Gimme time, stained glass and yet another idea

 I finished the current woven panel and Fred and Ursula are guarding it and the others against dastardly marauders

Yesterday was a great afternoon for sitting on the deck watching birds and clouds and reading. I heard Gary at the front door call me. Made my way to the door, in time to see him drive off.  

Today I reminded him to give me a minute to get there. He explained he thought I might be upstairs sleeping (!) and he didn't want to disturb me. As if.   But he'll allow for my increasing slowness. He's too polite to look in and see if I'm on my way. Very proper!

Today I returned the shoes I was thinking of painting to improve the hideous color, nothing like the online color. I had decided life's too short to be endlessly coping. And I hoped the UPS lady wouldn't get all bureaucratic about the lack of the original box they came in, now broken down and recycled.

As with a lot of in-person encounters, a lot depends on the person behind the counter. Today it was a very happy lady who scanned the code I'd screenshot, whipped out the receipt, easy. Thank you. 

The refund will more than pay for the completely satisfactory ironing blanket thing. Amazon, which I only use when all else fails, has tightened its returns rules, now specifying to return in the original mfr packaging, but this lady wasn't worried.

Meanwhile another skirt idea occurred  to me about some pedal pushers in a nice color, but now too big. I shrank, they didn't.

So I cut the inseams off, trimmed back and now I'm insetting batik in a cheerful contrast, 

Front 

Back

You can see why I'm taking the trouble -- great cargo pockets, drawstring waist, much better as a skirt than hanging in the closet.

But this is only stage one. After I've stitched the inserts, which have a technical name, never mind,  inside there's a  rectangle of batik, front and back.

After I finish the insides, I will have two triangles to trim off, parallel to the sloping sides of the inserts.. Which will then be appliqued to the outside of the  skirt to complete the design and disguise its pantly origins. It will also use up every square inch of this piece of batik, all I have in this color.

The geometry of this idea took a bit of thinking and pinning and snorting in annoyance and reversing and repinning.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi loves to say don't agonize, organize.  This stitcher says don't repine, repin!

And for a change of pace from my endless stitching and bitching, here's a lovely stained glass work to enjoy

Look her up, she's a terrific designer. 

And happy day everyone! Off to stitch now, good vibes to your experimenting today. And everything else, really.

Tea cred, mystery rice and ratchet thinking

This picture of today's breakfast, rice with apricots, cup of tea, presents a challenge to my tea cred and a cooking mystery.

The tea is fine, made with good leaves, boiling water, in a pot. Last night. 

I get so tired of getting up and making breakfast tea that I'm treating it like coffee, making ahead, reheating when I need a cup. 

Not as good as fresh brewed, but acceptable before I get my eyes open. But I expect to have my membership in Posh Tea Fanciers revoked any time now.

The rice is a bit crunchy, despite being simmered for several hours last evening, then refrigerated overnight.  

I think the mixture of milk and water may have dramatically slowed down the cooking process. Or something.  

I usually cook  rice in water then add the milk and continue cooking. Maybe I'll resume that approach. If anyone knowledgeable about food chemistry can explain, please do. 

And here's one of those reports of "scientific" findings that could be funny if it were less annoying and likely to be believed. Probably by people unused to looking at the premise then considering winding it back to see if it's backwards reasoning.  Ratcheting is what I call that where you can't turn it back on itself.

They don't indicate who did the studies, graduate students? Undergraduate social work majors? Or how big was the sample and where drawn? Ten of the writer's friends? A dorm floor?

Because I think you can certainly reverse both propositions to claim that people who are easily distracted tend to have messy desks. And that people who make healthy choices may tend to keep their workspace organized and neat. 

There's also a school of thought that says out of clutter come great ideas. That a totally tidy house is a preparation for death.

I'm just sayin'. This is coming from a maker with many interests, who, between projects is neat, the better to start up again. But in mid-flow, the best word would be welter.

Anyway that's where I am, after no walking because of days of rain, now threatening ice. Possibly a little stir crazy.

Bear with me!