Wildlife and other important items

On a Sunday walk to the pond I encountered late blooming beds of yellow sorrel, the short stemmed kind, not the sprawling version on my patio. Small brown butterflies all over it 

On the way home there was a group of young golfers, pretty good driving, from the sound of things. They looked maybe nine or ten years old, with some talent there.

If you're still stressing, here's an idea 

On the third day of visualizing, I'm noting that each session has new and different scenes and events, but wild animals being friendly seem to recur. No beavers eating cabbage though.

I'm about to study the heat pump information and make a decision, so I think I'll need all the above.

Happy day everyone, find something that helps. There's probably something, sez Ted and Big Ursy 

While acknowledging the hard, sad, also true things 

Briefly, love the moment

Yesterday evening, my honorary Indian daughter made a sudden welcome visit, because she found herself in the neighborhood,and we had a wonderful catch-up about her family and job and mutual friends.

She never arrives empty handed, and brought a bag of chocolate and Indian mangoes, the best.

And her visit reminded me that we need to enjoy and celebrate every moment we have.

Earlier I'd made Food for Fortitude 

Cod baked with butter and capers,  wilted spinach and an apricot sauce.  We need this kind of food in parlous times.

And there's nature, the lavender blooming at the door 

And the yellow wood sorrel undeterred by mowers because it blooms too low under the blades to be cut down. 

There are lessons all over here which I won't insult our communal intelligence by underlining.

Be safe. Do what's right today. March in spirit or in person. We're worth it.

Of tea and flowers and feathers and lawbreaking, et cetera

Walking is easier in the suddenly much cooler days, the grey skies making colors pop, and this year I notice greater carpets of yellow sorrel

And a blue jay feather, which I brought home. 

It's against the law to own wild bird feathers in this State, such an outlaw. I hope the feather police don't check my coffee table.

At home again I'm trying a different blend of tea

and find this is exactly like my mom's tea. I must have hit on her choice. The leaves are much smaller and it's snarlingly strong, not much required. I think this is my comfort tea of choice now.

Speaking of which, shakshuka has become a comfort food of choice, also what I make when I can't think what to make. 

This time I used spinach and celery leaves as a base,  and canned diced tomatoes. It was a bit liquid, so I siphoned some off for use in future spag sauce, and ended with the best version I've made up to now.

And, since Handsome Son suddenly announced he was visiting yesterday afternoon, I baked a batch of blueberry and cranberry muffins, since I had nothing to offer him. I'm happy with just honey toast, but he's not a fan.

I also broke it to him that I'm not up to cooking elaborate meals, such as Thanksgiving any more, and he was disappointed, but amenable to take out, as long as we did Tday and other holidays one way or another. 

Years ago I would cook a three course meal weekly for us, when he was going through a difficult unemployment period. I went to monthly after he got settled, and between the pandemic and advancing age with retreating energy, I usually nowadays offer him a little something with a pot of tea. 

We did keep up a bigger deal for Easter, Tgiving and Christmas, but last year I moved to having us serve ourselves from the stove instead of a fancy table setup. I think I'm ready for an even simpler way to save energy, just buy takeout.  

This way we can enjoy the company without my getting worn to a thread. Self care rules! Not that he's demanding, in fact for the holidays he always brings parts of the meal. But I need a break.

We already started  simplifying by having pizza to celebrate handsome partner's birthday, and I'm doing Bad Food for Labor day next weekend. 

Bad Food, meaning things we never normally ate, became a tradition with Handsome Partner, for July Fourth and Labor day, usually hot dogs with everything, potato chips and that.

I haven't been in the mood for a couple of years, but I'm doing it this year, and Handsome Son might join me, depending on his work schedule, which he won't know till the weekend. So I think we're easing into easier ways for me.

The stitching is continuing, and I'm doing a variation on applique, using the stumpwork technique of button hole stitching round the shape,  then cutting out around the stitching. 

Then I'll mount another smaller shape, in green,  on this one, then apply the result to the blue backing.

Speaking of stitching, I realize that the knotted candlewick technique described by Caro isn't the candlewick I was talking about. This is the thing I meant.

I couldn't track down more info on it.

Seems that there are two techniques using the same name. The version I mean was used for warm robes and bed spreads, usually in white, using multiple soft cotton thread cut into tufts, exactly like the kind of soft threads used in candles, hence the name. The other, knotted version,  is pretty, and new to me.

While we're thinking puzzles anyway, Haggard Hawks finally produced a new one, yay

Funny clues please!

Happy day everyone, self care is the current mantra all round!