Boxes, cabbages and dogs

I rasped the edges of the bergamot bits, then painted one set in light bronze, one in gold. I didn't smooth the main areas, because I wanted a beaten metal effect. 

The blob you see on the paint tray will dry and I'll peel it off to use in another artwork, maybe part of a box. 

I like how this turned out. Since they will be boxes this time, I left the peel inside unpainted so the smell would remain. The right hand gold piece needs more repair, so after the paint is dry, I'll glue it. Wabi sabi. 

And I was up very early this morning so I did a bit of cooking. To wit: roast cabbage with spices and a nice spicy yogurt-based dressing.

Since it was only mid morning when this was cooked, I just did a cook's privilege sample taste and liked this a lot.   

This can be a side dish with chicken or to spicy plant "sausage".  It's certainly more interesting than cabbage usually is.

Once it got light -- yes, this is not coming at you in chron order -- I broke down and tied up a couple of boxes, and took them to the recycle. On the way I stopped to leave the empty container from my neighbor's soup on her step, now holding a helping of chocolate almonds. Never return a container empty!  Her email when she picked it up seems to be happy.

And between all these varied activities, I finished reading the latest book in the Andy Carpenter series of lawyer detective mysteries.  

At this point I think I could write these myself, so formulaic,  but they're still fun to read. This one is set at the beginning of his defense career and features his meeting his soulmate dog Tara, and his new investigator, Laurie, later to be, oh, sorry no spoilers. 

Later today online chat with friends, meanwhile I sent yet another message to Gov Murphy to get crackin and sign the newly passed immigrant protection bill. It's been on his desk five days. To be fair he had to present his final State of the State speech in the meantime, but he can still get signing.

Happy day everyone, enjoy what you can otherwise what are we fighting for?

Sez Ted and Big Ursy 

Activist post

Resistance anyone can do. Please help apply pressure. This is from the Chop Wood, Carry Water newsletter.

Ed note: my email to corporate was rejected. Maybe blocked or full box.

Strength, cardio and misfits

Thursday is misfit day, and I did a workout to get my strength up ready for the Big Lift. In fact I bring the food in bit by bit, so the big lift is usually the almost empty box with maybe a few apples in it.

April and Aiko again. I hadn't done resistance, the physical kind, that is, for a few days, just walking and stretches and dancing in the kitchen, so I was pretty feeble. I did get through it, strength, cardio, isometrics, not resorting to sitting.  Strength really melts away if you take too many days off.

Yesterday I donated a bag of food to the food pantry with the help of a ride from Gary, and he carried in the bag. I did have a little agenda here, because he's been talking about donating and hasn't been doing it. 

But once he saw how local the pantry is and how easy it was to donate, no bureaucracy, he was all fired up with ideas about cans he has in the house that he'll donate.  He tends to over buy, so he can do this.   And he has plans to buy for giving in future. That will be good.

On the way home he said his phone, yet again, was out of action. Until he could get it to the shop later that day, he couldn't get on with some urgent calls. 

So while his latest top of the line $$$ iPhone, carrier some big name,  was out of action, I lent him my cheap and cheerful $Motorola, carrier Tracfone, and he got caught up.  I was nice. I didn't gloat.

Today's haul, delivered by Jeff. Pure cane sugar, fair trade, for general use, red onions to dice and freeze because I'm out, yellow onions dittto, I use a lot of onions, ginger and garlic likewise, spinach to go in everything, more or less, canned goods for the food pantry, beautiful brown free range eggs. 

These are real eggs, that need a sharp rap on the counter to crack them, and have a deep yellow stand up yolk. I don't crack eggs on the side of the bowl since Jacques Pepin said it was a way to drive eggshell fragments into the egg. 

Blueberries to go with the yogurt, bread because I'm too bone idle to bake, chocolate almonds because everyone needs a little something now and then. Some to my neighbor across the street whose soup container needs to be returned. Never return a container empty!

Look at these beauties. Too big for the supermarket -- this is two pounds each of the onions. They're now more or less diced and frozen, and the red onion skins are in a jar of water to make a nice pink dye for some future purpose or other. 

Happy day everyone, do all the things, follow the Yorkshire saying: break eggs with a stick. Meaning plunge in, regardless.

Marigold looking down from the blanket in the sky saying look at that, still running about doing stuff, she hasn't learned a thing.

Daily activism, saving the landfill, bergamot boxes

Wednesday morning I realized voting is on soon for renewed funding for a lot of things including Homeland Security which contains ICE.  I messaged both senators to urge them to work to defund and abolish HS, ICE included.

The day's walk took me past this dumpster with useful stuff I don't need. 

I put it up on Freecycle with directions on how to find it. There are more items than you see, evidently someone unenlightened, moving out, who isn't considering the optics, or the options.

Tuesday  when I wrote my post I was a bit tired,  full day, and plenty of material already, so I postponed the usual account of the subjects the knitting group ranged over.

Catching up: growing cotton, using whistles, local charity shop, downed trees in storm, Christmas markets, gluhwein, poutine, pelvic floor health, Korean churches, spinning wheels, soft toys, cars, creative playthings, large boxes, artefact restoration, lost violins and more. 

And here's the bergamot boxes 

The one on the left cracked as I was taking it off the glass, but I can repair it when I do the finishing. These are more brittle than the lemons were. I can maybe match the outer ones as one box, the inner ones as another. There was a gust of scent when I took them off the glasses, lovely.

Happy day everyone, say all the things! She does anyway, sez Ted and Big Ursy 

Daily activism, Tuesday Knitting Group, Textiles and Tea

Tuesday's activism was to message both my senators, Kim and Booker, demanding that they vote NO on the Clarity Act, which has no proper guardrails on the Bitcoin, and which comes up for a vote Thursday. 

It's before both the Senate Finance and Agricultural Committees. I have one senator on each.  US blogistas, please do likewise, even if you have no senator on either committee. Pressure adds up.

The Tuesday knitting group was a real party, with a new member, the return of one who has been MIA, and the usual suspects. 

And one member brought in sample cotton bolls she'd grown! 

She gave me a couple which I will gin -- remove the seeds buried in the fluff -- save the seeds and try them next year, then card the fluff and use it in papermaking. New adventure.

She also brought in her Ashford Joy traveling spinning wheel and let me try it out. I was pretty clumsy, but the wheel is beautiful. 

She makes it look easy! In the background you see its traveling bag. I priced the wheel, very $$$$,  one cheaper second-hand one lasted no time at all on eBay.  Maybe the spindle continues to be my spinning tool for now.

Meanwhile the toad of Frog and Toad, is finished and waiting for his stripey bathing suit.

And here's a member wearing two of her knits 

While busy on a third

And now a third group member is joining in with Driving Miss Boud, each taking a week, it's generous, also hilarious. 

Tuesdays are all go, home just in time to make a pot of tea and catch Textiles and Tea with Vicki Assegued, a wildly creative freeform artist in fibers, using a huge range of techniques and materials, including garage sale buys. 

she's a generous and great teacher of workshops and exhibits widely.  She designs as she goes, and refers  to testing each new material as she works as auditioning. Great concept.

Happy day, everyone.  Tuesday even had comic relief,  from Freecycle, the gift that keeps on giving

To be fair, the entry was about a red punch bowl and glasses, and the green ladle went with it.  The caption went astray.

 

Update on legislation and bathtubs

The bills in the NJ state legislature I mentioned got  swiftly through the Assembly and Senate and will be law as soon as Gov Murphy signs, which he will.

Here's the doings

So far, so good. 

On the bathtub front here's breaking news. 

Michael the artist friend contractor, came over Monday afternoon, remembered our conversation from years ago and was willing to get the kit, study all the videos -- he's thorough -- fix it, match and replace the few broken tiles, repaint the bathroom and recaulk  the tub. 

Solving a whole lot of problems at once. Even with materials and labor,  this is going to be affordable, yay. I told him no hurry, fit it in where he can, I have another bathroom anyway.

We also had a good catchup of news since before the holidays. All good. 

Happy day everyone, and try to do all the things! Or get someone else to..