Sunny day after Christmas, freecycle sadness, and Boxing Day

Beautiful day today, in the 30s but sunny, and I made it out for a walk, on the sidewalk because everywhere else is wet snow or slippery mud. A downy woodpecker stayed ahead of me, pecking from tree to tree until some juncoes pushed in to see what was good. 

I'm getting pretty adept with Carol Cane now, but need a little practice cornering.  Pro tip: when you're holding Carol in your right hand and make a right turn, don't put the cane down in front of your right foot then find you're kicking it away. I didn't fall but I'm watching for that  cane-before-foot move from now on. Cornering is the advanced course. Possibly above my pay grade.

Home to German cookies and English Breakfast tea. 

And free cycle, which I often check into for comic value. Sometimes heartbreak

Read on, next line

Oh. 

Meanwhile one of my food suppliers clearly needs a break. This arrived

They rushed to correct this great message -- I particularly liked the insistence that if your account says different, it's wrong! Anyway I think they'll deliver at least in January.  I have leftovers to keep me going.

Meanwhile I hope they get a nice walk with birds flying on ahead. It's calming.

I'm now officially confused about what day it is, what with misfits arriving Tuesday instead of the usual Thursday, and Christmas being Wednesday. I think I'm up to Saturday.  Maybe I'll just crochet until I get it clear. 

I'm writing on Boxing Day. I saw a lovely little video about making a crafty little box from the cardboard tube from a tp  roll. 

I usually keep these tubes for storing my spun yarn, but maybe I'll make a box, why not. The alternative is to challenge Mike Tyson. I bet I could land at least one swipe while he's laughing helplessly at the challenge. 

I found a different, less fussy tp tube box idea, a pillow box. Five minutes fun including finding the glue, and smoothing out the chocolate snowman foil.

The glue dish is Rosenthal porcelain with sterling silver rim.  I have two others and they serve multiple uses beyond what I suppose their makers were thinking.

Moving along, have a happy day, whether or not you make stuff. Remember making fun of people counts, too.

Boxing Day

One of my aunts, born in the 1890s, used to refer to all Christmas presents as Christmas boxes. They didn't have to be in a box. In fact a bonus in the pay would be a Christmas box. And Boxing Day was when an employer would hand them over. 

So here's Maggie Rudy's take on the Christmas box sweater,  knitted by grandma, with plenty of room for growth, tried on with dismay by the little mouse, while mom cautions him to say nowt, because she understands.

And today being a wonderful mild sunny day, walking happened. So did Christmas boxes from nature.

Here's one, a silver dime on a gold beech leaf

And here are favorite scenes, shadows falling on beech trees, that grey silk trunk like a drawing surface

This beauty appreciation is all very well, but first the inner woman was attended to.

The Christmas Eve cod steak was as good as I'd hoped - very. Lovely flakes, just baked enough. Cayenne pepper. Bed of spinach, carrots and scallions. Buttered boiled Yukon gold potatoes.  

Years since I had decent cod. Locally, in the northeast US,  the fish preferences of the population are more exotic than the north Atlantic fish I grew up on, in northeastern Yorkshire, cod, herring, haddock, skate. They're pretty rare.  

But Misfits market has added in cold pack ordering which makes fish and meat possible in the Misfits box in addition to produce. This is my first trial of the fish option, expensive and worth it. 

Then today came the planned cod cakes. Flaked cod, left from Christmas Eve, mixed with several veggies, Old Bay seasoning, egg beaten in, Panko breading, baked.

Fancy bit of Thai basil, growing in a pot in the kitchen, glass of ginger ale 

Dessert was German tiny cookies and a drop of eggnog.

Speaking of potatoes, which we were back there, 

here are Yukon gold potatoes, planted as peelings, growing like maniacs in a pot in the living room. Bringing the outdoors indoors. I did get a couple of accidental potatoes in a pot upstairs, so we'll see if these deliberate ones work out.

Not long before I can go on a witch hazel blossom hunt. Even before snowdrops.

It's all go!