Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine has been keeping busy...

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~ not yet flatpack time ~

The most amusing project of the week so far is part of preparing for the miniature RÅSKOG cart, bit by bit. I've carefully downloaded all the pages of instructions from the Ikea website, then resized them down to scale, and printed them out. While the actual 3D printed parts are waiting on more time at the library, there has been this small zippered bag keychain over on Tansu Terrace... 

I've no memory of it arriving here ages ago, or who may have given it to me; it was much too large for 1:12 scale (almost as big as Nandina herself), but it was excellent raw material: a seam ripper and scissors and some rather awkward time wrestling it under the presser foot of the sewing machine turned it into a tinyworld version of the iconic blue bag. (One more trip to the actual Ikea store will have to happen, so I can photograph the labels on the full size RÅSKOG box, to label a cardboard box to contain the wee flat pack pieces.)

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Turned all the tomatoes in the freezer into a double batch of Awesome Sauce, which came out a bit darker and thinner than last year. In the future will make two single batches instead, as the consistency is better. Still, having 16 jars to put on the shelf feels reassuring. Some for me and some to share...

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It took several attempts over the last few days, but eventually was able to properly seal all the connecting joints in the new handheld shower pieces, and the only place the water exits is through the shower disc as appropriate.  Very spa-like compared to the former unit, and a satisfying DIY job, even if it is also a "give a mouse a cookie" sort of project. There are other tasks in the bathroom that need done, like (nonexistent) decorative molding around the sink. 

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My left foot (outside metatarsal) has been sore on and off for months. No idea why. rather worried. Last night it was really bad.

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Almost finished with the batik popover dress, using the machine hemming stitch to complete the folded hemline (usually I edgebind everything, but not this one). Have had that little Bernette since I was in college, and don't think I've ever used that stitch before. 

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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	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -  
- that small sound that jars make when they seal
- new handheld shower
- stove grid overlay, very useful for canning, I can slide full kettles rather than try and lift them.
- the two mid/large cookpots from Acantha this year

Time of Isolation - Day 2255

elderberry efforts

in which our plucky heroine agrees with William Morris...

The black elderberry planted in the parking strip is both beautiful and useful. The white flowers and dark foliage look wonderful in the springtime, and the cooked juice of the berries are known to be a good and tasty support for human immune systems.

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~ homegrown immune tonic ~

The five tubs of black elderberry cooked yesterday, then drained their juices into a pot overnight. Today they were cooked again with added sugar and lemon juice in a waterbath safe recipe. Since I want to make syrup, I left out the pectin which is only there to turn the juice into jelly and has no effect on the safety issues...

and oops, I just now at midnight Wednesday finished putting up a dozen + small jars of elderberry syrup, all sealed for shelf storage, and only then realised I had miscalculated the amount of lemon juice added by almost half. Bah! I now need to open all the jars, dump the contents back into an open pan, add the additional lemon juice, and re-process all of them with fresh lids. Annoying to deal with, but food safety is not negotiable. As exhaustion has set in, my plan is to tackle this first thing in the morning, since two different extension service websites say that re-canning (with fresh lids) within 24 hours is okay.

11am on Thursday, and the re-canning is in process.  Lesson learned: do not do projects that require calculation after 10pm. (not sewing, not cutting out fabric, and now, apparently, not preserving) 

 
(elderflowers in the springtime)
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The additional rayon batik fabric to complete the summer popover dress has arrived and looks great. I am very impressed that the shop snipped and tore the yardage instead of just whacking away with shears, so I get the full amount I paid for and don't lose inches in straightening the grain! It will be a fairly quick task to make strips of the new fabric and extend the length of the dress to a better length, and if all goes well I will be able to have it finished in time for our Sewing Nomads meeting on Saturday morning...

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Rode my bike to the launderette early this morning to preshrink the rayon fabric in the electric dryer, and since I was halfway to the big grocery, continued on there to pick up some more of the small size canning jar lids. The kindly cashier gave me the "3 for the price of 2" discount even though I don't have a loyalty card for that shop!

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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 hrse	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	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -  
- Past Me thoughtfully planted black elder
- fabric to finish batik dress arrived early, and looks suitable.
- was able to buy a few more boxes of small canning lids
- a dozen small jars of elderberry immune support syrup

Time of Isolation - Day 2253 

proportions for elderberry syrup:

650 grams elderberry juice (about 3 cups)
130 grams bottled lemon juice
1,100 grams sugar

¼" headspace, process 10 minutes

suddenly it isn't summer

in which our plucky heroine notes the changing season...

wasn't sure about waking up early enough, but it was still barely drizzling and quite cool, so picked plums before breakfast. Then it started to rain in earnest while I was online chatting with sister. Very glad to have finished the Pelican and got it in the post yesterday, as I don't ride my bike in the rain, because spectacles don't have wipers.

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~ time to preserve ~

My friend Wanda gave me plum starts twenty years ago. Before it really began raining this morning, I picked almost 2½ pounds of nicely ripe plums from that small tree, which are now washed, cut up, and put in the freezer. Future breakfasts will be very tasty!

In addition, as for what to do with the too-early-picked alley plums, they have become 8 small jars of "spicy asian plum sauce"* a good homegrown answer to hoisin sauce. Three weeks ago, after the alley pirates plucked all the not-ripe-but-purple plums they could reach, my good neighbors wanted to pick the tall ones using their ladder, and I offered them the use of my fruit picking tool as well. They sweetly left me a bowl full of what looked ripe on the outside but was very much still green and tart inside. Plums do not ripen off the tree, they soften, but their flavor doesn't really get any sweeter or more complex. After three weeks, some were getting too soft to use at all, so since there were just about 2 pounds, it was a perfect fit for plum sauce, and my pantry condiments can start getting refilled. 

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Yesterday was the 3D printer event at Albina Library. It was so much fun to try and wrap my brain around something different, and I want to learn more so as to be able to create my own objects for the tinyworld. But since that complex skillset isn't mine (yet), just used some of the free files from Printables, and made two little mission style plant stands, and a tiny Dala horse. The brown plastic, makes the Dala horse look as if it was made of milk chocolate, a peculiarly large not-Easter-bunny. (in 1:12 scale at 1" tall it is about 12"). I'm wondering if I can scale it down even further and print it in color. 

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The Pelican medallion in a simple setting with beaded wire edging.

actual size 1½" diameter
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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 small jars plum sauce	plums in freezer	-
2	printed 3D plant stands	-	-
3	printed tiny Dala horse	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- homegrown tree fruit
- free tech programs at the library
- Joan Huntley, Britta Hall, and the year of Tigress's CanJam, whereby I was introduced to home canning and encouraged to make it be one of the skills I practice every year  

Time of Isolation - Day 2238

* One of my kitchen tenets is to put effort into making high-flavor condiments that can then be used to add savor to simple meals throughout the year; plum sauce takes the place of things like ketchup, and hoisin sauce, and if homemade, has no weird ingredients that require a chemistry degree to decipher, just things like tamari and garlic and vinegar and cayenne, and plums...

Spicy Asian-style Plum Sauce:

2lbs. fresh plums - pitted and quartered 2½C sugar ½C vinegar 3T soy sauce 1T ground ginger 2 minced garlic cloves 1/8tsp cayenne

Combine all, and bring to a boil, then simmer til the fruit is very tender. Puree, then cook till very thick It will take some time to cook down... Keep watch so it does not catch and burn When suitably thickened, jar and process ≈4 8oz jars - ¼" headspace - process 10 minutes

recipe can be multiplied

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine sees improvements...

Tomorrow appears to be very autumnal and cool temperatures forecast, and later in the week there will be rain! It has been feeling and smelling much less summery despite the heat, and there has been wasp activity that makes any eating outdoors subject to the Danger Bugs. The apples and plums will need to be picked in the cool of the early morning and dealt with.

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~ time for a change, at last ~

Helpful Badger handyfolk were here for about an hour this morning, removing the decaying porch boards*, replacing them with new treated lumber, and installing a new kitchen faucet. I am very glad that the porch is no longer dangerous, and plum delighted with the new faucet, which is a vast aesthetic improvement that has graceful visual form and is tactilely pleasant. It should be easier to keep clean as well. As I had suspected, the feeble water pressure was a function of the old faucet or lines being partially blocked; now with this new faucet water pours out much more quickly, which will improve all sink-related chores.

a reminder of the former kitchen faucet
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The enamel Pelican peerage medallion is finished, just needs final touches and will be ready to post tomorrow. I'd been worried the whole time that there might not be quite enough gas left to finish all the soldering, but thankfully it was not an issue. I'll next be finishing up the settings for (very patient) Ian Jameson's two small award medallions, and in addition find someone to give me a ride to get the propane refilled. 

The other finished project is the knit TabbyCat bandana cowl (as it is for me, and not a client) much less fraught and less timebound. It has been my handwork during online meetings project for almost two months. I'd been worried that there might not be enough of the dark brown yarn to complete the I-cord bind off, but there was more than enough! Winning at yarn chicken and at propane chicken!!

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Friday I defrosted my chest freezer. The actual defrost was pretty easy, only took about an hour, once I removed all the food. Putting all the food back took much longer, as I did my best to put like things together instead of just tossing them into the maw. Also, best to label each package of frozen cubes immediately. Many required tasting, scraping a bit off their edge to determine contents. Rather than make a digital inventory, which would have required time learning a new program, a map of location and general type of food was a quick way to notate what is in there. A more carefully detailed inventory can happen later on, my goal was to get all the food back in still solidly frozen. 

What I discovered was that in order to have any room at all for the plums that are now ripe on the tree, I need to use up at least some of the freezer contents. No need to cook for a while since there are many portion cubes of various home cooked things: soups, and stews and veggies. There are enough tomatoes and peppers to make a batch of awesome sauce and put it up in jars. There are 5 talenti tubs full of elderberries that need cooked and turned into immune tonic "juice" that can be put up into jars. I still have a fair amount of blueberries, and should continue eating those up as well. 

The good thing is no ancient surprises at the bottom of the freezer, though I had forgotten until this defrost the two large containers of bone broth from Heather (last year?). Those are still frozen solid, will get turned into soup later on. Not needing to cook meals for a while will save time for all the other current projects I want to do, as well as make space for plums.

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 Talenti shelves	Talenti shelf up	greenwaste bin
2	acorncap earrings	2nd pot lid rack	recycle bin
3	teaspoon earrings	painted mailbox	greenwaste bin
4	glass button earrings	Strombecker lamp	recycle bin
5	poppy pod earrings	reglue earrings	greenwaste bin
6	red cube earrings	porch storage	greenwaste bin
7	Pelican enamel	painted grille	downspout tubes
8	x	defrosted freezer	x
9	x	2nd Talenti shelf	x
10	x	front porch	x
11	x	kitchen faucet	x

today's gratitudes-
- winning at yarn chicken
- winning at propane chicken
- 3 new porch floorboards
- new kitchen faucet

Time of Isolation - Day 2236

*it was really interesting to see underneath the porch decking, and how the floorboards were supported. The porch is on wooden joists and concrete foundation blocks, and the ramp is supported on the original front concrete walkway. Thankfully the underlying wooden structure was not decaying, so all that was needed was replacing the three 2x6 boards. The two long corrugated plastic tubes, unneeded since disconnecting the downspouts years ago, were also removed from under the porch.

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine has been keeping busy...

Probably the best thing this past week was Sunday when I gave an online presentation about "Objects of Affection - a 100 day drawing project". As it is a topic I'm quite familiar with, I sat down at the worktable Sunday morning to turn my outline (and summary of the talk I gave three years ago "what is a 100 day project and why you might want to do one") into six pages of coherent notes, then gave talk at noon. It was well received and generated plenty of discussion, which are my goals...

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~ Eryngium giganteum? ~

despite my attempts to identify what variety of plant this flower belongs to, it is still a mystery, though the internets did let me know it is some flavor of Eryngium aka "sea holly" My best guess is Eryngium giganteum based on the light coloring. It is in fact very spikey, though unrelated to holly the tree.

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This morning managed over two hours of yardwork effort in the backyard, including pruning hacking back feral grape overgrowth, (which made obvious how prolific the grape bunches are this year) and more string trimmer effort around the apple tree. Also managed to pull up enough of the huge really tall weeds to fill the remaining space in the wheelie bin. The grass pollen was so bad that despite my "yard armor" (knee high boots, leggings, long sleeves, denim pinafore, gloves, hat, and P100 mask) and immediate shower and hair wash when returning indoors, compulsive sneezing was the result.

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a new Becky Chambers book will be released this coming October

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All the experimental unders have now have supplemental elastic added to their waistbands, and are much more secure than they were with only cotton lycra. (probably jersey with a stronger lycra content would have worked) Have added a note to the pattern about the best length to use for that particular type of elastic, and it might be worth checking out what other elastics WAWAK has on offer...   

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Babs brooch	thinned apples	greenwaste bin
2	5th god lino block	replace elastic	recycle bin
3	5th god corner block	replace more elastics	-
4	enamels for John	-	-
5	tie-dye pillowcases	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- cold air from heat pump
- brine fermented pink daikon pickle: tasty and really pretty!
- Podiatry as a new closer location, so will be only one bus line away instead of two starting in September

Time of Isolation - Day 2169

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine makes progress...

Today was a good day for working on the enameling for John, as it is rainy and pleasantly cool. It'll be good to get the time spent in front of the kiln over with in the next few days, as the weather forecast is for the temperatures to rise 30 degrees by next Monday.

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~ heat whiplash ~

The forecast is for almost a 40 degree temperature rise between today and this coming weekend...

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It does me good to notice that various of my friends do think of me despite my absence. Meagn rather amusingly refers to me as the "Anchorite of Arbor Lodge" but nonetheless stopped by on Saturday and gifted me with a maneki neko treat box containing two pair of chopsticks, condiment bowls and chopstick rests. So kawaii! And Dear Vestia messaged me about some assorted blue upholstery fabric remnant pieces she found and will be sending me. 

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Yesterday I started a small jar ferment of daikon, colored pink with a few slices of beet. There are some signs of activity, at least there are tiny bubbles forming around the slices. Hopefully this will be more successful than my attempt at sauerkraut. It should be pretty, too

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Babs brooch	thinned apples	greenwaste bin
2	5th god lino block	-	-
3	5th god corner block	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- found the missing box of 31 owls, hidden in plain sight
- the heat pump makes cooler air fall from the ceiling, and the solar attic fan pulls the superheated attic air out whenever the sun shines
- made good progress today on the enamels for John

Time of Isolation - Day 2160

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine tries not to drown...

Struggling with feeling very down-hearted lately... missing that which will not return: parents and friends no longer in the Bright World, and Earth That Was aka the Before Times. Nothing left to do but keep on keeping on, and paying attention to any and all of the smallest of bright spots

Parked my bicycle at the end of the ramp to lock the front door and head out to run errands - there was an distinctive buzzing sound near my right ear, and as I turned my head, there was a hummingbird no more than a foot or two away. Probably annoyed that I was blocking the sage plant (currently covered with stacks of purple flowers)

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~ shelf stability ~

Making space in the chest freezer and reminding self that summer will be a good chance for total defrosting. The tray of beet cubes turned into the 8 jars of pickled beets. The bowl of mixed rhubarb and strawberries, sugar macerated and seasoned with cinnamon and orange peel, a project started too late one night, waited patiently in the freezer for me to finish the project and turn it into 7 jars of strawberry rhubarb sauce...  (+ 1 jar that the lid fell off!! whilst in the waterbath, never had that happen before!) And a reminder to self that qualitylids are cheaper at Fred Meyers than at the hardware store.

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Have been craving chow fun, or pad see ew... So far neither Hong Phat market or H Mart have any wide rice noodles either dried or fresh, so bought rice and tapioca flour instead with the intention of eventually attempting DIY. At Hong Phat also found macaroni shell rice noodles which will be fun to use for mac and cheese.

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Found lengths of black fabric under a pile of stuff beside the work table, not in the sewlarium where it belongs. My current temporary idea is to a. contain the various garment size pieces of fabric in bags based on colorway. and b. contain the scraps and cabbage bits first in unsorted bags and gradually sort them as well by colorway keeping only what will be useful for trim/edgebinding/mending. Abundance has past the point of inspiration and become stifling excess...

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Rosa sketch	Bad Smell gone	greenwaste bin
2	boro thread basket	dishrack tray	recycle bin
3	boro basket 2	paring knife	recycle bin
4	boro basket 3	-	-
5	boro baskets 4 & 5	-	-
6	sharpening box	x	x
7	8 jars pickled beets	x	x
8	7 jars strawberry rhubarb	x	x
9	x	x	x

multiple gratitudes -
- knowing how to waterbath preserve food
- seeing a hummingbird up close
- large enough ikat fabric for a pinafore
- being able to get in to dermatology 2 days after I called for an appointment -  spot on nose is benign 

Time of Isolation - Day 2143

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.

QID

in which our plucky heroine is still slightly off balance, but improving...

Not sure what waking every three hours does to one "proper" sleep cycles, and I've never timed how often my non-alarm-driven night waking occurs. There were no nightmares last night, though. And most remarkably, in my final dream before getting up today, I dreamed I could skip! Would that it were true, as I've been peculiarly disturbed by the loss of that coordinated ability, and have tried from time to time to re-learn it.

There was also a benign verbal interchange with an analog dreamland person (who was reminiscent in ways to both G and to B) concurrent with my skipping down a woodland pathway similar to but not OCF... (it most certainly wasn't OCF or analog OCF, as it was empty of any other human people)

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~ 3 color stenciling ~

My intent had been to stencil a patch for the pocket of the new brown linen pinafore with a cave horse, just like the one that is "worn to a ravelling" and past re-use. However, apparently my cave horse stencil set has been misplaced, alas... Fortunately I did write up the process used to create the stencil, and posted it to my blog years ago. Making up a new stencil likely guarantees that the missing one will show up soon; it will also be good to have a second stencil, albeit slightly different. Before long, there will be a new cave horse patch for the pocket, just requiring a few additional steps.  

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I put up various foods in shelf stable jars all year long, as a way to have things otherwise unobtainable, or just for the frugal pleasure of storing local bounty. The few apples from the backyard tree, and the quinces from the side yard often end up as "sauce" for pantry storage, and are usually brought out as a special treat for dessert from time to time. This week, however, those jars are a necessity. Antibiotics four times a day ie every six hours, that are best taken with food, but not with dairy. The dairy, in the form of live culture yogurt, is also every six hours, on an alternating schedule. (My phone alarms every three hours 24/7 for the next week, sigh) Other than the doses that line up with mealtimes, food with pills seemed a bit challenging, as string cheese or cottage cheese are my snack of choice. Turns out that a few spoonfuls of applesauce, or in my case quince-apple sauce is both easy to deal with nocturnally, and light on the tummy. 

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Today there was also a midafternoon trip to the store to get some crackers, and Toby's Tofu Pate, which will work well for another speedy middle of the night micro-meal option. I rarely keep crackers in the house, and rarely eat soy products, so ditto for Toby's, and they are spendy for how "easy to eat" they are. I tend to forget though, how delicious they are. Somewhere I have a recipe for DIY tofu pate that is very similar to Toby's, and it is likely time to return to making my own version of "Goddess Dressing", which has completely vanished from the local grocery stores One recipe lasts me for about a week of everyday salad dressing, and is also delicious instead of mayo for use in tuna, egg, or noodle salads:

Tahini Goddess Salad Dressing

⅓ c oil 2¾ T tahini 2½ T cider vinegar 2 t tamari 2¼ t lemon juice ¾ t salt 1 T minced parsley 1 T minced chives 1 minced clove garlic (or ¼ t garlic granules)

Mix together the tahini and the oil first, to allow the tahini to be smoothly incorporated. Then mix in all the other ingredients. You can add some water at the end, if the dressing is thicker than you prefer.

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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	brown linen pinafore	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 -
- homemade apple-quince sauce
- a useful and useable search box on my blog
- single use bandage scissors turned into kitchen scissors, still going strong ten years later
- the metal lid I found at Goodwill that fits venerable crock pot perfectly  

Time of Isolation - Day 2082

keep on keeping on

in which our plucky heroine struggles...

it is hard to feel as if my isolated handcrafty life has any relevance in this world of deepening horror, but I am determined to not let despair swallow me. If we give up, they win.

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~ daily drawings ~

day 23 - Shrek's Ears miniature live succulent; just the right scale for a specimen plant in the tinyworld... it is now about two inches tall, having doubled in size since my pal Karen gave it to me. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the tiny ceramic condiment dish to turn it into a planter. 

day 24 - a lampwork necklace of beads made for me by Ariadne in various assorted designs: smaller beads in turquoise and cream, some with trailed feathering or dots and several larger focal beads with raised and flat dotted patterns, more elaborate feathering, and one very long thin oval with multiple feathered stripes. 

day 25 - small but pleasing, this Japanese (sewing) tape measure feels good in the hand, and sees almost daily use here

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Only a little sewing progress this weekend, but I did notice that while I didn't actually mirror the sleeve pieces, they are only about ⅛" off from each other, I suspect that I might be the only one to notice, once the shirt is done. Looking forward to making a sample sleeve placket next.

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While sorting out and putting away "Richard Scarrys Great Big Bucket O Beads"(TM) which I had unpacked all over the worktable seeking possible tiny bits for a not yet finished tinyworld project, I saw these teardrop shaped beads that were an interesting turquoise/light brown irridescent glass... which reminded me that of my pair of earrings made from some vintage acorn charms that combined a textured metal bead cap with a round bright green glass bead. I never wore them, as while I have an assortment of acorn and oak leaf earrings, in this case the shape only vaguely resembled an acorn, and bright green is not one of my wardrobe colors... 

However, these teardrop beads are a great coordinate for the teal and chocolate brown colors of the current wardrobe sewing I'm doing, and the shape was much more acorn evocative. It took longer for me to unearth some headpins than it did to disassemble and reassemble the earrings. I suspect they will be in regular rotation as an accessory now.

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I'm not sure what to do about my tech troubles, as it is unclear what the cause(s?) are. Video chat with my friends has become, in the last few years, a vital tool to maintain my sanity. And recently, as in the last several weeks or so, it has gone from occasional glitches of video or audio, to being almost unuseable, particularly the video transmission, in both directions.

At first it was just Zoom, but now it is also other platforms I've been trying as alternatives. The occasional glitches one becomes used to, when a message pops up that says "your internet is unstable", but now I can't share my video from the laptop at all, though I can see other people most of the time. Sometimes I can share video from my phone, as long as I don't use the wifi.

It would be very useful to have some sort of a diagnostic flow chart to use to figure out what to change or what to do, as there are multiple systems and bits of hardware, and the problem could be in any of them. Is it in the Very Old Modem? The router?? If it wasn't an intermittent problem I would wonder about my internet connection, but it worked just fine up until earlier this month... Maybe somewhere in the wires that connect everything? Are there too much junk files inside the laptop? Does something need to be updated that I have not done so? The laptop itself is fairly new, so itself shouldn't be a problem. I am looking to find "the end of the string" so I can begin to untangle this difficulty.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	final alphabeast drawing	painted mini tree	recycle bin
2	calendar master pages	new bin for  cedar shakes	orangeflower water
3	5+ jars fig mostarda	drawstring cords	large broken bin
4	page 2 resipei	workbench tidy	2 bags paper
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

Friday's gratitudes -
- a simple dinner: stir frying some baby bok choi with green onions, and throwing a few (frozen) shrimp in at the end. Having already made Thai peanut sauce and already cooked purple barley in the fridge made it an easy complete and tasty meal
- I am really enjoying the 15 minutes drawing 100 day project, it is like daily gratitude in a different mode
- Karen brought me a different wall mount land line phone, that is grey and white instead of green (so it looks like it belongs in my kitchen), and that has a clever way of keeping the handset from falling off. I like it a lot more than the previous phone
Saturday's gratitudes -
- a house full of all sorts of bits and bobs suitable for creative reuse, and the tools and knowledge to do so
- half-size oil filled radiators... one under the computer desk, and one in the bathroom 
- refurbished acorn earrings
Sunday's gratitudes -
- sunny and dry (if cold) so I was able to ride to the store and get another dozen half pint jars
- the store clerk kindly scanned her magic card for the shopper discount (I've misplaced the card I had fifteen years ago, and rarely shop there, so never bothered to replace it, as almost never are the sale prices on what I might want to purchase.
- mmmmm... blood orange marmalade! There was a 2#bag of organic blood oranges in the produce box this week, and while I did eat a few out of hand, most were turned into preserves. I still remember the very first time I tasted a blood orange, on a trip Mr Dawson and I took to West Kingdom 12th Night many years ago.

Time of Isolation - Day 2036

appealing rather than appalling

in which our plucky heroine is almost ready...

My first intention of the day was to steadily if intermittently make progress on getting the guest futon suitable for hosting guest(s) ... considering how untidy that room started out, my goal was to clear space on both sides of the bed as well as the multitude of textile scraps, yardage, cardboard, and yarn from the surface. Now with fresh bedding, and space to move around the room, it looks appealing rather than appalling!

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~ day 15 ~

This lovely handmade ceramic pitcher was a gift from Achaxe quite a few years ago. It is sturdy and well balanced, and I use it as a flower vase. The glaze is darkest inside, a blue almost black. The exterior is mostly varying colors of indigo blue, with the carved leaves at the base being mostly shades of greyish neutrals.

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I've tried making a new to me condiment "Fig Mostarda", using the frozen figs harvested last year from the trees in the front yard. It is sweet and savory, a little sour and a little spicy. I think it will be very nice with goat cheese (or riblets, if ever they were available), or other rich and savory things. I did add an extra glug of vinegar, and about another ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne, as it seemed to want more intensity to balance the sweetness.

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Some strange bird flew into my porch, and was roosting on the back of the chair. I wonder if it could have been some small raptor as it was bigger than a songbird, more the size of but definitely not a corvid. As soon as I opened the curtain it flew away, faster than I could get any identifying data other than "mid size bird, sitting upright, variegated coloring"... looking up raptors found in Oregon, it may have been a Coopers or a Sharp Shinned Hawk??

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	final alphabeast drawing	painted mini tree	recycle bin
2	calendar master pages	new bin for  cedar shakes	orangeflower water
3	5+ jars fig mostarda	-	large broken bin
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- tidied and decluttered the futon bed, with most of the stuff getting put back on shelves or into boxes, and a good two grocery sacks to discard. Now it looks a lot nicer in there
- Fig Mostarda, a new to me condiment, that is going into the keeper recipe book. I actually like it better than the fig/lemon marmalade I was going to make.
- mysterious bird visitation to the front porch, possibly a raptor

Time of Isolation - Day 2027

Saturday snippets and bits

in which our plucky heroine goes to the farmers market...

The last market day of the year, and there were fewer food vendors and more handcraft vendors, not surprisingly. I had been hoping for some leeks, but got there too late in the day. Instead, I brought home what looked like skinny leeks but was actually young garlic; I'm guessing the farm was thinning the garlic crop? I also brought home some locally grown Purple Karma barley to try; it is whole rather than pearled, so takes longer to cook, and has a very different texture than the mucilaginous pearl barley...

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~ not bigger than a breadbox ~

But in fact it started out as just that... but now is in the process of being converted into a studio apartment for Opal. Not really set up yet, just some of the Caer Cardboard furniture moved in temporarily. Kenya and Sequoia are visiting while Opal puts her feet up for a few and thinks about what to deal with next... I'm thinking maybe a worktable, at least one bookcase, maybe an armchair instead of the couch, and a single bed insted of the big double clothespin bed. The flooring is contact paper on bristol board, and will anchor future color choices. Opal really likes "Danish Modern" MCM style, which isn't surprising given her heritage.

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The resipei embroidery project is perfect handwork to take with me when on transit. I get to fill some otherwise useless time with satisfying progress, and it isn't so absorbing that I miss my stop!

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Note to self (and to share)... do not use or purchase again "Anchor Hocking" brand lids for waterbath canning, even if they are $2 cheaper (and what is usually a reputable brand). Of the 12 lids in the box, tried using them with several recipes, more than half the lids did not seal. All the "Ball" brand lids used at the same time sealed properly. I have been canning for years, and never had this kind of problem before. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action...

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Yesterday when I was chatting with the B's about food over the phone, Barb described her "Green Soup" which sounded so appealing that I had to pick up some broccoli and some potato just to make a version of it myself. (she was telling me how she had to adapt due to them having an all day power outage; she used Mom's hand food mill instead of a stick blender) 

I had made some good strong chicken bone broth earlier in the week, and used that as a base. Added the broccoli, the yellow Finn potato, and all the other greens from the fridge (spinach, garden mix, and the remnants of bok choy). Cooked a small onion and half the bunch of green garlic then added that as well. Seasoned with some of Penzey's "Justice" mixture and a good spoonful of chicken better-than-boullion. Once it was all cooked and softened, the stick blender turned it into a fragrant green-flecked pot of delicious dinner (and several future meals). Since it was originally a broccoli-cheddar soup in theory, I added a few cheese cubes for garnish and was happy.

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This evening my laptop started behaving in a most peculiar way... it repeatedly threw up a banner across a quarter of the screen letting me know it was trying to "cast", while not allowing me to do anything else. I have never seen that before, and AFAIK had not told it to do so or pushed any new buttons?? Fortunately I was able to call Karen, and ask if John was free and could help with my computer problems. Once he called me back, he was able to talk me through poking around in the settings folder and turning off a bunch of stuff I never use, which seems to have at least stopped the giant banner from obscuring the screen, and lets me type again. It is a bit alarming how dependent I've become on the pixel world to keep in contact with the human world.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pairs underwear	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	knitted shrew	shrew eyes	yard waste bin
3	1 pair undies	Gamma bucket lid	recycle bin
4	2 alphabeast  drawings	one page of the embroidery transfer	recycle bin
5	-	daypack mended	recycle bin
6	x	cleaned keyboard	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- my sister in law is wonderful, I would be her friend even if she wasn't married to my little brother!
- John was able to do remote tech support on the phone, and we got my laptop to stop filling the screen with peculiar messages
- asking for help instead of panicking, and getting help 

Time of Isolation - Day 2002

Thursday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine attempts to plan her day...

It is really raining hard, and forecast for all day and at least two inches of precipitation, so outdoor time isn't really going to be a thing. Let's try something different, and start off the day with an assortment of intentions, and see if that helps, and how many can be checked off the list before bedtime:
☑ excess (indoor) cardboard boxes into wheelie bin
☑ put up 4 oz jars of diced quince (that cooked overnight)
☐ add waistband to flower undies
☐ pack up cotton lycra (to clear sewing table)
☑ wash dishes
☑ cook: kale bulgur salad, chicken soup,roast carrots
☑ 15 min resipei embroidery
⇓ vacuum living room and put vacuum away
☐ make bed

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~ take small stitches ~

This slow beginning of the "resipei" embroidery project continues to please me very much, both in the doing, and in the resulting linear quality of the chain stitches...

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As I was craving some movement yesterday evening, went out for a bit of a neighborhood walk. Stopped by the drug store while out and about, and brought home a pack of 100 ordinary index cards for the hundred day "Objects of my Affection" drawing challenge that starts in two weeks. My intention is that by making it "not precious" it will remove that particular mental barrier. I figure I can use any sort of not-paint mark making tools, but will probably just use my regular EDC 0.9 SumoGrip mechanical pencils.

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This evening I noticed that the amaryllis on the windowsill has finally showed signs of life, there are leaf tips emerging from the center of the bulb. It probably took all that time to generate some roots, since it had none obvious when it first arrived here... It will be exciting if it actually grows a flower stalk and blooms!

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There are only three more partially baked quince in the produce drawer in the fridge, probably enough for another batch of quince sauce. Today's batch, cooling on the card table, became 9½ 4oz jars of quince rosewater sauce, suitable to complement something savory (like cranberry sauce does), or as an ingredient in a sweet dessert of some sort.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pairs underwear	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	knitted shrew	shrew eyes	yard waste bin
3	1 pair undies	Gamma bucket lid	recycle bin
4	2 alphabeast  drawings	one page of the embroidery transfer	recycle bin
5	-	daypack mended	recycle bin
6	x	cleaned keyboard	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- the scent of quince, while ripening, or while cooking...
- Cathy shared both a short Kestrel video and 8 pages of another story the kiddo wrote, about cats, that had me literally LOL
- while hunting excess cardboard boxes tonight, found the lost knitting stitch markers, and the miniature embroidery I did several years ago to begin a decorated tiny armchair like the one I made for Ånni!

Time of Isolation - Day 2000

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine is mostly pleased...

In the interest of focusing on a small good, rather than the wistful (or the horror) now there is a batch of Awesome Sauce for Ashe & Co cooling on the countertop overnight, made using white vinegar instead of my usual cider vinegar, because of their apple allergy. As opposed to my previous failed attempt earlier this month, timely checking and stirring kept the thickening condiment from scorching, and there are at least five sealed jars ready to share when they visit later this week...

That said, the Anchor Hocking jar lids continue to be unreliable, two of the jars didn't seal. Buying that brand was an experiment that will not happen again. And much to my dismay, of my recent purchase of a dozen half pint mason jars, eleven of the twelve have flawed glass! I shall have to return them to the hardware store; have never before seen suchlike. 

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~ just before dawn ~

sometimes, to be out walking before the sun actually rises can be really lovely, the streets are still quiet; the quality of the light is extraordinary...

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Since the new-to-me mobile phone is not a current model, it was necessary to search aftermarket sites to find a protective case. I've been pretty happy with various Otterbox cases over the years, and managed to find one on Ebay, which arrived today from the east coast. The "Pursuit" series is a bit more "rugged" than cases I have had in the past, but I am most particularly pleased with the integral plugs to cover the access ports when they are not in use. Past phones picked up frelch when carried around in my pockets, which caused all sorts of problems. Also, this phone case has a clear back, which means that at some point a decorative paper insert can be added. 

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Very incremental tidying turned up an additional expansion rod, the sort commonly used for shower curtains. My other spare expansion rod, used to drape the shower curtain so it dries out between uses and doesn't get all moldy along the edge where it touches the tub, has also been used to create  a clothes drying rack over the bathtub. Now there will be twice as much space for heavier things that overload the drying rack in the laundry zone.

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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	case for phone	x
7	7 jars of Awesome Sauce	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- phone case ordered via Ebay is much better designed than any case previously used, with integral plugs to keep frelch out of the access ports
- found another expansion rod, which will add considerably to my ability to hang-dry clothing over the bathtub
- this charming late 19thC graphic of helper angels in the kitchen, found online by my pal Ursel... it reminds me of the whole set of Mary Azarian helper angel ornaments, found in a catalog of her work long ago, that I cut out, colored in, and have been in my kitchen for many many years now.

Time of Isolation - Day 1977

not quite finished

in which our plucky heroine feels right foolish...

...in the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do fashion. While I did create two extra sets of Advent Swap gifts so we could offer more "bonus boxes", I plumb forgot to make enough origami gift wrappings to go with. Can you guess what my fidget task during zoom online has been for the last several days?

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~ ask Vesta ~

Wondering if this is the same curious fruit that Vesta was describing last week, that she called "the strawberry tree"... and is (apparently, according to various foraging websites) edible.

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I started a batch of special no-cider vinegar Awesome Sauce for Ashe & Co, but in the time while I was waiting for it to thicken up, distraction got the better of me and it burned to the bottom of the pan, alas. The condiment was not salvageable, and the pan probably will be, with substantial effort.

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spending time yesterday and today sorting tiny gifts into the various boxes for the Advent Swap participants, doing my best to give everyone a good assortment. Then there will be a bit of additional paperwork (addressing the boxes, and making a list so as to be able to give folks their tracking numbers) to prepare for the several trips to the post office to send them on their way. The weather forecast looks as if the next three days will be my best opportunity to ride my bike there without getting soaked...

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Started knitting Claire Garland's tiny shrew. I tried my thinnest yarn, but did not want to knit something I would have to do the entire project under the magnifying glass, so moved up one weight to "light fingering", using my 4/0 needles (1.25mm), which give a gauge of 8st/in. My gauge math says that the finished shrew will be about 3 1/4" tall (thank you Karen for assistance with proportional percentages). Have some places where after reading through it I do not really understand the pattern, but there is a lot of knitting yet before I get to that part.

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This season is so fleeting, yet beautiful. The falling leaves twirl and touch my head in what feels like benediction. The ginkgo tree near the post office has laid down almost but not all of the bright leaves on the ground around the trunk, as if it just stepped out of a golden gown. And there ought to be a word for that very ephemeral pattern that fallen leaves create on the rain wet sidewalk, almost like shadows, that remains for a few days after the leaves themselves have blown away

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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	15 origami giftwrap	-
6	24 more owls	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

yesterday's gratitudes -
- yarn tool swift will be a gift to me from Karen
- connected a bit online with dear Rois
- giant leek from farmers market made into ancient Roman lentil barley leek soup, for dinner
today's gratitudes -
- found missing checkbook and missing property tax paperwork
- my concern about peculiar bill from Walgreens was valid, the pharmacy manager said it was a scam, and he reported it. I also reported it to the FTC online this evening.
- found a lovely plant pot at the Goodwill store (two-toned "dark and milk chocolate marbled pottery, and just the right size) for my gifted amaryllis and it was even the "color of the day - 50% off", so only cost me $1.99! (Now I need to look up how to grow and care for amaryllis, our plucky heroine is not a particularly knowledgeable houseplant mother)

Time of Isolation - Day 1972