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.

Old reading, new learning and treats at the door

Today's walk turned up an array of oddly assorted figures on a neighbor's porch.  Reclining nudes, lions, Victorian children, what?

Home again, and a treat arrived on the step

I have sampled the sampler, and it's very good. Thank you, dear e! It is in a good home, and some will be shared with Handsome Son. 

It's that time of year when I like to get ahead of winter by taking on something new. Last year it was the Sock Ministry, now the Sock and Glove Ministry, and a fixture in my life.

This year I fancy learning something new, and since I've been very aware lately of Islamic art and current Arabic news slogans, I plan to learn the Arabic alphabet for starters. 

I've studied other alphabets before, years of classical Greek, some Russian, but this is the first experience I've had of writing  which runs right to left, and it's beautiful.

here's lesson one. Now I will find a notebook to practice in.

And here's the current reading, another historical novel from a favorite writer, newly downloaded, ready to plunge into the seventeenth century.

Along with a piece of embroidery from an earlier period, to remind us of the textile sophistication of the era.

 

And while I'm working on my Arabic and 17C history, here's a modern puzzle

Happy day, everyone, follow your own path of learning! It's all good.

Thanksgiving coming early this year, and Gregory never fails

So this year I had agreed that whatever day Handsome Son gets off from his retail job we'll do Thanksgiving, hoping it would be on the day.  

For many years he fitted in with my total inability to be free on holidays, because of the petcare service, the holidays usually meaning 18 hour days.  He was always good humored about it, and now it's my turn to fit in.  

Well, turns out it's Tuesday instead.  So Thanksgiving comes early this year.  Good thing I shopped ahead. So here's the doings, the corn still in the freezer

Since that pic, the mushrooms are now cooked, in butter and oil, big pinch of baharat, salt, till the liquids cooked down with the flavor coming better and better.  Rewarmed they will be great.

And the sweet potatoes are cooked, mashed with butter and nutmeg, and set ready.  Ditto with rewarming, and flavors developing.

The cranberries are opened, set in the nice glass container dogonart gave me years ago, which shows up all the time to hold festive stuff.  

Game hens are nice, not too big, easy to roast, but a festive sort of poultry. There won't be a mad rush of cooking at the last minute. In fact we do a kind of potluck, where he always brings the cheese and crackers, and the dessert, also some interesting soft drink of his choice.  I provide the main course and wine.  And we exchange leftovers.  It's surprising how many dishes you still do for two, same as for a crowd, but smaller quantities.

And I am getting to work to decide on fun things to do for a solo Thanksgiving Day.  Plenty of ideas happening.  Another Philippa Gregory on hold for my Kindle, hoping it will materialize in time, but if not, never mind. Plenty of videos, etc.  And with any luck there will still be a few leftovers.  And prosecco, just because.

 
So here's the latest, to me, I'm years late on books, Philippa Gregory, great storyteller, wonderful historical research behind really good, lengthy, goodread sort of novels.   It's long but so well paced and full of exciting stuff, set in the time of Mary Tudor, complete with the story around Calais, and the hazardous life of being a Jew. Particularly a Jew with second sight, as the Queen's Fool is.  It's wonderfully written.

So that's where we are.  The washing machine arrived, is working a treat, fits into the limited space, and the installer thanked me with tears in his eyes for getting the advance prep, and plumbing, done ready.  

He tells me a lot of people expect him when a snag arises, to suddenly do all the plumbing and shutoff replacement if necessary, and get mad that he can't do that!  Different trade, for one thing.  And we did re use the steel hoses, since the machine comes with rubber ones, no longer up to code in this town, in fact.  Handsome Son is pleased with his new appliance.  So it's done, and it's good. And they came in the first hour of the four hour window they gave me.