A fine day, overcast morning to keep it cooler. We climbed into my truck and headed for town, coffee, yes. Off to the farmers market, a stir fry chicken lunch planned. Joe called earlier, lunch for three, plus some weekly lunches. A zucchini, mushrooms, green beans, carrots, with a batch of cucumbers and a big onion as I’m planning on bread and butter pickles tomorrow. A couple tomatoes look good too. Back to Safeway, some snow peas for the stir fry.
On to Garret’s, along the way I notice a lot of willow trees just passed the Montessori school, I’ll need my clippers for basket stock. At Garret’s we get some slow cure epoxy for the tanks and wooden wheels, also I want some 4 inch PVC tubing and caps to make very long buckets to soak the willow in. Tied down in the back and driving slow in the right lane we head for Salvation Army. The jacket that fits is too loud, I pass, Raven finds a cool green man cast for magical things to sell in the vardo..
I’ve been working on a small Tarot deck evenings at work and home we can print and cut on card stock, a serious challenge to get the back lined up. I finally went with a single large black and white back pattern and cut the colored face pages to fit.
Joe is here when we get home, out back enjoying the room with a view. Good to see him. Time to make lunch, rice on, chop the veggies plus broccoli florets I picked up at TJ’s. Chicken tenders, I’ve learned to strip the tendon out by holding it and scraping the knife down, flip it and remove, the good meat chopped, discard the tendon for the cat. Onions, mushrooms, seven spice, ginger and galangal root I picked up at the Thai store, garlic. Add the chicken and stir cook high. All the veggies, a little water, covered and turned down to steam. In time the carrots are snappy but close. Do it, some corn starch and water to thicken it stirred in to the lower broth, then a large glug of oyster sauce, stirred, a little more oyster sauce. Yea. Rice is done, lunch is ready. Served out back, no the dog is barking, to the vardo tarp then. It’s good. The sprinkler came on for the garden as we finished, cool water on a hot day, so good we get just a little wet to cool off.
Joe tried out the electric go cart for Raven’s Mom, running low on charge but fun. Let’s go to the river. Good rocks will make fine rune stones in sewn bags, We gather the nicer rocks, smooth and flat. Some are harder, some with pretty patterns. Back home, I find a diamond round bit and attach it to the ancient Fordom still running strong 30 years later, such a good tool. With a bowl of water to keep it wet, Raven tried it out.
Practice, and some gold paint will make these work.
Meanwhile, I cut the ten foot piece of tube in half using the jig saw, with a cap on the cut piece, filled with water. It’s leaking a bit, will need pipe cement. I try to pick it up, the water pressure forces the cap off and the water gushes out into the cap and up, whoosh! Oh my, that was fun. I clean it up and let it dry, gluing it in place later with PVC glue.
I work on cutting more decks with the paper cutter, marking the ends with a straight edge and pen to line up the cutter, then use the patterns to guide another deck from the pages..
Time for Raven to go home. Joe and I glue up the PVC tubing and caps for the very long buckets that will soak the willow wisps to make fine baskets from the river branches. We split a ripe pear from out back, knife cut to avoid any worms, only a few pears this year, tasty and sweet. The Granny Smith apples will be prolific yet and this tree is a good one.
Joe heads for home with the router table and router I found at Sally’s cheap a few weeks back, considered an early birthday present. While I was looking for a good diamond bit for Raven’s rocks I stumbled on to a Craftsman bit with missing threaded shaft to complete the collection of router bits I also scored at Sally’s for a couple bucks, a perfect completion of a fine tool, multiple bit forms for building his home. As he pulls out I charge him a penny, no, OK a nickle for a cutting edge, fair deal. Dad’s tradition.
A great day.
8shotoflove8 