Notes from the past, weaving, walking, calendar and

 Since Marigold got in here, I found a picture, couldn't crop it any further without creating a blur, but here she is as the avatar on an old online account, pretty young here. And I added a picture of her on her last day, aged 16.

And a few images from the same account page, some of which you will recognize

It seems November is gone, and once again I forgot November 30th, St Andrew's Day, name day of Handsome Son. I texted him late with a greeting and it turned out he'd forgotten, too. As he said "Not very Scottish of me!"

December 1 is the first day of the online advent calendar I presented to myself this year and I had a bit of a  struggle to get it started, but got in. I did a bit of decorating in my cottage, tried to decorate the tree, and did a jigsaw puzzle, and was baffled by a couple of other games. My brain doesn't process game rules. So far so good.

Monday was in the 30s but sunny, so I walked, in my long winter windproof coat, and it was fine. I met the same dog and human twice 

Weaving is moving along and I think I'll do a color pattern in the second lanyard, just to try it. I had set up enough length of warp threads to fit two lanyards, without rewinding. Economy of effort.

Durham Weaver sums up this craft like this

It's very compact, especially when you think of weaving as a major commitment needing big tools and equipment. 

Sunday I made one-pan pasta, where you cook the pasta in the sauce, and I think I will do this from now on, so much easier to use one pan. The pasta cooked fine, too. 

I added capers, mushrooms and some final green beans from Thanksgiving along with paprika, Italian basil, ground flaxseed, onions and garlic to the usual diced tomatoes and tomato paste.

There's enough for several meals. I may try the tofu for the other meal each day. And I may make those peanut butter granola bars again for breakfasts. All set. 

I made crunchy tofu cubes with the lentil tofu. The texture is less resistant than real tofu, there's a nice flavor,  quite delicate, and it cut and cubed and baked a treat. 

I dipped the cubes in aqua faba instead of egg, then panko crumbs. I'm really pleased. Now I can make tofu from what's in the house, yay. I used a dipping sauce like the one I learned from Yeung Man Cooking. So I'd say go for it!

Happy day everyone, now watch this new month hurtle by. 

I've started the December challenge. Mainly by chance, really since I'd done a walk before I found it.

Gary came bursting in Monday afternoon, back days early from his trip. Family bereavement, his 90+ year old sister, and he's the one in charge of the paperwork and running about. 

She lived hours away, independent at home to the end,  with boxes of paperwork  now to sort and to go through. He's looking tired. It's so typical of his life that things would happen all at once, while he was out West.

Sunday's cooking experiment

Red lentil tofu is the latest experiment. I like crunchy tofu so why not try making it from what I have. 

This version, from Hermann on YouTube, is not exactly like the Chinese tofu, slightly different texture, but I plan to try it in crunchy cubes anyway. 

And here's the red lentils soaking. 

The proportions to cook will be 100gm red lentils, 250ml water. Definitely worth a try.

You blend them, add salt then cook on top of the stove. You need to stir to avoid sticking.

After about ten minutes 

About fifteen minutes total 

It took about fifteen minutes cooking before it was stiff enough, then I transferred it to a glass dish, cooled a bit then fridge. About an hour later: tofu!

This is a lot cheaper than the tofu I've been buying, and I'll see how it works for tofu katsu.

Today's accompaniment to making stuff is another Coles, this one Murder at the Monastery 

In other diy, my patio door lock has been temperamental ever since a large male visitor who didn't know his own strength, went helpfully to lock it. He forced the lever  beyond its tolerance, jamming the mechanism. I had to get a contractor to reopen it.  So, now it locks, and then again, now it doesn't. 

Yesterday it just wouldn't, so I dropped a piece of PVC piping into the channel, enough space to open the door slightly, not enough for anyone to walk in.  Here you see it out of the channel so the door opens.

I used to do this when I had cats, so they could sit at the partly open door and sniff the air while keeping the door secured. 

This worked fine until one day I was outside, and dear little kitty Marigold played and juggled with the pipe till it fell into the channel, locking me out. 

Good thing I'd unlocked the front door so I ran round the block outside and got in that way. Also a good thing it was a ground floor window. If she'd done that at the second floor condo, different story.  Never a dull moment with a Burmese in the house.

Nor with bears, sez 

Ted and Big Ursy 

Happy day everyone, tofu all round! We got this.

More weaving, banana prep

Still in recovery from recent feasting, Saturday was about soup from leftovers, including scraps of game hen, then fruit, yogurt and granola bars. Dialing back the fat and sugar a bit. And making broth from the remains of the game hen for future soup. 

Quite a bit more weaving Saturday, and I  think this warp length might make two lanyards. I added in a lot of extra length when I measured the warps, just in case. 

I also added in an extra photo Saturday, scroll back if you missed it,  to show how the other warp ends are secured to give tension. I'm really happy at how well my diy rigid heddle is working.

And if you want to see much better bandweaving footage, go here

Durham Weaver is lovely and so's her voice. She's on YouTube. And has written the standard books on this subject, so she knows what's what.

It was time to mash bananas, since they'd arrived at just the right speckly ripeness. Three lots for the freezer for future banana bread. One cup, 3 bananas,  mashed for each loaf.

Apparently for Misfits the banana project is a big deal. Test marketing only -- I'm not far from HQ, so I'm in the testing region.

Major  producers such as Dole, for now, rather than indies, to reduce the complications, detailed questions to me about my order. 

Evidently you can't pack bananas with other produce because it outgasses and can push other fruit to ripen en route in the box.  This could mean berries or other soft fruit would be past it when they arrived. 

So there's a special breathable banana bag outside the box. Maybe these issues are the reason they haven't included them before. 

Father Richard's audiobooks are a good accompaniment to my current weaving. After I finished weaving Friday night, needing to rest my back from steadily maintaining tension, I did a bit of crochet, thinking there are various ways to make whistle lanyards, while Death in the Parish played.

It's really about wanting to bandweave rather than make lanyards, but one thing leads to another, as astute readers here will have observed.

Happy day everyone, helpless prawns of fate.

Still my flag, thick and thin 

Band weaving resistance

Here's where art goes subversive. I needed to do some weaving today, namely band weaving using the rigid heddle I carved from stiff plastic. 

Then I thought it would be good to make the band into a lanyard for a yellow (the color of resistance) whistle, the current anti ICE device.

So I'm giving this to someone at risk, art in service of activism.  Here's the order of events today, with breaks for lunch, crunchy tofu, afternoon tea, tea and pumpkin pie, and stretches to avoid getting sore.

The closer pictures of the work in progress are blurry because at that point the warps are attached to my belt, too close for the camera to focus well. Bear with me, I think you'll get the gist.

 

That plastic thing with holes and slots is the heddle. This device is thousands of years old. Well this particular one is a few months old.

 

Here's threads, nine, one per hole and slot 

Threaded up, one thread per, using a tiny crochet hook as a sleying tool. Sleying is threading the heddle. Listen up, there will be a quiz 

Here's the other end of the warp threads, knotted together then attached with linen nonslip thread to the ADA compliant grab bar where there's a step up. You don't have to be ADA compliant but it doesn't hurt.

Ted and Big Ursy checking I've got the warp threads even and the heddle straight 

And here's the band under way  it's weft faced, meaning the horizontal threads, the weft, are what you mainly see.

The narrow part was where I was establishing the band. I can go back and undo that when I finish, so that I end with a fairly consistent width. It's a workaround because you weave with the skills you've got.

Happy day everyone.

Ah what a tangled web we weave 

When we arghgh the warps by forgetting they're attached and get up to leave.

Sez Ted and Big Ursy, who photobombed a picture here and there.

Thanksgiving was five star

Thanksgiving was just lovely, all the food hot at once, the game hen plump and tenders and juicy. 

Before Handsome Son arrived with his share, Mike the Artist Contractor came over with home cooked, he's a great cook, additions for our table before he left for his own gathering.

A helping each of the best mac n cheese I've ever had, and a container of sweet potato in maple syrup with a topping.  

Chocolate chip soft cookies, warm, so good.

Handsome Son had brought pumpkin pie and cream, garlic potatoes, assorted crackers and cheeses and ginger ale.

I did the game hen, cranberry sauce, green beans and corn.  So we had a feast.

We simplified everything years ago, no fancy serving plates, just serve ourselves from the stove top, leaving the rest of the food in the warm oven so second helpings are still hot. 

This works better than the serving dishes which looked festive, and where the food would cool and need to be reheated.

HS went home with a good bit of the pie, cream and cookies. 

Since I don't need auto stuff now, I also added in my battery jump-starting kit and a quart of oil I'd had in reserve.  

He left quite pleased with his haul. 

A good day was had by all. Oh, a pome.

I spent the evening darning the warm socks, now more and more darn

while I listened to Reverend Richard reading his own Murder before Evensong.

Happy day everyone, I hope your day whether a holiday or just a Thursday, was good.  Sez Ted and Big Ursy

Thanksgiving prep and thanks

First prep was to text several friends to tell them I'm thankful to have them in my life.

That done, since for once Handsome Son is not working Thanksgiving Day, nor Friday, we're celebrating Thursday, the "right" day.

Here's the pretty simple food, my part of it -- he brings a lot of other food -- in the fridge, prepped to roast Wednesday evening, and on the counter to heat Thursday. Using canned veg is a recent thing to save my energy.

Done ahead, warm through Thursday, smelling very good 

 

And the table is set up 

Tea lights found in the freezer and set up on the hearth.

Meanwhile Wednesday was about tofu katsu, which was browner and crisper than it looks here

and reading 

a great social history of domestic service and how Virginia Woolf conducted herself with the women who served her and provided her with the care and space which enabled her to write. I expect they'd have liked a room of their own, too.  

Light portrays, in a well researched and compassionate look, all the lives affected by domestic service in the England of the nineteenth into twentieth century. This has been described as a history of women, either working in service or hiring into service.

Before I leave, just a word of thankfulness for you, blogistas. I publish daily, at midnight my time, so that I'll have something to get up for next morning -- your comments. And you lift me up and educate and entertain me each day, thank you.

And let's remember the people who really put the food on our American tables