great wheel turning

Tonight is the start of the Chinese year of the Green Wood Horse, in which our plucky heroine stopped working briefly to indulge in a few ceremonial spring rolls, before heading back into the workroom to continue enameling...

benthic strata

... in which our plucky heroine makes indigotiger paws...

Normally I adore winter, as the soft grey sky and frequent rains make me very happy, though I struggle with the cold weather. This winter is different. This winter is dry and sunny, and the wind makes everything feel even colder, and while nowhere near what those in the middle or eastcoast have to deal with, I miss my beloved misty moisty wintertime.

My fingers want more protection, so last month I started on a new pair of fingertipless gloves. While the official project name is "benthic strata", this morning they brought to mind tiger stripes, but in my favorite colors, and entirely appropriate for my online avatars "indigotiger" (who frequents sewing and design sites) and appreciates the virtues of color coordination.

Cold sunny winter weather requires wool, and these are up to the task. I have a splendid pair of deep winter, very thick, windproof, naalbound mittens that my beloved pal Ariadne made for me, but an intermediate thickness of wool is an appropriate addition to my winter wooly wardrobe.

chips here chips there chips chips everywhere

in which our plucky heroine manages to acquire several truckloads of chippings...

Thursday was long work day... when house cleaning in Sellwood I end up with about four hours transit time round trip which allowed me to almost finish the fingertipless gloves I have been knitting. A good thing, because all these Very Sunny Days are also Very Blustery Days, and new warm wooly handcoverings will be a treat.  On the way home from the bus stop, Molly Beard had a fresh load of wood chips in her driveway, and told me that there was tree work on the next street over, and more available. There is now a pickupload of myrtlewood branch chippings in my driveway, which is very fragrant. I am rather heartbroken that such a big tree is being taken out, one of the two that I collect nuts from. The wood chips will be useful though, as mulch around the future garden beds...

The same tree grinders that came by Thursday with a truckload of baynut chips brought more proto-mulch today. Whilst Leah and I were working here, we kept hearing what sounded like branch tapping noises, and people talking, and while I first thought it to be the neighbors, when it kept on I investigated, and found that there was another load being brought to the front driveway.

I hadn't realised that they would bring more, and managed to head off their filling the entire driveway with fragrant chippings, and re-routed the proto-mulch to the backyard, opening the alley gate for the first time in years. I haven't looked out back yet tonight to see how much they deposited, but it seemed like a win-win... they don't have to pay the dump fee, I get free mulch. The sad part is that there is one less big baynut tree in the neighborhood, but at least there is some small good come from that.

Today made some good progress on the Roman brooches, and wirebending on the current enamel commission, and (as mentioned) Leah was here, working on her studio project as well, what fun to have company in the shop! I wish that more students of mine ended up returning from time to time for studio time...