in which our plucky heroine makes plans...
There are eversomany projects here that need done or that would be desirable. The next few days I'd like to finish the flannel shirt, and finish sampling the raincoat toggle spacing (for my personal projects) and finish the tiny bezels for the Babs brooch project... Maybe find the tarp pieces intended to bridge the gap between the porch and the walkway; getting that built will be very helpful.
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~ the past brought forward ~
This small Chinese rug holds some of my very early memories. It was originally my Nana's, possibly a wedding gift a hundred years ago, and now warms the floor next to my bed, one of the few objects salvaged after my parents demise that made it here to Acorn Cottage. The colors are vivid yet subtle, and looking at it carefully to draw it today, I also was surprised to see that some of its shapes and patterns that still reverberate in my own artwork.
This is the only sewing machine I purchased new. Prior to this Bernette 330, once I left living with my parents, I had assorted machines from yard sales or thrift stores, none good enough to put money into repairing them when they broke down. I have been using this machine for almost 40 years now, and while it isn't fancy, it is wonderfully reliable, and has sewn everything I've asked it to, from a canvas tent to lightweight lingerie. Past Me was clever enough to buy a walking foot for the machine at the same time, and that attachment is in use several times a year at the very least
The furniture in my home comes from four different places... there are a few pieces that I've had all my life, two small bookcases and two chests of drawers, all rather battered by now, but full of memory. I believe they were bought from one of those "unfinished furniture" stores back in the 50's and furbished by my dad. I have a fair amount of "Ivar" and various other solid wood pieces from IKEA. I have a table, several small shelves and most especially my wooden bedframe that were handmade by friends.
However, at least half of the furnishings here at Acorn Cottage are vintage or salvage of some kind. When I found this chair at the local resale shop, I could tell it was something special, firstly because it was just my size. Most chairs are too tall, and the seats are too deep for my petite self. On closer examination, the graceful shaping, and the beautiful through wedges of the legs were very worthy of notice. It had at that time a label on the back of the back rung that said "Ercol", a manufacturer uncommon here that I was not familiar with. I feel lucky to have found this unexpectedly affordable gem in a shop where it was not appreciated. It is my favorite chair.
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The switch to my bedside lamp stopped working on Monday. I headed out yesterday to the hardware store in hope that they might have a replacement switch. Fortunately, they did. In the process of taking the lamp all the way apart to replace the broken switch, I noticed that the harp framework that holds the shade to the light socket was falling to pieces, with three of the four welds broken.
While I have a lot of skills, welding steel isn't one of them. But I do have a useful assortment of chemical bonding agents aka glue. It seemed like a good job for "
Milliput", a very superior sort of epoxy putty, and that proved to be the case. After mixing up a tiny batch, I used it to sandwich the broken pieces together in the correct position, and after a few hours the putty set stone hard, and once the lamp was reassambled, it was back in service.
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Our winter weather is being odd. Nowhere near as much rain as would be ideal, and not as cold as previous years, though still plenty cold enough for wooly cardigans and layered leggings. And, as we head towards February, the patch of snowdrops in the front yard are blooming, and I saw two honeybees busy there.
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Today I happened to see a newspaper, a NYT business section lying on the table at the floral counter of the grocery store. The headline was something like "Gold tops $5000/oz". Of course I had to look more closely, for while I don't use gold, I have been using silver in my metalwork for many years. Probably not so much going forward, since silver too has skyrocketed in price. A few months ago it was under $30/oz, but it is now over $100/oz! I don't
ever keep metal on hand, but only purchase just enough for a project if a client commissions me and pays a deposit, because silver has always been volatile in price, but in all my many years, I have never seen fluctuations or prices like this. I suspect I shall have to learn a new way to work, for the most part without silver. This will create serious technical challenges, as enamel behaves differently and changes colors depending on the substrate.
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January SMART goals (x=extra)
| # | THINGS MADE | THINGS FIXED | THINGS GONE |
| 1 | final alphabeast drawing | painted mini tree | recycle bin |
| 2 | calendar master pages | new bin for
cedar shakes | orangeflower water |
| 3 | 5+ jars fig mostarda | drawstring cords | large broken bin |
| 4 | page 2 resipei | workbench tidy | 2 bags paper |
| 5 | - | bedside lamp | - |
| 6 | x | x
| x |
| 7 | x | x | x |
| 8 | x | x | x |
| 9 | x | x | x |
Monday's gratitudes -
- a beautiful Chinese rug that graces my bedside floor
- a very tasty Thai dinner
- Mikki is patient and kind
Tuesday's gratitudes -
- finding out what is probably causing my tech trouble, and incidentally also finding out it is NOT my laptop
- early bedtime
- unexpectedly saw Helga at the grocery store, and she was able to give me my eye drops from Costco.
Wednesday's gratitudes -
- one major admin task is finally completed
- got over 8 hours of sleep due to early bedtime last night
- found some tiny alder cones for the miniature trinket shelves
Time of Isolation - Day 2029
