Thursday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine is baffled...

this morning I found a brand new and stillshrink wrappedreference book on my shelves, with no idea of how it arrived!?! "Codices Illustres", a Taschen art book about illuminated manuscripts. It wasn't with my other scribal reference books, and there have been no house guests that might have "planted" it as a surprise. Mysterious indeed!

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~ homegrown tree fruit mid-July ~

These are the fruits currently ripe here at Acorn Cottage... European black elder, and some variety of black fig (sold to me as Negronne) I picked a fair amount of the elderberries yesterday morning, before it got too hot, and spent time carefully plucking them from the stems. Ended up with 10 oz which are now in the freezer. Plan on picking as much as I can manage and then cooking them as immune support syrup. There are new safety guidelines for elderberry preserving, here from OSU, and from Penn State Because they can vary in acidity, it is necessary to use tested recipes, and because raw elderberries can contain cyanide compounds (that are deactivated by cooking) they must be cooked before consuming... 

The figs are easier. They can be eaten directly from the tree, or in combination with goat cheese or other savory things, or cooked into various treats. I plan on using some of my harvest to make a wee little fig and blueberry crisp, combining and smallifying some of these two recipes: Sticky Fig Blueberry Crisp and Fig Crisps with Buttery Nut Streusel. I like the idea of adding the small amount of remaining homegrown blueberries and some lemon from the former, and the latter idea of swapping out chopped nuts for the rolled oats in the topping. I suspect that the proportions of Apple Crisp for One will work well

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Last night's thunderstorm was very loud, full of thunder, some lightning, and almost no rain... I miss the damp thunder-n-lightning storms of my childhood on the other coast, when there was no fire season.

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good news on the garden front: the mock orange start, that seemed to have died, so was cut back but left (forgotten) in the pot seems to not be dead after all, as there is new small green growth showing. When it is no longer the heat of summer and the ground rock hard, I will find it a good spot to plant it in the ground... 

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	15 tiny masu boxes	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	black scarf hem	replace C O alarm	recycle bin
3	Brambly Hedge slip	-	greenwaste bin
4	5 more bead frogs	-	overgrown lovage
5	"Cats Invade" books	-	greenwaste bin
6	all the bead frogs	x	recycle bin
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes-
- mysterious surprise reference art book
- mock orange is not dead
- somewhat cooler than yesterday

Time of Isolation - Day 2200

Thursday thoughts and throwbacks

in which our plucky heroine enjoys a cooler grey day...

Best thing today was noticing that for the first time ever, the black fig tree in the front yard has ripe figs. I picked a half dozen this morning, and there are at least that many or more still on the tree that will need my fruit picker to reach. I ate one as a snack, yum!

Cut away all the overgrown lovage this afternoon, removed an armload of false dandelion, finished deadheading the culinary sage, went ahead and trimmed the hardy fuschia back from the walkway, and cut the top off the nandina where it was growing into the porch roof. Incremental progress is still progress

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~ incremental ~

after a gentle bit of steam blocking, just enough to smooth out the knitting, it is easier to see the subtle pattern of grey and dark brown. The Tabby Cat cowl will be a good addition for the grey/black/brown "accessories wardrobe" this winter. I'm also thinking about a black corduroy pinafore to take the place of the worn-out vertical pique.

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Apparently I didn't dream it was raining, it actually did rain in the middle of the night. And the thunder that sort of woke me from the dreamlands was likely real as well. It is pleasantly grey this morning, though that is due to burn off and we shall have hot and sunny for the next however long....

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Throwback Thursday: in 2009 I was at the Oregon Country Fair

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I've been gradually cutting out kitchen storage shelf parts, using what is on hand. Started with the actual shelves, from what was intended as workroom trim board years ago, salvaged from the Rebuilding Center. Now that those two are cut to size, to hold five Talenti tubs each, it occurred to me that though there is no suitable molding to keep them secure on the shelf, I could use one of my stash of wooden yardsticks. Those are the right dimensions, only needing to be cut to a Useful Length, and are sturdy enough for the task.  Since they, along with the shelves will be painted I could use the less attractive skinny yardsticks. The upper shelf can readily be attached to the wall once it is fabricated, but the lower shelf needs access to the narrow space between the chest freezer and the wall to anchor the brackets. My cunning plan is to install the second shelf when defrosting freezer later this summer, while it is pulled away from the wall.

In other kitchen related news, I did get over to A-Boy and asked about the faucet I liked several years ago. Though their inventory says they still have three in stock, the kindly manager was unable to find them. He suggested I return next week when the person who is in charge of that area is back from vacation. It is time to replace the kitchen faucet. Which first requires acquisition of a new one...

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	15 tiny masu boxes	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	black scarf hem	replace C O alarm	recycle bin
3	Brambly Hedge slip	-	greenwaste bin
4	5 more bead frogs	-	overgrown lovage
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes- 
- the mosaic knit motifs in my current Tabby Cat bandana cowl is really easy to memorise and to "see" where you are in the pattern
- white peaches (or white nectarines) so yummy, and not difficult to peel for safety sake.
- There are ripe black figs on the tree in my front yard, for the first time ever!!

Time of Isolation - Day 2194

Saturday snippets...

in which our plucky heroine is a bit scattered...

There are a number of projects currently making it into the bright world from the world of ideas. The only one finished so far is the conversion of the grey stripey dress into a Brambly Hedge style slip. Karen suggested using some lightweight linen for the bodice as an alternative to my struggles to modify the dress bodice, and that was an excellent idea. It also let me double check the alternative pinafore pattern last used for the black vertical pique back in 2012. The bodice of the pattern still fits, so it'd be good to think about sewing up a replacement pinafore, as after 14 years, it is sadly worn to a raveling. I wish there was some way to get more of that beautiful and durable fabric!

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~ a bit overgrown ~

The hardy fuschia is really enthusiastic this year, taking over part of the front door walkway! As it is full of various bees, and sometimes hummingbirds, I'm loath to prune it back...

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If I still lived in New England, I would surely make the trip to the Society of Illustrators museum in NYC just to see this exhibition "All Around Us: The Art of Carson Ellis" that opens August 15th. It is a bit far to travel from here. I shall attempt to acquire a show catalogue once they are available

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As gradual decluttering of the kitchen countertops happens, I've been thinking about better ways to organise supplies that are used often. Some shallow shelves for talenti tubs holding small quantities of bulk dry goods would be both handy and tidy. A scrap of wood once intended as workroom baseboard is just the right width to become such shelves. 

Making another pot lid rack for the kitchen door would be good, there is another vintage yardstick (and some small scraps) that can all be cut to size, glued together, and mounted on the door above the one already there... also finding a good spot to store new cookpots is needed, maybe move rarely used appliances off sideboard into the pantry or a storage closet? The dehydrator is only used in autumn for persimmons and pears, and the rest of the year is taking up a sizeable chunk of kitchen real estate. Eventually inside the cabinets will be decluttered as well, freeing yet more space.

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Rummaging in the chest freezer, a large ziploc full of last years homegrown plums will be a good addition to morning museli. There are still a few ripening blueberries on the bush outside the living room window. Given the increase in cases of parasitic cyclospora infection of unknown source(s?) it seems wise to be cautious of any raw produce not grown in my own yard. So, more cooked veggies this summer, and any grocery store fruit will become compote or sauce. 

Washing produce does not remove the parasite enough to make it "safe", not plain water, not vinegar, or chlorine, or other produce wash additives. It is not killed by freezing. Heat over 158 F will kill it... Washing hands both before and after handling raw produce is highly advised.

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	15 tiny masu boxes	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	black scarf hem	replace C O alarm	recycle bin
3	Brambly Hedge slip	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes- 
- tasty eggs from Drusa's hens (saving the green eggshells for some miniature mosaic)
- found a big ziploc full of last years frozen plums... safe homegrown fruit to eat without cooking it first!
- today was not beastly hot, managed to get by without AC
- Alice Starmore's "Aran Knitting" (ordered from Alibris on Tuesday) arrived today.

Time of Isolation - Day 2189

Tuesday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine struggles...

It has been a difficult day, full of brain weasels. I do my best to share and document the good here, rather than the opposite. But some days for no obvious reason that purposeful focus just isn't enough. Spent way too much time today entangled in the thought that what my life is missing, that what I wanted/want and cannot/do not have in my life is my own fault. That I must not have really wanted it enough. That rather than being a matter of un-luck it is really a matter of lifelong somehow sabotaging myself. I remind myself of all that is good and fortunate in my current life, but solitude still remains painful.

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~ made to be used ~

Years ago there was a trip to Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece, with many memorable moments, and a modicum of confusions brought about by my dependence on a Serbo-Croatian travel phrase book for the central third of our journey. My attempt to buy a metre of pretty eyelet trim from a shop ended with my unintentionally purchasing the entire 18 metre bolt instead, and it has been an amusing tale and souvenir ever since... Rather than save it unused for some future estate sale, a portion of those metres will trim the hemline of what once was a grey and white striped everyday dress, now in the process of conversion to a Brambly Hedge slip. The dress is no longer a favorite, though mostly in good condition; by removing the sleeves and cutting away much of the armscye and neckline areas and then making edgebinding from the sleeve fabric, it will become a useful under-layer for both winter cold weather and for "costume" fun. 

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Every time that I can go outside and pick fresh blueberries in my yard is a bit of daily dopamine. The plant was a gift, and I managed to not kill it for the last 20+ years. More blueberries this year than in times past, maybe my pruning last year was correctly done?

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When heading for the grocery earlier today seeking some goat or sheep feta, I saw a postie in their van eating lunch. I asked if I could just hand them my stamped envelopes rather than bike all the way down the hill to the post office, and was grateful and appreciative when they said "sure!", saving me several miles of riding. 

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	15 tiny masu boxes	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	black scarf hem	replace C O alarm	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes- 
- finally finding the right project to use souvenir eyelet edging
- forgot to mention that the rolled hem on the black scarf is done
- agreeable postie saved me a hilly bike ride in the heat of the day
- homegrown blueberries in my breakfast museli

Time of Isolation - Day 2186

a colloquia of corbies

in which our plucky heroine slept better than expected...

The holiday explosions started before it was even full dark, but it seemed less dense than last year? The windows, which are usually kept narrowly open for fresh air were all shut tight last night. The rarely used white noise app helped partially mute the thumps and bangs. Turned that off sometime in the wee small hours as it was no longer needed. The closed windows also allowed me to sleep until not tired; hungry corbies were still there when I woke up at around 8, quite a few gathered in the lilac, and on the garage roof next door! 

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~ cats invade the garden for catnip ~
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One project started this weekend has been to begin converting all of  Kestrel's very delightful "Cats Invade" drawings to a format suitable for making tiny books for the tinyfolk that live at her house and also here at Acorn Cottage. I plumb adore the whole series of pictures, of which these are the first two...

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One of the early garden addition here was a little Nandina domestica, (now almost 7 ft tall); a shrub I loved as a child, and tinyfolk Nandina Ogidni's namesake. I nowadays remove the berries that form, as they can be toxic to birds and mammals, but apparently the flowers are very attractive to bees... Today, despite the lack of a breeze, I noticed quite a bit of foliage movement, and there were many bees of several different species  going from flower to flower.

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The 5 gallon bucket of beads is now slightly less disorganised, as I took part of today to sort through it organising beads by color. Mostly the beads that were already in hanks or bags of one color, if randomly distributed. There still remain several large ziplocs full of assorted mixtures, individual beads, trinkets, and artifacts, but now specific colorways are much more accessible. Also it is curious that there seems to be an overlap between taupe, purple, and grey, which I suspect has to do with the chemistry of creating glass colors. 

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	15 tiny masu boxes	earrings recombined	greenwaste bin
2	-	replace C O alarm	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- did not wake up at 5 AM from hungry noisy corbies
- Maeva sent me more Kestrel drawings today
- internal collywobbles seem to have dissipated
- Nandina flowers attract bees

Time of Isolation - Day 2184

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine has ongoing insomnia...

I'm tired of being an adult. There is gorram little about it to enjoy, despite the lie all children are told that "when you grow up you can do whatever you want". By the time I was a teen, I was already adding the caveat "if you want to enough and are willing to pay the price". I will, however, admit to one evening last week choosing to have ice cream for dinner instead of a proper meal...

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~ so lovely ~

Everything about the quince is a delight. It is a small tree just outside the south window in the living room. It is one of the first fruit trees here to leaf out, and the flowers are about three times as large as its other pome relatives (apples, pears, and plums). Later in the year those flowers will become the huge golden fragrant fruits quince is renowned for, that get turned into preserves, and jelly, and are added to applesauce, all destined for jars on the store cupboard shelves here at Acorn Cottage, and eventually special sweet treats.

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There is a tangle with my admin paperwork beyond my ability to solve. Things I thought were done correctly weren't. After about a day and a half of not coping at all, it occurred to me that this sort of situation is perzactly what asking for an extension to file tax forms is intended to deal with. Since the extension is only for the forms and not for the payment (still due on the 15th), I've been spending the last two days figuring out what the amounts due would be if there was no tangle, and will send that amount in on Wednesday. Then I'll arrange for some professional assistance (after April 15) and get everything properly sorted. As earlier mentioned, adulting is no fun at all.

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I've been giving self short breaks from admin paperwork to continue with assorted sewing related activity, that being as close as I can get to some sort of "treat". Since I'd already made a sewing kit for the next up pinafore, it has been possible to get the entire bodice sewn together in the last two days. Am quite tempted to make up sewing kits for the rest of my wardrobe refurbishment: 3 more pinafores (one blue/black, one indigo, and one teal); 3 more long janes (one teal, one indigo, and one brown) and the PNW landscape print blouse.

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Another oops! Recently and sadly remembered/realised that it has been days and days since any of the 100 day drawing project activity. There are 29 more drawings waiting to happen. Shall start up again on Thursday. Have been thinking that it would be interesting to find a way to pin all 100 up at once, though I suspect that there isn't any wall space large enough here in Acorn Cottage to make that happen...

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	glass button shirt	apple tree pruned	recycle bin
2	dual fold wallet	tiny beaded star	greenwaste bin
3	-	electric bill found	recycle bin
4	-	shirt sleeve length	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- managed to get up, dressed, and out the door for a walk around the block first thing a few times in the last week, which has been a goal of mine for months, nay years.
- decided that the best option for dealing with admin issues is to file for tax extensions this year. Stress level decreased down to dull roar from complete overwhelm.
- Helga sweetly took me to Costco today
- local transit tax only requires Schedule C's included so that one set of forms and payment can be sent in and crossed of the to do list.

Time of Isolation - Day 2104

short but very sweet

in which our plucky heroine is delighted...

Most of my Mud Bay pals were headed south this week so Kestrel could visit her great grandmama, and they stopped off briefly on their two day trip south for a bit of a porch visit/drive-by hugging from three of my favorite humans on the planet. Took some time to walk around the yard, stretch their legs, and eat some snacks. I got to meet Leche, their new dog. I love all of them so much (as well as Maeva who was staying home to mind the garden and the chickens) and hope that someday visiting with them in person will be possible again.

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~ proto-pears ~

In January of 2025 I planted the Bosc pear tree in the front yard that was my response to the Urban Forestry permit requirement for replacing the ornamental plum tree removed in 2024 While I suspect it isn't large enough yet to really support fruiting, it has done well enough to open a singular cluster of flowers this year!  The Shipova and the Seckel seem to be doing well but of course are about half that size. With luck, there will be some of my favorite tree fruit in a few years, though I expect to have to baby them and hand water every summer for quite few years to come, particularly given how hot it already is and that the forecast is for a dreadful El Niño season...

Bosc pear planted in 2025
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The disorder in the house is getting to the point where it is interfering with my ability to function. My thought is that once my taxes for the year are done (in the next ten days) I will then take at least the next six weeks or more and focus time every day on creating more order from the current chaos. If I focus each week on one aspect or room, it should make a big difference, and maybe allow me a chance to get some of the refurbishment projects underway as well. I am going to go ahead and order the window awnings that have been on my wishlist for years now; aluminum is only going to get more and more spendy, and while the prices are a lot higher than last year,  it is not yet in the "unobtanium" category, and shading the east and west windows will make a big difference in the summertime .

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Brenda Dayne has connected all her past catalog to her current Substack site. This means that I have a lot of audio content I can enjoy (again). Cast On was one of the first podcasts I ever ran across, and despite looking, I have yet to find any that I like anywhere near as much. Her voice, selection of music, and mixture of content just feeds something in me that nothing else does. I wish I could articulate what about Cast On makes it just right.

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	glass button shirt	apple tree pruned	recycle bin
2	-	tiny beaded star	greenwaste bin
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- Beloved friends Bill, Jen, and Kestrel stopping by on their trip south
- meeting Leche the dog, large and quiet
- "Cast On" with Brenda Dayne

Time of Isolation - Day 2097

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine tries to look forward...

Looked around the yard, which desperately needs mowed, but was too damp a day to do that safely. The apple tree, just barely thinking about leafing out, could be pruned, as it is obvious at this point that a lot of the tallest sprouting growth is not going to bloom and make apples. Removing these will let a lot more sunlight into the tree and help keep it "reachable". The quinceling is the only fruit tree with leaves and now showing signs of starting flower buds. There are a few tiny leaves on one of the fig trees. Plums, persimmons, and the elderberry are not fully awake yet.

The forsythia is glorious, the star magnolia is just past it's peak, and Euphorbia wulfenni is decorating the front yard with tall lime green banners. Here and there are a few pink violets just starting, and the small clump of grape hyacinths are in full flower, and the last of the hellebore flowers are a bit droopy but still visible.

There are sprouting leaves that promise lovage* stalks later this year, and I expect to see some growth in the bed of walking onions. Adding chives to the front yard would be a nice addition to "allium self sufficiency". Other perennial seasoning herbs here are rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram.

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~ both sides now ~

Final detailing on the new brown linen pinafore... brown chain stitch cloud motif, embroidered on a scrap of the same linen, then appliqued to the bib pocket. It was a little tricky getting the stitching done while making sure to only catch the outer layer of the pocket, and in fact there was one spot where it was necessary to clip a stitch and undo the thread back far enough to knot it off and restitch. Going forward, I'll be sure to add any and all of the pocket decoration before attaching the pocket rather than afterwards!

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Just about finished with the grey Chinese landscape print shirt. By piecing the few remaining scraps it was possible to cut out five of the seven peplum pieces, and some of the linen chambray subbed in for the rest. It felt a bit like some of those online no-waste videos, as all that was left was a literally small handful of tiny scraps. Once button locations are marked, machine buttonholes made, and the shell buttons stitched on, it will be done!

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Tamra mentioned the idea of finding an outdoor space to be social. This brought to mind my former idea of using the carport as outdoor living and crafting space, which would allow for more than one or two visitors at a time... Making that happen requires clearing years of junk from the carport, which is quite a challenge but doable, finding storage space for plywood and lumber (much more difficult), and finding tool storage space for yard tools. While I don't miss the moldy shed in the backyard, I do very much miss having some sort of garage-equivalent storage space. I've just been ignoring the issue for the last ten years, but bringing it back to the front part of my brain will hopefully eventually yield solution(s).

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	recycle bin
3	brown linen pinafore	cardigan ribbon facings	cracked tote
4	grey shirt	planted rhubarb	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- dental care as a child, which has made my adult life less traumatic
- new Charles de Lint story: ICE Out
- figured out that the reason my keyboard was being weird and some keys not functioning was that the batteries were almost dead, freshly charged cured the problem.

Time of Isolation - Day 2089

* it will be worthwhile to try out making "herbal salt" from the lovage leaves, as a way to preserve the flavor for wintertime use. It was originally planted a few years after moving here as a backup celery flavor source in soups and stews. It grows without trouble or fuss and creates a spectacular vertical display, and should supply chain issues arise, having multiple ways to season food is never a bad idea.

somewhat less than ideal

in which our plucky heroine has eye trouble...

I woke up this morning with my right eye very swollen and painful, burning and gritty feeling, and have booked an express care medical visit. The first available appointment was at 8:40 am... And with my right eye so wonky/painful it means I can't do anything at all as sewing, knitting, embroidery, workshop tasks etc all require binocular vision (Last night it didn't feel quite right, so I used extra of my regular before bedtime eye drops).

There seems to be not only an eyelid infection, but it may be spreading to the eye socket, so the plan is for both antibiotic eye drops and daily pills (for the whole system) for a whole week. Yogurt will be a daily necessity, and my sleep wake will become very wonky indeed as every three hours I will be either medicating, or, alternately ingesting probiotic substances, as the pharmacist said to eat with medicines, but not dairy, and then to eat yogurt after a three hour window. Lather rinse repeat.  

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~ was a sunny day ~

The westside esplanade, where the Willamette River bisects Portland, has a short season of springtime when the cherry trees bloom. Usually I only notice this when riding transit over one of our many bridges, but since today was both not-raining, and not-cold, and since I could do none of my usual preferred activites with only one fully functional eye... it seemed that a local "adventure" was a good plan. It turned out that what seemed like half the city also thought it was a good plan! There were dogs, and kiddos, and young families with babies on blankets, new lovers and old ones, folks on wheels: bicycles, and chairs, and skateboards, and rollerblades. There were buskers, and the venerable Saturday Market handcraft tents. It was far more crowded than our plucky heroine prefers to subject herself to, but in this world of trouble and turmoil, it was actually quite lovely and benign.

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The last week has been a challenge in various ways. Never a good sign when I stop writing here, and stop contacting folks. The nightmares that in the Before Times could more often be left at sleeps door when they awakened me in the wee small hours are now far too similar to current events, and have several times made further sleep that night impossible. Fortunately being semi-retired/work from home means that while it isn't ideal, rearranging the daytime to allow for an afternoon nap is at least possible. Reminders from beloved if faraway friends that my being in their lives is helpful and a treat for them, helps my equilbrium. May the week ahead bring, if not fewer daytime horrors, at least some peaceful dreams.

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Lastly, hand stitching ribbon facings to cover the (slightly wonky) steek edges inside the Icelandic cardigan really added a finished look. This was a technique I had seen in some vintage knitwear, but never tried. I found some chocolate brown 1" wide rayon petersham ribbon on Etsy, and the instructions shared by Hélène Magnússon on her blog made the process really clear. It turned out quite pleasingly tidy, and was not difficult. Should I make another steeked cardigan, this will be good to remember...

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Last year a wee baby Victoria rhubarb came to live here, from the plant store at the end of the street. It survived in a pot on the porch next to the front door, where it was very visible, and hence watered often enough. After winter dormancy, it sent out some pencil thin stalks with leaves smaller than my palm, and surely it needed a bigger home. Earlier this week it moved to the raised bed in the backyard. That bed still needs quite a bit of topping up with good soil, but after shifting some all to one end, and adding a few shovels worth of compost, the rhubarb has a new home, where it will get good sunlight all day, and has good rich soil to send roots into. My hope is that if I can manage to care for it well, and feed it richly with compost and worm castings, in a few years I may have homegrown rhubarb. Fingers crossed and notes made on the calendar to keep it watered.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ruffle pillow shams	cardigan length	recycle bin
2	clothespin bag	cardigan button bands	-
3	-	cardigan ribbon facings	-
4	-	planted rhubarb	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- I walked five miles today
- cherry blossoms along the esplanade
- being able to get medical attention for my eye, and having the medicine needed be available
- zoom with Jen and a bit of Cathy
- baby rhubarb remains alive and well
- making it back from my doctor visit in time to have some Sewing Nomads zoom this morning

Time of Isolation - Day 2081

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine gets unwelcome news...

Today I got a "denied payment" letter telling me that my emergency room visit in October for my injured left eye is not an insurance covered service! WTF!?! I am going to challenge this denial, of course...(not that adding an additional metric crapton of dealing with paperwork and bureaucracy was on my bingo card, but what else can one do?)

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~ sour, savory, salty, spicy, sweet ~

Doesn't this look delicious? Just realised it is another "five flavor" recipe... Made enough salad on Thursday to have for lunch for the next several days...The fresh persimmon is so pretty and so tasty!!

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This evening had a visit from Ashe & Co - and an exchange of unexpected gifts. They kindly brought me the half pound of organic black-eyed peas from OFC, and the swift from Karen, both of which I'd asked if they would be willing to bring me from Olympia. They were coming down here to pick up their Advent Of A Better Year boxes, but also brought some surprises: one of their Halloween Trick or Treat bags full of treats: homemade crayons and coloring pages, a fancy pencil, stickers, a glowstick, and a few mini candies. They also made me four little advent surprise packages to make up for how I only accidentally gave myself 27 instead of 31 of the tiny gifts.... Awww, they are so thoughtful! Plus I got hugs!!

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Today was sunny in the middle of the day, and after hanging laundry out to get partially dry, pruning seemed like a good next thing to do starting by cutting back the overgrown mint under the clothesline. Moving a bit further east down the chain link fence, the feral grapevine got quite the haircut. Not only as much as I could reach of what has grown into the neighboring yard, but rather a lot of the vines as well. Next in the wheelie bin, valiant Juliet, the tomato plant met her end. Late November is beyond tomato season, and while she was still attempting to get her remaining fruit to ripen, the rain was causing it to split open, and the leaves were beginning to look rather blighted. (I imagine that in a greenhouse, one could keep tomato plants going far longer than out in the open: I remember that Chuck and Joan had a little room upstairs in Boxborough with a huge cherry tomato growing under lights all winter.)  Finally, as there was still plenty of space in the bin, I got the pruning saw and cut away some of the excessively tall elderberry branches, and the larger end of what I'd already pruned away from the green fig.  Not pruning related, but in outdoor news, earlier in the day I saw two hummingbirds, both with a vivid red spot on their necks that flashed when the light hit it just right...

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An interview with Naomi Kritzer, a SF/hopepunk writer I enjoy very much, and some links to two of her stories... 

"So Much Cooking"
"The Year Without Sunshine"
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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief dots	greenwaste bin
2	5 jars pickled beets	more chopshop repair	recycle bin
3	1# hand weights	printer connection	greenwaste bin
4	a dozen owls	black knit slip	recycle bin
5	many jars of Awesome Sauce	15 origami giftwrap	recycle bin
6	24 more owls	case for phone	x
7	7 jars of Awesome Sauce	horse kerchief details	x
8	8 dishcloths	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- Ashe & Co came to visit, bringing unexpected gifts
- a new yarn swift from Karen to replace my broken one
- found six yards of waistband elastic in the notions cupboard, which will make my intention of several new pairs of long janes much easier to accomplish, having all the materials needed already on hand 

Time of Isolation - Day 1981

a successful Sunday

in which our plucky heroine speaks about how...

"Homegrown Tree Fruit Can Be Easy"... This morning I gave an online presentation based on my own experiences and the knowledge I've gained from "Grow A Little Fruit Tree", and it seemed to be very well received. There was plenty of discussion afterwards, which is always a good sign.

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~ Escheresque ~

Out and about on a cold wintery day yesterday, on the way to the farmer's market, before the rain returned...

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Oak gall progress report: the liquid contents of the jar full of crushed galls in rainwater are becoming darker, as the water slowly leaches the tannins from the galls. The plan is to give it several weeks to a month of steeping before taking any of the further steps to turn it into ink.

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many plans for future projects - sewing garments (long janes, slips, pinafores, undies, and a flannel shirt), sewing cross-body holders for phone and camera, finishing studio work commissions, an abalone horse brooch, insulating windowshades, etc etc.

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Much to my surprise, there are yet additional Juliet tomatoes starting to turn color on the plant in the backyard; perhaps the salad to go with the turkey roulade needs to be a tomato salad!! It has gotten close a few times, but not yet had an actual frost, though it is cold enough at night that I am making good use of two half size oil radiators, one under the computer desk while working online, and one in the bathroom for warmth while showering. 

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief	greenwaste bin
2	5 jars pickled beets	more chopshop repair	recycle bin
3	1# hand weights	printer connection	greenwaste bin
4	a dozen owls	black knit slip	recycle bin
5	many jars of Awesome Sauce	15 origami giftwrap	-
6	24 more owls	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- My presentation this morning went quite well, and I did all the specific prep work writing earlier this morning (a benefit of talking about a subject I know well and am excited to share information about)
- have finally transcribed all the contacts into my mobile phone
- a surprise porch visit from Beth and Karen, who made an unexpected unplanned trip to Gresham and stopped by here on their way home

Time of Isolation - Day 1976

a parliament of owls

in which our plucky heroine makes more than enough...

Yesterday what I thought was the final box of treats sent here for the Advent Of A Better Year swap arrived on my front porch. Now I can have the fun of doing the mix-n-match of all the gifts to give all the thirty participants (and bonus boxes) the widest assortment possible. So much dopamine! Then two additional Advent Swap packages arrived today, which brings our official total up to 32!! I am astounded and pleased!

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~ full of personality ~

I love how different each of the owls looks, the slight variations in how the eyes are drawn, and how their feather tufts/horns turn out, really adds so much character... Once they all get their legs-gripping-twigs added, they will be all set aside until next years Advent of A Better Year Swap gifts.

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11 more jars of Awesome Sauce, done before midnight last night, but there were three jars that failed to seal. Sigh, that rarely happens, but I was using a different brand of jar lids (Anchor Hocking) than usual, perhaps that was the cause? Going to start on a single batch using white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar, so it will be Ashe-safe (my friend has a really bad apple allergy)

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Samsung S9 my nephew sent me was activated, and while as he told me it does indeed need a new battery but is nonetheless totally useable, holding a charge for at least a day (much less problematic than Moto-E had been, which required being recharged several times a day) 

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I seem to have misplaced the clamp that attaches my yarn swift to the table in a useable position. While surely the clamp must be somewhere in Acorn Cottage, it is not with the yarn handling tools, which all were perzactly in their designated home. This is perplexing, as well as a minor challenge, since the swift is useless without the clamp. Draping the skein of yarn to be wound into a ball over the back of a chair, while rather old-school, did work okay. With luck, hopefully the swift clamp will show up again at some point, as it is a lovely useful tool that does one job, but does it really well  ...

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In the process of sorting through my wardrobe to see what is worn out enough that needs to be replaced, I realised that I never wear the black knit slip with embroidered hemline, as the shoulder straps are much too long, which makes the waist too low, as well as the neck. It was not too difficult to cut away excess and hand stitched the added seams neatly.

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Apparently mid-November is much too late to be harvesting persimmons, as at least half the crop has been destroyed by squirrels. Must remember to start harvest next year once the fruit begins to be golden yellow, and not wait for tree-ripened, as the rodents will not wait anywhere near that long before beginning their depredations. If only they ate all of one, then on to all of another, but instead they take several bites from many. 

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	clothespin bag	horse kerchief	greenwaste bin
2	5 jars pickled beets	more chopshop repair	recycle bin
3	1# hand weights	printer connection	-
4	a dozen owls	black knit slip	-
5	many jars of Awesome sauce	-	-
6	two dozen owls	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

Yesterday's gratitudes -
- was able to activate the phone my nephew sent me yesterday, so am back in the land of the smartphone once again, albeit learning a new interface, but very glad it is thankfully Samsung and not Motorola...
- my "clunky" venerable Keen workshoe/oxfords with the massively thick soles - when I caught my foot on the support for a moveable street sign, not only did I not trip-and-fall, but I didn't harm my foot at all either! These shoes are getting old, and the join between the sole and the shoe is starting to crack, but I will keep wearing them as long as possible, since Keen no longer makes this style of shoe.
- Jen's box of Advent Swap treats arrived on my porch this afternoon, after its "scenic route" excursion from Olympia to PDX via Anchorage AK
today's gratitudes - 
- have managed to salvage some persimmons, at least enough to yield some dried fruit for the year ahead
- being able to read e-books again via Libby
- Ånni sent me an amaryllis bulb, in with the most recent box of advent swap treats. I have always wanted to try growing one of them.

Time of Isolation - Day 1970

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine mends and makes do...

Finished the decorative refurbishment/mending of my beloved ChopShop cardigan yesterday evening. Given that it was created from pieces of old wool sweaters cut and pieced into a new form by my pal Karen, from time to time it has developed holes or parts of the hand stitchery come loose. I love it and wear it often when the weather turns cold. Most recently it wore through at the center front, where the back of the I-cord button loop rubbed against the body next to the placket.

Rather than sew on a patch centered at chest level, which would be an unfortunate focal point, I instead made a virtue of necessity and created an extended decorative motif running down each side of the center front adjacent to the placket which incidentally also covered the hole. I used some two color horizontally striped grosgrain ribbon, couched some handspun dark brown wool, and folded some of the wide twill tape into little triangle shapes that tucked behind the ribbon and yarn. Once the whole long pieces were appliqued in place, the final step was to add a bit of fern embroidery stitches on each of the triangles: darker brown on the tan and lighter blue on the navy, in a sort of counterchanged effect. The whole combination references "folk art" in a non-specific and urban fantasy sort of way, which is just right for my personal style. 

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~ proto kweepeergelei ~

Since yesterday was dry and clear, seemed like the best time to harvest the quinces... while not as much as last year, still twenty-four pounds is a hefty haul. Will take a bit of doing to convert these into shelf stable foodstuff, but in the meantime, the house smells wonderful!

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Eeeee! This Ursula LeGuin exhibition is close enough that I can bike there!

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Very much enjoyed the presentations from Block Printing Fest, as I was able to fit in watching a wide assortment of both project and interview based videos. "Studio Visit : Making Friday" video interview with Heather Moore was a treat, as I remember reading her blog many years ago:

"Skinny laMinx is the pattern-filled, colourful brand of Cape Town designer, Heather Moore. Heather retreats to her studio every Friday, where she plays with cut paper, stencils and block printing to come up with her fresh and delightful prints and patterns."

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My intention today had been to make the tarp gutter to span between the porch roof and the walkway roof, before the "atmospheric river" arrived. The rain is begun, and surely playing hob with the children's Halloween, but my gutter project is nowhere near finished. Placing screw hooks overhead on the rafters of an angled porch roof is more challenging than initially thought, particularly when they need to line up with the screw hooks that are more than a foot away and on a different axis. These are the sorts of challenges that tend to stop me in a paralytic way, which isn't useful. At this point, all the holes are drilled, all the screw hooks on the walkway side are in place, and most of the ones on the angled porch side are at least started (those being much more difficult to screw into their spots)

When it was obvious that the project wouldn't be completed, getting the part done that required the electric drill took priority, as our plucky heroine will not run outdoor power tools in the rain, much less clamber about on stepladder ditto. If I cannot find a tarp on hand that is at least 8 ft long, I will kludge the tarp aspect and overlap two smaller tarps like flexible shingles. My plan is to make a sort of gradual trapezoid shape with grommets on the edges to connect to the ceiling hooks and hold the tarp gutter at enough of a slant to guide the water out to the front yard. At least that is the concept. Which I have only been trying to figure out for years and why there are at least two boards on the porch that need replaced. Incremental progress is still progress.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 lunaria pod ornaments	wheelbarrow tire	greenwaste bin
2	5 more lunaria ornaments	cardigan cuffs	recycle bin
3	5 golden origami dragons	reattach wheel to wheelbarrow	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	vegetable steamer leg replacement	recycle bin
5	18 penny luck envelopes	leather scissors sheath	LFL books
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	chopshop cardigan mended	recycle bin
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	greenwaste bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- I bravely spoke to the appliance repair man in the shop near St Johns while I was out on my bike yesterday. He phoned me back with more information, once I was able to tell him the make and model number of my broken dryer. They can get parts, but given the age, the parts are hard to get and spendy; his advice was my money would be better put towards a new used dryer rather than an expensive service call. Food for thought.
- new chapter of Super Supportive to read today
- I learned about two new block printing techniques 

Time of Isolation - Day 1956

things of unexpected size and other tidbits

in which our plucky heroine takes advantage of a sunbreak...

Yesterday when speaking with Maeva about if the quince might be ripe, her advice was to go outside and have a good sniff, and if they were, that would make it clear! Sure enough, when the weather allowed earlier today, not only was it obvious even before immediate proximity, but one of the larger ones was on the ground next to the downspout. (Wondering if they were thinned early this year, as the ones on the tree now are so MUCH LARGER than any prior year) The one windfall quince weighed over 1½ pounds and is about the size of a baby's head. There will be much preserving this year.

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~ no bigger than my own wee paws ~

Time for a bit of exploration and adventure, an excursion to part of the city far from Acorn Cottage. PDX Dinorama had mentioned online a "tiny Little Free Library, and sure enough, it was so small, being only a bit taller than my (admittedly stumpy) hand length. And there was an assortment of very small blank books, one of which came home with me to eventually join the other volumes in the Shadowbox Library, once it acquires some content...

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Next week there will be three days of free ephemeral online presentations as part of  "Block Printing Fest 2025"... I'll definitely try and find time to view some, betwixt and between. 

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(whinges) Day four of medication. Less heartburn (which was not my main complaint), but throat "lump" sensation (which was) is, if anything, more bothersome, and appetite has not returned. Sigh. 

Further attempts but still the laptop doesn't know there is a printer. Deleting and reinstalling Photoshop did not give me a useable program, so now there is no image processing program either. Snapseed on my phone can do some image correction, but the photos remain too large in dimension and in data.

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Lovely alternating rams horn variation card weaving pattern, seen on FB's "suggested" and managed to track down. Has me wanting to set up a band loom of some kind again. The pattern is from Cerelle Woods, who says "Picks 1-16 repeated yield the band pictured. Picks 17-32 repeated will reverse the twist." There's S threading, which is when the thread comes through the holes from the back side of the tablet, and there's S slant, which is when the threaded tablet, when it's tensioned in the warp and viewed from above, has the same slant as the letter S (\). For Z threading the thread comes through the holes from the front of the tablet, and for Z slant, the warped tablet has the same slant as a Z (/). So! Depending on the weaver, S and Z can mean one thing OR its exact opposite. When I use S and Z, I'm referring to the threading, not the slant." 
If I try this, I will have to experiment to figure out if the threading shown in her diagram matches or is opposite from the Applesies and Fox Noses notation for threading, which is what I prefer.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 lunaria pod ornaments	wheelbarrow tire	greenwaste bin
2	5 more lunaria ornaments	cardigan cuffs	recycle bin
3	5 golden origami dragons	reattach wheel to wheelbarrow	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	vegetable steamer leg replacement	recycle bin
5	18 penny luck envelopes	leather scissors sheath	-
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	x	x
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- the scent of quince fruit
- having Mindy show up at Crafternoon
- found a free online utility to resize JPEG images (one of the several tasks that I'd normally use Photoshop for, sigh)

Time of Isolation - Day 1951

a long and busy day

in which our plucky heroine sets her alarm for early...

because the current garden task is raking up the plums on the ground under the thicket, which task has to be done in the coldest part of the day, just around dawn, before too many danger bugs wake up. It is satisfying to rake everything out onto the burden cloth time and again. It usually takes at least four or five mornings to gather it all up, but just with today's rakings the greenwaste bin is almost half full of windfalls and weeds.

This year I left picking the plums a bit late, so while a bit more of the year's harvest has been lost than usual, the available freezer space is almost full, and there are enough frozen plums to last the year. Have made a note in the journal to start picking early in September rather than mid-month

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Betwixt and between working on the conundrum project, the tomatillos from the weekend trip to the farmer's market have turned into eleven+ 4 oz jars of salsa verde. This is a savory/spicy addition to the pantry, although the jalapeno peppers bought at the same time were not spicy at all! I added about a quarter teaspoon of cayenne to the triple batch which added zing without adding pain. Peppers are so variable in their capsicum content

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While I may have missed Karla's yard sale, the remnants were on her lawn today with a sign: "FREE"... and there was a big old wheelbarrow. The only thing wrong with it was the tire was a mess. I think I can swap out the tire from my own wheelbarrow (the one with the damaged handles) and create one whole functional garden tool from two dysfunctional ones.

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Just about done with the flat piping pillow sham conundrum project. Had I left the salsa verde for a different day, the final pillow would have had all the corners hand stitched tonight, but since it is too late for V to pick up the finished pieces, it may as well have the final stitching done early tomorrow. Sigh and alas, despite increasing my estimate, the total hours worked are double what I allotted and charged her for, (even without including all the time spent figuring out the tiny mitered corners, which I had no idea was in store for me). Each sham takes about three hours apiece, between cutting out the pieces, basting, sewing, pressing the piping, then hand stitching down both sides of each corner. Live and learn.

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	4 barkcloth tea towels	box fan grille	greenwaste bin
2	yellow triangle pouch	needle gauge herb stripper	greenwaste bin
3	knitted pony	pruning elderberry	recycle bin
4	8 jars quince apple  rosewater sauce	pruning nandina	-
5	6+ jars fig lemon marmalade	picked moar figs	-
6	dried pears	picked plums	x
7	4 jars pickled beets	small radiator foot	x
8	11 jars salsa verde	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- burden cloth is one of the best ideas I had and made, years ago, and use regularly
- WD-40
- free wheelbarrow, hopefully to make a Frankenbarrow.

Time of Isolation - Day 1920