Gardens, Textiles and Tea and art

The start of the heatwave kept me away from the needlearts group today, and since another member was stuck waiting for a service call, and another was out of town, I wonder if there was a quorum.

I was out early visiting plants and admiring my solar lantern, now hanging in the Japanese maple. It casts lovely soft interesting shadows around in the dark, very pleasing.

Indoors I checked out my favorites, succulents and the offspring growing in a miniature pot, fingernail nearby for scale.

Some weaving happened and as usual gave me ideas for more weaving. 

Then I thought about maybe painting a bit or drawing and said self, you're waving your arms,  giving unwanted advice to Mitch about trying a different art form, why not stop weaving for a minute, and do a bit of something else yourself?

So I did. First drawing I'd done since this time last year. A kind of rusty here goes nothing few minutes.  This is my entire watercolor setup. Little painting then a little drawing.

That was a nice little interlude and my hand started to remember how to do this. It's so much more subtle movement and closer observation than crafting work. Maybe I'll do it a bit more.

Later came Textiles and Tea with 

She's a weaver and mixed media artist, Caribbean tradition, who uses artificial hair as her main weft material. Her warps are cotton.

This was a commission for a special event 

She takes part in Carneval, and these pieces reflect her costume 

 

She's very young and I think we'll see a lot more of her work,  already appearing in juried shows and good galleries. She'll be in New York in September, check her website for details.

So that's today around here, happy day everyone, do something different to take your mind off whatever you need to take your mind off.

And while you're at it, US blogistas, please call or message your senators to urge passage of the bill before them, S4814. 

This bill restores and extends temporary protected status to Haitian residents. It's a workaround against the misbegotten SCOTUS decision to rescind it. 

It occurs to me to mention that every time I urge you to take some action, I've already done it myself. It's not just doasIsay! Just sayin.

I have some ideas about the hilarious range if Lyft drivers I've met recently, and the weird bosses I've had. I was reminded of bosses by some revenge fiction I've been hearing, terrible writing, so bad it's funny. But since the bad guys are exposed and shamed and the good guys win, it's clearly fiction. Another day for that.

Anticipation of heat, and garden starts

I got out walking early this morning, to get bitten in good time before the heat came on. It's high 80s, not bad but also pretty high humidity.  The biting bugs enjoyed their breakfast on me. 

At the pond turtles slid rapidly into the water, which looks really dirty, but they don't seem to mind, frogs either. Maybe it's something natural. 

After all the rain we have fungi 

This was odd, the sunshine made a spotlight for this battered looking one

Here my shoe for scale. Those are minute mushrooms.

At home the potatoes are sprouting 

And the coleus, descendant of seeds I bought years ago. Gary has quite a big plant I gave him, too.

And Chris, look, the morning glory are going with no help at all from me. I just let the seeds fall at will last year.

I think I'll have multiple blooms on the hibiscus this year, but the buds are too small to show up in a picture.

And today I set up a weaving.

See the slit there. I'm pleased with this, remembered from making tapestries. I do like to have a work going, and weaving is easier on my hands than knitting. Definitely getting my loom money's worth.

This one has a longer warp, in fact it used up all the orange thread I had. 

I'm also thinking about doing a bit of drawing and painting. I often get the urge in summer, the light being so good. So this enforced indoor time might be good. The bouquet is a nice model. And maybe early morning outside, despite bites. Despite Bites could be a travelogue title.

Happy day everyone, soldier on. It's an anxious time and I'm an anxious person anyway, so art is my liferaft.  

First bouquet, the gardener revealed, and nostalgia

This morning I went out to mosey about the deck before it got warm, not very hot today but very humid, and picked the first little bouquet of the year.

Daisies and sage, in an antique Trenton Potteries pot, probably 1890s, and the faithful white Herendt porcelain hound.

Newer readers: every year I make little bouquets from what's growing at my house, in a very small area. It's surprising how many flowers there are. 

Soon there will be zinnias which I plant as seeds for my cutting garden, posh term for three containers. I also have various wildflowers coming up in containers. 

And I got out walking not wishing to miss a day before the heat comes back. It's important for my spirits to walk on grass under the trees, and my spirits have been flagging lately, one thing and another.

We'd had a lot of rain so I had to stay on the sidewalk. That worked out fine because I finally met the gardener who created a lovely small area down the street, all kinds of flowers and ideas. 

Cinder blocks lining the walkway with flowers growing up from them, all kinds of interesting containers, great thought put into a tiny area.

She was sitting on the path weeding when I passed, nice very old Japanese lady, maybe with not much English because her side of the chat was smiling and nodding and making modest little hand gestures at my compliments.  But that explains the meticulous care of the area year round. She knows what she's doing and does it.

Another person that's true of is Marion, multi talented YouTuber from my home territory. 

Today she was at a flea market, with great old items, and she chatted with a number of stall holders. Oh, the lovely northeastern voices! It was heavenly to be among them for a while.

Go there if you want to hear the sound of home to me. In this blog, there's Suzanne who's heard me many times, probably too many, on Spoutible pods, so she can tell us if these are my people!

Marion is wildly talented, from stitching and embroidery to gardening and diy, I don't think there's anything she can't do, and she's so good humored with it.

Reading is still in Tudor times, and now Jane's husband and Anne Boleyn are gone, but Cromwell has brought Jane Boleyn back to court as his spy now Jane Seymour is Queen. The plot keeps on thickening. Tudor history has so few names, trying to keep the Janes and Annes and Marys and Thomases and Williams straight.

Happy day everyone, tired day today, but I did get the chicken roasted and the potatoes parboiled ready for quick food, also custard. 

And I'm getting ready to make a belt with these colors 

It's going to be another clasped weft with orange and purple main weft colors and yellow for the warp threads. 

And I'll weave in a slit at one end,  tapestry style, to slip the other end through, to fasten it.  Fancy stuff. If I set this up tomorrow I'll have it ready for being occupied indoors later in the week. Be prepared!  

Happy day everyone, don't be like Gary who cut a bunch of weeds then came running over this morning, to show me, in a panic in case it was poison ivy to which he's very sensitive, and we have a lot of it. Once again I identified it as Virginia creeper, it's usually Virginia creeper, so he went away calmer. 

Solar deferred and punching bees

Thank you all for the responses to yesterday's post, both the helpful words, which I've spotlighted, and the kind restraint you showed if the subject isn't your life. 

I'm encouraged to continue as before, feeling as if the people with the right to decide have authorized it. That feels better. 

I got in a walk early this morning before the rain came on, and noticed this 

There's a bee that punches holes in leaves and carries the disks back to line their nest. I wonder if this is the work of one of them. I also have perfectly punched out holes in my hibiscus, same question.

And finally the thistle is budding 

Today's Handsome Partner's birthday, and he'd have been 94, if I'm counting right. I ate strawberries, his favorite, in his honor this week. It was easy to decide on his birthday cake each year -- strawberry shortcake never missed.

Today's activism was to write to my State reps, at the urging of NJACLU,  to get their vote for the New Jersey John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act, to safeguard our elections regardless of the shenanigans elsewhere. 

In the US, States run their own elections at every level and counties administer them.  Ignore the bloviating feller in the White House, he doesn't have the authority.

We're going to have a couple of feels-like-115°f days coming up, so I think I'll roast chicken thighs with Cajun seasoning, ready for sandwiches. Be prepared.  

Sandra, that Cajun seasoning is definitely one of the best things that's come along lately, since I finished up my Old Bay.

This week's potatoes are as good as I've ever had, meltingly soft inside, crisp outside, to go with plant based very hot burger type pat

ties. Bit of malt vinegar, salt, perfect.

After several years and donations to the food pantry, I'm finally seeing the end of millions of little packets of malt vinegar. I hit the wrong button when I ordered.

I still have a more than lifetime supply of vital wheat gluten, same fat finger issue.

I treated myself to a solar lantern like the one AC  received for Father's Day, because I've been wanting a solar light for the patio ever since my last one gave up.  I really liked the one AC showed us, great idea 

It arrived today in pouring rain, so the unboxing is deferred for a day or two. I hope it will cheer me up when I'm looking out on the upcoming hot evenings. 

Ed note: I set it among the plants near the window to remind me to take it outside when the rain stops and to my surprise, when I closed the curtains tonight there it was, shining away and casting lovely bird shadows on the dresser. They don't show on a picture, I tried.

Happy day everyone, the Boleyn Traitor continues to do bad things, now directed by Cromwell. Everything new happened before.

Every day please 

Garibaldis and scraps

Today I made the promised Garibaldis. It's pretty simple, a fairly short pastry folded over raisins. Because Gs are rectangular, there are edge bits left after you trim the pastry. I didn't bother reshaping them, just rolled out, pricked with a fork,  brushed with egg white and sprinkled sugar as with the Garibaldis and they're sort of crunchy plain cookies. 

Left, the proper raisin-filled things, right, the scraps. They're all pretty good, crunchy and fruity. I used whole-wheat flour rather than the ap of the recipe. 

I think any sweet pastry brushed with egg white and sprinkled with sugar would be fine even if there weren't any raisins. I expect plenty of people do this. Is there a name for them? The scraps not the people.

Thinking about Ash and what they reminded me of, including whatever you do for or with or in defense of any population, she reminded me to please check with the person in front of you if that's okay by them. They're in charge of that decision.

I did check at the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Twitter to find whether daily shoutouts in this blog were welcome or appropriate and every Ukrainian who replied said do it, so we know we're not forgotten as time goes on. So I have, as you may have noticed.

Now here's my question to my gay, lesbian, trans, readers, if you would be so kind as to educate me on this point. 

Am I being helpful in my daily shoutouts about equality, or is it a bit performative? This might be something for email, in which case, please let me know that way. Ell ex ex adams at yahoo dot com.

On this specific issue I am not asking for opinions from cis people, so bear with me on this. I'd like it to be a case of "nothing about us without us", and I may have overstepped.  And there may be a range of opinions, too, so I'll study them and see what's next. Thank you.

Happy day everyone. There was a massive crowd of crows all over the roof today, why, why? Is it a portent?

I've found the best sleep aid ever. I usually run an audiobook quietly while I drop off, and I recently stumbled on revenge fiction, ai and terrible stilted voices, pointless plots. 

I'm off within minutes. I think my brain shuts down in protest and revs up the dream machine instead. I'm dreaming weaving lately, very peaceful.

Misfits, art, shrimp and treachery

Today a friend came over to pick out an artwork. A hiccup here and there with the timing, but she got here before I had to attend to the groceries.

We had a lovely visit and she went home with a stitched piece, or nue (provide your own acute accent) and stump work, butterflies and moths on a black silk ground printed with metallic copper paint.

It includes a Luna moth which has a special significance for her daughter. She'll send a picture when she hangs it.

Meanwhile I did the stitching on the fronts of the linen jacket, which I like a lot more now.

More stitching might happen. 

Then Jeff arrived with the Misfits box.

The last image is a true still life. As you know, the still life is about the short trajectory from youth to maturity to death and decay. 

Green bananas youth, ripe apples maturity, last week's overripe plums near decay.  No dead pheasants, favorite of old European painters. 

Anyway here's the week's Misfits selection. Sad news, I had splurged on a Tony's Chocolonely, and it was, sob, unavailable. 

However there's Bananaz, cans to share with the food pantry, lovely Envy apples, crisp and juicy, beautiful yellow tiny potatoes to be perfect roasted with the chicken thighs.

Yogurt and honey, desserts, raisins for snacks or maybe baking. Maybe I'll bake Garibaldis with them. It's a raisin filled pastry known to school kids as flies'  cemetery, moving along.. fair trade organic sugar supporting the good guys, mixed green salad. 

To the right, a pan of Cajun shrimp cooking, thanks to Sandra for a terrific recipe. One thing and another I didn't get rice organized, but it was a good lunch with a green salad, so it worked.  

The shrimp were small though the recipe wanted large, but you go to lunch with the shrimp you have, and this was great.

I had to make a Cajun spice mix, not hard, I had all the ingredients, and this is now a go-to for shrimp. And those chicken thighs too, I now think. 

And my reading is 

About Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn.  Back to the Tudor court.

Speaking of horror movies, I caught a Xerces Society online presentation about pollinators and all kinds of insects and arachnids. Those guys lead a brutal life. 

However, the society has a very undemanding approach to its members' observation practice

See the first recommendation!

And, this one's, seriously, a life and death issue, please go here and listen. 

Ash is a wonderful trans person, brilliant costume designer, historian, fearless defender of every human right, and they've just put out this compilation of videos full of knowledge, suggestions, lived experience and high value.  One thing they suggested for cis people was to spread this information, hard earned, on whatever platforms we can. On it, Ash!

 

I've followed them for years for their historical knowledge, clothes design -- made a couple of skirts based on their information -- and for their killer sense of humor. They're also kind and forbearing when people mean well and say the wrong thing. Anyway, it's long, so get a cup of tea or a piece of stitching and listen. There's stuff to see, too,but the words are vital.

Happy day everyone, full one around here, and now for tea and Gregory on the deck.