Rebecca

02:46 pm: woodworking
I learned to use a lathe today in my woodworking class.  It was pretty awesome, and I was sorry to have to stop after 3 hours.  I also exploded my first piece of wood, which the instructor said was a first.  Now, I'm blowing sawdust infused snot out of my nose. 

01:12 pm: I have my sewing machine!

So far, I've accidentally disassembled the bobbin holder (got it back together, eventually), caused a massive thread jam where I had to unscrew the needle to clear it up, and had to rethread the needle a gazillion times. oh, and actually reading directions is good.

I'm having some trouble with the tension on the zigzag stitch, but I'm optimistic. And the straight stitch is working beautifully.

I've made a muslin drawstring bag for bulk foods (already had two handsewn) and took them to Yes Market and bought split peas, black beans, and chickpeas without using any plastic. Then I was really cold and tired, so I bought vegan jerky, which was wrapped in not one, but two layers of "biodegradable" plastic. right. I might put it in my composter if only to confirm my suspicion that it won't biodegrade any time soon.

I've also started making a project bag to hold whatever knitting or sewing project I'm working on. I've been using plastic bags or reusable giant bags, but the needles poke through. The hum of the machine and the quickness are addictive.

I also made 4 tealights using scrap wax from old tealights and leftover menorah wicks. We'll see how they burn. I've been reading about candlemaking and wanted to try it, since I learn better that way. Thus far I've learned how annoying it is to get wax residue out of a cast iron frying pan (used as a double boiler, but one of my molds leaked). I'll see if I can get a cheap little pan at Marshalls. hmmm, this might be addictive too. I've been braiding crocheting cotten and wondering how it would burn, and thinking about where I can get local sustainable sources of wax.

I also made and canned two pints and one cup of tomato sauce, which turned out pretty well, even without garden herbs, as I didn't feel like digging through a two foot snow drift. Plus, my herbs are probably happier being sheltered from this weird weather.

I made one pint of grape jelly, but it didn't really jell. I'm going to let it sit around (it's been canned) and see if it sets eventually. Meanwhile,I'll read up on recalcitrant jelly and try jelling it again if I need to.

08:38 pm: Dinner
For dinner we had:

-pasta with butter, salt, pepper, parmesan, a ton (well, really a handful) of fresh picked garden basil, and a garden tomato

-fresh picked garden kale sauteed in olive oil with garden garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper

-tofu seasoned with soy sauce, garlic and red pepper (?), sauteed until crispy

Heaven. 

06:13 pm: garden
the peas I planted sprouted-- lots of them.  and, after I'd given up on this year's crop, the sunchokes finally sprouted too!

06:34 pm: stressed out brain dump
Today around midday I was thinking how I like my job, I like the excitement, the accomplishments, just getting things done, and pretty well.  

Right now I'm stressed.  I hate it when employers don't tell us about problems (even when we ask) until everything explodes, by which I mean the client explodes, metaphorically speaking.  and I hate it that clients have chronic illnesses that cause them to make decisions that hurt themselves.  I hate not being able to fix things.  My work to-do list and my home to-do list are both far too long, and deadlines are approaching and I don't know what's going to give.  Commuting to work is both easier and harder than expected-- easier in the morning, and harder in the evening, when I'm tired.  I don't have shabbat lunch plans yet and maybe that's a good thing because I'm exhausted, but I still feel out of the loop, like I missed a memo everyone else got.

Ugh.

10:47 am:
Since becoming the proud owner of two pairs of wool blend pants, I've been agonizing over how to clean them without carcinogenic, polluting, dry-cleaning.  (I haven't cleaned them at all yet)  Apparantly, wet-cleaning wool isn't as hard as it's made out to be.  I mean, people must have been doing something for the thousands of years they wore wool, but hadn't discovered  tetrachloroethylene, or even kerosene (one of my great-great-grandmother's many side businesses was dry-cleaning rich people's clothes in kerosene). 

I'll test it on some scraps first, but here goes.

Wet Cleaning Wool and Silk
 

• Hand wash in a sink by gently swirling the clothes in cool water; never twist or wring out wool or silk.
   
• Use a mild detergent with a pH below 7 for wool, such as Infinity Heavenly Horsetail, available in health food stores. A mild liquid castile soap such as Dr. Bronner’s baby soap is best for cleaning silk, since it won’t strip the natural oils. Any harsh lye-based soap with a pH above 10 will destroy silk.
   
• If necessary, spot clean with vinegar or lemon juice, but test for dye color fastness first.
   
• Gently press water from the fabric. Block wool—lay it flat on a towel and stretch it to the correct size and shape—before drying; it will dry to the blocked size. Wool is resilient and recovers quickly from wrinkling if hung. Hang dry silk.

08:47 pm: student torah
When learning the story of Avigayil convincing David not to kill her husbands household, my students says: "It's like God on Mt. Sinai wanting to kill all the Israelites, and Moses convincing him not to"

Man, this kid thinks in interesting directions.  I think any goals of getting her to think textually have been accomplished :)

12:08 am: wow, pesach is over.   weird.

I even ate a token cracker, just because I could.  But it hasn't totally sunk in yet.

11:47 am: wtf?
A friend of mine living in Israel is under house arrest, after spending a night in a police custody earlier this week.  The whole thing is insane.

04:19 pm: Does anyone else feel...
. . . that Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Sen. Barack Obama are playing good cop/ bad cop on the race issue?

Not necessarily intentionally  (though that's possible), but maybe both sides are needed.  The fire and brimstone telling-it-as-it-is, and the message of optimism, bringing out the best in people by trusting them to already have it within them.