Friday knitting joy, fish pie and winnowing

Today was the Day of the Fish Pie. I've never had it, never made it, just heard it referred to, so  I though I'd look at a few recipes to get the general idea.

A base of white fish, layer of mixed vegetables , cheese sauce over, top lid of mashed potatoes. 

So I figured everything's cooked, then the time in the oven just heats up and blends the flavors

So

Cod, cilantro, potatoes, carrots, chard, scallions,  cheddar and Parmesan cheese, salt, nutmeg, berbere 

I spiced the chard heavily with berbere, steamed the carrots, microwaved the potatoes, poached the fish in milk, some of which I added to the potatoes to mash them with butter

The rest of the milk went into the cheese sauce. Fish layered in buttered glass dish

 cooked vegetables next, cheese sauce poured over, some cheese saved for the top of the pie 

Mashed potato on top 350f about 25 minutes, all bubbling and smelling very good 

And here's lunch. Five more meals in this dish, which is why it was worth all the steps. It's a complete meal, and I think poaching the fish, which I've never done before, was a good idea. In fact the whole thing was a good idea. 

The nutmeg against the fish worked, and the berbere in the vegetables wasn't too strong, because of the blandness of the fish and potato combo, so that worked. 

All in all, worth a bit of trouble.  I learned a few things, too, always a Good Thing (tm).

This afternoon was the knitting group, and this wonderful piece, part of a cowl, by Sandy, starred

Less glamorously, today's winnowing

We're a little past halfway through my allotted winnowing season, and I'm starting to run out of material.  I suppose this is good. There's always paperwork, though.

And the puzzle answer is

NINETEEN!

Not so obscure once you know the answer, but quite opaque until then. Caro was on it right away.

Happy day everyone, try something new. Or don't. You're the boss of you.

Nuts and bolts

Of daily life, that is. Chop wood carry water.

Car into dealership this morning for state inspection and general once-over. Inspection fine, new sticker in place, good for two years.

Buuuut, I had felt the brakes were soft, had them check. Oh dear, red zone. Pads gone, parts needed. So I sighed and said fine, and I now have a much safer car, and an empty wallet. Even fluid flushing and replacement is more expensive than it used to was.

This waiting room is better than the state inspection station, and I got some sock advancement in.

and a very good cup of coffee from a machine. They've discontinued the bagels and cream cheese, though, probably a side effect of the pandemic. And I noticed the technicians are no longer a white guys' club, definitely better. 

All in all, despite the expense, first bill in three years, can't moan, it was a well spent morning. And the mechanic told me I'd never need to do the brakes again. Whether he estimated my life expectancy, or my low mileage history, I'm not sure.. either way is fine. And I do get free oil changes for the life of the car,so there's that.

Home to Misfits box delivery

Look at that beautiful Swiss chard. Going, some of it,  with freezer parsley,  and potatoes from that bag, into a fish pie with the cod you see there. That's tomorrow.

Yesterday was all about easy comfort food

And now I'm all about sitting with my feet up and catching up online. Happy day everyone, weekend's near if it applies to you.

 

Textiles and Tea, cardboard carving, Billy and cherries

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured -- macrame! Not the plant hangers we all made way back, nor the bracelets we taught little kids to make. Take a look.

 He's a retired law professor, and though he says he sees the accuracy required here as similar to the accuracy and thoroughness of writing a brief, he also works freeform 

He doesn't plan his designs anywhere except in his mind, then lets the twine lead him -- I'm quoting.  These are about 18" - 30" across, depending on which board he sets them up on .  

Interestingly, he's been invited into a regional tapestry guild, because they see the similarities. It uses some of the knots and turns used in tapestry work. He's in weaving guilds too.

Meanwhile, cherry blossom just starting on the three patio bushes, so maybe this year I'll get fruit. Some years I get as many as a saucerful.

 Last year no blossom, so this is looking better.

And a beeping puppy play bowing next door, emitting sounds like a guinea pig -- meep, meep.

Meanwhile after a day off from carving on account of an encounter yesterday with the lavender bush, which got me in the eye while I was tipping the pot upright, I'm back. The eye was tearing and gritty feeling but no damage done, and today it's much better, emergency resolved 

So I was able to get back on this work and get a bit of progress. I need to wait till tomorrow for the next stage, because this really makes a person tired.

It needs a raking light to see it best, so here's a few attempts.

Seen here with her friends. Well, a handy thumbtack to use.

This often happens with my work, either black on black or white on white or all about texture needing a better camera. It's what the art wants. I'm just a helpless prawn here. Quite a pleased prawn though. 

This is a new skill. I had to learn to plunge the blade in to lift just the right amount of layers to expose the corrugations without going in too far and removing them. They're quite delicate. And they varied in adhesion in  different parts of the cardboard for some reason. 

Anyway I may be applying some of the tiny curly scraps I removed,  to form foliage on those trees in the mid ground. I'll try it tomorrow after the auto dealership trip.

And now Gary's installed the hallway light for me, and taken his puppy off to his granddaughter's dance class by special invitation. I got to play with Billy, the functional equivalent of cuddling a bundle of eels. Warm Puppy!

Happy day everyone, hope your lights are on in both senses.

You up for a puzzle?

Nowruz, lichen and doll beds

Happy Nowruz if you celebrate. It's Iranian, but not much to celebrate there  this year. Still marking it in the hope that its concept -- a new day, an end to cold and darkness -- comes true there. Everywhere, really.

Yesterday's walk, finally the wind dropped enough, yielded all kinds of spring. The flock of mourning doves, until last week flying in a group, were flying in pairs. I heard the shouts of the redwing blackbird, and the hammering of woodpeckers.

And I saw this

Beautiful crust type lichen, like red gold hair shining in the sun, spread over the downed  tree. My searches have not yielded a name for it beyond red lichen (!). 

But the State University website yielded this valuable information. See the end.

 I took the pictures to preserve as much as I could of the tree trunk in case that helps identify it. Can anyone help? 

On the way home here's a cheerful little sign of spring

And I came home to afternoon tea with toasted cinnamon soda bread

And my sock in progress. I think of Rose every time I pick it up. 

Halfway through Lent and winnowing continues. Here's the current offering

Twin doll beds, 12"by5", seen here one head, one foot, which came via Freecycle some time ago with other doll furniture. 

The Dollivers took the chairs and the garden bench but rejected the beds. 

So here's hoping good dolls, deserving dolls, not dolls fighting with each other, get these nice beds...

Happy day everyone and thank you all for thoughtful responses to my question about spiritual practice and the brain. This is a great group of friends, much valued by your humble blogwriter.

Battling the forces of darkness on another front 

The mind's eye, aphantasia, Buddhism, soda bread and Spring

It seems as if yesterday's weights post was a minor public service, if people are encouraged to do resistance strength training. Today the Freecycled small weights are already outside awaiting pickup, so there's another person onto it. And I continue with my own practice, always working to do the moves slowly, since I tend to rush. My besetting sin in many contexts.

Moving from body to the spirit, I've been reading Pema Chodron and today there was an oddly related article in Aeon online  magazine..

Written by Mette Leonard Hoeg, it discusses her own aphantasia and relates it to philosophies of life. We talked about aphantasia a while back in here, with that mind's eye test of visualizing, where people ranged from not much to very much, in terms of visualizing an object or visualizing remembering an event.

She makes the interesting point that to her, with no visualization capacity, the Buddhist notion of meditating is rather easy, since she has no images floating in her mind's eye to distract. She also has little attachment to places and objects, so Buddhist detachment comes rather naturally.

This made me wonder to what extent religious following in general is governed by brain function. I also wonder if those of us with a different brain function are being asked to fit into an ill-fitting religious or spiritual framework. Just wondering here. 

I know that I'm not an extroverted working in groups person, and much of religion and spiritual practice insists on group and community activity. Professed religious, monks and nuns,  are powerful in insistence on the value of community.  

I was taught, by professed nuns in the community that housed my high school (!) that hermits and mystics, lone rangers, were weak.  Yet so many of us don't thrive in groups. We learn to cope and manage, but that's not the same as getting the right fit.

Just wondering here, and considering the possibility that our place on the autistic spectrum is significant in spiritual terms. 

Anyway on to other important matters, soup and soda bread. I made celery soup, not one of my more successful, a bit low in flavor, but I also made a lovely loaf of soda bread, crunchy crust and buttery crumb. 

And since spring can't seem to get here, despite the equinox as of early evening, 5.24 EST, Sandra Boynton sums it up

Happy day everyone, in reality rather than theory, and please weigh in on my rambling and somewhat disconnected musing about personality, brain function and spiritual practice! 

Weighty matters

 Today this is the weather

Way too icy in the gusty winds for walking, even in bright sunshine.

This is why I thought it was time to resurrect these. 

The ancient battered shoes protect my instep from the pressure of the weights, 20lb per leg. Top left is winnowing.

As you see. I fasten them on, they slide down a bit, I undo and redo, then they stay put.

It's a while since I worked with the leg weights, having done the stair work exercises instead, and I was happy to be able to complete the routine, four exercises, ten reps per. Not too demanding. I'd expected to need to cut back at first even so.

The fun part is that when you remove the weights, your legs want to fly about like a dancer's, from the contrast. It's very cheering.

I've been using these weights and the dumbbells, the green ones 3 pounds in case I need to drop back further still,

Used them, fairly faithfully, twice a week,  for almost 25 years, since I gave a set of weights to myself as a sixtieth birthday present. I'd say they've repaid the investment. 

Nowadays I've dropped back from 10 then 8 pound dumbbells to 5, because I was concerned about possible pressure on my spine. If the fives start to feel too light I'll move back up. If I get frailer I'll drop down to threes, and reduce the leg weights, which are one pound cylindrical weights slipped into pockets inside the jacket.  Hasn't happened yet. 

When I bought them I was living at the condo, up one flight of exterior stairs. They arrived UPS, all in one box -- two twenty pound legs, one pair each 10,8,5,3 and 1 pound dumbbells. Do the math. Way beyond the 50lb job requirement, which doesn't even include stairs.

The young woman -- UPS had started to employ women drivers -- trotted up the flight with the box. When I opened the door, she took one look at this old party, and said, stand back, I'll put this in the living room!  

I decided she'd definitely presented me with a fitness goal. Or at least an excellent reason to get cracking on the weights.

This was my guide 

1998 edition, cutting edge at the time. 

And today's winnowing, on Freecycle, is this

 I think I used them a time or two when I was learning the weight routine. Someone can probably profit similarly. 

Happy day everyone, whatever's right for you, do that! You're the expert on you.