throwback Thursday

in which our plucky heroine is improbably warm...

This afternoon it warmed up to around 75F. Pleasant, although completely inappropriate! Wishing very much that it not be a precursor of summer. Last night the sky was a beautiful pale blue with many many horizontal streaks of pale pink clouds, and had I been somewhere other than surrounded by buildings, there would have been a photo!

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~ corkscrew hazel~

...really wish I wasn't allergic to these..

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After looking for a week, finally found the grey linen I'd set aside to patch my old pinafore. (hiding in plain sight with the other linen fabrics...) It isn't a great match any more, as the actual garment has faded over the years, but still the best I've on hand. I'm hoping to get another year or two of wear, to give me time to make a new grey pinafore.

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Used two worm gear clamps to connect long bamboo and long dowel, to finally reach the "tree rat" nest and break it apart. Wasn't easy, as reaching upwards with my neck bent far back (so as to be able to see what I was doing) made me dizzy. Seemed apparent from the debris that it was indeed much too early for babies in the nest, thankfully. A woman walking by thought I was knocking a bird nest down!! I explained that no, it was squirrels. She thought they lived in holes in the ground!

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Made it to the post office just before they closed, to mail a strip of rainbow plaid wool to Karen for a hatband. Then I decided to take the bus to the library (to pick up my books on hold) which means a long ride to the Hollywood Library in NE, as both the branch libraries on the peninsula are shut down.

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~ "One Thing To Try", Robert Hunter, 1975 ~

"...Take care of your people, get some of them fed
Hide the ones in trouble out under your bed
Keep an eye to the future, an ear to the past
After thinking it over notice nothing much lasts.

If you're in a hurry, I really go to go
If you're in a hurry, might have to find out slow
That it's one thing to try, another to fly,
You get there quicker just a step at a time,
It's one thing to bark and another to bite,
The show ain't over til you pack up at night.

Don't ever let it get the best of you
Plan what you can, let the rest shine through
Just so many angles you can possibly see
Got to figure on those and let the other ones be

Don't be out collecting more than you need
Got a lot of things growing, keep watching those seeds.
Share in December what you plant in May
If the harvest is empty, find some other good way..."

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The art store has quarter sheets of Canson Mi Tiens art paper in many colors, though all I was looking for was black. My idea is to make miniature dark sketchbooks, with miniature white art pencils from sewing marker leads. I've several artist folks who also love the tinyworld...

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five years ago:


ten years ago:

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February SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	"wing it" vest	more broach handles	recycle bin
2	tiny valentines	black keyboard covers	recycle bin
3	heartfelt ornament	turtleneck collar	squirrel nest
4	dragon garland	laptop drivers	recycle bin
5	strawberry rhubarb sauce	rainbow fibulae	yard waste bin
6	x	bucket handle	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. (alarmingly inappropriate) today was pleasantly warm...
2. Mindy's husband Larry is going to help me get my bike to the bike mechanic...
3. The last of the packets of art for the exchange arrived today

Time of Isolation - Day 1686

making and mending

in which our plucky heroine eats the frog...

well not literally, of course, but I did spend too many hours today doing admin tasks, which is one of my least favorite thing ever. (I'd even rather clean the bathroom fixtures than make phone calls) Got partway through one set of confustication, and made appointments to deal with two more. Will return to the fray tomorrow. Incremental progress is still progress.

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~ so tiny and blue ~
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On October 6th I mentioned the heraldic blue wolf enamel I had been commissioned to make, to embellish an SCA coronet, and today Cathyn sent me a photo of the completed project that it was made to decorate:

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More mending: one of my wintertime underdress/slips was becoming worn out around the seamline between the skirt and the bodice, and was also too longwaisted. Why you may ask... because I rather cobble together these underlayers from various bits and bobs on hand; this one had originally been made from a thrifted and wonderfully embroidered black jersey skirt and a thrifted black rib-knit tank top. When the tank top wore out, I tried to copy it with a different fabric, which mostly worked but had a different stretch factor. The only part of this that anyone sees is the decorative hemline extending below my everyday pinafores, the rest merely provides wintertime insulation. Folding the slip at the bodice/skirt seam let me use the serger to clean finish the new seam as I cut away the worn parts and incidentally and insignificantly shortened the whole thing by about an inch

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The two big spider plants in the south facing window have been direly in need of repotting, as for some reason they seem to push themselves up and out of the soil? (either that or they somehow consume the soil leaving themselves high and dry in midair, only tenuously connected to their roots?) Anyhow, after dinner it was time to tackle the largest of the three, and a long messy task that was, though satisfying. Now it needs to settle back and hopefully add new roots from the nodes that now are in contact into the fresh damp dirt.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ScribeTober 1	removed frost	yard waste bin
2	blue wolf enamel	prune persimmon	old light crap
3	shibori scarf	tidy walking onions	recycle bin
4	robin and holly acorn cap ornaments	string trim parking strip	yard waste bin
5	Kenya skirt	long jane waistband	-
6	x	black winter slip	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. made significant progress on the admin tasks, despite frustration
2. repotted the largest of the spider plants, and it will be able to return to its living room window home soon
3. my second round of testing (post antibiotic) came back clear of any bacteria...huzzah... buh-bye E.coli!

Time of Isolation - Day 1556

Tinyprint Tuesday and other tidbits

in which our plucky heroine didn't remember...

Yesterday was "Columbus Day", one of those "holidays" that really isn't one, except for the few folks who get a certain number of paid days off from work every year. I'd not realised it was a postal holiday, so after carefully packing a large box with jars of lemon fig port jam, and some other treats for the Mud Bay crew, and figuring out how to balance it on my bike rack, I headed out to mail it off... only to find the building locked and empty! I wasn't the only one. In the short time it took to lock up my bicycle and head for the doors, there were at least 3 other folks equally confounded.

Fortunately, today there was a sunbreak, and I was able to pedal as quickly as possible back to the post office and mail out the package. Fingers crossed it arrives safely, I did mark it "fragile" on several sides, and all the jars are well wrapped up padded with bubble wrap.

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~ incremental progress ~

With it being halfway through October, it was time to get busy finishing up the Textile Livestock miniature book...Yesterday I started printing the page strips, which are hanging up on the drying rack to cure (oil based ink cures by oxidising, which takes several days at least). Once the ink is cured the book will be glued up and bound, some for the Advent Swap, some for friends, and one for the Tansu Terrace Library.

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There are now two jars living on top of the fridge, one with ginger garlic carrot sticks, and one with cubes of beet, both covered in salt brine. The carrots appear to have begun to ferment, as there are small bubbles forming that I can see underneath the glass weight. The beet jar is not obviously doing much yet, but it is only the second day. By next Monday I am hoping for active fermentation, we shall see...

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My very first pair of "long janes" are getting rather worn, which isn't surprising since I've no memory of how long ago I acquired them in some resale shop. Hopefully they can make it one more winter, despite some incipient tatters along some of the seams. The waist elastic had stretched to the point of not quite functional, and since replacing it didn't make sense at this point, instead a quartet of snips deeply through the waistband and overlapping to create "darts" that could be sewn down with zigzag stitch tightened it all up just enough. Time to make a few new pairs of this cold weather basic...

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	ScribeTober 1	removed frost	yard waste bin
2	blue wolf enamel	prune persimmon	old light crap
3	shibori scarf	tidy walking onions	recycle bin
4	robin and holly acorn cap ornaments	string trim parking strip	yard waste bin
5	Kenya skirt	long jane waistband	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. getting the package to Mud Bay mailed out today
2. the tiny jars of veggies seem to start fermenting
3. I had an inquiry about making another enamel brooch

Time of Isolation - Day 1555

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine is feeling a bit self-indulgent...

Sometimes, there are treats. Small things that while not strictly necessary, are both useful and delightful. Expect to see some future additions to the Advent swap goody basket that will make use of new stamps and paints and ideas...

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~ very kawaii ~

I was so charmed by these Japanese stamp sets, packaged as if in slightly oversized matchboxes, that I couldn't resist... (the "enjoy the small things" stamp is just under 1" square)

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When I went to the local art store to see if they had any of the Jacquard metallic textile paint there was a "take one" box with small pieces of soft stamp carving media. Once home with my sample, and my new set of paints, I carved a Very Small fish stamp. My plan is to block print some neon tetras on scraps of black silk and make some additional tetras for the Advent swap. The fractal silliness is irresistable! Plus we had neon tetra fish in our aquarium when I was a child...

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I had been meaning to contact the awning company to find out if they had instructions for how the awnings get mounted on the exterior of the house. Yesterday I thought to search online. While there is no direct link on their website (why not??) there is a linked PDF with exactly the information I was looking for!

I really want plan to add metal awnings to the east and west windows, for sun protection. The awnings on the south windows may be original to the house, and are decades old and in excellent and useful condition. I was pleased to find the same awnings still available. I need to know how difficult the installation is, to determine how much if any help is needed.

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My fun pinafore with the cave horse stencil on the upper pocket and the reverse applique on the hemline reminding us that "time is a dressmaker specialising in alterations" is made from microwale babycord (very thin soft cotton corduroy) which is annoyingly fragile. This is the second time I have ripped the edge of the pocket trying to get my bus pass out, and this time it was not a small tear.

A more robust patch was needed, so I cut away a bit of the bottom edge of the skirt, from the layer backing the reverse applique. The removal won't be at all visible from the front. The patches around the edge of the upper pocket will be, but at least they will be of the same fabric. If I ever use such delicate corduroy again, I will be sure to reinforce the bodice pocket attachment area beforehand.  (and I will be sure to also match the nap direction, since I forgot to check first and had to undo my first half finished attempt and turn it 180°)    

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pillowcases	nut chopper handle	yard waste bin
2	yak print	elderberry harvest	big plum tree
3	tiny bell-bottoms	refurbish Felco	driveway moss
4	tiny camisole	worm bin	recycle bin
5	small pressing tools	plinth wheels	yard waste bin
6	tiny playset	corduroy pinafore	yard waste bin
7	denim hat	pruning fruit trees	x
8	lots of dolly clothes	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
1. I found a scrap of black silk, just right for my next tetra project. The little neon tetra fish should stand out well against the dark background!
2. It was wonderful to see my pal Ursel yesterday; she came by for a porch visit and also brought me some Very Small lace for my tinyfolk from Lacis in Berkeley.
3. I can give myself small treats that are just what I want

Time of Isolation - Day 1505

Monday mending and musings

in which our plucky heroine has a productive day...

Still slightly cooler weather this morning, so I once again took to my bicycle first thing. Then decided to do some yardwork chores before breakfast. I'm intending to make progress in several areas today, and will reward myself with some time carving an alpaca block for tomorrow's Tinyprint Tuesday.

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~ make do and mend~

This is the lower center front of my "horses" blouse, post transmogrification. Long ago I bought some cotton Heather Ross fabric (sometime before 2016), from which I made a blouse in 2020. Eventually (in June 2024) I reconfigured the collar and, desiring to lengthen the sleeves. bought some (what turned out to be not identical) replacement fabric  to allow for alterations. While the newer fabric doesn't match, it will work well enough for my needs, and should give me a number of additional years of use. Having finished the alterations yesterday, I tried it out on this mornings bike ride... it was perfect. The sleeves now cover my arms down to my wrists (for improved sun protection) and the natural sleeve folds that form when wearing make the extension inserts unobtrusive. For in truth, how many people look at the details of how the garments worn by passers by are constructed?

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well dang... the stain of greed, or rather, how I accidentally dropped chocolate ice cream on the front of my grey stripey dress last week, and discovered that is leaves a mark that is impossible to remove. I had tried my usual (prior to cold water laundry wash and line dry) rinse off with cold water and rub in dishes soap, and there was still quite an obvious tan stain, which subsequent attempts with vinegar, and with hydrogen peroxide have done nothing to dislodge. Ah well, the dress will no longer be wearable on its own for anytime I don't want to look scruffy, but as the sleeves and neckline are still in good condition, it will work in the winter under a pinafore, or in transitional seasons as a "work dress".

There is rather a life span of garments, which I first made sense of when I was still living in Seattle. Back then, every year I would make myself three new dresses, to wear to OCF. They were my festival and party dresses all that year, and the next year they became my everyday clothing... Eventually either the year after that, or whenever they were too damaged to be really presentable, they became "work clothes", as at that time I earned my daily bread cleaning houses. The cycle is a bit slower now, and I only make new garments for myself if a piece of my clothing wears out beyond mending, or perchance I am inspired to try something new....

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Not sure how many days it will take to tackle all the pruning, but I managed to get outside today and spent about a hour, culling apples, cutting back the lovage, and trimming some of the forsythia overhanging the sidewalk. It is really helpful to get out first thing in the morning; it is useless to wish I had more stamina, the trick is to work with what energy I have

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	4 tiny knit vests	cleaned keyboard	recycle bin
2	tiny cargo pants	pruned grapevine	yard waste bin
3	very smol Birks	horses blouse	recycle bin
4	silkworm print	some more pruning	-
5	4 reversible skirts	-	-
6	Peach tinyprint	x	x
7	8 tiny tops	x	x
8	2 tiny cardigans	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I remembered that I have a rotary cutter, and used it for the bias strips to finish the hemline of the horses blouse project. Whooot! that thing is great!! I think I need to also get a full size one, as the one I have is petite and intended for future lingerie projects.
2. I found two more jars of pickled beets in the pantry... might be enough to see me through salads during the summer heat
3. I trimmed back the lovage today, and noticed that there are some new little shoots coming. Some snippets of that will be a good celery flavored addition to potato salad; I cooked enough ingredients to make some for lunch today, and some as a side dish tomorrow

Time of Isolation - Day 1472

try-it-out Tuesday

in which our plucky heroine gets experimental...

There are a whole bunch of modest projects at various stages of their process, but nothing is completed today. And there are also some new ideas germinating...

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~ day 18 ~

two jars of jam: fig, and plum. Both ones that could have been made from the fruit that grows here at Acorn Cottage, which makes them extra appropriate!

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Remind me to not order a 2# package of (a dozen) nectarines online again... They were unripe, of course, so I put them in a paper sack (with an apple for the ethylene), and after about a week they were ripe enough to eat. A day after "about a week" some of them began to get moldy. They never keep well, being luscious but fragile, and when I buy them in shops, I only ever get one or at most two at a time.

What to do? When in doubt, get jammin'! Seemed the best option was to turn the fruit into preserves posthaste. I cut up the remaining nectarines and stirred them into a small amount of sugar, then put them in the fridge to macerate overnight. Today, I will add some lemon juice, and cook them down a bit, then put up in small jars for later on.

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~ oaken backplate~

I've been wanting a wall hook right next to the shower, so as to maximise comfort and ease. Hooks need anchored, and this one has the screw holes so close together as to preclude using wall anchors. Wall anchors are a necessity in the parts of the wallboard not directly backed with wall studs. So, as I have done in many other places and times, I thought: wood backing plate.

Then it occurred to me to make the backing plate decorative as well as functional, and I decided to cut the scrap of oak into a sort of escutcheon shape.

I've always wanted to try "ebonising" oak - turning it black using a stain created by soaking steel wool in vinegar, which can react with the tannins in the wood to change the color. It won't be done today, since it takes some time for the vinegar/steel wool preparation to be ready to use, but I am eager to see what happens! Stay tuned...

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well dang, the Heather Ross print fabric I bought online is not quite identical to the fabric of my horses blouse. The pattern motifs are the same, but the substrate is more like quilting cotton while the original fabric is more like cotton lawn. And the background color is, of course, a different "dye lot" so the blue is not a pale blue but more of a light blue. Now I'm not really sure how best to incorporate it to lengthen the sleeves... On the advice of my pal Leslie, it is going to be sent to Coventry; I've folded it up and hung it on the crossbar of the hanger with the blouse, while I wait for inspiration...

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	musk ox print	horses blouse edge	yard waste bin
2	green linen Jedi tunic	kitchen light fixture	recycle bin
3	Nandina floral dress	Luxo plug	dead box fan
4	2 tiny knit skirts	plaid flannel slip	-
5	tiny knit cardigan	-	-
6	Salish wooly dog print	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes-
1. I remembered reading somewhere about soaking rice noodles in boiling water to soften them, so I gave it a try. While they were a bit more al dente than my preference, it really helped, and was more economical than cooking them all the way on the stovetop.
2. another beautiful day today, perfect for bike riding and taking walks, and fortunately I have the ability to intersperse my day with some physical activity...
3. getting closer to the whole set of Textile Livestock prints. This week the creature is "sheep" (a classic).

Time of Isolation - Day 1440

slightly social Sunday

in which our plucky heroine spends half the day online, and also makes a tasty lunch...

Sunday is zoom day, but also time to make sure that meals happen between online meetings. I needed to use up the two eggplant bought last week, and remembered "5 flavor eggplant" that I made back in 2020... that recipe needs to come back into more frequent rotation, as it is wonderfully simple and tasty. The limiting factor is getting the right sort of eggplant. (It also freezes really well, so must needs remember that and put some by when possible.) This made a great lunch, along with some rice noodles and shrimp.

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~ day 16 ~

This just tickles my fancy, as I had a different mushroom portrait earlier in the swap on day 8. Who of my tinyfolk is fascinated by mycology?

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Given up on the box fan renewal project, since direct wiring did nothing to resurrect function. Whatever is wrong with it is beyond my ability to suss out, so sadly it has become a bin-it instead of a fix-it ...

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"5 Flavor Eggplant"
(savory, salty, sweet, sour, spicy)

about 2# long skinny eggplant 

1 tablespoon salt 

1½ tablespoon tamari 

1 tablespoon vinegar 

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 teaspoon cornstarch 

2 tablespoon oil 

+ hotness as desired

put the salt in a big bowl, add several cups of water, and then clean and cut up eggplants, tossing the bits into the bowl of salt water - I cut them first the long ways into quarters or sixths, then cut the long pieces into chunks. I try for about ¾" cubes more or less by volume, because big pieces take a long time to cook through, and undercooked eggplant is nasty.

when all the eggplant is in the bowl of salty water, it sits there for a half hour... I occasionally stir it or push the chunks around to make sure they all get drenched... you want to have enough water that they are all floating.

Meanwhile, combine the tamari, the vinegar, the sugar, and the cornstarch. Drain and dry the eggplant bits. (my current innovation is to use my salad spinner after pouring off as much of the water as I can)

In a big frying pan, heat up the oil, then fry the eggplant until it is FULLY COOKED and slightly browned. (Trust me, you want it cooked till it is SOFT, not al dente) Pour the sauce mixture over the eggplant (give the sauce mixture a good stirring up just before you pour it), and cook til thick, which will take only a few moments, because cornstarch...

At this point, I usually add some awesome sauce (spicy chili jam) but you could add a dash of tabasco, or sriacha, or whatever you prefer. The original recipe called for adding jalapeno peppers at the beginning, but that was WAY TOO HOT for me. YMMV, and the spicy aspect is entirely optional for that matter.

Truly, this recipe is almost faster to cook than to read, most of the effort is in cutting up the eggplants, and in waiting while they soak in the salty water. I had always in the past done the sprinkle the eggplant with salt, let it drain, rinse it off thing, which is a whole lot of faffing about. I had never heard of soaking them in lightly salted water, but it works really well!!

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The plaid flannel slip project is completed, after reconfiguring the skirt to have many more gores (salvaged from the midsection and replaced with stripey batik) The hemline is super twirly, so will provide plenty of room for bicycle riding; it took almost nine yards of bias tape to bind the bottom edge. While the result is somewhat alarmingly patchwork-y, most of it will remain hidden beneath my everyday garments, with only the flouncy bottom edge visible. I do like the overall effect of multiple sizes and shapes of gores and godets, so may use that in the future on some dress...

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	musk ox print	horses blouse edge	yard waste bin
2	green linen Jedi tunic	kitchen light fixture	recycle bin
3	Nandina floral dress	Luxo plug	-
4	2 tiny knit skirts	plaid flannel slip	-
5	tiny knit cardigan	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Currently the supply chains more or less work, and I have food and things needed on hand or mostly available.
2. The scent of summer jasmine, on my early morning walk today, I turned down an alleyway just following my nose, and there it was...
3. Iceberg lettuce... while a lot of folks like to bash it as flavorless, to me it was not only the every day supper salad green of my childhood, but it is also a sweet, mild, and crunchy treat on frequent occasions nowadays.

Time of Isolation - Day 1438

some very small sushi and other tiny treats

in which our plucky heroine opens gifts...

Today is the start of the "countdown to the summer solstice miniature swap"... (or "twenty days that start with a dopamine hit"). It is such fun to have a little surprise to unwrap every morning, and the denizens of Tansu Terrace are also looking forward to finding out what will become new additions to their lifestyles

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~ Day 1 & 2 ~

some agateware style plates, and an assortment of sushi: salmon nigri and norimaki rolls... a tasty dinner for my tiny friends! (penny for scale)

a pair of ceramic mugs... most excellently, their handles are just the right size to hang from the hooks of the farmhouse plate rack. I added some minor adaptations to the Ann Wood tutorial, for extra "cup hooks" made from sewing notions.

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Yesterday after a stop at TJ to pick up some almonds, it seemed like a good idea to check for a light fixture supplies at A-Boy. Much to my surprised pleasure, in the replacement parts section they had a decorative glass shade like the one I had seen online, and on the other side of the aisle, just the sort of simple ceiling fixtures ditto. So I was able to buy the needed parts right away, though carrying them home in a box on the bus was a bit awkward.

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Today's sewing task, working on the Star Wars cosplay tunic alteration and starting on the summertime replacement in green linen. I've also been repairing one of my blouses, the light blue one with horses on it (fabric designed by Heather Ross). The front edge of the shawl collar was being problematic, so I have cut it down to a better shape, recurved the center back neckline, and added a Very Narrow blue grey bias binding patterned in tiny irregular dots. So narrow as to need handstiched down, but it looks quite tidy. I am thinking about ordering a small piece of additional yardage, and making the sleeves full length instead of ¾ length.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	horses blouse edge	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. The gentlemen clerks at A-Boy are really helpful with my uninformed queries. This may be because I show up there at a time when there are not very many other customers. Still, I very much appreciate it.
2. The internets let me know that the pretty unknown-to-me flowering tree I saw while out for a walk is a "Pink Chimes" Styrax japonica...
3. Dinner tonight was delicious, a sort of faux hash: steamed taters, some sauteed onion, and chopped up bits of corned beef slices that were in deep freezer stash from maybe two or three years ago. Also steamed broccoli. And a few spoonfuls of some caraway beet sauerkraut.
4. Once I gather the .pages content from the file folder, my online friend Lisanne is willing to convert them to PDF files so I can read them. I suspect that there are other pieces of Mom's writing in there, but it is all unreadable on a PC...

Time of Isolation - Day 1424

spackle is my friend

in which our plucky heroine makes an assortment of small steps forward...

The last three days saw various home improvements begun or completed. Assorted wall damage has been spackled. A long ago memory surfaced, and indeed, instead of sanding and sending dust everywhere, a damp nylon scrubber, or even a sponge can be used carefully instead to smooth rough edges.

Forged iron brackets are no longer in the hardware box, but on the wall in the bathroom and utility room and now hold a candle lantern and the "octopus" drying rack.

Between working on housey tasks, there was a bit of indoor gardening and handcraft. The green onion ends that have been sprouting in a jar of water next to the kitchen sink are now planted in a self watering pot with some actual potting soil. During some of the weekends zoom meetings I cut out and glued together two of the tiny fairyland books from the box that Arlys gave me; I will be passing those on to Julia, along with a few other miniature treats - she just sweetly sent me a string of miniature LED lights she found, they have 6 modes and an AA battery pack. After chatting with Kestrel on Saturday, I started on the requested three hats for her tinyfolk. I will be using the same witch hat pattern I used for Nandina and Almandine, but found a Latvian Braid tutorial I like better

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~ day 8 ~

some days are more inspired than others...
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This weekend I started to repair the back wall in the utility closet. There was formerly a wire closet shelf, which the heat pump installers removed, but the hooks for it were still there. I thought "oh, I will unscrew the fasteners, and even if there are still wall anchors, those might be useful" But... the hooks weren't attached to wall anchors, they were put in place with some dreadful expanding bolts that simply spun round and round without loosening. So I tried to lever them out.

Now there were two 1½" holes in the wall. Fortunately I had already figured out that if I glue some linen gauze over not too large holes the gypsum board, it is possible to then use regular patching compound, as it gives a kind of key for the compound to attach to. I did this to repair the hole left over from moving the thermostat, and it worked well. These holes in the closet wall are higher than anything needs attached, so just getting them closed in is all that is needed.

Once the patching is completed, at some point (when the weather is warmer!) I will probably re-paint the inside of the utility closet and sort through what had been stored there; I'm thinking that one of the Ikea shoe storage units hung on the open wall will be a tidier way to store the canning rings, and the vacuum bags and accessories, and whatever other cleaning and household tools make sense to store there.

One thing I already did was to re-install the octopus "drying rack" with a new forged bracket. Now things like socks and delicates can again hang dry while out of the way and out of sight.

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While it isn't yet time to actually sort and declutter the first aid, toiletries, and dental care items, I've made a start on improving the bathroom. As the smallest room in Acorn Cottage, with a limited set of what belongs there, it is the best place to begin.

A very small fix was to finally paint the wooden frame of the water tiger collage. All the other framed art has black frames, and now this one matches. I had to do a bit of spackling to smooth out some of the dings the frame picked up over the years decades, but that was easy. When I thought to also add another forged hanging bracket for the candle lantern, it meant moving the "frogsong" shadowbox over to the art wall, as it would be behind the lantern. In the spirit of washing the car to make it rain, I am setting up the candle lantern to ensure we don't lose power during the forecast snow, ice, and Very Cold temperature; the bathroom here has no window, and hence no natural light at all. I've been meaning to add a wall bracket for the lantern for absolutely ages!

And finally, the RÅSKOG storage cart and TRONES hinged wall storage have been ordered from Ikea, and will be delivered in about a tenday. This will allow time for sorting, the contents of the wooden cabinet, the breadbox, the medicine cabinet, and the linen closet shelf

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All the pieces for the new teal knit top have been cut out ready to sew, save for the criss-cross wrap turtleneck piece, since I still need to work out the pattern piece for that. It was a treat, though, to look in my drawer of thread cones, and find that there were four cones of dark turquoise, just right for all the teal sewing I have in mind - pinafore, shirt, knit top, and petticoat.

I do want to finish all of the Star Wars Jedi cosplay sewing commission first, before making garments for me. Saturday Tullia came over to try on the toile for the Jedi tunic, and a good thing that was; the person who took her measurements wasn't exactly accurate, and we needed to change the length by a whole hand width. The undertunic "dickey" and the obi/sash are both done save a few snap fasteners need sewn in place. The tunic and the tabard pieces are next up, now that I have confidence that the pattern I worked out will fit her.

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January SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Jedi obi sash	reinstall octopus	-
2	Jedi underlayer	hang candle lantern	-
3	2 tiny books	paint tiger frame	-
4	-	patch closet holes	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. ordered hinged storage bins and utility cart from Ikea, and ordered undershelf desk light from Home Despot, as part of my improve the living spaces project. I've been wanting this upgrade for ages.
2. Past Me cleverly ordered a set of serger thread cones in "dark turquoise" so I am all set for sewing teal clothing for me. Yay for color!
3. Julia sent me a 6 mode battery powered strand of miniature LED lights - just the thing for Tansu Terrace!

Time of Isolation - Day 1285

throwback Thursday, tunes, and the gifts of the Quinceling

in which our plucky heroine picks out an old memory...

A long, long time ago, long before any of these* songs**, a little girl sat on the side of the hill behind the house, the hill that was such fun to roll down, the hill with the apple tree at the top, with the tire swing. One of her parents had showed her that if you wrote the year (1961) down on a piece of paper, you could turn it upside down and it would read the same. There aren't very many numbers that do that, and it made a memory that stayed.
I remember it still, the sky back then will be blue forever, and the world still full of amazing things. I remember thinking about how old I would be when the years turned from 19-- to 20-- and how very old that seemed, much older than my young parents were then. Now when I think of that, my throat gets tight, and my eyes tear a bit, and I am grateful beyond all words that there was a time when I sat safe on the grassy bright hill and marveled at the wonder of numbers and time...

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After reading Elf Dog and Owl Head, which Ariadne mentioned was bedtime reading for Kestrel, and after seeing the very inspiring Instagram video that Salley Mavor posted of making the Mongolian pony for her "My Bed" picture book, it occurred to me that I could make a brooch of Elphinore (the Elf Dog) for Kestrel... I have been making sketches in my bujo of various dog poses, and tracking down felt, pipecleaners, floss, and pin backs. There will probably also be one for me, because I need a new assortment of brooches for my current and future hats.

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During a break between the rain showers, I picked almost all of this years crop of quinces, which turned out to be 22.5 pounds*. Quite wonderful, considering that the tree was only planted five years ago! The largest one of the bunch, seen here, was 1.25 lbs all by itself. The plan is to turn them into quince paste, and some quince jelly, as I did last year.
* 2 earlier quinces were added last week to blackberry jelly, so the total amount was probably just a bit more

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Very clever Past Me bought an extra furnace filter last year! Since a frost advisory has temps tonight forecast down near freezing, I decided it might be time to turn on the furnace. Which means also giving the accessible parts a clean, and replacing the filter. Since it takes a size not available from the local hardware shop, I was all "Oh no, I will need to order one online... and then I looked to see if there was any useful substitute in the closet where I keep the ones for fire season and lo and behold, in the back was one for the furnace! (I am still going to order a backup filter now anyway, because if I did something smart and repeatable, repeating in again would be smart!

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... here's a bit of tuneful delight ...

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After backing the patchwork coverlet with the space ship flannel sheet, there was a bit of excess flannel left over, just enough to make a few small pillowcases. My buckwheat hull neck rolls were most in need, and it is lovely to have some new fluffy flannel as a change from the black rose pair, which are so very venerable that their nap is almost completely worn away. 

I also took some time to cut down and hem the edges of the opening of the duvet cover, and sew snaps to the edges to hold it closed. This is a more functional solution than my previous idea of simply folding the "tubular" opening flap inside when in use, which never worked well. I'll be making a second duvet cover later this winter, as Beth and Karen brought me yards of navy flannel. (there may be enough for a new bathrobe as well, which would be welcome)

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 jars applesauce	AC taken in for winter	my favorite hat :(
2	leather work gloves	hat toile xp3	yard waste bin
3	10 tiny books	prune arborvitae	some grapes
4	Corsi Rosenthal box	assemble Luggable	recycle bin
5	4 jars blackberry quince	snaps on duvet cover	yard waste bin
6	Ethiopian spice blend	picked quinces	recycle bin
7	spaceship pillowcases	x	yard waste bin
8	x	x	recycle bin
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 backup furnace filter bought last year
2. central heating (of a sort...) and little oil filled electric radiators, which between them both, can keep the house at a tolerable temperature.
3. there is plenty my memory neglected (and neglects) to keep filed, some things it does save are well worth remembering.

Time of Isolation - Day 1213

*


**

Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine has a busy week here at Acorn Cottage...

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Thursday I completed the long delayed project of installing the LED rope light along the ceiling above my front porch ramp. It took rather a great deal of "figure it out" all out of proportion to the finished effect, but I am pleased nonetheless. And it means I no longer have all those feet of rope light hanging from the closet rod. I may be slow, but I eventually get things done. There are 18 cable clamps holding up the lighting, which meant 36 individual trips up and down the stepladder, once each to predrill the pilot hole, and once each to actually screw the clamp to the ceiling, once I had threaded all the clamps onto the rope light strand.

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~ hand craft ~

About a quarter of the way done with hand stitching a pair of leather gloves, for doing yardwork, so I won't keep tearing up my hands. They will fit my stumpy little fingers, which readymade gloves never do. This I've been meaning to do this ever since I took an SCA workshop on how to make a pattern for gloves... These, made from salvaged pigskin, with seams on the outside, are very "rustic". If I could purchase gloves that fit me, I wouldn't need to do this, but having work gloves with fingers that end where mine do, instead of a cm or two beyond, will allow for much greater dexterity

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My sister sent me two kitchen surprises this week - a box of pre-cut 4" rounds of parchment paper, and a bottle of Fiori di Sicilia (exotic flavoring oils) both which were used for making an improved plum torte. I can't quite describe the flavor, other than that it adds a depth and complexity that tastes "special". I did change up the recipe a bit, switching to some light brown sugar along with the white, and adding ¼ tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp almond extract, and 6 extremely tiny drops of Fiori di Sicilia dripped from the end of a toothpick. Oh, and I left off the lemon juice/cinnamon/sugar. Much tastier torte...

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~ oh darn it ~

Sister Gigi's dog chewed glove, along with the gradient assortment of mending/darning wool I ordered. I am pleased that there are several different medium grey yarns; one or the other of the central grey skeins is probably the best match of the seven. It should be fairly unobtrusive to knit up the thumb, once the extra tiny knitting needles arrive here. It will be a challenge for certain!

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	11 jars of Awesome Sauce	prune grapevine	yard waste bin
2	3 jars applesauce	pick up windfalls	yard waste bin
3	title tinyprint	more windfalls	recycle bin
4	1 jar apricot preserves	xp2 sunhat toile	yard waste bin
5	7 pints applesauce	cut back ferns	yard waste bin
6	rainbow panova	porch light fixture	recycle bin
7	2# dried pears	2 tiny glove darns	x
8	8 pints applesauce	x	x
9	5 jars Awesome sauce	x	x
10	+ 6 more jars of Awesome	x	x
11	+ 7 jars of Awesome	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I was much amused when I realised the noises I was hearing from behind the former daycare fencing were not human kids, but young goat kids! As I discovered when I put my eye to a gap in the fence boards.
2. improved plum torte
3. it might be the last of the line dried bedding, given the time of year, but I am very much enjoying the scent of my nice clean duvet cover.

Time of Isolation - Day 1188

make and mend

in which our plucky heroine has taken up afternoon napping...

I am not sure why this is becoming a thing, other than perhaps as a counterpart to the waking up at first light. But if that means I can continue to keep the house fairly cool during these heat advisory alerts, I will put up with the falling asleep at around 3pm...

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~ Pelican regalia ~

I spent all my functional two-handed time yesterday building the setting and setting the enamel. By the time it was complete, I was done, at least done with all the tasks that needed both my hands. I am really happy with how this one turned out, and so was C when she came to pick it up this morning...

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Today we managed to get the zoom room to work, and I was able to have a bit more than a half hour video visit with Mom... She was more conversationally engaged than the last time we chatted which gave me good feelings. She was happy to hear that I will be visiting her in the future. Also when I phoned in a bit earlier to try and connect with Bethany, the person who answered the phone (not Bethany) said she knew who my mom was, and that they all liked her.

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Back in 2015 I made a grey popover summer dress, which I loved dearly and wore often. Eight years is a good long lifespan for a rayon garment, and earlier this year the fabric under my daypack strap zone became completely abraded. There was plenty of fabric still left in the lower half of the dress that large patches could be cut to replace the outer edges of the upper half to down below the worn away bits, and my hope and intention is to get a bit more wear from it as a popover top (to be worn under or over a pinafore)

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Finally sorted out the paperwork issues for my medical supplies. Only took two weeks of my making almost daily phone calls to the pharmacy and my PCP clinic. The pharmacy manager now knows me by name. Fortunately we manage to laugh about the dreadful and ridiculous topsy turvy issues to sort things like this out, and fortunately the prescription that was bollixed was not one that was mission critical, just somewhat challenging to do without.

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Pelican enamel	many apples thinned	recycle bin
2	Pelican setting	grapevines cut back	yard waste bin
3	-	backyard mowed	recycle bin
4	-	side yard mowed	-
5	-	grey popover mended	-
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. persistence and humor in the face of gummint paperwork
2. the Pelican is off on its journey to July Coronation - I don't go to the event, but my handicraft does
3. ice cubes, and a chest freezer to keep them frozen and keep making more

Time of Isolation - Day 1116

sedate Sunday

in which our plucky heroine makes slow progress...

The renaming of chores as "care tasks" does begin to shift how I think about them, and how ready I am to spend time on them... Managed to get the rest of the laundry done and put away, and even tackled a bit of mending long put off. The pile of things on the futon have all been dealt with, the bed mode returned to couch mode, and the small bedroom is has a bit more space to turn around in. It is now easier to reach the window to deploy the box fan as well.The rest of the day seemed to be gone in the blink of an eye, but many days feel like that.

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The do one quilt square per day is now just over ⅛ of the way towards completion. Yesterday instead of sewing a square, I counted all the cut out pieces of fabric, and yes, there are enough. I will have to do a small amount of laying out of the square ahead of sewing them together, so as to avoid having multiples of the same fabric in one place. I prefer the prints to be more evenly distributed, but that will not be too dreadfully difficult. If it ends up needing some few extra squares of indigo/blue fabric, that won't be a problem either!

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I started knitting the wool cardigan this weekend, even though it is summertime, since I need to have a fidget project for working on during online meetings. And I am glad I went to look at my initial sketch, since I started it differently!  But I had only done three rows, so easy to start over... The original pattern has the body and the front button band all in one piece. With my design idea, the button band will be added at the end, after an accent band in the "Lagoon Heather" aka teal Lettlopi.

Because this is mostly just garter stitch, and is knit sideways, there won't be a huge mass of knitting in my lap, despite that there is quite a bit of just plain knitting back and forth and back and forth. While I slowly make progress on this, I can mull over how I want the stripey sleeves to look, and how to construct them so as to join smoothly into the body. There will be math involved, but only just simple knitters arithmetic...

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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	striped turtleneck neck	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 LOTS of supplies for making things
2. It was pleasantly cool this morning
3. I had a bit of a porch visit earlier this week with Kat and Grendel, when she came to pick up the small enamel I finished for her.

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.