The Maid, Easter and socks

 Newest reading, for a library book club I'm thinking of joining

I just began it, and it's very readable, from the viewpoint of a young woman who works as a chambermaid in a hotel, a job she loves. 

She's very bright, but very literal, probably on the spectrum, and loves the satisfaction of cleaning, much easier than dealing with people, who find her weird. 

She discovers a hotel guest dead, and I'm rapidly reading on, to find out whether she blunders into being accused, my fear. 

Meanwhile, Easter is almost here, and the Dish of Easter Observance is out, most of the eggs painted by me over the years.

These tiny eggs are from my late great cockatiel, Emily Hope, which I also decorated.  They're in a miniature sample Wedgwood cup and saucer.

White Boehm bunny with a cast iron cat from Williamsburg, a wooden duckling and Limoges egg shaped boxes.

Eggs displayed on an antique Trenton Potteries spongeware platter.

This is the whole of the Easter decoration. Minimalist.

And spring's here

Gary's weeping cherry

My daffodils both sides of the walkway

Daffodils blooming in turn by variety, to lengthen the season.

In anticipation of the heddle's arriving, it's been shipped, I finished up my socks

Wearing them right now. They're the same length but one foot's nearer, so that sock looks longer.

And I went to YouTube to review backstrap weaving. I know the principle, in fact I've done it, but I needed a reminder about how best to attach the warp to myself.

This is a style of weaving where one end of the warp is attached at a fixed point, the other to the waist of the weaver. Ancient south and central American art form. They sit on the ground, tie the long warp threads to a tree at one end, to their belt at the other.

 You have to attach the warp ends to yourself using a belt, and you need to allow for advancing the woven section, like rolling it over the cloth beam on a loom, so as to keep the working area within reach.  This is not stuff you can just guess.

Most of the videos ignored this vital part, just going on about warping, threading the heddle, some not even mentioning attaching it. One person said,oh, just tie to your belt. Not useful. I really wonder if they're trying to teach or just demonstrate their own skills, but I'm not bitter. I did eventually figure it out. So I'm ready. Again!

Handsome Son is visiting this afternoon, great timing to get a large buttered, toasted hot cross bun, which he doesn't know about yet.

And I've started a very nice puzzle I'm liking

Yesterday's winnowing, no pictures, was a lot of fun. I took puzzles in to add to our library's lending collection, which were very happily received, the librarian doing a little happy dance! 

And she showed me,  on her phone, pictures of the Farmer's Market puzzle you saw here, which I donated, and was last week's public puzzle. Evidently it went over well. It's now back in the collection to lend out.

I was juggling sunglasses, mask, bag and puzzles and couldn't get at my phone when I remembered pictures, oh well.

So that's us today, off to put the kettle on for Handsome Son's tea.

Happy day everyone, weave on, read on, munch hot cross buns, your choice. Or all at once. 

Hot cross buns, Alfredo's German cousin, and warm puppies

Yesterday I had a visit from Billy and Gary to update me on the sick neighbor who was suddenly in the midst of a serious, life threatening,  setback, rushed into hospital at the weekend, is now doing better, and may get home today.  

We've had a tense couple of days. This was after she'd completed the series of radiation and chemo, and was hoping to start feeling better. Sadly, I think this complication can be a side effect of the treatment. But now we're hoping for the best.

My role is to be the person the caregiver gets to unload on, and I'm doing it gladly. Every caregiver needs a nonjudgmental listener who's been there.  It's exhausting taking a person into the hospital, all the treatment days, then visiting and worrying. 

Her daughter has been attending as possible, but she's  young, early twenties, and has to keep up with her job, so Gary has been very much needed, with occasional visits from friend's brother and sister who live several hours away.

Meanwhile, since Good Friday is this week, and I needed to make bread anyway, I made a version of hot cross buns. 

I mixed half a recipe of my usual wholewheat bread, and added in fresh ginger chunks, dried cranberries, and the zest of lemons and blood oranges. The spicy ingredients are symbolic of suffering..

Then I formed half a dozen rolls

Baked them 20 minutes at 450f

And iced them with the traditional crosses, symbolizing the sweetness of the sacrifice underlying the anguish of the cross. I'm mainly in it for the buns, though, rather than the religious observance of my childhood.

Pretty good considering the liberties I took with the recipe.

And I made fettuccine Alfredo, cugino tedesco. 

Fettuccine tossed with butter and blue cheese crumbles, with the last of the sausages. So it's Alfredo's German cousin!

This week I need to get out the Easter decorations, a selection of rabbits, cats and eggs. Today maybe. It's looking as if Handsome Son and I can celebrate Easter on Saturday, nearest in recent memory to the actual day.

Winnowing is not worth a picture today, just a recycle of a few plastic containers whose lids are long gone. I'm definitely conquering the plastic containers. Just a few more days of winnowing, then I can review the effects on my surroundings and on me.

Happy day everyone, anyone may eat hot cross buns, no need to be exclusive. But Passover period observers may need to wait a few days, because leaven.