Misfits, curry leaf plant and new fiber work

Misfits arrived promptly this morning, and I just had time to put out the returnable packaging.

Limes for a limey, long time since I had any, but I love the flavor. It's a citrus fruit I'm not allergic to, unlike all the orange family.

The cauliflower is for an upcoming cheese cauliflower, plenty of cheeses available for the sauce, and a sturdy Western meal, contrasting to the Asian type of cooking I've been doing. 

Carrots to be steamed and added to the black bean rice dish, and as salad makings. Orzo because I haven't had any for ages and they're fast for quick meals and in soup.  Cannellini beans because I use them all the time, versatile things. 

High end pop tarts, all organic ingredients because it's soon going to be my birthday.  I've made these from scratch in the past. Home baked junk food!

Speaking of birthdays, in the Gratitude book by Oliver Sacks, he talks about, in his eighties, feeling detached from the world. He still cared, but was ready to leave everything to the next generation. 

I'm far from detached, in fact still very actively involved in political action, so we differ greatly there. Soon I'll be in the second half of my eighties, an age Oliver didn't reach. But he was writing after a terminal diagnosis, and I'm in a very different position there.

Anyway I think pop tarts are in order.

The other present I'm giving myself is a set of Tunisian crochet hooks, because I've been making everything on the one big hook available, which is a bit hard on my hands, also limiting. Anyway it belongs to the library, so I can return it to their collection. 

In regular crochet, I'm doing the occasional granny squares in a range of blues and greens, maybe ending as a throw.

Just a handy thing to pick up at odd times.

In celebratory Sag mode, I'll ask Handsome Son to come over on whatever day we are both free, and make me lunch, our usual procedure. It's a visit and a present in one. Then he'll bring down the box of Christmas stuff and we'll set it up. Not much, just a gesture to the festive season.

Meanwhile life goes on in the plant world, see the curry leaf plant has started two groups of baby plants. 

It's so satisfying to grow your own flavoring ingredients. I use curry leaves quite a bit.

Happy day everyone, try not to detach before you need to.

Wednesday on the home front

Wednesday is often about recovering from Tuesday, and catching up at home. Today it's laundry, when I realized I was running out of socks. 

Then there's cooking. Pumpkin walnut cranberry loaf. And, since the oven was hot,  roasted broccoli, onions, garlic, fresh ginger and capers. I more or less made this up along the lines of Yeung Man Cooking. Red chili oil on the roasting vegetables. 

These are to go over jasmine rice with black beans

Here's the bread in the foreground, beautiful golden color from the pumpkin and the whole wheat flour.

Nice distribution of walnuts and cranberries. This is so seasonal.

And here's the main event 

Enough for several meals, all set for days, with enough pumpkin bread to share with Handsome Son and friends. 

Gary stopped by, tasted the bread, but he's not a pumpkin fan, so he didn't take any home. All the more for people who like it. It's not a cake like taste, not very sweet. It's also good for toasting for breakfast.

Happy day everyone, cook on, or delegate it,  depending on your own situation.

Memory lane, fiberarts and other peaceful things.

 First, what everything's all about for your humble blogwriter

And, speaking seasonally

Meanwhile, I was in a discussion earlier about the gentler programs we used to let our kids watch, and I remembered a lovely CBC production, The Friendly Giant. Then found him on  YouTube, from way back, in the late sixties.

Fifteen minutes of music and stories and puppets. Handsome Son watched this when he was two or three. I think it's still worth seeing. Simple production, and a warm atmosphere.

The Tuesday Knitting Group was fun, several people there and knitting, crochet and Tunisian crochet were in progress.

Talk ranged widely as always, over finishing other people's knitting, hearing aids the fitting and repairing of, religion, languages, the Greek middle voice, knitting needles, teaching, the Trenton cigar factory, old neighbors, freecycle and more. I love my group.

Textiles and Tea was about Tracy Kaestner, Joanne, this is for you! She specializes in towels of all colors. Originally she sewed clothing and still designs items, but her main interest is weaving and writing about and designing towels. Here, take a look.

Speaking as a sewer, get a look at those great bound button holes, virtuoso work

Great Tuesday. Again. Wednesday will probably involve pumpkin bread, using the rest of that canned pumpkin and some of the whole wheat flour I got recently.  It's all good.

Happy day everyone, weave on.

'ear, 'ear! Ruth returns. And other nice stuff

Called the audiologist first thing Monday morning and to my amazement, got an appointment for 11. Same day. 

Well, second thing really, because the early morning sun came in like this, casting great shadows through the glass pitcher, so I had to record it.

It's a Jersey Lilypad, colonial design originally, hand blown, well, mouth blown, by a modern glass artisan, in the authentic color glass. Standing on a custom mantel handmade by a woodworking artisan, using antique mahogany.  We're posh.

So Dr H. and I met, I told her the workarounds, which she said she'd have tried first, too, then she checked my ear,  nothing happening there, then took a look at Ruth.  

It turned out the wire leading into the ear canal had gone. Simple replacement, took about twenty seconds, and I could hear again fine. 

She also gave me her email in case of sudden needs, so she could fit me in between appointments. Apparently she does this for hearing aid users.

Very happy hearer here.

Home again to soup and cheese toast and a walk around the block, more or less, not far, but I was out and walking. Helen Hip gets irritated if I go further just at the moment.

Then I cast on the Tunisian crochet I'd been wanting to try. I had to review stitches again and remembered Toni, excellent YouTube teacher 

If you want to learn or review any crochet, she's great, a designer and reviewer of yarns and hooks. Also she has killer nail styling.

Here's the start of a slip-on glove. I've made these before for myself and like them. You create a rectangle to fit around your hand, to the length you want, then stitch it into a tube leaving a gap in the seam for your thumb. They're very useful and I think they can go to the Sock 'n Glove Ministry.

What you're seeing is the length of the glove, and I'm working up and down it in bands of simple and knit stitches.  

I've been wanting to do a bit of Tunisian crochet for a while. 

And the jigsaw puzzle is coming along in five minute bursts. 

Good day. 

Happy day everyone, no need to shout, Ruth's working fine now, and I've learned a bit about her workings. Phonak doesn't offer these parts at retail, just the regular bits you replace when cleaning,  so I have to get this kind of repair done by Dr H.  It's part of the Audiologist Full Employment Act, no doubt.

White rabbits a bit late

I forgot my last post would appear on December 1, so here's my belated white rabbits for luck all month. White Rabbits!

I got a short walk this morning, and despite 32°f , it still looks like fall to me. 

I broke out the new long coat, seemed the right time. Nice and draft proof.

Saturday, among other discussions, I said since I definitely am not using serving pieces and a posh table anymore, I may as well Freecycle them. Offered them to HS, who said thanks but no thanks, so I've put them up. They might just be the thing for someone's Christmas table. 

Within an hour a nice lady wanted them all to share with her niece.  Good.

I'm rapidly finished the current gloves because I have plans for the new yarn and Tunisian crochet.

Later, here's the second one finished. 

The blue is brighter than it shows here. Pictures seem to pick up the grey more 

Now for the next plan.

And here's my December reminder to self 

Happy day everyone,  nature's slowing down, maybe we can, too.

Thankful for even more

While I was organizing the place for Thanksgiving Observed, a box arrived. It was the promised yarns 

All machine washable and dryable, so I can use them for gloves, socks, dolls for my various destinations without concern. I love those greens. And I can see great color combos in my future.

Then, there was this 

I love these stand up constructions, forget the technical name. This is a keeper. Such a good friend, generous too. More to be thankful for. Thank you, C.

Note added after departure of handsome son. Lovely afternoon of food and chat. The meal was fine and the cranberry sauce took serious inroads. Some went home with HS. Along with cheddar cheese. He declined veggies.  He left me extra pie, turkey slices, gouda cheese and breadsticks.  

There was a bit of comic relief in that he's got the aftermath of a virus, one ear blocked, while one of my hearing aids, Ruth, to name the  culprit, suddenly went on strike. So two semi deaf people had a fairly fractured convo.

I cleaned Ruth, changed her hearing dome and filter, switched her on and off, learned to reboot her, did so.  No effect, still low level correction. Sooooo I'll call the audiologist Monday for further steps.

If anyone else has good advice on a rechargeable Phonak aid, please speak up. Loudly. Thank you.

Happy day, everyone, I said happy day, everyone.