Of tea and flowers and feathers and lawbreaking, et cetera

Walking is easier in the suddenly much cooler days, the grey skies making colors pop, and this year I notice greater carpets of yellow sorrel

And a blue jay feather, which I brought home. 

It's against the law to own wild bird feathers in this State, such an outlaw. I hope the feather police don't check my coffee table.

At home again I'm trying a different blend of tea

and find this is exactly like my mom's tea. I must have hit on her choice. The leaves are much smaller and it's snarlingly strong, not much required. I think this is my comfort tea of choice now.

Speaking of which, shakshuka has become a comfort food of choice, also what I make when I can't think what to make. 

This time I used spinach and celery leaves as a base,  and canned diced tomatoes. It was a bit liquid, so I siphoned some off for use in future spag sauce, and ended with the best version I've made up to now.

And, since Handsome Son suddenly announced he was visiting yesterday afternoon, I baked a batch of blueberry and cranberry muffins, since I had nothing to offer him. I'm happy with just honey toast, but he's not a fan.

I also broke it to him that I'm not up to cooking elaborate meals, such as Thanksgiving any more, and he was disappointed, but amenable to take out, as long as we did Tday and other holidays one way or another. 

Years ago I would cook a three course meal weekly for us, when he was going through a difficult unemployment period. I went to monthly after he got settled, and between the pandemic and advancing age with retreating energy, I usually nowadays offer him a little something with a pot of tea. 

We did keep up a bigger deal for Easter, Tgiving and Christmas, but last year I moved to having us serve ourselves from the stove instead of a fancy table setup. I think I'm ready for an even simpler way to save energy, just buy takeout.  

This way we can enjoy the company without my getting worn to a thread. Self care rules! Not that he's demanding, in fact for the holidays he always brings parts of the meal. But I need a break.

We already started  simplifying by having pizza to celebrate handsome partner's birthday, and I'm doing Bad Food for Labor day next weekend. 

Bad Food, meaning things we never normally ate, became a tradition with Handsome Partner, for July Fourth and Labor day, usually hot dogs with everything, potato chips and that.

I haven't been in the mood for a couple of years, but I'm doing it this year, and Handsome Son might join me, depending on his work schedule, which he won't know till the weekend. So I think we're easing into easier ways for me.

The stitching is continuing, and I'm doing a variation on applique, using the stumpwork technique of button hole stitching round the shape,  then cutting out around the stitching. 

Then I'll mount another smaller shape, in green,  on this one, then apply the result to the blue backing.

Speaking of stitching, I realize that the knotted candlewick technique described by Caro isn't the candlewick I was talking about. This is the thing I meant.

I couldn't track down more info on it.

Seems that there are two techniques using the same name. The version I mean was used for warm robes and bed spreads, usually in white, using multiple soft cotton thread cut into tufts, exactly like the kind of soft threads used in candles, hence the name. The other, knotted version,  is pretty, and new to me.

While we're thinking puzzles anyway, Haggard Hawks finally produced a new one, yay

Funny clues please!

Happy day everyone, self care is the current mantra all round!

Weaving, Textiles and Tea,leaves, Freecycle, fish and shakshuka

Packed day yesterday. 

Textiles and Tea was a really outstanding basket maker, who has been involved in African art and has great respect  for African basketry skills. He's wildly inventive, as you see!

And I'd been thinking shakshuka this week, so here it is. The recipe uses peppers, I used spinach and scallions

with whole wheat pita, to make sure of all the sauce.

I was weaving and stitching, with interruptions, more like irruptions, from Gary, who's laying new floors, I know, I hear the tappity-tap at all hours, and winnowing as he goes. He just shows up, knowing I'll help rehome stuff. He tends to shop aspirationally, very good items, then somehow doesn't use them.

Such as

Nearly all of them I put on freecycle, got fast takers and a waiting list, and they're now on my step ready for their new owners.

Amidst this, I've been stitching, and here's where I am, 

with this in progress

Just in case you wondered, these blocks are all going to be mounted on a base fabric, yet to be decided on, grid style and with space between and around them ( yes,  this does remind me of a hot Elizabethan sonnet) for more stitching and probably beading. What you're seeing up to now is just the start.

Weaving is happening every morning (except today, eye checkup, dilation, all that, this morning) and yesterday there wasn't anything to show you, because I'd spent my weaving time tightening warp threads and pawing through roving, nothing pictorial happening. I think I'll use only wool roving, for the warmth,"not the cotton. It's already feeling very good, though my skills are still a bit wobbly with the big heddle.

With back strap, if you use a rigid heddle, it's suspended in mid air in the warp threads, no resting place, so you lift and hold with one hand, feed weft with the other. I don't have a big enough shuttle for this width, so I've been handfeeding the weft. I may create one, though, a bit dodgy hand feeding.

 Here you see my somewhat artisanal results to now, and here I thought you'd like to see the back strap loom setup.

Very simple, the bathrobe belt goes round my back, I sit on the stool, the white bar is in front of me, the dowel holding the warp threads up close to it. That's it. To maintain tension, you lean back, and the warp threads respond. It's very physically cooperative. To advance the warp as the work progresses, I turn over both dowel and bar, keeping the backstrap under tension between them, and it won't unroll. It's a real partnership, which is why I like it.

Yesterday I was talking languages elsewhere, mainly fluency, or the lack, and I included British and American English. They are very different in use. I mainly write American style, but with occasional nods to my birth language. 

It reminded me of a Russian home health aide, helping with Handsome Partner, who said, well here at work I speak American, and at home Russian. You and A. speak American to me, but in the evening,  when everyone's gone, do you switch to English?  We explained that they're very similar, but pronounced and emphasized differently, not quite different languages.

In a way, yes. When we relaxed into our natural speech, it was different. It's hard for people who hear me and think that's soooo Brit,  to realize that it's far from my comfortable range, which would be close to unintelligible to friends here. They don't notice the thousands of daily adjustments I make for their benefit, just notice the places where it's physically not possible. Not complaining, just observing. 

In other gripping news, a police report, this from a few miles west of here

evidently, a large fish hurtled down, bang onto a transformer, knocking it out, power out for thousands of residents.

Happy day, everyone, watching out for falling pianos and fish.

Hard realization, decision and Misfits

Two more unsuccessful attempts to thread the loom and wind on the warp have made me realize I simply don't have the cognition for this task. 

It's frightening but I suspect true. Something I managed fine a few years ago is evidently now beyond me. I simply can't consistently repeat the movements correctly despite all the counting and the reminders I've put in place. The last attempt was better, but not usable. 

I wonder if it's the same thing that stopped my Arabic study after that virus.  I couldn't retain the learning as I went well enough to progress.

I suspect now there was some left brain cognitive loss, though it didn't seem like a serious virus at the time. And there's a chance it will lift. 

Meanwhile I decided today's winnowing is -- a loom! I expect someone will like it and get pleasure from it.  There's no point in keeping it lying unused. I can do other forms of weaving, and probably will.

Here it is on Freecycle.

I had a lovely day otherwise, making Shakshuka, from the Meghan's Together cookbook.

As you see

 

You poach the eggs on top

Till they're done however you like them.

I didn't have green peppers the recipe used, but I used onions, garlic, scallions and leeks, which worked out very well. Served with flatbread, and they also suggest yogurt but I didn't have any left today. The flat bread is to mop up the sauce, vital.

This is supposed to be a breakfast dish, but I think it's a great lunch. Could be brunch, too.

And the Misfits box came

The fettuccine will go great with some of the extra Shakshuka, instead of flatbread. I have other plans for the sausage, probably relating to soup since we continue to have soup weather.

So this is where we are. Beautiful sunshine but cold, in 40s with a wind, so I'm back to a warm coat, scarf and hat for walking today.

I'll mention the cognition thoughts next time I see my doctor, just to alert her.

Meanwhile how about a puzzle?

This will probably leap out at you. Or not!

Happy day everyone,   Struggle on!