Author: Pia

Proof of pie

PiaChit Chat

This is what I did today. No recipe, I just threw some things together for a glutenfree crumble. Almonds, coconut and stuff. I had a bit too much of both crumble and rhubarb, so I made a smaller one with a muscovado/molasses sugar just to try it.

G installed edges to my no dig bed, we got them for free from one of his shooting buddies. Gets a bit easier to control the lawn this way, and perhaps I can install a second layer some time to make things easier on my back. In the future, the boxes should go in first obviously, to not have to do any digging, but at that time we didn’t have any.

nodig3

And some random point / shoot garden shots testing the new to me pocket cam, some of the functions don’t work the way I’d like, or rather, it seems the macro function is wonky. And sometimes in the sun you’re not pointing where you think you are! But then I would not have seen that decorative cloud, so all good. And the strawberry harvest is going to be amazing if I can keep the crows out. Now I’ll just make the guacamole for dinner and no more of housey stuff today. Basta. This is turning into a very everydaily blog, isn’t it? I’m not even reading anything awfully interesting at the moment, I’m between books. I may look at Pema Chödrön next. Unless I just grab a Pratchett….

So…

PiaChit Chat

lilac

This is another one of those days where I have a number of blog drafts sitting around, but can’t get to the end of them because stuff is missing. (I can’t tell you of a loom I did not get to buy for instance because somebody else beat me to it) But I need to keep in touch or I’ll go missing entirely I think, there’s definitely something to staying in the flow, not just with art, but with blogging too. The more you do, the more ideas happen as well.

Busy week here preparing for an insurance inspection, ditto meeting and generally a very tiring May. My journal has ONE page in it, that’s how little I’ve been “me” instead of janitor/general manager/headache monster. Trying to reset myself now, mentally and physically, by doing very little, my brain is boiling a wee bit. Definitely hoping to get back to work on Monday, and I know I’ve said that about some previous Mondays as well, but this time I mean it or I’ll murder somebody. I don’t even care if they deserve it. 😉

Anyway, we were out of dog food and old ladies get special low calorie senior kibble, so I had to drive to town today and decided to try a marathon run of my long accumulated shopping list. No more room on the whiteboard. Only forgot to look for two things and didn’t get one other which was not available, so all in all I feel very efficient and also accomplished enough to relax about granting myself some me-time. So much for resetting, but I did that most of yesterday at least and haven’t done much else today either. I may not be able to get artsyfartsy on weekends, but I think tomorrow will be for a couple of projects where I just have to point. Rhubarb pie might happen.

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Only yesterday I was thinking about how it would be nice to have various shades of bright thread to make scrap blankets/quilts from old clothes. Well, first stop on our tour was getting a new cover for painting on the dining table and what did they have at the checkout counter? A little junk basket of very marked down threads… Thanks a bunch!

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Second score was a new hedge trimmer. The one I’ve been using for the last 12 years is a bit weak and I often have to hack my way through if I need to trim close. My arms, shoulders and back just aren’t up to the job anymore, so we agreed last year that I’d get a better one. Tried various types and the really good ones were also too heavy, so I hope I’ve found a good medium variety. Why doesn’t the large person in the household cut hedges? Because he is not a garden freak and I’d go bonkers having to supervise the job. He could theoretically use this one too, but it wouldn’t work the other way round; which means I’d have to be a major nag to get it done. Not my favourite situation at all. And, well, I kinda like doing it. Especially after.

so01

I’m going to try fishing line for helping with my selvedges in weaving. Do you think this will be strong enough? I obviously didn’t have a chance to pull it before buying…

I also bought a piece of wood. Maybe another day I’ll show you what I want to make from it. It amuses me no end to prance around the hardware store, try things out and pick what I want, with a guy in tow just carrying the stuff!

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My saori jacket is not making a lot of progress, oodles of design errors and remakes. I was picking out buttons the other day, haven’t found the perfect set, but decided on “good enough”. This pile I received from Melanie in Toulouse along with chocolate and two lovely scarves, how’s that for a score!? Maybe some day surprise packages will go out in the opposite direction, but for now that’s a secret.

buttons01

And that’s about it from the cottage this week. The lilacs are looking spectacular at the moment, but so far I’ve forgotten fresh photos of them. Lucky for me, they look just the same as last year. I’m going to try my very best to be a little bit interesting in the near future.

Pond

PiaPhotography

I’ve been walking past this pond for years and never seen these flowers. I have no idea what they are with their strange, underwater, starshaped roots, but very pretty. I do enjoy when old trails can still offer new surprises.

Nope

PiaChit Chat

Still nothing going on here. It’s pain week again = horisontal me. The cats love it!

It seems there is an overwhelming majority of rapeseed * fields around here this year, but I don’t know if they’ll still bloom when I’m up and about again. Same goes for the peonies, so I’ll have to put my bets on something else. Dandelion seeds will be gone with the wind for sure! All in all, a typical May around here. Fire in the woodstove and all. Tried to alleviate my boredom with a bit of obsessive tool-shopping, but nothing came of it, so you’ll have to take my word for how much fun that was. 😉

* The most commonly used oil here in food preparation I believe. Look! An educational post!

Meanwhile project ideas are piling up, but they’ll just have to wait, won’t they. Behind the laundry, the horse poop and thistles…. Doing things little bit by little bit – eventually something might come of it. It’s always harder to choose which one to go for after a long break, I’m sure I’m not alone in that? I think I’m going to have to put plant dyeing at bay until I get myself sorted and just do the occasional picture thing.

Own

Piamacro

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.

Friedrich Nietzsche