Post #3205: OMG, This Week

The picture at the head of this post is what it looks like when I am cooking, baking, and watching CNN at the same time (I am mesmerized by CNN’s magic wall, and I can’t believe the commentators have been at it since Tuesday – it’s insane). Here’s hoping there is an answer to the question today as we close out a week of anxiety for so many people – though I’m not sure I’m less anxious knowing that 49% of people who live right next door voted for fascism.

Food: This week was pretty average on the food front – Brian was away for work so the meal plan included leftovers, pressure canned beans, yams, and veggie burgers (comfort food). Last night, however, I made a lamb stew with miso/ginger flavours and it knocked us out of the park. I adapted it from another recipe so I could make it in the Instant Pot and plan to share it here once I type it up. Definitely one of the best things I’ve eaten in ages.

One thing I’ve been digging lately is the air fryer we bought in October. While I’m not sure it can really be called a fryer (more like a countertop convection oven), I’ve used it almost every day for something. We got one with a rotisserie basket which turns out is fantastic for roasting vegetables, and making french fries. Yesterday I used it with just the light on (no heat) to rise my sourdough starter more quickly than it would on the cold countertop. As we have a propane stove/oven, I am all for reducing the amount we heat up the whole oven for jobs that can be handled by a smaller device. With just two people to feed most of the time, we don’t need an oven that can cook a whole turkey, we just want to do a few veggies on the side or make some quick oven fries – an air fryer can do that with a fraction of the energy use.

Textiles: I mentioned my desire for bodysuits last week and this week I made my first Rowan bodysuit which I am totally in love with (wearing as we speak). The Rowan can be made as a shirt or a bodysuit, has three necklines and three sleeve choices – so it’s really a great pattern if you like a form-fitting tee. But beware that your fabric has enough stretch! In one iteration I made with 100% cotton, the tee was so tight because I hadn’t factored the stretch requirements in when pulling the fabric out of my stash.

Speaking of t-shirts, the other thing I’ve done this week is made four everyday shirts with 3/4 length sleeves in different colours since I needed something more than t-shirts and tank tops in the wardrobe as we move towards winter.

Besides the obsessive making of shirts, nothing else got done in the studio this week.

Work: Work has continued to be very work-y except now I’m also starting to panic about deadlines in March that can’t possibly be met. I did start a new project manager reporting to me this week, which means I have help in sorting out the mess that is to come. I also met some major milestones on the competitive process I am running (which in the federal government is as bureaucratic as you can imagine it is) – so that continues with the goal of getting it wrapped up by xmas. I am now hiring for a total of nine positions, some of which have staff in them in “term” positions and some which are vacant – that is a crazy amount of paperwork to come….

Fitness: It’s been happening but without any real inspiration. I’ve run a couple of times, I’ve worked out at the gym on schedule – though I haven’t been getting much yoga in. Right now I am in the mode of just showing up which is the key to long-term success. I’ve also been thinking about a shift in mindset I read about earlier this week which is to stop thinking about exercise as something I “do” but think of myself as “someone who exercises” (being vs. doing). Apparently that is one of the differences between people who stick with it over a lifetime and people who don’t – and I would love it if my brain would just make that shift so I could dispense with the resistance I feel when it’s time to go to the gym. I’m always glad to be there and to get through a hard workout, but getting there is such an effort some days!

Notable: This week I started growing mushrooms in my studio shower stall. As mentioned in last week’s post, I bought kits for Oyster and Reishi mushrooms from Grow Mushrooms Canada (who are located really close by, in Sayward BC) and set them up with humidity covers in the shower. It’s an ideal spot as it never gets used, has good drainage, and gets lots of indirect (but no direct) natural light. At the moment there is not much to look at (set up is pictured below), but I will share more if I actually get some growth happening in there.

It’s really blowy here as I write, and I expect some visitors later today. We don’t have a ton of people coming through due to Covid, but when we do we’re fortunate to have enough space for separate bathrooms to use and some distancing while sharing the same space. I expect a lot of outdoor visiting tomorrow as we have some other friends coming to look at a house for sale on the island, so we’ll be setting up the propane fire ring and sandwiches outside!