Boxes, cabbages and dogs

I rasped the edges of the bergamot bits, then painted one set in light bronze, one in gold. I didn't smooth the main areas, because I wanted a beaten metal effect. 

The blob you see on the paint tray will dry and I'll peel it off to use in another artwork, maybe part of a box. 

I like how this turned out. Since they will be boxes this time, I left the peel inside unpainted so the smell would remain. The right hand gold piece needs more repair, so after the paint is dry, I'll glue it. Wabi sabi. 

And I was up very early this morning so I did a bit of cooking. To wit: roast cabbage with spices and a nice spicy yogurt-based dressing.

Since it was only mid morning when this was cooked, I just did a cook's privilege sample taste and liked this a lot.   

This can be a side dish with chicken or to spicy plant "sausage".  It's certainly more interesting than cabbage usually is.

Once it got light -- yes, this is not coming at you in chron order -- I broke down and tied up a couple of boxes, and took them to the recycle. On the way I stopped to leave the empty container from my neighbor's soup on her step, now holding a helping of chocolate almonds. Never return a container empty!  Her email when she picked it up seems to be happy.

And between all these varied activities, I finished reading the latest book in the Andy Carpenter series of lawyer detective mysteries.  

At this point I think I could write these myself, so formulaic,  but they're still fun to read. This one is set at the beginning of his defense career and features his meeting his soulmate dog Tara, and his new investigator, Laurie, later to be, oh, sorry no spoilers. 

Later today online chat with friends, meanwhile I sent yet another message to Gov Murphy to get crackin and sign the newly passed immigrant protection bill. It's been on his desk five days. To be fair he had to present his final State of the State speech in the meantime, but he can still get signing.

Happy day everyone, enjoy what you can otherwise what are we fighting for?

Sez Ted and Big Ursy 

Christmas Day wishes

 

Especially to the people reading here, who bring me such fun all year. Thank you 

And my art assistants demanded equal time 

Happy day everyone, back tomorrow with updates on a maker's life, cardboard,  bergamot boxes and more.

Wrong day misfits, now confusion of the season, bergamot wannabes, The Bishop's Wife

Because of the holiday falling on my delivery day my misfits came Monday. As if I didn't already get confused enough when there's a holiday.

Note the bergamot wannabes in the background starting to take shape, sssh, don't jinx them. Even that busted up one may be fixable, wabi sabi, with the last finishing stage, tissue paper and white glue.

Meanwhile back in the food world, cans for the food pantry, scallions to add in all over for crunch, apples because mid morning requires an apple, cheese to stock up again, red lentils likewise. This is a short week, so a small box, because I still have plenty from last week's delivery. 

Also Handsome Son will be here bearing food on Thursday, so there will be reinforcements. I'm doing the corn, peas and roast potatoes, and he's doing practically everything else, yay.

I appear to have neglected to do any Christmas decorating, because I forgot to ask him to lift down the box from the high shelf. I'm not feeling very pressured about it though.

I will remember to watch my favorite movie of all for the season, the one that gets it. The Bishop's Wife. 

Breaking from ants and plants:

News from the cactus front. Down to two buds after some clumsy gardener knocked one off while watering next to it. Boud: boo hiss. Cactus: never mind, I'll be fine.  All alone. In the dark. 

News from the ant front. After I put down the borax and confectioners sugar mix, there was a rush of tiny ants, then none at all.  Gone. For now anyway. Boud 1, ants 0. Just now.

Happy day everyone, plants can be passy aggy, too. And ants.

Bergamot boxes more or less, part one

I had the lemons waiting,  ready for the bergamot boxes, or lemon boxes. The peels need to be soaked in boiling water for an hour. Since I was having boiled egg and toast for dinner, I thought ah, do it then. Ready pan of boiling water after the egg comes out.

Since I was going to use two lemons I experimented, cutting one pole to pole as Sally recommended, and one across the equator, to see which worked better.

You have to scoop out the insides, now in the freezer for the next time I need lemons 

Then soak, here in the water from the egg 

Then find containers to use as molds, and you also find that even the smallest ones in the house are a bit too big. 

It takes ages to scrape out the pith, then turn the rind inside out. One just exploded into three pieces, hence only three seen here

It then took more ages and patience to get them to lie on the molds and this is probably the tenth iteration, since the rubber bands I started with kept leaping off and flying across the room. Then I resorted to twine hoping that might stay put.

This is the state of the boxes Sunday evening, and they will need to be revisited and pressed down and squeezed frequently during the drying process, which might be a day or more. 

If they dry, there's more to do. I doubt if any two will fit together like a box and lid, so I may have made bergamot bowls. 

Bergamots are a variety of orange, but this idea can work with any citrus fruit, the idea being the lovely scent. 

Anyway there may or may not be a part two, depending on the vagaries of the lemons, the solstice and the configuration of the planets.

Update: another rind broke apart spontaneously. That's both of the pole to pole cut ones. So, despite Sally, I'll stick with equator cutting. Pole to pole works for the globular orange shape but lemons, no, maybe not 

Meanwhile happy day, everyone and remember I do these things so you don't have to.