Hanging in there, creating Plan B, Candlemas Day, also groundhog

this is the official religious observance, The Feast of the Purification, and I expect it's another borrowing from folk tradition. 

As in Candlemas Day, when you could throw all your candles away, metaphorically, meaning the daylight in the Northern hemisphere is visibly lengthening. And no doubt the groundhog will forecast six more weeks of winter, what a  surprise!

On the raisin bread front, I tried to phone Gary to check if he'd like some raisin bread, couldn't get through, voicemail full as usual, so I just left a container with a couple of slices at his door. With instructions to toast, butter, enjoy.

Later he called, very anxious, not home yet,  worried about me, he'd been on a conference call, was I okay? I explained, and he was hugely relieved, and happy about the bread.  It seems he's always thinking disaster when my name shows up on his phone! I need to make it more balanced, I think. I don't want to call only when I need something.

I'm going to make this recipe again, with more AP flour mixed with the whole wheat, to lighten it a bit. It's very good, but I'd also like a lighter version. Not the air-filled stuff you buy, though.

So it's possible my social security, main income source, may be at risk in the latest power grab. I'm working on a Plan B, which I'll talk about with Handsome Son when he visits this week. This isn't how I planned to spend my last years, but one day at a time, one foot in front of the other.

Meanwhile, my sock is progressing.

On the plastic weaving front, I'm continuing to cut up bags as they appear, and I've found a good piece of cardboard for a loom -- the latest Misfits box, opened -- and I'll soon warp it with cotton warp, and get to work. I'm going to cut up other food bags, too, those recloseable ones that also pile up, to incorporate.  Resistance weaving! Recycling ftw!

Special request, and this really is for a friend,  since I don't  do ice: if you use Yaktrax, what model do you recommend? There used  to be just one, now there are multiple confusing designs. Speak up if you know, thank you for your service.

Happy Groundhog  day, everyone, but without the repeats.

Misfits miss, groundhogs, Candlemas and daffodils

Groundhog Day, and beautiful sunshine so, puffy-coated, fluffy-hatted and sunglassed, I went out to see if the local groundhogs, a family of whom live here, close enough to houses to eat any flowers unwisely planted within reach, had any comment.

No sighting. They evidently decided that unlike their Pennsylvania cousin, Punxsatawney Phil, they aren't up to forecasting weather just now.

The story is that if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. Not a difficult guess to make in the first week of February in the northeastern US, and here's confirmation

from the resident concrete rabbit, who is not amused at being conscripted to play  a groundhog.

However, further along, there are signs of spring

Daffodils coming up among last year's leaves.

Back on the home front, this is happening

Glove One of Pair Three of the current package. After these are done and shipped, sounds posher than mailed, I'll do more on the daylily basket. 

One white cotton thread, one beige thread, one handspun variegated green thread. Green again, Groundhog Day has struck my knitting.

And the current puzzle is very slow going. I even had to renew the loan, because it's due back today, and as you see, nowhere near.

Three more weeks. The website says firmly, in red, that I can't renew it more than this once. I suppose they think if I can't get a 500 -piecer done in two lots of three weeks, maybe I should borrow from the kids' department. 

Plenty of flowers in this one, so, as Handsome Partner's favorite home health aide, English her third language, used to say "Me, I am not doing the complaining!"

Misfits fell down a bit this week. I always order within minutes of the window opening so as not to miss out.  But even so, three items, leeks, blueberries and hake,  can't be delivered, dangit, had plans. 

The box is also not yet shipped, now estimated tomorrow, rather than this afternoon. There may be weather issues with receiving produce, not everyone having our dry winter. We shall manage. 

Speaking of which, did you see that lovely clue from Cathy  from Melbourne, about the Haggard Hawks puzzle? It pays to read the comments.

That impossible word ending in AK?

TIEBREAK!

Happy Candlemas Day everyone! 

Candlemas, candlemas, candlemasDay Throw your candles and candlesticks away! 

Old rhyme recited by my mom every year.

And may your shadow never grow shorter -- Irish wish for a long life, meaning stay as vertical as you ever get.

Candlemas, Groundhog Day, Ulysses

 Happy Candlemas

"Candlemas, Candlemas, Candlemas Day

Toss all your candles and candlesticks away!"

Old rhyme recited by my Mom on February 2nd. A bit hasty, considering the days have a ways to go before we can discard lighting.

There's also Groundhog Day

And here's the soup of yesterday

also a batch of walnut raisin chocolate chip scone things in case Handsome Son visits today. 

That's a sprig of curry leaves decorating the soup. 

Putting a sprig of aromatic herbs on hot soup looks appetizing,  and also flavors it  subtly.

And here's the current reading which I hugely recommend. It's about eloquent silences, aloneness in the world, making a single life, fleeting communication. 

Written in Italian and translated to English by the writer, Jhumpa Lahiri, it's a tour de force of writing, perception and language.

It's also tautly written, no excess verbiage, no hundreds of pages of bloviation. I don't think anyone less than George Eliot, or Susanna Clark, or Tolstoy or Tartt,  or Joyce can successfully sustain huge narratives. I hope to find one but haven't up to now.

Speaking of huge narratives, today's the hundredth anniversary of Sylvia Beach's publishing Ulysses in Paris. 

From the celestial back to the daily. This is partly for Pam's benefit, but generally interesting. Here's the current list of available Misfits produce this week

There's also pantry, dairy, snack, pet food, various other aisles. Just FYI.

And, once we're sustained by good food,  here's a five year old horseback archer warrior girl in Mongolia, in action. 

I'd like to be her, just to feel that expertise. Archery, on horseback, what a combo. My astrological sign, too.  Look at that concentration, and how together she is with her horse.

And here's an older archer in action. These are stills I took from a YouTube video. She's galloping while firing.

With these great insights into fierceness and skills, I'm off for a cup of tea now.

I'll catch you up with a great Textiles and Tea with Susan Maffei tomorrow.

Candlemas Day! White Rabbits!

 Also a big snow. Supposed to continue till 1 pm tomorrow.  State of emergency, usual thing.

The primulas putting up a good show all about spring

And I'm fervently glad my neighbors removed the cherry tree, or it would be crashed across the patio at this point

No loss of power up to now, cosy indoors, pot of tea and honey on hot biscuit for breakfast.

So far, so good.

Candlemas, Candlemas, Candlemas Day!

Throw all your candles and candlesticks away!

Traditional rhyme for the day, always seemed a bit premature to me, only February.

Also Saint Brigid's Day, saint of healing, very timely of her.

White Rabbits and Candlemas Day

February 1, which means Candlemas Day.  

Candlemas, candlemas, candlemas Day,
Throw All your Candles and Candlesticks Away!

And white rabbits, of course.  My inner Yorkshirewoman at work.

Yesterday I made apple streusel, which I made to use up all my Granny Smiths, plus try out my new cinnamon and whole nutmegs, and a new recipe, less fussy than Martha. 

I used oat flour (made from oats in the coffee grinder) so it's also gluten free for people for whom that's an issue. I macerated the fruit with the spices, a la Rose Birnbaum, then did a reduction of the resulting liquid which I added back in to the fruit.  

This was the first use of the new Ceylon cinnamon, and it's lovely, very fragrant and delicate, and not too hard to reduce to powder.  Also it marked the first time I ever used the nutmeg part of my grater. I'd forgotten what the inside of a fresh nutmeg looks like, very interesting abstract in there.

A few minutes  after the streusel was out of the oven, a friend stopped by with goodies from her kitchen, so I retaliated I mean reciprocated, with a hearty helping of streusel for her to share with her husband whose birthday it was.  

A few minutes after she left another neighbor stopped by with messages from yet another person, and left with a slice of it.  Then this morning I ran a helping over to the friend with the broken elbow (she's doing better, but very hampered), and visited a while.

All in all I'd better try this myself before it's all gone!  this is why I wonder when people who live alone say oh I don't like cooking for one.  I hardly ever seem to cook for one!  at least that's how it works out.  I sometimes wonder if my neighbors have some sort of surveillance mechanism, since someone so often shows up as something is cooling from the oven..