a bit of basketry

in which our plucky heroine takes things in hand...

Nandina wanted an Easter basket, to hold the chocolate bunny we've had for a number of years now (yay Playmobil!) and that seemed like a good sort of project to do during various zoom meetings today.

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The base and spokes are made from narrow strips of cardstock, cut from outdated business cards, and the weavers are button and carpet thread. It took a few hours to gradually weave the basket, which is 1:12 scale and about ⅞" in length. After first interlacing the cardstock base, I switched to twining the basket sides with doubled carpet thread, and finally finished the upper edge with a very narrow inner and outer border of cardstock glued in place, and once the "spokes" were trimmed, the borders were overstitched with linen thread. Finally, a narrow band of cardstock was wrapped with more thread and glued in place for a handle

The basket works really well to hold a selection of holiday treats! It took me a while to figure out what else to accompany the pseudo-chocolate bunny, then I thought of adding colorful "chocolate" eggs... The candy at the drug store was already marked down today, and I found a small bag of multicolor foil-wrapped eggs. After some trial and error, I figured out how to get the foil off in useable pieces, and how big to crush some foil into egg shapes, before wrapping the egg shapes with another layer of smoothed colorful foil. The overall effect is quite effective and springlike, particularly when combined with the miniature forsythia I made last year...

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Time to begin planning the sleeves on my knitted cardigan. I will need to figure out both the size/shape needed to knit, as well as what gauge and row gauge I get with the yarn I will be using... Why do I need all this before diving into the sleeves... well I am hoping to get a similar effect to the original stripe sleeve bolero that is my inspiration I cropped the photo to just show one sleeve, then desaturated it to get just the lights and darks, so I can more easily substitute the colors I have for the colors in the original

I need to know how many rows I have to work for the length of the sleeve, so swatch knitting is in my immediate future. Not sure if I want to also do the sleeves in garter stitch, or knit in the round in stockinette. (note: if garter stitch, every 2 rows/1 ridge = ¼", so 8 rows to the inch) So many choices/decisions... I might roughly mock up sleeves from some knit fabric basted into the body of the cardigan, to get a sense of what shape will work, and if I need to modify the body before adding sleeves.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	contrast numbers on oven knob	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	paint frame black	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	frame gift painting	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	front yard dandelions uprooted	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	indoor hat	x	yard waste bin
8	stitchbird brooch	x	recycle bin
9	print knit top	x	x
10	tiny Easter basket	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I learned some basketry earlier in my life, when I was living in Seattle and took classes at The Basketry School. It has always felt more like being reminded of what I already knew, in a peculiar and primal way. I actually make my first basket at around age 5 or 6, when we went to the New Brunswick craft school at the Bay of Fundy when I was very young indeed.
2. being able to go back to sleep in the morning, when extra tired, is a great blessing.
3. tap water that is safe to drink, and that is available with the turn of a faucet. Never not grateful for that...

Time of Isolation - Day 1365

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine sleeps in...

Since I stayed up way too late last night reading, I don't feel bad about getting up later than usual. Trying not to make a habit of it though.

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I couldn't resist the temptation to sew this knit top together yesterday; I'd cut out the pattern pieces earlier in the week. (do you recognise the fabric from the vine and berry motifs on my house hat?) There will still be some cool and rainy days yet this spring when this will be just the right thing to wear, until the time comes to put this away till autumn...

I'm thinking that this will coordinate with brown or grey, both of which are on my list of replacement pinafores needed, and the remaining chocolate brushed cotton twill would make a brown hat. As part of my brown/teal wardrobe refurbishment. I so much enjoy the planning out of possible wardrobe additions and replacements, almost more than I do the actual sewing!

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I am really missing the various textile shops that have closed their doors in the last ten years. Particularly missing Rose City Textiles, and also Fabric Depot... as I am needing a few of the outdoor wear type hardware notions for the Maeva sunhat project. I can probably find suitable pieces online, but I only need like two of this and one of that, not packets of ten, or of a hundred; and there is no one shop that has all of the things necessary, so it will entail purchasing from multiple places

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~ it's a sign ~

pay attention...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	contrast numbers on oven knob	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	paint frame black	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	frame gift painting	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	front yard dandelions uprooted	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	indoor hat	x	yard waste bin
8	stitchbird brooch	x	recycle bin
9	print knit top	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. some garment sewing is fairly quick, once a basic TNT pattern has been created. I really like my new turtleneck top!
2. another good day for bike riding, I made it all the way to the little free art gallery and back. Next time I want to try making it all the way to the park that is near there
3. there was a bit of Talenti double chocolate ice cream in the freezer. I ate it. It was delicious.

Time of Isolation - Day 1364

I think I can I think I can

in which our plucky heroine makes progress in several directions...

Finally managed to spend most of the day in the workshop, finishing up the two enamel settings, which are now ready to be mailed out to their long awaited homes and into the hands of my exceedingly patient patrons. Between the various steps in completing that, I also did the usual housey chores: Mt Dishmore, Mt Washmore and cooking up several small batches of roasted veggies for future meals. I feel a bit like the little engine that could...

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Not the little grey bird of persistence,
but rather the blue bird of happiness

A new embroidered stitchbird brooch, to replace a lost brooch that had been upcycled from an embroidered pinafore* pocket decoration created years ago:

The avian motif is from the former blog Badbirds (back in the heyday of blogs), where the artist/designer Andrea Zuill regularly shared free designs for folks to enjoy and use.

I've stitched this particular new bird brooch using DMC and vintage cotton floss, in stem stitch and rough long and short stitch. The embroidery, once completed, is gently stretched over a same shape template cut from a plastic lid:

A few of the tight corners at the beak and the tail need to be reinforced with a dab of Tacky glue, and then the entire back is covered with black wool felt whipstitched around the edges, with a brooch finding (or safety pin in this case) added.

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"Anti-weasel serum" seems to be a complementary strategy to "daily gratitudes". The latter is about paying attention to what is currently good, the former about paying attention to what was good in the past. So far I have a list of seven items for anti-weasel serum, and the items on that list that other folks gave me (which is most of the seven) are things I never would have thought of. I'm also wondering if any of the items on my daily gratitude list, as they move further into the past, may become evolve into anti-weasel serum...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	contrast numbers on oven knob	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	paint frame black	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	frame gift painting	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	front yard dandelions uprooted	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	indoor hat	x	yard waste bin
8	stitchbird brooch	x	recycle bin
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. soldering, like riding a bike, is a skill that once solidly learned is there for life. I do both.
2. gradually getting my sleep/wake cycle into a more usable mode
3. Tumble dryer lets me complete a laundry cycle when the rain would say otherwise

*pinafore was made in 2010, and the corduroy wore out after three years of fairly frequent wear. (I love corduroy, but it is no longer the durable fabric it was when I was a child.)

Time of Isolation - Day 1362

put a bird on it

in which our plucky heroine is charmed...

This morning the front yard and driveway had been drifted with falling plum blossoms, a soft pink snow that barely lasts a day or two. I wandered around the yard looking for flowers to cut and bring in the house - Wednesday is video with Mom day, and since sister G would be busy with her son's wedding, it'd be just me to spend the 40 minutes, and I thought actually showing my mom the spring flowers instead of just telling her would be a better option. It is so difficult to guess what bits get through the dementia, but she seemed to like seeing the forsythia and the hellebore...

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~ stitchbird halfway ~

yet another project as part of replacing what was lost with my grey hat... many years ago I embroidered a bird on the pocket of a corduroy pinafore, and when the garment wore out, the embroidery became a brooch. This new one will be more a blue bird of happiness than a grey bird of persistence, because among other things, persistence in a Useful Direction can lead to a modicum of happiness... (and because using what is on hand in the boxes of colored floss is a thrifty virtue)

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I needed some cottage cheese, since the milk delivery service never seems to have it in stock, but it is often available at the closest grocery. A rather soggy bike ride ensued, but was well worth the dampness, since their plant racks had been refilled... I'd just been talking with my pal Leslie about how much I wanted to start again with some new rhubarb, and there the baby plants were, all pink and green and happy. I now know that rhubarb wants as rich a spot as can be managed, and probably less shade than my former attempt. With luck, and effort of course, there will be homegrown rhubarb in a year or two.

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"...somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
That you'll never know..."

~ Jackson Browne

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Twice I attempted to reglaze a picture frame, using glass from a discounted frame from Goodwill. Both times the glass broke wrongly, probably user error since I rarely attempt cutting glass to size. I suspect that there may be some helpful hints in the University of YouTube. Rather than keep feeding the sunk cost, since the third time more likely to be "enemy action" than "the charm", I'm going to just put that bit of paper ephemera away, instead of on the wall. Goodness knows there is no lack of housey decorations to be remedied...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	contrast numbers on oven knob	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	paint frame black	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	frame gift painting	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	front yard dandelions uprooted	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	indoor hat	x	yard waste bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. eggplant lasagna
2. kind words from friends
3. anti-weasel serum

Time of Isolation - Day 1361

anti-weasel serum and other Monday miscellany

in which our plucky heroine has the faintest glimmer of an idea...

..."Anti-Weasel Serum" ie: paying attention and documenting specific things/actions/activities I did well in this lifetime so far. This is not the same as being creative, or being artistic, or having a robust skillset. Some of that I came in with, as a gift of birth and was fortunate enough to be able to keep, and some of that was born of necessity.

What I am looking for instead are what one can call up at the end of life and say to self "I did these things, and by doing this, or this, or this, I did not waste my lifetime. By doing this, I left the place just a bit better than had I not been there..." For some reason, this is feeling like the task I need to be putting effort towards now.

It is dreadfully easy for me to call up the opposite sorts of thoughts and memories, of all the things I did poorly, the errors made, the harm done. I think I need to seek the counterbalance. I am not yet sure how, but I need to remember, and to remind myself to remember, that this is important. It is a task best not left as deathbed work.

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~ an indoor hat ~

the completed Hat of Whimsy... Started with the idea of a pillbox style hat to wear indoors in the coldest part of the winter (I get tired of bandana/kerchief as my only option*), and used some finely woven herringbone wool as the base.

The wavy vine and dot motif I used a while ago on my recombinant tie-dye top lent itself equally well as a brim border; appliqued with scraps of printed cotton/rayon jersey for a good variety of colors. For some reason the vintage cotton ball fringe wanted to be a kind of "pearl coronet" emphasis along the edge of the folded brim.

Though I thought this project was finished at this point, when I showed it to my friend Elanor, she thought it also needed in addition some kind of lower border as balance. She was right. I added some very small bone disc beads as a dotted row of spangles to finish off the winter house hat project. I used some masking tape as a guide line to place the beads at an even distance from the edge of the folded brim, but spaced them a more or less equal distance apart by eye, which was much easier than doing more math and measurement, and which allowed for placing the final five or six beads "evenly" to fill the remaining space.

* I've very thin hair, and less of it with every decade that passes. In the winter my head gets cold. Whenever I'm outdoors, I wear wide brimmed hats to protect from either winter rain or summer sun, but those aren't really suited for my everyday indoor life. And I wanted something just a little different, variety being the spice thereof and all that...

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I think I also need to make a block print of "Anti-Weasel Serum: A Specific Remedy" as a label for an old timey snake oil style medicament, though in fact it is anything but. A print would be fun, and a challenge to research and do, probably in three colors, and I could happily share the artwork with friends

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wanted to make a note that when I put together the most recent lasagna, with layers of baked eggplant, and chopped cooked greens in addition to the cheese and tomato sauce and Italian sausage, that rather than use wheat pasta, I used rice paper... The dry discs don't neatly snap into pieces, but if a line of water is daubed along both sides where one wants to cut, then in a moment or two it softens just enough that kitchen shears can cut it neatly into pieces suitable for layering

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	contrast numbers on oven knob	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	paint frame black	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	frame gift painting	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	front yard dandelions uprooted	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	indoor hat	x	yard waste bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes-
1. using rice paper to make wheat free lasagna
2. I have a creative brain, that never fails to churn out ideas
3. the fritillaria is blooming in the front yard
4. I really like my new indoor hat

Time of Isolation - Day 1359

on the upsondowns

in which our plucky heroine seeks equanimity...

My back is still quite cranky, the pain of which is probably driving some of my dark thoughts. On the other side of the balance, there are more and more beautiful and interesting things to see when I am out and about. I try and choose different streets to ride my bike, for just that reason, and by choice various side streets instead of the irregular sidewalks and high traffic main thoroughfares.

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~ so very small ~

Today in my Insta-feed there was a pdxdinorama post about a new little free art gallery, this time in my own sector of the city! Since the promised rain was not really happening, and I needed a break from the everyday, I decided to go look for it...

I rode further beyond St Johns than I'd ever gone, following the rough map drawn on the back of an envelope, and after a few turns through various maze like streets I was delighted to find my destination, this charming little "little free art gallery". Isn't this inspiring! Do I maybe need to figure out if I can build something like this at Acorn Cottage?

Anyway, how about a look inside...

I'd brought a few tiny paintings, and one of my golden origami dragons to leave in "trade" (all still in my pocket when I took this photo) and ended up choosing a painting from on the righthand wall not visible, that said "Home Sweet Home", which felt just right for my tinyfolk of Tansu Terrace...

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Brain weasels have been running amok for days now, sending me deeper and deeper into internal darkness. My toolkit is inadequate. Riding my bicycle is one of the few mental health activities accessible to me, but sometimes I have to pull my bike over to the curb until I regain equanimity. My online pal Cricket concurred that sometimes these sorts of mental "bad weather" just crop up randomly, stick around for some unspecified amount of time, and leave as randomly as they arrived. (I am going to check out the counseling option via my PCP office, which since they no longer have a dedicated in office staff person, is now all done by video call - I don't expect much, but retain an open mind, and sometimes just chatting with someone can be helpful to sort out tangled thoughts.)

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This is another bit that showed up on my Insta-feed:  Bentley House Minis made a long video of how she approached organising her extensive collection of miniatures. While I don't have anywhere near that amount of stuff, it was encouraging to watch how she thought about the process, and also about how she needed to stop periodically and then return to the process, acknowledging that it was a challenge to do.

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This morning I had my regular quarterly visit to my PCP, and since it was about the time I usually wake up, I had set my alarm for an hour earlier. Fortunately the forecast rain was not really doing much of anything, so the bike ride over there was pretty pleasant. Basically my health remains unchanged so far so good, so continue with the self care meals and exercise activity. My doc agreed with my assessment that whatever is going on with my back is probably not structural but to check back if it doesn't improve in another few weeks.

I remembered to ask the tech to please not use bandaids after the blood draw but rather paper tape. And then when we were rescheduling my next visit, and my doc told me that there were no morning appointments that month, I asked if we could just push the appointment out another month if there were early morning ones in July... She agreed, and found an open spot. Yay for me for asking for what I need! (much nicer to ride there and back in the early morning than in the hot middle of the day, and also fewer other humans are there).

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	contrast numbers on oven knob	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	paint frame black	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	frame gift painting	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	front yard dandelions uprooted	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	x	x	yard waste bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes-
1. the rain today was soft, I was able to both get to my PCP appointment without being soaked, and later in the day take a Long Ride beyond St Johns
2. An adventure, to go find the new tiny art gallery I read about on Insta. And I found it, and that was a fun thing to do. I brought three things to leave there (two tiny paintings and an origami dragon), and took away one... It is a LONG way from here on my bike. (Which let me know how much farther than that it would be to the someday six to ten years from now city pool that will be replacing the nearby pool they closed)
3. A nice long phone call with my oldest friend Sharon.
4. I was able to get my COVID booster shot at my PCP appointment this morning. So much nicer to get it there than at the drug store.

Time of Isolation - Day 1356

choosing color...

in which our plucky heroine wants something just a bit less neutral...

This morning our weather has gone back to closer to what is normal for this time of year, the sky is cloudy and the air feels pleasantly cool. It will probably rain in the next day or two. I spent a chunk of the morning with my handy "Grampa's Weeder" ripping dandelions out of the front yard. The ground is still soft, and while there were a few of their pretty yellow flowers, I wasn't seeing the seed clusters yet...I reckon I'm about a quarter of the way done, as I have not done much with the south side yard, or the backyard. My back is not at all happy with me, but I also figure that the more of them I deal with now, the less I will have to do later. I filled about half the green waste wheelie bin

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~ these colors! ~

I have rather fallen in love with this batik rayon fabric. It will be the perfect thing for a new popover dress; the colorway has almost all of my wardrobe color choices combined, and the motifs are lively, curving, and just slightly abstracted. It is difficult to find printed rayon that has a color balance that works for my limited palette and motifs I find appealing (I am always looking for just right fabrics, and Very Rarely find anything at all.)

I spent quite a bit of time measuring several of my popover dresses to get the average dimensions for the rectangles and triangles that comprise the "pattern", then using graph paper working out various ways to lay them out for the most frugal option. I should be able to get a popover and a scarf from just over three yards of the 45" wide material, if there isn't too much shrinkage...

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Stopped in at the art store for a few minutes while I was out for a walk yesterday to try and calm my back down. They had restocked the Pigma Micron selection, and I was able to get one of the .005 sepia pens. Also picked up one of the white opaque gelli-roll pens, which meant that I could add contrast to the places on the convection oven knob that mark various temperature. That faithful little tabletop appliance is twenty years old, and the places I had reapplied writing were barely visible. This time I filed notches in the edge of the knob first, to be findable even when the writing wears away...

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~ delightful ~

at 12th Night, my friend Tammie did a massive giveaway of her trial samples and experimental paining studies. My friend Elisabeth very kindly decided to pick one out to bring back to me, knowing how much I wished I could have been there in person... She chose well, I love it! So today I rummaged around in my box of thrifted frames, found one that fit. and painted it black to match the rest of the frames here at Acorn Cottage. Looking forward to finding a good spot where I can enjoy seeing it every day.

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oh please oh please... become real! -an "apple a day" might keep the doctor away.... if this sort of thing* became a reality, I could have a life again, instead of this shadow half life. I'd be beyond delighted with the option to use a nose spray that gave me temporary hours of (unmasked) "close to safety". I could teach again, and visit people again, and travel again...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	contrast numbers on oven knob	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	paint frame black	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	frame gift painting	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	front yard dandelions uprooted	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	x	x	yard waste bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes-
1. art store five blocks away
2. the scent of spring flowering trees
3. science has not given up

Time of Isolation - Day 1355

* "A Drug-Free Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Nasal Spray to Prevent Emerging Respiratory Infections"

walking on the balance beam

in which our plucky heroine notices incremental progress...

When I woke this morning, I was able to get out of bed with significantly less pain, and thought with gratitude towards my body that it is automatically doing its best to be healed and functional. Not everyone can say that, and I will never not be grateful for when I can. Progress towards homeostasis is welcome, even though entropy always wins in the end, but for now I am very glad that my somatic reality is incrementally less fraught.

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~ jersey applique ~

I've made good progress on the current hat project. Using scrap bits of jersey fabric appliqued in a vine motif along the upper edge of the brim, the process is going more quickly now that I have run a line of basting thread along the serpentine line where I want the vine. Leaves are cut freehand from the more colorful and patterned scrap, and the circular berries from the golden brown spots.

I think this will turn out to be a fun indoor hat to wear in the winter, for variety instead of a headscarf. Plucky heroine has less hair every year, and nowadays my head gets cold in the winter, even indoors. When I am outdoors, I wear a wide brimmed hat summer or winter, for better sun protection...

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I'm doing more thinking about what projects I want to do this year, what projects need to be done, and what things I cannot do myself and will need help with. Starting to make lists and charts in my notebook, as it is all to easy for me to lose track and lose sight of what needs to be done, as I instead follow my changeable interests in various directions. I have a fairly good handle on my personal project ideas, just need to be more realistic about how much time to allot, which is usually more than I think is needed...

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~ make tiny bees! ~
This looks like it could be fun, maybe for the miniature swap?
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just realised I've not yet made a start on this years taxes! Time to plan out an hour or so each day until all that paperwork is completed, and today's hour will be spent in gathering together all the bits and bobs of receipts into one box. If I do a bit each day, all will be in order before the the middle of next month...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	-	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. homeostasis is still ahead of entropy,
2. two bike rides today
3. connecting with good friends online

Time of Isolation - Day 1354

flexibility

in which our plucky heroine slows to a crawl...

...though thankfully only in a figurative sense. Cranky back is still very very cranky. I've been doing gentle stretches, and movement to try and ease whatever is out of balance into some kind of equilbrium.

Everything I need to do happens at about half speed, and some of what I had hoped to do in these few days of warm sunshine has not happened at all (yardwork I am looking at you). If I only had hens again, I would not need to mow the backyard; but there has been no mowing at all, either front or back, or any other strenuous yard activity. I am going to put the mock orange twiglets into big pots, as they are showing signs of greening up along their buds, and maybe in a week or two my back will loosen up enough to let me do things like use the shovel, and the string trimmer...

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...new ½" non-roll elastic I ordered online, same company, same box, but the quality is just not as good. Old is the upper one, new is the lower one; the new elastic is thinner, slightly under ½" in width, and overall the product is more "flimsy". That degredation of quality did not come with a dimunition in price, of course. Since I use elastic on few of the things I sew for myself, it does take me quite a while to use up an entire 30 yard spool; I probably bought the old elastic at the late lamented Fabric Depot a number of years ago

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I did manage to get most of the laundry done, and if I can manage to do the bedding tomorrow while we still have sunshine and breezy weather for more line drying, that will be a happy thing. I will just take it slowly. Took some time today to cook ahead ingredients to make spinach rice bake (I've discovered that if I get the big box of prewashed organic mixed greens from the Gross-Out, and immediately cook and chop them, that gives me enough greens for several recipes. Thanks to the Aunties for suggesting that market as a possible resource) I might try riding my bike tomorrow and pick up an eggplant for lasagna as well... meals in the freezer!

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	-	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I have a regular scheduled check in with my PCP later this week, so if cranky back is still not improving, I can get her to look at it then...
2. figured out that if I use the folding turtle stool to clamber into bed, that is a bit easier on my back
3. The leftover corned beef made a wonderful meal tonight, a sort of hash variant with rice and greens and green onion... (I was cooking up rice anyway for future meals this week, and didn't want to also cook potato)

Time of Isolation - Day 1353

Sunday snippets

in which our plucky heroine appreciates a spring day...

The weather today was just beautiful, just on the edge of a bit too warm, but cooled down again by late afternoon. I went out for an after dinner bike ride, as that is the time of day when I am the most flexible and functional. There are flowers blooming everywhere now, and birdsong...

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~ shine on like the star you are ~

Since this weekend saw temperatures rise by 20 degrees, the fuzzy buds on the star magnolia burst open into bloom... Looking back through my former blog posts, this is about two weeks earlier than it was in the previous decade. Irrespective of that, the blossoms are a delight, particularly with all the rest of what is currently flowering in the front yard

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In the Netherlands, there is a canal that is also a fish migration route. They have created a "fish doorbell" so that when fish are waiting to move further upstream, people watching on the internets can ring the bell and let the lock keeper know to open the lock. This makes me ridiculously happy... that there is a world where random people care enough to help the natural world negotiate the human made world

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about halfway done with the applique decoration on my new personal hat project... I've been using scraps from the printed knit fabric Ruthie gave me a while back (most of which is earmarked for a future longsleeve turtleneck top). I am using variegated and spotted bits of the print to add variety to the leaf and vine border.

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	-	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
1. star magnolia, white violets, ornamental plum, and forsythia, along with the last of the pink hellebore... the front yard is at the very best it looks during the year
2. a piece of the corned beef I bought in 2022 at the end of March, simmered on the stovetop and eaten for supper (along with mashed potato and greens for a sort of deconstructed colcannon)
3. five friends for Crafternoon today
4. a short chat with Mikki about how RPG gaming "works", since that is a thing I have been curious about for years

Time of Isolation - Day 1352

happy belated Pi(e) day

in which our plucky heroine bakes a day late...

I've been having a very cranky back for the last week, ever since I reached up a bit too high to try and put the studio clock back on it's hook. It hurts more when I lie down than when I've been moving around for a bit, and hurts worst when I get up in the morning after I've been asleep. It is something different than any back pain prior, and since it isn't improving, probably should get myself over to the doctor sometime soon, since it is definitely affecting my activities of daily life.

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~ pear tart ~

for the purposes of holiday food I am calling this pie, since it is fruit baked atop a tender crust, then glazed...

½ c butter
1 c flour
¼ t baking powder
½ c sugar
1 large egg
3 or 4 Bosc pears, peeled cored and cut in half
cinnamon sugar
apricot or quince jam
1T lemon juice

Combine flour and baking powder and set aside. Cream the butter with the sugar in a different bowl. Add egg and beat in. Gradually add the flour, the dough will be very soft. Push/pat the dough into the pan to form an even flat crust. I have used a variety of pans, a 10" tart pan + a 4" pan, a 10" rectangle pan, (the Original Recipe calls for a 14" pan, but I've nothing that large) Arrange the pear halves cut side down. I usually use the last bits to fill in the gaps. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake at 350F until the crust is golden brown, around 40 to 45 minutes. Melt jam with lemon juice and brush gently to glaze.

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When I saw this article online, it reminded me of this short story I read a few years ago

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	-	recycle bin
6	velour sports bra	x	yard waste bin
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
1. quince jelly adds a special flavor when used to glaze fruit tarts... combined with the pear tart tonight was just amazing!
2. I have a piece of corned beef in the freezer, set aside last year, so I can cook that for Sunday dinner along with a bit of colcannon...
3. Today the weather was lovely, and there are white violets scattered here and there across my front yard. I managed to get outside enough to notice them. And there was a bird up high in the tree in the neighbors yard singing very sweetly when I was hanging the laundry out on the clothesline...
4. I have the miniature bookcase my pal Vesta gave me hanging on the wall next to the computer zone, and every time it catches my eye it reminds me that gone is not forgotten...

Time of Isolation - Day 1350

progress report

in which our plucky heroine is taking a breather...

or, one of the reasons I don't drink coffee!

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~ well done ~

The heraldic enamels for the new Stromgard coronets are now completed; last night I turned off the kiln around 11:30 after the final firing. The white enamel detailing of the "mane" on the sea-horses was some of the most challenging enamel I have done, due to the minute scale and intense focus required. Even with the lighted magnifier, this is near the limit of what I can see clearly, and more importantly what I can manipulate. Just one wobble of the brush tip shaping the lines and it is all to do over again. And after the lines are shaped, the remainder of the surface needs to be very carefully examined to be sure that no grain or haze of enamel is left anywhere else on the surface, lest it be permanently attached in the heat of the kiln.

The painting enamel (finely powdered glass, rather like talcum powder), mixed with lavender oil, is first gently dabbed more or less into place with a 3/0 brush. Then once it is slightly less liquid, a 10/0 brush dampened with water is used to manipulate the oily mixture into more precise alignment to create lines finer than would be possible with cloisonné wire. (this is not the only way that painting enamel can be used, but is the way I most commonly find it useful in my work)

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Tomorrow is Pie Day (3/14) and I've planned to make a pear tart in celebration. I made one last year in January, remember is as really tasty, managed to track down where I copied the recipe, and have several Bosc pears in the fridge...

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This is a most peculiar and Bosch-esque piece of percussion...  (scroll down the video and turn on the sound)

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This essay, by the artist Luann Udell is worth the time to read:

“NATURAL TALENT” VS. PERSEVERANCE: Which Works Best?

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	Stromgard enamels	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I managed to complete the Stromgard enamels, and they look good to me, and hopefully to all concerned.
2. Albuterol. I very rarely need it, but when I do, having an inhaler that does the thing necessary makes a huge difference. My lungs, not my most functional body part, have never been "right" again since got sick while visiting family last year.
3. three good zoom meetings with family and friends

Time of Isolation - Day 1348

hail, hail, the rain's still here...

in which our plucky heroine has been working steadily...

... and after a late night of enameling work, sleep remained elusive. I did my best to function today, then decided that a bike ride in a rare sunbreak would be a good way to clear the sleep deprived cobwebs. Before I knew it, the occasional raindrop turned into small bouncing spheres! Thankfully not enough to be painful, and thankfully not long enough to require getting off the bike to walk home. But still, when I got home I put the kettle on for a nice hot cup of pink hibiscus tea.

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This past weekend I finished the borders on the body of the cardigan, including the button band loops for the toggles. sewed them on as well, so I could try it on. The armsceye is rather odd, probably due to all the variations I've added, but I'm telling myself this is intended as outerwear, so ending up with loose fitting sleeves is okay. I'm really happy with the neckline, which fits closely but not tightly; I don't want to make something that requires me to also add a scarf or cowl every time I wear the cardigan

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. some extra tasty Fuji apples, one of which made a great snack with some sharp Tillamook cheddar
2. the front closure on my future cardigan turned out really similar to my initial sketch
3. I was able to take a nap in the afternoon.

Time of Isolation - Day 1347

sleeping in on Sunday

in which our plucky heroine might be caught up on sleep...

I woke up this morning more or less at a good time, but for some reason I became incredibly sleepy after breakfast, went back to bed and didn't wake up til halfway to lunchtime. Totally missed my usual Sunday morning activity, and barely pulled myself together in time for Crafternoon.

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despite the howling winds last night, that kept the turbine ventilators all awhirl and clattering (which may be why I was so very exhausted this morning, despite the driving rain and cold, there are definite signs of spring on the way... On one of my walks around the neighborhood during one of the rare sunbreaks, I saw this crocus growing, and blooming, from a crack in the sidewalk! It must have germinated from a seed, since the space between one side of the cracked concrete and the other was far too narrow for anyone to be able to plant a bulb, even as small as a crocus bulb...

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Today I tried the "3-ingredient mac-and-cheese" that was described online recently on "The Recipe with Kenji and Deb" podcast. It was, as promised, very easy indeed. I cut the suggested quantity in half (3oz. instead of 6 oz.), to make a serving for just one person, and used sharp Tillamook, and rice elbows instead of regular wheat pasta.

It turns out I could have started with maybe 2½ oz pasta, and I could have been careful to use somewhat less water to start with. It never occurred to me to use evaporated milk, in fact, I never used evaporated milk before in all my years of cooking. I carefully poured the rest of the milk into my silicone cube trays and froze it in 3oz portions to make it again in the future. The recipe really was about as fast as blue mac-in-a-box, but so much better. I'll definitely make it again.

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During Crafternoon today, while we were chatting I kept on knitting the I-cord borders on my current cardigan project, and managed to finish both rows of the black edging, including the button/toggle loops. Now those are also stitched down in place, and I am ready to start designing and knitting the many colored stripey sleeves. I expect that this technique of knitting in the yarn ends, that I last used when I made my Solitary Foxen scarf, will once again prove to be very useful:

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. easy peasy mac and cheesy
2. signs of spring, flowers and many birds in the trees
3. supper for breakfast, breakfast for supper

Time of Isolation - Day 1345

spring forward

in which our plucky heroine plans to go to bed early...

in an attempt to foil the somatic confusion that always occurrs when the clocks change.

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~ very small indeed ~

The enamel champlevé project has moved past the making samples stage and into the multiple trips in and out of the kiln stage. The two pieces now have their first layer of transparent blue. I'm very glad I decided to use a lighter blue than I first tried, as the champlevé cells intensify the color value. Next will be adding transparent green to the tiny laurel wreaths...

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Last weekend I was chatting online with my pal Acantha, who mentioned that she and Gersvinda had gone to Kachka to eat pelmeni (dumplings) and other treats. I remembered seeing the packages in the freezer case at the grocery, so decided to try them as a slightly extravagant treat. Boy howdy those are tasty! I topped them with a dab of butter, a spoonful of greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream, and a splash of vinegar (this combination suggested on the package) If I had some fresh dill, that would have been a great addition...

I wonder how difficult it would be to DIY them, as I accidentally found out that Kachka also sells the special tool to form them into the charming little hexagons. It might be worth an attempt, to be able to add a different new option to my made ahead meals... There are a number of recipes online.

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~ just the right size ~

Leah and her husband Randall like making pottery enough that they turned their attic into a pottery studio. I have a few lovely pieces that they have gifted me with over the years, and yesterday, when she came to visit with Ursel, she gave me this sweet celadon dessert bowl, much to my delight!

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Not much sewing is happening, other than I have almost finished making two new very comfy cotton velour sports bras. Such a fast and easy project to complete, they take just about an hour from start to finish...

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March SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	red enamel samples	bathroom undersink access	some driveway moss
2	turn buttons	-	recycle bin
3	6 tiny books	-	yard waste bin
4	2 velour sports bras	-	recycle bin
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the new small pottery bowl from Leah is just the right size for small treats, like yogurt with fruit...
2. the cotton velour sports bras are much nicer on my skin than the harsh synthetic fabric used for conventional bras. I keep wondering if there is a way to construct a conventionally styled bra with fabric that was nice instead of nasty.
3. I managed to get the laundry off the clothesline before it was really rained on this morning. If I had put it out earlier Friday, I wouldn't have left it out overnight. Only the second attempt to line dry the washing this year...

Time of Isolation - Day 1344