High wind changes plans

 Friday was possibly a knitting group day, but I wasn't in the mood for traipsing all that way with a prospect of snow, and decided to walk in the sunshine instead. 

First I started the car and trotted to the mailbox at the end of the block, noting that there was an icy wind in progress. The kind it's hard to breathe in.

So I brought in the mail with another change of plan, involving reading warmly at home, sweeping the living room floor and crocheting.

The mail was a couple of cheery greetings from the Infernal Revenue, one telling me last year's income for tax purposes, the other saying lucky you, old taxpayer, you're getting a cost of living increase. However we also have to raise your Medicare payment so it will sort of evaporate the increase.

Thanks to Reagan way back, part of social security can be Fed taxable, so I did a quick and rough calculation, close enough for gummint work.  I determined that I'm very unlikely again to have enough income to pay Fed taxes again. 

Which probably also means no State tax either. A couple of times I've sent what I thought I might owe the State, their forms being a bit ambiguous, and they've shot it right back at me. Oh.

So the papers are neatly filed ready to be forgotten.

And the crochet proceeds 

This piece is an exercise in geometry as much as anything. It involves having to calculate how to turn inside and outside corners without too many stitches, to incorporate those imported little squares. 

And generally fathom this unexpectedly interesting and baffling series of issues presented by what seemed simple at the outset. That sums up so much of life, when you think about it.

I also needed to deal with the rest of the coconut milk left from the great tofu masala caper, and the chickpea "mayo".  

So I employed a supply of whole wheat macaroni, inherited from Handsome Son, and, using the mayo and coconut milk with a chunk of cheddar, parsley chopped in, made a sort of cheese sauce for mac and cheese.

It's okay, a little bit piano, and I think the next helping will include maybe capers or olives or feta cheese or something with a bit of bite.  

On top is smoked paprika which I really love, first time I've used it, having only the sweet variety up to now. The color and scent are mwah.

Still reading the Delderfield and starting to want a list of characters like those intros to Russian novels, to keep the neighborhood straight. But it's good winter reading, not deep and demanding or intense. 

The intenser Delderfield tries to be, the shallower and magaziney he gets. Like Catherine, in Less than Angels, a writer of magazine stories. 

Catherine's character is a great sendup of the genre of mag story writers, in true Pym fashion. Except that Catherine is quite dispassionate about her work. She's one of my favorite characters in literature, partly for this reason.

Happy day everyone, enjoy the unintended humor that comes at you.  Especially if you've triggered it yourself, which this hapless blog writer often has 

 

Food help, feminist Tudor history, comfort for dark days

 It's the time of year when we think, if briefly, about people who need to use food banks. I used to run a holiday food drive and get my local chapter of the embroiderers guild to donate. People like the feelgood of giving actual food. In fact $$ is better, because the director knows how to spend it, and can get more by arrangements than we can shopping retail.

However, if people are hellbent on donating things, I'd refer them to the local website. Here's my local food pantry this week

Notice that condiments are listed, because cheap food, like pasta, needs something, to be palatable. A lot of plain food is improved with a bit of help, but if you can't manage food, you certainly can't afford pepper, or ketchup, or other spices.

And personal care items are beyond the reach of many people, but they, like anyone,  need to be presentable. It's good to realize that the vast majority of food pantry users are working, and attend to their appearance like any other worker.

Anyway these are just a few thoughts. I sent my quarterly check yesterday, with reminders on my calendar for the next couple of quarters. People are hungry year round, particularly in summer when school meals stop.

On to Pink Rabbit. I think this is why I couldn't pass her by

This haunting true story of Kerr's  Jewish family escaping Germany when she was a little girl, trying to understand leaving everything suddenly, with just a suitcase, why her pink rabbit hadn't made it, stayed with me. I thought of it as soon as I saw the shabby pink rabbit in the free cycle box.

Kerr became a world famous children's writer and illustrator, remember "The Tiger Who Came to Tea"?

If not, check it out, it's lovely. Anyway this is why Pink Rabbit is named this way.

And, more grownup reading, I've started this interesting history of the six wives, with attention paid to their stories and ambitions, not the usual men's viewpoint of events. 

It's worth reading, to round out our understanding of the period. It's one I'm interested in, because the reformation has literally touched my own life and is part of why I live here rather than my country of birth. History isn't just the past. 

It hasn't escaped my notice that I'm writing this on the Fifth of November, A night when people in the UK celebrate the torture and murder of a Catholic, one of my people, at this very time. We Catholics never went out on Guy Fawkes night.

Meanwhile, this has been a dark blog post, but here's  comfort food for darker nights, mac and cheese.

I used chickpea flour for the cheese sauce, and find it needs more milk than ap flour. 

Happy day everyone, whatever time it is where you are!

Photo AC

Poor but happy, future art exploits, and other news

 I notified my knitting group leader that if the weather, raining, lashing, sloshing, gurgling down all day, eased up, I'd come to the group. If not I'd do my taxes.

It didn't, so I did my taxes and found, as suspected, that my income from all sources, is below the filing threshold. But I had to go through all the numbers to establish that and to complete the Freeze forms for the real estate tax refund. 

To be honest, if I had more money, I'd probably give it away anyway. I live so happily on what I have.   Income continues to exceed outgo overall. 

Result, as Mr Micawber would say, happiness. He had found out the hard way, by being slung into debtor's prison, so he should know.

And I set up future art adventures, using scrap cardboard and papers a la lovely Darrell Wakelam. I ordered his book Art Shaped from an indie bookseller who includes shipping to the US, yay. I've shown you some of his ideas using paper plates, and I think some grandchildren might have been introduced to his designs.  

Consider the decks officially, not cleared, but pre-cluttered 

Darrell's happy. He agrees with me though he teaches children, that it's not the number of years in the child, but the amount of child in the years. 

Meanwhile look at this. New photographic approaches are allowing researchers handling ancient manuscripts and other items to detect for the first time, images and messages added to them by pressing into the surface without marking. 

They're now finding them on medieval manuscripts. And here's another application of the technology, a copper plate, one side used, but look what's on the other side

Waste not want not. Copper's expensive.

I needed something for lunch and I remembered years ago having a wonderful mac and cheese, at the convent where I send the gloves and socks, to be exact. I asked about it at the time, and found the sister cooking that week added a couple of cheeses, not just cheddar.

So I did

I was short of penne, nearest I had to macaroni, so I added in broken #8 spaghetti. And no green vegetables, so it was carrots.

Good for several meals. It needs a touch more salt, so I'll add as I go.

And, smug at having disposed of federal and state tax requirements all at once, I had a celebratory afternoon cup of chocolate with a slice of cinnamon toast. 

Perfect for a cold wet grey February afternoon.

When in doubt, a slice of cinnamon toast will do it.

Happy evening everyone! May all your toast land butter side up.