Scarves and other uses.

Earlier this week I had to park outside for an extended period on a very sunny day, and my steering wheel was very hot when I got into the car.  Quickly I threw my "car scarf" over the steering wheel and I was able to drive safely.  The "car scarf" is a simple garter stitch project that I can pick up and put down quickly, and easily take with me when I might have a waiting period.

Yarn is Red Heart Super Saver in "Americana".

I've finished some others, a scarf and hat of "Flower Power" yarn. mostly used as a colourway with just three actual flower squares:

I also made a scarf with single crochet stripes out of bits of yarn a friend gave me.  I sorted the yarn into two sets, one of navy and cadet blues, and one of the other blues and greens.  Then I worked until I ran out, adding a bit of dark green at the end so it would be longer:

The bits are all different lengths.
Two-row stripes make carrying the yarn tidier.

I think the yarn is Caron Simply Soft and Simply Soft Paints.

Muster Gingerbread

For tomorrow's history group presentation, which focuses on the northern part of the colonies, I decided to make "Muster Gingerbread" from the Plimoth Colony Cook Book.  It is easy, has a good story (although I think more from the 19th Century than the 18th, but no provenance was given), and makes many pieces.

I forgot to take photos when I started the process, and just have one showing how I propped up the molasses jar to drain as much as possible.  Then I went for a walk.  After I returned, I added the melted butter and buttermilk, then mixed - very carefully, because the bowl was overfull.

That might be, in part, because I was doubling the recipe.  However, I used only a cup and a half each of molasses and butter, because the proportions seemed awry if you want cookies.  Too much liquid.  And I was right as I ended up with a fluffy batter, a bit thick but definitely more for cake than cookies:

Photo taken about fifteen minutes into baking.  The chemical reaction between the baking soda and the acid in both the molasses and the buttermilk caused the rise.  My other change was to increase the ginger to a full tablespoon each, and add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon per recipe.

[Historical note:  Baking soda is a modern addition, having first been isolated in somewhere between 1791 and 1801, but not available generally until the middle of the 19th Century.  It is more likely that pearlash was used, but even so, that might be post-Revolutionary War.  I decided to bake this recipe even though I have other gingerbread/gingerbrede receipts that would be more historically accurate, because I think the group won't care and they'd like the name and find it appropriate to the discussion.]

The gingerbread baked well but took longer than the recipe said, of course, since it was written for cookies.  I would have had to add a LOT of flour to make a cooky-rolling stiffness, and I didn't want to make THAT many cookies.  Maybe if I had thought to scale everything else to 1.5 times, or even doing just a single batch with more flour.  Experiments for another day.

These came out quite tastily:

The decorative pan made distinct designs which are not terribly visible except on the bottom right quadrant of the photograph, but the cake is a bit crisper than the ones baked in the other two pans.  I now have a high-piled platter of pieces of gingerbread for people to enjoy tomorrow.

Alternating exercises and the effect of reading.

I am getting into a routine of doing the weight circuit at the community center gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with long walks on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and yoga on Saturday.  This keeps me moving with different forms of exercise and I feel better than I have in a number of months.  If I go to the gym in the morning I see a few regulars and a couple of the older men (OK, almost everybody is older than I) helped me with form and we're getting to the chat-a-bit level.  If the weather is good I walk there and back, but if it's not (rainy, HOT) or if I have an early meeting and cannot afford the time, I walk both ways.  A couple days when I did that I added a short walk on a treadmill, both times when I had to wait for machines in the weight circuit to be available.  Sometimes I'm busy and go in the evening, and around suppertime the place is pretty much deserted.

I finished a book this morning, which makes fourteen for the year, so I am ahead of schedule for my stated goal of eighteen.  Three were very short children's books that I read before donating them to a friend's Little Free Library, as I think we should vet the items before they are available to the community.  I know that she will also do, but I can tell her I previewed the books.  I have another one to read while I wait for this month's SciFi Book Club selection to arrive.  I am not sure whether it will be the hold, something from Inter-Library Loan, or a secondhand copy I purchased that has a different name but seems to be the same book - I'll find out.  I did NOT want to spend $40 for a new copy, or (sometimes, much) more as it seems to be in demand.

Something interesting happened on two different nights as I was reading in bed: my fitness tracker sent a warning, because my heart rate (pulse) had dropped to 47 beats per minute.  Maybe fewer.  I guess that's a sign of how calming reading is for me!  When I had my annual checkup recently my PCP commented that my heart rate is nice and low, but she is not concerned.  Neither is my cardiologist.

250 years of celebrating Independence

Technically, the birthday should be on July 2nd (something John Adams argued for until he died - on July 4, 1826) because that was the day the delegates voted, but the document was signed on July 4th so here we are.  And many people of all political viewpoints have been reflecting on "where are we" and "will we be here in another 50 years?" and "what will the United States of America resemble then?"  [Some wonder what it will look like after the midterm elections in November, or the next Presidential election, or if anything happens to change the country's leadership before then.]  Like many of my friends and my parents' contemporaries, I remember the Bicentennial and how it was recognized and celebrated.  It was so different from today's celebrations, and not just because so many are being cancelled, rescheduled, or limited because of the dangerous heat wave and drought across the country.

Ten years ago, as part of the "We Are America" series, wrestler and actor John Cena made a video that I think resonates just as much today.  We're still wrestling with the aftermath of slavery and the treatment of the indigenous peoples and immigrants, and the late granting of the vote to women (which some people think they should cede to their husbands), but we are still here, and many of us are trying to fight to continue the country we believe in, built on "truths [that are] self-evident, that all men [and women] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Halfway Finished

I kept meaning to finish the June puzzle.  I wasn't avoiding it because of pink, and roses, and pink roses, because I didn't open the box until yesterday.  {People who know me well know pink is my least favourite colour, and I am allergic to roses.}

LOTS of flower shaped pieces in this puzzle.

My two favourite of the unusually-
shaped pieces.

I managed to finish before June ended, in short bursts through the day.  This is the sixth of the year of small round puzzles, so I am halfway through.

A Rich Seed Cake

I'm attending a series of history presentations around the American Revolutionary War, from the events leading to it, to the actual years of the conflict (which were several after 1776, if you didn't know), and early days of the new Republic.  Since I haven't been able to participate substantively, I asked if they would be interested in having some cakes or cookies baked from period recipes - and the organizers eagerly accepted.

For the first one, I chose a Georgian era recipe from The British Museum Cookbook, reprinting Mrs. Raffald's recipe for a "Rich Seed Cake".  I made a few changes in process, because I wanted to take advantage of my stand mixer, and it has only one bowl:

I started by whipping four egg whites stiff, and
moved them to a separate bowl to wait.

Same bowl, I was lazy and did not wash it.
Softened butter (one cup) and white sugar
(three-quarters of a cup, can be one cup).

Butter and sugar whipped until light.
I stopped to scrape the sides a couple times.

Adding the egg yolks one at a time.

Adding (possibly too many, I estimated) anise seeds, plus one
teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.

I added two cups of  flour one half-cup at a time,
alternating with the whipped egg whites.

I probably should have started with the egg whites and mixed
them in completely but I thought this might keep more of the air
in the mixture, since that is the only raising power in this recipe.

I decided to use a fancy pan for the baking, and forgot to take a photo before putting it into the oven.  I also forgot to tap the pan to knock out any air bubbles before baking.

While the oven was on, since I'd been successful in foraging for blackberries, I made a batch of muffins which were shared with (very appreciative) neighbors:

I used a friend's blueberry cake recipe, but instead of layering
the batter and berries, stirred the berries in and scooped.

Final results, before I packaged up the muffins to deliver to neighbors:

Of course I sampled before delivery.  All reports are that the 
muffins - which are not too sweet - are very yummy.

I wrapped the cake in clingfilm to stay moist and mellow overnight:

Pockmarked by the air holes, and hopefully not too dry or dense.

My house smells wonderful.

I might try her recipe for "Wiggs" if the presenters are talking about the similarly-named political party.

Also this week, I went to a local group's gathering, and wanted to take something interesting but not too complicated.  So I started a shawl, using sock yarn doubled.  The colours are not ones I usually like, but this will be nice and a bit of warmth, and if somebody wants it I won't be sad to pretend generosity.

The yarn was dyed by the "Little" of a local dyer in Texas, and is called "Space".  The stitch markers are leftover Turtle Tokens that I give to people who join the daily walks at some conferences I attend.  I've since seen the dyer's Fallen Moon Drops pattern and one colourway is similar to this, so since it's just been a weekend's knitting I am tempted to frog and reuse the yarn - but I am desisting.  I have another skein or two of her yarn that I can use, or of course some other.

Somebody was working with a VERY old dataset.

As I said at the end, I knew this was a fishing expedition, because the address is NOT one that people can just "ride by", although it's possible that s/he was visiting somebody who lives on that end of the community.  The unit where I used to live is at the far end of the subdivision and the road ends not far after that cluster of duplexes.  I did have a neighbor named Sam, but he knew that I moved.

Notably, this Sam didn't say anything after I told him/her that I sold the unit years ago.  😁

It's always fun to receive a cold call asking "do you have a house to sell" or sometimes asking about a specific address.  Very often it's someplace in North Texas (because my area code is from there) and I'm sometimes tempted to say "yes" just to see how far it would go.  Of course, there are ethical reasons I won't do it, plus not getting on some lists of people to pester, but if the callers want to annoy me, I'll annoy them right back!

I miss my Daddy.

To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter. 

-Euripides, playwright (c. 480-406 BCE)

My father loved the classics, but I never discussed the above quote with him.  I hope he thought so.  I went to the cemetery today, for a little visit.  As is traditional in my religion, I left a rock.

After all this time........

The person whom I wrote about earlier this year sent a FB message today (although I unfriended him; should I have also blocked?  Or did FB ignore the unfriending? No, he is still not on my friends list, but I guess an old message thread still works) asking if I could give him an airplane ticket to California.  The cousin he'd wanted to see, who told him she was not up for a visit (especially because he planned to do a lot of high-energy activity), died and he wants to go out for the funeral.

This is a person who did not show any thoughtfulness when my grandmother died, or my father died, and who - as I noted in the previous post - only contacts me when he wants something.  Usually it's an airline ticket, or money.  I think I am going to pretend I never saw his message.  He can find his own way there.

Some people might consider this cold and rude.  I'm just tired of being taken for granted, and viewed as nothing more than an airline ticket dispensary by this person.

istock photo, downloaded from one of their sites.

Music and the Flag.

Tonight, this:

The Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi (same name as my congregation in Connecticut), home of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life (home of a virtual Torah study I've enjoyed for years), was victimized by arson early this year.  It is one of many incidents of anti-Jewish action not just in the USA, but all around the world since Hamas struck in October 2023.

Today is Flag Day, and somebody in my community posted a poem:

I am the flag of the United States of America.

​My name is Old Glory.

 

I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.

I stand watch in America's halls of justice.

I fly majestically over institutions of learning.

I stand guard with power in the world.

Look up and see me.

​

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.

I stand for freedom. I am confident.

I am arrogant. I am proud.

When I am flown with my fellow banners,

My head is a little higher,

My colors a little truer.

 

I bow to no one!

I am recognized all over the world.

I am worshipped - I am saluted.

I am loved - I am revered.

I am respected - I am feared.

I have fought in every battle of every war for more than 200 years.

I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appamatox.

I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France, in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy.

Guam, Okinawa, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me.

 

I was there. I led my troops.

I was dirty, battleworn and tired,

but my soldiers cheered me and I was proud.

I have been burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries

I have helped set free. It does not hurt for I am invincible.

I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled in the streets of my country.

And when it's done by those whom I've served in battle - it hurts.

 

But I shall overcome - for I am strong.

I have slipped the bonds of earth and

stood watch over the uncharted frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.

I have born silent witness to all of America's finest hours.

 

But my finest hours are yet to come.

When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my wounded comrades on the battle field,

when I am flown at half mast to honor my soldier,

or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent at the grave of their fallen son or daughter,

​

I am proud.

I am the flag of the United States of America.

Originally entitled, My Name is Old Glory by Howard Schnauber

© 1994 the author [Mr. Schnauber has given permission to the public to use this poem for program or publishing purposes. Please credit the Fort Collins Public Library Local History Archive, Oral History Interview of Mr. Howard Schnauber, the author.] 

A friend told me about the "Rise Up, Sing Out" concert that No Kings is hosting today.

==============================================================

It's been a fiber-y week otherwise.  On Monday evening, the Triangle Fiber Guild had a class on Tunisian Crochet.  I didn't get a copy of the handout, but figured out two of the stitches from the teacher's demonstration:

I plan to take this apart ('frogging' in yarn people parlance) and restart at seven inches width, so it can be a Warm Up, America! blanket piece.

At the end of the week I went to a professional conference, in St. Louis but not near the ballpark.  Which was fine because the Cardinals are not in town this week.  With the NBA and NFL finals, and the start of the FIFA World Cup, is anybody focused on baseball this week?

While there, I finished a scarf:

Middle is a strip of Red Heart All-in-One Granny 
yarn, left over from a scarf.  I picked up on the 
sides with Big Twist in red, and worked longways.

The photo was taken at the airport, just before I packed the scarf and took out another project.  It is a small sweater using two hanks of ChemKnits Creations yarn.  My return flight was badly delayed so I arrived in the wee hour of Saturday morning, and took this photo while I knitted at luggage claim:

Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day, and I continued to work on the sweater throughout the day, while I was at TheaterFESTival to learn about local companies (I found two or three with which I may work), and in the evening when I went to see "The Mystery of Irma Vep" as it was closing and that was my only opportunity.  My mother worried that I would be too tired, but the play is lively and full of tricks so I was fine.

The sweater now looks like this:

It's below the sleeves, working on the body until the rainbowy yarn runs out.

Her first opera.

Early this week, just a few days before I went to Texas, a friend posted about the Opera Arlington performances of "Carmen", for which he'd designed the lighting.  So we did a quick rearrangement of our plans so that I could see it, accompanied by a friend who had never seen opera before.  The production was updated to the 1920's and instead of bullfighters, they had soccer (futbol) stars, in part as a tribute to the upcoming FIFA World Cup events.  While the set was minimal and the costumes sometimes sketchy, the voices were amazing and I was very glad we had the opportunity to attend.

The next day we did a double header of "Laura" (with fun guessing the murderer among all the red herrings) and "Home, I'm Darling" which had a cute set and nice costumes but an unsatisfactory script and direction.  Well, it was a rare dud in our many weekends of seeing shows.

I got to see friends and do some catching-up with people.  I also finished a baby blanket, with just a very few feet of the pink yarn left, just barely winning at what is called "yarn chicken":

Lillies of the Valley for May

Briefly I worried that I hadn't gotten the May puzzle done in its assigned month - I'd meant to do it all week, and somehow never did - then realized it was because I had been looking into the next week's calendar for work.  So today, I put it together:

Because much of the puzzle is dark, I left some of the pieces
reverse-up for the photo so you can see the shapes more clearly.

It was trickier than I expected, but I finished in about the
length of one side of an LP.  Yes, I still listen to vinyl.

Current project is something I'll show next week, after it is delivered, and this baby blanket made of three balls of the pink/white and one of the blue/white.  I'd intended to work the pink until it ran out, growing the blanket from a corner, then even with the blue, and reduce with the pink.  But I was tired of increasing, so changed to a central square of pink, with a border of alternating pink and blue stripes:

The balls of yarn fit into the blanket, making it very
self-contained, rather like being its own bag.

I finished this month's SciFi Book Club reading today, which means I am not cramming it until the final minutes!  Because the library system's summer program is based on paleontology, we read "Jurassic Park".  I was impressed in some ways, underwhelmed in a number of others, and thought it a bit full of tropes and thinly drawn characters.  But if you are writing for the masses and the movie studios, it's probably spot-on.  We'll have an interesting discussion, I am sure.

Thanks to Books Among Friends, which raises money for the Durham County Public Library, I also have its sequel, "The Lost World", and will start reading it.  I should be able to finish before I get next month's assignment.

Memorial Day

 

Despite receiving a commission after high school, my father was unable to serve due to a heart condition.  He'd had it since he was a small boy (it was probably congenital) and despite it lived past his ninetieth birthday.

Today we remember many people who did not have that opportunity.

.

.

.

(It's also Towel Day, for the nerdy amongst us.)

Collaborative.

A designer offered a pattern for groups to use to make a shawl and asked if they would donate it to an event in May.  The shawls will decorate the hall and then be raffled, with proceeds going to domestic violence prevention.

A few of us in KnitTalk decided to contribute, with several persons knitting pieces or doing putting-together, and one writing a note in French to send with it:

I will use the ball in the centre to work the borders.

I've done the April puzzle:

Before, with most of the shaped pieces on the left.

Close-up showing a human-shaped
piece, which isn't as visible in the
upper photo.  And the flowers.

I sent off a box of thank you cards, totaling 282.  I didn't write six per day for Lent, as I'd intended, but the box is full (there were some in it already, for those checking the maths) and I will start another when I return from my next trip.

[Apparently I neglected to post this when written in April.]

Greek Festival at St. Barbara's

While I was in Texas on business earlier this week, my mother went to A Greek food truck she loves, and found out about a local Greek festival at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church.  We'd loved going to them in Chicago, and I've been to ones in Dallas and when visiting my grandmother in Florida.

We decided to go early in the day and  it was a good plan and it's a hot weekend.  We arrived just in time to get through the long line into the church, most of whom were heading to the food area, and with a quick left turn found ourselves in the sanctuary in time for a tour.  It wasn't a walking tour, but a tour of the iconography which is the many-years work of a paritioner.

Their shrine to St. Barbara, patron saint of the
church, carefully brought from their previous location.

The communion table in the area where only
a consecrated priest has access.

The altar, which is behind the iconostasis.

The Bible accessible only to the priest.

This signals the burial and is used only on
Good Friday, but is available the rest of the year.

Saints ringed the sides, including Joachim and Anna with an
infant Mary, Mother of Jesus.

Saints here include Nicholas at left, Peter and Paul in the center.

The back wall, under which you enter, showing the Dormition.

Interior of the dome.

The iconostasis.  You can see through to the priest-only area.

The Resurrection, with Christ pulling up Adam and Eve.

The Transfiguration, with before and after images on the sides.

After the tour we joined the food line, having spanikopita and salad for lunch, taking home pastisio and a gyro sandwich and baklava and the walnut cakes I like and and cannot remember the name.  There was dancing and music, a jumble sale and a tent of artisans raising money for Ukraine.  I bought a few things (carefully avoiding the table of books) and picked up some fresh feta cheese before we headed home.