Textiles and Tea, Mouseland, Alaska

Thank you to Ruth for reminding me about Sootypaws, the Maggie Rudy mouse version of Cinderella! I went to her YouTube channel and had a wonderful time in her magical world where she shows us her workshop and practice

 Definitely go there, if you love miniatures and upcycling and thanks again to Ruth. This blog is a group endeavor!

Textiles and Tea yesterday was so moving, this artist being a survivor of domestic violence, which is expressed throughout her current work. Originally a painter, she moved early into expressive weaving, spinning most of her wefts, sometimes dyeing yarns, too.  She is Chicago based, trained at the Art Institute there, stellar credentials.

She uses a floor loom but has also used the kind of cardboard loom I make,too, and seeing her exciting small works rekindled my own need! 

In addition to major commissions like the Delta work hanging in O'Hare airport, and solo exhibits, she leads workshops free of charge to survivors of domestic violence, to find calm and safety, learning to weave in the company of others who understand. 

I really recommend you check her website. She's a brilliant young artist to learn more about.

And fabrics are on my freecycling mind, here's the latest batch, silk, mixes, cotton, towels, in search of a home.

Then for evening viewing pleasure I'm  going to check back into Alaska. I was reminded of this recently and find my library has several seasons

Happy day, everyone, plenty to look at in here today.

Also a puzzle

Boyz, toyz, batteriez

Yesterday the pod was picked up, so the neighbor had to come and watch and have manly discussions with Gary. It's interesting to watch the very clever mechanics of one man loading a massive box onto a truck

Meanwhile I was pursuing AAA options for my battery situation, and found they were so pressed because of conditions that they were attending mainly people actually stranded, but anyone home or in a parking spot would get low priority, and batteries might not be available.

Meanwhile Gary decided to take care of it himself, took the car,  which amazingly  started, to the local battery dealer. They had no Honda batteries in stock.  So he went to another who could only offer a three-year (same as AAA, they do only three year batteries) at $285. He decided this was ridiculous, and wouldn't spend my money that way! 

Meanwhile again, he had them test the battery,  they said it may not need replacing, but definitely needed charging. 

So he brought it home, and here it is charging next door, the stepstools warning walkers not to trip on the cord. Soooo we'll see. The cold is abating a bit, which will probably help. 

Breaking news: Gary just came by -- the battery was down to 60% last night, is now 100%. He has a smart charger. So I seem to be in business again.

The saga goes on. Once again I'm wondering about options if I give up the car. It would save one lot of expenses, but would be awkward in other ways. Spontaneous errands wouldn't be possible. I think I'll keep track of my trips and see what they amount to in reality and if I'm holding onto assumptions that aren't accurate to what I'm actually doing these days.

There is no, zero, public transportation in the directions I need to go, so that's not an option, in case you wondered!

Happy day, everyone, one thing at a time, bird by bird.

Photo AC

Battery time, soup, Frederica and Pepys

The car died again, we jumped it again, I decided I needed a new battery.  Gary may help with that this week. Meanwhile the car's down the street out of the way of the truck coming to pick up the pod from his house.

Handsome Son tells me AAA might be able to replace the battery on the spot, so that might be worth investigating. I must admit to feeling a bit defeated at the moment, just not enough energy, emotional or physical, to deal with the cold weather and attendant issues. 

In my seventies this would have been very manageable, but once you get past eighty, things are very different, including the energy available to cope. I do continue with what exercise I can manage, to try to maintain strength.

One really useful one is getting out of a chair without using your hands,  then lowering yourself veeeeery slowly back down to a sitting position. It's like squats, and is vital to keep your legs working if they currently do. 

I do about ten of these in a set, and various stretches and balancing things at odd times. Usually waiting for the microwave is a good moment for a tree pose and other moves, with counters handy just in case.

Meanwhile, spinach, cilantro and potato soup, yogurt stirred in for a lovely tangy flavor. Toasted multigrain on top.

And I realized I've had Pepys' Diary on my Kindle since December 2020, probably a plan to do some serious winter reading which didn't get very far. Giving it another push now.

He mentions a lot of names, which are instantly explained in brackets, and hold up the narrative flow to a trickle. This part is happening during the upheavals of the Rump Parliament, around the restoration of the monarchy, and his undramatic recital covers a very dangerous and dramatic time to be living in London.

He still makes a point of describing his outfits and meals, though, and continues to enjoy his life despite all. So I'll push on a bit.

and for comic relief there's Frederica, with some of the funniest scenes ever, the best being the passage where someone actually does object to a marriage, cries out for video!

Happy day, everyone!

My salute to Ukraine today is to its fiber arts, here the exquisite white work

Not reducing the size here. This is from the blog Fils et Aiguilles

The weather, puzzles and a pant

 Here are the weather forecasters studying conditions

So that was yesterday, more happening like that today.

However, the pant -- garment trade term -- is coming along. Here's the front. Today I'll pick up the live stitches and start the back, which will be a different shape. With a different yarn, since I've used up this one. So far so good. Any blogistas who knit with cotton yarn, what's a soft kind I can order?

And the puzzle is coming along slowly. Yesterday I made the usual discovery, that I was expecting it to be much bigger and more difficult, and found that truck section here actually fitted onto the flowers here, simplifying everything. 

I'm sure there's a sermon there, aren't you glad I'm not a lay preacher, yet again! I could bore many a congregation. 

Happy day everyone, piece by piece!

Snow, chocolate walnut cake and feta

 Measurable snow yesterday, about four inches.

Kids off to find a place to ski

At home, I started the car after digging a path -- just pushing snow ahead of me, mainly. I really enjoy a bit of digging and getting the car started, because I feel capable. Gary came out and dug more for me in case I needed to go anywhere. The roads are icy enough for police to beg people to stay off them unless it's vital.

He also asked me if I have cheese grater, and I offered him  choice, box or straight, whereupon he brought over a block of feta cheese, invited me to grate some for myself, and he would take the grater and cheese home to use as needed. 

Then he left, I realized he'd gone without the grater, now among the dishes, got the other and met him at the door coming back for the grater. Two absent minds thinking alike.

Later I baked a chocolate walnut cake, using whole wheat and chickpea flour

and took a couple of slices to him.

Knitting continues and here's the current state of the test underwear. You'll see that the cast on row doesn't match. That's because it's a provisional cast on. When I come to knit the front, I'll start here, remove this yarn, then picking up the live stitches means no seams in the crotch area. 

This is the good part of designing your own, you can go seamless using  provo cast on. This is knitted as a single piece, with just short side seams.  I'll line the crotch with linen or a scrap of. cotton knit fabric. So far so good.

Happy day, everyone from your fearless blogger, feeling much better since I dug snow. It's not everyone's happy place, I think!