Sunshine, puppies, curry joy

Today has been a series of fun things to do. The morning weaving is coming along fine, more than halfway up the panel and my skills improving as I go. This evening I'll spin, and maybe knit.

Then the latest paparazzi shot of Mrs Dove

And nature notes on the solitary cactus flower 

Later this morning I made the chicken curry. 

I used butter, olive and avocado oil to cook the onions, added after first cooking the Bill Veach Curry Powder #1 till it smelled heavenly, technical term. 

Then I added in the chicken, chopped almonds, salt and pepper, turned them over a few times before adding chicken stock. After everything was cooked, about a cup of coconut milk, to simmer a while, till I made sure the rice was ready. 

When I used to make this for Handsome Partner, the curry and rice was only the bit in the middle of the plate. 

I also made side dishes, such as bacon,  fried crisp and crumbled, banana slices in lemon juice, raisins fattened up in hot water, figs in syrup, and more,  and always Major Grey's Mango Chutney.

Eaten Bill Veach style, you put helpings of whatever dishes you liked, we liked all of them, around the margin of your plate, then filled the spoon with a different combo of rice, curry and extras each time. And I used to make the coconut milk from a raw coconut I grated and squeezed through a cheesecloth. Yes, very extra!

I wasn't up to that today, hence the can of coconut milk, but I did have some lovely moist dried apricots and some dried cranberries which filled the extra requirements nicely.

The coconut milk gives a lovely velvety finish and though it's a spicy dish, it's mellow too. And there's enough for tomorrow. 

The rest of the coconut milk is in the freezer for next time I make a curry.

There was an online presentation on ikat weaving which I'll show you tomorrow, editing galore still needed.

Then Gary needed to be out without Billy the Pup, would I just check on him? Would I? I spent most of the afternoon with him, next door. 

I couldn't bring him to my patio, because the last thing Mrs Dove needs is a hyperactive puppy around.  So we played at Gary's, and Billy eventually calmed down enough to sit and be held and watch clouds and birds and anything that moved, and run away with his tug.  

Nice afternoon. L'apres midi d'un petit chien chaud. Warm puppy time.

Now I need to sit down a bit, with my new tray in action

Today's special events:

My township's observance of Founders' Day. Though NJ was one of the original colonies, half the signers of the D being buried around here, my town wasn't founded till 1919, brand new, really.

Also it's the Trenton AKC Dog Show in a local park. It's a cool one if you're interested in the dog world because it's one of the must stops for handlers and dogs qualifying for Westminster, the big one. So you see a huge range of breeds and,  even more entertaining, owners. 

Nothing else of note.. to me, anyway:)

Never a dull moment. Happy day everyone, enjoy your day, I definitely am.

Food, nature notes and Battle of Puebla Day

Today is May 5, Battle of Puebla Day, a short -lived victory of Mexican forces against a French invasion. Not a public holiday in Mexico, but seemingly celebrated more in the US. 

It reminds me of St Patrick's Day which is pretty low key and religious in Ireland, but a blowout party day in the US. 

It's also not Mexican independence day, which comes September 16. But we can party twice.

On to food, and Misfits lovely cornucopia

Setting aside some fresh celery and carrots for salad, the rest is prepped and frozen, the carrot peelings and celery-end in the freezer stock bag.

And the arrival of the coconut milk, in anticipa-a-a-ation of chicken curry, I got out the Bill Veach book of curries and chutneys, opened it to my favorite Buckingham Palace chicken curry..

To be studied with tea, fresh hot biscuit/scone thing and newly arrived Misfits blueberries.

It's pretty clear when a recipe is a favorite, as you see.  Not particularly celebrating the KCIII party tomorrow, when an array of looted jewels will be set on a couple of heads for reasons which escape this anti monarchist old lady. This is just a nice recipe, ingredients come by honestly.

This is the book I use for my curry powder mixes, too. 

So that will happen in the next day or two after which the chicken carcase will take its place in soup.

Meanwhile, here's today's Dove Family sighting. 

As you see, the surrounding henbit is growing rapidly and providing great concealment. Smart choice chez Dove.

And here's the sum total of flowers to show you

Best the Christmas, or Easter, or maybe Whitsun, cactus can do at this time.

Happy day everyone, knitting group later and we'll see what's up there.

May The Fourth be with you

Today, here's the wish of the day*

*Written in Pitman. For those few who may need a translation: 

The Fourth of May is Star Wars Day. May the Force be with you.

And the last word from the Treasury Mog

On to less important things, yesterday was a knitting, weaving, spinning day. 

Sock Ministry sock, weaving of scarf/panel, and spinning of sari and other silk roving for future weaving in future panels.

I think the current weaving may be part of a bigger thing I've had in mind, a skirt with woven front and back panels, knitted shaped sides.  The idea is from Sarah Swett.  I'll use a mixture of artisan yarn and my handspun yarn.

Which means spinning. Some of my roving supplies 

And here left roving, middle current yarn on spindle, right handspun yarn, various fibers

This is a really exciting idea from years ago, I have notes and sketched pattern shapes that came back last night, as a side effect of reading this

It's a guided tour of his house, containing home and studio, shared with longtime business and life partner Brandon Mabley. It's a color riot of stitching and knitting and quilting, and collections of great decorative art pieces.

And here's a source of his inspiration

In Havana, Cuba, Fusterlandia, the creation of artist Jose Fuster, playful and happy work, full of color and movement.

It's a far cry from all this exuberance to my simple art weaving and knitting, but the Force is with me!  

My doctor agrees, after this morning's physical, which showed my mortal coil to be holding up nicely, all parts working, nothing hurting. She kept telling me how lucky I am. Well, I did know that.

And outside, Mrs Dove continues to do her bit for the life force

Happy day everyone, enjoy your life force!

Textiles and Tea and chicken and biscuits

 The 165th cold grey cloudy rainy day is here. Yesterday I fought back

Roast chicken, buttered and garlicked and hot biscuits. 

After Misfits brings the coconut milk tomorrow, there will be curried chicken. Today it's picking on roast chicken.

And I finished the current jigsaw puzzle

I'll donate this to the library lending collection after I've finished admiring it 

And yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured

She weaves tapestries, specializing in wedge weaving, her own way. This is a weaving approach creating angular designs and developed by Navajo weavers, whose work is like this

She makes it clear that she honors their tradition and art, but is careful to follow her own design ideas, as you see. Following are her tapestries 

She makes hand drawn notes and design diagrams, not computer assisted. She prefers natural dyes and has been exploring indigo, cochineal and mineral colors, to get depth rather than subtlety in color.

And she doesn't plan on writing a book, because her notes are easy to access on-line. 

News from the nest, right now

Mrs Dove in residence.

Happy day everyone, discussion group this afternoon if it doesn't start hailing, or grauping, some kind of precipitation.  Enjoy your day, whatever the weather.

What Mrs Dove did, and voting

Yesterday I opened the patio door thinking to do a bit of weeding, and disturbed Mrs Dove when I got too close to where she was sitting. She flew a couple of feet away and I saw

A few minutes later she came back to continue sitting.  She and her nest are concealed by the henbit that I'd planned to clear a bit. So I'll leave it until the family's fledged. 

She doesn't mind me if I don't get too close. Doves are calm birds. I expect she's a descendant of the ones who were hatched years ago in a hanging plant on the front porch.  The nest is just a few bits of grass chucked together, as you see, but anyway it can't fall any further, being on the ground. We don't have any outdoor cats, so it's pretty safe.

And today, the whole state legislature's term being up, I mail in my vote for the June primary 

Nothing like sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea, filling out the ballot, and keeping warm.

Happy day everyone, Textiles and Tea later, but I wanted to show you the mourning dove eggs right away.

White rabbits, May Day, Beltane, Spaghetti!

Greetings on all fronts. Continuing with the Pitman shorthand theme

It's also the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. I wonder if carpenters used shorthand.

And it's Beltane, between the spring and summer equinoxes, so here's some art

In France you rush out in search of Lily of the valley

In England you get out your Edith Holden

And at home, since May has set in with ferocity, the record rainfall now an icy wind, you stay home and warm and determine finally to read those classics. Or maybe find a shortcut

And Chez Boud, a pot of spaghetti was about right for lunch

Happy day everyone, enjoy whichever version you like.