an unexpected treat

in which our plucky heroine has a visitation...

Earlier today, I got an unexpected phone call after lunch that my dear friends Rois and Chance were in town and wanted to know if they could stop by... I've not seen them in years, since they live on the other side of the state! We had a lovely visit for several hours sitting on the porch (all vaccinated, masked and distant) catching up on things and just basking in realtime human social time.

※※※

Last night I prepared the figs and the lemons for jamming, in order to make a bit of space in the freezer. The frozen figs were cut into pieces and mixed with sugar to macerate overnight. The lemons were peeled, the peelings cut to chiffonade, the white pith removed, and the fruit inside cut to thin slices. All the pips were discarded, and the peelings, lemon meat and juice were mixed with two cups of water and set to soak in the fridge overnight. This morning, it was all combined, cooked down slowly into preserves, and then put up in jars for pantry storage. A spoonful atop a custard cup of yogurt is very nice indeed!

※※※

Yesterday, I timed how long it took me to ride my bike to the Fishwife, because I had a terrible craving for some crunchy fried dead baby cephalopods. I can get back from there in fifteen minutes and am tempted to order a calamari basket... I think it would still be tasty after a 15 minute bike ride home?...oooh, just thought, I could make a nifty lil mylar bubblepack insulated bag to fit in one of my bike panniers (from the bags I have been saving from Imperfect) and that would likely keep the take out food warmer while I rode home again. A project to try, next week...

※※※

beauty in the time of isolation:

the feral grapes are almost ripe... not sure if I will pick some to make some grape syrup this year, or give them away again like I did last year. They are much too seedy to eat or to dehydrate

※※※

Think I finally had an idea for the September challenge over at Tiny Rag Doll Nation. The prompt is "It's a Party!", and Nandina and Alamadine are going to plan a Halloween Party. The idea was sparked when I saw an Instagram post of someone who made one of the vintage style candy buckets in the shape of a cat head. I didn't save the link, but will do research and use my own imagination instead. I think they will want some orange and black party clothes, and maybe some bunting, or a jack-o-lantern, or some vintage style wall decorations.

※※※

September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Greek masks block carved	rodent removal	yard waste bin
2	pillowcases printed	bicycle tube replaced	recycle bin
3	snood for Ariadne	side plum pruned	yard waste bin
4	memorial calligraphy	-	-
5	tiny fox "Almandine"	-	-
6	fig lemon jam 5 jars	x	x
7	-	x	x
8	-	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 -  today I got some new art supplies delivered, that were ordered two weeks ago. Two different black block printing inks, one for fabric, and one for paper, both oil based/water cleanup, a bundle of new postcard blanks, and an assortment of Very Small pen nibs for calligraphy. Whee!!