Angelcots and other successful ventures

 I tried an angelcot, which turned out to be the texture of an apricot, and much more juicy, really good. It will make a good sauce with the last of the pancake batter, aside from being interesting raw.

Since I had tuna, I made mayo for a tuna salad on whole wheat toast. I really bless Leigh for this mayo idea. I'd always thought it was a tedious affair of dripping the oil in slowly while mixing, to get it to work without separating, so I've never bothered. 

But now, to think about it is five minutes from enjoying it. I make it right in the container I keep it in, and consider it great.

I'm noticing a lot of fireworks related angst, and my response: move to an Indian community! Where I live the development is now largely Indian. Very quiet Fourth, not significant to even the citizens amongst them. Now Diwali is a different story!

In freecycle news, two artworks were not picked up, after THREE no shows, ingrates, names now on my bad guy list. So I decided to upcycle them.

Took them out of the frames 

And one is now a canvas cloth for the tray Handsome Son and I use for tea and a little something 

Here's the back of the embroidered and beaded piece, people like to see the back. It's a piece of cotton lawn, to reinforce the silk.

The piece is hand dyed, one I made for teaching purposes for the embroiderers guild, when they valiantly tried to stitch freeform without a stamped or painted pattern. Very new ground for them but they threw themselves into trying, credit where due.

Then I turned it into a pillow, stitching it to a linen back 

Here she is with her friends on the sofa, and the frames join another for another try at freecycling. Often raw materials go better than finished artworks.

Since this was yesterday 

Feels like 107°f! A good day to stay indoors, cool, and making pillows and mayo.

Happy day everyone, good wishes for better times in the UK, and high hopes for a continued left path here in the US, too.

A good fourth after all, with new sightings

Yesterday when I went out to greet our praying mantis,I didn't see it, but I did spot this little gold feller 

And indoors new growth 

See the leaf unfurling? This is a division from a parent plant which I just stuck in the pot and left alone. Clearly he didn't mind.

Yesterday was still a Misfits day, despite the holiday. 

I'm trying a new to me fruit, angelcots, some variation on apricots, which I like. And there in the front is a free sample of one of my least favorite fruit, a kiwi. 

Loads of fish and fruit. I cook fish simply, easy prep, stovetop for the hot weather that's come surging back.

I didn't do the Bad Food tradition for holidays, figuring that my small appetite needs nutritious food in current stressful times 

Turkey burger, broccoli, strawberries and homemade yogurt. 

Handsome Son came over after his long shift and was very happy to be greeted with suntea, lemon flavored and chilled, plum and apple crumble with custard, and chocolate covered almonds. His trad Mom had hot tea.

He went back and polished off the rest of the custard. No leftovers. I advertised it as international food -- British Custard, and American fruit crumble. Anyway it was well received.

And he brought the ponytail palm downstairs for me, so here's the new living room setup. 

I'm so happy I moved the ficus on, because this feels right now. It's enough for the space.

After Handsome Son left, when we'd had our say about a lot of current concerns and his vacation plans, I spent a lovely evening with 

To accompany a great TV series, Love in a Cold Climate,produced by Gerald Savory who produced the Miss Mapp and Lucia series, 

Wonderful sets and costumes and acting, just spot on.

So it was a very good day after all, just the interlude I needed.

Happy day everyone, and I hope you have the ingredients for a good day. One note of good news from the UK, amid the Tory wipeout -- Rees-Mogg lost his seat, along with other bigs.

Happy Fourth, and new finds

 It's a more determined than happy Fourth this year, but I plan to enjoy the day. Handsome Son suddenly texted to say he's visiting later, quite a surprise. 

Fortunately I'd made this yesterday 

Plum and apple crumble, newly out of the toaster oven. And this 

Mysterious parcel, a new batch of yogurt in progress.

So there's a little something for him.

Yesterday in the garden, it was time to collect the honesty and strip the pods 

 I tossed all the seeds around on the patio trusting that some will grow next year, and added this year's branch to the collection.

And, at the other end of its life, I found this while I was looking for the praying mantis 

The first hibiscus bud. Happy dance.

The garden always has something to be glad about, even in dark times.

Happy day everyone, happy Fourth if you celebrate, or happy Thursday, unless it's Friday where you are.  If you follow me.

Here's our resident praying mantis looking right at us, greener and bigger. Gary came over to admire then took her picture.

After bringing me in to admire his newly installed fireplace insert, he leashed Billy the pup and decided to come on my walk. He'd never been down that side of the development, and was amazed at the frogs leaping about.

On the way back, we met a neighbor new to Gary, whom I've known for years. We admired her vegetables, her Yorkie and Billy made friends, and so it went.

The weather was just about cool enough for  walking, so I  thought it would be a waste to be indoors at the knitting group if there is one. I'll get back when the heat moderates.

I also made  arrangements for the water heater, incredibly expensive, at least double last time, to be ordered for installation next week, and for  dryer vent  and chimney inspection and cleaning also next week.  This month, with the several $K hearing aids, will set me back quite a bit. Good thing my stock fund has gone up,  and I can pay for it all, so there's that.  Thank you, Joe!

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured a young yardage weaver who encourages everyone to make clothes from their own woven yardage, not to fear cutting into it. She has done custom sewing, including wedding dresses, also her own. She also sells kitchen cloths and insists people use them, not just keep them "for best". Joanne would approve.

this length was woven, unwoven and rewoven to get this blurred effect.

And here's her favorite jacket with great pockets usually crammed with what she needs in her current project.

Behind her here is a dress she made for herself. She started life in computer software and web design, and says weaving is really programming. It has a lot in common. 

I usually knit or stitch or weave while I watch and do screenshots. Yesterday I was pinloom weaving, because I have another idea about woven and stitched patches worked together in a piece, using my backlog of both.

So yesterday was pretty full, one way and another. 

I pretty much followed this suggestion

Happy day, everyone, my potatoes will soon be ready to harvest!  

One of the  joys of writing a blog is that my words are never interrupted as I go. Any small woman with a small voice reading this will know how precious that is. You get right to the end without anyone cutting in,  shouting you down and arguing, it's lovely. Anyone can get their turn in the comments, and that's fine. Just sayin'.

 

Amid bad news, art goes on

 I can't talk  in  here about the disastrous decisions from SCOTUS Monday, strategizing next steps elsewhere online with lawyers and other actual experts, so I'm keeping my balance here with the daily round.

Laundry done, floors swept, good lunch of turkey burger, pancakes and broccoli. It's important to eat well in stressful times and these are stressful times all over the world.

And I continued with Lucia and Mapp, still as funny as ever, that timing never gets old.

The sock goes on, too, the heel now turned 

It's particularly important to keep up supporting the knitting ministry, because the recipients are already suffering and the SCOTUS decisions can only make their lives worse. So the little bit I'm doing is all the more needed.

Winnowing goes on -- I Freecycled a huge pad of drawing paper to a deliriously happy receiver, and two artworks to another

It's such a pleasure to send pieces off to new homes where they'll add to the lives of the new owners. I got a charge out of making them, and now they'll have new life.

Happy day everyone, as far as you can manage it. Good news: the praying mantis is still on the hibiscus, looking a bit bigger and is now pale green, fast growth. I think that means she's finding insects to feed on, or she'd have moved on.

Good things happening anyway

 Here's some excellent legislation for my state, which has a long history of failing to fund the transportation sector. In fact previous governors raided the trust fund to finance their own pet projects. This changes now.

Notice where the funding is coming from. Take that, Amazon!

And I wrote a line of encouragement and support to Biden and Harris, and the office acknowledged it

We're good.

On the home front, I was out briefly early morning, and met a baby praying mantis. He must be very young, still transparent. I like having them around to help with mosquitoes. And he's on the hibiscus, so that's welcome in case any insects are planning to eat the new leaves.

Too humid and hot to venture out yesterday, so I set up an afternoon of Lucia, with a glass of rooibos and chamomile sun tea.

Supper was pancakes and plum sauce, the pancakes made with AP and chickpea flour. 

This cooking didn't heat the kitchen up, and there's batter to make more today. 

Happy day, everyone, I'm trying to shed more light than heat today.

Photo AC