The weather has been fabulous. Warm during the day and 40’s at night. It was so cool the other night, Shirley the cat was sitting in front of the fireplace longingly.
We’ve been sailing, entertaining and I have been sewing and knitting and working. Today I got to enjoy lunch with the ladies – in the mountains. Tim was hiking a few High Peaks on his own. See him on the far hill in the distance?
During my walk yesterday, I was amazed to spot brown trout in the river down the road from our house. I saw one large one followed by two smaller ones. That was it. I went into town and bought my annual fishing license.
I bought a license last year but never went fishing. Not once. But now I know where they live … And eat. I am motivated.
I dug up the old fishing rods, bought a few trout lures and headed down the road.
Doesn’t this look enticing. Well it was but, apparently, only enough to amuse. Three, I say 3, trout followed it briefly but then swam away. I used the time to improve my casting and clamor around the rocks and river retrieving my hook from various snags. It was a beautiful day and a good time was had by all – me and the fish.
I am prepared now. I put together a lure box, pliers, (probably should include a first aid kit), improvised creel, filet knife and gloves for the big catch. We returned in the evening and I had a chance to fly cast. Nice day, no fish.
Perhaps I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth but at some time during my childhood my parents bought a set of silverware for me. I think they gave it to me after my divorce. Interesting timing. I thought it should be for a wedding. In addition, during that time I lived out of my car for a short while. But that’s a whole other story.
I write today about the care of silverware. I decided early on this would be my only flatware. Silver tarnishes. I am well aware of this because, while growing up, I polished the silver coffee set we had, which we never drank anything from, but kept well polished. Sort of like the candles on the table we never lit.
For a while “we” were hand washing and drying the silver and this kept it polished. Then Tim and others balked at washing silverware so we started putting it in the dishwasher (I think they started throwing out the teaspoons because we seem to have lost a few). This caused it to get tarnished more quickly but otherwise kept the “dishwashers” very happy.
Now my sisters-in-law from both sides of the family are coming to visit and it’s time to polish the silver ware. I remembered trying a technique several years ago that was intriguing but had disastrous results. Basically you create a chemical reaction by lining a pan with aluminum foil, placing the silverware on the foil single layer so each piece is touching the foil and then pour a solution of boiling water with baking soda in it over the silverware. It’s miraculous to watch. Silver sulfide returns to silver and sends the sulphur to the aluminum with the associated smell of rotten eggs.
In seconds the tarnish is gone. The disaster I had the first time I tried this occurred when I heated the Pyrex baking pan on the stove and the whole thing exploded with glass, silverware and water all over the place. I was traumatized for years and reverted to hand polishing, which actually removes some of the silver – not good for the long term. So I bravely took the plunge today and mixed 2 qts. of boiling water and 1/4 cup of baking soda in a separate pot and poured it over the foil lined pan with the silver pieces in it. In minutes (I had to do a couple of batches) the whole set was done and my silver drawer is ready for inspection.
With my free time, I put up another batch of beer, an Irish Red Ale. It may be a little hoppy for my taste but I will let you know in about a month. I am waiting to take my initial specific gravity readings.
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Our farm CSA was at the end of strawberry season and offered each family the opportunity to pick your own 10 qts.
I went on one of the warmer days of the year and had the whole field to myself.
I put 10 qts in the bags but probably ate a pint while working.
Then what to do with the rest of them?
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I canned a batch of strawberry jam and froze the rest. I look forward to them this winter.
They’ve been spotted hanging around, literally, by both Tim and me. He saw one on the side of a local retail store and took a photo with his phone without knowing what it was.
I saw one ( well actually, he spotted it) yesterday at the marina. I looked it up and learned it was a Luna Moth, a silk spinning moth!
The mind reels! Could I spin its silk? More importantly, how do you collect it. My questions were answered by a site written by a fellow spinner from Ravelry, Wormspit.
Alas, no free fiber for me. What a beautiful moth.
Not all my projects can be winners. I was eager to get back to the loom and make six placemats. I measured, wound and secured the warp without difficulty for a change. In all, I had about a mile of cotton; 280 ends, each about 6 yards long.
Looks good so far, right? After this it became a disaster and I was in no position or mood to photograph it. I tried to follow instructions to dress the loom from back to front and ended up with a snarled, tangled mess and a backache to boot.
So on to the winners. Remember that batch of beer I made about two months ago?. It’s ready! And good enough to drink! A winner!
In more ways than one. We are sailing again, on Lake Champlain. As pretty as Maine without lobster traps. In fact the lake is often more than a hundred feet deep.
We anchored in a lovely bay, all by ourselves, just a half hour from home.
Our home port has the High Peaks as a backdrop. And our little dink looked so cute bobbing and waiting for us at the mooring.
But now for the real news. Simple composting works. I began a pile last year when Hurricane Irene damaged our bridge and made garbage pickup impossible. It was simply a ring of chicken wire. Yesterday, I shoveled 3 plastic toboggan’s worth (poor woman’s wheel barrow) and distributed our recycled kitchen waste to enhance our sand. It had compressed, broken down and even had worms. The critters seem to really like coffee. The clean filters were littered in a path behind the pile.
No time to blog. Obsessions overtook me. I wanted to finish knitting ( actually modify) the Na craga sweater I made my son, just in time for his summer graduation.
I found beautiful fabric and decided to make my own wrap dress for his graduation (photo to follow, I’m on the road without my laptop). Perhaps a little frumpy but the fabric was beautiful. I prepared and presented a talk about ob/gyn EMS emergencies.
Then on to favorite daughter’s birthday. I made her a potholder, to remind her of her favorite cat, and finished her quilt. I had it waiting for her on my hotel room bed! The quilt not the cat.
This was my first attempt at free form, machine quilting a queen size quilt and oh what fun I had. Really. I use an old Singer and had bought a special darning foot but couldn’t get the darn thing to sew properly. For two whole days! So I loosened the feeder foot, put a business card over the feeder dogs, and away I went. It was like doodling on fabric.
Now, to the loom before my sewing thread sets the needle and hauls me in, back to the machine … For a blouse, another dress, linen pants, finish two quilts and begin my next large quilt (planning in process).
My love of all things fiber continues to grow and expand. It began with knitting an Aran sweater in 2005 and, today, includes knitting, spinning, dyeing, weaving, quilting and sewing. In addition, I’ve always had a love of linen table fibers, as evidenced by the dining room drawers jammed with lace, damask, tatting, linen and hand crocheted doilies, tablecloths and runners, a few even hand made by yours truly.
My true addiction was revealed
yesterday. I couldn’t pass up a yard sale I saw on my way home from the recycling center. There were hand crocheted tablecloths, linen-hemstitched napkins, and embroidered table linens, all meticulously clean. They sparkled in the sun and smelled so fresh. I decided upon a crocheted tablecloth and set of linen napkins.
I got home and decided to organize the linens. Unlike my other fiber stashes, which are sequestered and scattered throughout the house waiting for inspiration, table linens have to be accessible. So they are. Stuffed in drawers.
Lo and behold, I already have a set of hem-stitched, linen napkins. But you can never have too many. I hung up the tablecloths, which were wrinkled because they had been jammed in the drawers, and, since it was a sunny, breezy day, washed a few of them and hung them on the line to dry. My domestic goddess is happy.
Shirley and the hummingbird
We all enjoy birdwatching at our house. There’s an abundance of activity right outside. Shirley watched this cute, unsuspecting hummingbird for a while and it’s hard to capture her attention these days, since she’s about 16 years old.
Evening Grosbeak
I saw a goldfinch on steroids the other day on my drive to work. Its coloring reminded me of a bird wearing a doctoral hood but I only had a brief glimpse of it on the roadside. They came to visit the feeder and posed for photos. They are not jacked goldfinches but Evening Grosbeaks. Sweet.
Island and North Country Life 