if you give a mouse a cookie

in which our plucky heroine recognises project creep...

The repainted mailbox, and replacing the grubby Rubbermaid tote bin with a new dark brown "deck box", seems to be inspiring other changes around the Acorn Cottage entryway... This morning I removed the aluminum grille from the front screen door and scrubbed it in the tub prior to spray painting. How did I never notice the very bad condition of the fixed screen underneath (hint: it was/is mostly obscured by the grille). It looks as if former tenants or owners had a cat, or a dog that really wanted outside, since there are various holes and scratched places in the screening. No wonder there are sometimes mystery insects in the house. 

I know how to replace normal (detachable) windowscreens, but this one is integral to the screen door and there is no visible way to detach it for repair. Bah! The only thing I can think of is to cut away most of it and hand sew in a piece of new screening without holes. That seems an excessively laborious and peculiar way to deal with the issue, if less of a faff than removing the door itself from the frame. I have been unable to figure any way to remove the screened section from the door, and all my online searching has been in vain. It also occurrs to me that if worse came to worse and I cannot correctly detach the old damaged screen I could even cut away the old screen and GLUE new screen in place using silicone adhesive. Again less than ideal, but possible.

P.S. Once the paint had dried and the grille been reattached to the screen door, the offending damaged screen is again much less visible, so must needs patiently wait until I figure how best to make repairs. The newly painted grille looks great!

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~ small and sculptural~

These small mare and foal charms weigh only 2 grams and are 21mm (¾") tall. Their blue/green patina, which coordinates with my most recent favorite colorway initially inspired ideas of yet more earrings. Though it occurs to me that these also are a great size to be a tinyworld artifact, an "antiquity"  to be sitting on a shelf or mantelpiece. They remind me somewhat of the little votive horse artifact in the very start of Coppola's "Black Stallion" film, before the shipwreck scene.

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Thursday mid-August throwbacks: Eighteen years ago Jen came to visit, time goes by in a flash, fourteen years ago G and I broke up, nine years ago there was a total solar eclipse, four years ago I began building Caer Cardboard... It is interesting to me to semi-randomly look backwards into the bits of the past captured by my writings here

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I found a few more of Perlenwunderwesen's beaded creature patterns.  I want to make salamanders for my friend Acantha, similar to the ones shes researched. I figure I can adapt the axolotl pattern, once I find beads of the correct colors...

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Sent a message to the Kickstarter I backed, asking them about converting the CAD files to STL files so I could take them to the library makerspace and print them, and got a reply the next day saying that they would send me STL files, once they were ready, maybe even later this month. (The pillboxes won't be ready until much later this year) I'll need to take another workshop at the library to remember how to use the 3D printers, but learning new things and practicing new things is always good. Maybe I can use the larger size model to make one for a friend who needs more space for their meds?

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 Talenti shelves	Talenti shelf up	greenwaste bin
2	acorncap earrings	2nd pot lid rack	recycle bin
3	teaspoon earrings	painted mailbox	greenwaste bin
4	glass button earrings	Strombecker lamp	recycle bin
5	poppy pod earrings	reglue earrings	-
6	red cube earrings	porch storage	x
7	x	painted grille	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- blogging is an ongoing hobby and useful aide-mémoire
- Vera of Perlenwunderwesen generously shares her genius patterns for beaded creatures
- some large cardboard pieces that worked well to support the grille while I was spray-painting it

Time of Isolation - Day 2227

wishful Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine gathers estimates...

Yesterday there were multiple phone calls made to various tradesfolk, in an attempt to garner information about costs of the two most urgent repairs: replacing the kitchen faucet, and dealing with the rotten boards on the front porch. For obvious reasons, most of the places cannot give actual estimates over the phone, but several of them have a substantial and non-refundable fee just to show up and look at the problem; some of the price ranges for "labor to replace faucet" seemed rather boggling (ie 350 to 400 dollars for less than an hour of effort). When I happened to mention to one person I was asking about the porch repair that we were also needing a faucet replaced, they mentioned that though they weren't an actual plumber, they could legally do that job as well. So, tomorrowthis morning they will have a look-see and talk about options.

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~ This will be fun ~

I recently re-read the first book of the Wildwood Chronicles to refresh my memory of the story. In our current world where so much content is put out there generated by text prompts fed by stolen art, the splendid efforts of Laika studios are worth much appreciation and support. I enjoy learning about how the myriad artists and artisans create the animation, and turn the story and artwork (also made by local human people) into something really special. 

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A number of the items ordered online have begun arriving. Best is the new kitchen faucet, and thankfully it is as pleasing to look at and touch in real life as it appeared in the tiny shop photos. The "deck box" ordered at the same time arrived a day later, and for something made of six plastic panels is both remarkably sturdy (I can sit on it, though wouldn't use it to replace a stepladder) and looks surprisingly acceptable. It was, in addition an absolute doddle to assemble. No tools or excessive strength needed, the parts just lock together with integral wedges. This will look better on the porch than the old blue Rubbermaid tote. The several bags of dark brown sugar from Wholesome, a small changeable rainbow time-timer, and a few more beads for making foxen and assorted equines (unicorns and horses oh my) also arrived.

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Since there is more of the bronze spray paint left in the can, it ought to be possible to use tape and newsprint to carefully mask away around the screen doors and paint them a nicer color than their current trashed and scratchy white. Careful examination of said doors made me realise that both the exterior, and with care the interior sides could both be painted.

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There is nothing to concentrate the mind and engender tidying like knowing that someone other than myself will see the house. In the Before Times, this happened regularly as part of preparing for my monthly Crafternoon social gathering. Since the pandammit began, the tidying, not so much. 

Between yesterday and this morning, I turned Mt Dishmore into clean dishes, moved the assorted canned goods and home canned jars of food off the counters and into the pantry, cleared the dining table, and vacuumed the kitchen and living room. Also put the usual under-the-sink into a different area so as to make the faucet guts visible, and cleared away the barriers currently keeping the bad wood zone of the porch from being stepped onto. The piles of papers have all been consolidated into one so they can be sorted, and the obvious recycling put in the bin. The difference it makes is huge. The time it took was less than I'd have guessed. 

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 Talenti shelves	Talenti shelf up	greenwaste bin
2	acorncap earrings	2nd pot lid rack	recycle bin
3	teaspoon earrings	painted mailbox	greenwaste bin
4	glass button earrings	Strombecker lamp	recycle bin
5	poppy pod earrings	reglue earrings	-
6	red cube earrings	porch storage	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

yesterday's gratitudes -
- 5 flavor eggplant, always good, plus I managed to remember it was on the stove and I didn't burn it.
- the new faucet looks as good in person as it did online
- I was brave. I made multiple phone calls. It is less traumatic than it was ten or twenty years ago.
today's gratitudes -
- the deck box was astoundingly easy to put together, and looks acceptable
- my mother first introduced me to Miyazaki films
- we never get over grief, with luck we learn to live with it. I miss mightily my dear friends and family that are gone from the bright world, and do my best here as long as I remain

Time of Isolation - Day 2226

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine is full of plans ...

One fun weekend activity was figuring out Perlenwunderwesen's small beaded dragon pattern... It isn't on their YouTube, or in their Etsy shop. I saw their quick video tutorial on the book of Face, and also found their diagram of the beading structure. It is a great deal more complicated than the tiny frogs, but makes a quite lovely little 3D creature. In 8/0 beads it makes a dragon about 1¼" tall and just over 2" long. As soon as the first one was done, the remainder of the frog beads were turned into a second dragon, friend to the first, and they are now both on the way north to live with Kestrel. I'm quite tempted to try making one from 11/0 beads (a more common, if smaller, size that I've in a plentiful assortment of colors...)

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Ordered a mailbox delivered from Home Despot, that looked quite nice in the online photos, and had overwhemlingly good reviews. It arrived on Sunday and with great hopes of easily replacing the old rusty crusty mailbox, I opened the box. Alas it was not to be. The new mailbox was suffering a fatal lack of Quality Control from the factory. The lids were barely attached at all, one hinge pin entirely missing, and the other partially detached, missing any kind of lock washer to hold it in place and the inner and outer lids were rattling long enough in transit to scratch up the edges of the mailbox.  They don't carry that one in any of the local stores, so no chance of exchanging it, or seeing if a different one is in better shape. Instead, there was a long bus trip to Jantzen Beach to return it directly. Sigh. Searching online for a mailbox built rather more structurally sound as well as aesthetically inoffensive is going about as well as my search for a new kitchen faucet. Picky plucky heroine is picky...

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~ a working sketch ~

Just a very rough sketch of my current thoughts for the black "twill corduroy" pinafore; wanted to catch the idea before it vanished. After washing and a trip to the launderette for their extra hot dryers the fabric washed up nicely with almost no shrinkage. Since this like all corduroy has a nap, it cannot be cut as usual... Information from a sewing book read as a girl still clear in my mind, a with-nap layout means all the pieces need to be laid out with their "heads" all in the same direction.  

So... cut strips from selvedge to selvedge that are the height of the skirt gores, then cut away between each one to create flare, which will look more graceful than a dirndl style gathered skirt. Since there is rather a lot of this fabric (our plucky heroine having placed the order forgetting it was 56" wide not 45"), it will be possible to cut all the bodice and pocket pieces from the remaining fabric and have enough plenty leftover to cut edge binding from. There may even be enough to put aside more bias strips for other future projects.

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A care package full of special kindness from my Mud Bay pals was on my porch today. There are 4 big skeins of taupe Fishermans Wool, so I can start on swatching fancy cables for a future Aran-style sweater. There is a small bag full of walking onion bulbs, so I can find a new spot or two to restart allium self-sufficiency. And there is a glorious miniature print of the tiniest watercolor artwork of a hawk perched on a sewing machine (intended as a gift for tinyfolk Kenya Ogidni) that will eventually grace the wall in a Tansu Terrace sewing and crafting space. The artist Jaimee Lee Gentile will be at Art In The Pearl in September, a chance to see her work in person...

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adapted from "Du Iz Tak"  by Carson Ellis

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this is silly, but it is also me: The Sugarcoated Sisters - Aphantasia

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One unexpected benefit to not being good about pulling out the weeds, is that when they go to seed, goldfinches are delighted with the buffet! There were many of them right outside the bedroom window this morning, more than I have seen so close before... 

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	15 tiny masu boxes	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	black scarf hem	replace C O alarm	recycle bin
3	Brambly Hedge slip	-	greenwaste bin
4	5 more bead frogs	-	overgrown lovage
5	"Cats Invade" books	-	greenwaste bin
6	all the bead frogs	x	recycle bin
7	two beaded dragons	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- goldfinches outside the bedroom window this morning
- tiny beaded dragons are delightful
- yarn, and walking onion starts, and a glorious miniature artwork gift were in my care package from Mud Bay

Time of Isolation - Day 2204

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine is confused...

No idea why there was no recent message about today's cancelled medical appointment, but after getting out the door a little after 6 and arriving at just before what I thought was my 8 AM clinic visit, it was a surprise and not a treat to find out that the doctor wasn't there. Since I'd skipped breakfast to get there on time, the ground floor cafe was an option for a bowl of take-out real oatmeal, then ate outdoors on the not really sekrit second floor patio. In all the years of various medical visits I've never seen anyone else in that space, though there is occasional evidence by way of food wrappers in the trash can

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~ well worth seeing ~

It was surprisingly difficult to successfully photograph the Carson Ellis mural at the St Johns Library children's room, really seeing it in person is the best option, but this fragment gives a hint at the delight.

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Started converting the stripey dress into a Brambly Hedge slip. It was time consuming attaching the eyelet to the hemline edge, the only "difficulty" being the length of the hem. The dress sleeves were cut off to salvage fabric for bias strips to finish the enlarged neck and armsceye edges, which is the next step. This will be a rare slip indeed with the large pockets of an everyday dress, but somehow seems quite suitable for the aesthetic. Lastly, the large machine sewn patch (that never quite disguised the ink spot) will be removed, the stain cut away and repaired with a smaller and less obtrusive patch.

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A while back was online chatting with Acantha about my idea of adapting the WonderBag concept to use the mylar bubblepack leftovers from grocery orders to create an insulated cozy for off-stove cookery. She found a somewhat larger than needed (5 qt) but excellent cookpot and sent it up here to PDX via Gersvinda, and it recently arrived on the front porch. A good scrubbing tonight and it will be ready for use, will allow me to retire my other large pot for textile dyeing instead, and shall inspire experimentation to create insulated "containers" from various salvaged materials...

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	15 tiny masu boxes	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	black scarf hem	replace C O alarm	recycle bin
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes- 
- cooking pot from Acantha, transported by Gersvinda
- sleeping when tired
- had a delightful conversation with Mischa yesterday about the small god of lost things, or more accurately the god of things lost and found, and what sort of shrine offerings would be most suitable. While this pertains to the game we are working on restarting, it also seems pertinent to Actual Life. There are art projects in mind...

Time of Isolation - Day 2188

recombinant refurbishment

in which our plucky heroine takes time to play...

Today decided to refurbish and reconfigure two pairs of earrings into one. Back in 2013 dear Ariadne gave me these lampwork beads she made, knowing that I enjoy wearing grey and black together. I turned them into earrings of course, but the floss tassel finial wasn't quite right.

Even earlier, sometime back in the 90's at OCF, I acquired some black porcelain horse charm earrings... they were quite heavy, so in 2009, some "time with the wet grinder thinned them to no more than 3mm thick; while some of the whimsical sculptured detail was lost, they are now light enough for comfort"... A vintage whiteheart bead and tiny sky blue enamel coordinated with my (OCF trading circle) turquoise beads, but still for some reason they were rarely worn.

I'd been hunting through my bucket of beads recently looking for frog materials, and cogitating for quite some time prior about what might combine well with the Ariadne lampwork beads, when my black horse earrings caught my eye. Aha! and it was the work of a few minutes to deconstruct them. As a way to further embellish the horses I decided to add a few spots to each in decorative triangles, carefully grinding away with the smallest round diamond burr in my little box from Harbor Freight. Once they dried (always grind under water for safety) the tiny dots were subtle, but visible. Wirework combined beads and horses into a pleasing pair of new earrings! Photos tomorrow when it is daylight...

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~ 1⅜" x ⅞" ~

Between other errands downtown, stopped off at Clay Commons yesterday afternoon and could not resist bringing home this exquisite hand painted ceramic vessel. An addition to the tinyworld art gallery.

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Excellent news about the knitting pattern quest... Cocoknits very generously sent me a PDF copy of the Oakleaf Family Tree pattern complete with all the charts. Huzzah and vast gratitude!

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Initially my thought was that the carbon monoxide alarm needed a new battery, but when replacing that made no difference at all to the chirping beeps, I thought to read the VERY small print on the back of the battery door... Oh, five chirps in a row means "end of life" (not for the humans) but the gizmo itself. So off to the hardware store this morning. I forgot to bring my monthly discount flier, but asked the cashier if it was possible to look up online, and so she tried, but that didn't work. When I said, "well then, I guess I will come back again tomorrow instead" she generously offered me a $5 off coupon, which being the same as the flyer coupons was just as good!!  Now all I need to do is decide where to install it; the old one plugged into the wall, but this one does not. The internets say 12" below ceiling in the hall outside bedrooms, but not too near a bathroom, or air vents, which makes me think most people have bigger houses than Acorn Cottage. 

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"Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around."

~ e. l. konigsburg

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	-	C O alarm	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- Cocoknits sent me the knitting pattern I've been seeking
- mango slaw (modified from smitten kitchen)
- kindly cashier at Ace Hardware
- the man at the hardware store wearing silver and black dotted knee socks with black bike shorts and a silver brocade jacket... there is whimsy in the world!

Time of Isolation - Day 2181

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine runs some errands...

Today was lovely, as the weather shifted to a soft grey sky and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees. Time to enjoy bike-riding and getting a few errands done. Returned a library book, then decided to splurge by getting a coffee shop bacon/cheddar scone, which was just as delicious as the former time months ago. Hunger is the best sauce, and I'd forgotten to eat breakfast!

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~ better now... ~

The bag shoulder strap repair begun Tuesday is now finished. It was a bit tricksy getting all the stitching holes lined up once the Barge contact cement was ready, but the final re-stitched effect is quite tidy. It's good to have another small (indoor) task crossed off the to-do list!

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Made several attempts over the last few weeks to turn cottage cheese and almond flour into pseudo-bread and it just isn't something I like. Maybe try something else with cottage cheese, these crackers from cottage and cheddar or parmesan might be a better choice? Or I could rummage around and find the recipe I used ages ago for cheddar biscotti aka waybread (that was not gluten free, but was tasty and filling. Hmmm...

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Other chores got done prior to the rain arriving: the laundry (Mt. Washmore) was mostly dry on the line, and is now indoors to finish on the drying rack. And a bit more yard work to help fill up the greenwaste wheelie bin with more deadheaded sage and almost all the bunches of unripe grapes (which get removed before ripening to prevent the Invasion of the Danger Bugs) 

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Looking back on late June in years past: 2008 teaching cloisonne, 2010 Tigress Can Jam (strawberry rhubarb), 2012 saw the King Tut exhibition in Seattle, 2014 tiny Anglo-Saxon enamels, 2016 a sleeping hood for camping warmth, 2018 returning to tablet weaving, 2020 Nandina made her first appearance, 2022 a tinyworld Norse long-tent, 2024 in a world where everything falls apart, there is still beauty to listen to 

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Thought about getting an S-hook extension from the garden store so as to be able to hang my new cookpot to the pot-rack, then realised it would be useful to have measured the necessary distance first. Next time, or maybe get one of my blacksmith friends to custom make one that will be Just Right.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Babs brooch	thinned apples	greenwaste bin
2	5th god lino block	add under elastic	recycle bin
3	5th god corner block	white scarf hem	recycle bin
4	enamels for John	add more elastics	greenwaste bin
5	tie-dye pillowcases	Viking bag strap	greenwaste bin
6	x	x	recycle bin
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the pixel world lets me still hear music
- that very tasty bacon and cheddar scone
- today was cool, and not-sunny... my kind of weather perzactly

Time of Isolation - Day 2176

Monday miscellany and memory

in which our plucky heroine remembers...

There are never very many, since I only have the one blueberry bush, but this morning I realised that what had been all green clusters of berries were scattered with some dusky blue. Picked still warm from the sun they will grace my breakfast yogurt, and remind me of longago in the Before Times, when I first moved to Acorn Cottage, when my friend Larissa was still in the bright world and she and her husband Gryphon brought me future blueberries all in a garden center pot to plant in the yard. I think of her with every bite of the tart sweetness, and miss our younger selves.

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~ fearless mending ~

Ten years ago I made this purse, inspired by Viking Age wooden artifacts thought to be bag components. The cross-body strap has always been a few inches too long, and it finally occurred to me how best to shorten it. Some excess length was removed, and the strap layers separated and enough stitching and the now inner layers cut away to allow them to just meet, and the outer layers overlap. Had the two ends simply been overlapped and stitched it would make a clunky 4 layer join, but by trimming out parts of the straps it takes the thickness down to 3 layers instead, which will give a somewhat smoother final result. The strap will all be re-glued and re-stitched using the original punched holes and fresh waxed linen thread, and now ride on my hip at a more comfortable length.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Babs brooch	thinned apples	greenwaste bin
2	5th god lino block	add under elastic	recycle bin
3	5th god corner block	white scarf hem	recycle bin
4	enamels for John	add more elastics	greenwaste bin
5	tie-dye pillowcases	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- my assortment of Acantha-made pottery bowls
- ripe sun warmed blueberries from the plant Gryphon and Larissa gave me years ago as a housewarming gift
- handmade goat milk soap from Drusa

Time of Isolation - Day 2173

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine makes small improvements...

This morning, after putting away the now dry dishes from last night, it became apparent that my long time method of using a towel under the dish drainer to catch extra drips was less than ideal for the crap formica countertop. Usually I remember to pull the towel out after it has done the job, which lets the counter dry out overnight as the damp dishes do the same. 

In the interest of not creating a mold farm, instead there was an Ikea excursion. They had VÄLVÅRDAD in stock, a powder coated metal catch tray large enough to (probably) fit the dish rack here. While I'd cleverly cut a piece of kraft paper the size of the bottom of my dish rack to take with to check the size, when tray and rack were in the same place it turned out I'd not accounted for the thickness of the wire legs. Fortunately, I have tools! There was good use made of the rawhide mallet and the stump; with crashings and bashings the legs were bent just enough to fit neatly inside the tray edges.

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~ very very sharp ~

Last night, inspired by this Instagram post, I finished making a sharpener for fabric marking chalks, from an old carved wooden box, hardware bits, and some new double edged razor blades (surprisingly cheap!). While my sharpening box didn't turn out quite the same as those others, it works eversomuch better and faster than scraping away at the edge of the chalk with a knife or scissors blade. The wooden box itself is at least fifty years old, maybe more, and likely came from an "import store" when I was young, and this will be a way of using it for something that will see more frequent use than tucked away on a closet shelf holding random smaller trinkets. 

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Well that was a bit of a perturbing minor memory fail... One of the several times living in the Lexington house with friends, the year after the Allston household broke apart, some of us moved there and kept living together. I've very few memories of those not particularly happy years. At my sisters husbands class reunion, one of the men (Doug Weston) from way back then ran into her and sent his regards. I'm embarrassed to not remember him, by face or by name, perhaps he was more Gary's friend than mine??.

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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	-	-
4	boro basket 3	-	-
5	boro basket 4	-	-
6	sharpening box	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- mostly functional public transit
- when an Instagram inspiration actually works
- the stump Bill gave me

Time of Isolation - Day 2134

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"

 . 
※※※

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

baby bears chair and other miscellany

in which our plucky heroine makes plans...

There are eversomany projects here that need done or that would be desirable. The next few days I'd like to finish the flannel shirt, and finish sampling the raincoat toggle spacing (for my personal projects) and finish the tiny bezels for the Babs brooch project... Maybe find the tarp pieces intended to bridge the gap between the porch and the walkway; getting that built will be very helpful.

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~ the past brought forward ~

This small Chinese rug holds some of my very early memories. It was originally my Nana's, possibly a wedding gift a hundred years ago, and now warms the floor next to my bed, one of the few objects salvaged after my parents demise that made it here to Acorn Cottage. The colors are vivid yet subtle, and looking at it carefully to draw it today, I also was surprised to see that some of its shapes and patterns that still reverberate in my own artwork. 

This is the only sewing machine I purchased new. Prior to this Bernette 330, once I left living with my parents, I had assorted machines from yard sales or thrift stores, none good enough to put money into repairing them when they broke down. I have been using this machine for almost 40 years now, and while it isn't fancy, it is wonderfully reliable, and has sewn everything I've asked it to, from a canvas tent to lightweight lingerie. Past Me was clever enough to buy a walking foot for the machine at the same time, and that attachment is in use several times a year at the very least

The furniture in my home comes from four different places... there are a few pieces that I've had all my life, two small bookcases and two chests of drawers, all rather battered by now, but full of memory. I believe they were bought from one of those "unfinished furniture" stores back in the 50's and furbished by my dad. I have a fair amount of "Ivar" and various other solid wood pieces from IKEA. I have a table, several small shelves and most especially my wooden bedframe that were handmade by friends. 

However, at least half of the furnishings here at Acorn Cottage are vintage or salvage of some kind. When I found this chair at the local resale shop, I could tell it was something special, firstly because it was just my size. Most chairs are too tall, and the seats are too deep for my petite self. On closer examination, the graceful shaping, and the beautiful through wedges of the legs were very worthy of notice. It had at that time a label on the back of the back rung that said "Ercol", a manufacturer uncommon here that I was not familiar with. I feel lucky to have found this unexpectedly affordable gem in a shop where it was not appreciated. It is my favorite chair.

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The switch to my bedside lamp stopped working on Monday.  I headed out yesterday to the hardware store in hope that they might have a replacement switch. Fortunately, they did. In the process of taking the lamp all the way apart to replace the broken switch, I noticed that the harp framework that holds the shade to the light socket was falling to pieces, with three of the four welds broken.

While I have a lot of skills, welding steel isn't one of them. But I do have a useful assortment of chemical bonding agents aka glue. It seemed like a good job for "Milliput", a very superior sort of epoxy putty, and that proved to be the case. After mixing up a tiny batch, I used it to sandwich the broken pieces together in the correct position, and after a few hours the putty set stone hard, and once the lamp was reassambled, it was back in service.

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Our winter weather is being odd. Nowhere near as much rain as would be ideal, and not as cold as previous years, though still plenty cold enough for wooly cardigans and layered leggings. And, as we head towards February, the patch of snowdrops in the front yard are blooming, and I saw two honeybees busy there.

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Today I happened to see a newspaper, a NYT business section lying on the table at the floral counter of the grocery store. The headline was something like "Gold tops $5000/oz". Of course I had to look more closely, for while I don't use gold, I have been using silver in my metalwork for many years. Probably not so much going forward, since silver too has skyrocketed in price. A few months ago it was under $30/oz, but it is now over $100/oz! I don't ever keep metal on hand, but only purchase just enough for a project if a client commissions me and pays a deposit, because silver has always been volatile in price, but in all my many years, I have never seen fluctuations or prices like this. I suspect I shall have to learn a new way to work, for the most part without silver. This will create serious technical challenges, as enamel behaves differently and changes colors depending on the substrate. 

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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	-	bedside lamp	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

Monday's gratitudes -
- a beautiful Chinese rug that graces my bedside floor
- a very tasty Thai dinner
- Mikki is patient and kind

Tuesday's gratitudes - 
- finding out what is probably causing my tech trouble, and incidentally also finding out it is NOT my laptop
- early bedtime
- unexpectedly saw Helga at the grocery store, and she was able to give me my eye drops from Costco.

Wednesday's gratitudes -
- one major admin task is finally completed
- got over 8 hours of sleep due to early bedtime last night
- found some tiny alder cones for the miniature trinket shelves

Time of Isolation - Day 2029

Friday fragments

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

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

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

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~ proto kweepeergelei ~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 1956

Monday musings

in which our plucky heroine wakes up early...

and while sitting looking out the living room window, enjoys seeing juncos foraging amongst the weeds and undergrowth in the front yard. They may be common, but they are so delightful.

This afternoon I moved some wood chips from the driveway pile to front yard, using refurbished wheelbarrow. Also reconfigured the mulch around the future pear thicket, to keep it from right against the young tree trunks (which is not healthy for them), and moved some bricks into circular edging to keep the mulch in place. Then I was tired. Picked up the not currently needed watering buckets and moved them next to the back door, rather than leaving their uncharming selves in the middle of the front yard. Considering getting this "bubbler" from Lee Valley, and timing how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket. Could instead of repeatedly filling plastic buckets in the summer, just set a timer to remind self to move the gizmo from tree to tree once the right amount of hydration has been delivered to each one, which would have the added benefit of encouraging intermittent movement

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~ hams and bacon ~

I've been thinking about overlays, the way that history leaves traces, the way that memory adds a veil over what remains or has changed... when I was young, encyclopedias or even sometimes dictionaries would have visual diagrams where there was information printed on a transparent page that would show the locations of body parts, or of the interior of plants, and suchlike. Now it may seem quaint, but it is a resonant concept. When I walk around the downtown, or in places from my past life, my mind populates the spaces with what no longer exists. There is no "Powells Technical Books", no "Daisy Kingdom", and Winks Hardware is now across the river.

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a better shoelace knot ... will have to try it out for myself

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The oldest of my Fiskars spring loaded snips, the pair that lost its orange little closure toggle several years ago, has been kept shut ever since by looping the handles closed with a hair tie, which is less than ideal. Instead, a scrap of upholstery leather, a bit of time with the lacing punches, and a dab of Barge Cement et voila, there is a little narrow sheath that the snip blades slide into and are held in place by the pressure of them trying to open. Much safer and more tidy.

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went to Pearl Hardware to buy some of the special candles that fit in the camping candle lantern. Used to be able to get them at REI. Not that it is camping season, but after The Way Forward this weekend that went over some of the ways to be prepared for Unknown Future Challenges, one of the topics was emergency lighting. I have a lantern for the windowless bathroom, of course, but a second lantern with the correct acoutrements seems like a good idea

Walking east across downtown to get transit home again, stopped in at Dick Blick, and while window shopping, found that they carry a vast array (the full line?) of DMC floss, and also Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash printing ink, two needful handcraft supplies that it is excellent to have available locally. Especially the floss, so difficult to judge the colors accurately online.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes - 
- leatherworking tools and the knowledge of how to use them
- the varied vivid gradients of maple leaves this time of year
- I splurged on a small bit of black cod for my dinner. It is my favorite fish.
- 'twas a minor adventure: Pearl Hardware + Dick Blick. Adding minor adventures at least once a week might be a way to increase well being.

Time of Isolation - Day 1952

so bright such delight wow

in which our plucky heroine appreciates autumn ...

and the last few days have been very autumnal indeed. Well mixed with cool grey mornings and crisp clear afternoons, the leaves turn colors and fill the edges of the streets. We will have a few more days like this, before rain.

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~ maple aflame ~

so difficult to capture the way these vivid maple leaves were glowing in the angled light of late afternoon... Fortunately I'm usually riding on the quiet side streets, since the color stopped me in my tracks.

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One of the three legs of my venerable vegetable steamer somehow fell apart. It appears to have been bent aside at an angle enough that the leg slipped through the attachment hole in the base of the steamer. The legs on this one are riveted in place, and so difficult to easily reattach. So, though my initial thought was to somehow make a replacement leg from wire, my second thought was the hardware store. Indeed, the bulk aisle of the local Ace Hardware had a modest but sufficient number of drawers of stainless steel bolts, screws, nuts and misc. While not perfect (the 1" bolt is about ⅛" too long) combining a bolt, a split lock washer, and the matching nut the steamer can now stand on three legs again, albeit a tad tilted. Fortunately that makes no difference at all to the items being steamed.

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Saw Dr Breeze today instead of my usual PCP. I'm glad that he took my concerns seriously, and said that he thought it was good I was not ignoring the issue(s). I am less than thrilled at the idea of going on prescription antacid for two weeks as an initial diagnostic, particularly with the many caveats attached to it, and also that some of the side effects are the very same symptoms I am concerned about. How would one know if it is effective in that case? Apparently there is a progression of testing, which echos the saying "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras"

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Decided to go ahead with making five "star books" for the Advent Swap. It turns out that the metallic origami paper is tricksy to use for pages. There will certainly need to be instructions included along with the tiny book/ornament: "Open and unfold all the way, placing the book covers back to back. Tie the cords in a single overhand knot, then use the rest of the cord to hang the star book up as desired. Adjust the pages evenly distributed, with each side forming a five pointed star. To put away, reverse the process"

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes -
- our local hardware store had what I needed in the bulk aisle
- had a nice long chat with my pal Wanda
- was able to see alternate doctor today, who took my concerns seriously.

Time of Isolation - Day 1948

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.

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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.

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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

heart on my sleeve

in which our plucky heroine appreciates the everyday...

...starting with somehow managing to get 8 hours of sleep. A very rare occurrence, probably related to the 6½ miles of walking yesterday. Around the autumnal equinox is when the summer percale sheets get folded away and the cotton flannel sheets take their place. It is almost time to switch from the coverlet to the duvet, the last step before turning the heat pump to warming the house instead of cooling it.  

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~ stacked skeletons ~

These are more horrific folded on shelves than ever seen in folks yards...

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Among today's errands, a stop at Kitchen Kaboodle to get a new gasket for one of the small glass Fido jars. Those sorts of jars are not hard to find, but replacement parts are difficult, and after the fermented onion experiment, that jar definitely needed help. Was also able to pick up a wooden citrus reamer to replace the crumbling plastic one that is no longer useable, and ended with a satisfying conversation with the clerk who had just signed up for a library card. She hadn't known about accessing films through Kanopy  via library, which is a free source for a wide assortment of documentary, vintage, foreign, and modern films...

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A few days ago, the rear left stove burner started not lighting correctly, and then burning with yellow instead of blue flame. Odd, and a bit scary. Went as far as phoning a few places about a service call. I do keep the beloved stove as spic and span as possible, so figured it was something mechanical. For some reason, it seemed like a good idea to double check the moveable lid of the burner, thinking maybe there had been a splash from a spill or??  On closer examination, looking into the small deep central opening where the gas jet is, there seemed to be what looked like spiderweb?... so, with great care, a toothpick, and a tiny brush, our plucky heroine removed the detritus without actually touching any of the mechanism. Yay! The burner now lights and burns correctly, and there is no need to spend over $100 only to be told that apparently cobweb patrol isn't just for ceilings!! 

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Almost done mending the chopshop-style cardigan. It has all new cuffs made from neckband ribbing. There are a few holes still to patch, though some buttonhole stitch, blanket stitch, and stem stitch embroidery turned the largest one into a heart, most appropriately located on the sleeve.

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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	-	cardigan cuffs	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the back stove burner didn't need repair, just needed me to (carefully) remove the spiderweb from inside the mechanism! 
- got my flu jab today, of the special high dose version for seniors. My arm is more sore than it was from the covid jab earlier
- varied layers for bedding comfort, changing with the seasons

Time of Isolation - Day 1936