Monday, July 20, 2026

Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine is partially crepuscular...

It is hot and hazy here. The little dog visiting me gets three walks a day, but the middle of the day walk is the shortest, if it is close to 88F (31C) it is really too hot for his little feet on the sidewalk. As my wellness checkup was very early this morning, it was still pleasantly cool for that first dogwalk, and riding my bike to my appointment was pleasant. It was mostly oddly overcast today, but when I checked the AQI, we are still within the green zone, at least for today. I worry about my friends (and everyone else!) in other places, where the smoke from the burning planet is so bad, I remember all too well what 2020, and 2017 were like here, and only the fluke of current wind direction has our air somewhat clear for now, there are hundreds of fires burning across the Pacific Northwest already this fire season.
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~ peculiar ~
Well this is a first! in all my years of sewing, never saw anything like this. The website described it as "black twill corduroy, 100% cotton... The price was good, and it was 56" wide. Since the photos were not really clear, I was imagining that perhaps the fabric had a subtle twill pattern printed on it. Nope. The base fabric is twill woven, and the corduroy wales are diagonally placed following the weave. It will be an interesting challenge to figure out how best to lay out the pattern pieces, since corduroy also has a definite nap. Not going to dive into this, but take as much time as needed to figure this one out before taking scissors to fabric. The good news is that twill weaves are more durable than tabby weave, so once this is made up into a garment it should last longer than usual. Wish me luck!!
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Sadly, found out today that my PCP, who has been on medical leave for the better part of a year, will not be returning. Dr E had been my physican for years, and I will miss how comfortable our interactions were. I'll have to attempt to find a new practitioner at the local clinic; it is eversomuch better to be able to get there on my bike rather than via one or more transit bus rides. 
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All the origami boxes have been folded for the "Greetings from Portland - 31 frogs" project, and there are only seven more beaded frogs to be made. My best source for (free) decorative paper is magazines from the "giveaway shelf" at the library; my rotary paper cutter makes fairly quick work of making origami paper squares.
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In the "thinking outside the box" mode, today while out riding my bike it occurred to me that it might be more cost effective to purchase a chicken tractor instead of hiring out ongoing lawn mowing for the backyard. I've been considering keeping hens again for quite some time, and it would be worth looking into... Even if it cost the same, chooks keep the grass short to non-existant, and in exchange for food and care, homegrown eggs are supply chain resilient and very tasty.
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July SMART goals (x=extra)
# THINGS MADE THINGS FIXED THINGS GONE
1 15 tiny masu boxes earrings recombinedgreenwaste bin
2 black scarf hemreplace C O alarmrecycle bin
3 Brambly Hedge slip- greenwaste bin
4 5 more bead frogs - overgrown lovage
5 "Cats Invade" books - -
6 x x
x
7 x x x
8 x x x
9 x x x

today's gratitudes
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- my rotary papercutter, which has made it much easier to turn pretty scrap paper into origami paper
- passed my wellness checkup with flying colors
- it was pleasantly cool early this morning, which made having to get up extra early for a medical appointment worthwhile.

Time of Isolation - Day 2197

Sunday, July 19, 2026

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine has a moderately productive weekend...

The first thing I saw looking out my bedroom window this morning was a charm of goldfinches enjoying the various bird feeders my good next door neighbors have in their side yard. Goldfinches are sometimes migratory, so these might be traveling north, as I usually don't see them all the year round. Not only is the yellow and black coloring (of the male birds) distinctive, but the way goldfinches fly is as well, in swooping curves. They always make me smile.
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Mt Washmore and Mt Dishmore have both been conquered this weekend, and almost all of the clean laundry has been put away as well. The only good thing about the hot sunny weather is that the laundry on the clothesline dries fast!
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Last night found the correct tiny beaded dragon tutorial online, after searching for several days. It is much more complicated than the tiny frogs that are my current Advent Swap project, but I really want to make a dragon for Kestrel, and now I can. I also found a tutorial for a 3D beaded fox, which may increase my understanding of complex beaded patterns. Besides who wouldn't love a tiny fox (or a tiny dragon)?
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~ sharing is caring ~

There is a house over near one of the local parks that has several fruit trees in their yard next to the sidewalk, all currently loaded down with ripening fruit, and apparently the folks that live there want to share the bounty. Around the corner on the other side of their yard is a similar sign for "free figs". I love how they also describe the fruit, and how to know when it is ripe. Mutuality at a neighborhood level♡
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In addition to knitting just a little bit further on my Tabby Cat cowl during zoomtime, this morning also saw me file and sand the cut edges of the cut-to-size pieces of two old yardsticks that'd been earmarked for shelf edging on the kitchen storage shelves project. Am always seeking small handwork projects that don't require high focus or a lot of space, to do during online visiting. So embroidery yes, but cutting out fabric nope, etc. Smoothing and rounding off the rough cut edges was useful, and now they're ready to be attached to the shelves. By the end of the summer there will be moar storage!!
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For the first time, I had a disappointment in my Alibris order. One of the sellers misrepresented the condition of their book on offer as "Very Good [...] pages are unmarked". This was not the case - 23 pages (almost two full chapters) inside the book were chock full of underlining and notes written in ink! I would have chosen a different seller had I known that it was not as described. I have been buying used books on that interface for quite a few years, with good results prior to this. Off to the copy store and the post office tomorrow!
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Ann Wood shared about the ten year history of Miss Thistle and the tiny rag doll pattern on her most recent blog post. A very fun read!
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In the interest of creating a safer tuna salad, today I chopped up some of my fermented daikon to add texture instead of raw celery, and used Penzeys "Justice" mix for allium instead of green onion... it was quite tasty, if a bit softer crunch-wise. Plus there is the health benefit of more probiotic goodness, and the peculiar fun of hot pink pieces.
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July SMART goals (x=extra)
# THINGS MADE THINGS FIXED THINGS GONE
1 15 tiny masu boxes earrings recombinedgreenwaste bin
2 black scarf hemreplace C O alarmrecycle bin
3 Brambly Hedge slip- greenwaste bin
4 5 more bead frogs - overgrown lovage
5 "Cats Invade" books - -
6 x x
x
7 x x x
8 x x x
9 x x x

today's gratitudes
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- tuna salad with pink probiotic daikon pickle is yummy
- only need to make 10 more frogs to meet my goal of 31
- Wellington is here for a few days
- found the tiny beaded dragon tutorial online, after searching for several days. I'll need to figure out how best to transcribe it from a much too speedy video reel into a usable reference format.

Time of Isolation - Day 2196

Thursday, July 16, 2026

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 recombinedgreenwaste bin
2 black scarf hemreplace C O alarmrecycle 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