Thursday, April 21, 2016
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Crocus and Construction
This weekend I hoped to see some of the Yukon's beautiful purple crocuses, the first sign of spring truly being here. They are already out in force on the south facing hillsides. They like dry feet apparently. We had a lovely, if windy walk on the lookout for more of the beautiful purple flowers.
I also had in my mind that I'd like to try building a willow bench. Many years ago now, I took a class and learned how to make a particular design of willow chair and with Christopher's help made a couple more of them. We used them as our household furniture for years before we bought what we think of as 'grown up ' furniture. Now they are yard chairs, and I decided it would be nice to have a companion bench to go with them. Aldo, I did look at the cost of garden furniture and was astounded at the price. I'm not going to pay a thousand dollars for plastic! Not when we have the tools, skills and readily available raw materials to make something. I'm pretty impressed with where we got to - the main frame of the bench all ready to glue together. We decided to sleep on it in case we decided to add another cross brace before we glue it together. Christopher did the vast majority of the construction. My work with be putting on the seat pieces and making the cushions. I have to admit that I'm tempted to use sheep skins and furs....
Oh! And there was some fantastic sourdough action this weekend. A friend gifted me with some lovely sourdough starter and it makes everything really good that I've tried to far. We have Miche Genest's Boreal Gourmet which has a whole chapter on sourdough that I've been working my way through. The pizza dough, the pancakes and the english muffins have all been good. There's a few minor improvements I'd make next time, but over all, delicious. Yesterday It was the pancakes followed by sourdough english muffins... mmmmmmm.
I also had in my mind that I'd like to try building a willow bench. Many years ago now, I took a class and learned how to make a particular design of willow chair and with Christopher's help made a couple more of them. We used them as our household furniture for years before we bought what we think of as 'grown up ' furniture. Now they are yard chairs, and I decided it would be nice to have a companion bench to go with them. Aldo, I did look at the cost of garden furniture and was astounded at the price. I'm not going to pay a thousand dollars for plastic! Not when we have the tools, skills and readily available raw materials to make something. I'm pretty impressed with where we got to - the main frame of the bench all ready to glue together. We decided to sleep on it in case we decided to add another cross brace before we glue it together. Christopher did the vast majority of the construction. My work with be putting on the seat pieces and making the cushions. I have to admit that I'm tempted to use sheep skins and furs....
Oh! And there was some fantastic sourdough action this weekend. A friend gifted me with some lovely sourdough starter and it makes everything really good that I've tried to far. We have Miche Genest's Boreal Gourmet which has a whole chapter on sourdough that I've been working my way through. The pizza dough, the pancakes and the english muffins have all been good. There's a few minor improvements I'd make next time, but over all, delicious. Yesterday It was the pancakes followed by sourdough english muffins... mmmmmmm.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Measuring Time By The Metre
If the grammar gets gummed up its because the author (Sarah) isn't typing this message looking at the screen... because she still isn't allowed to look at screens.
It is amazing how strenuous a concussion recovery is. Things that seemed so simple not that long ago are now out of the question. The one thing that kept me sane over the last month was spinning yarn. For me it is a meditation when I spin at my wheel. I lose myself to the feel of the wool sliding through my hands and my feet going up and down. It was the only fun thing I could do. I've produced prodigious amounts of yarn, delved into some deep dark stash and spent a lot of time with my powered carder making art batts and just simple plain rovings from the wool fleece in I've been hoarding. Once I'm a bit more recovered I'll start taking inventory and share with you all how many meters are in a month....
It is amazing how strenuous a concussion recovery is. Things that seemed so simple not that long ago are now out of the question. The one thing that kept me sane over the last month was spinning yarn. For me it is a meditation when I spin at my wheel. I lose myself to the feel of the wool sliding through my hands and my feet going up and down. It was the only fun thing I could do. I've produced prodigious amounts of yarn, delved into some deep dark stash and spent a lot of time with my powered carder making art batts and just simple plain rovings from the wool fleece in I've been hoarding. Once I'm a bit more recovered I'll start taking inventory and share with you all how many meters are in a month....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)