A day of doings

Feeling much better Saturday, I did a series of sit to stands then went to the pond to watch ducks and foliage. 

Home again I picked yet another bunch of flowers 

And I came through on my plan to make oatmeal wraps.

Flax seed, so pretty. I ground some with the oats to make the flour for the wraps

Some roast chicken diced, dash of Worcestershire to liven it up, fresh spinach 

The first wrap had a lacy edge, but it was okay in the end. The recipe made four wraps so I made all of them, two for tomorrow.

Here's two wraps for lunch, sharp cheddar cheese spread then chicken and spinach rolled up and they worked well. You do have to have the pan very hot and you need to give them four minutes at least on the first side, then two on the second.

Pro tip: if your oven's old like mine and the electronic ignition doesn't,  rest a spoon bowl down. Then let go, and switch on. It directs the spark to the gas.

Like here, then take away the spoon before it gets hot and you're, um, cooking with gas. No idea how I figured this out.

Then I needed to sort the artist statement. They wanted it personal, friendly, all that so I picked an old not so good painting to use as the background to write on 

And cut it to the size of a protective sleeve, then wrote my stuff *

Done. Now I can take everything in tomorrow and be done.

*what it says:

I've been exhibiting art, solo and in groups for over 40 years. Many pieces are now in public, private and corporate collections, in almost every medium, monotypes to sculpture. I've offered workshops to all ages throughout the region and online.

In Plainsboro, I've been active in our art life for decades, since before the LAST library opened! I've helped found the Festival of the Arts, and founded the Plainsboro Artists group. It's wonderful to see the gallery and the group flourishing.

I'm showing in the exhibit a watercolor and chalk piece, Red Orchid, from a solo show I had here in the gallery some time ago. Then, to bring us up to now, there's an ink drawing I made as part of a series, in July this year. Some of that series has already gone to a private collection.

                                           ---------------------------------

Gary's home, has been for a few days, back to calling from the store for advice, this time what are sweet peppers, are they sweet, or what. I explained just not spicy. He can't do spicy, so he needed to know.

Happy day everyone, when you don't know something, call and ask. A real friend won't think it's a dumb question. But she might point and laugh in her blog..no, she'll be nice. 

Here's some accidental art, sun shining through red glass lamp base and other shadows making an interesting composition, dividing the space nicely. 

Mlle. Fluffiere doubts this. She's an internet image, not my cat.

Anyway, Ten Four, older people will get the timely signoff reference 

 

Art, riddles and new cups for old

Yesterday brought interesting packages I'd forgotten ordering. 

Here's a salute to the environment and to Black owned business. Bamboo tp, no trees felled to make it,  withdrawing my shopping from the white owned tree felling companies.

They're very well run, organized,  and shipped fast. So I'm giving them a shout out. 

It's not enough to boycott the white owned businesses abandoning DEIA. We need to look for business run by the people they're hurting, and build them up. This too is resistance.

And the vintage cups I ordered, matching my plates, arrived. Amazing packing 

Second Joy on Etsy is the seller and I'm really pleased with them.  They're posing here with the plate to prove they're related.

This was a little indulgence,  since I rarely buy anything that's not a vital need.  I wonder if there's a teapot in this design out there..

Then to put everyone out of their riddle misery, the answer is:

The man referred to by the speaker is his son. 

After someone mentioned going online to find the answer I thought I'd see what was there. Wow! Heated debates, many weird conclusions, a lack of reading for comprehension, an insistence that it was about theology, it was hilarious. People get so serious.

I can explain if you want a roadmap. 

And accidental art down the street after a rainstorm 

Simple people, swept up in the winds of change, one minute sitting chatting, the next struggling to survive the hurricane. Artist: M. Nature.

Happy day everyone, raining again today. The hammering you hear is Gary building a neighborhood ark. 

Accidental art, Friday knitting group

 As I was changing the bed, I tossed the quilt over the chair in the corner, and it took on an interesting shape. You can read it various ways.

Also yesterday, given that Misfits prep, changing bed, large laundry load, attendance at a couple of online meetings weren't enough, I had an idea.

About eleven pm, thinking about going to bed, I suddenly thought why don't I dump that unsightly task light with the dodgy stand and the expensive bulb, now flickering ominously?

To think is to do. I pulled out the furniture to reach the outlet, unplugged the ancient lamp and hauled it to the front hall.

Then I moved more furniture to get behind a bookshelf and unplug its lamp to take the place of the done-for task light.

Then I put all the furniture back and here's a better looking living room.

The farther away lamp is the newly-moved one, with the shade I decorated with an abstract landscape made from scraps of leftover handmade paper. 

Then I went to bed, grumbling about my hip.

The ancient hinky task light is, as of this morning, out at the dumpster.  This is why I make nutritious meals. A person needs her strength.

At the Friday knitting group, we had a full house, some great projects 

With sustenance from a selection of cake from a member's recent gathering 

This is a mystery project, depending on how the knitter feels. Maybe a placemat? TBA.

Chat ranged over sheep and wool festivals, house buying, living alone, age discrimination in housing, HOAs, fall planting, chimneys, baking, trees falling, several streams of chat at once much of the time. Like being in a big family again.

Happy day everyone, speak up, your opinion is as good as anyone's.

Misfits, paneer, sock separation

 I didn't show you the recent Misfits box, so here it is, from last Saturday

You've already seen what became of the leeks, peppers and apples. But here's the over the top extravaganza Fall decorating being done by the pumpkin before becoming soup along with the acorn squash 

Too much, do you think?

And I was out of baked goods, so I thought I'd try cream cheese cookies. This involved making the cream cheese, aka paneer

You bring whole milk to the boil, add lemon juice, let it separate the milk into curds and whey, then scoop out and drain the whey. 

The resulting cream cheese is ready to use ss a spread or here an ingredient. I saved the whey for the pumpkin squash soup to come.

Then I got to make the cookies

And had one with a cup of tea. Very nice, rich, tangy, worth the effort. I need to make more paneer for a spread, since I used all the current output for the cookies. First time I'd used milk powder for paneer, and it worked fine. 

Meanwhile I'd been out walking while the cookie batter was chilling, and found someone had tossed out their cherry tomato vines, which were in the sun and the green tomatoes had ripened. 

I left some for the squirrels and birds, also I saw a groundhog hanging out, so he might like some, and brought home a few

Another neighbor has been redoing his patio, removing blocks and edging and making accidental art

It's a cityscape!

Then for the separation of the conjoined socks, which went successfully, patients both doing fine.

Remember the different colored knitted rows across the middle of the project? That's scrap yarn, to be removed like this

This leaves the two parts separate, and you see the green yarn running along both edges

Those are lifelines, running through the live stitches, holding them so they can't unravel. You slip your needles into the stitches to continue knitting. Later you pull out the lifelines and you can't tell where they were.

Now to knit a second toe. Then a second cuff.

Now all that's needed is heels for both

This involves sliding out the  lifeline yarns across the middle there,  and putting the live stitches on the needles. 

The lifeline goes halfway across the sock, same half as the toe lifeline, see right sock, to make sure the heel is in the right place in relation to the toe. 

So heels will happen today. They're starting to look like socks now. I'll be wearing them soon.

There, your questions answered. I think.

You did get the rabbit typo for rabbi joke then? A lot of people automatically read it as rabbi because of the association and can't see the joke!

And leaving you with this truth

Happy day everyone, make your art regardless, smash the patriarchy. I've voted, I make my own food and clothes,  I'm powerful, hear me roar!!