The slideshow below is a selection of doodles from June 2012. The theme for my June doodles is dots or points. I got the idea after browsing through the 1978 exhibit book for the Point at the Philadelphia College of Art on the Internet Archive. Enjoy!
My blog went silent while we were without electricity from Friday, 6/29 about 11 PM to Wednesday, 7/4 about 4 PM. The storm only lasted a couple of hours but its impact was pretty horrendous. I’ll be catching up over the next few days and will include more about our adventure without electricity once I can be a little objective about it.
The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:
Karen Bass: Unseen footage, untamed nature - TED Talk
Put a Cork in It: Research Details Quiet Composite Material - positive results using cork instead of synthetic foam in sandwich structures…250% improvement in dampening performance with no sacrifice of mechanical properties
A Virtual Telescope Turns Back toward Earth - a blog about the WorldWide Telescope software and virtual tour
A smart-phone add-on enables at-home diagnosis of ear infections - remote diagnostics still have a doctor in the loop but no trip to the office
Louie Schwartzberg: Nature. Beauty. Gratitude. - TED Talk (time lapse photography)
Researchers Catalog Your Microbial Zoo - microbial cells outnumber human cells 10 to 1 in our bodies. An NIH study seeks to increase our understanding of them.
The Scientific Case For A Return To The Moon
First fledge from Cornell Great Blue Heron Nest - 6/26/2012 at 9:18 AM EDT…and then the next two about 30 minutes later. A summary slide show up to mid-June has also been posted by Cornell. I made a donation to support the cameras in celebration.
Waterproof butterflies mobile - made with recycled paper and coated with wax. These could work for Christmas ornaments too (or would they be too messy with the potential of wax rubbing off)!
A game that heals: Jane McGonigal at TEDGlobal 2012 - psyching yourself to emotional (and physical) health
Today’s topic is home improvements that just about anyone can make.
Adding shelves to rooms where more storage is needed is very easy with the systems of strips, supports, and shelves available at most hardware stores. Wall space over furniture or even higher can add a lot of storage just where it is needed. Consider decorative boxes or bins for smaller items. Bedrooms/offices, garages, and even kitchens can benefit from this type of improvement.
Fresh paint always makes a room seem clean and bright. Choose colors you like but don’t go overboard. Sometimes having a white room with color on only one wall is more effective than having the whole room that color. Or consider using fabric on one wall.
What about the yard? Do you have plants that mean a lot to you? I moved miniature daffodil and day lily bulbs with me. They had originally been purchased and planted by my mother-in-law; I’ve enjoyed them in their original and current locations (dug up and separated and enlarging the bed every few years) for over 25 years now! One of my grandmothers always thought of planting fruit trees when she moved somewhere new.
Making a house into a home is a continuing activity. It doesn’t have to be done immediately but the sooner you start taking the small steps to meld where you live into the space you feel at home…the better.
Today’s topic is walls, windows, and floors.
Walls can be covered by lots of small pictures, left mostly blank and bright, showcase a color that highlights the rooms purpose or furnishings, or be a giant canvas. Whatever is on them is a statement. Some people like lots of family pictures - some like posters - paintings - macramé. Things you like to look at should be on the walls. Even large swaths of fabric can be used to make a statement. My family went through a time when we liked having flags for each season outdoors but I not prefer to keep them inside and hang them from a stair banister instead (I got tired of worn our raggedy flags after one season of outdoor use).
Window treatments are for privacy and visual appeal. They can also help improve energy efficiency. Privacy and energy efficiency are for security and comfort….one of the primary requirements for the feeling of ‘home’ but the aesthetics are needed too. My favorite window treatment is one in my office - sheers with patch pockets for keepsakes over blinds to close when the sun shines in too brightly.
Of course - floors should feel clean and add to the overall comfort of the room. Are the welcome mats at the entrances to your house in good shape? These provide a useful function (wiping feet) and are the impression a person gets just before entering your home.
Tomorrow I’ll post about permanent improvements to a house that make is more of a home.
What is the difference between a house and a home? A house is an empty shell. A home:
The objective of this blog post - and the two others in the days to come - is to provide some starting points for thinking about refinements you might want to make to wherever you are living. I know that my home benefits from periodic tweaks because my needs and wants change; the beginning of summer is a great time to do a little reflection and take action to enhance those good feelings you want your home to evoke.
First let’s consider rooms - the floor plan of the house. Consider that static. What does not have to be held constant is how the rooms are actually used. Getting the most from every room may involve some non-traditional usage.
A dining room does not have to be used as a dining room if you never use it for that purpose. It could become a home office.
It’s an easy conversion.
Using a bedroom for a home office is even easier. Add some attached shelves or assemble some standalone metal shelves inside the closet and the office in the room itself can be very streamlined.
A room intended to be a formal living room may not be needed for that purpose. In fact, any room you don’t use every day should be considered for additional use(s). What about the living room as a music room?
The contents of the built-ins in the rooms - particularly in the kitchen - should be arranged for the way you do things in the room. Spices you use at the stovetop should be near the stove top. Glasses and dishes should be convenient to where you retrieve them when you eat and to put away when you unload the dishwasher. Mixing bowls and containers for left overs should be put away in the cabinets near the place you would use need them. The top shelves that you will need a step stool to reach should be used for items not needed very frequently.
What about drawer liners or shelf paper? That is one of the first things I do to turn a new-to-me house into my home: thoroughly clean the kitchen cabinets and then put down fresh shelf paper. There is a similar idea for bathroom cabinets.
Sunday I’ll post about walls, windows, and floors.
When considering the disposition of ‘stuff’ - think ARTT:
A is for Avoid
R is for Reuse
R is for Recycle
T is for Trash
The higher on the list you can be the better for planet and most of the time for you too.
Let’s start with avoid. Think about things that you can simply not acquire or use. Is that plastic bag the cashier is going to put your purchase in needed? If you are only buying one item that you can just as easily carry without a bag, the answer is “no.” What about using cloth or other reusable bags each week for your groceries? Putting leftovers or items for your lunch bag in reusable plastic or glass containers is a good way to avoid sandwich plastic bags.
Another big potential for avoiding ‘stuff’ is paper. There are great mechanisms to avoid paper by getting the same content electronically. A little thought before subscribing or buying can make quite a difference in the amount of paper to deal with later.
Keep in mind that one key to avoidance is knowing what you already have. That opened package of cup hooks needs to be organized in a way that you can find it rather than buying another package!
Next comes reuse. Repurpose packaging - particularly glass - as often as you can. A salsa jar is the perfect size for my sourdough starter when I have it in the refrigerator. The packets of stevia I keep on the table are in a jar that originally held a candle. If I can’t find a new purpose for something - then I donate it. Right now I have a pile I’m accumulating of old clothes, books and a bulletin board. They may not all go to the same charity --- I give preference to ones that will pick up from my front porch. Odd things that may not be eligible for donating for some reason can be often be freecycled (check out http://www.freecycle.org/). I’ve successfully freecycled an open package of shingles, an old folding table, and a box of used interior house painting supplies. On the other end of the equation - you can reuse something someone else no longer needs; thrift stores and yard sales are great places to find bargains. I go to one thrift store that is convenient enough to check periodically for clothing. Sometimes I find nothing…sometimes I have to make some hard choices. Recently I got 3 tops and a skirt for $27! Last but not least - reuse bags for your shopping. These can be cloth bags or re-enforced paper shopping bags that can be used many times. The bags that work best for me are ones I accumulated by contributing to various charities.
Recycle is getting into the realm that the item is not usable in its current form. Most municipalities have programs for recycling paper, glass and plastic although there may be restrictions. Recently milk cartons were added to the list of ‘recycle’ where I live - which was good since the almond milk I like does not come in plastic milk cartons (that have been recyclable for some time). On the other hand - the plastic clamshells that many of the grocery stores are using in their produce sections are not on the recycle list so have to go in the trash. My response has been to avoid that kind of packaging as much as I can. It’s also important that plastic be clean so my municipality suggests that it is better to return plastic bags to the grocery store for recycling rather than putting them in the curbside bin with other recyclables (where they may get something on them that will make them instantly into ‘trash’). Some municipalities are handling compostable material similarly to recycle; if not, you have a decision to make about whether you will commit the effort for a ‘do it yourself’ form of recycle from food waste to garden soil enhancer. Finally, electronics are accepted by some municipalities or check out the program at Best Buy. For computers - clean off the hard drives beforehand; there are programs to do that.
Finally - there is trash. It shouldn’t be a lot if avoid-reuse-recycle is fully implemented. It’s useful to take a look at what is in your trash occasionally and decide if you are willing to make changes so that it will no longer be there. For example - if used tissues are a significant component of your trash, are you willing to use handkerchiefs and launder them (reuse)? If napkins and paper towels are more than half the kitchen trash - should you buy some wash clothes to use instead or the paper products?
So - the more you can avoid the less you will reuse the less you will recycle the less you will trash. The objective is to live well yourself while preserving more for future generations.
The slideshow below is a selection of doodles from May 2012….using other pens and papers than previous months (when they were all done with gel pens on black paper). The May 2012 group is on all kinds of paper and cardboard - some gleaned from the recycle bag - and pens (felt tip, highlighter, ball point). They are also grouped: colonies of creatures, feathers, mazes and shells. The feather doodles are the largest group - probably because I spent so much time watching the heron nest cam!
Take a break for cinnamon and enjoy the flavor of cardamom for a change.
1 egg
1 1/2 cup mature sourdough starter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup pecans
Preheat oven to 350 and spray pans with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix gently until all is moistened.
Spoon into muffin tins.
Cook until toothpick comes out clean.
Note 1: The density of sourdough starter varies. You may need to add some water if the batter is too thick.
Note 2: Try some different seasonings and nuts. I used maple syrup (instead of honey), peanuts (instead of pecans), cinnamon rather than cardamom and very fine bread crumbs (instead of the flour)....Yummy!
Previous Sourdough Adventure posts:
This is the last of 7 posts with prompts to develop a life history. Previous posts in this series:
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This last part is about the perception of the future. Most people do have something that they are anticipating. It isn’t ‘history’ but it deserves a place in an individual’s life history. Use the prompts to start the conversation.
Our house is getting a much needed fresh coat of paint on its interior. It’s about 20 years old and most of the paint was original so it was time. I took the normal route of asking around for recommendations from people in the neighborhood - got 3 estimates - and then waited a month or so because the one I chose was so busy. The wait turned out to be an advantage because it allowed us more time to prepare. This first post will talk about that ‘before the painters’ work and then I’ll do a follow up post in a few days that will report on what actually happened during the painting.
All the painters I got estimates from gave suggestions about how to prepare the rooms for painting. The more I could do, the faster they could work and the less it would cost me in their labor. Some things I learned from the painters and as I prepared:
Empty book cases and china cabinets. They are too heavy to move filled with stuff.
I've scanned my favorite doodles from April 2012. They're all made with gel pins on black paper.
Previous doodle posts: Initial and March 2012.
What are you favorite smells of spring?
The smells I most strongly associate with spring are those that are outdoors.
Hyacinths. The scent of hyacinths is synonymous with early spring for me. The bulbs come up early and sometimes weather a last snow - as they did this year. A few times I’ve bought a pot of them to have indoors but most of the time I am content with smelling them on the March breeze.
Violets. We have wild violets that grow in the shade under our high deck. They bloom in April. You have to be in the right place to spell their scent on the air. They’re small and close to the ground but prolific bloomers so often I smell them before seeing them.
Lemon Balm. I planted a small pot of lemon balm years ago and now it takes over whole beds and grows out into the yard. It comes out very early and imparts its lemony smell whenever it is disturbed.
What are your favorite smells of spring?
This recipe is derived originally from a carrot cake recipe. I used grated sweet potato in place of the carrots. I also substituted honey and apple juice concentrate for the sugar. This recipe does well with whole wheat flour because is it very moist and the other ingredients are hearty flavors that are not overwhelmed by the whole wheat.
1 1/3 cups olive oil
1 cup honey
1 cup apple juice concentrate
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (rounded)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups grated sweet potatoes (less than 1 pound)
1 cup raisins
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tins (makes 24+ muffins).
In large bowl, combine together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the grated sweet potato and raisins; stir to coat them with the flour mixture.
Whisk olive oil, honey, apple juice concentrate, vanilla, and eggs together in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Add to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Scoop the batter into muffin cups until each is 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack. I made regular muffins, muffin tops, and a couple of mini-Bundt muffins.
We had a frosty morning yesterday (April 3rd) here in Maryland and the tulips at Brookside Gardens still held the misty crystals when we got there. Enjoy my collage of pictures below…along with a rather scruffy looking robin.
The azaleas are also beginning to bloom at Brookside although not quite at their peak just yet.
I’ve scanned my favorite doodles from last month into a slide show (below). They’re made with gel pens on black paper in a spiral notebook that I found in my spring cleaning this year.
Doodling has no constraints. It doesn't have to look like anything at all. Sometimes it reflects what I'm thinking about - sometimes it is made on autopilot and reflects nothing at all. I've named the doodles after the fact and that is displayed at the bottom of each image.
Previous doodle posts: 3/6
Litter the world in which you live with opportunities to learn. - Chip R. Bell in Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning
~~~~~
This quote contains one of the few instances I’ve seen of ‘litter’ representing something positive. And maybe the negative aspects we sometimes associate with ‘litter’ carry into this context as exactly what we are after for ‘opportunities to learn’:
The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:
Wind map - a (nearly) current map of winds in the continental US. This is an artwork and quite a learning opportunity for how the winds change over time...I find myself looking at it several times a day.
Step inside the millennium seed bank - a video that walks through the science facility that stores seeds from 10% of the world’s plants
The Beginnings of Dr. Seuss - An Informal Reminiscence - A short piece done for Dartmouth (where he went to college) and made available online recently.
13 Nature Photos with water reflection - Enjoy! My favorite is the spoonbills (the second one).
Nature and Wildlife Photography Tips Center - from National Wildlife Federation
The Psychological Effects of Global Warming in the US - More people will experience weather extremes than ever before…and many more will develop anxiety disorders
Wind Farm in San Gorgonio - A striking picture of wind turbines in a pass in the mountains east of Los Angeles
Regular Chocolate Eaters are Thinner, Evidence Suggests - Just more data that supports my 2 squares of dark chocolate for breakfast habit!
How Animals See the World (infographic)
First Day of Spring (40 pictures) - From around the world
New inverter design shrinks size/cost of connecting solar panels to the grid - Company that created them will start selling them in May. Could shave $0.15/watt from a solar panel installation. There is a lot happening in the solar energy field right now. It's very exciting.
Re-inventing the toilet (turning human waste into power) - A Gates Foundation project. Watch the video.
I’ve had my Blue Tulip Glassware for a little over a month now. It appealed to me when I first saw it back in December and my appreciation of it continues to grow because its appeal has so many perspectives.
It is beautiful. The blue color of the glass depends on the lighting - all the way from turquoise to a pale Copenhagen blue. The smooth parts are tulip shaped but the nobs often give the impression of sunflowers; at first I thought the pattern was ‘sunflower’ and, based on some questions I noticed on some web sites, others may have made the same mistake. I started a project to photograph the sugar (a cup with two handles) 100 times; 10 of the best images are below.
It has history. Blue Tulip is Depression Glass. It was manufactured by the Dell Glass Company in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of the pieces that I have now were a wedding present given to an Oklahoma couple in the 30s. The set was purchased from the widow many years later by a couple that has known me all my life as they added to their collection of Depression Glass. They added some pieces they found at other places as well. When I visited them last December they commented that they were thinking about selling some of their collection and I offered to buy all the Blue Tulip. They gave me an excellent price for the antiques and it arrived in a big professionally packed glassware box in early March. Sometimes I think the glass is infused with all the happiness around it for the past 70+ years and somehow it rejected any unhappiness; it always seems to speak of home and long term relationships (both general and specific).
It encourages smaller portion sizes. The sherbet cups are a good size for ice cream or custard….any dessert served in a bowl. My husband and I have started using them frequently. The small plates are smaller too; a single muffin fits better than two. The dinner plates are the normal size but I find that the pattern encourages me to put less on the plate - so I can still see the pattern.
It fits the spring and summer season. I love the coolness of the blue color in spring and am anticipating I will like it even more during the summer.
In the first years of my marriage, I economized by sewing most of my own clothes and making quite a few shirts for my husband as well. It was an activity that made sense economically and was also a useful hobby – something I did while my husband indulged his photography hobby by printing photos or watched football.
Fast forward over 30 years - It is not possible to save money through sewing whole garments. The fabric stores now run to crafts like quilting rather than dressmaking and there are not as many of them. Fabrics, patterns, and notions are expensive. The turning away from sewing happened rather suddenly for me when I required suits for work and became overwhelming busy with obligations that had a higher priority. I’ve only recently cleaned out the drawers of supplies – fabrics, buttons, zippers, bias table, and interfacing. I kept the thread although I doubt I will ever use much of it. The sewing machine is still stashed in a closet somewhere. If I ever move to another house, it may get donated before the move.
So – is there any value from that experience from years ago…something that should still be taught as a ‘life skill’ to children and grandchildren? Maybe – but I think it’s the parts that don’t require a sewing machine. All of them have to do with altering or mending clothes already made. A trip to the local cleaners could accomplish the same thing (with an associate cost) and would be more time consuming than simply doing the job yourself. So – here is my list of still-useful skills from my sewing days:
Putting in a hem. I’ve done this several times recently on pants that were slightly too long for me and on machined hems that have come out with one pull of a thread.
I avoid more extreme alterations by simply buying clothes that already fit since I’ve had the experience of alterations costing more than the dress!
Celebrating the whole of life....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Enjoy the photo picks from 2023:
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