Monday musings

in which our plucky heroine wakes up early...

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

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

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~ hams and bacon ~

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

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

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

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

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

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

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

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

Time of Isolation - Day 1952

just a few Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine has a basically good day...

Moderately productive, modestly social, and still enthusiastically mulling over the possibilities suggested by yesterday's 3D printing class. Why are there so few Craftsman-style/Arts and Crafts era/Bungalow type files... Wondering how difficult it would be to learn to use Tinkercad, which was recommended if we want to make our own files for 3D printing

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~ whimsical wall ~

Paying attention... sometimes is rewarded with something lighthearted!

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Managed to get the most egregious watersprouts pruned away from the parking strip persimmon, in time to get them into the greenwaste wheelie bin before Friday morning pickup... next up is tackling the very overgrown backyard apple tree. Pruning is an ongoing task here at Acorn Cottage. It would be useful to start a reference notebook of care suggestions for the various fruit trees and plants.

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It was challenging to find information online about best practices for painting PLA printed objects, particularly since I've no desire to buy a big "rattle can" of spray primer, which seems to be the common suggestion. A trip to the local art store turned up a different suggestion, albeit one that was currently out of stock: using Golden Hard Modeling Paste to smooth and prepare the surface. While I'm now on the "notify when arrives" list, I also asked about just using acrylic gesso as a primer... Since it could work, that was the work of less than an hour to try out this afternoon. After wiping down the plastic with some alcohol to remove any oils from handling it, the gesso adhered well and left a nice matte surface that will be given a sort of faux wood grain finish with several colors of brown paint to add to the Craftsman-style fumed oak effect... Fingers crossed! 

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Ordered a new seat for my bike, since the current seat was purchased well over 20 years ago and has not just lost a good deal of the fabric cover but a substantial amount of the foam underlayer. The VSEAT is a different sort of design, intended to support you on your "sit-bones" and without the long nose that most seats have. My hope is that a seat that doesn't stick out as far towards the front will allow just a bit more room between the seat and handlebars. Our plucky heroine has short little dinosaur arms, so the seat must needs be set quite forward, and at every stop when I jump down to standing, my torso is squashed between the point of the seat horn and the handlebar post. 

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Raven scroll	6 prs Beth pants	recycle bin
2	black floral scarf	prune² Wanda plum	greenwaste bin
3	4 jars strawberry- rhubarb preserves	mulch peartrees	greenwaste bin
4	sunblock mitts	Eames top	greenwaste bin
5	catch tarp for porch	filter box legs	recycle bin
6	mini 3D plant stand	new house roof	greenwaste bin
7	x	defrost chest freezer	recycle bin
8	x	repair garden hose	persimmon prunings
9	x	right eyeglass temple	x

today's gratitudes -
- talking with Mischa
- my box full of gesso and acrylic paints
- leftover bulgogi rice bowl for breakfast

Time of Isolation - Day 1831

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine takes another nap...

The temperature is going to be rising for the next few days at least, so I managed to get outside first thing, and used the string trimmer on most of the front yard. My goal is to cut back the shaggy "lawn" areas, in addition to getting at least one more outdoor chore done each day. Today there was some pruning on the quince tree. Two more mornings will see the backyard mostly done, and then another two days for the bits like the parking strip and the worst of the edges. I was so exhausted after the time spent doing yardwork, that I was compelled to nap away the middle of the day

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~ Eames refurbishment... ~
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Back in 2019 two Uniqlo tee shirts became a long sleeve knit top. (I don't wear tee shirts, but intriguing graphics make excellent embellished sleeves, and sleeves are visible when worn under a pinafore) For some reason, at that point I gave the top a simple scoop neck, but now it has a double layer turtleneck collar, which will be much more cozy in winter. Sleeve cuffs now have a crenelated edge in matching cotton lycra jersey.

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Kestrel's recipe for strawberry ice cubes turn out to not just be pretty, but also add a subtle flavor to ice water, most welcome this time of year

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I suspect that as long as there are blueberries to pick, I will remain grateful that the plant is doing well enough to give me fruit, and remember decades ago in the Before Times, when Larissa was still in the bright world...

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Raven scroll	6 prs Beth pants	recycle bin
2	-	prune² Wanda plum	greenwaste bin
3	-	mulch peartrees	-
4	-	Eames top	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- additional blueberries for breakfast
- the one good thing about dreadfully hot sunny weather is that laundry dries really quickly
- Alabama Chanin, via Natalie Chanin, that inspired a whole different approach to using cotton jersey fabric

Time of Isolation - Day 1813

throwback Thursday

in which our plucky heroine has a day of upsandowns...

Starting to enjoy the early morning walkabout, and have noticed that by seven, there are many more folks out and about than even half an hour earlier, so my intention of as early as feasible is being reinforced! It also seems that my mental state is subtly improved by this small change in routine? Hard to tell, but is will be interesting to find out how a month of this activity affects me...

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~ Polygonatum multiflorum ~

This was happily growing across half a shady alleyway planting strip, all a tangle of green foliage and strands of doubled white floral bells... turns out to be a European/Asian native plant: "Solomons Seal" (my ever curious self loves being able to look up "what is this" online, in the reference library that never sleeps)

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Fell asleep last night only to be awakened just before midnight by the sounds of some very angry man yelling and cursing in the street, repeatedly and loud enough to hear through closed windows. It was a challenge after that to calm enough to return to dreamland...(fortunately I did manage)

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Gradual progress with placing salvaged cardboard around the yard to help block grass, then covering with wood chips. It occurred to me that saving some of the bigger pieces of cardboard to place underneath the mulch around the new trees will be a big help in keeping grass and morning glory from growing up through. Of course that will require raking away current mulch in order to place cardboard barriers, but live and learn...

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As a child in Los Angeles, I saw many vivid mosaics on the fronts of banks, and while I loved their beauty, I also took them for granted as being part of how the made world existed, it was decades before the internet allowed me to seek out any information about their design and creation... It turns out that Millard Sheets studio created many of these architectural mosaics It would a treat to someday travel to see such beauty with my own eyes...

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	heraldic fern painted	added pea trellis	greenwaste bin
2	XP2 sun protection	planted Seckel pear tree	recycle bin
3	-	Juliet tomato planted	-
4	-	marigolds planted	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- being able to access online information about the natural world
- napping when tired
- architectural conversation tonight with my pal Ursel sparked memories of mosaics seen in my childhood. Beauty that resonates still in corridors of mind

Time of Isolation - Day 1753

Tuesday tenacity

in which our plucky heroine persists in doing incremental yardwork...

For those curious about how the improved sidewalk edging turned out, it looks quite nice. If grasses start sneaking through under the bricks, it should be possible to just run the string trimmer along that edge and zip them away.
If enough additional bricks could be found (doubtful but possible), another course could be laid atop to allow for deeper mulching, but any additional bricks found in the yard are more or less earmarked to edge more mulch zones...

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~ wall 'o water ~

Although this photo reminds me a bit of Georgia O'Keefe, it is actually looking down from the top of the protective water surrounding the new Juliet tomato plant. The theory is that the cylinder consisting of water tubes moderates the temperature around the plant, protecting it from cold by absorbing excess heat by day to then release it as the air cools at night. There was just one of these, unused and stashed away, from years ago when I successfully managed to grow an eggplant; hopefully there will be equal success this year with small tomatoes.

Juliet is a small tomato, barely bigger than a cherry tomato, but very much unlike... you can imagine a flavorful little Roma style tomato instead, meaty and dense rather than seedy and juicy. Once we are into summer rather than this changeable late spring season, the Wall 'O Water will be removed and a proper tomato cage put in place instead. Going to look around for some small marigold starts to plant around the base, and am hopeful that the large planter will prove a suitable size, since it is almost 2 feet across at the top, and 17 inches deep. The pot sits just to the side of the new Fuyu persimmon tree planted in the backyard, and they are visible from the bedroom window

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Managed to complete a sketch (still needs to be inked in) for a future possible Laurel medallion for Laeriel: a fairly complex setting with some challenging design choices for the enamel. We will need to continue our consultation soon, to allow for enough time before the event...

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~ XP1 vs XP2 ~

Last year I made myself some "sun protection/bike riding mitts" from white cotton jersey; I used the pattern for decorative mitts from one of the Alabama Chanin books, but sans any fancy decoration. This concept worked well, as it kept my forearms and most of my hands covered, but the actual design had seams in places that were less than comfy when holding the handlebars, and the palm area bunched up into annoying wrinkles when in use...

The upper mitt in the photo is the initial attempt, it is a flat pattern made from two identical pieces, stitched on each edge, so one seam goes down the side of the palm and thumb, and the other two seams go down the sides of the arm... The lower mitt in the photo is a partially finished second attempt. My thought was that if I could avoid having a seam along the inner edge of the palm, and of the thumb, but transform that area into a simple fold, the whole mitt would be more comfortable to wear, with only one seam that crosses the thumb palm intersection)

I took one of the first mitts and literally drew on it to locate the base of my thumb, then cut apart the pieces and traced them onto some paper. There was a bit of "wave hands make magic happen" in my smoothing out some of the curves into seamlines that could match up (well actually there was a lot of holding bits of paper next to my hand and thumb, and thinking about where adding or subtracting bits might help, but starting from something that mostly fit, but changing the seamlines as I did is straightforward flat pattern manipulation)

The pattern pieces may look rather peculiar, and are much less sparing of fabric, but these shapes create a more anatomical mitt. It also looks slightly like some traditional glove patterns. Of course, anyone trying something similar would need to fit their own hand/thumb/arm proportions. I think am certain that this will be a Very Useful item for my lifestyle, though I've never seen anything like it for sale. As a skin cancer survivor, I want to have as little exposed skin as possible, and being able to avoid applying sunscreen to my hands means I won't get sunscreen in my eyes!

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	heraldic fern painted	added pea trellis	greenwaste bin
2	XP2 sun protection	planted Seckel pear	recycle bin
3	-	Juliet tomato planted	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- sun barrier mitt pattern XP2 seems to be successful: fits well and feels comfortable. (need to make up a second one so I can try them out while actually riding my bike)
- managed to use the afternoon zoom body double time to get the pencil sketching done for Laeriel's medallion design
- laundry washed and line dried, including duvet cover, because today was very hot and sunny

Time of Isolation - Day 1751