Mary Wesley, instant soup and all change

 I just finished a great Mary Wesley, they're all great, that atmosphere she creates immediately, that surrounds you to the end of the novel.

I also like the way her characters wander in and out of each other's stories. Here Calypso, from Chamomile Lawn, has a cameo, and her son, Hamish plays a small but important part in this story. It's like Barbara Pym, where someone is described and the reader knows them from having read the novel where they were leading characters. You feel you have the inside track. 

This one is about recovering from crushing grief and the loss of a child, trigger alert in case you don't want to go there, and people plunging about trying to make life work with varying degrees of success. 

It's set mainly in London with a quick business trip to the US, and some excursions into the country. And there's a lurcher. I'm always game for a lurcher 

There's also a little echo here and there of Margery Sharp, the rangy, unconventional heroines, the men whose appearance is nothing like their inner longings, the rough trade that appeals surprisingly to some conventional women. I wonder if Wesley read Sharp. 

Wesley published her first novel at 70, so I expect there was a lot of reading in her life before then. And some of her writing comes from her lived experience with her own family, uncaring and callous to her, but paid out in her fiction, maybe after their deaths.

The storm seems to be coming to nothing much. The library closed because of the declared state of emergency, cancelling our art opening, and I cancelled my dental checkup. Then I thought I may as well cancel the cancellation, and found my dentist, who evidently works Sundays, had already reassigned the slot. 

He'll call with an appointment for the same day. Gary, who's driving me,  assures me no problem, Monday is flexible for him, so it will work. I was being courteous, not wanting to cancel last minute, but oh well. 

Lunch was soup, made from the rest of the chickpeas, tomatoes and spinach from that pasta dish. All heated together, worked fine. Canned mango chunks and yogurt, beaten with lemon juice and sugar for dessert. Easy, A noncooking day.  Another can of mango goes to the food pantry. I think someone will like it.

There being no rain, I caught up on walking, A nice half hour. It's surprising how soon your strength falters when you don't walk daily.  Weight training Sunday evening.

This account was interrupted by Gary rushing in with a pot of boiled eggs, to practice shelling them! 

He's been working on his eggs lately, unfamiliar with boiling and shelling them successfully. Many consultations! I think he's cracked (!) it now. He's very happy. I'm encouraging him to buy free range, easier to work with, more nutritious etc.  

He suddenly said "I'm going to go nuts when I don't live next door to you! So many questions answered." I think there may be a lot of calls after he moves, what with plants, cooking, medical decisions, the gamut.

Happy day everyone, teach your grandma to shell eggs, sez Ted and Big Ursy.

And resist 

See Portland's brilliant turnout for further information on the frog.

And a Happy Thanksgiving, Canajuns!

Product: rest

Thank you for all the helpful comments about Rajesh yesterday. I can't get used to Raj being gone. 

Yesterday I wasn't up to much, just managed to knot fringes on the weaving, noticing the work's better than I'd thought when I wove it. I skipped the knitting group, figuring nobody would be there, the Friday afternoon of a long weekend -- Martin Luther King Day Monday. 

Another storm forecast, which doesn't seem to have amounted to more than heavy rain this time

And condiments arrived. So long since I had either capers or olives, to lift up flavors. Now I can make a puttanesca sauce. And various other interesting foods.

I'm wondering if I can revive my Six Word Saturday practice, from years ago: 

Sad times this week. Go on.

Would you make six-word comments, just to try it? Any subject or response.

Happy day, everyone. The puzzle answer is

SHADOWY

I mean, that word is the answer!

Weather proofing

While the house cleaners were at work this morning, I spent time in the local library, checked out the latest Osman

and a puzzle, and spent a peaceful morning

Because this is what's up outside 

I'm skipping this afternoon's new knitting group, roads already getting iffy, heavy rain on saturated ground.  So I'm  home in a clean house, with soup, toasted pita with cheddar, busy reading, knitting, knotting. 

Also debt proofing -- the check for my cremation and cardboard box cleared, yay. I'm going to be a solvent corpse. Well, there's worse ambitions.

Also Textiles and Tea. This week it was woven wire jewelry, involving Japanese braiding (kumihimo), by Giovanna Imperia

who wrote this book

and is a teacher at a number of locations, see this link to find out more

despite requests, the presenters didn't give dimensions for any of the pieces, but since it's jewelry, I think we can assume small enough to wear decoratively. The last image, the wire lace, is my favorite.

Her skills are wonderful, and she knows how to employ the nature of wire. I've made wire knitted jewelry,  it's very interesting, so malleable, and it stays put while you work on it.

If you're unfamiliar with kumihimo braiding, it's worth doing a search to see how it's done. It's intricate, 3D work, and, to this struggling student of kumihimo, it's as tricky as it looks! Giovanna has great mastery of this form. 

Happy day, everyone, please check in with us as you can, if you're in the path of a current storm. We know power can go out, taking your WiFi with it, so we won't panic too soon.

Meanwhile, long time since we had a puzzle, so this might take your mind off the weather. 

Remember not to post answers, just funny clues. This is where I usually come a cropper, forgetting about funny clues and responding solemnly to what are supposed to be jokes! I've been caught a few times by sneaky blogistas.

Photo AC

Stay safe, everyone!

Jam today!

 Yesterday, having seen off the last of the Freecycling for now, I turned to being a pioneer lady, and made a gallon of laundry soap.  

Speaking of free cycling, Gary stopped in to tell me his puppy had attacked and destroyed the dracaena, so the issue of free cycling it was concluded!  I suspect she was jealous of all the attention we were paying the plant instead of her. I've had dogs do that when they were upset with my attention going to projects that weren't them.

 Anyway the laundry soap, blog edited to add in picture of ingredients for Inger

Usual recipe of grated castile soap, borax, washing soda, and this time I added a few drops of lemon essential oil for a scent. This is not hard to make, works just as well as expensive detergents, and suits my frugal soul. It needs to stand for 24 hours before you use it. I didn't mind postponing laundry in a good cause.

The good thing about making laundry soap is that it cleans the grater and the pans you use. You just scrub and rinse them and they're all shining.

So that's why I made the jam second, using the clean pots.

This is dried apricots and cranberries, which is why it looks dark. I soaked the apricots overnight, which gave me a glass of juice yesterday with breakfast, drained off them. Waste nothing!

Then I made the jam, not too sweet. The texture is heavier than with fresh fruit, and the flavor good enough for jam or a sauce with meat or fish. Breakfast today was jam on toasted wholewheat.

I'm planning on a sheet roast today, butternut squash (cooked), onions, hot sausage, carrots, a golden meal, more or less. The sausage is a new thing to me, plant based, the only hot, spicy one available. The turkey and chicken sausage are sweet, not my choice. We'll see.

Our big storm started as snow, was rain when it touched down, and is now a bit of flooding. The high winds didn't happen, but this kind of rain tends to bring down trees as the earth softens, so around here, trees along every road, you drive on high  alert.

Happy day everyone, watch as you go.

Happy equinox and seasonal events

 

Sandy Boynton's inclusive equinoctial greeting to everyone!

Yesterday around here was about bringing in plants before the forecast storm, including the ficus, which I wrangled myself, nobody available to help. But she hadn't put down big roots this year, so I didn't have to saw through them. She fell on me a time or two, but we came to an understanding.

The coleus and begonia also came in, and, in the kitchen, the Thai basil and Italian basil are now hung in the window near the  food action.

Outside I grouped the chairs,  stacked, and the folded lounger, under the butterfly bush, which you see through the patio window,  against the high winds and rain

Then I got busy with storm prep chili, from the World Central Kitchen cookbook, highly recommended.

I subbed ground turkey for their beef, leeks for their scallions and long pepper for their black, because it's related and much better flavor, and cannellini, aka white kidney beans, for their red kbs. Otherwise I pretty much followed their recipe, the family size, not the mass size they give for all their recipes,  for hundreds.

Anyway it is really good. I can't remember the last time I made chili. It was one of my American epiphanies, when, that first winter in Wisconsin, a  new friend took me to Rennebohms Drugstore, in Madison, on the main street,  for their lunch counter chili, first I'd ever had. A flourish of trumpets with the first lovely taste!

It seems as if our HOA is in tune, too, in their latest email about storm prep, which arrived after I'd made mine

 Speaking of food, I really owe you all who comment with info, because I learn something new all the time from you. Here's a bit of information on the golden berries, after F.  gave us the botanical name and Chris confirmed it.

Happy day everyone, take care if, like your humble blogger, you're in the path of the storm. Make chili, move furniture, whatever floats your boat.

Midsomer, Spare, puppets, bowerbirds and storms

The morning weaving, usually about two inches before I need to rest my shoulders, continues happily. The quality is improving, but whether it will be good enough to give to the ministry is TBD.  We'll see after it's finished, fringed and steamed. 

I'm glad I enjoyed the scent of the spice bush and took pictures, because we had a huge rain, thunder and lightning storm, heaviest 24-hour rainfall in the US. 

that tore off all the blossom after a couple of days' enjoyment, broke the daffodils snd generally left everything green where it wasn't flooded.  Handsome Son had to make a circuitous route home, searching for open roads.

I had tossed around a few saved pumpkin and moringa seeds in anticipation of the storm, because large seeds tend to get a good start in storm conditions. We'll see if I guessed right.  They're big enough plants to see, if they grow.

Meanwhile I have rediscovered Midsomer Murders' first season on Freevee and had a good time watching. 

I'd forgotten the plots, so it was like new .

Today's Patriot's day and the Boston marathon, for the highly energetic. It also delays the federal tax filing deadline to tomorrow, in deference to the Massachusetts holiday.  

And here's an age mate I think I'd like, more my speed than running a marathon 

Notice the puppet is a self portrait!

And my reading finally, after many weeks ' waiting is

So that will be my focus today, rainy again. 

Happy day everyone, and here's a reminder to make our surroundings Habitat Beautiful

I expect you guessed the latest Haggard Hawks puzzle

RIVERSIDE

Storm's passed on to batter New England, and here..

 This is where we are today

Blessed neighbor knocked close to a foot of snow off several cars including mine, but I can't dig out behind it yet, too cold for me, temp still in the single digits Fledermaus.

So I'll let the sun help, meanwhile, the machboos rubyan coming to an end with today's lunch, I may as well thaw the doings for that lasagna I've been boring on about.

The foil-lined dish is because I'll be freezing it. I can lift out the baked lasagna, leaving the dish free, freeze the l. and when I'm ready to reheat, put it back in the dish. This brilliant idea is not mine, just saw it when I was looking up ingredients.

And a slice or two of that mozzarella will get into this evening's salad, with the tomato slices and a bit of Thai basil, no Italian basil available right now. 

I liked this combo for years, eagerly looked for the farm mozz and tomatoes and basil every year, before I knew it was a thing, with a name. Which now escapes me. Joanne or Mary are sure to know it. Oh wait, I think it's caprese.

And in the same mailbox as the weather, came this lovely reminder of good weather.

Peonies. I love them and have no room to plant them. So I enjoy the pictures.

I finished the Elizabeth Gilbert, and ended up ready to recommend it, particularly the bit where she demolishes the case that you can only make art through suffering. 

There's also quite a bit of fun to be had in letting materials steer you. It's not easy, whoever expected that, but it's not all grim either. 

Now I've embarked on

Which was my recent book club choice and I finally got it online, too late for the book club, but oh well. 

At first I was reluctant to read yet another book about the second  wife of a successful writer once professor, in an affluent New York life but anyway I started. And I'm finding it very readable anyway. 

The birds are going crackers at the feeder, both of the red bellied woodpeckers, cardinal, Carolina wren, juncoes, all at once right now in the sun. The smaller birds and the cardinal are whipping up the crumbs knocked down by the woodpeckers' vigorous beakwork. Also queuing up in the nearby tree waiting to be seated.

So that's today chez Boud