To blizz or not to blizz

I'm in the middle of this map 

Up to now it's mainly rain, and Handsome Son texted to say he's off to work anyway,  since the forecast of blizzard conditions this morning didn't seem to have been right. Now they're saying snow overnight and Monday.

The local library closed today and postponed the lunar New Year celebration. It's still only damp, so they may as well have gone ahead. But they couldn't sit around waiting since performers were coming from further away and needed to know.

Tomorrow the cleaners are scheduled and I wrote to tell them not to push, be safe, we can reschedule (again).  I don't plan to be away from the house anyway, so I'll just dodge them if they do show up. Which reminds me to set out a check just in case.

Wonderful lunch, forgot the picture, of baked breaded cod, roast potatoes and steamed broccoli. With malt vinegar. There's enough of everything to do it again tomorrow.  

I finished and stitched up the slippers, and I think they're not quite good enough to give, so I'm wearing them.

I folded the rectangle, stitched one end up for the heel. Then I gathered the other end up, drew it tight and stitched for the toe, continuing up the front to make it fit.  You just try on to make sure it's going to hold your foot firmly. Pro tip: if you make these, leave plenty of yarn beginning and end to use in the stitching up.

This was a real beginner project, and I may do it again only with better yarn for the Sock 'n glove Ministry.  I kind of invented it I think, or maybe hundreds of knitters before me did. 

It's definitely simple enough to work on while chatting at the Tuesday knitting group. In fact I wonder if it would be fun to knit corner to corner. That might also make a snug fit, since you'd be working on the bias. 

I'd have to review how to do a c to c rectangle, bit more complex than a square. But I think Sarah Swett has explained that somewhere, in her Slanted Sweater.  I know I did it when I spun and knitted and wove my vest of many colors.

My circular needle for wrappy scarf purposes has arrived, thank you, R,  and is now prodding me on to the next thing. I think maybe I'll weave a lanyard, though. My hands are suggesting a different fiber art.

Snow has started,  and I'm going to make a pot of tea with a slice of banana bread and spoonful of yogurt, and continue reading my mildly funny, snow day reading,  mystery series 

The inadvertent detective is Dr Lance Elliot general practitioner, and his retired doctor father who keeps Lance dragged into situations not helped by his eccentricity. The father's. The son is constantly sorting out life threatening situations created because his father thought they were a good idea at the time. 

Happy day everyone, stay safe, whatever that is for you.

The role of serendipity and that kind of thing

Sunday's walk in a high 70s, low humidity day was about wild snakeroot flowers still going,

 tiny fungi appearing

Shoe for scale

and, home again, a tradescantia which had sprung from Gary's hanging plant which summered on my deck,  

now with its own pot and no doubt planning to join its friends indoors. And another zinnia

They slow down then, when I think they're done,  we get a couple more warm days, and they go right on.

Then there was a rummage around my small stash for possible hat material, which yielded a silk waistband saved from a skirt made from a sari piece, clearly wanting to be hatbands, enough for two.

So invited an international spy to model this simple upcycle.

And another happy find, a shibori-dyed length from an old pillowcase, already doubled and hemmed, for the side of the new hat. 

I thought I'd better fit this part first, then add the crown and after that the brim. The crown part is tricky, stitching a straight piece around a circle, and needs a bit more energy than I had, so that's for another day.  

All the pieces need to be double, so I'm thinking about that brown batik for inside the crown and the brim, to cast shade. I have various gauges of wire, no need to buy millinery wire for the brim.

One of the pleasures of upcycling is figuring out what parts are already done for you, so everything doesn't need to be from scratch. 

Stoking the inner spy, the fish goes on and the broccoli. Different sauce each day keeps it interesting. Today it was some of that five alarm hot Indian condiment, mixed with yogurt and a splash of malt vinegar.

This is the heat level that needs you to dip your fork in, then pick up the food, not dip the entire piece in the sauce.  Dessert was lime yogurt with blueberries.

I'm still (not) getting used to the loss of my friend. She used to watch me out walking, from her house overlooking my walking path, to see if I was doing well, and her house is close. Hard to accept she's not there, when I go to text her. I pass her house daily. 

Happy day everyone, we got this.

Hat patterns, 🐠 and other vital things

So I started creating a paper pattern for one of this ambitious group of hats that might happen.

Here's the old hat and I drew around the brim allowing for a hem

Then I fitted paper around for whatever you call the side of the crown 

In the background you see the brim and the crown drawn in the middle 

Here I'm fitting the paper around the crown 

And the pieces are assembled, looking like the Mad Hatter, and I taped them to try on, after which I can get on with cutting two layers of fabric one for the lining, one the visible part.

As you see, the brim is pretty good and the crown will be about an inch lower when the seams are stitched. So far, not bad. I can enlarge the brim if I decide to. 

This millinery making is serious  stuff!

There was also food, the cod now up for lunch,

Here's the set up showing the production line. I'd dried and cut the pieces, made a batter which I seasoned with sea salt and long red pepper, dipped the pieces then rolled in panko 

Here on the right is lunch and in the blue dish a couple of future lunches in waiting, toaster oven 425°f till brown and crisp, the fish inside moist, lovely.

I had some of the broccoli heads I'd steamed yesterday, and used the leftover batter to make a cheese sauce, with a bit of butter and grated sharp cheddar. 

After it thickened I added in the broccoli so it got sauced and heated up at the same time.

And here's lunch, crunchy fish, cheese broccoli with a dab of Annie's Ketchup. I like the different textures on this plate.

Energy food. Yogurt with lime and blueberries for dessert.

After that it was about resting then reading the next Cazalet volume on the deck, lovely skies and shadows 

Earlier I'd walked,  and caught this late blooming hibiscus at the neighbor's house 

It flowers later than my Angel Eye, and blooms longer.

Lovely day, all kinds of things, and the evening online with friends to complete the day.

Happy day everyone, hoping your Friday was good. It amuses me when people ask what I'm doing for the weekend. Like it's different from the week!

Cavalry arrived, kids today, but there's apricot spread, too

Sunday afternoon Gary was over for houseplant assistance, to announce yet another trip, and to report on his daughter taking her young daughter to a YouTube influencer event, in a mall, huge. 

They were up at dark o'clock to get there, in line for hours. In the end the fire department stopped more crowds from gathering, getting beyond safe. His daughter said she remembered Gary doing this for her at her daughter's age, so she was willing to pass it on. 

We both agreed we can't understand what the sound is about, and are baffled at kids singing along. He then got off on the Stones and how he and an earlier wife had gone to a Stones concert way back. And how Jagger is still leaping about the stage!  I refrained from saying they're also just a noise to me, realizing I was talking with a major fan. 

Adjusting my pioneer bonnet and moving on here..

The cavalry, I mean checks, arrived! Now I can get on with paying my bills. The bank had said Friday but they're days early. Maybe it's that pr idea of giving a stretch date, so the customer is very happy when it arrives early, and refrains from asking in the meantime. 

And I will get the replacement heat pump started as soon as they get back to me with a technician appointment. I've requested that Handsome Son make sure the furnace bit in his upstairs storage area is accessible. Knowing him it's probably a bit cluttered with valuable stuff. Which I'd have winnowed years ago but that's me.

Lovely Monday morning walk, met a pretty puppy determined to jump at me and an owner very grateful that I didn't mind. 

Some of our neighbors are terrified of dogs jumping, not used to them. I expect it, because very few owners seem to manage to train dogs not to.   And this was a young fluffy pup.

I wouldn't have minded playing with him but his owner probably didn't want his training interrupted by being rewarded for jumping.

My flowers may be tapering off, but this house with a different compass direction, is still blooming.

See all that self seeded pink balsam? The seeds also jumped next door and are flowering, to the owner's surprise.

That's the difference between my semi shaded patio and a full unshaded sunny aspect.  

When I get my front patio set up, I'm going to have flower containers there, full sun from noon on, and I think they'll do well. I'll also plant  in the back as usual, can't have too many flowers.

Happy day everyone, my mental health is much better now the checks arrived and I made the dreaded call to the heat pump people. This year has been full of dramatic events, one way and another, and it's caused a lot of anxiety over seemingly ordinary tasks, such as driving to the library, and making phone calls like the heat pump one. That's over and above the continuing anxiety about the state of the union.

And this in the mail definitely helped my mental health! Gift of a Spoutible friend, sent from As Ever,  the company owned by Meghan Duchess of Sussex. Same Meghan who got the Hubb Kitchen cookbook Together going, as a continuing fundraiser. This is her own store. 

Everything is qua-li-tee, beautiful presentation and the flavor of this apricot spread -- better than mine!

Tangy enough to be a sauce with Monday evening's breaded fish, sweet enough for breakfast toast. Perfect gift. Meghan aims to bring joy and she definitely did.

Losing no time, here's the set-up for the battered breaded fish. I cut it in small pieces for dipping and set up a production line

And here's supper 

There will be three more meals from the cod. It bakes so well,  flaky and moist inside the batter and panko. And the dipping sauce was chef's kiss 

Yesterday's resistance: Hampton Inn chain,a Hilton medium-cost outfit, is housing ICE in a couple of California cities where they're conducting raids.

I placed phone questions with them, and got baffled bottish answers, not programmed for that. So I'm putting out the word that any Hampton Inn is liable to have burly, masked, heavily-armed men in residence, and may be best avoided by the rest of us. Just sayin'.

Happy day everyone, keep resisting if you live in the US, keep encouraging us if you don't. 

It's not easy, especially if you're getting up in years and long only to read and make your art and chat with your friends. A little back pat will go a long way.

Briefly, love the moment

Yesterday evening, my honorary Indian daughter made a sudden welcome visit, because she found herself in the neighborhood,and we had a wonderful catch-up about her family and job and mutual friends.

She never arrives empty handed, and brought a bag of chocolate and Indian mangoes, the best.

And her visit reminded me that we need to enjoy and celebrate every moment we have.

Earlier I'd made Food for Fortitude 

Cod baked with butter and capers,  wilted spinach and an apricot sauce.  We need this kind of food in parlous times.

And there's nature, the lavender blooming at the door 

And the yellow wood sorrel undeterred by mowers because it blooms too low under the blades to be cut down. 

There are lessons all over here which I won't insult our communal intelligence by underlining.

Be safe. Do what's right today. March in spirit or in person. We're worth it.