Will that be paper or plastic?

Isn't that a dilemma? Neither paper nor plastic is good for the environment.

I've been meaning to do this for a long time and today I finally made two cloth grocery bags. They are slightly larger than a large size paper grocery bag. I made them nice and sturdy and washable, from a cotton duck with cotton webbing handles that wrap under the bag for added support. Each has a corrugated plastic insert to give the bottom a little more support as well. I did not make them cute or pretty, so that I would not feel bad when they get dirty and worn and also so my husband, who is not into cute and pretty, will be comfortable using them. Ray thinks we should each keep one in each of our cars. I have seen the canvas bags that most of the stores sell, but they are quite small. I have several small canvas bags I can use for smaller purchases, but these will hold a lot of groceries. It is a small thing I can do for the environment. Or maybe a big thing—my house seems to be overrun by both paper and plastic grocery bags

If you would like my general directions, email and ask me to send it to you. I have put it together in .pdf format. I won't even care if you make yours cute and/or pretty.

Taking bad photos of good things

I never thought phone cameras were worth much, but for some reason I am enjoying the camera function of my iPhone. I downloaded an app that gives it a zoom function. Pulls the scene in a little closer, but since it is a low resolution image to begin with, zooming it just produces pixelation. The first picture is one I took at a performance we went to with some friends on Saturday night. It was billed as "The Hepcats Ball" and featured three bands that play jazz from the '20s, '30s and '40s. The venue was quite wonderful—the Venetian Theater in Hillsboro is one of those great old theme movie theaters that has been restored with a restaurant and grand theater. We had dinner (it was good) and really enjoyed the show. My iPhone, zoomed photo is technically awful, bad light and all, but I also think it is kind of interesting. The bright light on the band renders them in near silhouette, while the curtain and heads of the audience members dissolve into Seurat-like dots of color.

Sunday I went down to the Mexican grocery in Beaverton to get fresh tortillas. I ran into my daughter and granddaughter there shopping for a pinata for Sofia's birthday party. The grocery is a very interesting place. It really looks and feels like stores I have been in in Mexico, right down to the grody linoleum floors, produce bins full of cactus paddles and pyramids of neon-colored soda pop. You can order fresh tortillas to be made while you are shopping for other things, then pick them up warm and wrapped in foil on your way out. And, of course, overhead are hundreds of pinatas. So I pulled out the phone and zoomed in on a colorful bunch.

My tortillas were for the dinner I planned for the family following Sofia's birthday party. I cooked a pork shoulder until it fell apart for tacos, using the fresh tortillas, some amazing salsa from the Mexican grocery, a sprinkle of cotija cheese, my homemade guacamole, cilantro, tomatoes, etc. etc. The tacos were divine. As Ray said, about as far from fried ground beef in a hard taco shell as you could get. We were all so tired from an afternoon of celebrating Sofia's birthday with 5 three-year-olds that we may not have enjoyed the dinner as much as we might have. Luckily I had so much leftover that we are going to do it again tonight.

Today is Sofia's actual birthday. Three years of joy and love. I never imagined having a grandchild would be like this. What a gift!

Back to work

It has been such a nice, normal week for a change—well, disregarding amazing news events, that is. We even had one gloriously sunny, spring-like day this week, though it is raining again. Last week when the group was at the beach we went to Center Diamond Quilt Shop in Cannon Beach. I really love that shop. I had nothing in mind when I walked in, but I started noticing the greatest bright stripes among the hundreds of bolts of fabrics. I always love stripes and I've had a yen to make a stripey quilt for my baby grandson. I made a quilt for Sofia's first birthday and Marco will be a year old in August. Time to get started. Before I knew it I was buying a bunch of striped fabrics and I could see the quilt in my head. I think it will take awhile to make. I am making a lot of little blocks.

 

These fabrics and colors really make me happy!

I am so looking forward to some nice weather and being outside. I wonder if it will ever happen. Sigh. Remember last spring I made some lanterns to hang outside using solar lights? They worked out so great and we really enjoyed them. Since then I have been quite in love with those little outdoor solar lights. Yesterday I was at Grocery Outlet, which is a wierd, funky store that seems to carry grocery items that are overstocks from other stores or maybe items that will be discontinued. I don't know where it comes from, but you often find really interesting wines, cheeses and other things. The thing is you usually will never see the same things again. It is always different. Yesterday they had the little outdoor solar lights for $1.99 each and I knew that I could do something with them for that price. I bought three. This is what they look like:

We have three candle holders outside that stake into the ground and hold a glass cup for a votive candle. I decided to figure out a way to use the solar lights in those. The post pops right off the light, leaving the solar collector and the light. The problem was how to get it to stand up inside the candle cup. There is a small appendage on the bottom of the light that fits inside the post. I searched around and found my container of glass pebbles that you use in vases of flowers. I held the light in place in the cup and distributed a handful around it and it holds it level pretty nicely. Ray had suggested I put a piece of foam in the bottom of the cup and push the light into that. That would have worked too, but the glass pebbles look much prettier in my opinion.

Here's how it looks outdoor. The stainless steel light even matches the holder.

Now, if it will ever stop raining I think three of these will look pretty great out front, along with the lanterns from last year. It was just starting to rain again when I took this picture. It's so dark (mid-afternoon) in my house right now that it lights inside. Pretty, huh?

Hot

It is really hot here. I am dreading trying to sleep tonight. Our bedroom gets so hot. This is an old house with no air conditioning, which is only needed, at most, 10 days or so out of each year, but they can be miserable. When we get desperate we go to the basement and sleep on the hide-a-bed. We are not yet that desperate.

My sewing room is on the side of the house that usually catches a little breeze, but not today. Hot. Hot. Hot. I did finish another small piece for the Japanese Garden.

I was kind of pleased with the other moon piece that I did, so decided to try another. This was a different piece of blue fabric and it discharged to a different color than the first one. That is one of the mysteries and surprises of bleaching fabrics. The branches in this piece are all done with the satin stitch on my machine. I started them at a wide stitch and gradually made it narrower for each branch. This is another technique that I've wanted to try. I think of this as Liz Berg's technique. She uses it to great effect.

Ray used one of the grocery bags today and declared it a success. He said an added benefit was that it was just the right size to stick into the side of the grocery basket at the store. I had quite a few people request the pattern. I hope it works for you. Let me know if any of the rest of you want one. If you make one, send me a picture!

Today's littles:

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This looks like something fun to do:

Paying it Forward

Paying it forward, a la Jane Ann:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week… LOL… but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Christmas Eve

I am sitting here at the end of this busy day, eating a cookie and enjoying the tree and the quiet.

Today I was peeling oranges for the cranberry salad I make every year (my mother's recipe) and it occurred to me that even more than the smell of the Christmas tree, the sharp, spicy smell of oranges is the smell of Christmas to me. For most of the year I mostly ignore them, but at Christmas I like to have a bowl of them in the house, especially the little mandarinas.  Did you always find a little orange in the toe of your sock on Christmas morning? I did. Nuts, too. In the shell–walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, almonds and hazelnuts. I looked for unshelled nuts today. They were always in a big bin in the produce department in the grocery store. You shoveled all you needed into a paper bag with a big metal scoop.  No more. There are no bins of nuts in Portland grocery stores. Only small, sealed cellophane bags containing pecans or almonds or hazelnuts. When did that happen?

When I was a child we went to church on Christmas Eve. When we were really small we went, bundled in warm coats and mittens over our pajamas, and fell asleep in the car on the way home. The warmth of the old Methodist church, the smell of the candles, the glorious music ("for unto us a child is bo-orn...") put me into a kind of sleepy trance. And then the smell of oranges. As we left the church, headed out into an often cold, snowy night, each little Methodist child was given an orange.

When my children were small we had chili on Christmas Eve and went for a ride in the car to view the Christmas lights, then read The Night Before Christmas from my childhood copy. I wonder if there is a particular thing or smell that they most remember. Maybe the orange and the nuts in their socks. Maybe that Santa always left a new toothbrush in their sock. 

Tonight I watched my granddaughter prepare tea and cookies to leave for Santa, along with a beautifully illustrated thank you note to Santa. She is hoping he will leave her a special doll, which was always my favorite gift from Santa. I can't wait to see her happiness when she opens that gift.

And so, Merry Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah—whatever you celebrate. I wish you the gifts of lovely memories from the past and joy in the current moment, and a delicious cookie and music and peace and—if you want—the sharp, spicy smell of oranges. It's the smell of Christmas, you know.

Memorial

Last month a young man was shot to death right here on the sidewalk in front of the grocery store where I shop. He was young and the alleged shooter was the father of his estranged girlfriend. There was, apparently, a custody battle going on between the victim and the shooter's daughter over their 3-year-old son. Horrible. Stupid. Tragic.

This evening, as I once again skirted around this growing assemblage of wilting flowers and cheap candles, I wondered why this kind of thing has become the accepted form of mourning a public death. Does this really comfort anyone? I really do wonder. My neighbor works at this store and I can't help but think that this display is a constant reminder to her and her coworkers of a horrible and frightening afternoon. I see most shoppers avoiding it as best they can as they manipulate shopping carts from the nearby supply near the front door. The Girl Scouts are selling cookies from their card table setup a few yards away.The adjacent soda machine isn't attracting much business.

I don't doubt that those who left these flowers and trinkets, including a ceramic angel,were sincere in their desire to remember a friend or neighbor, but I find it hard to imagine how this helps. There is something especially sad, to me, about the the dirty, stained sidewalk, the forlorn flowers and the triteness of the effort.

If I am ever gunned down in front of the grocery store, please don't do this for me. Instead, send a donation to the Food Bank, send a note to my family and hug somebody you love.

The object #11 A New Breed of Bird

Here is my new bird. A bit more sculptural, a bit less stuffed. I actually stuffed this one with wadded up plastic bags from the grocery store. Seemed like a good use for them, though there is talk here in Oregon of outlawing plastic grocery bags. Anyway, the bird did not need the polyfil stuffing to give him dimension, so he is lightly stuffed.

I think this is an idea worth pursuing and I have some thoughts about different kinds of materials.

The other day I went to visit my friend June and we walked down to Hawthorne Street, near her house, to have lunch. On our way we passed a small business that makes futons and there was a box of discarded wood blocks sitting out on the sidewalk—obviously scrap from their process, and presumably there for passersby to take if they wanted to. I picked up a couple nice rectangles, thinking they might make bases for the birds. None of my birds have had bases, but they all balance a bit precariously on their little wire legs. I sanded and painted one and attached the new bird. I think I like it. Makes it seem more like sculpture and less like a toy.

Here's another view.

The week that was

It hasn't rained here for a couple of months. Not a drop. It has been weird. Very un-Oregon type weather. But Friday morning the drought ended right in the middle of our walk. We knew it was coming, thus the umbrellas. Those are my walking buddies, Beth and Paula. After more than 30 years here, I must finally be a true Oregonian. The rain was so great! It smelled divine. It felt wonderful. Not that we haven't enjoyed a nice long, dry fall, but the time had come. The last of our very small tomato crop came indoors to ripen (or rot) on the counter by the window.

I love how that big tomato looks almost exactly like a small version of my ceramic pumpkin.

Last weekend I had a yen for good tacos, so I cooked a pork shoulder in the crock pot all day and went off to my favorite Mexican market for fresh tortillas, only to learn that the place has changed hands and they are not making tortillas anymore. I bought a big bag of leathery grocery store tortillas and whined on Facebook about my disappointment. Sandy Donabed kindly pointed out that they sell tortilla presses on Amazon.com. It arrived yesterday. Amazon is the best. Can't wait to try it out.

This weekly roundup of Grant news is a little random, but bear with me. Next up—Juniper berry soda.

I grew up in a land of juniper trees, loaded with juniper berries and love the smell and love the taste of juniper berry tea which we used to brew in Girl Scouts. I don't, however, like gin, which is made from juniper berries too. When I spotted this fancy schmancy soda at our fancy schmancy grocery store I could not resist. It was somewhat disappointing. Not very sweet, but too sweet to be totally not sweet (if you know what I mean) and, for me, not junipery enough. Maybe it needed a shot of gin! Sure is pretty though, don't you think?

And finally, my friend Kathy called and said she was coming by with a piece of fabric I needed for my collection of stripes. Well yeah!

 Then Ray and I went to see "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." It was great—really beautiful and touching.

Small pleasures and surprises all week, even including our misbegotten date last night. Can't ask for much more than that. And now it is officially Monday and we start all over again.

Such an ordinary week...

that I have very little of what Ray calls "blog fodder." Not much of great interest going on around here. Which, given all the possibilities, is probably good news. Spring seems to have finally arrived. Flowers and rain—rain and more flowers. Spring in Portland. It is beautiful and wet.

Remember a couple of months ago I wrote about a young man being murdered in front of my grocery store and the sad, dreary memorial that was growing in front of the store? This evening I parked at the grocery store just in front of where the memorial had been and saw that it was gone. In its place is a jazzy red bench and the bike rack next to it has been painted to match.

Closer inspection shows a plaque attached naming it as a memorial to the murder victim.

Someone had left a pansy blossom below the plaque. This warmed my heart. What a lovely way to remember someone, with a beautiful bench where the elderly store patrons can wait for their ride, or store employees can take a break and enjoy a cup of coffee in the sunshine. So much better than wilting flowers and ratty, wet Teddy bears. In coming years people will probably wonder who Ryan Lee Johnson was and how he died so young and perhaps never have to know what an ugly scene this was on one cold, rainy day in the winter of 2012. Rest in Peace, Ryan Johnson. Rest in Peace.

And inside the store I spotted these radishes. They looked so extra red and beautiful that I had to bring them home.

Spring. Don't you love it? The world just seems new and shiny all over again.

Portland Children's Museum

Emily, Sofia and I made our first visit to the Portland Children's Museum yesterday. I've heard about this museum since I moved to Portland, but had never gone before—never had a little kid to take there before. Even as young as Sofi is (15 months) there was lots there to entertain her.

The big picture frame, where you stand to have your picture taken is pretty neat. It is made entirely from dried pasta and kitchen utensils, all painted silver. Can you tell Sofia was a little aprehensive. She didn't know what to expect. (you can also admire Emily's cute new haircut)

First stop was the "Baby Garden" with lots of soft surfaces and things to climb and crawl over that are not very far off the ground. Plenty to see and touch as well.

Next stop was the "Dig Pit", a room full of rubber "gravel" and foam "rocks". Sofi tried it first without shoes and did not like the feel of the stuff underfoot. Then she plopped down and started trying out all the different sizes of shovels for digging.

I think our favorite room of all was the "Grasshopper Grocery" complete with shopping carts, a nice produce section full of hard plastic produce, shelves of boxed foods and a bakery section. At the checkout counter you can pass each item over a scanner that beeps just like the real thing. Sofia was very careful about the produce she chose. She found the perfect carrot that she carried around for a long time.

Don't those fruits and veggies look real? They're not. Sofia goes to the grocery store with Emily quite frequently, so she knew exactly how this works. As she examined apples and plums it was pretty obvious that she has been observing how her Mom picks out fruit. She even sniffed one of the peaches!

It was a fun afternoon. If you have little kids visiting Portland I really recommend the Children's Museum. (Paula and Beth — your grandchildren need to go here!) There are a lot of other areas geared toward older children, so I know we'll be going back as Sofia gets older.

The Children's Museum is across the parking lot from The Oregon Zoo in the old OMSI building.

Blog Action Day is Today!

Today is Blog Action Day and I am joining with more than 15,000 bloggers to blog today about the environment.

The environment—such a huge subject, and one I am not qualified to talk about in scientific terms. But it is something that is on all our minds and I think we can all do small things to help. Even if you are still not convinced that global warming is being caused by human action, you still must realize that the earth's resources are limited and human action has definitely negatively impacted the quality of our air, our water and our food supply. Personally, I think the evidence of our role in global warming is overwhelming and it scares the beegeebers out of me. So, while I help to support the scientists and initiatives that will make the essential huge differences, I am trying, in my own life, to make small differences.

You may remember the grocery totes I made several months ago. These will save trees and resources if I remember to use them. There's the problem! Ray and I each carry one of these bags in our cars and we repeatedly forget to take them into the store. Maybe this will help.

By the way, if you want my pattern for making my grocery tote, just email me and I will send it to you in pdf. form.

It wasn't that many years ago that no one ever needed bottled water. Now it seems like everyone you see is carrying a plastic bottle of water. I always seem to have a half-full one rattling around in my car. No more. We have good, clean water coming out of the tap in our kitchen. I just bought us each a nice refillable water bottle. I will feel good about not contributing to the mountains of empty plastic water bottles. If I can remember to use mine.

We have been planning to either build or remodel a house to suit our needs, for some time. That time has finally come. We've been thinking about this for a long time and several years ago I found these two books that promote a philosophy that makes such great sense to me.

Sarah Susanka, an architect, writes about building houses that are "not so big." This doesn't mean you cram yourself into a tiny little space, it means you plan your space for the way you live and eliminate wasted space. She, like me, has a particular distaste for the multitude of "McMansions" springing up all across our land, with towering ceilings and huge entry halls that dwarf the human scale. The idea of living rooms that never get lived in and houses so large that family members can spend whole days never encountering one another is not only wasteful and blatant consumer excess, it produces houses that never feel comfortable, cozy or easy to live in. As we plan the remodeling of our new home, I keep going back to these books for ideas. I like the idea that we are taking an old house and updating it—recycling it, if you will. It will not have everything we ever wanted in a house, but it will have what we need and then some. It will not require bulldozers and tree removal and the loss of yet another square of woodland or farmland or meadow, but will reuse land that has been occupied by humans for more than 50 years.

These are small things I am doing for the environment, as well as trying to be responsible by driving a reasonably efficient car and recycling and trying to use what I have before buying more. It's probably not enough, and I will be looking for more ways to reduce my personal impact on the planet. I'd love to hear what you are doing.

Links to other Blog Action Day posts by art quilters:

http://julaine.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-action-day.html

http://jeannewilliamson.blogspot.com/2007/10/making-small-quilts-by-reusing-plastic.html

http://debrichardson.com/blog/?p=1117

http://joaniesanchirico.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-action-day.html

http://bjparady.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-action-day.html

http://winnowings.blogspot.com/

http://www.artquiltist.com/journal/blog-action-day.html

http://dellajanehanddyes.blogspot.com/

http://sylviaweir.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/blog-action-day-on-environment/

http://www.littlecottageinthewoods.blogspot.com/

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/335

http://www.gericondesigns.com/weblog/?p=1412

http://catinthebatt.blogspot.com/

The last day of the year

I had plans to get a lot done today—put away Christmas gifts, do some work in the studio, start the laundry that was overflowing the hamper—finish this year with a sense of accomplishment. Then the power went out. I suspect a tree fell into the lines up the hill. The wind is fierce today and there have been several reports of falling trees. No electricity, no lights, not conducive to my planned tasks. Instead we did a grocery run and took a nap! The power came back this afternoon and I started the laundry and went to the studio just long enough to photograph my most recent experiments.

Awhile back I won this small gel printing plate and had yet to really check it out. It is an interesting texture, quite a lot like gummy candy, but more durable, more like those window ornaments that stick to glass. You apply paint to it, create design or texture, lay your cloth on top and burnish it (I use a spoon) and the design transfers to the cloth. The plate is easily washed and ready to be used again.

I painted it with green paint and then pressed one of my wooden printing blocks into the paint, then put the fabric down.

 

My paint was too watery and didn't clearly hold the block pattern, but it's rather interesting anyway. Then, since my bock was covered with paint, I stamped it onto a piece of fabric. Yes, too watery there too.

 

I thought the watery beading of the paint was an interesting pattern in itself, so tried one where I just muddled some paint and water around on the plate, then printed it.

 

I like it. Subtle.

Then I played around with creating some additional patterns, mostly fairly subtle. Textures.

 

So, another year has come and gone. Hope it's been a good one for you—kind of a mixed bag here, though some great moments and good times with good people. Have a happy new year and be careful out there!

 

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Paper tree #6 and a snowy day

Santas carry a tree, loaded with decorations. You can see those staples here pretty clearly.

And today we woke up to this.

Mid-morning I ventured out to the grocery store and took a few pictures on my way to the car.

It has been snowing steadily all day. There is a lot more snow out there right now and it's still coming down. This kind of storm is so unusual here, but if you don't have to be anywhere and you aren't worrying about someone who is traveling, it is peaceful and beautiful. (I may change my tune if it goes on for days—) Emily and Cayo's family from Ecuador arrived last night ahead of the storm and Emily had a big dinner today. I'm so glad we now live so close to them. It really was a lovely day in so many ways.