Shrimp and glove ministry

Mild and lovely day, and I got a half hour walk in, such a treat, my strength was up to it. Sometimes I'm not quite up to it, but the mild weather, nearly 70°f, made it much easier. The cold weather takes energy just keeping warm.

And the squirrel is no doubt getting his trace minerals from the cherry tree branches next door.

I made a great lunch, curried shrimp over jasmine rice, with pineberries and blackberries, yogurt and cane sugar for dessert.

Here's the shrimp, rice ready, and the sauce reducing. I really enjoy making this dish, enough for two lunches.

Getting it to the table was not without incident. I served it, then there was a young real estate agent at the door, inviting me to her Open House down the street, which I declined with thanks.

Then the shrimp was cold, so I warmed it and served it again. Then Gary was at the door needing help with little lidded containers, did I have any, for his oil based stain. So if it spilled, not so traumatic, I suppose.

Then the shrimp was cold so I warmed it again and served it again, and it was very good, likewise the dessert, a favorite combo of fruit and yogurt.

This afternoon I finished the first of the current pair of gloves, using two yarns together, warm tweedy effect.

After the second is done I'm wondering about making a neck gaiter in the same yarn in Tunisian crochet. I'm thinking simple stitch, which gives a nice flat fabric, not lacy, so anyone could wear it. I'll see. 

I need a new project and it might as well be for the knitting ministry.

Still reeling a bit from the fireplace verdict, also knowing the condo water heater is required to be replaced this year, very expensive,  I keep remembering to breathe, and

This is a helpful thought just now.

Happy day, everyone, good Monday! Stay strong and, if you can't, lie under your cape for a bit.

 

Tai chi, curried shrimp and restoration.

 Here's Bob, the online tai chi instructor at work in yesterday's AARP online presentation. The exercise lasted about 45 minutes, a long time for me, but I kept up till the last few minutes when I finished it sitting down.

it was very similar to Eight Pieces of Silk, which I haven't done in a while, and I ran into my usual coordination issues, getting arms and legs going out of sync, but it was really good. I was totally relaxed in the afternoon and much less stiff than usual this morning.

Bob has decades of experience teaching in person, and the only hitch was the sound quality. When he introduced himself, close to the camera, it was fine. Then he stepped back as you see and started the movements and was inaudible. I think AARP is amateur night about miking. He was not body miked, I'm guessing. 

I messaged them and they said well that's why there's captioning, and anyway it worked fine in our practice run. I didn't pursue it but thought it was more than I could do, to read captions while watching and imitating what for me were difficult movements. I missed all the names of the moves.

It did revive my interest in Eight Pieces of Silk, and I may resume that practice, so that was good. And I'm glad they did it, even if not very well. They got about 150 viewers, pretty good.

They timed it for 12 noon, awkward time for lunch, so I postponed mine thinking better not to have a full meal right before. So eventually this was lunch. Curried shrimp over jasmine rice.

This is a natural artwork, the olive oil moving on the rice water and the reflected shapes. Cooking makes art!

Here's the rice, with the shrimp cooking in the foreground, with curry powder, my own Bill Veach mix, onions, garlic, homemade yogurt, salt and pepper

Then a handful of parsley chopped in, should have been cilantro but I didn't have any. And it was very good. Enough for another meal today, too.

And here's a bit of good news, some priceless artifacts looted from Ghana in colonial times personally restored by officials of the Fowler Museum, with some gracious apologies. 

Along with some lame excuses that they didn't know the full provenance back when the curators of the time acquired them. Which means they were either lying, or they didn't do their job back then. Anyway they now say they discovered these items were looted in conflict, and they are now back in the right hands

So, virtue signalling aside, this is good. They're beautiful artifacts, demonstrating the high culture of what Western powers dismissed as primitive people. Not so much. 

And this tickled me. Ukrainian humor. If they can laugh in their suffering, it seems we more fortunate people can at least cheer up. Which may involve avoiding the news for now.