Sous-Chef

Potato and Leek soup was on today's menu for lunch.

 

I sauteed the potato and leeks in olive oil, added 2 cans of chicken broth, a little salt and pepper, and let it bubble away.

Then I got tied up on the computer trying to place a Tractor Supply same-day-delivery order. (We had a free delivery coupon.) Their website was acting cranky. So I asked The Man to puree the soup.

When I finished with the delivery order The Man was eating soup.

He did a great job, his Potato and Leek soup was perfectly smooth. He didn't miss any squares of diced potato like I often do.

Perhaps I should ask him to take over in the kitchen more often. 

Eggs in a Basket

We got two eggs today.

Sage has been laying her blue eggs since January 26th, though she did slow down with the stormy weather.

This is the second pink egg this week. It's a little small so I think it might be from Kochi aka Fuzzy Feet.

The sun is shining, spring is here.

 

Q and A

A new-to-me fiber tool is heading my way. It was offered 'For Sale' on Ravelry eleven days ago and I've looked at it every day. Sometimes several times a day.

The question I kept asking myself: Do I really need another fiber tool? Another spinning wheel?

The answer apparently was, "Well, yes, I guess I do."

 

 

Credit: Photo taken by Peggi.

Rain on the Parade

Rain and gusty winds again, we missed out on tonight's viewing of the five planet parade: Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars.

On a happy note, The Man surprised me with dinner. What a guy.

 

 

 

Tossing Cotton Again

Today I cleaned more cotton fiber. It was too breezy outside so I'm using the work table in the garage.

Right out of the bag ~

 

Willowing, look at all the debris under the wire mesh ~

 

Ready for the hand carders ~

 

Spinning punis on the EEW Nano 2.

First A Twig

It was a beautiful day to be outside and play with cotton.

First a small twig,

 

 

then a bit of naturally-colored cotton lint (ginned).

The twig is used to toss the cotton "willow". This fluffs the fibers from it's compressed state and also removes seed parts and other debris which falls through the wire mesh.

 

Then the lint is applied to the cotton hand carders, this is called "charging",

then Card - Joan Ruane says, "Pet it like a kitten . . .  head to tail . . .  nice kitty."

The fibers are rolled into a small thin roll called a puni.

 

Fiber prep completed- spinning on a tahkli.

For Now

We're enjoying the clear days and evenings; it's been awhile since we've seen a sunset or - the sun.

 

Rain is in the forecast for early next week.

 

Clear Skies

Finally, good weather. It was nice to be outside.

 

 

Palindrome Party

I noticed today's date is a palindrome: 3/23/23. Remember a palindrome can be read the same backwards and forwards.

Apparently I missed the fact that 3/20/2023 was the first day of a series of ten days of palindrome dates.

 

 

I was a little late to the Palindrome party.

Sloggers

Another stormy day.

The goats are hanging out under the canopy next to the barn. This is where we feed them forage hay if it's raining. They won't weed whack in wet weather.

 

 

 In contrast, my Sloggers (baby goats!) rain boots has been holding up extremely well.

Making Hay

It has been storming all day but this afternoon the wind quieted and the rain turned to mist.

I headed out the door in my rain jacket and rain boots as the goats emerged from their doghouses.

We trekked across the sodden ground and puddles.

 

 

As the saying goes, "Make hay while the sun shines".

Vernal Equinox 2023

The oak trees are leafing out.

 

A one-day break before the next storm arrives tomorrow.

Pasta Primavera with grilled chicken.

Mired in March

We woke up to gray skies, gusty winds, and sprinkles.

A bigger storm is expected on Tuesday into Wednesday.

 

 

 

Aah, Cotton

It has been awhile since I have spun on the Lendrum spinning wheel.

My notes read: "11/20/22 Thurs 1123. Changed to empty bobbin. Started spinning on Upland Cotton - lovely and easy." 

Easy?

 

Okay, so this evening I sat at the wheel for over an hour and, yes, it became easier after:

my hands remembered how to manipulate the silky soft fiber to make a strong thread,

my feet remembered the rhythm of treadling - slow to draft the sliver out and then faster to add twist and tighten the single,

I stopped breaking the thread from too much twist or having it drift apart from too little twist.

I used the colored cotton for relearning and then transitioned back to the white Upland cotton when muscle memory kicked in and my spinning became easier.

Aah, I had forgotten what a joy it is to spin cotton on the Lendrum.

The Speed of Sound

SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base (formerly AFB) at 12:26 pm today. The Man and I were in our prime viewing position - the edge of our driveway.

Unfortunately the clouds obscured our view but we did get a quick peek of the contrail before the clouds swallowed it.

 

 

But then there was a low rumble that went on and on and on.

Me: "That was a weird sonic boom, it went on and on for a long time."

The Man: "That was the rocket, that was the launch."

Me: "Oh."

The Man discussed the speed of sound, our distance from Vandenberg, and - well - math. He figured it took 5 minutes for the sound to reach us.

Me: "Oh."

 

Rude Awakening

The smoke alarm went off this morning at 5:30 am.

No smoke, no fire, just a wee spider - all legs - walking across the sensor and triggering the alarm.

Even though we've been on Daylight Saving Time for four days it still felt like 4:30 am.

~   ~   ~

Finished three free reads:

Audiobook from the Library (Overdrive)

 

Amazon Kindle book (Prime Reading)

Audiobook from the Library (Hoopla)

Tap in the Sun

Blue skies, sunshine, a cool little breeze - perfect conditions to take the Mirrix Saffron loom outside and work on the Tapestry Sampler.

 

I discovered tapestry requires concentration and having a block of uninterrupted quiet-time worked well. I wove for 2 hours (yeah, it's slow-going) and just before I stopped I realized it was getting easier. I didn't have to concentrate as hard, and my fingers were starting to know what to do.

Cindy G. recommends, "Try not to overthink".

 

Howling Wind

It's hard to concentrate on anything, the wind is just too noisy. When it squeezes into the house (screeching) we know it's blowing greater than 50 mph.

 

Not sure if the Weather Station rain gauge is working, the amount hasn't changed. Could it be because the rain is being blown sideways and missing the collection container?

The power went off for 30 minutes and then came back on. Lucky that.

 

Again and Again

We are in for it again. Sheesh.

 

 

This pic was taken during the first storm in January. I thought it was funny.

It's not funny anymore. I hope the Owners of these poor goaties have given them better shelter.

Tapestry One 2020

 Here's the first Sampler, woven on the 10" Schacht Cricket Loom.

 

And today's progress.

 

Tapestry Two

It must be the weather - drizzly, gray skies, no sun - I felt blah today. Mostly I scrolled around on Ravelry and looked at other people's projects.

But.

This evening I started the Tapestry Sampler. It's a self-guided tutorial learning basic tapestry techniques taught by Cindy G. as part of the Tapestry SIG (Special Interest Group).

This is a repeat for me. I completed a sampler in 2020 woven on the Cricket 10" Rigid Heddle Loom.

This time around I'm using a Mirrix Saffron Loom.

 

 

Easy Does It

So far - knock on wood - we've been fortunate to have gotten off easy with this latest storm: no downed trees, no damage, no flooding. Will this Winter never end?

 

Preview

The wind is starting to pick up; sustained winds are mid-20's to 30's with gusts over 40 mph.

We might be in for a wild and wooly night.

 

 

Forecast: More Rain

We are in for more rain, possibly quite a lot of rain.

 

 

 

Since the ground is already so saturated it probably won't take much for flooding to occur.

Isn't it interesting that The Man brought his skiff home to "work on it". Hmm?

 

 

Tuesday's Box

 Talley Farms Fresh Harvest Produce Box