Life story on a tray, also food

A while ago I did a series of portrait drawings for friends, showing them, in the form of their desks at home. What you choose and use and how much and how arranged, tells as much about you as a painting of your face.

It occurred to me yesterday that the afternoon teatray I'd set up illustrated my current life and times.

Favorite yellow tin tray from Freecycle, with hand stitched cloth, Tunisian crochet teapot mat, best English breakfast tea, home baked bread, read on, and home made blueberry jam. At the side the current embroidery on thrifted Gloria Vanderbilt jeans.  

That's a pretty good thumbnail of a person who thrifts, likes good food, will pay more for good tea, and is more interested in making than buying.

What area would you choose as your thumbnail bio? 

About bread, I baked a loaf, using a favorite combo of whole wheat and oats, but a different recipe. It's not bad, and I sliced it and stored it in a bread bag. If I can't easily get favorite bread, I'll make it.

I also finally got the red kidney beans soaked and cooked tender enough, took ages, to join the steamed green beans, carrots and cannellini beans in a salad. 

I included in the dressing some of that garlic ginger soy sauce I mixed recently.

While I was waiting for the beans I made blueberry jam 

Two small containers of berries, sugar, lemon juice, no other additives or preservatives or shelf stablitives.  Good jam.

I baked an apple cake too, from Baking on a Budget, lovely old baker. I subbed aqua faba for eggs and it worked fine

Wednesday Handsome Son is giving me a ride to lab work, so I like to have a little something to go with his cup of tea.

Speaking of eating well, that organic sugar pumpkin I put on the step in Thursday was sampled by a squirrel by Saturday 

So it's indoors now ready to make soup or something. 

This morning after doing a Tai chi type exercise with yes2next, I did some vagus nerve work, and head and face massage. It was amazing to see how fast my neck calmed down and sinuses drained. I feel so clever. 

Then I thought I'd get in a walk since the rain finally stopped. But first a bit of weeding out front, then I had to carry away the debris, then that activity changed my mind about walking, since my legs went wobbly.  

It's all movement, and the rain made the weeding easy, all came out by the roots. It's the bending that's tiring. There's no room to sit on a stool in that area. Not that I ever think of that till later.

Today's activism was a sharp email to Lowe's protesting their asking customers to "round up" at checkout, to support an evangelical homophobic organization whose name I won't give oxygen to here. 

I got a boilerplate charming thank you, which told me I had the address right. I reminded them what happened to Target when they had similar ambitions.

Admittedly most of their customers are contractors, many of them good ole white boys who probably support the evangelical ideas, but anyway they've heard from one who doesn't.

I wrote to 

customercare@lowes.com

In case you wondered and wanted to do likewise. Unlike phoning, there's a paper trail with email.

And here's our local northern flicker taking off after feeding in the grass. 

We have them nesting close by every year and helping with the ant situation.

Once in a while, a baby appears on the deck looking around for food in spring, which tells me the nest is nearby.

Happy day everyone, be kind to the woodpeckers and they'll take care of your ants.

I swiped this image from Steve at his blog Shadows&Light. If you like London, street photography, dogs and reading you'll love it there. Worth every penny he paid me.