Friday figments and fragmenta

in which our plucky heroine notices something important...

I've been thinking about some core things, between all the usual chores. A few weeks ago friends and I were talking about life purpose, and mulling over what we each feel like we want to accomplish, not in an employment sense, but in the sense of our deeper selves. I found this a very challenging thing to examine. But recently, with the Advent swap, I was thinking about how in setting this up, gathering folks together and having people I know, and some I don't know, all want to participate, I have been feeling like I am making a difference.

The world seems so very troubled, and the issues so large, and I feel very helpless to have any effect at all. In this very small but real way, the Advent of A Better Year swap brings a modicum of creativity, connection, anticipation, and whimsy into being, not just for me, but for others as well.

Back when I was in the middle of my cancer treatment back in 2012, I was shopping at New Seasons the day before my first radiation treatment. My favorite cashier asked me, like they do, "how are you doing?" I told him that I was pretty scared about going into the radiation bunker the next day... he said "Don't you realise what that means?! Tomorrow is when you get your super power!!... what super power are you going to get?" Without even thinking twice, I told him that I was going to get the "Cheerfulness Ray", so I could zap people who were having a bad day and their day would immediately improve. He said that was the best super power he had ever heard of, because there was no way it could be used for evil purposes!

So, these things are all part and parcel of what I am here to be doing, and the Advent swap is a way I have been successfully using that Cheerfulness Ray in realtime and not just in my imagination

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~ fit test ~

This is how the shipping boxes will fit in my bicycle pannier basket(s), in preparation for a trip to the post office next week... I'll be able to fit most of them in the baskets, and the rest will have to ride in my daypack. I'll be offloading them into a big canvas tote when I get there, to carry everything inside to be sent on its way! (and for me to get tracking numbers for everyone...) Just checked the weather forecast for next week, and it seems so far to be mostly dry and in the low 50's during the day, so not too bad for riding my bike, which I try and do most days it isn't raining or snowing.

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Planning a nice dinner for next week, and parking the Useful Links here: turkey roulade (because this is the only time of year turkey thighs show up at the meat counter in the grocery store, candied quince (instead of cranberry, since it is equally vivid red, homegrown, and I like the flavor better), pan roasted sweet potato and minces (brussel sprouts)... I may add in a green salad, and possibly something special for dessert

about the turkey roulade; about how to bone a turkey thigh; and about using a buttermilk brine...

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I found the links to Whole Foods corporate and regional offices, and will be sending them a hardcopy letter regarding the incident on November 16th. Which was in direct contradiction to their stated "core values" as posted on their website

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I gave up on the current batch of quince paste. It just wasn't working out. Then I left the orange peel in syrup on the stove too long and it went from not ready to partially burned before I realised it. Today was not my day for confectionary. Fortunately I do have another orange, and I do have more quinces to play with, and this time I will stay hanging out in the kitchen with my current knitting project while the orange peel is on the stove, and I will try a different protocol for the quince paste... I've been successful at both of these in the past.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 jars quince jelly	glove thumb re-knit	yard waste bin
2	tiny tiger stripe dress	persimmon pruning	recycle bin
3	Elphinore brooch	steamer basket	imperfect cold packs
4	candied quince	shadowbox painted	recycle bin
5	x	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	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 gratitudes -
1. the weather has been holding steadily dry enough that riding my bike is possible. Tomorrow I will see about moving the summertime plywood shield, that kept the plum tree safe, back into the carport for the winter.
2. My back hurts less than it did a week ago
3. I seem to have coordinated an activity, the Advent of a Better Year in 2024, which is congruent with my life purpose.

Time of Isolation - Day 1233