Signs of spring and a surfeit of eggs

You can see it's nearly March, how did that happen, because the State extension people are out with their list of Banned Botanicals.

Quite a few of these around here, which I see when I'm out walking to the pond.  Some are escapees from cheap mass landscaping, some were planted before people knew better, some just barged in.  

There's a date by which you have to eradicate them if they're on your property and by which nurseries have to stop selling them if they ever did. 

I doubt if this is the whole list, just the most likely. 

So Know Your Enemy is a sign of spring to our extension crew. 

And while I was knitting and eating breakfast,  cheese muffin, and idly checking what's new on YouTube, I found Ash LG, making a surcoat.

Ash is a larper, always into creating historical costumes, but regularly remembering the keen followers with less skill than Ash. 

So here's my summer sewing future 

In previous summers I've handsewn skirts and a couple of sleeveless lined surcoats will go with them a treat, with a cap sleeved top. I have skirts and tops, now to check fabrics around the place for surcoat purposes. This is where my portieres find themselves conscripted into use. One is batik cotton, one Indian sari silk, and there are sheets.. 

You see the complete notes needed to do this including translating cm to ins, she's a Brit. I remember as a teenager making a thing like this. I also made several in the 70s to go with matching short skirts. We called them tunic sets and thought we were all that.

Meanwhile I'm dealing with having over-ordered eggs, by making a spinach quiche using five of them.  With onion, garlic powder, shredded cheese. Started on top of the stove then baked in the oven, in trusty castiron pan. Amazing how spinach cooks down.

And here's lunch. I didn't cook the spinach ahead of time, just tore it up and added to the caramelized onions. Then thirty minutes baking and it's done enough for my taste.

Happy day everyone, spring might soon get here, after maybe a couple more snowstorms, we never know in March.

Striped spirals and getting dressed

I've noticed that I feel slothful until I'm dressed for the day. Even today when I fixed breakfast, aired the bedroom, changed the bed, laundered and dried and put away the bed linen, and cast on a sock. It didn't seem to count because I was still in a bathrobe.

Anyway here's the sock in question.

It's a tube design by Noreen Crone -Findlay, usual better known for tiny weavings and fantasy mixed media figures in a range of materials than for knitting designs. She recently had a big art exhibit in Edmonton, Alberta. 

This design has a long Icord arrangement as a cuff, quite fancy and I made a double rib instead, more practical for the Sock 'n glove Ministry. 

There's an odd number of stitches, which creates a spiral as you knit 6, purl 2, forever. No heel turn, because it shapes itself on the foot. But there is a shaped toe.

I've made several pairs of these over the years, as gifts, and the wearers attested to the skidproof effect of the spiral shapes. It's also fun to knit.  Hard to stop, between watching stripes and spirals emerge at the same time.

I'm walking nowadays in those boots you watched me stretch a while back. They're taking on my foot shape with wear now, and I need them because soon I'll be back to walking to the pond. 

Right now it's impassable, storm debris, snowdrifts, but soon I'll be able to get there for signs of spring. Or late winter. With pictures. Meanwhile I'm keeping up, and trying to improve, my stamina. It goes away fast if you don't pay attention.

Happy day everyone, pay attention to what you like to! There's no attention police. Yet, anyway.

On the resistance front I've written to my senators insisting they vote against the confirmation of the proposed surgeon general, basically chief doctor of the US. 

Usually it's gifted, real medical doctors and researchers who are appointed to this job.  This one is Casey Means who never completed medical training and is an online "influencer".  Not even slightly qualified. 

Nearer home, ICE just bought a giant warehouse for a concentration camp, in Roxbury Township NJ. There's already resistance, and I think local zoning and infrastructure issues might stop it. I wrote to my senators anyway, to increase the pressure.

ICE is promising revenue and jobs to the township, without mentioning the huge expense involved in basic utilities, water, sewage, heating, road usage, and the sheer criminal act of imprisoning over a thousand innocent people in their town.

There's an interesting political twist, too, since Tom Kean Jr, an apple who fell far from his decent father's tree, is the House GOP  member for the district. 

He will not want to be smeared with the rep of supporting a hugely unpopular ICE initiative. NJ already has all kinds of anti ICE bills moving through the State Legislature. And he has quite a bit of competition this time around for the upcoming Federal election.

Late edit: a friend nearer the action says Roxbury town council voted against it and HS is now denying they knew it was for ICE.  Sure, Jan.

Our senators are already on it, and ACLU.  Stay tuned. Never a dull moment, sez Ted and Big Ursy and Pony.

No matter what shenanigans they get up to in Kansas. ACLU is on that, too.

Imperfect Foods, snowstorm scarf, and drumroll ironing

I completed the snowstorm scarf and modeled it 

This entailed, I hope you bookmark this, ironing. This is a rare event, and the stuff has been waiting some time, but I needed to steam press my new scarf and the wool one which I've been wearing already. And a table cloth for Easter and a little curtain for the bathroom which got in the way of a cut finger and needed washing. Quite a while ago. There's more but that's for another day.

Proof of life -- iron plugged in and temp set. I didn't iron everything you see here, need to save some fun for later. Or something.

Then, since Misfits wasn't due till afternoon, I made croquettes for lunch. The last of the cod, last of the potatoes, last of the broccoli with plenty of spices, they can take it. I mashed in some green olives. Cod and green olives are a bit Mediterranean. 

I blended the lot with an egg, rolled the croquettes in panko and called it lunch. 

I cooked them for five minutes on high, then, covered, on medium another five. The glass lid is the turntable from the deceased microwave, fits nicely and it's tempered, so safe. The mixture made enough for two more croquettes for Friday.  Crunchy outside, soft inside, not too spicy.

That package of cod with spuds and broccoli, made seven meals. Not bad.

Meanwhile I put out the recycling for Misfits 

And Haleem arrived in due course, I see the pink van is back on the road.

Here's the boxful. No blueberries available this week, more lovely eggs which I now realize I didn't need to order this week. 

But I have plenty of spinach and shredded cheddar, so I can make a crust free quiche, which needs five eggs.  The shredded cheese, I know I usually avoid shredded, was in fact cheaper by weight than the block I usually buy, hence the two bags. 

Bananaz looking good, no apples this week since I had plenty. Canned goods for the food pantry, coffee for me, two bags in case, shock, horror, they don't have it whenever I need it.  

Lovely green beans, literally as fresh as new picked, very tender. I'm not a fan of green beans but these are very good. I now partly cook vegetables as soon as they arrive, and find this makes sure I use them all up. 

Two loaves for the lazy baker and I ordered flour this week. Yogurt, and they have my favorite back in stock, nice with pureed pumpkin, or peach chunks.  Chocolate because it's been a haaard week what with cold and snow.

All stocked up and feeling very lucky again.

Happy day, what do you like to have enough of in the kitchen in order to feel secure? 

Pony's first photoshoot

Long time blogistas will remember the adventures of the Five Dollivers and their dogs, traveling and posing, and endless wardrobe needs. They're now retired to their shelf to quarrel and issue orders to Boud which are quietly deleted.

Now here comes the younger generation, Pony, ready to jump in the bag for her first trip to the library. The cleaners, after several tries interrupted by weather, were coming today. So as usual I went out.

I had thought about calling a ride service but realized I hadn't asked any friend for several weeks, so Gary was happy to oblige. He needed to pick up a prescription near the library, so it worked fine. He shoveled a path on his passenger side, ice and slush, and offered a ride home if I don't find one.  Talk about service.

It's the Year of the horse in the lunar calendar, so the public puzzle was on theme, to Pony's great satisfaction. It's her year, after all.

Always with an eye for a bargain, she scrutinized the free book cart. You can take as many as you want as long as you don't bring them back, is the deal.

And I managed to knit despite her assistance.

Hooves aren't best suited to knitting, so she modeled the scarf instead.

Another friend brought me home, very happy to find out where I'd gone! She's nosy and admits it, like me!  

She also recounted the electronic bird feeder her daughter gave her, takes pictures, all that, and how the squirrels took it apart, bit through the camera cord, and demolished the seed funnel. There's another feeder now on order, and I asked if it included an air gun for squirrels. 

Happy day everyone. Today started restless, anxious, not too well, up in the night,  but improved significantly with helpful friends, and a bit of Pony fun. A lot of snow and ice is worrisome when you start to get out again, sneaky ice patches. Much better now.  And home to a lovely clean house, smelling fresh and cheerful.

Some days start out well and fall off a cliff. This was the opposite. So that's good.

The day after and Textiles and Tea

People are still digging out, but we were pretty well attended. I noticed the crews all showed up. Including the people who didn't last time, and I surmised at that time fear of ICE.  I wondered if the major anti-ICE steps taken by the state have reassured them of their safety. 

I sent a word of thanks to the gentlemen who dug the steps and walkways by hand, after the little cat plow got stuck in the deep wet snow. That was heavy work. We are in the 12-18" area, with drifting.

This was an excellent winter to be without a car. Not so lucky for the visitor from Florida though!

Some teens spent a while building a snow fort yesterday. 

Here was the construction in progress.

My scarf is progressing nicely.

Baking had to happen, since I had forgotten to order bread. No problem, sez I, I have plenty of flour. Then checked to find I didn't. Sooo, lentil cheese breads are on the menu, since I have shared the banana bread with Gary and it's finished today. The cheese breads use lentils instead of flour. Good thing I had cheese, feta and cheddar. 

Going into the oven 

Oddly, the same recipe made about 9 last time. I beat the eggs and lentils longer this time, maybe more air got in.

And here's the result, smelling pretty good, all that cheese

Then Textiles and Tea with Margaret Jones, an amazing English tapestry weaver, creating large - 2 meter square -- wool and cotton tapestry works on a simple upright frame.

She's a brilliant artist creating fluid works which could be watercolors. Take a look.

She uses a lot of techie prep work to create the cartoon she works from, and dyes her own yarn to get the color she wants.  But then her work at the loom is pure skill and vision.

This was an amazing experience. I need to see more of her work.

Happy day everyone, off now for a boiled egg and cheese bread.

This blog has daily supported and encouraged Ukraine for four years today. We won't stop.