Fall walking, equinox flowers, hat thoughts

Saturday was about picking up library books, sleeping while reading, indoors and out, going to bed early, before 11 pm, and sleeping till 7. Sunday reaped the benefit. 

The luxury of being able to rest when you need to. After the caregiving years, I'll never take it for granted. And after the shenanigans with Helen Hip, and the grace of Hippolyta, I still marvel at just walking.

The sock advances, and I'll finish it today. The yarn and needles are a bit mismatched, but I hope it's all smoothed out when I steam press.

There's going to be a narrow band of the blue at the top of the ribbing.

On the subject of making things, I'm back thinking about a wide brimmed hat. Again. I've been thinking for years about this hat. No rush. I wear a tatty old straw one in sun, the one whose shadow you saw the other day,  and it's a shape I can model a pattern on.

So first I thought why not use some of that striped linen I showed you a while back. It's washed and needs to be pressed.

Then I thought what about the batik I made a favorite skirt of,  browns with a repeating leaf shaped design. I have a length of it hanging in a doorway, plenty to use.

Then I thought since it will need a stiffening lining,  which I can find, I could get some milliner's wire for the brim. Then I thought why not use the current hat as the base and just cover it with the batik.  

Then I thought why not do that and use the paper pieces I'll create as the pattern to make a second hat from the striped linen, stiffening the doubled brim with rows of stitching. 

And maybe even a third hat from cream unbleached muslin lined with dark green design sari silk, both of which I already have.

That might be where I go. I wasn't sitting like Rodin's thinker, lost in thought for ages. This entire rumination lasted maybe a couple of minutes.  It's how I roll.

Between reading and the Sock 'n Glove Ministry, and hat making, I may have designed my fall interests.

In other news, I took a different walk on Sunday,  further, brisker, because it's cool enough now, along the park path, through part of the park in case there's any fall color yet.  Not quite yet.

There were basketball players, a family at hitting practice with a cricket bat, and kids dribbling a soccer ball.

Home through another development, with newly planted trees. 

All the developments around here have grass everywhere to walk on, so you're never stuck with sidewalk unless you choose to be. I did use the sidewalk when I needed a cane, but now I can navigate the bumpy grass. 

And everywhere, flowers 

The zinnias are fading but marigolds and chrysanthemums are blooming away.

Back home I brought in a hanging basket from outside and moved a philodendron into it in the kitchen.  This is where the grabber stick came in handy, to slip the hanger hook over the bracket. No climbing involved. 

I plan to repot it and cut it back to get more growth going. I like the  structure though, and it will cast great shadows.

Happy day everyone, flowers all round, sez 

Ted and Big Ursy 

Taking a day off

No problems, just tired and needing a day off.  Happy Equinox Eve.

Back soon.

Beauty break, and reading

Here's a quilted piece I'm showing you with the permission of the maker, on Spoutible,  because it's a great handling of color and color progression

Just enjoy it! I could talk color theory but let's not. Just let it work on you. She's a gifted artist in quilting, and I thank her for permission to show you.

Friday morning I spent more time than I expected to on the Yeung Man Cooking recipe, 30 minute curried lentils.

 Here's the cast of characters, with substitutions. No red chili oil, so I used the same quantity of that fiery Indian condiment Gary's neighbor sent recently, no coconut cream, so I used Greek yogurt. No spinach so I omitted it. No basmati rice so I used brown.

No red lentils, so I used brown. None of it mattered, because it's strongly seasoned and  came out well.

It's a great meal but you really have to be in the mood for all the stages. Even I, usually dauntless, was a bit daunted once under way with baking the tofu, rinsing and cooking the rice, rinsing the lentils, dicing onions and mincing the garlic and hot pepper, and toasting the seeds.  Yes, did I mention crushing the cardamom pods..

I also served it differently, with the curried mixture over the rice instead of beside it.

I definitely like his idea of adding crushed cardamom pods to the rice. Very aromatic,and they come to the surface, so you can easily find and remove them.

Anyway this was good, despite many stages, and I'll do it again. Meanwhile this is enough for several meals. I like knowing I have dinner ready before I even get up in the morning.

I'm reading several books at once now and this one has eclipsed the others

It's a wonderfully written journey, head to toe, of the landscape of the human body, by a medical practitioner in several fields who is also conversant with the history of medical practice.

When I was studying life drawing I often thought that the human body was like a landscape, with hills, valleys, folds and intersections. This book reminds me very much of that experience. He's respectful of patients as well as of the mechanisms of the organs.  

One of his most stunning chapters is about the eye and how it processes light traveling across the universe in nano seconds to illuminate what we're reading.

Pretty good, but less exciting, is

A recommendation from Susan Hill as being in the style of Barbara Pym. Older widowed woman, living in a hotel happily, helping sort out, or interfere in, the lives of younger family members and a former lover. 

 It's okay, mild enough, but no resemblance to the piercing intelligence of Pym.  I don't think Hill has grasped the point of Pym. I shouldn't be surprised, since she doesn't get Austen either. 

She seems to read to find out what happens, when that's the least of your concerns with Austen or Pym. She does grasp Anita Brookner, but then Brookner's more evident, a wonderful writer, painting a clearer image of a world, and without the irony I love in Pym and Austen.

I don't think Pym and Austen are alike, just that they provoke work from the reader, as a participant, not as a passenger.

I just finished yet another reading of 

the first Heyer I ever read, as a teen, recommended by our history teacher! She was interested in the eighteenth century historical accuracy of Heyer's depiction of  France and England, and we were interested in the romance angle.

Waiting at the library are 

and 

Both are Hill recommendations or at least mentioned warmly in her year of reading book. The second is a volume of the Cazalet Chronicles which I read and loved years ago online and I think I'd like to revisit it as a paper book.

Susan Hill gave me a few good ideas, despite my carping.

Friday morning I Signed The Heatpump Contract. The Rubicon is firmly behind me, along with the contents of my wallet.

Happy day, everyone, and remember, when you're sighing about floating apostrophes, "would of" and damages being mixed up with damage

Cross Rubicon, check, Misfits and more

Thursday morning I cut yet another final bouquet. Each cut stimulates more flowers and Wednesday night's heavy rain seems to have woken them up.

And the orchid against an early morning backdrop, is still blooming.

The print information about the heatpump arrived. I'd squinted at it online on a little screen, so now I was able to see better what was what.

Scary total. Rubicon sized.

I made my choice after finding out about all kinds of stuff such as SEER ratings, which are not about second sight, and what units the heating and cooling power is counted in.

Then I called the heatpump people, and Marty, the HVAC man, and I had a nice chat, and I learned more things. He thinks he can get it installed next week, meanwhile I have to do some e-signing. 

This timing is good, because the weather is still mild so it's  good to get the installation done.  One working day will do it. 

Then I needed to get out and walk before Misfits arrived.

Self portrait, looking surprisingly tall 

These shrubs are full of fruit probably for the birds and squirrels 

Right across the pond there's a whole congregation of turtles shining in the sun 

And Fergus Frog is sitting in the shallows under a branch, observing me

Look at these wild shapes overhead

Goldenrod is really at peak now, pollinators are happy to note. 

Eventually Misfits arrived, on the regular van but evidently it's being repainted, not yet its usual pink 

Canned goods to share with the food pantry, raisins for snacks and baking, honey because it's ages since I had any, cod pieces (!) with various plans, tofu for a Yeung Man Cooking recipe tomorrow, blueberries and strawberries for desserts with yogurt, which will also feature in the Yeung Man recipe, when I find it again. Baby Bella mushrooms, maybe omelette, maybe recipe.  Tuna for tuna cheese melt, beautiful brown eggs for omelettes and baking,  cannellini beans I think also will be in the same YMC recipe, it's carrying a lot of freight.

Is this fruit a thing of beauty or what? American fruit in American pottery bowls.

Today's resistance was a message to ABC-TV condemning the sidelining of the Kimmel show over a mild comment. 

I note that Disney executives were in on the decision, since D is the corporate owner.  I can't boycott something I don't use, but I'm just sayin, there's other things to watch and other places to go.

Happy day everyone, here's the continuing sock, the heel turned, and soon to bust out in stripes, mainly because I'm seriously short on sock yarn and I'm eking it out.  

That means I'll get to one and a half socks before shrieking "Eek!"

Thar she blows, sez Ted and Big Ursy 

And we remember trans women are women

 

Upcoming art exhibit

 I was invited to send two pieces in for the group exhibit of the Plainsboro Artist Group in October, so I thought you'd like to see.

22x18, watercolor and chalk, Red Orchid 

and 

8x8 Hibiscus, black ink

They will be shown in the gallery you saw in Wednesday's post, which I founded. In fact I founded the artist group over thirty years ago. So they're kindly letting me know I'm not forgotten, really nice considering it's years since I was active with them. 

The current art scene is strong, especially considering the size of the town. 

So for various reasons I accepted and included in the reasons is

Creating means all kinds of creating, gardens, meals, lesson plans, animal care, as well as the arts.

Happy day everyone, keeping well is also resistance.