Self care and other ideas

Taking care of your own health is a great resistance move, and cooking from scratch is part of it. It's also a pleasure, and that's important too.

So, now that I have the coconut milk and ginger in the house, I finally did the curried chickpea recipe from Yeung Man Cooking.

 

Most of the spices you see here, with their containers ranged around them to explain, go into the dish at once, so I measured them onto this small plate. Then they all got tipped in together, with the tomatoes, left from a tomato cheese egg bake, chickpeas and eventually spinach.

In the fifteen minutes simmering, I did the cleanup, mainly putting away spices.

I had this as is, but you can use rice or orzo as a base, or use naan to make sure of all the liquid.  I might do that with the other two meals I'll get from this recipe.

I soon have to make more red chili oil, since I've almost used my supply.

And, if you need encouragement, who doesn't, here's a lovely source 

I get her regular emails. They're for everyone, you don't have to be Jewish!  And they're calming and centering. 

Today I messaged both my senators and House member, to ask for pressure against the current seizing of funding sources affecting everything the Treasury pays out, and the attempted closing of USAID. 

I also messaged a couple of members of the appropriate Senate Committee, Finance, see if yours is there

Anyone can do this,  though most members of Congress can only respond to constituents, but messaging and calls are noted.

And now I'm knitting and reading and breathing.

I'm planning on a walk today, as far as I can manage.  I wonder if any spring shoots are showing yet. I must check. 

Back from the walk, and look at these worlds of lichen and mosses, around the tree that's been here since way back when this was farmland.

I found a few branches to force in water and see what happens. I couldn't reach any dogwood though, trimmed pretty high. So we'll see what I have, maybe cherry.

Here I'm hammering the ends to allow for capillary action when they're in water

And now we can admire the shapes and wait to see what happens.

Happy day, everyone, it's okay to laugh even in scary times.  And to remember where we sit in the scheme of things.

This can work an alternative to the inclusive Pride flag. In case you wondered.

Hanging in there, creating Plan B, Candlemas Day, also groundhog

this is the official religious observance, The Feast of the Purification, and I expect it's another borrowing from folk tradition. 

As in Candlemas Day, when you could throw all your candles away, metaphorically, meaning the daylight in the Northern hemisphere is visibly lengthening. And no doubt the groundhog will forecast six more weeks of winter, what a  surprise!

On the raisin bread front, I tried to phone Gary to check if he'd like some raisin bread, couldn't get through, voicemail full as usual, so I just left a container with a couple of slices at his door. With instructions to toast, butter, enjoy.

Later he called, very anxious, not home yet,  worried about me, he'd been on a conference call, was I okay? I explained, and he was hugely relieved, and happy about the bread.  It seems he's always thinking disaster when my name shows up on his phone! I need to make it more balanced, I think. I don't want to call only when I need something.

I'm going to make this recipe again, with more AP flour mixed with the whole wheat, to lighten it a bit. It's very good, but I'd also like a lighter version. Not the air-filled stuff you buy, though.

So it's possible my social security, main income source, may be at risk in the latest power grab. I'm working on a Plan B, which I'll talk about with Handsome Son when he visits this week. This isn't how I planned to spend my last years, but one day at a time, one foot in front of the other.

Meanwhile, my sock is progressing.

On the plastic weaving front, I'm continuing to cut up bags as they appear, and I've found a good piece of cardboard for a loom -- the latest Misfits box, opened -- and I'll soon warp it with cotton warp, and get to work. I'm going to cut up other food bags, too, those recloseable ones that also pile up, to incorporate.  Resistance weaving! Recycling ftw!

Special request, and this really is for a friend,  since I don't  do ice: if you use Yaktrax, what model do you recommend? There used  to be just one, now there are multiple confusing designs. Speak up if you know, thank you for your service.

Happy Groundhog  day, everyone, but without the repeats.

Another joint presentation of NERS and TMASC, silk artworks

This is a presentation of a collector's personal treasures of silk and cotton purses, caps and robes from nineteenth century Lebanon and Aleppo.

The small purses are tapestries, cotton warp, silk weft, with slits in the designs. I've seen slits in the Unicorn tapestries, also part of the design. 

The tapestries, like  earlier European ones are woven vertically but with the design arranged horizontally. This enables some effects such as curves, to avoid steps showing in the image.

Purses shown here in use by men and women from both major religious communities.

The purse shape is used for slippers and caps, too, ingenious making

Here's how the weaving is oriented in relation to the design

Resistance work!  Textiles have always been in the resistance movements.

Here's a shopping street and an interior showing artisan made goods

I think the stringed instrument is an oudh, open to correction on that

men were typically the weavers, while women, as you saw earlier,  processed the silk fibers

These three images are just right if you sew and want to make a cloak.  I included them in case you fancy trying your hand.

Closeup showing tapestry with slit design features

This was a nice presentation. The speaker pointed out that right now much of this area is a war zone, so we don't know if artisans are still able to function, but we hope.

Happy day, everyone, and I hope this little interlude with beautiful textiles was a respite from the stress of the day.