Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine remains obsessed...

Working on it betwixt chores, self care, and online visiting, the 1:12 scale MCM rocking chair is almost completed. The olive green fabric does make a convincing textured upholstery and I am that much closer to the vignette in my imagination. There will be at least a few more house plants, and now I'm thinking a mobile as well. The rounded cone miniature planter pot I designed in Tinkercad was printable and turned out well. Research informed me that they are described as "bullet planters", and were made in a variety of sizes, which is convenient for scaling the model(s) I may want to print. 

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~ basswood, walnut, and black acrylic ~

These frames will make my miniature artworks look much more complete. And after all, since Kenya runs an art gallery, there must needs be some extra frames around the place... (plus there are enough of the 1¼" square frames for an entire additional set of Advent treats, maybe a hand-colored block print?) 

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found a haven of mutuality over in Alberta earlier this week, and finally have a place was able to donate the two excellent (but not suitable for me) unused tubes of foot lotion. 

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Though there aren't as many folks participating in the advent swap as in years past, there are still some, and so it will be able to happen, albeit probably with some duplication of items.

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This weekend, wanting a handwork project suitable for knitting while video chatting, I started on a knitted combination earmuff/headband thing that the bike helmet chin straps slide through the ends and the headband adds a bit of warmth and keeps the "earmuffs" up near the ears where they can do some good. It is a free Ravelry pattern, designed by someone who lives in Madison, Wisconsin and has over 700 already made projects. Acquiring size 6 double pointed needles took a bit of doing, involving almost a 14 mile round trip on my bicycle, but in the end, needles were acquired and the knitting has begun. When this is completed, it will be time to start the cardigan.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny Wishbone chair	wheels for 2nd RÅSKOG	greenwaste bin
2	laser cut trinket shelves	tidy living room	recycle bin
3	vortex bottles	files for tiny plant pot	recycle bin
4	2 wee Dala horses	-	greenwaste bin
5	miniature spider plant	-	recycle bin
6	tiny picture frames	x	x
7	mini rocking chair	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- found locally grown yummy salad mix. Spendy but worthwhile.
- got my COVID vaccine on Friday
- leftover pancakes make good flatbread
- on Saturday, I rode my bike for over 14 miles. No wonder I was a bit tuckered out!

Time of Isolation - Day 2290

practice makes progress...

in which our plucky heroine is still obsessed...

with continuing to learn how to use TinkerCAD. Before the laser cutting session at the library, I put together a file for a collection of tiny plain modern picture frames in small, medium, large, extra large, and "Advent-sized" squares. Creating even the simplest of digital designs is still very challenging while continuing to learn (and trying to remember) how to do even very basic tasks in the program. I managed to cut out several copies of the file in both basswood and walnut veneered plywood today at the library, and now have LOTS of frames available for adding a finishing touch to tinyworld art.

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~ small but worthwhile ~

Am all kinds of happy with how the tiny spider plant turned out. It was an absorbing singular make, and has charmed everyone who sees it. (I brought it to the library makerspace to show to folks what I have been doing with the objects I've been creating)

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Today was a long long bike ride day, all the way to the other end of Alberta, since I wanted to see if the Glerups with the rubber sole were available at Pie Footwear. Sadly only in the "boot" style (which wouldn't work with the dang ankle brace), but at least I now know what size I wear (38) and can track down the style I want online.

Since Bolt Fabric Boutique is on the same block, seemed like a good chance to see if there was any fabric that would work well for mini upholstery. Yes indeed, since I couldn't choose, a wee bit of Essex yarn-dyed and also of Kokka dobby both came home, . Both ⅛ yd pieces are in shades of a nice olive-y green that seems MCM adjacent and reminds me of furniture from my younger days.

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Saw a house while out riding through Alberta Arts district that made me laugh. The residents had turned the entire front of a two story house into a spooky season face using simple white paper cutouts:  the two upper story windows were each made into googly eyes, and the small roof above the front door had a "bunting" attached of pointy teeth, turning the door into a mouth. Clever, and simple! 

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny Wishbone chair	wheels for 2nd RÅSKOG	greenwaste bin
2	laser cut trinket shelves	tidy living room	recycle bin
3	vortex bottles	files for tiny plant pot	recycle bin
4	2 wee Dala horses	-	-
5	miniature spider plant	-	-
6	62 tiny picture frames	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- many many laser cut miniature picture frames
- mini Monstera leaves cut using the PCC Cricut machine
- Bolt Fabrics will cut and sell ⅛ yd pieces of fabric
- Vesta's box of Advent goodies arrived today

Time of Isolation - Day 2286

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine notices visible progress...

Decided to go to the large farmers market today to use the remaining senior scrip before it expired, hoping for some of the farm exchange dark maple syrup. Flying Coyote brings it in from Vermont. Since it cost less than I remembered, was able to also get some beautiful Japanese eggplants*.  I also remembered to check the model train hobby store and was able to acquire a strip of 1/32" basswood to cut up to back the trinket shelves. All before noon. 

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~ faux Noguchi ~

Thursday afternoon decided that a visit to the PCP makerspace would improve my mood. Was able to cut out pieces for two different MCM miniatures: the frame for a rocking chair (very much like one Rois and Chance had) and the base and top for a faux Noguchi coffee table. All the wood parts for both pieces will need a fair amount of finish work, but with sanding and staining they should turn out quite lovely and a good accompaniment to the Wishbone chair. 

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In the desire to not be limited by models others have created, our plucky heroine has been trying to become familiar with TinkerCAD. May have successfully created two objects: a planter pot to be 3D printed and a pot riser to be laser cut. I won't know until I can get to a makerspace next week to find out if they will actually turn out as I hope, but after several hours of online efforts, they seem to look as I desired, and are hopefully the right size. Wish me luck...

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Thursday started out scrambled, as my appointment with Dr N was not at the new location and there was no way for me to get to the old office in the time remaining. Bah! Had to reschedule. Next time I will double check location when scheduling an appointment. Had to reschedule, fortunately the following week. Saturday my left foot was really bad again. I wish I could figure out why it is unhappy.

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Body doubling is probably my favorite effective task initiation strategy. It seems to work for me even over video chat. On Thursday spent several hours online with Ursel, doing my best to tidy up the  living room and kitchen. While the impetus for this effort was the imminent arrival of the tax accountant on Friday afternoon, the tidy space has vastly improved my sense of well being. Got enough done that day and the next morning to return the room to "company ready"

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny Wishbone chair	wheels for 2nd RÅSKOG	greenwaste bin
2	3 laser cut walnut trinket shelves	tidy living room	recycle bin
3	vortex bottles	-	recycle bin
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- was able to locate a new Luci solar bike light on eBay
- tiny trinket shelf layers are glued together, and I was able to kitbash pieces of the miscut to enlarge one (which will add variety)
- managed to time my excursions today to avoid being rained on

Time of Isolation - Day 2275

*

"5 Flavor Eggplant"
(savory, salty, sweet, sour, spicy)

about 2# long skinny eggplant 

1 tablespoon salt 

1½ tablespoon tamari 

1 tablespoon vinegar 

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 teaspoon cornstarch 

2 tablespoon oil 

+ hotness as desired

put the salt in a big bowl, add several cups of water, and then clean and cut up eggplants, tossing the bits into the bowl of salt water - I cut them first the long ways into quarters or sixths, then cut the long pieces into chunks. I try for about ¾" cubes more or less by volume, because big pieces take a long time to cook through, and undercooked eggplant is nasty.

when all the eggplant is in the bowl of salty water, it sits there for a half hour... I occasionally stir it or push the chunks around to make sure they all get drenched... you want to have enough water that they are all floating.

Meanwhile, combine the tamari, the vinegar, the sugar, and the cornstarch. Drain and dry the eggplant bits. (my current innovation is to use my salad spinner after pouring off as much of the water as I can)

In a big frying pan, heat up the oil, then fry the eggplant until it is FULLY COOKED and slightly browned. (Trust me, you want it cooked till it is SOFT, not al dente) Pour the sauce mixture over the eggplant (give the sauce mixture a good stirring up just before you pour it), and cook til thick, which will take only a few moments, because cornstarch...

At this point, I usually add some awesome sauce (spicy chili jam) but you could add a dash of tabasco, or sriacha, or whatever you prefer. The original recipe called for adding jalapeno peppers at the beginning, but that was WAY TOO HOT for me. YMMV, and the spicy aspect is entirely optional for that matter.

Truly, this recipe is almost faster to cook than to read, most of the effort is in cutting up the eggplants, and in waiting while they soak in the salty water. I had always in the past done the sprinkle the eggplant with salt, let it drain, rinse it off thing, which is a whole lot of faffing about. I had never heard of soaking them in lightly salted water, but it works really well!!

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine switches gears...

Today I rode over to PCC, only to find out on further discussion with helpful folks there that it is actually not advised to store things like medication in 3D printed containers. Sigh. There goes the idea of using the Helia files to make a pill case for Mischa. Now I am wondering what those files could be used for? (bead storage? stitch markers? small earrings or components of some kind? or???) So, was instead able to print out better detailed RÅSKOG wheels for my photo series. Also this week they have a "potion making" station set up with the ingredients to make some of those wonderful swirling metallic bottles (glycerin, alcohol, and colored mica powder), and I intend to make a few for the tinyworld... Tomorrow is also the laser cutter workshop at the library, and I intend to make progress on my trinket shelf project, now that we have determined that 1mm dividers are possible

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~ the big pocket ~

This started life as a tee shirt, but since our plucky heroine never wears tee shirts, it is being transmogrified into the front pocket for a new pinafore. Cotton jersey isn't particularly sturdy, so after being narrowly edgebound to a backing of the same herringbone fabric as the garment, it is being "quilted" in place with many lines of running stitches. It is almost as large as the front bodice, and will serve to remind me of the years I spent living at the end of the Delphi Valley, just across the highway from the Blue Heron Bakery...

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny Wishbone chair	wheels for 2nd RÅSKOG	greenwaste bin
2	-	-	recycle bin
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the multi-brown ikat pinafore, from a wonderful thrifted wrap given to me by Marian, which makes me think of her and smile
- this morning's shower with the goat milk soap Drusa made, and the new sturdy replacement handheld shower. Am still delighted with how well it stays in place when showering, compared to the old one.
- while clearing the nightstand, found a pair of backup glasses that Past Me had cleverly ordered, which had been buried beneath the assorted moop that has accumulated next to the bed. Given the difficulty in finding frames that fit and that I like, this is a big win!

Time of Isolation - Day 2270

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine enjoys the sunrise ~

Getting up and out the door while it is barely dawn is a challenge, but the benefit is a very pretty light show in the eastern sky. Always different, always worth seeing...

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~ e is for experimental ~

The STL file to print this cute trinket shelf has been unavailable for over a year, and the shop owner hasn't responded to my queries, so I decided to find out if I could create my own interpretation using the laser cutter... The first experiment was to see how narrow a structure could be cut, and it was a pleasant surprise that 1mm spaces between the cuts worked well and feels surprisingly sturdy! Definitely will continue with this (albeit rather rudimentary) designing process and create my own SVG cut file. Creating rectangles of specific sizes in the Glowforge interface, and placing them inside a larger specifically sized rectangle might not be rocket science, but one must needs begin somewhere.

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Baby bears portion: the meatball sundae at Ikea. By the time I made it out there, found the Raskog cartons, took photos of the labels, and started back towards the exits it was after 3 and there had been no lunch. Hot dogs or pizza rarely appeal, but then I noticed the handwritten sign at the bistro "meatball sundaes return"... a modestly sized ice cream cup but filled with a scoop of what tasted like actual mashed potatoes, and topped with 3 Swedish meatballs and gravy. It was a treat to be asked if I wanted lingonberry jam. I did. Before Ikea, it never would have occurred to me that jam was a suitable condiment for meatballs, although many folks in the USA eat red jam (aka cranberry sauce) with turkey.

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Today I went to the 3D print workshop at the Holgate Library, instead of Albina. Having done so this once, Albina will continue as first preference since the meeting room there is much more pleasant, being larger, with room to spread out and a whole wall of windows. Now all the pieces of tiny RÅSKOG are printed out. The next steps are to paint the tiny (faux) caster wheels, to figure out what glue to use to attach the extremely small PLA printed bits, and make to make jigs to hold the various parts in proper alignment. All of which was covered in the instructions that came with the print file with two words: "glue together"

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 sm jars plum sauce	plums in freezer	greenwaste bin
2	3D print Dala horse	extension cords coiled	recycle bin
3	3D print plant stands	wind chime suspension	recycle bin
4	3 pr dolly boots	more plums frozen	greenwaste bin
5	12+ jars elderberry syrup	new handheld shower	-
6	16 jars Awesome sauce	screen door painted	x
7	kitchen algebra tag	x	x
8	RÅSKOG pieces	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- early morning sunrise sky
- makerspace instructor Gretchen is a good communicator
- I have all the pieces for tiny RÅSKOG

Time of Isolation - Day 2259

it's magnetic

in which our plucky heroine slept well...

and this morning there were unfamiliar sounds from a flock of birds in the front yard tree, and I saw quite a few nuthatches clambering around?! Not something I've commonly seen around here. 

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~ kitchen algebra ~

(actual size 1¼" x 2⅛")

This was my laser cutting project today at the library workshop. My intention is to keep the formula readily available by turning it into a kitchen magnet. What I am particularly amused by is how the red acrylic and the cream color paint marker combine to give the artifact a "science lab" sort of appearance. Once I glue a magnet to the back, it will take pride of place as an aide-mémoire in the kitchen...

It remains Very Enjoyable to keep experimenting with the digital maker tools at the library, even though I'm not yet anywhere near being able to actually get more than one or two steps forward before calling for help in the design and setup stage. I spent some time today (after the algebra tag was engraved and cut) designing a very tiny sample as part of my ongoing wish to have more of the 1:12 scale trinket shelves to play with. Looks like barely over 1mm is possible when using 3mm plywood, and will do more design work at my next chance to play with the Glowforge. 

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In further magnetic adventures, I'd noticed after my most recent preserving session that the plastic lid lifter (used to remove lids and rings from the hot water when waterbath canning), washed along with all the rest of the paraphernalia, was missing its functional tip. This small tool is a necessity, so I was pleased to notice today that there was a small round disc under the kick plate between the sink cupboard and the cushion mat. Tiny magnet had fallen out and was hidden from view. Not sure what will be the best glue to reattach it, but very glad to not have to do unnecessary shopping.

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 sm jars plum sauce	plums in freezer	greenwaste bin
2	3D print Dala horse	extension cords coiled	recycle bin
3	3D print plant stands	wind chime suspension	recycle bin
4	3 pr dolly boots	more plums frozen	greenwaste bin
5	12+ jars elderberry syrup	new handheld shower	-
6	16 jars Awesome sauce	screen door painted	x
7	kitchen algebra tag	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- successful laser cutting experiments 
- had a good phone chat with Helga
- leek lentil barley soup cubes

Time of Isolation - Day 2258

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine is amused...

Woke up this morning with a jumpscare mistaking the frayed slightly tickle-y bandaid on my forearm for an insect. Then had to laugh at myself, which all in all was not a bad way to start the day...

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~ finally finished ~

The batik dress, subject of many revisions on the way to becoming a pleasing wardrobe additions, is completed, and turned out quite different in various ways from my other, simpler, popover summer dresses. The original fabric is particularly lovely, and each of the changes have only improved the garment. The neckline is just right in width, and the embroidered canal boat roses are a fun decoration. Using many of my rayon scraps for a patchwork stripe down the center front is a thrifty accent.

I'll have to try and get a photo of the dress as worn, since the additional new batik fabric around the hem edge is a subtle focal point. There won't be many more summertime days this year, but popover dresses are also good layering garments. In my continuing effort to try or learn new things, since there wasn't enough extra fabric to edgebind the hem, it was time to try out the "blind hem" stitch on my trusty venerable Bernette. Considering that I bought the machine new back in the 80's, it is surprising that I'd not had reason to use that built-in stitch anytime in the last 40 years! It was, in fact, the perfect choice for the yards and yards of straight hemming...

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This may have been the last of the really warm summer days, not sure, and so it was a good choice to spray paint the front screen door frame. Another "give a mouse a cookie" project, since painting the frame made the surrounding molding and house paint look even more shabby, but I do prefer the screen door frame being dark bronze to scratched up white. Also makes me think that the house trim really needs to be dark almost-black, at least somewhat darker than the screen door. It will be curious to see what it will look like with the inner door painted turquoise, instead of the current dark purple.

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The last of the plums are in the freezer. Guessing at least 30 pounds, which will be part of many many happy breakfast bowls of museli. The next big harvest season project will be applesauce, using most of the Acantha apples, and what remains on my backyard tree. Yum!

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This week I'll get to play with the laser cutter at the library again. Not sure if the PNG file for a criss cross proportional algebra magnet will work, but worth trying. Since last week I realised that magnets can be attached next to the digital dashboard on the stove. If there is some red plexiglass, that would be perfect. Also made a PNG file of a trinket shelf, again not sure it would be too detailed to be cut, given the very small size of the compartments, but I did figure out how to create a crisp black and white geometric image in Photoshop. Use what you have, before diving into an entirely different program.

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 sm jars plum sauce	plums in freezer	greenwaste bin
2	3D print Dala horse	extension cords coiled	recycle bin
3	3D print plant stands	wind chime suspension	recycle bin
4	3 pr dolly boots	more plums frozen	greenwaste bin
5	12+ jars elderberry syrup	new handheld shower	-
6	16 jars Awesome sauce	screen door painted	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the hand carved tasting spoons, made by Seb
- enough box fans to push the paint smell back out of the house
- spray paint is fast, but the masking and taping to prep is not easy
- organised categories and channels in my Discord server

Time of Isolation - Day 2257