The Quintarian Project

in which our plucky heroine begins a new 100 day challenge...

not a stitch book this time, but rather a set of 5 of the pyramid pouches that I've been so very charmed with recently, inspired by the World of The Five Gods novels and novellas, written by Lois McMaster Bujold. Once again I will be limiting myself to using materials I have on hand, various fabric scraps and other crafty bits, maybe some beads or charms, certainly buttons, and whatever techniques feel like they will add meaning...

~ well begun ~

I'm starting with the Mother of Summer. Her color is green, obviously, and I didn't have much in the way of green scraps. I could have used some forest green as the backing, but since in the book, that is a color of mourning, I went in the other direction. To me the scattered patches evoke a sunny field of wildflowers; the backing fabric is from a much loved and worn out bandana from OCF years ago, and the squares combine floral cotton bits leftover from sewing masks in 2020, some tiny fragments of the tie-dye shirt my friend Aeolus made, and silk from a sample book. 

I'll be working at least 15 minutes each day until August 3rd. The timeline allows me twenty days to complete each one; if I finish before then, maybe creating a container to hold them.

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"I think that... when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live. I can give back to the world all that I didn't do. All that I might have been and couldn't be. All the choices I didn't make. All the things I lost and spent and wasted. I can give them back to the world. To the lives that haven't been lived yet. That will be my gift back to the world that gave me the life I did live, the love I loved, the breath I breathed.”

~ Ursula LeGuin
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Today I made good progress on my idea to get access to the Kaiser dental clinic, which is close enough to Acorn Cottage that I can walk, or ride my bike. First, I went there to find out if they were accepting new patients, and if they took folks who were on OHP. Yes to those, but I have the wrong dental plan, as they only accept Kaiser Dental, and they do not accept people paying out of pocket either.

So, I decided to ride my bike to the Office of Aging and Disability to talk to them about changing my dental plan. That was a pretty long ride, but I figured it was better than the two buses I would have needed. I was able to talk to someone there, but their office only gets folks signed up for Medicare or Medicaid or both, and doesn't handle anything past that point, as that is the bailiwick of  "HealthShareOregon", a different organization entirely. So I called them...

That office was shut down for the day for some kind of employee training? or some such, so I took a look at their website, which then referred me to calling my medical plan instead. Which I did, and talked to Moira, who was very personable and wanted to help. But unfortunately the medical plan is not able to change any of the other two plans that are part of my OHP access. At this point it was just about 5pm, so tomorrow morning bright and early I will be calling the HealthShare office, to beg ask if I can change just my dental plan. I am sure it would be more acceptable were I to change to all Kaiser, but I have been using Providence for my medical care for years, since before I had OHP, and the office of my primary care doctor is about two miles away, so an easy bike ride. My goal is to have my various care teams be easier for me to access ie closer to home, so I am not dependent on cadgeing rides or taking multiple buses to get there. We shall see what ensues tomorrow...

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	tiny angora print	computer zone lamp	persimmon prunings
2	5th God bag	blog template	forsythia prunings
3	scroll calligraphy	grey turtleneck collar	yard waste bin
4	Pelican scroll	indigo bunny art	recycle bin
5	grey rose brooch	taxes done	front plum pruning
6	pyramid pouch	redone bag ties	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I am brave and mighty, tackling the dread bureaucracy on the phone and in person.
2. I made a tasty salad for dinner, and used up some of the veggies before they needed to be sent to the compost bin
3. I didn't let the rain keep me from going out and riding my bike.

Time of Isolation - Day 1390

if at first you don't succeed...

in which our plucky heroine has another partially successful day...

More modest progress on assorted fronts - Mt Washmore is completely if temporarily gone, and soon I will be able to say the same about Mt Dishmore. I made tasty food today and tried cooking something new (scrambled egg encased in rice paper... was okay, but not a keeper). I volunteered to give a speed talk about the usefulness of 100 day projects. The weather was tolerable, if sunny.

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~ tinyprint Tuesday~
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I think it is day 32 of the 100 days of printmaking. I have sort of lost the specific count somehow, but am still putting in some time every day of course! Today I wanted to work on the first image for F is for fun - "fan". My first attempt to create a block with the image of a box fan really didn't translate into something readily comprehensible, so I decided to start over with K's suggestion of a vintage style table fan. Much better image this time!

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I've started on the other half of the patchwork additions, and done square 1/20. It is looking quite impressive draped across the futon couch. At this rate it will be completed sometime in July, which might be just in time for it to be Really Useful, or at least to be a really pretty bedspread...

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Each day I am also putting in some time on the daypack project. This morning I finished cutting out the leather bottom, and sewed it to the front panel. Tomorrow I plan on cutting out the back panel and reinforcing it with interfacing. One step at a time will yield a good result. In addition I did a bit more with sorting out the cards for the rainbow tablet weaving project. Once I clear off the shelf I use for weaving, I will be able to set up the vertical loom.

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Today Turquoise showed me a different SI joint stretch that they have found helpful. I tried it and it seemed to make a difference. At first it was really uncomfortable, but gradually I could feel my lower back relaxing, which felt rather odd. Then I fell asleep! I am going to try it again.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	some quilt squares	tea rose temperature	rose and grapevines
2	tinyprint fox	partial backyard mown	some grass
3	arm protectors	Acantha cereal bowl	some more grass
4	moar quilt squares	-	recycle bin
5	tinyprint fan	-	yard waste bin
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. a helpful stretch for my crankypants SI joint
2. Past Me puts tasty food in freezer - potsticker lunch
3. Excellent chat with Mikki

Time of Isolation - Day 1087

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine is wistful...

In 2020, or 2021, or even in 2022, it didn't feel like I was the only one staying home over the long weekend. This year, almost everyone I know is away eventing or camping. I miss seeing my friends, and I miss going to SCA events. All that aside, I am currently focused on my enameling commission work, which does take priority over playtime; I am making good progress in completing a number of pieces of regalia.

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~ printmaking progress ~

Yesterday I spent my 15 minutes of printmaking time painting in the gold discs on all the dogs collars. The black final layer of ink is almost dry, but it will do it no harm to have them hanging on the drying rack further. I suspect I rolled the ink on too thickly.

My next project will be a tiny book from tinyprints all starting with the letter "f" : fan, feather, fire, fox, and fungus... There is a clever way to created "books" (either 8 page or 14 page) from single pages of paper, and I think that would be a way to add to my stash of "advent of a better year" treats. I learned in the first 100 day project that following inspiration is a good idea.

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Today when out on my early morning bike ride, I saw a tufted leather chaise lounge in the middle of the sidewalk on the main street near the veterinary office, with a houseless man fast asleep on it. When I rode by there again a bit later, both were gone. I am sure that there was a story, but I will never know what it was...

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While there are more and more "crosswalk closed" signs, and fewer and fewer bus stops (alas) I did notice that the new more distant bus stop now does have a shiny new covered bus shelter. I don't know if my comment to customer service made a difference, but I figured that they ought to hear from the bus users that moving the stop to underneath a power pole that is also a bird roost was less than ideal, without some kind of overhead barrier to protect from guano deposits!

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	grey canvas hat	front yard mowed	apple tree prunings
2	tiny pomegranate	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
3	print drying hooks	scarf printed	recycle bin
4	layers 1-5 linoprint	re-done engraving	more dead ferns
5	OGGS enamel	bike refurbished	recycle bin
6	x	x	apple water sprouts
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I have been gradually making progress with catching up on the various care tasks around here. The drawer in the kitchen is now refilled with dishcloths and washrags; most of my laundry has been put away, and all the mound of pots and pans are either back on the iron pot rack, or drying in the dishrack.
2. Thai mango coleslaw is my new favorite salad
3. I am so excited that my Mud Bay pals have the final inspection on their house scheduled for next week! Fingers crossed that all goes well, the house passes, and they finally get the permit and can move in. It has been a much longer and stranger trip over many years to get to this point.

Time of Isolation - Day 1073

a bird list for Kestrel: House Finch, Scrub Jay, Crow, Dark Eyed Junco... I keep looking around for birds, but haven't seen anything else clearly enough to identify. I think I saw some starlings.

Friday folderol

in which our plucky heroine is doing her best to keep cool...

I ran the fans this morning before heading out to get my bike from the bike shop, so the house is not awful. Showering in the middle of the day helps. I've been trying, with just middling success, to shift my sleep/wake cycle to a bit more crepuscular one.

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~ printmaking ~

day 19/100 - first attempt at a reduction print is done (an edition of 20). They will need to dry for several days now. The various individual prints vary in quality, a few are completely out of register, and while most have obvious flaws, I'm pleased nonetheless.

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well double dog dang! I was going to work on my indigo day pack project, but I don't have the interfacing. I must have used it on some different project, probably the day pack for Tullia. I guess I could cut out the various pieces of denim and of the lining so I will be ready when the interfacing I just ordered (a 10 yard piece of the Pellon 20" wide cotton woven fusible interfacing from WAWAK (where it is half the cost per yard than at my local fabric store) which should be here sometime next week)

I do have a chunk of fusible fleece interfacing in the storage closet and am considering using that to interface the shoulder straps, it might be a good use of something I'm not really sure why I purchased?? The straps get a layer of webbing sewn on top of the folded fabric, so it wouldn't matter that the fleece is not as stable as the shape-flex. Might need to make a small sample...

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Since it was nice and cool early this morning, I spend a bit of time cutting away at the under growth along the side yard. The feral ferns have become really tangled with dead fronds, and while I meant to trim things back earlier in the year, I can't do it any sooner than right now. I really need to remember to use gloves, and maybe to wear long sleeves tucked into them. It seems like each time I attempt this task, something in the undergrowth bites my hands...

Still, I treated myself kindly, only doing a modest amount of pruning, remembering that I could do a little bit each day. which would eventually show significant progress. And, sigh, the warm weather means that the lawn REALLY need whacked back again, which means I need to acquire the second extension cord ASAP! Maybe a bike ride to the hardware store is in order?

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	grey canvas hat	front yard mowed	apple tree prunings
2	tiny pomegranate	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
3	print drying hooks	scarf printed	recycle bin
4	layers 1-5 linoprint	re-done engraving	more dead ferns
5	-	bike refurbished	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I had the resources available to get my bike tuned up and repaired. It is in much better shape now, and should be able to give me years more of good service.
2. the bite on my hand responded to topical benedryl, whew!
3. the dwarf lilac in the front yard is blooming

Time of Isolation - Day 1066

a bird list for Kestrel: House Finch, Scrub Jay, Crow, Dark Eyed Junco...

the good, the bad, and the annoyingly messy

in which our plucky heroine had ups and downs...

Woke up early enough that I was able to get in a good long walk before the weather became opressively hot. Which was good, but even so, adding in the extra mile meant that by the time I got home again I was exhausted. Which was okay, because how else will I get stronger.

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~ printmaking progress ~

Day 18/100 - My idea of just going ahead with overprinting with a lighter grey seems to have worked, more or less... When I look at the print so far, which doesn't really look how I envisioned it before I began, I must keep reminding myself that this is very much an XP1 project, that I have never done this sort of thing before, and that there are a lot of variables inherent in this process.

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Last thing last night I opened the fridge, and out fell the plastic container full of cooked rice. Which burst open at my feet. The rice will go in the compost, and one important chore of today will be to wash the floor (I mean, I cleaned it up well enough at the time, but still...) and the other will be to cook up another batch of rice!

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I think that "How To Keep House While Drowning" is a very useful book. I am on my second listen to the audiobook, and have some different thoughts than I usually do about my situation.

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It is the time of year when the duvet gets put away, and lighter bedclothes take its place. One of these years I will finish up the patchwork I cut out when I first moved here to Acorn Cottage. I got a quarter of the way through and just bailed. Patchwork just isn't my jam, apparently... It is all up in a box in the top of the closet in the small bedroom, and would make  a pretty bit of summer bedding. All it would need is to be backed with a flannel sheet. Maybe one of these years...

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	grey canvas hat	front yard mowed	apple tree prunings
2	tiny pomegranate	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
3	print drying hooks	scarf printed	recycle bin
4	layer 1/5 linoprint	re-done engraving	-
5	layer 2/5 linoprint	-	-
6	layer 3/5 linoprint	x	x
7	layer 4/5 linoprint	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. It could have been eggs. And it wasn't.
2. walked over three miles today
3. my bike is ready to be picked up from the shop

Time of Isolation - Day 1065

a bird list for Kestrel: House Finch, Scrub Jay, Crow,...

wistful Wednesday

in which our plucky heroine remembers the Before Times...

This morning I got up early to ride over to the bike shop, to drop my trusty steed off for the remaining needed refurbishments (and I asked if they could add a kickstand to my bike while it was in there getting work done anyway). It was already quite warm before I arrived there at 10 when they opened. It took me about 1¾ hours to get home on transit, since it required three different transfers, and the heat and sunshine were really opressive by the time I returned to Acorn Cottage.

While I was walking along Alberta to the first bus stop, I was washed over by a wave of sorrow, remembering the comparative ease of how it was when I first came to the city, when exploring and adventuring were an option, when I didn't have to ration my entry into shops and buildings with exquisite care to minimise the time spent indoors, when if there was something particularly appealing for a snack, my only concern was "can I afford this luxury" and not, in addition, is this luxury of a restaurant treat something that I can carry home so I can safely eat it, and that will still be edible after several hours in my day pack?...

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~ printmaking project ~

day 17/100 Yesterday was, as always "tinyprint Tuesday".  Had this image in my sketchbook for a while, so turned it into a little 1" square linocut print. It turned out better than I expected.

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I just finished adding the first grey layer to my Akita print, and I think I made an error with the color of the ink. It looks much too dark to me, and I may need to overprint it with a lighter grey before adding the two final layers, in order to get an appropriate value range. Ooops! Or, maybe I could call that layer the dark grey, cut that away and print the lighter grey and then the black?

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Made such a yummy slaw for dinner: red cabbage, yellow peppers, carrots, green onions, mango, avocado, with a lime/rice vinegar/fish sauce/olive oil/mint/thai basil dressing, and cashews as a garnish.... (Instagram inspired, but using what I had on hand here, though I picked up a mango on the way home from the bike shop). This was good enough that I will have to make it again!

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	grey canvas hat	front yard mowed	apple tree prunings
2	tiny pomegranate	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
3	print drying hooks	scarf printed	recycle bin
4	layer 1/5 linoprint	re-done engraving	-
5	layer 2/5 linoprint	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. The bike shop requires masking!
2. It felt a bit easier today to ride the three miles to the bike shop than it did last week
3. I have the resources to make myself healthy food, and a kitchen and tools to make the food in, and a safe and quiet place to eat.

Time of Isolation - Day 1064

a bird list for Kestrel: House Finch, Scrub Jay, Crow,...

Tuesday tidbit

~ day 16/100 - a closer look ~

All that will remain red will be the ears, the collar, the square patch in the center, and the tiny flowers on the body. Because of that, I've not been overly concerned with how much ink coverage I have around the edges of this layer, as those areas will be covered in grey or black.

This is the only one of the twenty prints so far that has been "out of register", clearly visible around the eyes and nose, and I entirely blame user error. The Ternes Burton registration pins work like a charm so far. I'm so grateful that at some point Past Me bought them with the intent to try multicolor printmaking. I suspect that (in this case) I was not careful enough with the tan layer getting the block properly located in the registration jig.

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Another hot day here, but thankfully it did cool off during the night... While there was thunder in the distance late in the day yesterday, we didn't get the intense storms that many nearby neighborhoods received, though there was enough rain to make a bit of a difference today. And, that, combined with the warmth, has set the yard grass to explosive growth, when I can manage some time with the string trimmer it will be most necessary. Which reminds me that I need to get that second 50ft extension cord, to reach the backyard and the south edge of the side yard.

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print it red

in which our plucky heroine adds another layer...

~ day 15/100 ~

Last night when I was closing up the workroom, I noticed that the first layer of ink on my reduction linocut print was dry. So it won't be necessary to wait until next weekend before adding the next color. This is the second layer of five, the remaining layers will be medium grey, darker grey, and black.

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Yesterday evening I finished preparing the replacement disc for the Laurel enamel. Since I had to start over, I made the squares for the interlaced diaper pattern engraving 3/16" (a little smaller than previously, and that was a much better fit for the oak leaf stamp. It is ready to go now, and the wires are already bent as well. Now if only the weather would be a bit less unseasonably hot. Still, needs must, and even if the thunderstorm tonight doesn't clear the air, I will be standing in front of a 1500 F oven and finally getting the work underway.

Oh, and PS... apparently one can get dichro waterslide decal paper "Dicro Slide" that can fuse to enamel... as mentioned in this article: "How to add a Dichroic Effect To Your Enamels"

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a few weeks ago, Ariadne showed me how to make an origami dragon. It is a pretty simple modification of the origami crane, which I learned to make as a child, and when folded from a 3" square, as here, it turns into a dragon small enough to fit in the 1¼" cube that is the right size for the Advent swap. I decided to splurge on a package of metallic golden origami paper that is just the right size, and fold up a bunch of them. After all, who wouldn't love to get a wee dragon?

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	grey canvas hat	front yard mowed	apple tree prunings
2	tiny pomegranate	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
3	print drying hooks	scarf printed	recycle bin
4	layer 1/5 linoprint	re-done engraving	-
5	layer 2/5 linoprint	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Past Me chopped up green onions and froze the bits, and put them in talenti tubs. They're much less likely to become sad in the fridge, and are really easy to add to whatever as garnish or as ingredient
2. Karen reminded me that the elastic laces originally came from Keen. When I phoned them today asking about buying a replacement set, I was told "just come in, the replacements are complimentary!
3. Saturday Kestrel added me to her "Bird Watchers Club" Today I saw a new to me bird: the House Finch. Apparently common, but I had never noticed one before. I am curious what else I will see this week to share with her next Saturday at our regular zoom.

Time of Isolation - Day 1062

a rather sideways Saturday

in which our plucky heroine takes an angled turn...

After yesterday, I was still a bit off balance, and when I tried to stamp the oak leaf pattern on one of the discs for enameling, somehow the design was reversed on two of the square. I stopped in dismay, and put the enamelwork away for the rest of the day. Fortunately I have some additional sheet stock and can start over. Fire arts require intense concentration. I decided to spend the rest of the day on my printmaking instead...

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~ day 13/100 ~

day 13/100 - The first layer of ink (pale tan) on my first reduction linocut... while I have a LOT to learn, I'm pretty pleased with this beginning. Starting from one of my photos, I've reduced the color layers to five. I've constructed a jig to hold the block and paper in alignment.

I'm not sure the ink I'm using is a good match for the postcard paper, and the postcard paper is cold press, so intended for watercolor rather than for printmaking. But using what is on hand is worthwhile for this experiment. Also, I didn't know that the sharpie ink would transfer from the block to the print. I don't know how long that will continue. Next time I will try using India ink instead. I'm using a baren and a wooden spoon to transfer the ink to the paper.

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The Flexcut Slipstrop seems to be quite effective. I noticed that one of my small vee gouges was becoming obviously duller than when new, and some time honing it on the appropriate surfaces of the strop made a big difference. Having the correct tools to take care of my tools is good.

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day 13 - I spent several hours today over-printing this cotton lawn scarf, using the 2" square blocks I finished carving at the beginning of the month. The scarf is a bit larger than 30" square. It will need to be set aside now for a number of days while the ink cures... I've left about a three inch border on all four sides; not sure if I will print a different design along that space or just leave it plain

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I spoke to Mom today. I try and phone her at least once or twice a week. This was one of the better calls, as she responded to some of my comments...

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	grey canvas hat	front yard mowed	apple tree prunings
2	tiny pomegranate	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
3	print drying hooks	scarf printed	recycle bin
4	layer 1/5 linoprint		-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Flexcut Slipstrop works a charm
2. the square concrete block motifs fit nicely on my scarf
3. Mom still knows who I am

Time of Isolation - Day 1060

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine hides from the sun...

...it's going to be that sort of weekend. There is a heat advisory in place, with temperatures leaping up about 30 degrees. It will be good for block printing, rather less so for enameling.

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~ out and about ~

I went to get my eyes examined earlier this week, which happens pretty regularly now that I am older... on the way there, I saw this very sculptural pink magnolia blossom, and couldn't resist a photo...

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{rant}Every afternoon for weeks now, I get a phone call or multiple phone calls from Comcast, trying to I assume convince me to sign up for one of their services. I've taken to screaming into the phone at the robot. I double checked that I am on the national Do Not Call list, and that in addition am signed up for the internal Comcast do not call list. It is very annoying, both to have my day interrupted repeatedly,and because when we did have a contract with Comcast more than 20 years ago, the service was so inferior that we had to report it. I would never consider arranging any of my utilities through them.{/rant}

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~ day 12 printmaking ~

...carved away the places that will remain white, in the very first reduction print I am attempting. My plan is to do the printing of the first layer this weekend, so it will begin drying, and will hopefully be ready to print the second layer next weekend, and so on. At that rate, the prints will be complete in the middle of June.

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Today is a sad day for me - today, papers were signed to allow Mom to receive hospice care...

And, it has been just a year ...
Dad, all you gave me I will appreciate as long as I walk in the bright world, and your absence is a gap I bump into every day.as they say, grief is what we do with love that has nowhere left to go; and we don't stop grieving, we just learn to live with it.

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	grey canvas hat	front yard mowed	apple tree prunings
2	tiny pomegranate	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
3	print drying hooks	-	recycle bin
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. The hanging rack above the washer is a perfect place to dry block prints
2. Hospice will make more resources available for Mom's comfort
3. help figuring out what sorts of activity are of comparable risk to me, so that I may be able to add a few positive experiences to my very limited current life.

Time of Isolation - Day 1059

Friday fragments and figments

in which our plucky heroine stays busy...

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~ day 5 ~

Day 5/100 - The design was transfered in pencil, then inked with sharpie before I begin the carving... My next step will be to learn about and build some sort of registration jig for printing.

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Found another online tutorial for Mini-Tetras, which look like something fun and tiny to make, and a good use for some of the smaller scraps leftover from the stitchbook project!

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Found an online recipe from Loopy Whisk for gluten-free naan bread, which I am really eager to try. It does call for an assortment of dry ingredients which I do not have on hand. It would probably be a great accompaniment to the boil-in-bag Indian food that I keep on the earthquake shelf though... if I can acquire millet flour and psyllium, I will give it a try.

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COVID is no longer an emergency, announces the WHO

...so yeah, this is the world we live in now; maybe more like how the world was for most of the historical human times... where plagues and pestilence of various sorts just killed or caused permanent harm to people. (And it wasn't that long ago that things changed. I am not just thinking about things like the Black Death or other horrors of centuries ago. When I was a little girl, my pediatrician had had polio as a child, and walked with a limp. He was one of the lucky ones) Only back then no one knew why, or how transmission happened, and there was no way to do anything other than try and provide symptomatic relief. I guess I ought be grateful that for most of my own human life, that was not the case... I do intend to still keep noting the "time of Isolation" days here on my blog, in the fading but not entirely gone hope that someday there will be a universal coronavirus vaccine and/or effective and accessible treatment for the viral infection, to prevent the ongoing damage and deaths worldwide.

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May SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	front yard mowed	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Making small amounts of progress on various projects today, also managed to get out an ride my bike a bit between the rainstorms and having functional brakes again made me really happy.
2. Figured out how to do video calls back and forth to sister on the phone; different than zoom, for possible use to connect with family more easily while they are all together next month.
3. Still really enjoying the burrito-ish salad I have been making for dinner lately (sans tortilla). Since refried beans come in a can that is good for about four meals, I will have the same dinner tomorrow, probably, unless I decide to have it for lunch!

Time of Isolation - Day 1052

a cobby little book

in which our plucky heroine remembers "done is better than perfect"...

My 100 day stitch book project is finished, and the pages turned into a book. It didn't look quite how I expected it to, being more chunky, more floppy, and less even about the edges than I imagined at the start. I learned a great deal over the 100 days though. I am thinking that I need to create a clamshell box to store it in, and also that my next 100 days will be dedicated to "progress and process in printmaking", as there are both specific projects, and a number of different skills I really want to explore...

~ 100 day stitch book project - done ~

Last night I stitched together all the pages in the correct order to assemble the book. The tab and slot construction is very clever indeed. I did most of the stitching on the machine, but closed up all the openings with hand overcasting. The more layers I had included in the areas where there were seams, the more bunchy the book became. It looks rather like a little Fjord pony.

If/when I do another stitch book project, I will be sure to choose base fabrics that are thin yet sturdy, and also not run my stitchery all the way to the edges, which should make construction slightly easier. I have no idea how the folks that used, say, denim for their base pages have managed. I also now understand the appeal of leaving the edges of the pages raw, rather than stitched and turned, though that wasn't the effect I was going for here.

Here are all twenty pages, tagged with their page numbers and laid out in the order they will be stitched together (rather than in page order) before being assembled into book form...

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	page 15	taxes done	jars to Mud Bay
2	custom Tullia daypack	shoes painted blue	recycle bin
3	page 16 and 17	shoe elastics transferred	extra plant pots
4	page 18	roses on shoe toeses	yard waste bin
5	page 19	light fixture replaced	grapes to compost
6	page 20	some ferns pruned	yard waste bin
7	stitchbook	hardy fuschia pruned	recycle bin
8	x	apple partly pruned	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I discovered today that there is a lot more depth to Terry Pratchett than silliness. This delights me and gives me a whole catalog of books to read.
2. cooler weather today, good for walking and bike riding
3. I learned a lot about design and perseverance from the 100 day stitchbook project

Time of Isolation - Day 1047

100 days gone

in which our plucky heroine sleeps in...

Woke up at sunrise, way too early and too warm, so I went ahead and put up the Reflectix in the bedroom window, took my meds, and went back to sleep. Woke up a second time much closer to lunch than to breakfast, so I must have needed it... Despite making sure that I also had enough water and balanced meals, I remained still caught in the zero motivation trap, but did manage to get some laundry and dishes done, and stitchery. Finding one of my music CD's and putting on some tunes was helpful to get me up and moving...

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~ 100 day stitch book project - day 100 ~

Day 100/100 - (page 20) Finished the final page, and now it is time to start assembling the sets into the actual book pieces. I intend to use a combination of hand and machine stitching for this step, and am considering also doing pick-stich around the edges of the pages to help them lay flatter.... stay tuned for further details

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I just love this song, ever since I first heard it back in the day...

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Found the few scraps of grey canvas leftover from making my chore jacket. Once I find the hat pattern it will be possible to check if there is enough to make a replacement hat for the grey one I lost earlier this year. I might cut out a few "project packs" of various things to sew in the future, once I finish the raincoat.

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	page 15	taxes done	jars to Mud Bay
2	custom Tullia daypack	shoes painted blue	recycle bin
3	page 16 and 17	shoe elastics transferred	extra plant pots
4	page 18	roses on shoe toeses	yard waste bin
5	page 19	light fixture replaced	grapes to compost
6	page 20	ferns pruned	yard waste bin
7	x	hardy fuschia pruned	recycle bin
8	x	apple partly pruned	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. successfully finished the 100 days of hand stitchery! Feeling right chuffed...
2. green onion bits frozen and packaged - this is an experiment, based on info in a cookbook I recently read, that rather than letting green-o's become sad in the fridge, they can be prepped and frozen instead. I had to wrap the cookie sheet with plastic lest it make the whole freezer onion-y, but once they were frozen it was easy to transfer them into a talenti tub for storage.
3. remembered to plan meals for today, which worked well and gave me better food balance.

Time of Isolation - Day 1046

you snooze you lose

in which our plucky heroine realises that she should have called earlier...

My stalwart bicycle needs a tune-up, and a number of parts replaced (new brake pads, a new rear tire, and a new chain), and my trusted local-ish bike shop is no longer in business. There is another good shop further away, so I called this morning to find out how far in advance I need to make a work appointment. Turns out that at least two weeks ahead or more (probably due to the sudden heat and sunshine wave we have had; today will be close to 90 F). I should have phoned in last week, when I first figured out that the strange sound I was hearing when I stopped was caused by my rear brake pads being completely worn down! Now I will have to wait until next week to find a way to get it over there to be looked at during their "intake hours".

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~ 100 day stitch book project - day 99 ~

Day 99/100 (page 20) - Decided that simple outline embroidery for the fox would work, as long as I chose a less busy background, so I picked out a scrap of very pale blue tinted linen. This allowed the additional benefit of simply holding it and my sketch up to the window as an informal light box, in order to pencil in the outline of the motif. I'll be finishing up the embroidery, cutting out the tall archway shape and stitching it to the page on day 100, and then it is on to actually assembling the book!

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Mt Dishmore has been undergoing geological uplift, and I need to spend a fair amount of time on excavation of the kitchen countertop... this being a direct result of my actually cooking meals...

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"Sunday Night With The Scribes", which I occasionally visit, had a Zoom workshop on "Diapering, The Prayerbook of Besozzo" last week. I was so very charmed by the source material, which has floral diaper patterns unlike any I have seen, that I tracked it down on Alibris, where I found a very inexpensive used copy. Said copy just arrived today, and truly, I cannot find whatever flaws caused the seller to mark it as only "Good". It is a small hardback book, not quite a facsimile as at 5 x 7 it is slightly larger than the original, with a velvety green cover embossed with golden floral motifs. I think it will be a good resource for scribal projects, scrolls, or perhaps even for charter designs; I am eager to dive into it.

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The weather today is more like, say, July, than is appropriate for April. I am hiding indoors from the unrelenting sunshine, and the temperature on my porch this early afternoon is over 80F. If I am good, perhaps we can return to seasonal moderation and a bit of kindly overcast, at least for a while. There is drizzle and high 60's in the forecast for late next week, and if I hustle, I just might have a raincoat by then...

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	page 15	taxes done	jars to Mud Bay
2	custom Tullia daypack	shoes painted blue	recycle bin
3	page 16 and 17	shoe elastics transferred	extra plant pots
4	page 18	roses on shoe toeses	yard waste bin
5	page 19	light fixture replaced	grapes to compost
6	x	ferns pruned	yard waste bin
7	x	hardy fuschia pruned	recycle bin
8	x	apple partly pruned	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
1. the hot weather is good for drying clothing on the clothesline
2. book ordered from Alibris arrived safely today
3. there are flowers opening on the Quinceling!

Time of Isolation - Day 1045

what does the fox say...

in which our plucky heroine does some outdoor chores and other things...

To finish cutting back the springtime grass growth, a functional extension cord is necessary to run the electric string trimmer. After finding out earlier this week that my venerable extension cord was too damaged to be safe to use any more, I decided that getting two 50 ft cords (rather than one 100 ft cord) would be my best option, and that one could be 16 gauge and the other 14. Mostly what I use the extension cord for is the electric string trimmer. I can reach the entire front yard with one 50 ft cord, but the backyard requires further length.

My thinking was that because of how very low the amperage is for the string trimmer, it doesn't need a more robust cord than 16 ga, as it only draws less than half of what the 16 ga is rated for. I can then use the larger cord when needed to extend it to the backyard, or on the rare occasion it might be needed for a power tool. (my thought about the cords re extending to the back yard was like this:

house -> 14 ga -> 16ga -> string trimmer...

(if this is not a good idea do let me know, it seemed consistent with what I understand about electricity)

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~ 100 day stitch book project ~

Day 98/100 (page 20) - Today is day 98, and I just finished embroidering the kanji for kitsune. Still haven't figured out how I'm going to create the fox motif...

Day 97/100 (page 20) ...played around with some geometric stitchery that ended up looking like a combination of blackwork and sashiko, as a way to lighten one of the darker patches on the page. I think I will then embroider a fox motif and the Japanese kanji for kitsune. which will probably take me the remaining few days...

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trying to spend a bit of time each day in the yard pruning, while it is still easy to see what needs cut away. Today I trimmed up some of the forsythia where it was starting to hang over the sidewalk, and also picked up some broken tree bits that had fallen in the backyard from neighbor trees. Looked at the apple and decided on some chunks that could be taken out to open up the interior. I want to get the side yard ferns trimmed well back in the next few days which will likely take a week of intermittent effort based on what I've done so far, before all the new growth comes in; in the summer they overhang the narrow walkway to the backyard...

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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	page 15	taxes done	jars to Mud Bay
2	custom Tullia daypack	shoes painted blue	recycle bin
3	page 16 and 17	shoe elastics transferred	extra plant pots
4	page 18	roses on shoe toeses	yard waste bin
5	page 19	light fixture replaced	grapes to compost
6	x	ferns pruned	yard waste bin
7	x	hardy fuschia pruned	recycle bin
8	x	apple partly pruned	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
1. line dried bedsheets
2. the way the light hits the green yard just as the sun is going down
3. My pal Ursel chivvied me out of my funk by sharing this goofy video of pattycake cats...

Time of Isolation - Day 1044