It’s Spring

Well, the onions in my pantry think it is Spring. The weather has been rather indecisive, switching between winter and summer with a only a few hours of pleasantness in between. I hadn’t even opened this bag of onions yet. I briefly thought about planting them, but I have no soil prepared, and have had abysmal luck with growing onions in the past. So I freed them from the bag and chopped up the sprouted bulbs. The outer layers were rather gooey and I discarded them, but the inside still had nice crisp onion bits. The sprouts themselves taste just a little stronger than scallions, so I chopped them separate and will use them for my egg drop soup. The rest I tucked into my freezer for use later, since I don’t use three onions at a time. Though if I did, I would probably get my six feet of separation without having to ask, or sidling quietly sideways. That is one recommendation that I already practiced pre-pandemic, as I have a very large personal space.

Onions sprouting through the bag

Simple blank journal

I spend a chunk of money on sketch books, both for me and my kids. I want them to practice their art skills, and they enjoy it, so it is a worthwhile sacrifice of paper. But purchased journals are usually heavy as well as expensive. To help lighten up my youngest’s backpack, I made some simple blank journals from printer paper, card stock, and upholstery thread.

Fold 2-4 pieces of printer paper and one piece of card stock in half, open up, and mark points an inch apart along the inside fold
Poke holes through all sheets of paper and cardstock using an awl or needle and pliers (if you’ve broken your awl)
Cut a length of upholstery thread three times longer than the fold. Using a threaded needle, start at the top hole from the inside.
When you get to the bottom hole, sew back up. This will cover the gaps with thread.
On the inside, tie a square knot and trim the ends.
You now have a simple, light, blank journal for a fraction of the cost of store bought.

Hi from the snake

Malt the snake says “hi”

It is spring, which for us means that my eldest’s corn snake is on the prowl and not interested in eating. But he is a pet snake, in a secure enclosure, so try as he might to get out and go looking for ladies, it isn’t going to happen. Last year he went over a month without eating and we finally resorted to putting him in an empty cage with his thawed arctic mouse overnight to get him to take in calories. Here he is just being cute and peaking over his log.

Shetland lace, take 1

I have been plugging away at my hand-spun Shetland wool yarn, learning how to make Shetland lace. It is full of mistakes, but I think for future projects it will just take some practice, and making sure I’m not distracted while I knit. Blocking the lace (getting it wet, and pinning it in shape to dry) made a huge difference.

Unblocked lace (left), compared to blocked lace (right)

Since I didn’t have enough yarn to make a long scarf, and I would rather start over than continue on this one, I sewed the ends together to make a cowl.

Shetland lace cowl

Alas, the wool is too itchy for my neck, but it does OK as a head cover. I think I put too much twist in the singles. When I spin the next batch, I will go a little easier on the twist. I rather like spinning fine, and that goes well with lace knitting, so is worth pursuing.

Mr Tom

Mr Tom is the friendliest of the colony cats, and my neighbor’s favorite. Because of that, he received special treatment after his neuter, getting set up in our upstairs room for a couple days, rather than being in a trap until the anesthesia wears off. He eats and drinks and uses the litter box, so the prolonged inside time is OK for him. He’ll even let me scratch his chin. The more feral cats, who will not eat or drink while in our care, are better released. He is a beautiful boy too, a long haired flame point siamese with striking blue eyes.

Mr Tom settled in on a fuzzy blanket under the side table