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Hats as architecture: housing the body; versatile .....

......  scarf and hat, or just the scarf, or just the hat ....    (more here on clothing as architecture)

Fountain, icicles and crow. Oak Bay Village. Victoria BC

By mid-morning it had melted.

Reversible blanket coat with amusing history.

Cold weather is forecast for the next few days so I got out this coat again.  It 'sits heavily' on the shoulders and reminds me of my Ontario years when "next few days" could mean weeks .... months.

It is reversible and to wear it green side out the crocheted button can be unpinned and attached on that side.  For more on non-conventional buttons/fastenings you can check out this post.

When I tossed the coat on the day bed after taking its picture I might have heard "Arf, arf."  Click here for the reason.

Handmade knitting needles with painted birds and wool record.

The needles are made of  dowel lengths from a hardware store, brought to a point in a  pencil  sharpener and then smoothed with fine grit sandpaper.  A large, 0blong bead has been glued to top of each one to provide an end and also as a place to display/record wool used in past projects.  (Of course you will make sure to take a photo or two or three of each thing you knit as it is finished!)  Then they were painted black and needle part waxed with a piece of waxed paper.  I painted a bird on each bead.  They are meant for slow, thoughtful knitting.  

Granola .... Eureka!

The discovery that granola did not have to be a hard and crunchy concoction that one sprinkled on something else, that it could be a wonderful hot cereal in itself,  led to me making a batch for Christmas gifts.

The research into recipes and techniques involved a cousin (thanks, Joan) and Mr. Google's family.  I learned that the clumpy kind came about due to the addition of egg whites;  that muesli is granola without toasting or baking; that oats are oats but vary in degrees of processing; that it invites experimenting and it is fun.

My second discovery happened yesterday morning and I repeated it again today.  For the liquid I poured part of my creamy morning coffee over the dry ingredients and stirred it in, let it sit for a moment or two .....

The before and after pictures describe the response.

 

 

Victoria BC Boxing Day Blooms

On the morning walk through Oak Bay Village .....

Rumi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(art work by Leif Parker)

Spider came to earth

December 4 :

The spider who wove its web during breakfast and then caught a fruit fly at supper (in last post) was not in sight yesterday:  web was also gone.  I wondered if spiders took away evidence of web when they moved on.

Then, as I was eating dinner last evening, a spider suddenly appeared from under the table, darted around here and there, paused for a second in two or three places, then scooted under my place mat.  I actually forgot about it but there were no squashed remains when I thought to check.

Today :

Update:  I next noticed the spider  (I am assuming it was the same one) with a web across the folded-back drapes and wondered what the intended prey was; not likely one on the wing.

A few days later there was a web hanging in the middle of a room and I only avoided having it drape my face by noticing it and doing a sudden halt.  I did not discover to what it was attached but by careful and slow movement found that I could get to balcony doors if I did a detour around and through kitchen without disturbing spider.  But I did put a stool in the pathway so I would not forget.

Spider seemed content there for the next two days.

Yesterday I noticed it was gone, web and all. I wonder how they un-weave their webs.  Do they unhook each end and let it drop or do they ingest them.  I wonder where it will next appear.  If it prevents access to keyboard or guitar I might learn how to re-position a spider web.  

 

Indoor/Outdoor natural habitat home: urban wilderness

Home, at the moment, is a corner suite on the top floor of a four-storey  apartment a block from the Village.

I was not looking for an apartment but the ad rather 'popped out' at me, so I went to view it. And immediately took it.  The proximity to the Village was a priority but it was the indoor/outdoor aspect that was crucial.

Windows. Light.  Views.  Trees.  Birds, ladybugs, butterflies, moths,  earthworms, squirrels, wasps, spiders, raccoons, deer.  Crows,  hummingbirds,  eagles, hawks, owls,  nuthatches, chickadees, finches, woodpeckers, bushtits, towhees, sparrows, wrens, warblers, seagulls ....  Sun, moon, sky, clouds, rainbows, contrails,  wind, rain .... Smells, sounds, touch ....

Nature, human and otherwise, exists in the city as well as the country. It's a way of seeing and a way of being.

Parade of Lighted 'Trucks' through the Village

Magic!  This is just a segment of the parade that started at Ogden Point in James Bay,  drove through Fairfield,  Oak Bay and then Victoria out to the Western Speedway.  The weather was perfect - not too cold - and there was a full Moon.