wheel keeps turning

in which our plucky heroine takes a box to the post office on Boxing Day...

~ Advent Swap day 26 ~

a carved stone (fluorite?) flower makes a very fancy stitch marker...

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The fruitcake cooked beautifully into a lovely tall cylinder. I trimmed off the rounded top and turned it upside down on a saucer, then basted it with a bit more booze before wrapping it up again. Of course I had to nibble the bit trimmed off and it was swoon-worthy. The combination of the tender fruit, the subtle crunch of the pecans, and the spice/almond+ flavor of the intervening cake was all I had hoped for. I don't know if I want to add the marzipan and icing to make a traditional cake, or just leave it plain and cut slices bit by bit to have with tea...

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Today's work, now completed, was to finish setting the white Pelican enamel pendant, carefully package it up for shipping, then head off on my bike to the post office... it was busy, but nothing like it was three days ago. I'm feeling pretty good that almost every day I am managing to get one or more of my chosen work tasks completed.

Now that the birthday and winter holiday gift season is mostly ended, I decided to order a rotary cutter and blades to go with my new "Sekrit Santa" cutting mat, and also to order John James yarn needle set (in a handy storage case, which may keep me from loosing them as I seem to be prone to doing).

And, after much thought, also ordered a yard of the same color grey linen as my partially worn out pinafore, to make it a new bodice... the price per yard had gone up yet again, but there was a one day discount coupon code, so seemed like the best option.

I figured that starting with new fabric would be a better use of my time than trying to patch the worn-to-a-ravelling spots with some of the less visible inner pockets, and then having to also patch the pockets afterwards. I've done that when there was no way to get similar fabric for repairs...

Fortunately there was a record of which color grey I purchased previously back in 2019. I don't expect the new dyelot to be a perfect match, but since I'm replacing the whole bodice that is less critical. And with a whole yard, there may be enough to add a stripe or two around the hemline, to coordinate.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	"merry mathoms" stamp	x	x
8	white Pelican setting	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the package my sister was sending me for my birthday finally arrived, after taking the scenic route. It turned out to be a lovely scarf featuring a fun mermaid and sea creatures print, in a wild assortment of colors on a deep teal background. (teal, light turquoise, black, white, taupe, grey, golden yellow, burgundy, peach, and dark grey/lilac) The scarf will be a great accessory for my planned sewing projects this winter.
2. I spoke to the medical office and asked about simply getting my A1c test done there, returning when currently broken machine is repaired, instead of having to go to the main hospital lab, which trip takes at least a half day or more, and also requires much time spent in contact with possibly infectious and unmasked people... Since there is no urgency about the test, I was told it was a valid option and I will be phoned back when repairs have happened and I can simply ride over there on the bike, rather than multiple bus transfers etc...
3. when Ursel and I were window shopping, I saw a coat fastened with toggles that were only attached using bar tacks. I hadn't thought of that, which would be a very secure way to attach my raincoat fastenings. Though I will of course add a decorative leather patch over the cords, for appearance sake.

Time of Isolation - Day 1272