tuckered out, with good reason

in which our plucky heroine notices that Isabel and I got a LOT done this weekend, in addition to all I wrote about yesterday ...

The caddy I bought on Saturday had some structural issues that made actual assembly impossible. Exchanging it was easy. I  decided to replace the painted green handle wedges with ones of plain wood, which was an simple task with scrap wood, saw, and a bit of filing. I'm thinking of using it for scribal stuff...

Upon returning to Ikea, we also were able to score some Really Large pieces of corrugated cardboard from their recycle bins. Slowly over time, we've been laying down cardboard in the backyard and layering chips over them to help flatten the yard and suppress weeds. This weekend we probably doubled the area covered, as Sunday was not rainy,which made yardwork possible. My plan for the area around the plum thicket, which is really lumpy, is to first lay down some chips in the worst of the divots, then put down cardboard, and then another thin layer of chips to hold the cardboard down. My long range goal is to have a yard with assorted food growing areas and planters, and no lawn at all.

We also made a quick trip across the river to Vancouver, for anti-inflammatory topical salve, and checked several sources before finding the wood trim pieces to finally finish putting the bathroom sink area together. That saga originally started back in 2007, and the new sink installation began five years ago. If all goes well, the trim pieces will be painted and installed this year. Truly, I am not a house carpenter, I don't even play one on teevee, and most of these sorts of things require figuring out How To Do It, since most of them are not simple standard repairs covered in the books and videos of DIY


These are two of the three "housey-tool zones" which Isabel and I spent a lot of time decluttering this weekend... now everything in there is both Actually Useful and clearly labeled, as well as no longer obscured by all the random "could maybe be useful someday" bits. There is another set of shelves that holds things like hardware, and light bulbs and tape oh my... but that is a task for a different day.

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bright feathers top for Mom	leaky undersink	bag to Goodwill
2	taupe/teal feathers knit top	neckline binding	bag to Goodwill
3	11 4oz jars marmalade	more chips spread	bag to Goodwill
4	mushroom print blouse	chicken bedding	bag to Goodwill
5	Seville marmalade	x	rusty toolbox
6	4 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
7	Pomelo marmalade	x	x
8	blood orange marmalde	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - as the saying goes... I might be old, but I got to see a lot of good bands...

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine is ready for a nap...

One thing I really wanted to complete prior to the weekend was a set of a half dozen new bigger baprons, for dear Kestrel, who keeps growing... She has outgrown the original ones I made when she was just a nurseling and learning to eat solid food, and now as an active young toddler, her parents say that if I wanted to make a few more than just six, that wouldn't be amiss. They are fast and easy to make, are a great way to use up small fabric pieces and apparently work Really Well. In fact, I am wondering about somehow adapting the concept for adult sizes, for those messy tasks....

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The final installment in the marmalade series is blood orange marmalade. This might be my favorite. It has a delightful complex flavor all its own; one recipe made eight 4 oz jars and two 8 oz jars, and now the section of the pantry shelves devoted to marmalade are full up.

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One surprise when Isabel arrived was that a visit from Jarvis was part of her plan... Jarvis, you must know, is her Roomba. I have never before experienced the helpful robot vaccuum, and I must say that I was mightily impressed! While she dragged me off for an Ethiopian dinner at the wonderful Enat Kitchen, Jarvis cleverly made a go round of the public spaces here at Acorn Cottage. I was both pleased and horrified at what a difference his labors made. Now mind, vacuuming the carpet happens here fairly regularly. But I don't have the sort of rotating beater brush on my wee little vacuum, and we ended up running the Roomba three more times!! The new plan is to have Jarvis accompany her on future trips here, so he can work his magic while we do other needful activity

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February 14th is one of my least favorite holidays... If only I lived in Finland, if only for that day... read about "ystävänpäivä"

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in addition to running various errands to pick up things like decorative wood trim for the bathroom, and cardboard from Ikea and Costco, Isabel and I found time to declutter and reorganise the entryway cupboard, and the backdoor hardware shelves, both of which have been rather terribly messy for years now. Various bits of formerly missing tools have been rediscovered, I have, in fact, several sets of allen wrenches, and the sorely missed pump drill has been put back next to the workbench where it belongs! Mystery hardware funkitude has been rehomed. Like bits now stored with like bits, and everything has been dampwiped and dusted. Exhausted now!!

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bright feathers top for Mom	leaky undersink	bag to Goodwill
2	taupe/teal feathers knit top	neckline binding	bag to Goodwill
3	11 4oz jars marmalade	x	bag to Goodwill
4	mushroom print blouse	x	bag to Goodwill
5	Seville marmalade	x	x
6	4 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
7	Pomelo marmalade	x	x
8	blood orange marmalde	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - Isabel's kindness and generosity

brought to you by the color red...

in which our plucky heroine gets some baking done...

It was rather an indulgence on my part, but if all goes well, these individual silicone baking cups will be filled with muffin sized crustless quiche, which can then be frozen for deployment on difficult mornings...

I call this a success! My usual recipe made just the right amount of filling to fit neatly in the six silicone cups. Baked, they rose up just above the rims, and looked rather like little souffles, though, just as when baked in the larger rectangular baking tin, they deflated when cooling, I can already tell that the liners will peel away cleanly, and the benefit of baking them in individual portions is that they cook more evenly as well. I know what I am having for breakfast tomorrow!

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It may still be winter, but this lovely red camellia was blooming downtown...

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	bright feathers top for Mom	leaky undersink	bag to Goodwill
2	taupe/teal feathers knit top	neckline binding	-
3	11 4oz jars marmalade	x	-
4	mushroom print blouse	x	-
5	Seville marmalade	x	x
6	4 jars Awesome Sauce	x	x
7	Pomelo marmalade	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - half a dozen homegrown chicken eggs from the backyard, herbs and green onions from the planter boxes, Oregon-grown dairy products, and a tiny bit of local bacon ends from the store turn into almost a weeks worth of breakfasts