One of my machines is a Kenmore, too, PM. It was a gift from a boyfriend and the only thing I use it for is making buttonholes. I oil it and clean it before using it as I don't haul it out very often. You can indeed knock a machine out of time by hitting a pin, but that's pretty unusual. Generally speaking, sewing machines are amazingly resilient and will suffer untold abuse without breaking down. The number one cause of failure is LACK OF OIL; coupled with accumulated fabric lint (which soaks up the residual oil robbing the moving parts of it) it can be really bad news. After that, the wrong needle is often used in a machine, or it's put in incorrectly (either will result in failure to pick up the bobbin thread, often mistaken for a timing issue). And then there is the often frustrating issue of properly tensioning the machine... which is covered in the manual and only takes some guts and some practice to master. In fact, when faced with a new hire, tension and proper needle installation are the first things I teach. To make sure the lesson is mastered I deliberatly monkey with the tension while the person is in the bathroom, lol. I do not sew over pins. I tend to use only a few anyway, but sewing over them is asking for trouble. You ruin the pins (they bend under the presser foot and are harder to use later), you can break them or your needle, and when broken they often fly away from the machine. Flying bits of broken metal near eyes is a fully avoidable risk, right up there with not putting your fingers directly in front of the needle. ;) "Safen up!". More warnings for black ice this morning. And I instantly thought of V.'s daughter when I saw the cancellations at O'Hare. I always wear my boots, a holdover from living in the "boonies" and driving home in all sorts of weather, often not passing another car for the entire 20 miles. Best to be prepared for a long, cold walk. I have not left the Compound ONCE since last Wednesday, though today may break the run. On my list of things to do this week is buy some greens for the decorations, and some wrapping paper and ribbon. We don't have our lists ready and they won't be long or particularly tough on our wallets. I VERY much want to see the decorations from Monique and Less!! I love varigated Holly and haven't seen it available in my usual haunts. I'm actually toying with the notion of planting a couple of them... what do you think, too flashy or pleasingly sparkley for a dark time of year? Tales of layers of pastry and butter made my mouth water. I could almost feel my hindquarters spreading across the seat of my chair as I read... . Back to watery gruel for me! I have to get a coat/two of pickling on one more piece of wood in preparation for the helpmeet's assault on the stairwell railing. I'd love to hear from ailing Eden about her present project and it's progression. You've crossed my mind periodically as I've plugged away on my own.

Thank you, Hoang Ton, for the quite fabulous spring rose tour of your beautiful garden. I surprised myself by being most impressed by the stunning Lady in Red climber, which I know nothing about. What a gorgeous way to welcome visitors to your house. Also impressive were the Iceberg hedge, Raold Dahl, Jubilee Celebration, the great color of Lady of Shalott, and the many rose companions you grow so well. I loved the vignettes you captured in your video. You've got a lot of lovely views to just stare at. Thanks. Diane

DH visited our friend at the fishing village again and brought home fresh, fresh fish again. We had it with salad and asparagus and a sauce made from the butter and oil in the pan and lemon juice, salt and pepper… easy and tasty. The asparagus has a story to it in as much as I was in a hurry, saw it in the store, grabbed a bunch, vaguely thinking that the new asparagus from our northern regions must be coming in. When I got home I saw it was from Mexico??? So much for being careful about food miles. Ridiculous. Anyway it tasted OK. I’m trying to sort out better lighting for my winter photos, it’s quite dark at 5pm atm. The dining area still has the old halogen down lights because there was an issue with the dimmer when we switched to LED years ago… the halogen gives quite a yellow light, which annoys me… Not that it matters really.

Simple stuff tonight Salmon lightly cooked in mirin-sake-soy-sugar (teriyaki) Oysters from Waluppa (sp) Bay Scallops coated in flour with onion and garlic and mushroom powder, sauteed Beef short ribs, I tried first cooking then at 350F with full steam for 10 min, then did a sort of rub, let sit to dry, then broiled at 425F no steam 3 minutes. I’ve a new cooking toy, and trying to figure out how it works.