Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine has a slow day...

beauty in the time of isolation:

When I was visiting my folks, and staying in a hotel, I tried to get out and walk each day it was possible. Which mostly meant an occasional walk round and round the hotel parking lots before it was time to drive over to the apartment. Behind the Other Hotel, there were these bright birch trees, growing in the ditch between the back of the hotel and the stone bluff. One day when I was walking, I found many curls of birchbark blown down to the asphalt path, though the trees themselves seemed unaffected and unharmed. I picked them up and put them aside to bring home with me, as a gifting from the trees, along with the pine cone I found in a parking lot. I plan on attempting some little woven baskets, if I can manage it...

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Oooh, my new teal linen arrived. That was fast, I ordered it Tuesday, and it was on my doorstep Thursday midday! And then, today, the teal cotton jersey showed up as well. I'm going to have fun planning wardrobe projects for the coming year. The lopi yarn I ordered at the beginning of the year, intending to make a lopapesya cardigan, includes a lovely teal as one of the accent colors. The floral blouse I made last year will coordinate, as will the one I made in Trios cotton lawn.

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Planning a 90th birthday card/book for my father... rather like a zine, actually, but put together with a Coptic binding for durability and ease of opening. The whole project would be easier if I had a functional printer here. I don't really want to go to the copy store. Instead, I am going to ask my family members to go old-school style and mail me their comments and words for inclusion in the book.

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Quince jelly has two ingredients, fruit and sugar, just like citrus marmalade, which is its descendant. Though in the case of jelly, one strains out the actual fruit and leaves just the juice. The only other ingredient is sugar. I am tempted to try making a quince marmalade, if I can figure out how to grate the quinces.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	roses kerchief	leather thimble	recycle bin
2	6 jars persimmon ketchup	teal popover dress	yard waste bin
3	6 jars pickled beets	-	-
4	5 jars pear chunks	-	-
5	8 jars quince jelly	-	-
6	-	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 - Podcasts - so useful as auditory companions when doing other chores that don't allow handwork. Washing dishes is much more pleasant when it is accompanied by music and interesting conversation. The most recent one I found  and enjoy is Katie Green's "The Green Bean Podcast".