I'm hip, busy with baguettes, and winnowing

Hip update: three sessions of Will's exercises and the hip has subsided, much better, clearly the right approach. It's not all gone but the sharp and sharper jab at each turn is down to a pinch. I'll take it. I also did other exercises, toe raises, sit to stands, sideways stepping, all that.

I don't like pie much, even on Pi Day, so baguettes it was. This time I used one third whole-wheat with the ap, and added in vital wheat gluten to compensate. I had to add extra water to get the dough to cohere. It went fine.

Here's a bit broken off to show you the crumb. There's more flavor with the whole wheat, the added gluten made a better rise, and again the crust was great.

I'd taken out a container of strawberries earlier from the freezer with the vague thought of strawberry shake, but realized a bit of strawberry jam wouldn't go amiss with warm baguette. 

Strawberry preserve, to be technically annoying, because there are fruit pieces in there.

Then with hauling out the overstuffed  three ring binder for the baguette instructions,  I realized for the 83rd time that I needed to organize it.

A lot of the entries were either aspirational or more trouble than they were worth, or I just don't fancy them.

So after an afternoon of knitting, reading and sorting, strengthened by toasted  buttered, strawberry-preserved baguette, I got through it.

Quite a few recipes came out for the recycle, and I found a couple I've now noted to make because I'd forgotten about them, raisin bread! I have raisins! and I'm Freecycling a bunch of page protectors.

At some point I need to do likewise with  several binders of knitting patterns hardly any of which I need now, with my limited current knitting arena. But not today.

Happy day everyone, if you're in the windstorms, we're just at the edge, we hope your power stays in, sez Ted and Big Ursy and Pony.

 

Hip, hip oh well, physio, socks and reading

Recently I've had a bit of a thing with Hippolyta, or more likely adjacent muscles. I blame the many icy days I couldn't get out to walk, though I exercise indoors, and the temperature and humidity swings.  

I'll be seeing my rheumo soon but meanwhile I've been checking what to do.

I did a moderate level strength training yes2next video last evening, iced and even took ibuprofen, amazing, I never think of that. Result this morning not exciting.

So I remembered one of my favorite physios on YouTube, Will Harlow, and checked whether I have a touch of sciatica and if so what then. 

The exercises he suggested and demo'd were among the ones my own physio taught me during my recovery last year.  He'd noted I had a bit of a sciatic issue then, aside from the hip thing.

I like this guy a lot because his demos are excellent and he understands the difference it makes when you're older. 

So I did some of his suggestions, largely about strengthening muscle groups to relieve nerve and joint stress. So we'll see.

In other gripping news, I had a chat with Michael the Artist Contractor about my bathroom and it's definitely going to happen.

But first, he has to be in the South for a bit because his mother is going into heart surgery.  It's complicated and worrying and talking about her reminded me I don't have much to fuss about. 

He still doesn't have a vehicle, a bit of a problem for a contractor, but he's been making do. And he's getting his mother's old vehicle to drive home. She has a new one, so this works.  Anyway the bathroom will happen and it's not yet urgent. And he knows I'm still interested. 

Meanwhile, the spiral knitting is moving. It started as a little experiment, and now I think it may as well be another pair of socks, why not.  

One ball of yarn has made one pair and part of a second, so this second ball will be plenty. Maybe enough left over for a lanyard, too. 

I've been reading a genre I usually don't have much patience with, but this one works pretty well.

It's a mystery in the style of Austen, with characters from various Austen novels, a generation later, Darcy and Elizabeth's son and someone else's daughter are featured. There's also the Knightleys the Brandons and the Bertrams, all old married couples now, some with children, from various novels, in a country house party. Enter the villain Mr Wickham! Perfect arena for murder.  

It's quite well written by someone who knows her Austen and writes with restraint. Up to now, it's going well, aside from my wanting to poke everyone with a sharp stick to get on with it, do.

I just watched a YouTube video about meals the channeler made when they were broke. Several pretty much like my usual stuff. Hm. Except she buys at Wal***t and the dollar store. But I may swipe her baked pasta idea. 

Happy day everyone, swipe only the best. If you're going to commit a crime, do a worthwhile one.

 

Not sure we'll ever get the bloodstains out, but we're working on it.

Misfits and activity of the day

Today's activity, already done, though my Moc is always active on LGBT+ issues, do my comment was just a thank you.

I got responses from DEP and the HOA on the dead goose, so I think they're all on it and I've done my part. I also posted on Spoutible to alert members in the region.

I don't plan on walking up there today, heavy rain, so I'll leave it to the ptb to do their job.

And for the people north of us who were glumly looking at snow and ice while I was loafing on the deck in the sunshine, here's now

Snow and sleet 

Turning in a few minutes to

Rameer is up today, for Misfits, they tell me. It's a miserable day for delivery driving, rain all day, then snow.

And here's this week's harvest. The two containers of baby bellas, favorite mushroom, wiped and sliced,  made a dozen containers for the freezer, in amounts each right for one recipe. 

Envy apples again, they're really good,  next week it's those tiny ones again. Panko because I bread a lot of stuff, including the special treat shrimp you see here. Raisins this week because dried cranberries were too $$, beautiful yellow potatoes which I'll parboil ready for roasted dice, couple of cans for the food pantry, most recent donation large, so a bit less this week. 

One container of blueberries because I have all those strawberries in the freezer. Fruit shakes are a thing at the moment chez Boud. Spring mix great for instant salad, and tuna for tuna melt with some of the cheese supply I always seem to have. A single loaf because baguettes are happening tomorrow.

My food plans. I did order milk powder online. That and tea are pretty much all I order other than from Misfits, and I seem to do fine. 

The Interview With a Crone went well, though A's eyes stood out a time or two at some of the information I gave her. I think she hadn't realized her neighbor was a Crone of All Trades, and had done a thing or two. 

At one point she asked a question about "your life up to now" and I loved her for it. She indicated I'm still going!  Often young people tend to assume older people have stopped doing anything, just waiting quietly for the end! Not surprising considering I was already old when my 16 year old interviewer was born, but she didn't go there.

It was a good session, across cultures and ages and experiences, very glad to be invited.

Happy day everyone, be glad if you don't have a delivery shift, getting wet then snowed on every few minutes all day.  I'm going to send special thanks to Rameer, still doing a good job in miserable weather.

Lucky us, warm and dry sez Ted and Big Ursy and Pony.

Before the cold returns

I got out for a (false) spring walk, with a sunhat on, whoa, and tremendous bird activity all around. Several woodpeckers pecking and calling, cardinal mating calls all over, wrens, just one or two juncoes -- they're probably leaving now, winter birds here. 

Trees warming up in the sun

and a sad sight, trigger alert, scroll by here if you need to avoid sad sight 

healthy looking Canada goose down. He doesn't look injured, and there aren't any overhead wires where he fell.  

The turkey vultures will soon find him and return him to nature. 

Back home I sat on the deck to rest a minute after walking and listen to the birds.

Then I had to think about lunch, the day before groceries are delivered, what to eat, what. 

Cavatappi Alfredo. Just right. The butter seems to be cropped out, but the fresh grated Parmesan was very good. Plenty of black pepper, perfect.  That's the last of the cavatappi, too. Hm.

I sometimes refrain from reordering right away when I run out of an item, so as to avoid a rut. That way I'll make something different. You have to trick yourself sometimes. Solo living is a rough game.

This afternoon I'm being interviewed yet again by a teenager with a survey to do for a community project on aging.  I seem to be the chief Aged Person around here. I've done these for Girl scout projects, community outreach, high school papers. 

So tempted to give outlandish answers which she'll solemnly write down.  In the Old Country, I went to school by oxcart. We wore coarse smocks, and carried flintlocks in case of highwaymen, ate groats or was that currency. Nah, I'll be nice and tell her the truth, that we spoke Old English and danced around maypoles, but I won't explain the significance of the maypole, she's young .

Anyway here's good news

And happy day everyone, here's a good life in action, good old Mutts

Tuesday. Full day. Hot too.

Today's Tuesday Knitting Group had two new wonderful members, one knitting a resistance hat, one washcloths for a homeless shelter.  The yarn for the hat was donated in another library by a non knitter who bought quantities and is giving them to knitters for the hats, ahead of No Kings day in a couple of weeks. 

One new member is a musician involved in opera and recitals on piano, with an established member who's an opera singer. 

The other is in medical tech. High powered group we have here!

Here's the inside of a muff, all the yarn spun dyed and knitted by the maker 

Here's the outside of the muff being modeled 

Toad's swimsuit, current spiral sock and teddy bear being repaired 

He got new paw pads. 

Convo ranged over resistance, newsletters, comment period to CDC, visualizing, AI, larping, cosplay, food insecurity, the Greek middle voice, children's opera, early music, and much more. 

Home, in 80+ degree f sunshine, to a pot of tea, and Textiles and Tea with Margery Erickson, dyer and weaver, who creates yard goods for her clothing design.

 

She sells her patterns for the animal and nature motifs, and teaches on various looms, and she's a lot of fun to be around.

I had the last of the baguette, toasted with a boiled egg. I definitely have to make them again, wonderful crust.

Happy day everyone, mine certainly was.