Funny folks, vote arrived, stitching, a pair and a spare, and more

Remember when I sent in my mail-in ballot, and mentioned a few things we'd fought for and got? Above you see the results of one such campaign. It's called Track my Ballot. Allowing time for the mail, you go into your official passworded account, to check on your voting history to date. 

At the bottom  you see the official acknowledgment that the county voting officials have my ballot safe. Counting doesn't start till the polls are closed on election day, but meanwhile, it's safely there, and the voter knows it.  It encourages public confidence in the mail in ballot.

And stitching is continuing. Here's the whole piece

And here's a detail showing the worked part.

 I did knit that third glove, and I feel better offering a pair and a spare now that they look more as if they all belong together.

Food keeps happening, today fritters of tuna, cannellini beans, in panko crumbs, heavily spiced with long pepper, of course,  and a pinch of ground cardamom. Ketchup. The last of the strawberries for dessert. 

And I found a great labeled chart of photos, waxcaps, including a few I've noted in here lately. This is worth bookmarking, if you're interested in fungi.

 

Before I wrap up today, speaking of odd ducks, I've met a few, in various workplaces, and among my readers here!

My favorite was the lady who'd read in here and emailed me to say she was doing the genealogy of her  family, and wanted me to supply her with information on my Boud ancestors, since she had found an Elizabeth Boud several generations back and wondered if we had relatives in common.

We got into quite a thread of emails, I trying to explain Boud is only a screen name, no connection with people, in fact it was the nickname of my late cat, Boudicca.  So named because small but fearless, like the warrior queen who came close to routing the Romans at the battle of Colchester, but I digress.

My correspondent wasn't having it and wanted to know why I wouldn't help her, when she'd been referred to my blog from a genealogy website. I asked her to please give me the website reference, so I could put the record straight, and she said, oh, er, well, um, she couldn't remember it. 

After emailing me several times with demands, she finally  declared it was people like me who made it hard to research,  refusing to share information. Once again I  explained it wasn't my family name, and wished her luck! She said she'd report my refusal, to save other people from wasting their time, which I thought, but didn't say, was a good outcome. 

So there, a little episode of the endless comedy that is people.

Happy day, everyone, off to the annual dental visit, where I hope  they'll clean my teeth, tap on them, make measurements, and tell me I'm fine before emptying my wallet and seeing me out.

The people there are definitely compos mentis, glad to say.

Flowers, food, gymnastics and Maggie Rudy

 One more flower has come in the house. 

The season's waning, though it's still in the 80s f, so not many more flowers. Some great fungi appearing overnight

Such intricate structures, natural art forms appearing daily.

Back to wearing skirts, but soon I change the front door curtain for the red felt one, and the sofa cover to the warm kitty-themed throw. Not in a big hurry on these though. 

And what to cook when you're short of ideas, not interested right now in tomato based standbys, here goes with onions, leeks, yellow potatoes, heavily spiced with long pepper, my new go-to, za'atar, kosher salt, tossed in olive oil and left a couple of hours, before 30 minutes at 400°f. Served over jasmine rice, I remembered to cook rice.

there's enough for a second dinner today. I also need to bake something, because Handsome Son is visiting. It might be warm enough to sit outside, if the biting bugs aren't too active.

Yesterday the US women's gymnastic team won a record seventh World gold, with Simone Biles' amazing floor routine blowing away the competition. 

Go see it on YouTube and marvel at her landings. She also got a vault named for her, another move with her name on it. We're fortunate to see this greatest of all gymnasts still on form even when older for a gymnast.

Those of us who can barely do a somersault and have never managed to get over a vaulting horse, usually getting stuck on top, can only wonder and admire this power and beauty in action.

Back home, a bubble bath might be a good idea, after watching all that exertion

And some more stitching. 

The added rows of stitching are lending body to the piece as I go. A lot more stitching yet to do, such meditative pleasure. I'm glad I started this piece and that you're coming along with me as it happens.

Happy day, everyone. In the midst of political and climate chaos, art is there for us. Making something, if you're a maker, cooking something if you're a cook, tending  your plants and animals, all these are actions supporting calm and order, and they're acts of resistance to chaos and enmity.

Fungi, cabbages and kings, the pickers, that is.

 Yesterday's walk was largely about fungi

I thought at first this was a flattened baseball

Top, looking fairly  inconspicuous, then the reveal

the gills underneath. Such wonderful design in nature.

Where those tomato vines were thrown into the trees which I foraged, a brave little volunteer. I must remember to check next year for picking.

On the subject of food, and rising prices, here's why I will always support the farmworkers

Back breaking incessant work, and no benefit from higher prices at the end of the chain. I always thank them with a prayer when I unbox my Misfits, because they feed me.

The wall hanging is in rough draft, pinned onto a backing of unbleached muslin, and is now on the wall, so I can see it over a couple of days, move pieces around and start stitching again. 

I tried several overlay ideas, didn't like any of them, so I think the open areas will be many colors of sashiko stitching instead. That seems to be more harmonious. I'll save the overlay idea for another future piece. I think I've been influenced for the good by that kantha work I showed you recently.

And, in keeping with  my long-standing support of MoveOn, here's the latest sticker, supporting library staff besieged by book bans.  This is on the fridge,  and my Twitter and Spoutible accounts.

Happy day, everyone, read a book, and, to the library folk among our blogistas, go you!

Leaves in progress, Misfits quirks, and soup

 I've been on an Alison Weir trip, with this rather dry history

and this much more lively historical novel same characters

Between shopping in the freezer and making soup.

I used up a couple of quarts of homemade vegetable stock, plus the cooked butternut squash and most of the carrots from the freezer to make this. Since the weather had dropped to the 80s f. I rationalized that it was soup weather. 

It's a favorite meal, with pita bread toasted with sharp cheddar, as seen here. 

And the wall hanging is starting to take shape, here with a couple of blocks tentatively in place

 

current blocks close up, top left in progress

I love working on one block at a time, completely engrossed in the intricacy of it, working in hand. You can see the size from the measurements on the cutting block they're resting on.

The little open work yellow leaf on the blue leaf is the same one as the orange insert under the yellow leaf, just cut with more detail.

I do like modular, in art and gardening. You get to continue designing as you go, many chances to change and reorganize. I've made some big artworks consisting of small components.

My gardening is similar -- containers beat planting in the ground for me. I do both, but I know which I prefer.

I notice a new Misfits quirk. It used to pay to order as soon as the window opened, because they would sell out so quickly. So I'm in the habit of checking in promptly. 

But now I'm finding most produce  labeled sold out even before I get started, within minutes. This week the entire fruit section was sold out. Nothing to buy. So I started my list anyway. The window is open for a couple of days before they close it and charge you. Then I had an idea, went back in later. The whole fruit department was now stocked.

I think whoever opens the window is faster than whoever stocks the shelves! It's like unlocking the shop door while they're still running items onto the floor. 

I had a similar situation years ago, when people still did bank operations manually. Every check I wrote one month on our local country bank, into which my husband's salary was deposited, was bounced.  Written a  full day after the deposit. 

I hared in and demanded the manager explain and grovel. He explained that the lady in charge of bouncing checks was faster than the lady in charge of posting deposits! 

I made him write and sign a handful of letters  explaining their blunder, for all the people now charging us for nonpayment, and swallow the fees for me.  He did all this but was noncommittal about my suggestion he switch the ladies over to avoid this kind of snafu.

Misfits is simpler, just wait  a day!

And if there's anyone still wondering about the dad riddle, well, if he had a  widow he'd be dead! So it's unlikely he'd marry her sister. Many times people start up figuring the degree of  relationship, the law etc., reading widow as wife!  Not our sharp blogistas, nooo.

And justice continues to roll down on tfg. Georgia is the most likely to be crushing. He can't get out of state charges even if, God forbid, he gets reelected. Between the New York, the Florida, the DC and now Georgia charges and indictments, the walls,  I pray, are finally closing in on him and his gang.

Happy day everyone! Continue to take care, covid is still around, though not in the news.

New artwork, yogurt, warping and a dad riddle

I was looking for pieces of fabric for the upcoming applique idea, and found this stack of samples I'd forgotten  I had, no idea where they came from. Not sure what fiber, either, probably a cotton mix.

After playing with them and making color groups of three, I carried them to the table to see them better and realized

this can be a wall hanging. The color groups allow for a direct applique in top of a reverse one, on a background. 

So, now for threads

Winnowed down to these choices

And some cutting, using a small rotary,of morning glory shapes. This why I picked leaves of different sizes, to work together

I think some sashiko stitching will come after the whole thing is appliqued, to harmonize it, but I'll do some on individual blocks.

Meanwhile I finished threading for the rug

and today I need to sort roving and maybe make a start in weaving, though sorting roving is a start, part of designing.

And there's a yogurt reveal. The hot water containers and emergency blanket seems to work

it's a bit grainy, but after straining a bit, worked fine with wild honey. The texture is not from the fermenting method, but probably age, since this is third generation. Time to order more yogurt, to use the last of it as the next starter.

And, since it's Monday, here's a Dad riddle from my childhood.

Can a man marry his widow's sister?

Funny answers only please!

Happy day everyone, may all our life riddles be funny.