Finally, bread, Tuesday knitting group, Textiles and Tea

The endless cold rainy weather finally pushed me to making bread. Yesterday's soup, of tomatoes, chicken and chickpeas, in a broth of chicken and dandelion greens, needed an accompaniment.

So here's whole-wheat, AP and chickpea flour, big loaf to cut into four, three now in the freezer. 

It's got great flavor and you see a nice dense texture. The crust is crisp, not hard. This is so much better than the bread I bought for several weeks till I got my baking mojo back. One slice is as satisfying as a couple of the air filled shop loaves, even though they were wholegrain with seeds and good stuff.

This is helping with my current struggle with being a civilian again, no medical people hovering and advising and encouraging, neighbors off high alert.  There's a lonely re-entry phase and it's not easy. 

The drama's over, things are pretty smooth, and all the people have gone away again. I wonder if old people who often consult doctors are in need of personal attention as much as medical guidance.  Anyway, I knew there would be a letdown and it's here. 

It's made room to be more distraught about the endless bad political news, so I need a new coping strategy. I'll let you know if I find one. 

Activism I always have, and here's where I remember to say thank you to readers, particularly new and helpful commenters. 

You are more important to my mental health than you know. Much more, particularly the good humored people, who, despite their own struggles, are still generous enough to encourage me.

I continue to be a bit accident prone, in the style of the Three Stooges. Today's feat: I managed, while rinsing a cup, to aim about a pint of water up my bathrobe sleeve, then when I looked down at it, it poured back over my feet. So by seven am I'd already changed to a second, dry, robe and socks.  This wasn't the coping strategy I had in mind.

But this sustaining lunch was a good step 

Cod baked with butter, salt and black pepper, with fresh apricots, celery including clippings of foliage from the celery heart growing in the kitchen.

Today's Tuesday knitting group was my reentry! Welcomed back by old friends, and there were three new people all wanting to learn. So, our usual great teacher absent on family business, two of us heroically offered to teach crochet. They were all adept and it was a fun session.  So good to be back.

In the foreground, my crocheting staggers on

Lovely stitch pattern for a headband.

In between learning and showing, talk ranged over antique dolls, garage sales, Indian embroidery, grandchildren, weather, flying with knitting needles, the Dollivers, "Amelie", and more. 

Then home to  Textiles and Tea with Johanna Norry,  who works in collaborative and solo weaving,  with photography, examining personal and social history.  She's a professor of textiles with degrees both in textiles and anthropology.

two collaged family photographs of the same people, different times

A relative whose figure was described more than the crime she was accused of, a social commentary.

This is an indigo painted piece, woven ikat style

here's one of my favorite techniques, clasped weft, dramatic results but simple in execution, a collaborative pair.

This is a cross stitch selfie, 6" x4", with about 100 hours of work in it. She designed it with an app then stitched the result.

here are photographs of her daughter and her, woven together and paired with a collaged weaving

Happy day, everyone. Mine certainly was.

Sunday, Sunday...

I've had better days than yesterday. 

I realized I really have to replace my three bathroom faucets, over 30 years old and builder's standard. 

They're all getting difficult to turn, corroding, generally aged out. They're not leaking, which is why I haven't rushed to fix them. Then I checked the price for even modest replacements and the potential plumber's bill.  About three times my estimate. 

I want to hire a plumber because local friends have done enough lately, also I've done better with an expensive plumber than with willing but less experienced friends. I can't do the contortions required myself though it's not that skilled.  Soooo, big sigh...

Then while I was moaning about this I thought I'd melt some butter in the microwave for pancakes. I'd made a little supply of strawberry sauce with the last of the strawberries getting overripe. So pancakes with strawberry s. seemed like a good idea. Melting butter is part of the recipe. So I did, using the same butter, dish, cover, everything as usual.

Whereupon the microwave literally shot flames out. I unplugged and checked the back, and found the panel completely blackened, oops, could have been a fire. I also found the label saying this appliance was made in 1995. Another 30 years of service coming to a close. 

Now I have a heavy thing to dispose of if I can lift it. And I'm deciding on whether I need to replace it or whether a different appliance might be good, or whether a new replacement would last long enough to be worth it.

Hippolyta is a bit achy this morning, lack of walking because of rain, and I was about to reheat my rice bag then remembered that was one handy use for a microwave. Ah.

So I posted a request on Freecycle, my usual shopping outlet. That's where I got the current microwave, many years ago, in excellent condition from a nonprofit whose staff used it to reheat lunches and tea. Their boss gave them an upgrade and they Freecycled the perfectly fine as-new one.  

All this is so first world compared to what a lot of my countrypeople are enduring. But I think a brief whine is okay now and then.

And there's Foyle. Last evening I watched  the anthrax episode. At least I don't have anthrax. And I didn't burn down Notre Dame, nor throw a military snoozefest in the rain.  So there's that.

Happy day everyone, cold rain here again. The flowers like it, good for them.  And there's a sparrow out there breakfasting on little bits of pancake leftovers.

And the first daylily came out yesterday, among the lavender 

I think these are seedpods from the vetch growing all over. Officially a weed, I like it, along with day flowers, various creeping viny things, bittercress,  sorrel, with which I'm blessed. This used to be farmland and it still supports all the plants that used to drive farmers mad.

I think I'll make soup today. Mid June and soup weather, doesn't seem to compute. But I have stock and chicken bones, so I can see a tomato chickpea soup in my immediate future.  And crisp tofu katsu sticks maybe.

When life hands you lemons, make chicken soup sez Ted and Big Ursy. And it's Bloomsday, and I finally did finish reading Ulysses. 

Yesterday millions showed up, thank you!

Tragedy in Minnesota, and triumph in many places, No Kings Day was a day of contrasts. Thank you everyone who was on the right side of history. And especially thank you to Minnesotans who still turned out, refusing to be terrorized out of their right to protest.

Somewhere here in this crowd is blogista Chris! For red Idaho, this is massive. And with great signs. Meanwhile the man who would be king had a quiet day, tanks squeaking down empty streets.

Yesterday we had torrential rain most of the day, and I made this, comfort food.

Baked tomatoes, cheese, baby bellas,  capers and aqua faba. On toast, it was about right for the weather and my needy mood. No idea what to name it.

Back at the lookout, Ted has recruited Big Ursy as a bodyguard, complete with pussy hat from the last time we were in this fight. 

Good morning, everyone! Happy day, let's keep up the pressure and the hope. Just for today I'm being low-key. But first, check this out on YouTube. It's the Chicks.

Briefly, love the moment

Yesterday evening, my honorary Indian daughter made a sudden welcome visit, because she found herself in the neighborhood,and we had a wonderful catch-up about her family and job and mutual friends.

She never arrives empty handed, and brought a bag of chocolate and Indian mangoes, the best.

And her visit reminded me that we need to enjoy and celebrate every moment we have.

Earlier I'd made Food for Fortitude 

Cod baked with butter and capers,  wilted spinach and an apricot sauce.  We need this kind of food in parlous times.

And there's nature, the lavender blooming at the door 

And the yellow wood sorrel undeterred by mowers because it blooms too low under the blades to be cut down. 

There are lessons all over here which I won't insult our communal intelligence by underlining.

Be safe. Do what's right today. March in spirit or in person. We're worth it.

Workout, Misfits and Wodehouse

Thursday morning was about watering the flower seedlings then free weights and standing exercises, a whole bank of both, 5lb each hand, 6lb each leg, then stretches, finishing with a walk.  

When I first got back into leg weights, I thought at first I hadn't put equal amounts into each sleeve. My left leg was so much weaker than the right, after surgery, that I know thought I'd put too much weight on it. Now they feel pretty much equal, so I must have gained strength.

After all that exertion, a rest with a few  minutes with a heating pad, and lunch of tuna mashed potatoes,  I was hardly able to stay awake for Misfits.

I managed it, and this is where I realize I lost track of time and forgot to order eggs and yogurt before the ordering window closed. Also cheese.

But I will survive, with cod, maybe battered, and maybe with tomatoes and olives in some sort of southern French invention. The tomatoes will also work with the available cheese and eggs in a bake.  

The apricots will make a sauce or a preserve thing, and the strawberries need no help. This week it's Envy apples, there being no Gala available. The fruit is so beautiful it's amazing that it's  sold at a discount for size, too big or small, or surplus. 

Coffee has become a vital early morning need, a simple Melitta pour over.

So that's Thursday, followed by a rest. 

A bit hot in the afternoon on the deck, near 90. But happy day everyone, whatever your weather.

I stayed out a while, then came in and dozed until teatime, chocolate pudding, strawberries and a pot of tea. I needed light relief from all that's going on and went for 

That did the trick.

In other protest news, there's a Not My King protest at the Trooping the Color event in London 

It seems that people who have a king don't want him and people whose current situation arose from rebelling against a king also don't want one. Bad time for kings. Maybe a different career path is indicated.