keri marionThe little cottage garden is starting to really come together. Justin & I have been collecting our pistachio & peanut shells since September. Originally, I had planned to use them as mulch for the garden beds, but then when I realized that the mulch for the ground around the sideyard area was worn and thin,…
Well, it was the first consistently nice day all week, so Justin and I decided to take a day trip out to the Book Barn in Niantic, CT, and meet up with Eggie, Darian & Aivar at the beach. We love the Book Barn all the time, but especially in Covid Times because much of…
Baghaggin like a real hag these days. When I moved my stuff out of the classroom this spring, I found a big box of balled up plastic bag yarn that I guess I must have balled up over the last couple of years. It’s all separated by color and texture. I remember doing it, but…
moJAVe masks are cloth masks made in honor of our brother-in-law, whose initials were JAV. He and my brother (his husband) had recently bought a house in Palm Springs (near the Mojave). I chose the symbolism of the desert because is a place of invisible, but undeniable, community. Joe died from Covid-19 on March 30,…
I was planning to help a friend make a Gertie swirl dress yesterday, but I think her day must have gotten away from her, so I started without her. Friday night, I cut and prepped all the pieces. I meant to photograph it, but it was hot, and my place is small; I just didn’t…
It’s been hot and dry the past couple weeks here, so I’ve been trying to get to the garden every other day or so to water. Yesterday, I noticed some of the garlic was 2/3 brown, and ready to pull. This year, I tried an experiment and planted the peppers in between the garlic to…
I thinned our baby beets and cleared much of the purslane, but grabbed some choice clusters to pack into our tacos later.
Im feeling much better today. I didn’t risk it by getting up unnecessarily early, of course; had coffee in bed and dreamed of fresh juice. I thought I’d drop into Benefit Juice Bar on my way ho me from yoga, but logistics disagreed.
Yeah, he’s cute and all, but there are pastries to be had. And mama ain’t foolin’. Beautiful, delicious, amazing vegan pastries. But, I’m cheap, and Wildflour is not, so I always buy their “day old” cookies, 3 for $5, which is still kind of steep, but definitely more my style. So my favorite cookie is…
A Christian friend of mine loaned me her copy of this book, Mere Christianity, by CS Lewis, so this post will be the surrogate to marginalia, since the book a) is not mine and b) has tiny margins. I thought at first that I would just handwrite on sticky notes, but I think it just…
So this morning I finished slashing & spreading the pattern to approximately fit my body. Now for the “muslin” which I’m hoping will fit well enough to wear. I chose a nice green & cream gingham from my pattern stash, but decided to cut the bodice (at least) on the bias. Of course, I don’t have…
It’s March First and it’s still snowing. I’d like to be as every other New Englander and complain about it, but I’m just done. Maybe we’re all done. It’s time to adjust to the “new normal” of cold, bitter snow and probably-forever winter weather. So I can’t go outside, and half of our things are…
So my experiments have been yielding consistent and pleasing results. The last two loaves I’ve made have weighed in at 1100g, which I think really is a good size for my glass loaf pan. I’ve graduated to using the other glass loaf pan in the oven full-time to get a GREAT rise. I’m still…
Okay, so I’m feeling pretty good about this whole sourdough exercise. I’ve made a third loaf of sourdough using the 1-2-3 method, and it is now working almost predictably. This time I wanted to make a sandwich loaf instead of a boule or bâtard. I wasn’t sure how much dough to mix up, so I…
There’s, like, eight feet of snow outside. We can’t even open the back door. I’ve been digging out the back door by harvesting snow to feed my carnivorous plants (they are fickle and don’t like city water). Meanwhile, INSIDE the apartment, it’s like some kind of freakshow blooming parade! An orchid that bloomed a couple weeks…
