Nature notes, weaving, lace and fish

 Sad little nature note this morning

It looks as if the mourning doves have deserted the nest. I saw a dove on the fence above the nest, but the one egg I could see is rolled off, nobody's sitting. It might be disturbance from humans, two visits from neighbors yesterday, or animals -- where's the other egg? -- but nobody's there now.

Mourning doves and other birds do desert nests and eggs, part of what happens in nature, but I felt sad anyway.

In happier news, here's the first skirt panel and pocket, off the loom and ready for finishing and using. I think I'll make all the panels first, then finish as needed.

And here's where that handful of dandelion leaves went

.

Tilapia poached in milk, sauce made from a bit of shrimp stock from the freezer, minced dandelion greens, dash of milk, bit of sugar, steamed carrots. And I tried the chutney, very good, even if I tried it a bit before its time.

 

There's plenty more fish, for a second lunch like this, then probably a curry, too.

Yesterday I decided since the weather is finally warmer, in the 70s, I could retire the red felt winter door curtain, and hang the green and white striped canvas summer one

And take a look at this Spanish lace, with its original architectural design inspiration, top right picture 

Off for yet another Covid booster this morning, recommended now for people over 65, also people with health risks. They're going to need to add another page to my certificate at this rate. I'm already on the back of it.

Happy day everyone, take it as it comes. Expectations are what do us in, better handle with care.

Oh, and the answer to the latest Haggard Hawks puzzle is

SHORTCUT

Tom gave a great clue. Always read the comments when you're baffled by a puzzle.

Happy Mday, dove, dandelion and sage

Happy mother's day, if it applies. Mine will be celebrated Tuesday, since today's a work day for Handsome Son.

Meanwhile yesterday's cooking involved chutney, since I have no pickle related condiments in the house. Apple and raisin, with onions, vinegar, ginger, lemons, cinnamon, apple juice 

Apples cooking down while jars sterilize in boiling water in the background

Raisins added in with cane sugar, lemons, cinnamon, to cook down slowly till thick 

And final product. I'll try it in about a week, after it's blended. This will be good with curried fish, or cheese sandwiches, or practically anything that needs a condiment.

And while I had the raisins out, being all out of breadesque food, I made a batch of walnut raisin scone things, nice for breakfast

Also for a snack for Handsome Son's Tuesday visit.

This morning's dove sighting, nearly vanished under henbit

The potatoes doing well, and the sage starting to flower

While I was picturing the dove, I picked a handful of greens. Probably a bit bitter for salad, but they'll work in today's fish sauce.

Surprising how much cooking I seem to need, always at it. I wonder what other people do? Maybe eat out, or buy prepared food or something, I dunno, but they don't seem to be always in the kitchen. Maybe they're more efficient cooks, too, though, there's always that.

Happy day everyone! Enjoy whatever's cooking chez vous, in any sense.

Skirt update, shy azalea and burgers

I made two burgers for supper yesterday, as you see. Pretty good, but I think they need another name. I'm not interested in pretending something's meat when it's a delicious something else. 

They worked out fine, browned up well, with a bit of Dijon mustard and ketchup, all inserted into the pita bread you see. Half a dozen others are now in the freezer, ready for next time I feel like them.

And here's this morning's sightings

A dove more concealed than ever by the henbit and

A shy azalea, engulfed by ground cover and daylilies.

I realized after a couple of people yesterday said skirt? what skirt? that my recent passing mention had escaped everyone. Also I forgot you're not all at the knitting group hearing me boring on about it. 

So here's a screenshot of the first thinking I was doing ages ago, at that time thinking felting.  Now I think weaving and knitting will do it

I have the paper pattern somewhere. The idea is from Sarah Swett, but I'll adapt it. I'm still doing the straight panels like hers, we'll see how many, and the current weaving I showed you is one of them.  The shaping is done by the wedge-shaped knitted sections, yet to be spun, plied and knitted.

There! All clear. I think.  

This afternoon is the knitting group. Last week I didn't do pictures, no new work, except a lovely new member, wardrobe director for a local ballet school, stitching  bodices for an upcoming performance.  

I didn't think it was proper to take pictures before they were public property, seen by their audience. She was hugely entertaining with stories of her life and work and dealing with last minute design changes by the ballet ptb, involving miles of orange frills and that sort of challenge.

Happy day everyone, and here's a puzzle involving a phenomenon most of us may not be adept at, speaking personally, anyway 

Puzzle on, funny clues please! 

Misfits box, azalea gone wild, weaving stage two, and burgers

 Today's Dove sighting

Still patiently sitting, the calm before the feeding frenzy.

The weaving is moving along, and today I unrolled the panel and realized it's plenty long enough for a skirt length, including waist and hem allowance. 

See the skirt I handmade a while back, laid on top, for length

I woke up this morning thinking about weaving pockets for the skirt, rather than knitting them. 

So today I figured that when you want another item off the same warp threads, you just leave a space and continue. Which is what I did.  

I left enough warp to have a fringed hem and maybe pocket. I've no idea if the weaving police will get me for this, but this is where I am. Pocket under way.

Once the pocket's done, the two current pieces will be freed from the windowsill and finished.

Then I'll do the same thing again. Once the current Sock Ministry pair is complete, I'll send it off then get to work on the knitted parts of the skirt. 

I'm spinning a while each evening to keep up yarn supplies. The colors will work nicely with the woven sections, I think, all rich but not shouty.

And, not having enough to do, I found an interesting idea for burgers using ingredients I have, so that's what happened

Onions, garlic, mushrooms, walnuts, chopped fine with a knife, since I don't have a food processor, unlike the YouTube lady. 

I started the pan with avocado oil, salt and chicken stock powder, then added in the doings. Fried ten minutes, then into a bowl to cool, with panko, an egg, ketchup because I don't have Worcestershire sauce, unlike the YouTube lady. 

It's chillin now in the fridge till I get some out to cook for supper, using a pita bread because I don't have sesame seed buns, unlike the YouTube lady.

The Misfits box arrived, and was hoisted into the house

The contents arrayed on the counter for forthcoming attractions. The apple juice and fancy raisins will go into a planned chutney, to go with a planned fish curry, using some of the tilapia in the freezer. Take that, YouTube lady!

After all this, the day having started with early morning fasting blood work,  I was ready to get into the sunshine and walk about admiring the quarreling birds duking it out for nesting rights, and this azalea

Which is not a giant cake, though you may wonder.

And now my time's divided between reading this

And this

One an eBook the other a bookbook.

So I think I'll get a cup of tea and wander out to the patio to do that.

Happy day everyone, enjoy all the things!

 

Textiles and Tea, jigsaw puzzle, and garden arrival

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured Scottish weaver Cally Booker and her joyful approach to weaving patterns. There were technical hitches, she being in Aberdeen and the signal sometimes breaking down, but here's the slides we saw

This is two views of the River Tay, one its silvery water, the other a view from the Tay Bridge coming across to the city, with sunset reflections.

Here's a five year daily study on Arctic ice melting, the melt being the blue area, the rest the ice, taken from scientific reporting of the measurements. Left the piece, right a detail.

 

This work, a scarf, describes her local shoreline at the mouth of the River Tay.

She's a narrative weaver.

This is a collaborative work created with a Canadian architect, about identity.

And here's double huck, which I don't know anything about except she loves it.

And yesterday I went to the local library, to donate that jigsaw puzzle about canned vegetables, which they were happy to receive. 

While there I looked at the collection and see Rose's donations in the lineup. They're often out, so I'd say that's a good destination for them.

And, seems I can't get away from yarn, here's my borrowed current puzzle

Neighbor Aditha came to see the dove on the nest very cautiously, 

and give me a curry leaf plant

I love cooking with curry leaves, anywhere you might use a bay leaf. It's a deep lovely flavor. Indian vegetarian cooks like to use for rich flavor, and they're right.

Great discussion group this afternoon, mostly to the right of me, but it's kept impersonal, so it's quite enlightening. 

The men don't interrupt, quite a novelty  in my experience. We had a substitute moderator, who did okay, though not as prepared as the regular one.

The Haggard Hawks puzzle answer is:

OYSTER

which I think quite a few people not only got, but created great clues about, thank you. 

Happy day everyone, speak up, you're entitled. Don't be a clam!

Changing of the doves, soup redux, lilac, cactus and dumpster finds

Yesterday after recycling various small items which never found a home on Freecycle and are not worth a long drive to the thriftie, I found a couple of  Good Things among a riot of stuff in the dumpster/recycling enclosure, someone's moving.

I love blue glass, 

and this bowl's in perfect condition, as is the big scarf, silky but probably not silk. It's got advertising,  I think, printed on it. Can anyone translate? It's possibly inside out, alphabet unfamiliar to me.

It's in new unused condition and I can definitely employ it one way or another.

Both items can probably be freecycled when they've run their course Chez Boud.

And here's the Christmas or by now practically Memorial Day cactus

Putting out a single blossom but what a winner.

Then there's chicken and cappellini soup. Yesterday's lunch, with pita bread toasted with sharp cheddar

And today's lunch with spiced (chili, cayenne, cumin) toasted chickpeas and tuna, dried sage toasted crisp and chucked on top of the soup.

Yesterday's reading outside involved smelling lovely lilac in bloom next door, and seeing the changing of the nest guardians. 

There was a sudden flutter behind me, and I looked up, to see Partner Dove on the fence waiting to take his place 

He saw me and I thought it best to sit unmoving, to let him calm down and fly down to the deck, which he eventually did. 

He strolled about looking elaborately casual, until the sitting dove left the nest and flew off,  the way the other dove had come. Then after a bit more strolling, I suppose not to betray the nest site, he finally took his place.

And here's the guardian in place this morning

I felt honored that they'd gone ahead despite the presence of a giant human. I think they've decided I'm basically harmless. Maybe I'll get that on my gravestone. Here lies Boud. She was basically harmless.  

 

There's worse things to be known for!

Happy day everyone, later there's Textiles and Tea which I'll catch you up on tomorrow, a Scotswoman, Cally Booker, weaver and teacher.