Great ticket, not so great inspection, and other vital things

 Here's a great ticket, checks all my boxes

He's a good man, will support, not compete with, her, it doesn't take anyone out of Congress, and his lieutenant Gov, Peggy Flanagan, who will preside in his campaign absence, is the first native American woman to do so. Many wins.

The inspection, not so much. Electrical failed, something needs torquing (!) and plumbing passed. Two separate inspectors. Plumber said electric was too picky. I know electric always likes to find something.

So, remediation needed, another appointment, then a reinspection, another appointment. Call to plumber, email to building dept. This too shall pass.

I didn't make it to Tuesday knitting, storms in NJ, but Textiles and Tea was on, despite the presenter in Illinois losing power and WiFi, storms, and returning gamely, ending up on her phone! 

She's a former competitive swimmer, used to overcoming! And she's a painter turned weaver who paints her warps and finds a lot of parallels between painting, swimming and weaving. As you'll see

these are watercolor studies for upcoming works

24 foot hand painted warp! She loves large works, being 6'2" herself, they feel right.

This bottom piece, detail shown above,  is 23' across. She cut the wave shapes and is still deciding what to do with the part she cut off.  Look at her energy and color! Her work is dynamic.

And this humble weaver has come away, yet again, with an idea I'd like to try, a small tapestry though. I fancy painting the warp, and have a general notion of the design.  Textiles and Tea never fails.

And while I was writing, this happened

Complete with voiceover.

I hadn't planned on going anywhere, just as well. Happy day everyone, stay safe!

Second sock under way and new me

There's a SSS, second sock syndrome, which strikes some knitters, where the momentum of knitting the first sock goes away and it's hard to get to the second of the pair. It doesn't affect me, probably because I'm incapable of not finishing.

Here, the second patch toe sock is under way while I listen to my morning political podcast 

I tried on the first one, and found it comfortable, so I'll use this method more. It's easier than the provisional cast on method, much as I like it.

The inspection of the water heater is scheduled for tomorrow, when Handsome Son happens to be off work. I'm pursuing a new-me policy of letting people do what they offer to do, rather than old-me, who would insist on doing everything. 

He texted to say he'd take care of letting the inspector in and giving him the paperwork. New me just said great, thank you.  This is restful. I like this new policy. It's respectful of other people's willingness and ability.  Took me a while to get this.

So I picked and arranged a few flowers, humming happily 

Happy day, everyone, celebrate gymnast Andrade's brilliant Olympic gold, from great poverty and deprivation, through grit and endless work, to peak achievement. Go Rebecca! And the huge sportsmanship shown by the other medalists, bowing to her on the stand. Simone and Suni.

One of my favorite Olympic sights was, after Noah Lyles won the 100m in a photo finish (!), he took what was for him a fairly slow victory lap. Cameramen puffing, panting, legs whirring  like pistons, trying to keep him in frame!  Ordinary people showing us the contrast.

After the rain, the bites

A couple of brief trips out to see the flowers between rainstorms, yielded 

Thyme really thriving with heat

Next to it the potatoes coming along 

And the really successful recovery of the curry leaf plant, which had dropped all its branches and I thought it was done for.

Then suddenly it put out new growth and now I have pretty much a new plant. Since I use these leaves in cooking a lot, it's great to have them doing well. This pot comes in and becomes a houseplant in winter.

And finally the zinnias and giant marigolds are getting under way. They were just foliage for ages, but after all, there will be flowers.

Also the mosquito population was late this year and is now all set to devour whatever human is available.  As I can attest.

Since the campaign season is in full swing, and we'll soon know who's the VP pick, here's a handy chart for people in red states who may run into voting obstacles. You need to check the number for your state for accuracy, just in case. Bookmark this if it's useful. 

I'm looking at a new recipe from Yeung Man Cooking, involving chickpeas and rice, mushrooms, tofu and other items. I've added miso tofu and soy sauce, also oyster mushrooms, to my Misfits order this week. 

And I need to make red chili oil. New adventure.  I'll use the long red pepper I got a while back. They're spice (Latin piper), like white or black pepper, not the vegetable type peppers you grow.  English is confusing on this point.

Will's approach seems laborious and complex, many stages, but it's really only about half an hour in real time prep.  And I've had great results every time.  He's plant based, maybe vegan, I don't know the fine points, but he just presents great food without preaching. Quite a relief from vegans who can't stop going on about it.  

People do tend to get evangelistic about food. And a bit specialized. I remember with glee the American friend who told me the local restaurant where I'd had great Indian food wasn't authentic. Unaware that the cooks were Indian and I'd been introduced to it by Indian friends who said it was very much Indian home cooking, not Western restaurant Indian! 

And don't get me started on Chinese restaurant food, tailored to Western tastes, and when you go with Chinese friends, they order real Chinese food,  nothing from the menu!  To each their own, eat what you like, but let's not get all dogmatic about it.  Knowledgeable is good, I love to learn from people who know, but that's not the same as presenting as an arbiter of what's authentic. 

Off my soapbox for a moment, you'll be glad to hear, here's some visual relief

On Olympic news, in case you hadn't seen this yet, just FYI 

Transgender is fine. Using the word  as a slur to damage a great athlete? Not fine. 

The original boxer who brought the storm about has also apologized and said she was hasty, just seeing her Olympic dream go away in a few seconds in the ring with a better athlete, and hugely regretted her words.  

And on a happier note 🎶

Happy birthday to e!! And many many more! Stay safe from Debby, the storm, not Debbie the great Dem candidate

Weather, aging, flowers, macrame and -- soup?

 Here we still are

My dry skin and hair love the humidity, so there's that. The heat, not so much.

And with all the various subdivisions of the population massing together for Kamala, there's one I can definitely get behind

I'll be there.

About aging: you're lucky if you manage it, even luckier if you have good health. I hate the expression X years "young". Old is lovely, and I'm not flattered at being assured that young is somehow better.  Speaking as a  person who has outlived the doctors who wrote me off at an early age, I think aging is just fine. 

Yesterday's high heat and humidity resulted in thunderstorms and torrential rain, which saved me from watering the flowers. How's that for an egocentric take!?

And today, new flowers are opening. I planted wildflower mixes as well as recognizable flowers, so I'm guessing at some of them.  

When I was out early, pottering about, there was a shriek and a leap into the groundcover, so I guess our frog population is happy. We have toads, too, but I haven't seen any this year yet.

Speaking of aging and everything old is new again, Tatters is teaching

Let's hear it from everyone who made plant hangers and bracelets and various messy string things way back!

Guilty as charged. Admittedly this piece involved knitting, in string and copper wire, and handmade beads,  as well as the inevitable lark's head knots. I made it in memory of my late great cockatiel, Emily Hope, whose favorite swinging perch is the support.

More in the moment, here's some spinning I did this afternoon. 

I can't spin for long, so I seize the moment. In this cop (yarn on the spindle shaft) there's sari silk waste followed by mixed silk, then wool. I might knit or weave this eventually.

Meanwhile I have a bunch of small amounts spun, waiting for a purpose beyond the pleasure of spinning.

Today, you know the weather, full disclosure, I made chicken soup. It happened like this.  I'd been slicing and picking and generally enjoying the chicken in various forms, and was down to the bones.  

I really didn't want to freeze them for later processing, so I thought, oh well, mad dogs and Englishfolk, and chucked the carcase into a pan with celery and carrots, and simmered it for ages. 

Then, bones lifted out, meat all picked off and back into the pan, bones and skin disposed of,  I blended the contents of the pan, added salt, pepper and powdered milk, and came out with three pretty good helpings of cream of chicken soup. 

It tastes all old-fashioned, and there'll be an evening I'll be glad of it, one of these cooler days. 

On a saner note, happy day everyone, happy Olympic watching and pontificating on 

It's tiring being an instant expert on presidential politics, and multiple sports all at once. Especially sports you'd never heard of before. 

Heat again, the great indoors

 Here's today

Where it shows Trenton? That's me.

So today's about indoors. Stitching, knitting, no Friday knitting group. Browsing fun comics. Here's one for birders.

Moose is simply one of the best.

A few flowers are starting to  appear, including tiny wildflowers. I'm hoping they'll self seed.

Maybe wild phlox?

Meanwhile, I finally got that patch toe sock done 

Now for the second sock.

And a bit of goldwork 

And yesterday a text of thanks to Joe Biden for the huge feat of bringing political prisoners out of Russia. Including dissident Russian citizens imprisoned by their own government.  

He was on the phone to Slovenia about the final touches, an hour before he announced his ending his campaign. While self serving ambitious little critics like Andy Kim of NJ were claiming he was past it.  

For me, after all the hours I put in working to get Kim elected, it's personal. I'll vote him into the Senate this time, we need the seat. But if I live long enough, I'm going to work just as hard to primary him. One Term Kim. We deserve better. Okay, Boud, breathe 

White Rabbits, gold medals and a lotus

August, Lammastide, wheat harvest soon. Happy season, everyone.

And here's great Olympic news, there's a lot, but this is my pick

Real grown women! Not the little girls we used to see before the Olympic committee came to their senses and installed new minimum age limits.  Women's gymnastics for women!

Handsome Son visiting today, so there's chocolate cake and lemonade all set. 

Also strawberries and chocolate almonds.

He's having a good summer, with the shore and concerts and general fun. He can handle hot weather. That makes one of us.

Just a footnote about good neighbors. We are original owners in this development, bought our unit from the builders. So this friendly atmosphere is what we helped build and encourage. 

It's the result of significant reaching out and helpfulness on our part, too. Like a lot of other good things, it didn't come about by chance.  We were the white family welcoming Black and Indian new neighbors and encouraging other white owners to do likewise. 

We were out and about being safe people to ask things, to help people fathom their water shutoffs and other built-in builder's mysteries, and for people who had never had a fireplace, how to proceed safely. All that. 

 

So yes, it's lovely. And it's no accident. Just sayin'. Not throwing bouquets at myself, just saying it's always a two way street. The harder you work, the luckier you get. 

I'm reaping the reward now, from people who saw what I went through in the caregiving years, now being protective and kind to me in my own old age.  I know you can reach out and never reap any reward, perfectly true. But it's wonderful when it happens.

Thursday is my Misfits box day. Getting ready to wash and prep a lot of produce. My least favorite part, but it's how I make sure ingredients are ready to cook. It's insurance, so I don't feel too tired to cook! If it's halfway there, so much easier to cook the rest of the way. It helps me avoid the tea and toast routine of tired old people.

Time for Nancy yogurt, since my own has been getting thinner, it needs a boost. The last few spoons of this will be the next starter.

I always love to see these brown eggs, with real shells, golden firm yolks. A boiled egg with a toasted slice of that seedy, grainy bread is a great small supper.

Strawberries and chocolate almonds, because why not.  All set for easy hot weather food.