Fast food and the return of the light, oh, wait..

So I had a post thought up for today, peaceful, unaware that stuff might happen. Or not happen.  I went out for the morning start the car ritual, and it didn't.  Flat as a pancake. Oh.  So here was my chance to learn how to use the new portable charger.  I sound a lot calmer than I felt, literally dropped the cables once because my hands were shaking! such a great mechanic.

And studied the little book, remembered how to pop the hood, eventually got the power cable inserted into the unit, shaky hands not helping, and went to fiddle about trying to figure out, after red to red, black to black, exactly what I was supposed to attach the alligator clips to.

Eventually got it, not the bit I expected, much easier, and the green light went on, saying well done, thou good and faithful servant, go thou and start thy engine. 

See below!!

So I did and it started first try.  Yay me.  Then I had to study how to detach the unit safely.  Good thing, because you're supposed to separate the unit from the power cable before unclipping the ally clips.  Ah.  Done.  Now the unit's back in the house, charging, found out how to do that, too.  It had arrived 80 per cent charged, fortunately, because I hadn't had the chance to charge it fully anyway before I had to use it.  

Did I mention my phone's losing its charge faster and faster, meaning I may need a new one soon.  The proposed tablet is sliding down the list of priorities around here, I can see.

Meanwhile, nature knows what she's doing. As soon as the solstice was past, here come new blossoms on the primula, unfailing.

And yesterday I found to my surprise I was out of soup, right before I planned to heat some.  Needed fast food, soonest.  So a can of cannellini beans, mashed, with capers,  can of chicken, egg, potato flakes, and I had a set of fritter things ready to go, with steamed broccoli.

 Then I remembered scallions in the freezer, so added them into the remaining batter.  Scallions always make me think of Chinese food, I guess they come in there.

So here's yesterday's lunch, sans scallions but with pickled beets, remember those, they're still going. And above that, today's lunch, with scallions, and I'll add the beets again, I think.

Just as well I had a lunch already set up, considering the excitement earlier. There's a limit!

And now Blogger refuses to insert this pic where I asked, repeatedly. Bear with me, tech is not friendly today. But here's the operation in full swing.

I'm having a restful cup of tea now.  Then I'll go see about getting a mechanic's licence.

A tiny flare of encouragement from nature, and the one and only Olive and Mabel

This morning, when I think both Mrs. Moon and I were asleep at the switch, since the sun completely failed to rise, instead, pitch dark and slashing rain everywhere, all the houselights on, I trudged gloomily to the kitchen to put on the kettle and found the primula had done this

Thanksgiving, the prequel

It's official. Chez Boud, Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Tuesday, since that's the day Handsome Son is free. 

He's doing the shopping as usual, so we simplified things. He has asiago cheese and bread sticks to start. Then heat and eat ready cooked food, his choice, I won't know till I see him, and ginger ale.

I've made the the pomegranate juice to serve in Fancy Glasses and the dessert giant cookie. There will be tea, too, he being a tea drinker, true to his roots. I'll haul out the red cloth and the white cloth to go over it, and the cheeseboard, and I'll polish up the best wine glasses, all the doings.

It will be wonderful. Cleaners coming Monday, great timing, so even the house will be ready. 

And, since we're early with our celebration, I'm getting in early with my thankfulness.

We're both keeping well, up to now, solvent, housed, know where our next meal is coming from.

 His main job, food store, is unaffected, essential worker, though requiring high level of precaution. His part time gig, once his full-time job, is in software, so it's online anyway, continues as usual.

I'm old but keeping well, very capable of living alone and enjoying it, a blessing during a time like this.

Our work to eject the present administration has been successful. Rocks ahead, but not the despair we were feeling just a few weeks ago.

I'm thankful for faithful friends who haven't fallen away when things are tough, neighbors who are fun to be around.

And I'm thankful, too, for the readers of my blogs, long distance friends,  who take part with energy, commenting, advising, suggesting books, emailing me with their own pictures and even sending me things they know I'll like and use. You can't know how much it means to have your friendship and know you're reading here.

Such generosity of support over the twelve years I've been blogging and recording some major and dramatic events in my household. Also some funny ones, where I did not cut a dignified figure, but oh well.

Thoughtful and timely gifts that have kept me going. From lint for art use, cashmere combings for spinning, Kool aid for dyeing, books, all kinds of yarn, fabrics, stitching and knitting materials and tools, handmade books, lace, scarves, ecards, and here's the latest, from dear C

She'd followed the flour tortilla adventure, and thought it would be nice for me to make corn tortillas, too.

But since the official masa harina is available in big quantities, she kindly not only measured out enough for a single person's recipe, but handwrote the recipe, and sent it off like a care package! The note will be inserted into my Big Binder right away, for safety. Is this not a gesture to make a person happy? Yes, loudly!

And yes, it's all a two way street, but here I'm talking as recipient.

Then I looked at my plants this morning and saw this bud just beginning on the white primula.

See it down there, right at the base of the leaves, juuuust visible? Hope in plant form.

All in all, plenty to be thankful for, and I am, I so am.

I wish you all a happy week, coming into summertime for some blogreaders, winter for others. Let's find joy even in dark times, if we can.

Singing, playing, rescuing

As planned yesterday I did some singing last evening. Some of the time I sang the recorder pieces I'd been playing -- it's a whole lot easier to sing trills than play them on the recorder -- and I remembered one of my song favorites back when I was getting voice coaching, "Que ne puis-je la Fougere".

I found various arrangements on YouTube, and the words, too, which helped. After a few scales and vocalises, I tried it, and a lot of the rust left my voice. It was great. Check it out if you want to know what I'm talking about. Music of Pergolesi, old French poem.

Played recorder too, but I love the sensation of singing.

And then there's the story of a gardening success and a total miss.

Here, left, is the primula, which I thought would be a one season plant. But I repotted it, tended it over the winter after flowering was finished, and it's coming back in triumph.

Then, right, is what remains of the Vicks plant which I was given a couple of years ago as a cutting, nurtured it, it flourished outside in a pot. Then I failed to bring it in before frost nipped it, and it nearly failed. Just one small section survived.

 So again I tended it, got it flourishing in the house. And then put it outside too soon. Cold nights nipped it. Back to one tiny section, which I'm starting in water as I did the original cutting. It must be wondering what maniac is tending it. A gardener who doesn't learn very fast.

It's related to the coleus, I believe, and is determined to survive. It's the plant from which the medication Vick's is derived. If you pinch and sniff, you'll detect the characteristic menthol smell.

Cheering thing, and, drumroll...the census

Since we're all so anxious and nervous, I think I'll try to post something nice to look at when I blog.

So here's today's offering

My little primula which wasn't supposed to be a houseplant, but bloomed for months indoors,  came through the winter on the windowsill, needed repotting and is now starting to strut her stuff. It's as close as I can get to my favorite wild primroses.

And the Census form arrived, after all the fighting in Washington to put inappropriate questions in, defeated in court yay.

This isn't the form, but the preamble. You can do it online. If you can't, they'll send a paper one. I just hope their website's secure.

And I love this. Two sides, small print, to fit instructions in all the possible languages in our lovely mosaic.

Tomorrow when I'm not up to my bippy in cooking, I'll do it.

Today, in what everyone now says is an abundance of caution, so tired of that phrase, I'm cooking ahead in case I get sick.

  Bread, the whole wheat oat sunflower seed  kind, banana bread with golden raisins, soup of black beans, pink beans, tomatoes, chicken broth. All simple food for the freezer in case I'm not up to cooking. After tea, I'm making berry jam, because a slice of bread and jam can do a sick person a power of good. No pictures, you've seen my food before.

Then I'm reading a Blanche White mystery. Barbara Neely just died, hadn't known her, and wish I had.

 Great mysteries, social commentary, activism, colorism in the black community,  all told in the exploits of cleaning lady Blanche.  Highly recommended.  Woman can not live by soup and bread and banana bread and jam and anxiety alone.

Speaking of alone, I already seem to follow the protocols of social distancing as a matter of course. I have no problem with being alone a lot, just as well. Lovely neighbors. No big groups, no travel other than local in my car. My knitting groups are now closed till mid April. That's a bit of a blow, but some of the friends there read in here, so we're not totally cut off.  So I guess I'm already socially conscious.

Our schools are going virtual next week, and all township programs closed.  The great news is that the water co and all the utilities will not cut anyone off, a great fear when people's jobs are threatened. In fact they've undertaken to reconnect people already cut off.

 The state is supporting free testing if ever we get any, and one hospital system has started the rapid response testing.  All in all, a pretty civilized response. Very few cases yet, but it's all about flattening the curve.

So I'm doing my bit. And planning on buying shares in hand cream mfg..