New sauce, art opening, patio redux

 It was crunchy tofu time, and I made a different sauce. Yogurt, garlic, salt, dill 

It would have been good to remember the art opening before I ate a lot of anti social raw garlic,  but oh well.  It went very well with the tofu cubes. 

And in the course of crushing the garlic my folk craft cat cutting board came apart.

So it's still an artwork. Now it's Cat Crouching Behind Pillows. I always like a cat in the window, but usually it's a live one.

The opening was crowded, very happy event with speeches of thanks to everyone, and reminiscences.

E with her mixed media work 

Old friend Susan 

Really pleased that a lot of younger people are taking part 

Our leader, Tatiana 

The librarian who routed spammers trying to disrupt our communication before the show 

Paula who led the group before Tatiana 

Tatiana with her own work from a while back. 

I've been recruited to help think up more ways to show art in different parts of the building. Serves me right for showing up! 

And back home Gary was out measuring for the patio! He's buying the blocks tomorrow. I had thought he might not be well enough to do it, and hadn't mentioned anything about it but he seems fine with it.  The next door neighbors are going to match it, so we'll have a unified effect. I am really liking this.

Later he brought over his sad shefflera for a consultation then two hours of repotting, choosing pots, drilling holes to upcycle them, while I made suggestions and a lot of encouraging sounds. Later still he showed up with this nest which fell out of his tree. What bird,  do you think?

Never a dull moment chez Boud! Or in town

Happy day everyone, treasure your dull moments if you get any. 

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.

A new bouquet, a survey and Misfits

 New pickings today for a bouquet 

With an ink drawing suggested by it

The patio at this season is different every day 

Wednesday brought the last online survey from my hip surgeon.  It paid attention to pain and activity, where my answers ranged from none, pain, that is, to everything I want, activity, that is. 

I expect he'll be happy with my recovery. It's three months now, then my final follow up visit is in a couple of weeks. At this point I'm used to being unaware of any need for special care. Happy days.

Thursday was Misfits delivery day,  and they tell me they can't supply the peaches I ordered, but oh well. Everything else  arrived. 

Apples because they're the daily snack, strawberries and blueberries for desserts, cherries for afternoon snacks, tofu for crisp tofu katsu, yogurt, vital, bread because it's too hot to bake, shrimp for salad maybe, feta crumbles, two healthy sparkling drinks.

Easy food prep is on the menu in the heat and humidity.

Lovely colors of summer.

Thursday afternoon was about staying in the cool, reading 

New to me but starting out very promising 

Then I needed to set up an audiobook to spin by. 

I'd found a fine roving in my collection, with a bit of sparkle, which I used to spin some laceweight yarn. My hands needed a change from other fiber arts, different movements. This is a good regency,  full of comic scenes.

Happy day everyone, let's hope for some cool.  I did get a good walk early before it got too hot.

Late breaking: the insurer called, have approved the claim for the house repair, and will inform the contractor, so we can get on with scheduling the work. It feels like several years since this started. So this is good.

Still hot at 10pm

Today's bouquet, basket and afternoon visitor

The daylily fiber basket is growing gradually. Slow work. I like how the natural color changes work as the side is built up.

And today's bouquet 

The coreopsis you see, red and yellow flowers, appeared, probably seeded from what I strewed around last year. 

 And the morning glories, a bit bitten, are moving along undaunted 

Here's who stopped by, stayed for ages on this branch. I think he may have been sleeping for several minutes, unworried by my getting close.

Gary stopped by to talk exterminators and plant care. He's going to be away from Tuesday till late July, trying to do last minute things. He'll still take the calls about my car from the body shop and the family next door will retrieve my car, he thinks.

Happy day everyone. From here in the trenches, midst shot and shell.