Monday, January 15, 2024

was a sunny day

in which our plucky heroine walks all the way 'round a half block...

The sky was blue, but it turned very cold again, as it does whenever the cloud blanket is removed. I swept off more of the front porch and a narrow path not quite all the way to the sidewalk. Then I put the broom and the shovel away, and took a Very Short Walk. By the time I was partway down the cross street I started to cough from the cold, and decided to cut my walk in half, and turned down the alleyway instead. Much less wind, blocked by the houses and fences. Still, it felt good to be outdoors even briefly. There is an ice storm forecast tomorrow, but after that the temperature should rise and we will get rain.
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~ week 2 - create every day ~
"Create every day" seems to have turned into "draw every day". Not at all the dopamine generator that was my intention, but I've managed to keep this going for two weeks so far. This activity is valuable in its own right though...
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Sewing progress report: today I worked on recreating the basic pinafore bodice pattern, with the intention of first making the plaid flannel slip, and then the teal linen pinafore. Both of those are part of my wardrobe sewing plans, that involve using fabric I already have to add versatile garments to my current wardrobe. Part of my eventual goal is to make several new slips to wear during the coldest part of the winter, as my two current ones are so very worn. I've taken to wearing my summer popover dresses in lieu of slips, but that isn't ideal.

I thought I'd just add a link here to the "rules" I made for SWAP 2020, the year I was the coordinator, (and the year that COVID arrived and swept away all our plans) I still really like the guidelines I came up with, and use the concepts to plan out pretty much all my own wardrobe sewing (though not the "sew 11 garments" aspect): SWAP rules from 2020
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Finished sawing the bathroom undersink hatch pieces apart. Yay for japanese style hand saw; I may be slow, but I do get there in the end. Next step is to attach the suitable hardware: handles to the large portion, hinges between the two pieces, and a knob or two to the narrow piece. This all should make putting it in place (and removing if necessary again) a LOT easier. Once this is all done, I will need to design the access hatch for undersink in the kitchen, for whenever Bill has the time to come back and help with the final plumbing repair and hatch building...
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January SMART goals (x=extra)
# THINGS MADE THINGS FIXED THINGS GONE
1 Jedi obi sash reinstall octopusrecycle bin
2 Jedi underlayerhang candle lantern-
3 2 tiny bookspaint tiger frame -
4 teal knit top patch closet holes -
5 green tiny hat
- -
6 2 hats & 3 scarves
x
x
7 x x x
8 x x x
9 x x x

today's gratitudes -
1. tasty stir fry: bok choi and the last of the frozen shrimp
2. progress on flannel slip pattern
3. managed a walk outside today

Time of Isolation - Day 1292

Sunday, January 14, 2024

a snow day

in which our plucky heroine wakes up to a somewhat snowy world...

It was very slippery when I stepped out the front door, if only a few inches deep and very dry snow, so I went no further afield than to sweep away part of my front walkway, after taking time to admire the tracery of tiny tracks. Out the side door: a crust of ice atop snow all the way up to the doorway, which required breaking into chunks with the broom handle before I could sweep away enough to access the rubbish bin. Tomorrow I may pull on the YakTrax and take a bit of a walk, as two days housebound is more than enough, and it is supposed to be sunny and dry, if still quite cold...
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~ haiku ~

now that it has snowed
see the hidden story tales
Dog reads every day

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January SMART goals (x=extra)
# THINGS MADE THINGS FIXED THINGS GONE
1 Jedi obi sash reinstall octopusrecycle bin
2 Jedi underlayerhang candle lantern-
3 2 tiny bookspaint tiger frame -
4 teal knit top patch closet holes -
5 green tiny hat
- -
6 2 hats & 3 scarves
x
x
7 x x x
8 x x x
9 x x x

today's gratitudes -
1. the option to stay home when the weather is frightful
2. wool is my friend
3. we had snow, but not too much snow

Time of Isolation - Day 1291

Saturday, January 13, 2024

so cold

in which our plucky heroine stays indoors...

It is rather awfully cold out, well below freezing. Last night the wind was howling through the turbine vents in the roof. There was only a tiny bit of snow when I woke up, but various sorts of white stuff have been swirling down from the sky, though by lunchtime the amount has not reached to top of the grass in the yard. My heat pump keeps trying valiantly to warm the house up, and has managed about 62, which is forty degrees warmer than it is outdoors.
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~ day 13 ~
What I choose to draw is very much random, today it was my small craft scissors. And I am not striving for "accuracy" per se, but just looking and sketching and putting in some detail. I don't know if I want to draw for a whole year, or do other creative things, but this is the least complicated option I can think of.
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I've been knitting a set of little hats for Kestrel's tinyfolk. The hats have a lovely shape being rather "witchy-fantasy" in style. I've finished a green one, am starting on a blue one, and saving the black one for last, for during daylight, because black yarn. I will probably also knit some little scarves to go with them.
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Earlier today, when Mischa mentioned a confusion regarding a particular sewing task, I had the very pleasurable chance to spend quite a bit of time explaining some of the relevant techniques. We ended up moving the discussion to Zoom, so as to make it easy and possible to share sketches as well as words directly. Next best thing to being in person, and a chance for me to put my teacher hat on, which is an activity I dearly love, and have far too few opportunities in this Time of Isolation!
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January SMART goals (x=extra)
# THINGS MADE THINGS FIXED THINGS GONE
1 Jedi obi sash reinstall octopusrecycle bin
2 Jedi underlayerhang candle lantern-
3 2 tiny bookspaint tiger frame -
4 teal knit top patch closet holes -
5 green tiny hat
- -
6 x x
x
7 x x x
8 x x x
9 x x x

today's gratitudes -
1. shelter from the storm - the house has a roof, and walls, and a heat pump that is doing it's level best to keep the indoor air at least somewhat warm despite the frigid outdoors.
2. The new lighting setup for the computer zone is working really well as far as function, so when I can finally build a more aesthetically pleasing structure I will know the parameters. Yay for mocking up a design before building it.
3. A zoom meeting with my Mud Bay pals...
4. Spending time with Mischa explaining sewing techniques

Time of Isolation - Day 1290