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made a dress
I intended this as a muslin (test garment) but I don’t think I’ll make another. It fits as it should, it’s comfortable — but I realise I’m just not really a dress person.
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button riches
I don’t know why I thought I needed TWO x 2lb bags of buttons. One would have lasted me several lifetimes. They are mostly plastic, with some wood/metal/shell. And there are plenty of duplicates, so I’ll be able to find suitable sets for most of my garment sewing, I hope!
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buteo lineatus
A red-shouldered hawk living nearby dropped a gift on the driveway. Thanks to my friend Alli, who recently replaced my Bird Feathers reference guide (lost in the fire), I could easily ID it.
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Daucus carota
Our neighbour invited me over to peruse her garden for seeds and cuttings. I came home with Queen Anne’s Lace seeds (Daucus carota) along with ferns, tillandsia, and various other pretty things. So I made her a thank you card and dropped it in her mailbox.
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macula
I got curious about the macula—where is it, and what does it do? The macula lutea is an oval-shaped, pigmented area located in the center of the retina. It’s responsible for sharp, detailed, color vision in good lighting—what we use for reading, recognising faces, and driving. Damage to the macula, such as in macular degeneration, impairs this central vision.
Though macular degeneration doesn’t cause total blindness, the loss of central vision can significantly impact daily life. The macula makes up only about 2.1% of the retinal area, yet nearly half of the brain’s visual cortex is dedicated to processing its input. The remaining 97.9%—the peripheral vision—usually remains unaffected.
In the U.S., White individuals are about six times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration than Black or Hispanic individuals. Unfortunately, there’s currently no cure or treatment that can restore vision once it’s lost.
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Amaryllis belladonna
Native to South Africa, Amaryllis belladonna is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and has become naturalised in many parts of the world, including Southern California.
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hoppy
For an 86 y.o. friend, who still has plenty of bounce in her step.
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ophthalmologist
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i joined the club
I know I’m late to the party—it seems the rest of the western world embraced homemade sourdough during Covid. But here I am, tickled pink that I grew my own starter. It feels magic to gather yeast from the air.
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many questions
The People of the Books were polarised on this one, as we often are. Still, as always, our group provides lots of insights, knowledge, and humour. It’s a pleasure spending two hours with these folks every month. Next up: Margaret Atwood.
hashiworks 