Duluth trading, and food, surprise, Knitting Group and books

Friday's mail included this little order from Duluth trading, their spring sale. I'd noticed a couple of people who like their clothes to last, like this company, so I gave them a try. Perfectly fittting underwear, funny designs and altogether fine.  

I ordered a couple more, now that I know they fit, and here's what came today.

These guys are funny. And if anyone knows, what color is LBK? Lubbock? It's a kind of dusty pink.

I made a wildly healthy lunch, stir fried dandelion greens and little shrimp, with whole wheat curly pasta. Some for tomorrow, too.

The shrimp and greens were happy together, and I forgot to take a picture of the plate I set up. 

Friday Knitting Group was great, no pictures because all the interest was in the chat. All kinds of pets, from rats to birds to ferrets to cats to dogs, art events, freestyle crochet, playing piano, guitar, voice, improv, respite care and the weather. Our youngest participant brought his girlfriend, a wildly interesting young woman, talented and funny. Time flew.

My current reading is a variety, the 1619 Project still going, more of the Housekeeper and the Professor, and now with Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir added in

I love Weir's scholarship as well as her narrative strength, and this subject is a pivotal figure, bridging  Plantagenets and Tudors.

And a cozy mystery new to me, recommended by, I think Northern Reader in her blog

she's put me onto some enjoyable writers before, so this might be a good Saturday afternoon read.

I appear to have ruined the weather by making my summer skirt and pocket. It's back to late winter, kids out in puffy jackets.  Plenty of reading required this weekend.

And here's a great poem from my 365 book. A number of blogistas are rusty machinery aficionadas, this is specially for them, but everyone's invited.

Happy day, everyone, I hope you find interesting company this weekend. Which may be yourself, me too,  fine too. 

And exhaling now that the SOTH has finally brought the Ukraine funding bill to the floor where it passed easily. Now Senate, then POTUS and we can finally hold our heads up again. Slava Ukraini!

Yogurt and other wonders

Yesterday I unwrapped the current yogurt supply. As you see, I make it with containers of hot water, one either side, wrapped in a cloth, inside two insulated bags, one inserted into the other. 

This keeps it steadily, evenly, warm, and I usually leave it for 24 hours, longer than the usual time, but I like the extra tang and consistency. It's still slightly warm when I open it.

You can see the consistency here, served with blueberries, sprinkle of pure cane sugar.

There's something very satisfying about making yogurt, using a few spoonfuls of the previous batch as a starter. I make it about weekly, until the texture gets thinner, then I get a container of Nancy's yogurt from Misfits,  to start a new cycle. This time around, it's been quite a few weeks. 

 

Yogurt is my go-to for snacks rather than ice cream, for sour cream substitute, in pastry dough, and to make labneh cream cheese.  All purpose food!

The time change is still with me, but I only had to fix a couple of clocks, unlike the groundskeepers here

 

I did get the knitting ministry gloves completed, still to be finished, and started a neck gaiter in Tunisian crochet.

And, in need of encouragement, found a bit in the daily poem

I keep up with the daily poetry readings from the 365 poems book, though a lot in February were stuck on romantic love, and a bit hackneyed.

Happy day, everyone, pick your poem, whatever form that takes for you, and go for it. Gently, if the time change is an issue for you.

Photo AC

 

Textiles and Tea, 365 poems, cosmic joke

I published this yesterday, but found it seems not to have published after all! So here it is now.

Tuesday's Textiles and Tea was probably better suited as a podcast, nice spinner and weaver and teacher, Michaela McIntosh, chatting interestingly about other weavers, with few slides, but here they are. 

She's holding up the scarf she's wearing, which she wove. Behind her is a favorite loom, but the wall tapestry is one she bought in South Africa as an inspiration, and aspiration, piece.

She also made some good points about giving handmade items. She's had the experience of spinning and weaving a piece as gift, to have it go unappreciated as "homemade"! She cautions only to give to people who know what they're getting. So it turns out there's a weave worthy category of people, as well as the knit worthy well known to knitters.

The episode was low-key, but I still felt like a bit of spinning after I saw her basket of yarn, so there's that, now that the Izzies are on their way and there's no immediate knitting. I'm still musing about the weaving of the skirt. I'm thinking of converting the panels, too, to another use.

Yesterday I baked as planned, half and half chickpea and AP flour, walnuts and cranberries. The chickpea flour adds a lot of protein, as well as a nice golden color.

Hot from the oven

Cooling on a rack, with crumbs for the birds, now long gone, patio pecked clean. These muffins toast very well, too.

And yesterday the birthday book arrived, so my year began. I decided that I've reached the age where you don't put things off, so whatever day the book arrived would be Day One of reading. Accompanied by one piece of candy, a daily small event to look forward to.

The candy is very good, and as you see from the poem of the day, I think Somebody is playing a cosmic joke on me!

Happy day, everyone, Handsome Son is coming today for tea and muffins and bringing a box of free cycling for me to do, and let's hope no further cosmic jokes will happen. Ed note: he did, we got a lot done, no jokes.