Monday media and miscellany

in which our plucky heroine figured out a solution for the spinny teasing and mannerless but sweet little dog I am taking care of...

since he refuses entirely to hold still and let me clip his leash to his collar in the ordinary and polite way when it is time for walkies (and this has been making yours truly completely bonkers). I awoke this weekend with the thought: if I get him to jump up into the tub chair that he likes to sleep in, I can "corner" him there just long enough to connect collar and clip and off we go... This new strategy has worked like a charm ever since.

※※※

My previous (rough) sketches for the Scythian scroll turned up, so I spent most of the time during Crafternoon refining the linework, and then covering the lines on the reverse with soft pencil so I could transfer the design to the Bristol board, then actually transferring the designs. First the metalwork beast, then taping that in place as a sort of paper resist so I could transfer the Pazyryk felt carpet design that will make up the background. That sort of pencil work is hellaciously tedious; virtual company made it much more pleasant. The next step will be to do more practice calligraphy so the inscription can be sized to the border and to become more adept at using the "Roman Rustic" hand...

※※※

time in the tinyworld:

More effort on making sunflowers from dried weeds, paper, and paint - as previously mentioned, I found some weed heads with all the seeds gone, and the leftover discs really reminded me of sunflower centers. A wash of umber and black paint darkened them to an even better resemblance. I remembered there was a piece of yellow tissue paper on the wrapping shelf, a fragment of which became petals (which were quite a fidget to get them to stick to the centers) A dab of green paint on the back of each flower head to represent the sepals looked well, but then showed through the yellow tissue paper, oops... would have been better to use some paper that was a bit heavier for the petals.

※※※

~ creativity challenge ~

I made a new thing (to me) -  a sauce from zucchini. While looking up recipes online for some new options for the delicious squash from my Mud Bay pals, I found one for a zucchini pasta sauce, which was the jumping off point for my own creativity... The online sauce was a bit of a riff on pesto, but in the interest of using what I have on hand, I went in a vaguely southwest direction, with salsa verde and some minced cilantro instead of basil and grated cheese.

Cube and gently saute a medium onion. Cube and add about 1½# tender zucchini to the pan, cover, and steam saute until soft (add water if needed to avoid sticking) Puree (with added liquid if need be), and add a 4 oz jar of salsa verde, the zest and juice of one lemon, and at least ¼ C finely minced cilantro. This made about 3¼ C of sauce. It would be good made with lime instead (if available) It turned out delightfully savory, and will be a good addition to my short list of saucy staples.

※※※



※※※

August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	tiny fairy book	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	tiny Viking flag	spinny Wellington	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 - prepubescent zucchini, so very tasty, and such a wonderful gift from my friends up north.

Time of Isolation - Day 920