betcha can't make just one

in which our plucky heroine solves a conundrum...

... and removes toxic art materials from the house;  also finishes up a second boro thread basket. Now the sewing machine and the serger will have their own, and there are ideas a-fizzing for other ways to use this technique.  

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~ strata ~

Working on a tiny stitched container is incredibly satisfying, one could become addicted to making these and the resulting small squashy palm-size basket is Just Right. This project is small enough to always have one on hand for pickup work. Limiting factor will be the thin gauzy fabric for the innermost layer.

Basket #2 will have the inner layer made from pinstripe leftovers from my most recent shirt sewing project. The directional changes remind me of geological formations. The base form I've been using was probably once a mustard jar, but for years now has been holding backstock whole peppercorns, so as it is turned about during stitching, it makes a small rattling sound, softer than a rain stick.

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a stinky saga... Last night before bedtime I caught a whiff of a most peculiar and somewhat acrid scent. Early today when I sat down at the computer for a video meeting, it came back randomly, but often enough to be concerning. (Since it smelled a bit like burnt plastic/shorted wiring! it was not something to ignore.) My pal Turquoise helpfully looked up info online about "odd smells in the home" which let me know what it likely was not... 

I spent hours this morning attempting to locate what was wrong. First opened windows in each room. Climbed up the stepladder to open the attic hatch, headed over to the far end of the workroom to check the circuit breaker box, went outside to sniff around both my heat pump and my good neighbors heat pump which is just across the side yard from the living room window. Unplugged every non critical bit of machinery, and switched off all the power strips. Periodically going outside to let my sense of smell reset...

It was clear after both walking round the house sniffing everywhere, and unplugging things, that the scent was mostly in the living room . . .  I then glanced down . . . Yesterday I'd purchased some "soft-kut" linoleum substitute, a grey rubbery slab, to carve a new printing block, and had left it on a side table near the computer zone. When picked up and sniffed, et voila, the source of the horrible odor. I immediately put it outside, and after breakfast, returned it to the art store, since it is too stinky for me to want in my house!! 

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As the last of my Sulky variegated mercerised cotton topstitching thread gets used up, remembering Fabric Despots aisles of threads, from many different manufactories (not just the single display that most shops have) makes me sad and wistful. There were so many years of shopping there, from when it was a special excursion from Olympia to Portland, and then once it was a few bus transfers away. It was such a reliable source of everything sewing related, a literal warehouse of fabrics for garments, for quilting, for home decor and all the notional items needed to make use of that fabric. We will not see its like again.

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Additional impetus to the declutter and tidy plan: sorting my smaller fabric scraps by color, as well as making clear what size of scraps are worth saving. It would be useful to have a modest box for holding packets of boro basket materials, since there are additional uses for such small containers of holding. I want to experiment with a triadic option next.

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Rosa sketch	Bad Smell gone	-
2	boro thread basket	-	-
3	boro basket 2	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- seasonal asparagus
- dopamine hand sewing
- adorable tiny boro thread "baskets"
- Past Me cleverly ordered backup filters for the heat pump air handler. Current Me cleverly made a pull handle from duct tape to more easily remove the filter next time, as it is a Very Tight Fit.
- the Bad Smell was not the house wiring shorting out, but a package of Soft-Kut printing block, now returned to the art store.

Time of Isolation - Day 2125

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

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...

※※※

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

baby bears chair and other miscellany

in which our plucky heroine makes plans...

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

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~ the past brought forward ~

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

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

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

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

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

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

※※※

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

※※※

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

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	final alphabeast drawing	painted mini tree	recycle bin
2	calendar master pages	new bin for  cedar shakes	orangeflower water
3	5+ jars fig mostarda	drawstring cords	large broken bin
4	page 2 resipei	workbench tidy	2 bags paper
5	-	bedside lamp	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

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

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 2029

workaday Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine is determined...

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

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

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~ several days of drawings ~

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

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

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

※※※

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

※※※

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

※※※

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

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 2026

such a long long time to be gone and a short time to be there...

in which our plucky heroine scents mortality on the winds of change...

Bob Weir died yesterday. He was 78. Our plucky heroine is starting to feel the weight of years passing as the legends of my youth continue leaving the bright world, closer and closer to my own age...

"Faring thee well now
Let your life proceed by its own design
Nothing to tell now
Let the words be yours, I'm done with mine"

※※※

Still having all sorts of technical difficulty with various video chat platforms that were previously trouble-free. And not sure what to do about it. The Pixel World is a great help in maintaining sanity. So far we've managed to find one platform (Teams) that doesn't immediately degrade into unintelligible sound, or silence, but I would very much like to be able to access Discord again, as I like their interface a LOT better. Sadly though, their "helpful problem solving" essays are not at all helpful, being written in a way I can neither understand or implement.

※※※

~ day 11 ~

Years ago, after seeing these beautiful lights and lanterns ever since my first time at the Oregon Country Fair, I decided to splurge and get one for my own. My line drawing in no way can capture the charm of this night light, which is next to the mirror above the sink in the bathroom here. I see it every day, and it has brought me joy ever since I brought it home. The central medallion is a multicolor translucent design, set into a framework of pierced copper, the light behind it illuminates the artwork and sparkles through the tiny holes in the metal. Artist-made objects inhere personality

~ day 10 ~

I was just too tired yesterday evening, so postponed my drawing til this morning. (Going forward, drawing will happen at the start of the day, not as the last thing, which is more appropriate as well. Begin as you mean to go on and all that...) This ceramic soap holder, which looks a bit like Brutalist architecture writ small, was a gift from my friends Randall and Leah. It sits on the edge of the kitchen sink, and by draining off the excess water, keeps my bar of soap from turning into a puddle of soap slime. Very Useful!

※※※

Bob Weir died yesterday. He was 78. Our plucky heroine is starting to feel the winds of years passing as the legends of my youth continue leaving the bright world, closer and closer to my own age...

"Faring thee well now
Let your life proceed by its own design
Nothing to tell now
Let the words be yours, I'm done with mine"

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

today's gratitudes -
- I got to see the Grateful Dead live, many times.
- Beth very determinedly and patiently managed to get all four of us onto Teams and able to have a bit of Crafternoon today. It took a long time.
- the eggplant parm came out really tasty

Time of Isolation - Day 2023

fragments and snippets

in which our plucky heroine does a bit more than the last few days ...

Still not quite back to proper sleep wake, but is improving. Had fun introducing my tinyfolks to Mischa's salon guests. Mt Dishmore is significantly eroded though not yet gone. Rode out to St Johns to the post office, and then out to check on the Free Art Gallery. The gallery is gone!! there is nothing there any more other than the post and the QR code for Sidewalk Joy. Very sad.

※※※

~ day 2 and 3 ~

I have a number of handmade ceramic bowls, this one is my favorite. The inside is glazed a soft green-blue , and the outside is unglazed, with little sgraffito motifs around the middle. My friend Acantha made it back in the Before Times. It is just the right size, a bit bigger than a custard cup, and has the perfect shape for preparing my breakfast museli. I can soak the rolled oats overnight, and the double curve of the sides holds them in place while I pour off the excess water.

I was rescued by friends and taken to their beach home to escape the dreadful heat dome in 2021; 116°F+ (46.6°C+) temperatures melted trolley cables, buckled streets, and killed over 250 people in the PNW. This chunk of waveworn bone, so pleasant to touch and so difficult to draw, is a souvenir of time spent walking the beach, and a reminder that our connections are the true wealth.

※※※

Further experiments with my iron gall ink project. I divided the liquid into two pint Talenti tub containers. Into one, I poured the rusty iron water from the tiny cauldron. The gall water looks maybe a bit blacker, but not much. I tried applying it to paper, and it is a pale greyish brown, not very different than before adding rusty water. Neither of the gall water samples are anything like what I could call ink. I am wondering if I had too little gall to too much rainwater to begin with. I only have about 1 oz. of oak galls remaining. Am considering a course of further steeping, adding the final ounce of oak galls to only one pint of gall water, before then trying any further additions of ferrous sulfate (hopefully available at the local garden store) and the gum arabic (already purchased last year from the art store).

some links about making ink:
from The Huntington
from The Axbridge Museum Artist's Blog
from Ian the Green (mka David Roland)

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Somewhere I'd acquired a turned wooden evergreen tree, about 4" tall. Probably meant for a holiday ornament, as it still has a drilled hole in the very top. It now has painted foliage in three shades of green, and a base in black bordered with red dots, very festive, and intended as tinyworld seasonal decor, if a bit late for this year. It fits neatly on an end table in Opal's studio apartment, and I plan on making a star topper for it from the Advent Swap "gold star"

※※※

Today got another scam prescription bill purporting to be from Walgreens. It is identical to the one that arrived here in November 2025. Again I was worried at first, then noticed the same date and data. Took it to Walgreens today and they concurred. 

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	paint turned holiday tree	recycle bin
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- 3 days so far where I kept my promise to draw, and kept my promise to go outdoors and move my body
- video chat with Jen, and very glad I am that she is starting to recover
- delicious leftovers (why do I only remember to make black-eyed peas once a year when they are so good?!)

Time of Isolation - Day 2015

Saturday and Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine enjoyed a sunny afternoon...

On Saturday I walked almost three miles (between transit stops) doing various errands, including a trip to Bolt Fabrics where I picked up a different sort of Clover chalk marker, and a half yard of cotton lycra for strips to use as lingerie elastic. By the time I headed home again the clear skies had turned back to drizzle, but the daypack was full of assorted supplies for the rest of the weekend

※※※

~ Advent Swap day 5 ~

A little sparkly ornament, made from beads, glass crystals, and a mother-of-pearl button, with a handmade copper hook for hanging. By next year, with luck and effort, there will be some sort of wreath to display the myriad small decorative ornaments (like this one) from the Advent swaps, both from this year and the previous years...

~ Advent Swap day 6 ~

Kenya is as delighted as I am with today's Advent gift... a miniature throw pillow, beautifully embroidered with an ombré shaded mushroom motif, which will be a great addition to the tinyworld

※※※

Yesterday I finished knitting the head of the tiny shrew, and started on the body. Feeling hopeful about finishing this project sometime this month, but today I am so frustrated with this project. I am unclear about how the back and the belly are meant to fit together. Then I somehow stabbed myself in the palm with one of the Very Small Very Sharp knitting needles. OW OW OW OW!! I refrained from throwing the unfinished shrew across the room and went to wash my hand off.

I wish that designers used line drawings instead of photos, so as to make it more clear to my brain. Reading ahead, nowhere in the pattern does it call for adding stuffing to the body of the shrew, yet I am pretty sure it should not remain an empty skin! Had I been a test knitter, I would have so very many many questions. Parts of the pattern are obvious, and others are "as clear as mud"

※※※

One thing that is particularly inspiring to me is seeing the various creative ways folks come up with to wrap their tiny gifts. While our plucky heroine is partial to using origami (since my ability to "wrap" gifts seems to be a weak point in my skill set), I have seen everything from cloth wrappings, to paper cylinders, to reused gum ball containers, as well as tidy (or untidy) paper wrappings. Some fastened with plain tape, with washi tape of various designs, or with metallic or glittery tape, and even with sealing wax! It makes daily December dopamine even more of a delight!!

※※※

David Byrne : Tiny Desk Concert

※※※

December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pairs underwear	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	-	-	yard waste bin
3	-	-	recycle bin
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- my cranky side back seems to have settled back down, which makes me think that whatever set it off was something out of alignment, that magically realigned in dreamland
- the widely varied Advent Swap treats folks come up with to share, and the creative ways they wrap them...
- today the air was soft for most of the afternoon, and so my laundry got mostly dried. Tomorrow there will be a nice freshly laundered duvet cover, with the scent of line dried laundry, nicer than any perfume

Time of Isolation - Day 1989

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine gets unwelcome news...

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

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~ sour, savory, salty, spicy, sweet ~

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

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

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

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

"So Much Cooking"
"The Year Without Sunshine"
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November SMART goals (x=extra)

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

today's gratitudes - 
- Ashe & Co came to visit, bringing unexpected gifts
- a new yarn swift from Karen to replace my broken one
- found six yards of waistband elastic in the notions cupboard, which will make my intention of several new pairs of long janes much easier to accomplish, having all the materials needed already on hand 

Time of Isolation - Day 1981

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

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine is tired but busy ...

...currently making a double batch of Awesome Sauce, aka British Chili Jam; the kitchen smells amazing! Though truly, should know by now better than to begin such a project after dinner, as it takes several hours for the sauce to cook down enough that the pectin in the tomato thickens. With luck, I will be abed before midnight. (this condiment is worth it, though next batch shall start earlier in the day!...)

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~ wonderfully warm ~

A most delightful gift for me arrived today from my friend Ånni: these handknit fair trade embroidered wool fingerless mitts (lined with fleece for extra comfort and warmth) The colors of the embroidery and the style are a great addition to my Urban Fairytale flavored wardrobe. Also they are just the right thing for riding my bike this time of year, and the dense knitting + fleece creates extra padding between my hands and the handlebars, which is very welcome

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well this is a first... Ariadne sent her advent swap package from their town  to here (about a two hour drive) and it has been delayed. As in "go home postal service you are drunk" delayed. When first we checked the tracking number on Saturday last week, it appeared to have arrived in PDX and for some reason not made it to my satellite post office yet. This sometimes happens. Checking again when it still wasn't here over a week later, it seems that instead of sending it across town to our local post office, it was sent to Anchorage Alaska on Sunday?!? WTF?!?

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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 -
- maslin pan is the best for cooking things down
- Joan Huntley, for first showing me one could put up food for pantry storage, and Cheryl, and Britta for encouraging me further. Also "Tigress in a Jam" for sponsoring CanJam, which year long challenge really allowed me to become comfortable with waterbath canning.  
- Ånni sent me a beautiful and useful gift - Nepalese embroidered lined wool fingerless mitts, with blue and white flowers on a black background, so pretty and so right for my wardrobe!

Time of Isolation - Day 1966

a horrible no good terrible day

in which our plucky heroine is having a terrible day...
Putting life on hold until my eye is healed. Woke up at 5AM with excruciating burning pain in left eye. On advice from consulting nurse, went to ER. Eventual diagnosis: large corneal abrasioin?!? (somehow acquired while asleep??) Pain is about 8+. Sadly, they cannot prescribe the wonderful numbing drops used when they examined my eye, because that med interferes with eye healing, sigh..... am grateful that we have an ER, that I was able to be seen and diagnosed. But this is truly extremely painful, and precludes my doing anything at all that requires clear sight I'll spare folks a description or photo of what the eye looks like right now, but it isn't pretty.

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wishful Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine gets her wish...

In the middle of the day yesterday, the dial tone returned to the phone, and the internets returned to the tech. There was happy dancing!!

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~ even smaller lunaria ornaments ~

So pleased with how the miniature painted canal roses turned out. These lunaria pods are just about an inch across. They will get a silver floss cord for hanging them up, and a second layer of light blue wool felt backing. Since they are mostly flat, these will get wrapped in origami envelopes instead of origami boxes. I've found a quilters square ruler is a most useful way to turn discarded magazine pages into "origami paper.

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Feeling really good to return to repairing. My favorite cardigan, made by Karen in the "sweater chopshop" style, has been worn so much that the cuffs were completely worn to a ravelling. So, time to replace the worn bits with newly cut scrap ribbing from one of the former garments that were used to make up the cardigan in the first place. Hand stitching soothes my spirits as well as fixes material problems.

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My HOP transit pass card informed me when scanned yesterday that it was "low on funds". Two different stores where I formerly was able to add funds were unable to have their newly updated machinery interface with my card which is several years old. One offered to sell me a HOP gift card instead, (which carries a $3 surcharge per gift card in addition to the actual money for fares) Let's see what I can find out... So, the consumer support persons I spoke with were less than useless. One told me that the managers at both stores were lying to me about problems with the machines! The other told me that since my transit pass was several years old it was necessary to buy a new one! Untrue and not helpful. So, decided to actually go to the TriMet office and seek in-person help. But while partly on the way, but before transferring to take the MAX all the way downtown, stopped to try yet a third grocery store, the Fred Meyers adjacent to the transit center. Huzzah! Their machine was able to load funds onto my card with no problem, which saved me several hours of transit and bureaucratic foo. 

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Best thing today was that the new tire for the refurbished wheelbarrow finally arrived at Les Schwab, and I was able to fit the old axle + wheel + dead tire into one of the rear baskets on my bicycle. While there was a bit of a wait to get the new tire mounted on the old wheel, it is now ready to be installed. They needed to put an inner tube in, which added a bit to the cost, but will also make it more durable. Tomorrow's tasks will include reassembling the various wheelbarrow parts into a functional garden tool.

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

today's gratitudes -
- the internet has returned!!
- new wheelbarrow tire
- was able to refill transit pass at Fred Meyers
- the first box of advent swap treats arrived today
- today I walked almost 17K steps (almost 6½ miles)
- the Xero shoes ordered in September arrived on the porch today

Time of Isolation - Day 1935

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

not a one trick pony

in which our plucky heroine is somewhat improved but still groggy...

Hoping for better sleep tonight. Managed to get things prepared for the pillow sham sewing job, made samples of the flat piping in several sizes before the customer arrived with the fabric, and yes, the ¼" width is what she wants. I cut her fabric into two 4 yard pieces then serged them into cylinders, which will behave better in the washing machine than if left as one extremely long flat piece. V will do the pre-shrinking in the same way she will wash finished shams, then bring me the washed and dried fabric. Hopefully soon, as they need completed before 9/28.

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~ a clever hack ~

I've been considering an herb stripper for ages, mostly because cilantro. Once saw a pretty ceramic one on Etsy, but never took that any further. Started thinking DIY yesterday, looked at a few tutorials, and suddenly flashed on my little spiral anodized aluminum knitting needle gauge... Never thought to use it in the kitchen, but it worked like a charm!

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Spent over an hour in the middle of the day pruning the black elderberry in the parking strip, and filled the greenwaste bin again! And managed to get most of the Very Tall straight up water sprouts from the persimmon as well, which is a little difficult to work on as it is also currently full of unripe fruit

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well that was odd... when I looked at my original P100, I noticed that the elasotmer had a worn out spot going right through the center of the top. So is no longer anything like airtight. I will contact Lee Valley, as I would have thought it (the structural mask) would last longer than a few years...

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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	needle gauge herb stripper	greenwaste bin
3	knitted pony	-	-
4	8 jars quince apple  rosewater sauce	-	-
5	6+ jars fig lemon marmalade	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- my brain made a Very Clever leap today
- knitting needle gauge=herb stripper for cilantro etc 
- seeing Gersvinda at the grocery store

Time of Isolation - Day 1907