finally back...

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

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

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~ incremental progress ~

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

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

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

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

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

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 2047

not the sparkle you desire

in which our plucky heroine wakes up to scintillating scotoma...

I've gone for many years at a time without seeing any of these, but this is the second one in as many months. Fortunately only annoying and distracting, and by the time I was done with breakfast, it was mostly beyond my peripheral vision.

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~ tiny trinkets ~

The compartments in these 3D printed trinket shelves are only a bit taller than ⅛", small enough that finding suitable denizens has been quite challenging. The littlest of seashells, turquoise chip beads, some very tiny alder cones, and fragments of a crystal geode are some of what fits. It is tempting to try and create a tiny sculpture of some kind; tried to use some of the leftover Milliput, but couldn't manipulate it well at that scale. Wondering about Very Tiny mushrooms? 

I'd really like to get the file to print a few more of these shelves, but just a bit larger. My friend Sam printed these for me last year, and if he can share the instructions, the library has 3D printing...

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Found an online source to get charging cables for my phone that have a right angle bend where the plug joins the wires, which will make a big difference in how easy it will be to use.

Spent over an hour on the phone trying to get some help from Century Link re the problems with my (albeit ancient) wifi modem etc. The repair tech person insisted that everything was working just fine, and that the only problem was that I hadn't signed a subscriber agreement?! (despite my having had an account for over twenty years) and that they would send it to me as a text. Only problem with that is that my account with them is for a land line, not a mobile. So called the customer service person, to try and get that sorted out. Still SNAFU'd. after almost another hour talking to them. Will try again in the morning. Dunno how "never having signed a piece of paper" would cause my wifi to suddenly stop working properly a few weeks ago, after years and years of more or less okay service.

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Not exactly "Swimming Rama", but combining leftovers with some various frozen cubes made a tasty dinner: there were two cartons of extra rice from the Thai takeaway food Mikki and I had for dinner, so a bit of that, plus a frozen cube of chopped cooked power greens, one of cooked mashed yellow squash, and one of spicy thai red curry sauce... If I had thought to cook up some chicken or shrimp it would have been even better, but it was fine! 

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2026 calendars are cut up, holes punched and cords threaded... all the envelopes are counted out ready to be addressed and stamped. I keep thinking of more folks who might enjoy one, but want to get these at least in the mail before the end of January. Better late than never... 

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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

today's gratitudes -
- just as I suspected, chevre is a fantastic companion to the fig mostarda made earlier this month
- a wide variety of freezer cubes of veggies, sauces, and suchlike
- I like how this year's AlphaBeast calendar looks more than I did at first. The style has a very different look than my previous ones, but still distinctively my own. Which is sort of the point.

Time of Isolation - Day 2030

keep on keeping on

in which our plucky heroine struggles...

it is hard to feel as if my isolated handcrafty life has any relevance in this world of deepening horror, but I am determined to not let despair swallow me. If we give up, they win.

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~ daily drawings ~

day 23 - Shrek's Ears miniature live succulent; just the right scale for a specimen plant in the tinyworld... it is now about two inches tall, having doubled in size since my pal Karen gave it to me. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the tiny ceramic condiment dish to turn it into a planter. 

day 24 - a lampwork necklace of beads made for me by Ariadne in various assorted designs: smaller beads in turquoise and cream, some with trailed feathering or dots and several larger focal beads with raised and flat dotted patterns, more elaborate feathering, and one very long thin oval with multiple feathered stripes. 

day 25 - small but pleasing, this Japanese (sewing) tape measure feels good in the hand, and sees almost daily use here

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Only a little sewing progress this weekend, but I did notice that while I didn't actually mirror the sleeve pieces, they are only about ⅛" off from each other, I suspect that I might be the only one to notice, once the shirt is done. Looking forward to making a sample sleeve placket next.

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While sorting out and putting away "Richard Scarrys Great Big Bucket O Beads"(TM) which I had unpacked all over the worktable seeking possible tiny bits for a not yet finished tinyworld project, I saw these teardrop shaped beads that were an interesting turquoise/light brown irridescent glass... which reminded me that of my pair of earrings made from some vintage acorn charms that combined a textured metal bead cap with a round bright green glass bead. I never wore them, as while I have an assortment of acorn and oak leaf earrings, in this case the shape only vaguely resembled an acorn, and bright green is not one of my wardrobe colors... 

However, these teardrop beads are a great coordinate for the teal and chocolate brown colors of the current wardrobe sewing I'm doing, and the shape was much more acorn evocative. It took longer for me to unearth some headpins than it did to disassemble and reassemble the earrings. I suspect they will be in regular rotation as an accessory now.

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I'm not sure what to do about my tech troubles, as it is unclear what the cause(s?) are. Video chat with my friends has become, in the last few years, a vital tool to maintain my sanity. And recently, as in the last several weeks or so, it has gone from occasional glitches of video or audio, to being almost unuseable, particularly the video transmission, in both directions.

At first it was just Zoom, but now it is also other platforms I've been trying as alternatives. The occasional glitches one becomes used to, when a message pops up that says "your internet is unstable", but now I can't share my video from the laptop at all, though I can see other people most of the time. Sometimes I can share video from my phone, as long as I don't use the wifi.

It would be very useful to have some sort of a diagnostic flow chart to use to figure out what to change or what to do, as there are multiple systems and bits of hardware, and the problem could be in any of them. Is it in the Very Old Modem? The router?? If it wasn't an intermittent problem I would wonder about my internet connection, but it worked just fine up until earlier this month... Maybe somewhere in the wires that connect everything? Are there too much junk files inside the laptop? Does something need to be updated that I have not done so? The laptop itself is fairly new, so itself shouldn't be a problem. I am looking to find "the end of the string" so I can begin to untangle this difficulty.

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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

Friday's gratitudes -
- a simple dinner: stir frying some baby bok choi with green onions, and throwing a few (frozen) shrimp in at the end. Having already made Thai peanut sauce and already cooked purple barley in the fridge made it an easy complete and tasty meal
- I am really enjoying the 15 minutes drawing 100 day project, it is like daily gratitude in a different mode
- Karen brought me a different wall mount land line phone, that is grey and white instead of green (so it looks like it belongs in my kitchen), and that has a clever way of keeping the handset from falling off. I like it a lot more than the previous phone
Saturday's gratitudes -
- a house full of all sorts of bits and bobs suitable for creative reuse, and the tools and knowledge to do so
- half-size oil filled radiators... one under the computer desk, and one in the bathroom 
- refurbished acorn earrings
Sunday's gratitudes -
- sunny and dry (if cold) so I was able to ride to the store and get another dozen half pint jars
- the store clerk kindly scanned her magic card for the shopper discount (I've misplaced the card I had fifteen years ago, and rarely shop there, so never bothered to replace it, as almost never are the sale prices on what I might want to purchase.
- mmmmm... blood orange marmalade! There was a 2#bag of organic blood oranges in the produce box this week, and while I did eat a few out of hand, most were turned into preserves. I still remember the very first time I tasted a blood orange, on a trip Mr Dawson and I took to West Kingdom 12th Night many years ago.

Time of Isolation - Day 2036

Saturday snippets and bits

in which our plucky heroine goes to the farmers market...

The last market day of the year, and there were fewer food vendors and more handcraft vendors, not surprisingly. I had been hoping for some leeks, but got there too late in the day. Instead, I brought home what looked like skinny leeks but was actually young garlic; I'm guessing the farm was thinning the garlic crop? I also brought home some locally grown Purple Karma barley to try; it is whole rather than pearled, so takes longer to cook, and has a very different texture than the mucilaginous pearl barley...

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~ not bigger than a breadbox ~

But in fact it started out as just that... but now is in the process of being converted into a studio apartment for Opal. Not really set up yet, just some of the Caer Cardboard furniture moved in temporarily. Kenya and Sequoia are visiting while Opal puts her feet up for a few and thinks about what to deal with next... I'm thinking maybe a worktable, at least one bookcase, maybe an armchair instead of the couch, and a single bed insted of the big double clothespin bed. The flooring is contact paper on bristol board, and will anchor future color choices. Opal really likes "Danish Modern" MCM style, which isn't surprising given her heritage.

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The resipei embroidery project is perfect handwork to take with me when on transit. I get to fill some otherwise useless time with satisfying progress, and it isn't so absorbing that I miss my stop!

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Note to self (and to share)... do not use or purchase again "Anchor Hocking" brand lids for waterbath canning, even if they are $2 cheaper (and what is usually a reputable brand). Of the 12 lids in the box, tried using them with several recipes, more than half the lids did not seal. All the "Ball" brand lids used at the same time sealed properly. I have been canning for years, and never had this kind of problem before. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action...

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Yesterday when I was chatting with the B's about food over the phone, Barb described her "Green Soup" which sounded so appealing that I had to pick up some broccoli and some potato just to make a version of it myself. (she was telling me how she had to adapt due to them having an all day power outage; she used Mom's hand food mill instead of a stick blender) 

I had made some good strong chicken bone broth earlier in the week, and used that as a base. Added the broccoli, the yellow Finn potato, and all the other greens from the fridge (spinach, garden mix, and the remnants of bok choy). Cooked a small onion and half the bunch of green garlic then added that as well. Seasoned with some of Penzey's "Justice" mixture and a good spoonful of chicken better-than-boullion. Once it was all cooked and softened, the stick blender turned it into a fragrant green-flecked pot of delicious dinner (and several future meals). Since it was originally a broccoli-cheddar soup in theory, I added a few cheese cubes for garnish and was happy.

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This evening my laptop started behaving in a most peculiar way... it repeatedly threw up a banner across a quarter of the screen letting me know it was trying to "cast", while not allowing me to do anything else. I have never seen that before, and AFAIK had not told it to do so or pushed any new buttons?? Fortunately I was able to call Karen, and ask if John was free and could help with my computer problems. Once he called me back, he was able to talk me through poking around in the settings folder and turning off a bunch of stuff I never use, which seems to have at least stopped the giant banner from obscuring the screen, and lets me type again. It is a bit alarming how dependent I've become on the pixel world to keep in contact with the human world.

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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 -
- my sister in law is wonderful, I would be her friend even if she wasn't married to my little brother!
- John was able to do remote tech support on the phone, and we got my laptop to stop filling the screen with peculiar messages
- asking for help instead of panicking, and getting help 

Time of Isolation - Day 2002

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine is mostly pleased...

In the interest of focusing on a small good, rather than the wistful (or the horror) now there is a batch of Awesome Sauce for Ashe & Co cooling on the countertop overnight, made using white vinegar instead of my usual cider vinegar, because of their apple allergy. As opposed to my previous failed attempt earlier this month, timely checking and stirring kept the thickening condiment from scorching, and there are at least five sealed jars ready to share when they visit later this week...

That said, the Anchor Hocking jar lids continue to be unreliable, two of the jars didn't seal. Buying that brand was an experiment that will not happen again. And much to my dismay, of my recent purchase of a dozen half pint mason jars, eleven of the twelve have flawed glass! I shall have to return them to the hardware store; have never before seen suchlike. 

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~ just before dawn ~

sometimes, to be out walking before the sun actually rises can be really lovely, the streets are still quiet; the quality of the light is extraordinary...

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Since the new-to-me mobile phone is not a current model, it was necessary to search aftermarket sites to find a protective case. I've been pretty happy with various Otterbox cases over the years, and managed to find one on Ebay, which arrived today from the east coast. The "Pursuit" series is a bit more "rugged" than cases I have had in the past, but I am most particularly pleased with the integral plugs to cover the access ports when they are not in use. Past phones picked up frelch when carried around in my pockets, which caused all sorts of problems. Also, this phone case has a clear back, which means that at some point a decorative paper insert can be added. 

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Very incremental tidying turned up an additional expansion rod, the sort commonly used for shower curtains. My other spare expansion rod, used to drape the shower curtain so it dries out between uses and doesn't get all moldy along the edge where it touches the tub, has also been used to create  a clothes drying rack over the bathtub. Now there will be twice as much space for heavier things that overload the drying rack in the laundry zone.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief	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	-
6	24 more owls	case for phone	x
7	7 jars of Awesome Sauce	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- phone case ordered via Ebay is much better designed than any case previously used, with integral plugs to keep frelch out of the access ports
- found another expansion rod, which will add considerably to my ability to hang-dry clothing over the bathtub
- this charming late 19thC graphic of helper angels in the kitchen, found online by my pal Ursel... it reminds me of the whole set of Mary Azarian helper angel ornaments, found in a catalog of her work long ago, that I cut out, colored in, and have been in my kitchen for many many years now.

Time of Isolation - Day 1977

a parliament of owls

in which our plucky heroine makes more than enough...

Yesterday what I thought was the final box of treats sent here for the Advent Of A Better Year swap arrived on my front porch. Now I can have the fun of doing the mix-n-match of all the gifts to give all the thirty participants (and bonus boxes) the widest assortment possible. So much dopamine! Then two additional Advent Swap packages arrived today, which brings our official total up to 32!! I am astounded and pleased!

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~ full of personality ~

I love how different each of the owls looks, the slight variations in how the eyes are drawn, and how their feather tufts/horns turn out, really adds so much character... Once they all get their legs-gripping-twigs added, they will be all set aside until next years Advent of A Better Year Swap gifts.

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11 more jars of Awesome Sauce, done before midnight last night, but there were three jars that failed to seal. Sigh, that rarely happens, but I was using a different brand of jar lids (Anchor Hocking) than usual, perhaps that was the cause? Going to start on a single batch using white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar, so it will be Ashe-safe (my friend has a really bad apple allergy)

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Samsung S9 my nephew sent me was activated, and while as he told me it does indeed need a new battery but is nonetheless totally useable, holding a charge for at least a day (much less problematic than Moto-E had been, which required being recharged several times a day) 

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I seem to have misplaced the clamp that attaches my yarn swift to the table in a useable position. While surely the clamp must be somewhere in Acorn Cottage, it is not with the yarn handling tools, which all were perzactly in their designated home. This is perplexing, as well as a minor challenge, since the swift is useless without the clamp. Draping the skein of yarn to be wound into a ball over the back of a chair, while rather old-school, did work okay. With luck, hopefully the swift clamp will show up again at some point, as it is a lovely useful tool that does one job, but does it really well  ...

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In the process of sorting through my wardrobe to see what is worn out enough that needs to be replaced, I realised that I never wear the black knit slip with embroidered hemline, as the shoulder straps are much too long, which makes the waist too low, as well as the neck. It was not too difficult to cut away excess and hand stitched the added seams neatly.

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Apparently mid-November is much too late to be harvesting persimmons, as at least half the crop has been destroyed by squirrels. Must remember to start harvest next year once the fruit begins to be golden yellow, and not wait for tree-ripened, as the rodents will not wait anywhere near that long before beginning their depredations. If only they ate all of one, then on to all of another, but instead they take several bites from many. 

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief	greenwaste bin
2	5 jars pickled beets	more chopshop repair	recycle bin
3	1# hand weights	printer connection	-
4	a dozen owls	black knit slip	-
5	many jars of Awesome sauce	-	-
6	two dozen owls	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

Yesterday's gratitudes -
- was able to activate the phone my nephew sent me yesterday, so am back in the land of the smartphone once again, albeit learning a new interface, but very glad it is thankfully Samsung and not Motorola...
- my "clunky" venerable Keen workshoe/oxfords with the massively thick soles - when I caught my foot on the support for a moveable street sign, not only did I not trip-and-fall, but I didn't harm my foot at all either! These shoes are getting old, and the join between the sole and the shoe is starting to crack, but I will keep wearing them as long as possible, since Keen no longer makes this style of shoe.
- Jen's box of Advent Swap treats arrived on my porch this afternoon, after its "scenic route" excursion from Olympia to PDX via Anchorage AK
today's gratitudes - 
- have managed to salvage some persimmons, at least enough to yield some dried fruit for the year ahead
- being able to read e-books again via Libby
- Ånni sent me an amaryllis bulb, in with the most recent box of advent swap treats. I have always wanted to try growing one of them.

Time of Isolation - Day 1970

upson downs

in which our plucky heroine has adventures with tech...

Even though it is two down and one up, I am still counting today as a win... Getting the printer up and running felt really useful. My attempt to use Bluestacks to be able to access Snapseed on the laptop was less of a success. While it pulled Snapseed in just fine, the interface was much less intuitive and awkward than on a phone, and I couldn't find a way to modify my favorite tools to use them as formerly. So I went ahead and uninstalled those two apps. Finally, my trip out to Verizon this afternoon had no joy; there is some sort of hold on the account, the shop clerk had no idea why, but it meant that getting the Samsung activated in place of the flip phone was not going to be possible. I am trying to be patient, though it seems that every interaction with Verizon turns into one step forward two steps back . Tune in later in the week when hopefully it can all get sorted out? 

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Decided to attempt to solve the problems with the wireless printer, by uninstalling and then reinstalling it on the laptop. This was recommended by the Brother troubleshooting guide as well as by several friends I spoke with. It turned out to be very doable, and very slow, took over an hour to get everything re-downloaded and then updated a second time, but it was quite nice to send an image from the laptop across the room and hear the sound of the printer waking up to do it's job.

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Moar owls...  It was a good thing there were all those two dozen additional cardboard ovals cut out and ready, as the time spent sitting in the computer zone waiting for various programs and apps to download, or process things etc this evening as also time spent starting to paint them, making use of the tedium of waiting to also do some tedious but satisfying production work. All the painted owl backs are finished, and a reasonable start has been made on painting the (more complicated) owl fronts. They will still need little feathered owl horns glued in place, and their wire and twig feet assembled, before they'll be ready for final finish work, but it will feel good having that much done ahead for next years Advent Swap...

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Did a bit of experimentation to find a suitable origami box for the little owls. This simple box ends up fairly flat, and a 4" square makes a box that is about 1" x 2"; a 4¼" square folds into just the right size for a lid...

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief	greenwaste bin
2	5 jars pickled beets	more chopshop repair	recycle bin
3	1# hand weights	printer connection	-
4	a dozen owls	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- managed to uninstall and reinstall the wireless printer, and it is working again, huzzah!
- Costco had an 18 pack of (8oz) organic whole milk-in-a-box, something I'd never seen there before. So I bought it to add to the earthquake shelf.  
- online origami tutorials

Time of Isolation - Day 1965

inky-dinky-doo...

in which our plucky heroine finds an ingredient...

I've never tried making ink, but then I've never found oak galls before. Out for a walk with Wellington early this morning, on one of the nearby streets there was something unusual. At first glance, my thought was mushrooms, but they were far too regular in shape, and there were a lot of oak leaves on the ground...oh, those must be oak galls! One of empty pickup bags served as to hold some to bring home, and there will be another gathering trip on our afternoon walkies. 

According to various online instructions, making ink takes a bit of time and effort, but isn't difficult. Basically you grind up the galls then steep them in rainwater for anywhere from a day to a month. An iron compound turns the brown liquid to deep black, so soaking some rusty iron (or steel wool) in vinegar for a time provides the iron. Combine the liquids after straining them. Gum arabic can be added for a thicker consistency, and some folks advise adding a clove to the finished ink to help preserve it. 

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~ it's beginning... ~

... to look a lot like Advent Swap! About ⅔ of the folks who've signed up have sent in their gifties, and the rest should arrive soon. Alas several folks forgot to include the return postage that allows me to mail back the filled boxes of treats, but hopefully that will also be rectified. It is exciting how many new people are in this year's group!

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Haven't yet become comfortable with Affinity.  I still need to learn how to  properly get the results desired. Something I am doing, or not doing, causes my photos to become less crisp and more blurry, which is the opposite of what I want. And I haven't yet figured out keep forgetting how to save properly either, in the format and location desired. (hint to self : it is via "Export" not either "Save" or "Save As") Patience grasshopper...

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~ mullein blossom ~

most of the plant is not only done flowering but grey-black and completely senescent, but here and there along the blossom stalks there are these new bright flowers.. a little confused as to the season, but lovely nonetheless...

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Earlier this week started some sample tiny owl ornaments, and since the results are pleasing, cut out enough oval discs from egg carton cardboard for another two dozen, which would result in one full set of swap treats for next year... They are the sort of small handwork task I can do while online 

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief	greenwaste bin
2	5 jars pickled beets	more chopshop repair	recycle bin
3	1# hand weights	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the camera my dad gave me 20 years ago takes excellent macro photos.
- found the long time missing cap for my turned wood seam ripper
- oak galls!
- nephew Alex sent me his old Samsung S9 phone, which I intend to have activated. I need to replace the battery, since that is its weakness, and get it an Otterbox, but it might be the answer to my current phone dilemma.

Time of Isolation - Day 1962

not quite just right

in which our plucky heroine seeks better digital tools...

Today I decided to download GIMP, which is highly recommended. It is, however, much newer and much more elaborate and complicated than my venerable fairly simple copy of Photoshop. I think I need something simpler than GIMP, but not as limited as Photoshop Express. Plucky heroine wants "baby bear's image processer", the one that is not too fancy, not too plain, but just right! 

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~ rabbit rabbit rabbit ~

May the month of November bring us all some bright spots of kindness...

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After another night of insomnia, all I managed to accomplish today was sewing a cross-body clothes pin bag, inspired by one I saw online. I used assorted remnants of corduroy bias strips, twill tape rug binding, the pink floral tiger fabric leftover from mask making in 2020, and part of a worn tiger stripe flannel pillowcase.  It is quite fun and silly to look at, though not my best ever stitchery as I was making it up as I went along. Still, it will function far better than carrying clothes pins in plastic containers that are wedged into my pinafore pockets, my previous strategy.

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for Carol in Denver who asked about it... This is the cardigan center front. I had no difficulty using my digital camera and transferring the photo to the laptop, but am still trying various options for image processing. 

It clearly shows the wooden buttons and I-cord knitted button loops, as well as the new decorative trimmings that are also patches and reinforcement. Trim is made from triangle folded colored twill tape rug binding, stitched first to the striped grosgrain ribbon, then appliqued to either side of the center front. Then a strand of dark brown handspun is couched down to cover and reinforce the join between ribbon and twill tape triangles, and finally each triangle is embroidered with a few stitches in contrasting DMC floss. 

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One great blessing is that I've not been having nightmares, but oddly social adventure dreams. But waking into the bright world when it is still dark before dawn outside is not very helpful. Maybe an early bedtime tonight.

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Month SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes -
- tried brining* pork chops, which really improved them. Next time try a bit less time than 8 hours, as they were a bit salty. Not dry and tough though, but toothsome, and mixed with unsalted vegetables it worked well.
- my digital camera(s) may be old, but work quite well
- using remnants and scraps to make a useful clothespin bag, and remembering that done is better than perfect...

Time of Isolation - Day 1957

* 2c water, ¼c sugar, 3T salt...