Goodbye and hello, composing a compote

Today after took a walk, I did a load of laundry, watered the flowers, admired the hibiscus 

packed the latest parcel to send to the Knitting Ministry, and various other things, then made a large quiche.

It finally dawned on me that I could use a large glass pan instead of pie plates. Eight helpings here. One has gone already, for lunch, really nice touch from the cheeses.

The cheeses are grated Parmesan, sharp cheddar and crumbled blue cheese. Seasoned with kosher salt, white fresh -ground pepper, ground flaxseed and turmeric.  The greens are a spring mix of arugula and spinach, with red onions, steamed first, plus parsley. So it's like a daily supply of a few items.

Yesterday I had another epiphany. You can macerate fruit mixes even if you don't make them into a crumble. Clever me.

I was planning to stew apples and blueberries anyway but I thought I'd do the extra step a la Rose Levy Beranbaum, the GOAT baker who has written volumes on everything baking. Anyway I learned from her about macerating fruit to amp up the flavor. As follows.

First I prepped and put the fruit in a big bowl, tossed with some, not much, sugar, the fruit is sweet, a teaspoon of cornstarch, diced and minced fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, turmeric. 

Then you leave it alone and read your mystery story for at least an hour.

Then drain the liquid you now have, into a saucepan, over lowish heat, swirling not stirring, to keep it from burning, till you've reduced it to about half the volume. 

The smell at this point is practical intoxicating, then you add it into the fruit, mix then return everything  to the pan, cook it gently till fairly tender, then let it cool.  

Then turn it out into a dish looking like red jewels and tasting amazing. 

The extra step of macerating the fruit is so worth it, since you're working anyway. Now I have many desserts in the wings. A spoonful of plain yogurt on top, or  atop, as the ditzy recipe writers in women's magazines like to say, perfect. Poifect.

Now that the ministry parcel is ready to go, I feel free to think what next to make. 

Still too hot and stuffy upstairs to get on with the warp weighted loom and I'm wondering about a different location now. TBD.

Maybe the next thing is the Tunisian crochet socks, made with a better yarn. 

While I'm considering that, I think I'll take a pot of tea out to the deck and just sit. Yes, that's a plan.

Happy day everyone, when all else fails, including your legs, just sit.

Weaving, Haggard Hawks puzzle, knitting

Considering all the friendship I find at both my libraries, no wonder 

Knitting Group today was small but nice, speaking of libraries

I worked on gloves, seen here back home again 

Later while I listened to my friends in the Spoutible pod, I worked on this wire and yarn shape for the growing sculpture or habitat.

And here's a fun thing to try. Please post your answers 

I'm the Guardian of Radical Truth. Sounds a bit 1984.

And for people who are in the mood for a puzzle, this one fits the general theme at the moment

Happy day everyone, today is the Cabbarole Caper, look out.

Enjoy your day, shoes and ships and sealing wax, and c------s and kings!

As a kid I thought it was ceiling wax and wondered what that was about.

Surprise quilting and Pink Rabbit takes a bath

 Yesterday at the other, non-gallery, library, where the knitting group meets, there was a bonus, a show of hand quilting, which I had to show you.

This library only has an entrance corridor and a small glass case for art, no way to hang a show interestingly, but here's the current exhibit, overcoming the space.

KO

The bottom picture includes the bags in the glass case. If you're local to West Windsor, go take a look.

And the knitting group yielded this shawl by Serena, who's doing a kind of renovation and repair of a section she wants to improve.

It's alternating strips of mohair and merino singles, with feather and fan.

And here's a comfy knitting setup, everything to hand, as M gets to the end of an Icelandic wool sweater

And I finished my socks 

So now I can parcel up and send the gloves and socks for the Glove 'n Sock Ministry and turn my attention to other projects. 

I've redesigned the wallhanging a bit,now nearing completion, and I'm going to get back to the woven and sewn skirt. 

Meanwhile Pink Rabbit took a bath and is now sitting on a heat register to dry, looking quite a bit better than she did.

Get that baleful glare

We'll find a place with the bears once she's dry.

The puzzle is coming along but I'm still darkly suspicious about pieces missing.

All kinds of interesting sea animals, including a turtle, maybe a geoduck.

Happy day, everyone, enjoy the day before the US clocks change. Again. And upset everyone. Again.

Funny folks, vote arrived, stitching, a pair and a spare, and more

Remember when I sent in my mail-in ballot, and mentioned a few things we'd fought for and got? Above you see the results of one such campaign. It's called Track my Ballot. Allowing time for the mail, you go into your official passworded account, to check on your voting history to date. 

At the bottom  you see the official acknowledgment that the county voting officials have my ballot safe. Counting doesn't start till the polls are closed on election day, but meanwhile, it's safely there, and the voter knows it.  It encourages public confidence in the mail in ballot.

And stitching is continuing. Here's the whole piece

And here's a detail showing the worked part.

 I did knit that third glove, and I feel better offering a pair and a spare now that they look more as if they all belong together.

Food keeps happening, today fritters of tuna, cannellini beans, in panko crumbs, heavily spiced with long pepper, of course,  and a pinch of ground cardamom. Ketchup. The last of the strawberries for dessert. 

And I found a great labeled chart of photos, waxcaps, including a few I've noted in here lately. This is worth bookmarking, if you're interested in fungi.

 

Before I wrap up today, speaking of odd ducks, I've met a few, in various workplaces, and among my readers here!

My favorite was the lady who'd read in here and emailed me to say she was doing the genealogy of her  family, and wanted me to supply her with information on my Boud ancestors, since she had found an Elizabeth Boud several generations back and wondered if we had relatives in common.

We got into quite a thread of emails, I trying to explain Boud is only a screen name, no connection with people, in fact it was the nickname of my late cat, Boudicca.  So named because small but fearless, like the warrior queen who came close to routing the Romans at the battle of Colchester, but I digress.

My correspondent wasn't having it and wanted to know why I wouldn't help her, when she'd been referred to my blog from a genealogy website. I asked her to please give me the website reference, so I could put the record straight, and she said, oh, er, well, um, she couldn't remember it. 

After emailing me several times with demands, she finally  declared it was people like me who made it hard to research,  refusing to share information. Once again I  explained it wasn't my family name, and wished her luck! She said she'd report my refusal, to save other people from wasting their time, which I thought, but didn't say, was a good outcome. 

So there, a little episode of the endless comedy that is people.

Happy day, everyone, off to the annual dental visit, where I hope  they'll clean my teeth, tap on them, make measurements, and tell me I'm fine before emptying my wallet and seeing me out.

The people there are definitely compos mentis, glad to say.

Groups again, stitching, painting, fraternal twins

The gloves are coming along, and the color-changing yarn changed color between gloves, knitting along to Atomic Shrimp on YouTube, great channel 

So I think this pair will be fraternal twins. With any luck the blue section will show up before the second one is done. I'm just a helpless prawn of fate here.

I put together the makings of the next section of applique

After this, two more, then I organize the overlay. That's to look forward to. Now I'm deciding on what stitches to use here and what colors.

Meanwhile, I did a three minute small study of flowers, from life.

A while back I posted daily paintings, all rapid studies and fun to do, a kind of here goes nothing approach. Maybe that will happen again. I really recommend it. As a commenter yesterday said, with watercolor there's no second chance. Not with one painting, true. The second chance is the next painting!  

About library groups and activities, several people have noted that their local library doesn't do classes and activities. Neither did the two I use before they were encouraged! I pushed and asked and supported and assisted many programs into existence. 

What libraries often need, and their governing boards require, is evidence that there's enough interest to warrant the staff time and attention. If they never hear from you, they may never try it, though they might love the concept.

I do know some very small town libraries struggle even to keep the doors open, and I'm not criticizing. But if we value them, they, especially now, need our support and encouragement. 

You may show up week after week with no takers. Our currently wildly successful and friendly knitting group started out that way. Just the library lady and me, chatting and working on our projects. And me recruiting friends. Week after week.  So there has to be a moving spirit, and if you fancy a group, maybe that's you! End of commercial for How to be a Good Patron.

And here's flowers, a couple of new ones added, couple of faded ones now outside to feed the earth. You'll see alyssum, dayflower, zinnias and marigolds

cooler and raining today, and my days of sitting outside this year are numbered, but still lovely. I sometimes just sit and be. No reading or stitching, just watching and listening and sniffing. 

Happy day, everyone, sometimes it's okay to just be.

Labor day, snake plant surprise and other musings

Yesterday was a very good day. Handsome Son spent the afternoon, did great justice to the Bad Food, 

and aside from being great company, did Good Things.

He rescued me from the Chinese language I'd got into while setting up the DVD player, took out the old TV to be picked up, using the old transport wheelchair I still have around, just in case. And while unwrapping the chair from the bag I stored it in, found an ADA approved cane I'd forgotten we had. 

This is good because lately my knee gives way slightly now and then and I may start carrying it with me out walking, just in case. So this saves me from shopping for one. And I can wave it angrily at my friends if I want. Don't annoy Grandma.. this idea amused HS quite a bit. 

The chair is now back in the closet with the walker and portable ramp. Anyone who needs them can borrow them. 

And Gary and little granddaughter came over to get my opinion later, on whether the container with the peanut plant was ready to harvest. 

It looked like it to me, as we unearthed a couple of nuts looking exactly like Mr Peanut only not dressed up. I reminded Gary to check on what's needed, because I think you may have to process them to eat. Whereupon he decided to delegate that to his daughter!

And here's a surprise discovery

I didn't realize snake plants flower, since I've only seen them with foliage. Watch this space for baby pictures. I'd been talking about donating this one to the library since I have another coming along nicely. She must have heard me.  I better do something to keep my place here, I know, flowers!

Knitting is moving along and my neck buzzing this morning reminds me not so fast, missy.

On the subject of self care, I noticed my plugin nightlights, the dusk to dawn type, were dimming a lot, not very useful. 

So, muttering about these LEDs, don't last long, five minutes since I installed them, I ordered new ones and my account tells me I last did this in 2017. Oh.  Time flies, I guess.

Happy day everyone, keep cool. I postponed a routine doctor appointment for today because it's going to be hotter than I can handle, driving to the next town, all that. I  had joked to HS that it would probably be December before they could fit me in, and, sure enough, mid December it is. 

Tomorrow there's lab work earlier in the day and much closer, much less exposure to heat. Different doctor, but  the results will be shared with my primary, all the docs in one group. So I guess that's okay. 

We have excessive heat warnings this week, in the  feels like 100+°f  range, hence my caution. I was out very early watering my flowers. 

Enjoy your day, not so hot in the southern hemisphere today I hear.

Happy Labor Day, and other important issues

If you wonder why we celebrate the labor movement, and workers today

Brought to you by a daughter and mother of Union members, and a former member herself.

Yesterday the new DVD player arrived, exciting unboxing ensued

And, aside from accidentally getting the language choice into Chinese, I managed to charge it, find the buttons, make the remote work,  and get it going for a couple of episodes of Suits.

I also broke out some more yarn for gloves. 

This is a bit elastic, and will work nicely for fitting.

Then a lovely spout, on Spoutible, my social media home, early adopter, from the lady who explained about the FCC and Fox. I mentioned to her I'd talked about it here, to  interest people in making comments on the FCC website.

Whereupon she evidently went to my bio, and she got back with

 

There was a message to warm the old cockles! Someone who thinks I'm normal, yay!

Happy Labor day, if it's a thing where you are, and here's a very suitable puzzle for this blog.

On nights when I have the bedroom window open, the scent of the butterfly bush blossoms drifts in.

Celebrate everyone today!