media (re my handiwork)

Time of Isolation - Day 1792

dopamine days

in which our plucky heroine enjoys company...

Long term (30+ years) friends Beth and Karen came to visit for the last several days! Since they are willing to quarantine for a tenday prior, and are careful with masking in public all the time anyway, we can socialise (while in my house) free of the need for filtration constraint, and can cook and eat meals together which is a very rare pleasure for me.

There was plenty of time for conversation, for neighborhood walks, and for sharing information about our various avocations, all in person.  I remain unbelievably grateful for "the pixel world", and indeed they and I zoom at least once or twice every week, but there is something special about being able to see one another without the intermediary of cameras and screens. Even in the Before Times, once we began living so many miles away, our in person visits were rare, doubly so now.

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~ a spot of urban respite ~

On Friday morning we went to the Leach Botanical Garden, which turned out every bit as much of a treat as hoped... though we only visited the upper (accessible) portion of the site, it was so much closer to being out in nature than just walking around my neighborhood. The Aerial Tree Walk put us out in nature with a completely different point of view!

looking down on some giant trilliums
(Trillium chloropetalum)
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There were several stops on the way back to Acorn Cottage, firstly being Portland Nursery. I noticed two days ago that many of the leaves on Baby Bosc Pear were looking odd, in a way that didn't seem to match any of the diagnostics I could find online about pear issues. The woman at the info desk there said it had pear leaf curl - which I have not been able to find any further information about, and that it needed copper spray in the winter and in the early spring before it flowers. I am very sad and a bit concerned about this since I only just bought the young tree from them last autumn. Since we are well past blossom time, there is nothing much to do about it, other than continuing research.

While at the nursery I bought a garden hose nozzle attachment, as part of the make garden care easier plan.  Speaking of gardening, the snap peas I planted are already peeking out of the soil, and I need to get busy creating anti-squirrel protection for them, as well as a trellis for them to climb. My Juliet tomato still needs planted, as does the rhubarb and the horseradish rhizomes. That will fill several of the big planter pots right there. I've another three self-watering planters to clear of weeds and refurbish, and of course the yard needs another go-round with the string trimmer! Hopefully my sore arm and shoulder will be up for some of that; I swore after my neglect last year that this year I would do a better job of keeping ahead of it.

Karen saw a large bundle of BIG empty cardboard boxes on the curb while we were out yesterday, and we stopped and acquired them. Must needs peel away the strapping tape, but that will become more mulch underlayment. The plan is to create a pathway all around the front yard and up to the back gate on that side of the house, which will much reduce my need to mow.

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~ Free Fractal Little Library   ~

The other thing we began on our way home on Friday was stop at several of the Sidewalk Joy sites. This one in particular I had much wanted to see, it is part of PDX Dinorama, and it has a tiny free little library inside (labeled the "Giant" Micro Library) and an even tinier diorama of a free little library in the attic. I left one of my "F is for fun" books as an exchange for the one on Sidewalk Ducks... 

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Six years ago I found a style of shoe with a shape that fit the configuration of my peculiar feet, and bought a pair, then painted them blue, because I wanted BLUE shoes. They lasted four years before becoming too worn to wear. I bought another pair, painted them blue, and added teal canal rose motifs to the toes (so much fun!). That second pair only lasted two years, as the quality of the construction of pair two is less than the earlier pair and the shoes are becoming so worn as to be actually dangerous to wear, with the uppers detaching from the sole in various places, and the pieces of the shoe itself becoming "worn to a raveling" in places. The manufacturer has moved on to more "trendy" styles and no longer makes this, so the one remaining pair I have will be my last one. Don't yet know what I will do after that; I'm not particularly desirous of taking up shoemaking...

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blue skirt Opal	shipova planted	yard waste bin
2	2 pr undies toiles	smoothed half of side gate base	recycle bin
3	model for F.L.A.G	got TDaP vaccine	yard waste bin
4	-	persimmon mulched	recycle bin
5	-	pruned figs	2 arborvitae
6	x	2024 taxes	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. borrowing Jack Ogden's "Jewelry Technology in the Ancient and Medieval World" (The book is a TOME being both quite oversized, and at least two inches thick; I plan on using it to provide many many one or two page bits of positive reinforcement so as to bribe my way through a week of admin tasks and challenging work)
2. a serendipitous short visit with Mindy (everyone was very well masked, with doors and windows open; it was less risky and shorter than the bus rides I normally take)
3. time discussing how to build a Free Little Art Gallery with Karen; and she brought me a cut-to-length piece of 4x4 pressure treated lumber

Time of Isolation - Day 1735

it's been busy

in which our plucky heroine has ups and downs...

I finished my filling out all my taxes paperwork last night. Yay me! The receipt container I made in May of last year makes the self-employment paperwork much less fraught, and I will be adding some small folders to the compartments to make next year even easier. Today I made all the multiple copies needed, then went to the post office and got money orders for the various payments, and finally everything went in the post. A busy post office on the 15th of April seems to be a thing of the past; since many folks file online nowadays, but I am old school and find paper easier...

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~ remembering when ~

Kenya encouraged me out of the house yesterday, when this lovely thing showed up in the Insta-feed from the Little Free Art Gallery on Glisan, and we were both so excited that it was still there when we made our way over there. The back of this 2" x 3" painting is signed by "LeeAnne H" and inscribed "in tribute to the original 1966 print by Lorraine Schneider" (I have memories of that print, from back in the day...) The painting will live here, as decoration in Kenya's attic garret room. I think she might need some additional period graphics.

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Had a useful conversation with Karen and Beth re their visit here later in the week... we've decided to splurge: getting some takeaway Ethiopian food from Enat Kitchen for dinner on Friday. We are planning on an excursion to Leach Botanical Garden, and also some traveling round to check out some of the Sidewalk Joy sites that are further from Acorn Cottage. Karen is going to bring some useful pieces of wood for the Free Little Art Gallery project I am hoping to create! Including a suitable piece of pressure treated 4x4 to help create a gallery base (when mounted in a pot with concrete) It will be fun to try and come up with possible plans for the structure!!

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Today in the Drama Llama diaries: I fell off my bike while I was crossing the street. I felt right foolish! Nothing is broken, but my elbow in particular is right cranky with me. I expect that tomorrow I will be more sore than I am now, as that is usually how my body processes injury, and after that I will gradually improve. That a number of random folks all stopped to see if I needed help, that helped me and my bike stand back up again, that a person from the burger shop came out and brought me a bag of ice for my elbow, all that kindness from strangers was a bright spot in the middle of a painful and mortifying experience.

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	blue skirt Opal	shipova planted	yard waste bin
2	-	smoothed half of side gate base	recycle bin
3	-	got TDaP vaccine	yard waste bin
4	-	persimmon mulched	recycle bin
5	-	pruned figs	-
6	x	2024 taxes	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. no broken bones and many helpful strangers
2. homemade meatloaf* and a big green salad
3. taxes done and mailed off in the middle of the day, post office uncrowded

Time of Isolation - Day 1730

* recipe makes at least two or three servings. I added a half teaspoon of plain gelatine for moisture, might up to 1 teaspoon next time.

wistful weekend

in which our plucky heroine is appreciating exchanges...

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

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~ ¾" tall ~

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

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

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

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

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 1641

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine feels somewhat less wobbly...

And as a way of warming the kitchen I've started pre-baking the quinces... 20+ minutes in the oven at 350°F and they are much easier to peel and cut into pieces. Then they can be frozen or cooked further as desired, and the cores and peels added when making quince or other jelly.

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~ hopeful ~

Garlic, iris, hyacinth, and tulips... planting bulbs is a statement that there will be a future. These are a statement of not just bare survival but also of beauty in the world. Thank you Acantha for sharing this hopeful gift, and when they bloom, or come to full growth, I will think of you!

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This is a fascinating article about the garnet and gold metalwork found in the Sutton Hoo archaeological site.

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~ getting ready ~

This is the second year I have coordinated the (secular) "Advent of a Better Year" swap, where everybody gets 31 tiny wrapped gifts, one for each day in December. Everyone gets a random assortment from all the other participants.

There are 20 sets on the table currently, five more sets I've not yet made a box for, there's a package of goodies for the swap out for delivery today and one tomorrow, someone driving up tonight with their set, and I am still waiting to hear from one more person, but I've turned my worktable into Advent Swap Central so that once all the goodies arrive (hopefully in the next day or two) I can do the mix-n-match, and seal up all the boxes and take them to the post office...

*Notice: next year our plucky heroine is moving the deadline for tiny treats to arrive here back two weeks, from October 31 to October 15, to better allow for "shipping and handling" time.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Halloween cushions	repot spider plants	recycle bin
2	applesauce	harvest persimmons	yard waste bin
3	cat head graphic	moar pruning	recycle bin
4	6 jars to ferment	grape pruning	yard waste bin
5	lime curd	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. a great porch visit with Ashe this weekend, when they drove down here to drop off Advent Swap goodies from their family
2. learned a new origami box fold
3. I don't know how they end up there, but there were three! spiders in my bathtub this morning! Fortunately for them, I keep a spider catching cup and a postcard in the bathroom, so I can remove them safely and without harm to either of us
4. Acantha sent me flower bulbs as well as garlic to plant

Time of Isolation - Day 1589

Thursday throwbacks and Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine is happy to see friends...

Today Cathy, Jen, and Kestrel stopped by Acorn Cottage on their way south to adopt a dog, bringing assorted goodies with them, but more importantly their beloved selves.

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~ the final bit of spooky season ~

This went well, I think, for miniature spooky season, though I didn't quite manage to get it done on time. A vintage style, 2" wide, graphic cat head, overpainted with gouache and mica paints, then coated with clear nail polish for durability, makes a good wall or window decoration for next year

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This is a very apropos bit of allegorical storytelling, and it did bring tears to my eyes, though tears are always pretty close to the surface nowadays.

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~ an old touchstone revisited ~

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Looking back 5 years ago, I was finishing up my experimental collage cardigan, made from a wide assortment of stencilled and block printed fabrics, both translucent and opaque, knits and wovens.

10 years ago I was finishing my Fox Paws scarf and busy with house related things with help from Blue Cedar House friends

Solitary Foxen

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Halloween cushions	repot spider plants	recycle bin
2	applesauce	harvest persimmons	yard waste bin
3	cat head graphic	moar pruning	recycle bin
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the dopamine of Advent Swap packages arriving here, we now have 14 sets of tiny treats... almost halfway there
2. senior flu vaccine found locally and acquired
3. Baked at 400F for about 25 minutes, 2 buttermilk brined chicken breasts (1C to 1/2T) made dinner, and a portion for tomorrow, and bones and bits for broth.
4. figured out a thyroid pill hack, possibly solving a long standing aggravation... If instead of putting those in my daily meds case, I put the singular pill bottle on the nightstand, and drop the next days pill into the upturned cap, I can take it when first awake, or even if I get up accidentally at o'dark-thirty. And by setting it out the night before, it won't be confusing as to have I taken it or not. (Having to take a pill every morning when barely awake, since there must then needs be an hour wait before breakfast is possible, has been annoying me for over 15 years.)

Time of Isolation - Day 1579