in which our plucky heroine looks towards the year to come, and hopes for just a bit more lovingkindness in the world...

The black eyed peas are simmering in the crock pot, along with a good sized knob of smoked ham hock. Another lashing of port was painted over the fruitcake (baked yesterday). I'm about to mix up some of Sister Gigi's Corn Pancakes to fry up, and cut up the carrot coins to steam along with some greens. Doing my best to make sure that the new year does not suck pond water, at least not due to anything missing in my traditional cookery preparations...
an excellent selection of tiny sushi is a wonderful way to end the "Advent of a Better Year in 2024" swap... may the year to come be filled with a great assortment of small creative treats we can share with one another.
"The verses are a roadmap of how to live a good life and be a good person, each of them punctuated with that rousing chorus:
Ring the old year out
Ring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win "

- Charles de Lint My small planned wardrobe enhancement for 2024. I don't need a lot more clothing, having reached the long desired state of sewing to refurbish and replace, rather than not having enough... I've been feeling a need for color nowadays, and so rather than my original plan of mostly chocolate brown, I've pivoted to teal/turquoise, to add some bright accents into my everyday options
1. slip with interesting hemline detail, blue and bright turquoise cotton flannel twill, square godets inserted into slits in the hem edge.
2. multicolor print cotton shirt with tower plackets; I want to practice my placket sewing, and the fabric is so fun!
3. stripey sleeve handknit cardigan in chocolate and many colors of Lettlopi, which is currently waiting for panels to bring the bodice up to the correct size. Then I can find buttons for the front, and finally start on the sleeves.
4. raincoat (chocolate brown trimmed in black) is really close to being finished. Needs the toggles made and attached, the edge binding on the collar and front edge, and the final hemline treatment
5. teal linen pinafore from my TNT pattern, assuming I can find where the bodice pattern pieces went. or I will need to pull a pattern from an extant pinafore
6. knit top with criss/cross turtleneck, from teal cotton lycra. Just needs me to create a pattern piece for the turtleneck that will cross over in the center front
7. handknit "Dark of Night" pullover from dark teal rainbow Lettlopi, made in 2019, and fits well with my color theme
8. long janes with decorative hemline, using scraps of the teal cotton lycra for the motifs and whatever cotton lycra I have plenty of for the actual garment
9. dark denim hat to replace the one lost...

The bird embroidery I started for my collection of new hat embellishments is stalled out for lack of suitable floss in an assortment of subtle blue/grey colors. Fabric Depot was my go-to for years; I don't even know where to look for a good assortment of DMC, now that the big stores are all closed.

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	"merry mathoms" stamp	x	x
8	white Pelican setting	x	x
9	knit acorn oakleaf brooch	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. survived 2023
2. mostly enough, and the ability to recognise it
3. the best folks, both friends and family
4. "The Advent of a Better Year in 2024" was one of the most successful ideas I have brought into being

in which our plucky heroine notices all the things that were created, or repaired, or let go of in the last year, despite how little it felt like, and how much still remains undone or unfinished...

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	striped tabletweaving	drawings for Vikki	recycle bin
2	night socks toile	2023 calendar masters	yard waste bin
3	2nd set of calendars	pocket flap pattern	recycle bin
4	night socks	chore coat pockets	yard waste bin
5	music broadside	chore coat CF corners	recycle bin
6	fingerless gloves	bleachdye neckline	recycle bin
7	page 1/20	soy sauce cruet base	yard waste bin
8	page 2/20	reconfigure neckline	recycle bin
9	2 tiny bird books	rose kerchief mended	recycle bin
10	semicircular bathmat	SR leather re-dyed	old cassettes
11	rice paper packets	duvet cover	recycle bin
12	tiny forsythia	A/C kerchief hem	yard waste bin
13	6 jars blood orange marmalade	chore jacket snaps	ceiling fan blades
14	more 100 day pages	rain capelet neckline	more ceiling fan blades
15	page 9	Stanley power strip	yard waste bin
16	5 strawberry needlekeeps	pruned elderberry	recycle bin
17	page 10	rebedded worms	crocs of slip-n-fall
18	page 11	tapemeasure fob	jars to Mud Bay
19	7 lotus star booklets	taxes done	recycle bin
20	5 tiny triptychs	shoes painted blue	extra plant pots
21	mushroom tinyprints	shoe elastics transferred	yard waste bin
22	pages 12 and 13	roses on shoe toeses	grapes to compost
23	page 14	light fixture replaced	yard waste bin
24	page 15	some ferns pruned	recycle bin
25	custom Tullia daypack	hardy fuschia pruned	apple tree prunings
26	page 16 and 17	apple partly pruned	more dead ferns
27	page 18	front yard mowed	recycle bin
28	page 19	hooks on drying rack	more dead ferns
29	page 20	scarf printed	recycle bin
30	stitchbook	re-done engraving	apple water sprouts
31	grey canvas hat	bike refurbished	rose and grapevines
32	tiny pomegranate	striped turtleneck neck	some grass
33	print drying hooks	tea rose temperature	some more grass
34	layers 1-5 linoprint	partial backyard mown	recycle bin
35	OGGS enamel	Acantha cereal bowl	yard waste bin
36	some quilt squares	tie dye scarf	yard waste bin
37	tinyprint fox	white horse print frame	recycle bin
38	arm protectors	rewarp rainbow Laurel	recycle bin
39	moar quilt squares	many apples thinned	yard waste bin
40	tinyprint fan	grapevines cut back	recycle bin
41	denim daypack	backyard mowed	yard waste bin
42	yet more patchwork	side yard mowed	recycle bin
43	rainbow cowl	grey popover mended	apple thinnings
44	Pelican enamel	driveway window cleaned	recycle bin
45	Pelican pendant setting	eye flannels edged	recycle bin
46	indigo shibori popover	bathroom scale pad	yard waste bin
47	stripey rayon popover	some apple pruned	Ailanthus
48	reversible rayon pinafore	rainbow gauze veil hem	yard waste bin
49	small sports bra	epoxy blocks to wood backs	yard waste bin
50	bed socks	windfalls picked up	recycle bin
51	more bed socks	prune grapevine	yard waste bin
52	feather linocut	pick up windfalls	yard waste bin
53	sunhat toile	more windfalls	recycle bin
54	fungi linocut	xp2 sunhat toile	yard waste bin
55	fire linocut	cut back ferns	yard waste bin
56	11 jars Awesome Sauce	porch light fixture	recycle bin
57	3 jars applesauce	2 tiny glove darns	my favorite hat :(
58	title tinyprint	AC taken in for winter	yard waste bin
59	1 jar apricot preserves	hat toile xp3	some grapes
60	7 pints applesauce	prune arborvitae	recycle bin

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
61	rainbow panova	assemble Luggable	yard waste bin
62	2# dried pears	snaps on duvet cover	recycle bin
63	8 pints applesauce	picked quinces	yard waste bin
64	5 jars Awesome sauce	corduroy phone pockets	recycle bin
65	+ 6 more jars of Awesome	glove thumb re-knit	old plumbing
66	+ 7 jars of Awesome	persimmon pruning	old furnace
67	8 jars applesauce	steamer basket	high pitched whine
68	leather work gloves	shadowbox painted	yard waste bin
69	10 tiny books	fridge bracket gone	recycle bin
70	Corsi Rosenthal box	removed bathroom sink backing	-
71	4 jars blackberry quince	appletree pruning	-
72	Ethiopian spice blend	kitchen plumbing	-
73	spaceship pillowcases	heat pump installed	-
74	2 mini witch hats	return vent vanes	-
75	6 jars quince jelly	bedroom register	-
76	tiny tiger dress	bike flat tire	-
77	Elphinore brooch	restring necklace	-
78	candied quince	-	-
79	dried pears	-	-
80	40+ forget-me-nots	-	-
81	6+ jars quince sauce	-	-
82	7 jars quince	-	-
83	dried pears	-	-
84	dried persimmons	-	-
85	linen privacy curtains	-	-
86	tiny peach charm	-	-
88	1-wire Laurel setting	-	-
89	"merry mathoms" stamp	-	-
90	white Pelican setting	-	-
91	knit acorn oakleaf brooch	-	-

(SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely)

in which our plucky heroine tries to remember the basic truth of wherever you go, there you are... and that where you are is not behind...

I'm making progress on the Star Wars Jedi cosplay garments for SR. The underlayer "dickey" is almost completed, just needs the side ties added. I will be making the obi-style sash next, so as to not need to switch threads on the machine, and then move on to the tunic

Starting on my New Years cooking: the black-eyed peas are soaking. Since I was entirely unable to locate bulgar in either of the local markets! (will need to make a trip next year to the international grocery store over on SE Stark), pivoting to kasha for the kale salad seemed like a possibility. I'll make up some of Sister Gigi's corn pancakes today tomorrow as well, and have decided that baking another fruitcake would be a good way to begin the new year with a note of sweetness. I also tried Smitten Kitchen's recipe for savory winter squash pancakes... which turned out very solid, but not in a bad way, more like in a bread way. There are worse things than starting out the new year with an assortment of pancakes in the freezer!
Some more tiny mushrooms that glow in the dark, and a wee little cat bell...
In the past I made several of these felt roses, in various shades of blue, as brooches. All were attached to the now lost denim hat. More will be made... they are fairly fast and easy, and look well, particularly if some green felt leaves are added.
I soaked dried persimmons in port wine. For the fruitcake, like one does... they of course not only softened but increased in volume, so there was more than I needed for the recipe. It turns out that persimmons soaked overnight in port wine are rather a peculiar cooks-treat, though I can only eat one or two small slices, and somewhat reminiscent of the "baby ears" (dried apricots macerated in booze) I remember Miklos had at 12th Night one year long ago.

Finally... a replacement DVD arrived in my mailbox today, from the online seller I have dubbed "Mr Incommunicado" for their extremely terse replies to my queries over the last several weeks, (or lack of any reply altogether).  The DVD was unwrapped and was immediately taken to the Viewmaster so I could check that it was playable. Whew! The story "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse is sweet and the animation is superbly done.

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	"merry mathoms" stamp	x	x
8	white Pelican setting	x	x
9	knit acorn oakleaf brooch	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I finally received a playable DVD, over three weeks from my original order. And the short film was really sweet with beautiful animation.
2. lots of lovely compliments as replies to my "what do people love about you most" meme post... things I'd not realised made a difference.
3. tiny rotary cutter (plus extra replacement blades) arrived today. Clover makes the nicest tools.

in which our plucky heroine cogitates...

I've been thinking, as one does, about what I hope to move forward on for 2024, and in some ways my mind is fizzing with desires... I know I want to and plan to complete the few remaining and various owed-to-others projects, that I have been loath to finish. I have a peculiar mental construct that ties finishing up the loose ends with finishing up my life, in an odd sort of staving off death way. I've decided this is foolish, and simply clearing the decks will only give me more space for new creative commissions.

I want to return to the tinyworld, in conjunction with some of the planned decluttering, as my tiny friends have been very patiently waiting for better living quarters than the tops of my bookcases and storage shelves. And Kenya is impatient to start populating her art gallery...

There will likely be a fair amount of garment sewing, other textile and handcraft projects, and time spent in the metal and enamel zone as well. I am looking forward to finding out what various creative projects will take my fancy each day as I add that extra 15 minutes to my morning routine As we get closer to the end of December, the "Advent of a Better Year in 2024" swap is winding down, but I am still finding the daily treat to be a delight... today I had an origami box that was holding another specially chosen rock. This one was almost black, unlike the earlier creamy white one, with the same flat and rounded contour and also from Lake Michigan. It'd be a great fidget stone to keep in a pocket...

I have discovered La Fermière yogurt, which showed up at my local grocery in the "spendy individual serving yogurt" section of the dairy cooler. (I usually buy my yogurt in the quart size containers, as an "ingredient") Instead of being sold in plastic tubs, their yogurt was in decorative glazed terracotta pots, which caught my eye as potentially useful. The shape is taller than it is wide, and slightly wider at the bottom than the top, which makes them hard to tip over, and I was thinking about pen or pencil cups, or possibly to hold paint water...

While talking to Raven and Marian, (who told me that it also comes in floral flavors!!{jasmine, lavender, and rose}), I saw that Marian had baked treats in some of their empty jars... apparently the jars are oven (and microwave) safe, which makes reusing them even more appealing. I'll not ever buy many, since they are so pricey, but it is by far the tastiest yogurt I have ever encountered...
The completed knitted oak leaf and acorns* brooch is a bit large to wear on a lapel, but will be a great hat decoration... I'll also be making an assortment of felt flowers, experimenting to recreate the lost Mexican abalone horse brooch, and thinking about what else could be found or remade to replace the lost hatband decorations and to add whimsy to my headwear...

Back in 2008, Andrea Zuill published a free embroidery design "Speckled Bird", which I embroidered on the front of a grey corduroy pinafore; when that garment wore out, I turned the bird into a brooch, which I loved and wore for years, until the hat it was pinned to got lost. As part of my desire to to re-create what has gone missing, I've started to embroider the bird again, using my old photo as a guide...

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	"merry mathoms" stamp	x	x
8	white Pelican setting	x	x
9	knit acorn oakleaf brooch	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Julia picked up a small strand of LED lights for me, to use for dollhouse lighting... that will be fun to experiment with! I had already put aside a few miniatures to send to her...
2.the delicious La Fermière yogurt is sold in wee terra cotta jars. The jars are oven and microwave safe, which makes them even more useful, and somewhat mitigates the high cost...
3. It was quite wonderful to be out riding my bike today and having a Grateful Dead concert as the soundtrack. Old Me, riding along the empty drizzly street and singing aloud felt very much like longago Young Me, who also would ride around on her bicycle and sing. Then I was too young to care what people thought, and now I am old enough that I also do not care. And the music brings up eversomany transparent memories of the years between Old Me and Young Me



* pattern for knitting acorns and for oak leaves comes from the book 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet

in which our plucky heroine continues making progress in random directions...
no monkeying around... today's tiny gift was these two Curious George fridge magnets

I've been feeling sort of puny the last few days, sneezy and sort of achy, but not going forward even into ordinary cold or flu symptoms. I hope I didn't catch don't think it is the plague. I've taken a few of the home tests, with consistently negative results. I plumb hate the ongoing if self-imposed restriction and worry.

I've been wishing that the situation was different for what, almost 4 years now... I onder if the way things are now will be the story of the rest of my life. I hear my father's voice inside my head, when I would phone them in the years after the pandammit started and ask how they were doing... his invariable reply "just marking time". I just don't feel like I have so many more years that I don't bitterly begrudge the ongoing loss of what I might be able to give, and to enjoy. This scarf, my birthday gift from Sister Gigi, is a much wilder print than I would likely have chosen for myself, but I love it, and think it will be a great accent piece. I tried it on with some of my quieter neutral layers, and it really accented my eyes. I think it will look good with my new raincoat, as well

While on assorted zoom meetings today I knit up an oak leaf and two acorns, then stitched them together and added a pinback to turn them into a brooch. My intention is to either replicate or create a whole passel of brooches to use for hat decorations. I still really miss the two hats I lost this year, the grey one with the Mexican abalone inlay horse brooch, and the blue one that had all sorts of floral and souvenir pins and brooches attached to the hatband. Those hats and memories are gone forever, but I can at least create new whimsy to brighten the world and my own spirits...

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	"merry mathoms" stamp	x	x
8	white Pelican setting	x	x
9	knit acorn oakleaf brooch	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Egg drop soup makes a speedy and warming breakfast... I should remember this and make it more often
2. Today I was reminded that the Internet Archive is not just the Wayback Machine for looking up lost web content, but also has quite a few Grateful Dead shows in their library. ♡♡♡♡♡
3. I found half a ham hock in the freezer today. So I will be prepared to make my New Year's ceremonial foods* even though the grocery no longer makes them available. I thought to self, have a good rummage below the top layers and sure enough, I had some stashed away from a previous year. Good going Past Me... I had been cogitating on alternatives; non pork eaters could use a smoked turkey leg, vegetarians/vegans could just season the beans with some smoked paprika instead.
* black eyed peas with ham hock, greens, carrot "coins", and Sister Gigi's corn cakes (so round and golden)...

in which our plucky heroine takes a box to the post office on Boxing Day...
a carved stone (fluorite?) flower makes a very fancy stitch marker...

The fruitcake cooked beautifully into a lovely tall cylinder. I trimmed off the rounded top and turned it upside down on a saucer, then basted it with a bit more booze before wrapping it up again. Of course I had to nibble the bit trimmed off and it was swoon-worthy. The combination of the tender fruit, the subtle crunch of the pecans, and the spice/almond+ flavor of the intervening cake was all I had hoped for. I don't know if I want to add the marzipan and icing to make a traditional cake, or just leave it plain and cut slices bit by bit to have with tea...
Today's work, now completed, was to finish setting the white Pelican enamel pendant, carefully package it up for shipping, then head off on my bike to the post office... it was busy, but nothing like it was three days ago. I'm feeling pretty good that almost every day I am managing to get one or more of my chosen work tasks completed.

Now that the birthday and winter holiday gift season is mostly ended, I decided to order a rotary cutter and blades to go with my new "Sekrit Santa" cutting mat, and also to order John James yarn needle set (in a handy storage case, which may keep me from loosing them as I seem to be prone to doing).

And, after much thought, also ordered a yard of the same color grey linen as my partially worn out pinafore, to make it a new bodice... the price per yard had gone up yet again, but there was a one day discount coupon code, so seemed like the best option.

I figured that starting with new fabric would be a better use of my time than trying to patch the worn-to-a-ravelling spots with some of the less visible inner pockets, and then having to also patch the pockets afterwards. I've done that when there was no way to get similar fabric for repairs...

Fortunately there was a record of which color grey I purchased previously back in 2019. I don't expect the new dyelot to be a perfect match, but since I'm replacing the whole bodice that is less critical. And with a whole yard, there may be enough to add a stripe or two around the hemline, to coordinate.

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	"merry mathoms" stamp	x	x
8	white Pelican setting	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the package my sister was sending me for my birthday finally arrived, after taking the scenic route. It turned out to be a lovely scarf featuring a fun mermaid and sea creatures print, in a wild assortment of colors on a deep teal background. (teal, light turquoise, black, white, taupe, grey, golden yellow, burgundy, peach, and dark grey/lilac) The scarf will be a great accessory for my planned sewing projects this winter.
2. I spoke to the medical office and asked about simply getting my A1c test done there, returning when currently broken machine is repaired, instead of having to go to the main hospital lab, which trip takes at least a half day or more, and also requires much time spent in contact with possibly infectious and unmasked people... Since there is no urgency about the test, I was told it was a valid option and I will be phoned back when repairs have happened and I can simply ride over there on the bike, rather than multiple bus transfers etc...
3. when Ursel and I were window shopping, I saw a coat fastened with toggles that were only attached using bar tacks. I hadn't thought of that, which would be a very secure way to attach my raincoat fastenings. Though I will of course add a decorative leather patch over the cords, for appearance sake.

in which our plucky heroine has a quiet day, mostly of cookery, but somewhat seasoned with studiowork..

It is very cold out, but with rain not snow making a bike ride outside less than appealing today (if it stops for a while, there may be a walk, at least)... 
a dainty bookmark with a very kawaii kitten charm, and a sparkly needle minder were the gifts for today...

I have had good luck over the years with the Nigella Lawson "Christmas Cake" recipe, though instead of the specified dried fruits, I always use a mixture of mostly homegrown or homemade; this year: dried homegrown persimmon soaked in port, homegrown candied quince, homemade candied orange and pomelo peel... I do add in some storebought raisins, (Feral Grape is dreadfully full of seeds and doesn't make good raisins) and some Costco pecans as well. This extra small size cake (I cut the smallest recipe in half, to make a cake that fits my 4" springform pan) bakes for at least an hour or more... In the interest of starting the day with creativity, I carved the "Merry Mathoms" stamp I sketched yesterday, just after breakfast. I am thinking of celebrating "Mathom-mas" on Boxing Day and wrapping up some assorted bits (from the Advent Swap and elsewhen) that truly need to go live with a particular person (that isn't me). One can enjoy the being thought of, can enjoy the spirit of the gift, without necessarily giving it permanent house room... I don't know why re-gifting aka mathom-ing is so poorly regarded, as long as it is done in a way that doesn't hurt anyone's feelings... 

If all goes well, this evening the setting for the pelican regalia pendant will be completed, all the soldering is done, the enamel set, the whole thing polished and packed up to mail tomorrow. Tomorrow is also forecast to be a break in the rain, which will make a trip to the post office easier...

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	"merry mathoms" stamp	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes  -
1. rummaging in the chest freezer, I found a container of grated Dry Jack cheese! I don't remember which year it was that we stopped at Rumiano's outlet store in Crescent City when I bought a half wheel to take home, though I do have vivid memories of that trip... Still, the cheese is still perfectly good and a spoonful dusted atop the lasagna made it extra savory.
2. The leftover turkey bones (roulade, the gift that keeps on giving) have made a wonderful broth.  Now I am craving chicken cottage pie, a thing I have never eaten...
3. I discovered that using a Talenti Tub to press the layers of paper and parchment into place (when preparing the pan for baking fruitcake) makes that part of the process a lot easier

in which our plucky heroine spends most of the day either cooking or crafting, as I had planned to do ...

There is a full batch of gyoza in the freezer (some destined for tomorrow's dinner). There's an assortment of turkey bones and chicken leg bones currently simmering on the back burner, that will get strained and transfered to the crock pot with some additional veggies to cook overnight. (mmmm... soup for breakfast). I remembered to mix up some pineapple faux cheesecake (makes a good midday snack, gelatine and cottage cheese being rather proteinaceous). I measured out the dried persimmons pieces, and put them to soak overnight in some port, as I intend to bake a tiny fruitcake tomorrow (can't bake it any sooner, and it will smell wonderful while baking). There may be some lemon crinkle cookies made tomorrow, and I may even try my hand at smitten kitchen small batch eggnog...

I've laid out some sewing project pieces for tomorrow. I stitched up two of the remnants that Ursel gave me into the beginning of a patchwork and printed kitchen towel (no bit of barkcloth is too small) that will also get some block printed decoration eventually. I drew up and transfered a design for a "Merry Mathoms" stamp, that only needs carved and cut out to be useable. And I am spending a chunk of the evening finishing up the other regalia setting that will be sent off in the post on Tuesday...

Yep, it has been a busy day, as I planned it to be, so as to not sink into missing everyone, those far away, and those gone beyond my reach...another box of delightful random treats... more googly eyes, assorted buttons, a bouncy sparkly crystal ball, parsley seeds and a sweet tiny original painting!TIL (as a result of my following the artist Jackie Morris on Instagram) that Megan Lindholm, the writer, is also Robin Hobb, the writer. I also learned that ML is the author of a novel I read years ago, "Cloven Hooves", which story has remained embedded in my memory ever since. (I do own a very old paperback copy of her novel "Wizard of the Pigeons" which is also vividly worth reading...)
WTF... there I am taking a shower, nothing cooking on the stove, nothing cooking in the oven, and the smoke alarm goes off. Not the chirp that means "I need a new battery" but full on alarm. All the way at the other end of the house, and not the smoke alarm just outside the bathroom door, so it can't be from water vapor in the air.

After leaping out of the shower, grabbing my robe, I scamper to the laundry zone, open the door to the yard and start flapping fresh very cold air inside to try and shut the darn thing up (which it eventually does). I return to my abbreviated shower to warm up again, if nothing else, and in the meantime the peculiar thing has returned to radio silence... which I assume it would not be doing if there was, say, some kind of hidden combustion setting it off. I am nonplussed.

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. food in the fridge, and the pantry and the freezer
2. flannel sheets in wintertime
3. along with the tiny trinkets in the advent swap, I sometimes get little fragments of stories to go along with them... like today, the Very Small painting is of a feral apple that grows at my friend Acantha's home. I asked her what the variety was (so I could add that info to the back of the artwork once I frame it), and it was described as a "spitter" apple, as in unamed, grew from an apple core variety. Yesterday, I found out that the rock was from Lake Michigan...

in which our plucky heroine has another mostly balanced day...

There was a very chilly bike ride to get some cilantro. There was a bit of video social time with my Caer Lutris pals, and I got to meet Cat Farber. I tamed Mt Dishmore. Currently some cooking ahead to put food in the freezer for "can't cope" meals. Maybe some sketching, or something creative before bedtime.
Rock on!! Today I received this obviously carefully selected and packaged rock. To paraphrase Tom Robbins - "humans were invented by rocks as a device for transporting itself [themselves] from one place to another"...

I always think of this idea when I noticed that not only is this a behavior I have retained ever since I was a child, but that it seems to have a genetic component, since I have memories of my mother doing the very same thing. In California, all around the part of the yard near the pool, were various rocks she had gathered from various vacation adventures.

Today I found my Great Big Sea CD, from when Dayna and I went to see them at the Alladin. And I realised I have the CD player set up on the bookcase, so I got to listen to it, and it just was like a blast of cheery energy! I always forget to put on some music - why?? Probably because my music collection is fairly limited. What if I decided to buy a CD every month in 2024, I wonder if that would that have a noticable effect on my moods?
Back in the winter of 2020 I restrung all my special beads from dear Ariadne together into one necklace, and cleverly took a reference photo. After three years of frequent wear, earlier this week the wire caught on something and broke, (fortunately here in the house, where I could retrieve the beads) My task now is to put them back in their correct good order once again.

I decided that since all of "rabbits friends and relations" are busy for the next several days, that what I want to do is All Holiday Baking and Cooking... I'ma going to make fruitcake, and panforte, and some gyoza for Chinese Solstice like I read about when we went to the Chinese Garden on Thursday, and the house is going to smell Wonderful!

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	restring necklace	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. years ago Jen made me the best thickest stripey naalbound mittens, and on Very Cold Days like today, I can wear them when I am riding my bike, and my fingers stay warm
2. I cleverly took a photo of the necklace when I first put it together, which meant that it was easy to reassemble in order.
3. homemade lasagna, which was the Pear Street House holiday feast meal back when I was in college... I'll have a bit of it for dinner tonight, and the rest will make at least five or six more meals, once it gets portioned out and frozen for future days when my cope is less strong

in which our plucky heroine will begin an experiment...

I've been thinking about Kestrel's question "what will we do when December is over?" every day... and while I have not come up with something to replace the small dopamine hit of opening a new gift every morning, I have thought of something I want to try. And I might not wait until January 1st to start.

I'm going to start each day off with a 15 minutes of creative activity. I really enjoyed the hundred day stitch book project earlier this year. I think it will be interesting to find out how doing something artistic and creative as a bridge into the waking world each day might affect me.
Today is the first official day of winter, and my advent gift was this carefully packaged linen handkerchief...
I got a message this morning from the seller of the (defective) DVD, I am a little worried concerned that they said they are just sending me a replacement disc without a case to protect it... fingers crossed that when it arrives, the new disc is in better (ie playable) condition, and undamaged...  
At my doctor appointment today, the machine that does the instant A1c readings broke. So my PCP asked if I was okay with a regular blood draw... I agreed, but it was a bad move on my part. Neither tech was able to get my wonky lil veins to cooperate, and I ended up with gauze bandages on both arms and no blood for them to test. Harumph! (also double ouch) I really don't want to take the better part of a day to go to the big lab at the hospital, and then wait around for an hour or more in the room full of unmasked and possibly viral people before getting another blood draw. I am going to ask (tomorrow on Tuesday) if I can just wait until the machine at the regular clinic is repaired...

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	yard waste bin
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	recycle bin
6	1-wire Laurel setting	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. after the stress of my office visit, and the cold and damp from riding my bike there and back again, I was able to take a nap this afternoon.
2. Roasted zucchini is fast, easy, and very tasty.
3. Gyoza, homemade, always.
4. I have a new idea to experiment with.

in which our plucky heroine begins another dive around the sun...

here: enjoy "Axial Tilt" by Cat Farber...
Today my pal Ursel had the day off work, and asked if I was going to do anything for my birthday. I decided that going to the Lan Su Chinese Garden would be a fun excursion, and we couldn't have asked for a nicer mid-December day, with the sky so blue and sun so bright that sunglasses might have been nice... We spent time wandering around the garden, taking photos and appreciating the many wintertime vignettes (I wish my phone camera had been good enough to let me share the corbie in the persimmon tree, nibbling at one of the remaining ripe fruit, but I did manage to catch Ursel in the sunbeam)

I was so excited to find this DVD of "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse" available on Etsy. It only took two weeks from when I ordered it for it to arrive here today.... I immediately tried to play it tonight, and was very disappointed... Instead of lovely clear video I got the sort of scrambled pixel squares that I have only ever seen before on overly used public library DVDs. I did read the many positive happy reviews of the DVD before deciding to purchase it, so I never expected this problem. I wanted to reach out to the seller first before leaving a scathing review of this very disappointing product... "Based on the many good reviews you have of this film, I can only imagine that I somehow received a defective copy; I don't know whether a replacement copy would be any better, but the DVD that arrived here is not playable at all." I'll have to wait and see how the seller responds...
pretty lampwork beads in pale blue and tomato red...

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	-
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	-
6	1-wire Laurel setting	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. phone calls and video chats with friends and family
2. tasty food cart pod lunch, a gyros sandwich bigger than I could finish, and a mango lassi to slurp up for drink/dessert
3. wandering around downtown enjoying the sunshine and the Chinese Garden with Ursel

in which our plucky heroine spends way too much time waiting on line

With one of the two regalia orders completed, I decided to put that one in the post today... after all, how bad could it be? Well, the answer to that was pretty bad, the line at the post office was out the door.

Earlier, I had gone to the local copy store, that handles USPS, UPS, and FedEx, and was not busy at all. But... it turns out that they don't accept the fixed rate mailer boxes, which are "proprietary" and can only be mailed from a real post office. Dang. That meant another bike ride about as far past Acorn Cottage but in the opposite direction. And then a Very Long wait with far too many people much too close to me.

I knew better, but I also needed to get the package mailed out in a timely way. Sigh. In the future, I will do better.
today's gift was a box of pins, the good ones with glass heads. These will be a useful addition to my sewing notions...

I was getting ready to build the setting for the Pelican enamel, when on closer examination, I saw both some flaws in the white enamel, and that I had somehow forgotten to add color to the pelican's eyes! It took only a bit of work to use one of the diamond grit tools to grind away the dark dots in the wing feathers, and a bit more time to wash some black enamel and add it to the eye sockets.

Once the kiln came up to temperature, another go round in the heat and now the enamel is ready to have a setting built. That will be a task for tomorrow, as it is much too late in the evening for me to want to play with sharp objects and fire.
Ursel suggested we get together tomorrow, as she has the day off from work. I suggested Lan Su Chinese Garden, since it is a combination of outdoors but sheltered walkways, and beautiful in whatever season you visit. We may also walk across part of downtown to the area where there are some Japanese shops with beautiful things for sale, probably only to window shop a bit. There may also be a stop at one of the remaining food cart pods, (if we are rambling long enough to get hungry we can get outdoor food and find a safe place to eat outside away from people)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	7 jars quince	kitchen plumbing	old plumbing
2	dried pears	heat pump installed	old furnace
3	dried persimmons	return vent vanes	high pitched whine
4	linen gauze privacy curtains	bedroom register	-
5	tiny peach charm	bike flat tire	-
6	1-wire Laurel setting	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Today another Amazon surprise present arrived on my doorstep, from my friend Leslie. This one had a gift tag, so I know who it was from, and I will open it tomorrow on my happy birthday!!
2. Pelican enamel re-fired... now has proper eyes not Little Orphan Annie blank sockets. I am glad I noticed it before building the setting!
3. Tomorrow I have plans to spend time with my pal Ursel, doing some outdoor stuff downtown. It will be a bit of an adventure, but hopefully a benign one.