Wednesday work day

Outside, Michael and Gary unhinging doors, hauling them through my house, then Gary painting said doors. 

Michael pausing to adjust the gate so it doesn't spring open when Billie jumps at it. She had a recent adventure when she managed to open it. Found two streets away, other side of a busy road, phew.

Inside, Boud doing laundry, having finally noticed no clean clothes, and making a new batch of laundry liquid, since the laundry load used up the last of the supply.  

Earlier,  morning blood work, some results transmitted almost before I got home.  Urgently needed breakfast then, fried egg and toast, coffee. Watered outdoor plants. Took shrimp out of freezer. Then it was still only 11am. Then I noticed the sink packed with yesterday's dishes. Oh.

I'm thinking about small weavings, using various bits of fabric for the weft, on the pinloom. I've had weaving in mind for a while and haven't settled on a loom. Yesterday's Textiles and Tea reminded me of very small works. 

Just playing for now.

My crochet mojo has gone walkabout for now. 

Another major task I remembered: change from winter to summer purse. That will take all of thirty seconds, tops. It gets postponed though.

Chop wood, carry water, change purse. Then enlightenment. After which chop wood, carry water.

I don't believe in an afterlife, but I see it as an endless chop wood carry water but with posh white robes and harps. With maybe a bit of pinloom weaving now and then.

One of my friends, a professional band musician on many instruments, used to do volunteer end of life work where she would play, at the family's request, including harp.

I asked her if she would reconsider playing harp music to patients coming into consciousness in their last days, especially after last ditch surgery. I could see the confusion that could arise. She didn't think it was funny. 

But I could definitely visualize the patient, looking around the same old faces, room, with added harp music,  and thinking this is an economy version of what I expected.

Not everyone's taste in humor, but I'm old enough to go with it.

Happy day everyone, with or without musical accompaniment.

Dinner was shrimp over jasmine rice, with lime wedges, smoked paprika and amchur

Sez Ted 

New day, new mood, new work

 So the Morning Moan and the later walk, lovely cool day, between showers, worked as hoped 

And here's an experiment with the pinloom. I wove a piece with handspun silk yarn, using every pin, then did warping on both sides, pulling the threads in different directions, to create a suggested landscape.

Off the loom 1.

2.

3.

4.

The last four images show the piece off the loom, in each of the different directions. 

This is where I would like your input. Which direction works best for you?  Always interested to have your perception. My own is not always the best.

This piece is to be mounted as the focus of the next page in the fabric book, 

and there will be more stitching there, and maybe couched-down silk roving.

It took over from the goldwork, in fact I have another idea to do next, involving the pinloom and a cotton warp which I fancy painting. It would need to be warped over every pin in order to have a piece of fabric to paint.  We'll see.

 See how a walk can reset your entire outlook. The Indian men in the neighborhood know me now and I get bows and namaste as we pass in the street. 

Too wet underfoot to do a nature walk, though no doubt the ducks and frogs are deliriously happy. Birds and butterflies proceeding with caution, so wet everywhere.

This arrived this afternoon 

This one is designed for sun, but rain's okay too. Made in Australia with Australian expertise and knowledge about sun. They don't know I'm saying this, I just like it.

Blogger is doing stuff again, centering this text block and resisting all my requests to justify left. However it did let me import a group of pictures in one go, so there's that.

Happy day, everyone, let's take it where we find it.

 

Buds and meetings

Early Wednesday morning, out to visit the few flowers  out yet, and rearrange the little bouquet.

And spot the little stem of the potatoes starting to emerge.

The rest of the morning was about online meetings about getting Harris elected, and now that black women, latinas and lgbtq+ groups have organized zoom meetings, Wednesday evening signed up for White Women for Harris. I have to get online early, because they'll fill fast. 

I did get in -- signed in half an hour early and was still about 150th in line. 

The event was very capably run by organizers from different regions, of SURJ, Showing Up For Racial Justice.

4,000 capacity, filled, raised about $150, 000, signed up hundreds of new volunteers.

Couple of screenshots, with links, cut and paste, to take part and/or donate 

Totally inclusive, signed throughout, every speaker described herself, race and appearance for the vision impaired, good captioning for hearing assistance.

It was a rush, such youth and energy, and understanding of our responsibility as powerful voters with white privilege. 

It's all go. And it's all good. I'll live to see a black woman in the White  House yet. 

In Sanskrit Kamala means Lotus. And we're working to make it mean POTUS.  Corny but oh well.

Franklin Habit, fiber artist and cartoonist has donated this image to use. He asks that it not be used for items to sell, and that his name be left on. Free gift! The reference is to an inopportune statement by the GOP VP candidate.

Meanwhile Gary's home. He stopped in last evening for a minute, just to let me know. He's looking a bit thinner and frailer but he's got a friend staying to help the first few days.

And I'm weaving, to keep calm 

Happy day everyone, keep calm and campaign, if you're in campaign territory. Cheer us on if you're not.

Of chimneys and cosmos

Today I will have the sweep in, required inspection, chimney and dryer vents. I'm sorry for people who have to be out and about working in this heat, and wondered if they'd postpone, but I guess business has to happen.

Florida voters, I was at an online Town Hall with your Democratic hopeful for your senator, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. 

She's a powerhouse, first Latina from Florida in Congress, now hoping to replace Scott as senator. She's second generation, from Ecuador, has worked all her life and loves her State. I'd vote for her if I could. 

Florida has Democratic candidates fielded in every contest this year, no more uncontested GOP walkovers. Florida is in play!

Meanwhile, the daily stuff of life ticks over.

Shrimp salad with pancakes, apricots and almond chocolates 

The first of this year's flowers, Russian sage, lavender, black eyed Susans, daisies, from the front yard 

And here's the first flower from the backyard 

I thought you might like to see the pinloom vest with the pressed linen tunic, as you see, mid thigh. I like the short over long look.

I also hope the heat abates so I can get out and wear it. The vest is soft and lacy, really pleasing.

And since I'm anxious and tense, heat does that to me, also the ongoing house needs, last evening I did a bit of spindle spinning.

Roving, left to right, is sari waste, silk mixture and wool. The spindle is my favorite, a 3D printed one. Ancient meets modern. Oddly, twisting roving into yarn untwists my tension. 

All the Freecycle items went in a matter of hours, frames and drawings claimed by one keen person. I'm very happy about the drawings particularly, now in a good home.

Happy day everyone,  don't be fooled by the Russian deza about prominent Dems wanting Biden replaced. 

The Washington Post has already been forced to retract their lie about MOC Ted Lieu. Don't believe the first thing you read from anonymous sources, or rumors. 

I mean serious political figures, not the washed up actors and writers seizing on a way to get attention in their waning years! 

Meanwhile 

Many arrangements, textiles and tea, and a reveal.

Gary stopped in briefly Tuesday afternoon, when I was home, the 90+ temperatures ruling out the Tuesday knitting group for me, and in the course of a couple of minutes we arrived at the following decisions:

1.  I will consider replacing my stepladder with a better one from another neighbor and dispose of mine. I pointed out that Gary's the only person who uses it anyway, so either way is fine. Dispose of either one, keep one.

2. I will save my ice blocks from Misfits for him to use in his cooler over the summer and resume recycling later.

3. He will replace the beat up old outdoor storage  doors for himself, me and another neighbor, if I will find out the paint color required by the HOA. This won't happen till later this summer, because of various trips and projects and this is situation normal.

That and plant chat about the houseplant broken by squirrels, and the meeting concluded. We should run a company, never any wasted time.

I got back to the pinloom weaving and finished the vest. I plan to do an adjustment to the arm holes, usual requirement for my curvy back; it's looking ok.

Textiles and Tea this week was Sam Goates, a Scottish weaver of wool yardage for menswear, using some amazing old looms. She left Glasgow after university, to spend twenty years in Australia working in textile design, then returned to Scotland to open her own company, Woven in the Bone.

The machinery was intriguing, noisy to the point of needing ear protectors, but work horses for yardage production.

I'm listening to new YouTube uploads of various Margery Allingham mysteries while I'm making these days. Today one of my favorites, Flowers for the Judge. Full of the quirky characters she specializes in. 

And here's an analysis of the biased mainstream media on Biden's age. Just sayin'. Just been sayin' for a while now.

Happy day, everyone, weave on. Or don't, it's so hot.