More visiting, Easter cactus

Yesterday's plans changed when I had a sudden spontaneous visit from an old friend I  hadn't seen for ages, got caught up with news of family and mutual friends. 

She tends to be the confidante of her friends in their troubles, classic youngest daughter situation, familiar to me, and she asks me for input. So we did some of that, too.

These friends' visits tend to change the course of the day, so yesterday was not a day of making, nor of writing as planned about the politics of making art. But she did accept an artwork off the wall! The winnowing continues.

I asked her to send a picture when it's installed in her home, which I'll share.

And there was a huge, seismic shift in NJ politics yesterday, speaking of politics, when a federal judge struck down the County Line on the primary ballot design,and ordered a redesign for our June primary.

This wipes away a lot of power from the  Democratic party power brokers. This is a couple of white men, one North Jersey, one South, who've been using the ballot design to give total prominence to their chosen candidates. 

This consigned all other candidates, however popular, to what Rep Kim, who's running for Senate, calls ballot Siberia. The design has been estimated to give a 38% advantage to their handpicked candidate.  

The power brokers, were shoving in the governor's totally inexperienced wife, never ran for anything before, as the replacement for indicted Senator Menendez. 

This brought about a  rebellion from voters, with whom Kim is popular and a tested legislator.  He won by huge margins those county party votes where clerks opened the voting or allowed secret ballots at the recent county meetings, held for the purpose of endorsing candidates in an election year.

He's the guy,you probably saw him, who was pictured doing cleanup at the Capitol after the January 6 insurrection. He gained deep personal respect there, walks the walk. 

His popularity showed up starkly how the power brokers' choice was a nonstarter, and winning his court case against the Line has been a huge victory. 

Now we're in the process of pressing the County Clerks to get on with the new ballot design ready for our June primary, and not waste time and tax dollars on appealing the decision. I've already written to my County Clerk to this effect. 

And we have to press our local county party to do great checking on future candidates, now that it's opened up. We don't want people running and winning as Democrats then, in office, turning out to be Republican after all. 

One thing and another, a busy social and civic day!

And the Easter cactus is  getting with the program.

Happy day, everyone, note what's your own program of the day, and try to get with it!

Interlude for small looms, and summerizing

Rain is back, days of it, possibly. And I may have had a hand in it.

I summerized. Winter bag to summer bag, which involves turning out the bag to find out all the interesting things I've been carrying around for months, editing, then filling up the summer bag. Oh look, a little hand mirror! A comb! Another comb! A shoehorn!

Left, winter bag, a public radio pledge drive tote which I painted, right, summer bag from the thriftie. This bag change usually causes storms. I didn't know how much power I had.

The Easter cactus is on the brink of busting out on time

Then Tuesday's Textiles and Tea rekindled my interest in small looms. I looked up the price of a pinloom and decided to settle for making one, once I find enough pins. Meanwhile I set to finding my trusty old pot holder loom. And my Crone Findlay to remind me how to proceed.

Everyone seems to have had one as a kid and will tell you at length, if you're not careful, all about making pot holders for their mom, using stretchy loops. I got mine late in life, but did make the statutorily required loop pot holders, to get caught up. Then I went on to various experiments in scarves and purses. 

One big advantage about the pinloom is that it creates a stable piece of fabric with four selvages, just lift it off the loom, no finishing required. Other forms have fringes or loops which need finishing. The potholder loom has loops you chain off, crochet move, to stabilize the edges so they don't fray.

Anyway yesterday's adventure was to see if I could figure out a way of creating a four-selvage edge on my little ph loom. Which I think I have. After several tries which didn't work.

I'm needleweaving the margins to fill the loops right up to the pegs. So far it's looking very much like the four selvage work I've done in other ways. The picture shows one edge done.  One more edge to do yet, then we'll know.  

This will leave an unworked place at each corner, which I'll weave across in contrasting color, when I make something out of the square, or several squares. C. do you recognize the yarn?

Misfits box arrives today, so I'll use part of it to create a pinloom, as shown in my Useful Book.  It's good when your raw materials come to your doorstep.

And I'm sure this has been an exciting post to read.. worth the price of admission.

Happy day, everyone, try making something even if it's only a mess.  Or a fuss.

Snappers continued and buds and home high jinks

Out walking this morning to check on the snapper colony. And found

They'd moved on. Plenty of waterways here to choose from. I'm aware that my photography, unlike that of several blogistas with professional skills and cameras, requires the willing suspension of disbelief as much as anything.

However, if you squint again at the far bank you see only shadows and grasses. No snappers.

And on the left, almost totally camouflaged, the mallard couple have returned, in courting mode. The geese are off, too. So some natural drama may have happened. At any rate, nothing to see here, folks. Now, anyway.  

So at home again,  I got to work on chicken soup, using the last of the chicken and bones, simmered for ages, then the meat picked off, the broth strained, chicken meat added back in plus whole milk, and there are half a dozen servings of cream of chicken soup. 

With fresh cut chives, first of the year, always the best, most pungent cuttings.

As you probably noticed, I was also making yogurt at the same time. 

What I hadn't counted on was Gary showing up in the middle of this, to fix the toilet, finding not only the problem I found, wouldn't stop running, but also a leaking valve. 

This required turning off the whole house water, in order to do the repair. This was unfortunate, since I needed water for various cooking purposes and dishes, also to drink, being ready for a pot of tea. None of this was to be.

I spent my time divided between not letting the milk boil over in the kitchen while holding lights in the bathroom, handing tools like an OR nurse to a surgeon, listening to the latest health problems of a tricky pregnancy in the family, and  generally not getting on with the food.

Many issues and a shopping trip later, this

went back to this

Working now. Many tools from all over the kitchen, hallway and bathroom collected, also his mug of tea, forgotten in the microwave, his phone, various cables and lights, all sorted. 

He tends to be on the mad scientist side of the equation, all possible tools around every room, just in case. But it's done and I no longer have to trudge upstairs to a working bathroom. And I'm very happy with it all. 

I did get the yogurt organized, ready tomorrow. 

And when I finally got to sit down,  noticed the Christmas cactus is now evidently planning on being an Easter cactus. Yes, I know, different varieties, just a joke, don't explain at me.

Anyway look

Buds, buds, I tell you! Suddenly. All over. Maybe she heard the ficus was getting the heave-ho and thought she'd better show her value to the organization quick. Plants know more than we think.

Happy day everyone, you have nothing to prove around here. Just be!