Cold, so I made frozen dessert and other unlikely things

Not a day for going out. I woke at three am, ready to get up but a bit early. So I made coffee and got a banana and a breakfast bar for breakfast in bed with a podcast and a video game. Eventually slept again and got up about seven to start the day again.

I'm working on this glove,

I can only do a couple of rounds before I have to rest my hands. Other stuff's happening though.

I'm thinking about that little basket idea, and here's the rather knobbly cotton yarn, now dry and ready to go. It has good strength -- I can't snap it, always a good sign.

I thought at first I'd use strips of this nicely colored postcard from W, found my shredder which makes serrated strips, has apparently broken down. Then I got right out of character and actually measured, to cut even strips.

But I changed my mind and I will probably weave the strips for another purpose, meanwhile I thought about ivy for the basket ribs, but it's all buried under snow.

Then I thought ah, wire, great contrast,  factory made wire and hand processed natural plant fiber.

So here's the materials. Stay tuned for more progress. I'm a bit hampered, hands really not working too well because of the cold weather and you can't do this kind of work with gloves. But the ideas are there 

Meanwhile, I fancied a frozen dessert given the weather's cold anyway.

Three mashed bananas, handful of blackberries, vanilla, whole powdered milk, blend, freeze several hours in glass dish, test.

This has a nice kind of ice cream bar texture, and doesn't need any stirring at intervals, because the bananas keep it from becoming solid ice. It's really good. I expect you could add sweetening or nuts or other berries, but this is what I had.

I haven't made it in years owing to a lack of bananas.

Lovely moon tonight with a fuzzy halo. 

Happy day.  Keep pushing. Sez Ted and Big Ursy 

Misfits and dyed cotton

I took the cotton out of the dye bath this morning, figuring 24 hours was going to be as much take up as it would get. 

As you see, pink with some areas whitish, but good enough. Now it's drying and I'll check around for what to use for the basket structure. I have a couple of ideas.

I tried these grasses but decided they were too wild for the cotton, so they've got their own place now 

And I'll continue looking and thinking. 

Misfits is delayed by weather, hence Friday not Thursday. 

But I have food in the house to deal with delays.

And Ronald showed up as scheduled, and seized the opportunity of an open parking slot all shoveled out, to stage his van and make the next few deliveries easier.  Mostly he's stuck out in the street, no open spots. I noticed he was keeping the bananas with him in the cab, not freezing in the loading area, so that's appreciated in this zero f weather.

Missing in action were yogurt and strawberries, which they'd notified me about, and one loaf which they hadn't.  I'll live.

Canned goods for the food pantry, green beans because it's a long time since I had any, broccoli because it's the other green I like, a change from spinach, grated cheese because no block Cheddar available, I don't like the additive that stops it clumping, but once won't hurt. 

Scallions for an interesting thing I plan with the tofu and ginger, diced tomatoes with no salt, shared with the food pantry, blackberries as a change from blueberries, apples for daily mid morning snack. 

Shrimp, it's a long time again, and I may make mayo, long time there, too, to go with shrimp. My best shrimp salad is just shrimp and homemade mayo, with buttered whole wheat. I don't get carried away!

So that's the food today, despite missing items, still a nice selection for the week and more.

About my recent slump. I realize now since I looked at the calendar, that it was the anniversary of my favorite brother's death in combat, age 20. 

I was six, so long ago, but my parents never recovered, and even the return of my other two brothers from combat didn't make a big difference. I think your body remembers trauma, maybe forever. That day past, my energy is better.

Happy day everyone, hoping and working for better days for us all. 

Cold, oh well, there's lentils

 Up very early today, before dawn 

The bedroom is the warmest room, nearest the furnace, so after breakfast I went back there to read, and fell asleep again. 

Once it got up to "feels like 10°f"  I needed to get out of the house, so I did the recycling and garbage and collected the mail, most of which landed in the recycle, and picked my way home watching for ice. 

Home again I made red lentil tofu, since the Misfits box I planned for today isn't here yet, weather moving my delivery to Friday.

I'll probably make crunchy cubes with a dipping sauce for dinner.    

I did, seen here with dipping sauce and peppermint sprig.

Gary, looking much better, came dashing over to return containers from various baked goods I'd given him and a handy glass jar. I recycle a lot of things he presents me with, but the jar is a good size to make mayo.

Happy day everyone. I'm resting a bit today, to get less frazzled.  Then back to resisting tomorrow. Thanks for understanding my current state, which a lot of us are feeling just now.

Dyeing update and Misfits delay

Wednesday was dyeing day. I rewound the cotton yarn to loosen it up, and checked my favorite plant dyeing book 

I needed to see if red onion skins need a mordant, no, then I simmered the skins for an hour to release the color 

Here's the yarn starting to take up color 

To keep the yarn underwater I put a mortar on top of it, heavy enough.

I'll leave the yarn in the dye at least 24 hours to get as much takeup as I can. Meanwhile I have to figure out what materials I'll use for the basket, preferably natural but we'll see.

I've labeled the seeds and stored them till planting time in the house in late March. Turns out the fiber on them doesn't affect germination, just as well since I can't get it off.

Meanwhile here's the chili and cornbread my neighbor brought over, while checking how I'm doing.   

It's mild and very good, quite a change from the fire alarm variety I use. So long since I had c and c, it was great. This is the artist contractor who's going to fix my bathroom. He's a man of many talents.

And Misfits has to postpone delivery till Friday because the storm has disrupted the food supply and transportation. So, no problem, there's food in the house.

And in case anyone is still using FB, here's what Z is up to. Censorship.

I'm currently reading the latest Osman, 

It's as entertaining as ever, same characters bit older, there's been a death and a marriage, and they're undaunted.

This week what with the news, the storm, the severe cold and the car issues, Gary scaring me (he's fine now), I've been struggling a bit. 

Most of my energy is going to resistance messaging and writing, rather than blogging. Bear with me, some questions are answered in the next blog post after you ask, some I don't have quite enough bandwidth for right now. But I do read and appreciate them all, thank you.

Happy day everyone, art will save us all. Now more than ever.

Textiles and Tea, no knitting group, but new idea, read on

 Tuesday was bitterly cold and icy, so I stayed safe home instead of going to the Tuesday knitting group. But here's a Textiles and Tea episode, which gave me a great idea about using the cotton I spun, more later..

Long time West Virginia, Appalachian tradition basket maker from a family of makers and with a young  grandson following her into basket making. Her granddaughter did the photography of her work.

These are baskets resembling vegetables, Rit dyed. She's teaching a two day workshop on this style of basket making at HGA Convergence this summer.

And here's her book, written during the pandemic when her teaching and traveling was on hold, photography by granddaughter

This kind of beanpot basket she's teaching this year at HGA Convergence

She makes traditional baskets, but designs contemporary ones, too, incorporating all kinds of materials and ideas, tree boles, old kitchen tools, novel fibers.  She's a great teacher, too, judging from online reactions.

And here's the cool idea I got while I was watching, about that little output of cotton I spun. And the red onionskins I saved... I'm thinking of dyeing the cotton then making a miniature basket somehow or other.. Watch this space!

I mentioned it and now she wants to see what I make, so now I hafta!

Happy day, everyone, make something. It counts if you make a decision!