Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine has ongoing insomnia...

I'm tired of being an adult. There is gorram little about it to enjoy, despite the lie all children are told that "when you grow up you can do whatever you want". By the time I was a teen, I was already adding the caveat "if you want to enough and are willing to pay the price". I will, however, admit to one evening last week choosing to have ice cream for dinner instead of a proper meal...

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~ so lovely ~

Everything about the quince is a delight. It is a small tree just outside the south window in the living room. It is one of the first fruit trees here to leaf out, and the flowers are about three times as large as its other pome relatives (apples, pears, and plums). Later in the year those flowers will become the huge golden fragrant fruits quince is renowned for, that get turned into preserves, and jelly, and are added to applesauce, all destined for jars on the store cupboard shelves here at Acorn Cottage, and eventually special sweet treats.

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There is a tangle with my admin paperwork beyond my ability to solve. Things I thought were done correctly weren't. After about a day and a half of not coping at all, it occurred to me that this sort of situation is perzactly what asking for an extension to file tax forms is intended to deal with. Since the extension is only for the forms and not for the payment (still due on the 15th), I've been spending the last two days figuring out what the amounts due would be if there was no tangle, and will send that amount in on Wednesday. Then I'll arrange for some professional assistance (after April 15) and get everything properly sorted. As earlier mentioned, adulting is no fun at all.

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I've been giving self short breaks from admin paperwork to continue with assorted sewing related activity, that being as close as I can get to some sort of "treat". Since I'd already made a sewing kit for the next up pinafore, it has been possible to get the entire bodice sewn together in the last two days. Am quite tempted to make up sewing kits for the rest of my wardrobe refurbishment: 3 more pinafores (one blue/black, one indigo, and one teal); 3 more long janes (one teal, one indigo, and one brown) and the PNW landscape print blouse.

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Another oops! Recently and sadly remembered/realised that it has been days and days since any of the 100 day drawing project activity. There are 29 more drawings waiting to happen. Shall start up again on Thursday. Have been thinking that it would be interesting to find a way to pin all 100 up at once, though I suspect that there isn't any wall space large enough here in Acorn Cottage to make that happen...

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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	dual fold wallet	tiny beaded star	greenwaste bin
3	-	electric bill found	recycle bin
4	-	shirt sleeve length	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- managed to get up, dressed, and out the door for a walk around the block first thing a few times in the last week, which has been a goal of mine for months, nay years.
- decided that the best option for dealing with admin issues is to file for tax extensions this year. Stress level decreased down to dull roar from complete overwhelm.
- Helga sweetly took me to Costco today
- local transit tax only requires Schedule C's included so that one set of forms and payment can be sent in and crossed of the to do list.

Time of Isolation - Day 2104

paint it black

in which our plucky heroine makes steady if scant and erratic progress...

The most exciting and positive thing for Wednesday was dealing with the oak gall ink project. The container had been forgotten in the workroom, and was much evaporated, with a tiny mold colony growing in one corner, ugh. Some internet research actually stated that mold did oak gall ink no harm (and sometimes increased darkness??) Rather than discard the ink project entirely, the mold was carefully removed with a small stick; it came out neatly all in one tiny clump. Next, the very thickened proto-ink was reconstituted with distilled water, a few drops of clove oil added to forestall further decomposition, and then transferred to a sealed glass clamp top bottle. Am looking forward to finding out if it actually behaves like ink!

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~ line items ~

Simple embroidery to decorate the sleeve extension on the stripey shirt, half done (still need to do the matching embroidery for the other sleeve) and well begun. Once the other band is embroidered, I will cut the sleeves just past the armscye and insert the sleeve extensions, correcting the length to be more comfortable.  

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Not much in the way of wardrobe sewing or knitting projects today, but rather more in the way of seeking and looking through paperwork preparatory to tax tasks. Tomorrow I'll hopefully be able to get the rest of the needed papers in order, and take a trip to the library to print out the not-Federal forms also needed. I'd have done that today, but there was minor confusion with when zoom needed to happen. Thursday addenda: forms acquired from library (yay!), and an error discovered in paperwork from last year, so Friday will be rather more problematic than I would have hoped, as it must needs sorted out. 

I did, however, while rummaging for paperwork, find a piece of lightweight black linen just large enough to cut out bias strips for edge binding the stripey pinafore, which is next on my sewing list. That one will definitely be overdyed in teal/turquoise. 

I also figured out a different way to combine wardrobe components - if I wear my huipil/popover tops over one of my pinafores, it gives the effect as if I was wearing it over a skirt! In the summer it is all about wearing popover dresses by themselves, but during the bridge season it will be fun to have an additional choice, and huipil tops can be made from leftover fabric from larger projects. Right now I've only three, but they fold up small, being basically just rectangles. 

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"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all..." 

One would think that after 70+ years, I'd have learned to converse in realtime with other human people. One would think wrongly. Despite my rather bodacious vocabulary, it is all the other aspects of verbal interaction that have been a challenge lifelong. There were whole chunks of my childhood where it was easier to just not talk; I always won "who can be quiet the longest" on the car trips. In the last decade or so I often try to remember that my best strategy is to only offer conversational comments about things that have been going well, or positive observations. When I ignore this hard won knowledge, it never goes well, and leads to hours (or days) of downward spiraling. I really should add putting together that notebook of "Anti-Weasel Serum" to my list of small hardcopy books of helpful info, along with "Useful Recipes" and "Origami Box Instructions"

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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	-	electric bill found	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

Wednesday's gratitudes -
- when the weasels dig in, I eventually remember I have anti-weasel serum.
- new Penric and Desdemona novella
- the pharmacy tech is really trying hard to sort out my paperwork

today's gratitudes - 
- it is warm enough now to retire the rice bags til next winter
- moved all the marmalade into the pantry, incremental decluttering
- midday phone chat with Mikki
- most of a day before the return of the weasels
- the linear embroidery for the sleeve bands looks good

Time of Isolation - Day 2100

somewhat less than ideal

in which our plucky heroine has eye trouble...

I woke up this morning with my right eye very swollen and painful, burning and gritty feeling, and have booked an express care medical visit. The first available appointment was at 8:40 am... And with my right eye so wonky/painful it means I can't do anything at all as sewing, knitting, embroidery, workshop tasks etc all require binocular vision (Last night it didn't feel quite right, so I used extra of my regular before bedtime eye drops).

There seems to be not only an eyelid infection, but it may be spreading to the eye socket, so the plan is for both antibiotic eye drops and daily pills (for the whole system) for a whole week. Yogurt will be a daily necessity, and my sleep wake will become very wonky indeed as every three hours I will be either medicating, or, alternately ingesting probiotic substances, as the pharmacist said to eat with medicines, but not dairy, and then to eat yogurt after a three hour window. Lather rinse repeat.  

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~ was a sunny day ~

The westside esplanade, where the Willamette River bisects Portland, has a short season of springtime when the cherry trees bloom. Usually I only notice this when riding transit over one of our many bridges, but since today was both not-raining, and not-cold, and since I could do none of my usual preferred activites with only one fully functional eye... it seemed that a local "adventure" was a good plan. It turned out that what seemed like half the city also thought it was a good plan! There were dogs, and kiddos, and young families with babies on blankets, new lovers and old ones, folks on wheels: bicycles, and chairs, and skateboards, and rollerblades. There were buskers, and the venerable Saturday Market handcraft tents. It was far more crowded than our plucky heroine prefers to subject herself to, but in this world of trouble and turmoil, it was actually quite lovely and benign.

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The last week has been a challenge in various ways. Never a good sign when I stop writing here, and stop contacting folks. The nightmares that in the Before Times could more often be left at sleeps door when they awakened me in the wee small hours are now far too similar to current events, and have several times made further sleep that night impossible. Fortunately being semi-retired/work from home means that while it isn't ideal, rearranging the daytime to allow for an afternoon nap is at least possible. Reminders from beloved if faraway friends that my being in their lives is helpful and a treat for them, helps my equilbrium. May the week ahead bring, if not fewer daytime horrors, at least some peaceful dreams.

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Lastly, hand stitching ribbon facings to cover the (slightly wonky) steek edges inside the Icelandic cardigan really added a finished look. This was a technique I had seen in some vintage knitwear, but never tried. I found some chocolate brown 1" wide rayon petersham ribbon on Etsy, and the instructions shared by Hélène Magnússon on her blog made the process really clear. It turned out quite pleasingly tidy, and was not difficult. Should I make another steeked cardigan, this will be good to remember...

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Last year a wee baby Victoria rhubarb came to live here, from the plant store at the end of the street. It survived in a pot on the porch next to the front door, where it was very visible, and hence watered often enough. After winter dormancy, it sent out some pencil thin stalks with leaves smaller than my palm, and surely it needed a bigger home. Earlier this week it moved to the raised bed in the backyard. That bed still needs quite a bit of topping up with good soil, but after shifting some all to one end, and adding a few shovels worth of compost, the rhubarb has a new home, where it will get good sunlight all day, and has good rich soil to send roots into. My hope is that if I can manage to care for it well, and feed it richly with compost and worm castings, in a few years I may have homegrown rhubarb. Fingers crossed and notes made on the calendar to keep it watered.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes -
- I walked five miles today
- cherry blossoms along the esplanade
- being able to get medical attention for my eye, and having the medicine needed be available
- zoom with Jen and a bit of Cathy
- baby rhubarb remains alive and well
- making it back from my doctor visit in time to have some Sewing Nomads zoom this morning

Time of Isolation - Day 2081

Discontinuity

in which our plucky heroine is reminded that we live on a planet...

and not every place has the same time simultaneously.

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~ signs of hope ~

In the side yard, there are buds on the Quinceling, that will eventually turn into beautiful flowers and then with luck into large golden (lumpy) spheres of fragrant fruit. And in the parking strip, forsythia is showing signs that spring is on the way. It was planted there twenty-one years ago, from an alleyway sprig from behind a house that was being torn down. Sometimes what can be salvaged finds a second life...

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Successfully started the I-cord borders on Icelandic cardigan; multiple rows will take some time to complete. Chocolate brown petersham ribbon has been ordered for steek facings. The sleeve cuff ribbing will be removed and a single row of I-cord replace it to coordinate. This alteration/mending project is very satisfying, and will be a constant Dad hug from the past once completed. There are other current and future garments to be friends with it, like the brown chambray blouse, and the next to be made brown linen pinafore and brown ribbed cotton long janes.

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Further enshittification: my local pharmacy is now closed on weekends, as of middle of February. Since I mostly only use them for prescription refills, it was a surprise and not a treat to find this out only after riding my bike over there on Sunday to try and request a refill... on Monday, dreadfully long lines, 14 people ahead of me. Might have been better had I managed to get there right when they opened. Returned to pick up prescriptions midafternoon Tuesday, when in the past there might be only a few folks waiting, and instead, there were even more... I commiserated with the pharmacy clerk about how changes she hadn't asked for had made her job more difficult; she seemed grateful I was sympathetic rather than grouchy..

And a number of TriMet bus routes are being either reduced or discontinued. Two that will specifically affect how I use them are 75 and 19. Line 75 reduced after 6 pm, is a route that extends far across the metropolitan area. And line 19 is being entirely removed, since there are other lines between a quarter and a half mile away. The fact that line 19 also directly serves a major area hospital and other associated medical facilities is irrelevant.  After all folks that need hospital services all have cars, or can easily walk there. If they are going to remove that line, at least they ought re-route the 20 to cover hospital access. Sigh... grrr...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes -
- made it to the bank before they closed at 5... managed to walk to the bus stop, then bus, then Yellow Line, then Red Line, then walking more.
- payment for pillow shams, and then later a photo text (with heart emojis) of them in situ. My various sorts of work are for making specific things that folks cannot purchase ready-made in shops
- naps...
- the gradation of yarn colors of the I-cord center front cardigan bands looks quite purposeful, in a good way  
- Krups little electric grinder, intended for coffee, but I use it for flaxseed and for spices

Time of Isolation - Day 2071

double trouble

in which our plucky heroine gets entangled...

two factor authentication is a good idea in theory, but in practice it makes me want to tear my hair out. Particularly when attempting to sign in to one site it then wants to send a code to an email account, and when I try and sign in to the email account it wants to send a code to my phone, which then wants me to find a code somewhere in my email and round and round. Grrrrr. If I liked playing with strings, I would have been born a cat

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~ mossworld ~

They never get old, I never tire of looking at them. This is from Monday, walking back to the bus stop after my eye appointment. The early morning light was still very golden...

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sewing progress report: lines 5 - 8 on the resipei embroidery are complete and am working on the last underline and then the drawing of the ice cubes. Still finding it very relaxing. 

Finished the collar for the flannel shirt, after carefully trimming back the undercollar ⅛" on either short end before sewing the upper and under collar together. This pulls the outer layer just a bit which keeps the underlayer underneath. It has been edge stitched, and the raw edge basted, ready for when it will be needed. Also temporarily basted twill tape to the center front of the bodice pieces, to keep the bias edges from stretching out of shape before the whole thing gets assembled.

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~ day 8 ~

This little camera was a birthday gift from my parents, over 20 years ago. I remember how pleased they were and how happy I was. It still works really well, particularly for macro photos.it is also really really small, about the size of the palm of my hand, and my hands are about the size of a midsized child

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Spent time in the sewing/guest space today, picking up a few of the larger more obvious items to put away. Fortunately most of what is in this room actually belongs in this room, and will be returned to the storage shelves, at least temporarily. That is what they are for after all. It was a surprise and a treat that the pattern for my long janes showed up folded in amidst some jersey fabric. Particularly since I had been dreading going through the process of taking a pattern from the extant garment, as I knew there was a pattern somewhere... As this is the time of year long janes are needed, and most of the pairs I have are getting rather "worn to a ravelling", at least two or three pairs are on my ASAP sewing list.

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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	-	-	orangeflower water
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- Ursel is now on Discord and we can chat there
- I recreated most of the (missing) Advent Swap list
- sitting at the now mostly cleared off dining table feels really lovely. My hope is to extend that sensation throughout Acorn Cottage.
- chatting with Turquoise online reminded me of how fortunate I am, in being able to sit and look out at the various birds in the yard and the sun on the plants. Feeling very appreciative.

Time of Isolation - Day 2020

biphasic sleep

in which our plucky heroine is slightly less tired...

Does it count as a full nights sleep if it is in two widely separated chunks? In the historical past,"two sleeps" was not uncommon. Recently my sleep/wake pattern has been dogged by insomnia, and yesterday exhaustion came over me around 5:30; to the point where going to bed was the only option. I fell asleep almost immediately, woke about five hours later with enough energy to deal with the kitchen and laundry chores left undone earlier, then returned to the Land of Nod. Woke up this morning a bit later than usual, after a memorable pleasant adventure dream about an SCA camping event, and felt more like getting out of bed than had in quite some time...

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~ all tools need a home ~

Somewhere online, I'd seen a cross body clothes pin bag, with the front having two large pocket openings like "teacher" pinafore pockets. My attempt to create something similar to the remembered concept turned out somewhat awkwardly constructed, though entirely functional, and using up assorted remnants is always satisfying. Then, after my first sleep of the evening last night, it occurred to me to look through my saved Instagram images, and there found my original inspiration: the cross body peg bag from Blue Cat Sewing! Her method of construction, kindly shared in a YouTube video, is eversomuch simpler than my kludgy efforts, and had my first attempt not turned out a useable creation, I would start completely over.

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Spent a bit of time yesterday planning the cream/teal/brown plaid flannel shirt, which will be a cozy addition to the wintertime wardrobe. There is plenty of fabric to lay the pieces out, so I will go ahead and use my favorite bias front pattern, which will have the plaid lines forming a vee in the front rather than horizontal bands. Rummaged about in the box of "pretty fabric" remnants and found a large-enough piece of what feels like Liberty Tana lawn printed with birds and flowers in similar colors, that will work well for the accent pieces (yoke lining, cuff linings, undercollar, and neckline bias). Sadly I've no memory where that remnant came from, perhaps a gift?

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I wish I had a way to get the current postman not to leave packages on the one part of the front porch that is always soaking wet when it rains. In the past, the postman would either leave the packages directly under the mailbox next to the house wall (away from the edge of the porch) OR even better, tuck them between the storm door and the front door, which kept them well protected. I tried leaving a note, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

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The faux stone floors of the tinyworld conservatory, and the stone facing on the fireplace in my advent calendar shadowbox are both made from flat sections of cardboard egg cartons, which are a useful craft material. When I saw these little owl ornaments, they seemed perfect for next year's Advent Swap, as well as a charming Halloween decoration for my tinyworld folks. 

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Now that the number at the bottom of my blog posts evoke the middle of the 20th century, it has been interesting to notice what memories are attached. Somewhere, there is a little girl sitting on the side of a hill behind her house. The sun is shining, and there is a piece of paper in her hands with the number 1961 written on it. Someone had explained to her that the numerals of that future year look the same rightside up as they do upside down and that aspect would not come again for centuries. It is mysterious.

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November 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 -
- Bartlett pears, so succulent and delicious
- demonology soup (avgolemono courtesy of autocarrot)   
- three more Advent Swap packages arrived today, and one contained three extra sets of 31 treats, so we can add even more people to the "bonus" list. It makes my heart happy how folks are being so generous!

Time of Isolation - Day 1959

wishful whingeful Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine still has no phone...

In the last 7 days, my wireless printer and laptop stopped communicating, my venerable Photoshop program stopped working, and yesterday my gorram mobile phone stopped working... I'm not going to ask what next!

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~ really large flower~

This flower is about the size of my two hands, cupped. It wasn't labeled, in the floral section of the grocery store, but may be a peony? I stubbornly intend to keep enjoying and sharing the beautiful things in the world...

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Yesterday morning my mobile phone completely stopped accepting a charge. (It isn't the charging cable, as it works on other devices) It is probably the charging socket inside the phone. I went to the Verizon store. Their cost to replace the socket was over $200; considering how much I dislike the phone, that doesn't seem worth it. I called the two other places I could find online that repair phones, and the lowest repair estimate was "at least a hundred and a half". All I use my phone for is phone calls, text messages, internet search, alarms/timer, pedometer, and the camera to take photos (no videos). Occasionally e-books or audio books. No games, no video watching.

option #1 - I could get a new, different phone, either from Verizon, or from some other store. positives: would be new, so would have better battery life. hopefully all parts functional. negatives: would be quite spendy. Might be just as annoying as current phone, or even worse.
option #2 - I could buy a used phone online, or if a local friend had a phone they no longer wanted after upgrading to a newer phone... positives: less spendy, possibly even free. negatives: Might be just as annoying as current phone, or even worse.
option #3 - I could buy a flip phone, and readjust my tech habits. positives: Less expensive to purchase, much smaller so much more comfortable to use/hold, would discourage unnecessary time spent online. negatives: would need to start carrying my digital camera with me all the time, and would need to re-acquire suitable card reader to connect SD card to laptop. (found card reader and it still works)

P.S.: before my current phone (Motorola "moto-e") which has a horrible camera/interface, I had a Samsung Galaxy S6, which I loved for the excellent camera focusing interface. But that phone became obsolete for reasons? and I had to get a different phone. No idea if Samsung has changed enough in the interim that I would even like a newer one(I've been told by folks that have newer Samsung phones that my beloved interface has gone the way of the dodo.)

I've pretty much decided to not use "camera" as part of my criteria, as I own two entirely functional digital cameras; am now seriously considering just getting a basic flip phone. If for no other reason than I could get a new one tomorrow from the Verizon store and would have a functional mobile phone (I didn't realise how much not having one would disturb me) And if having just a flip phone turns out to not be enough for me, I can then upgrade not when I am desperate, and after getting advice from folks about what would better suit my needs... does that make sense?

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Been thinking quite a bit in the last two days about one way where I struggle with making decisions. These thinky-thoughts brought on by the current phone situation. I really wish that I had a "tech advisor" handy, that would find me information and answer questions in ways I could comprehend, related to my query and concerns. This need is not met by internet searching (despite my reasonably good google-fu) as what I am seeking may not be important to most people or perhaps only to me...

And I also seem to have a learned fear of making "the wrong choice" that goes back as far as I can remember, definitely to pre-teenage years. So regarding what to do about the mobile phone has put me in more of a tizzy than really seems appropriate. There is a sort of uncomfortable internal tug of war between the "not to decide is to decide" voice, and the "if it is to be it is up to me" voice.  Part of me wants it all to be taken care of for me, which is a dreadful thing to realise at my advanced age and point of view. Self-knowledge is not always comfortable to bump into.

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So far, every year there are new people in the Advent Swap. Not all the same folks participate each year, but that it continues to appeal and have value to folks for participation brings me joy. Every ripple of connection and brightness we can find makes a difference. It doesn't solve the Big Issues, but it is more like a vital micronutrient that helps us be stronger.

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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	x	x
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

yesterday's gratitudes -
- stayed comparatively calm about my phone not working, and am both asking for advice and coming up with various ideas for options.
- found the missing SD card reader.
- got to zoom with my UK pal Leslie for the first time in weeks.
today's gratitudes -
- the weather this afternoon was an archetypal autumn day, and perfect for riding my bike.
- Rage, and one of Rage's pals, are going to participate in the Advent Swap!
- really enjoying the Block Printing Fest presentations

Time of Isolation - Day 1954

things of unexpected size and other tidbits

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

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

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~ no bigger than my own wee paws ~

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

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

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

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

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

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 1951

a modicum of satisfaction

in which our plucky heroine reaches a goal...

As of today there are 23 folks that have said they want to play along in the Advent Swap this year! (not sure they all will, and there may be folks that haven't yet contacted me...) And today I finished the final 13 things for the *four* sets (one for my own, and three more for "bonus" sets) I committed to do for the Advent Swap.

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Took this photo yesterday before the rain and wind blew in, and probably that will be the last of the morning glories till next year. Remember: look up, look down, look all around, while we still have beauty in the world...

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One minor thing really needed, better clothes peg storage. Tired of trying to wrangle assorted plastic tubs of them into my pinafore pockets when hanging laundry up. When this cross body peg bag from Blue Cat Sewing showed up online, it seemed a much more useful idea than the sort that hangs from the line. When not in use it could be stored hanging up in the laundry area... And goodness knows there's certainly enough random remnants and twill tape around here to create something similar. Time to do some sampling to figure out the best size and strap length for my ownself.

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I've started using various bits of baking equipment to keep handcraft projects contained or set aside as needed. Not just the obvious use of cupcake or muffin tins to organise small items. For example: when block printing the origami pinwheels, the ink needed to dry before being refolded; much better to set them out all on a sheet pan than loose all over the work table, they can then be picked up all in one batch and set aside safely.

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Gah! in the "one damnthing after another" digital graphical chronicles here at Acorn Cottage... the printer does not work as a printer, in that it does not communicate through the magic of wifi to the laptop, or else the laptop has annoyingly lost the ability to recognise that there is a printer just on the other side of the room. (so, if I want a document printed, it involves a journey to the public library) And, for some reason, my very very venerable Photoshop, which has been working quickly and delightfully for years has suddenly today become alarmingly slow to open. In this case I deleted it from the laptop and reinstalled it, since when I turned on the machine this morning it was unable to open Photoshop at all! I'm wondering if I need to "remove" the printer from the laptop and reinstall it as well, along with whatever updated drivers it needs?

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Today I adapted the Kale Bulgar Feta recipe to better suit my tastes and what I keep on hand. Cut the bulgar portion by half. Substituted Chinese Rice Wine (pantry staple) for the white wine. Used 1 Tablespoon of canned green chilies instead of 2 jalpeno peppers. Added a tablespoon of raisins at the end for more of a five flavor effect. (Savory, Sour, Spicy, Salty, Sweet)

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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	-	-
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	x	x
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- the delight of conversation with Mischa
- enough tiny treats for my contribution for the Advent Swap assembled
- a better (to my taste) version of Kale Bulgar Feta salad
- using baking gear to organise handwork

Time of Isolation - Day 1950

wishful Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine is out and about before dawn...

...at 7am it is barely undarkening, and the eastern sky is as speckled with small clouds as the belly of a mackerel tabbycat. As the bus heads out across the industrial zone, there are moments when the almost rising sun creates streaks of vivid florescent orange light that silhouette distant landscape. Paying attention is always worthwhile.

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~ more wise words ~

This crossed my path this morning, while walking from the bus to the eye doctor's office, and definitely brightened my mood.

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Today started four more tiny acorn cap framed ornaments, and am in the middle of the six tiny star books... which will get me almost halfway to 23. The acorn cap frames are one of the quickest to make, but the limiting factor is having the right sort of acorn caps; it'd be helpful if I'd taken notes of where the various sorts are found. So far my ideas for the final 13 include maybe more of the tiny acorn cap aminitas, possibly some of the felt and button hearts that Ruthie suggested, or maybe the cave horses painted rocks. Who knows, some new inspiration may wend its way here...

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I so wish to be better at "changing the channel" (despite years of assorted practices)... When up and about, can always find an absorbing meditative task to move focus away from grim thoughts. But when lying in bed after putting the book back on the nightstand and turning off the light they come creeping back. Rather the grown-up version of the monsters under the bed. All those "why didn't I" and "what if" gremlins chase sleep away.

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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 - 
- my left eye is, in the words of the opthamologist, as good as new. Yay!
- it isn't raining, and I've enough layers of flannel and wool that waiting for the bus is comfortable.
- glue stick is a clever invention
- fortunately, there are naps, when nighttime sleep is elusive..

Time of Isolation - Day 1949

moderately miserable Monday

in which our plucky heroine is no Arisaydia...

Though hopeful that in time my damaged eye will heal, it has remained quite problematical today. My phone alarm goes off every three hours round the clock so I can take either NSAIDs, or Tylenol + antibiotic eye drops alternately. My sleep wake cycle is destroyed. I have an appointment to follow up with my regular opthamology clinic. As far as I have been able to discern, there is no magic way to help the eye hurt less or heal more quickly, but as long as I recover without damage, I will continue to gird my loins and persevere. It is frustrating to not be able to do much of anything at all. No work, no handcraft, no bike riding, and even this small amount of computer writing is difficult and tiring. (even after I've enlarged the text considerably) It is surprising how much we depend on binocular vision... 

today's gratitudes -
- I can access medical care for my eye, and we live in modern times so with luck I will recover
- I've not entirely lost my sense of humor
- I can open my left eye, even though it feels like it is full of gritty molten lava, and there is eyesight, albeit completely blurred and out of focus

Time of Isolation - Day 1940

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine enjoys axial tilt...

In the westering light of mid-afternoon, my long shadow of pinafore dress and sunhat is distorted to a concrete grey "sunbonnet sue" out walking the dog. Today's warm breeze and almost 80F air attempt to put the lie to the shifting foliage colors and gradually increasing drifts of fallen leaves, but autumnal sunset comes earlier every day...

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No phone (and therefore no internet) service here since last week 9/30. Latest estimate for repair is sometime Thursday 10/9. I'm not a happy camper. Technician said "meth heads" ripped out wiring and apparently did enough damage that it doesn't just need wires replaced but more intensive repair. My guess is that they are waiting on parts? It would be a tiny bit less frustrating if there was actual information absilable about what is wrong and why such an extended service outage rather than just a "hoped for by this date"...

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Sadly, the wheelbarrow tire ordered last week has not arrived, and indeed the clerk apparently forgot to add it to the "requested for Monday" list. Phone call today has it hopefully added to the list for tomorrow, and let me check about the availability of a senior discount (yes, yay!) which is always worth asking for.

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~ so tiny and delicate ~
but alas still no photos...

Finished the set of tiny lunaria pod ornaments painted with red canal roses. They have silvery floss hanging loops and double layers of backing felt glued in place. These will be my final items for the upcoming Advent Swap. These small lunaria seed pods are 1" across, wool felt backing is a little larger. I'll be making little flat origami envelopes for wrapping these...

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes -
- plenty of art supplies and tools
- phone chat with Mikki
- origami on YouTube (learned a new easy way to fold an envelope good for wrapping mostly flat things that don't need a box)

Time of Isolation - Day 1933

Weekend whinge

in which our plucky heroine has her hopes dashed...

yey another day without internet access, and no idea when it will return. Couldn't join any of my regular weekend pixelworld social activities.

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~ savory and easy ~

(photo from earlier this year)

Carrot coriander soup, via a BBC Food recipe... first made this back in June, and it is just as good as remembered, There were no white taters in the fridge, but one of several garnet yams made an easy substitution.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes -
- the song overhead of geese flying south...
- carrot coriander soup
- knowing just enough HTML to be able to adjust my blog posts

Time of Isolation - Day 1932

do corbies fly at night ?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 1930

Saturday surprise and other snippets

in which our plucky heroine heads into harvest season...

After looking up the recipe for fig and lemon marmalade it occurred to me to check if there were any more figs on the trees. Much to my surprise, there was almost a pound of ripe 2nd crop figs*! As there is about a pound and a half of figs, and the store only has organic regular lemons, no organic Meyer lemons, it will be necessary to make a few adjustments. Math for a proportionally slightly smaller amount of sugar, and substitute orange for some of the lemon (Meyer lemons = cross between oranges and lemons). The pears currently residing in the maslin pan had better get peeled, cored, and sliced onto dehydrator trays, as the pan is needed for making preserves

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~ cool tool ~

Right before the end of last week, just before the de minimius exemption was removed, I lost my mind a tiny bit and ordered this agate burnisher (item G in photo) from a UK supplier. Wasn't sure if it would even be able to be delivered, but much to my delight it arrived safely in the front porch mailbox this week! It is a beautiful and well made tool, with a curved angled stone tip, and a solid metal ferrule and wooden handle. I'd been much inspired by the traditional manuscript gilding demonstration by my friend Raven Qara Ton, and while I had been given a kit of gilding supplies many years ago, it didn't include a burnisher. Perhaps in the months ahead, I'll return to scribal activities...

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This simple knitted pony toy seems like additional handwork (which I am always looking for), and something I can make and donate for SCA childrens toys largess; it calls for a relatively small amount of worsted yarn, plus thicker yarn for the mane and tail, and I've both yarn and stuffing.

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It has been a bit of a struggle bus week, so it really is time to get back to daily daily gratitudes. That simple practice makes a huge difference in my everyday well being.

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Most of the bark cloth purchased last month has become 4 new tea towels for kitchen use; leftover fabric can be pieced to make a kitchen apron, later on this year when that sort of faffing about seems like it would be fun...

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I lack equanimity about some of the changes in our local neighborhood. When I first moved here, one of the corners of the shopping street a few blocks away was the sort of site I refer to as "cursed", it held a building intended as a restaurant, with some off street parking, but just a bit too big and with what I imagine just a bit too high of a rent for the folks who tried to make a go of it. Over the years, there were many attempts made, but the various restaurants soon closed. Then in 2013 Green Zebra opened there, as a sort of natural food corner grocery convenience store. They did really well, adding greatly to the mix of our neighborhood, expanded out into several other neighborhoods as well, but were finally done in by the supply issues of the pandammit, and closed in 2023. I shopped there purposefully and often, as the way to have good useful local business is to "vote with your dollars". 

Once they closed, the site remained empty and "for lease" for the next two years. Now it is surrounded by fencing, filled with builders and machinery, and is being turned into a McDonalds. The fruit trees planted by the Green Zebra owners are being cut down. There is a local burger place a block and a half away, a little Mexican restaurant, a Thai restaurant, and two different bars-with-food, and there is another McDonalds three miles west down the same road.

Two blocks west on the shopping street, the moribund Arby's site is being turned into yet another Starbucks. On the same road there is already a Starbucks two miles to the west, and another one a mile to the east; it seems that every three miles isn't enough of that particular caffeination corporate saturation. The local coffee-and-pastries shop saw the writing on the wall and relocated to a different neighborhood.

Struggling to find anything positive at all in this situation at least a walking distance Starbucks means that acquiring bags of free coffee grounds for garden compost will be easy to do on a regular basis. On the other hand, I cannot find anything positive about McDonald's.  Green Zebra made our neighborhood a much better place to live. McDonald's adds nothing at all.

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Carson Ellis is one of my favorite illustrators, so when her 2026 calendar showed up on social media feed this past week, it went to the top of my list for next year. I'll visit the BuyOlympia warehouse next week and pick up a copy. And, this reminds me that it'd be a good thing to get busy and finish up my own 2026 calendar, which will revisit the theme of "AlphaBeasts".

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	4 barkcloth tea towels	box fan grille	greenwaste bin
2	yellow triangle pouch	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- independent mobility - our plucky heroine is still able to ramble around reasonable distances on foot, and indeed plans to do more of the same
- adequate public transit, to access a new to me part of the city
- I saved the tiny shiny screw found in the carpet, which turned out to be the one that fell out of the box fan grille!

Time of Isolation - Day 1903

*Yet more proof of climate shift, but the figs are welcome even though the extra heat and dryness isn't

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine persists...

Hopefully, tomorrow the thermometer will be only showing double digits instead of triple digits. The ongoing heat is affecting the AQI, which has moved into the "poor quality" zone. Still better than those folks who are near fire zones, but this happens whenever there is an inversion layer, and the heat traps and creates pollution. I'd not thought to check, but noticing the color of the daylight reminded me. 

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~ stitch by stitch ~

Hand stitching the neckline binding to the batik rayon popover dress will be done by the end of today. The pockets and hems will be machine stitched.

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Today was a first. Someone who contacted me many months ago about a sewing job (that didn't happen, for various unrelated reasons) called again, and wants to go forward with it now. Sent me photos of what they want, with relevant specific information, and of the fabric they want to use, which is lovely. I'm happy when I get asked to make something that is feasible!

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~ something different ~

seeking out peculiar music online isn't my usual, but when Sidrea mentioned this, I was curious, and actually enjoyed it...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	4 jar storage trays	tiger block	greenwaste bin
2	4 jar storage lids	bright rayon top width	recycle bin
3	dried basil	indigotiger popover  hem extension	recycle bin
4	3 jars apple/quince rosewater sauce	bike rear wheel	window AC
5	3 kitchen towels	new apron straps	apple tree prunings
6	x	frame for Pyle cartoon	greenwaste bin
7	x	x	recycle bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- a new chapter of SuperSupportive today
- Bee and Puppycat is so wonderfully weird
- Past Me last year bought lovely fabric to make a new dress

Time of Isolation - Day 1861

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine is tired of triple digit heat...

and the little dog doesn't understand why midday walkies can't happen.

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~ fun with stickers ~

I found an A6 Japanese "Hobonichi" (pocket size half-year planner) for 99¢ at Goodwill, on the same day I found the square picture frame. Wasn't able to peel off the price tag, so covered it up with an assortment of sushi stickers... more whimsical! The layout was my favorite sort of useful, so looked it up online, only to find that Hobonichi is some kind of insanely collectible Japanese stationery brand... 

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Sewing news: refurbishing wardrobe and kitchen things... currently hand stitching the bias binding to the neckline of the rayon batik popover as my zoomtime handwork. Cut up the red and white old beach towel to three pieces perfectly sized for underneath the dish drainer, and serged the edges which turned the good parts into kitchen towels. They were sorely needed and will be nice and bright. The vintage bark cloth remnant ordered last week arrived really quickly. There is enough to make multiple tea towels (and an apron, if I'm careful about how I piece the sections together).

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Thinking about what condiments and preserves need to be added to the pantry shelves in the next few months. Pickled beets, salsa verde, and a whole lot of awesome sauce all need things that don't grow here in the backyard.  That led me to thinking about what is in season when, and this chart was very useful thing. There will be trips to the farmers markets soon, for beets, and tomatillos, and lots of roma/paste tomatoes...

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	4 jar storage trays	tiger block	greenwaste bin
2	4 jar storage lids	bright rayon top width	recycle bin
3	dried basil	indigotiger popover  hem extension	recycle bin
4	3 jars apple/quince rosewater sauce	bike rear wheel	window AC
5	3 kitchen towels	new apron straps	apple tree prunings
6	x	frame for Pyle cartoon	greenwaste bin
7	x	x	recycle bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- AC worked well all day long, and I got outside before 7am for watering and dog walking
- inspiring presentation by Raven about traditional gilding techniques
- TIL that the collective noun for the tiny scraps of gold leaf leftover from gilding is "skewings"
- five folks showed up for Crafternoon

Time of Isolation - Day 1860