The Cabinet of Prof. Kitty: Week 4? I think? Or 5?

photo of healing plant cards: nettle, dandelion, coltsfoot

Healing herbs of spring!

Hi hi! How are you? Someone asked recently if I'd be home when they stopped by, and the answer was YES. Yes, I will be home. I am home. I was home. Still home. Grateful to be home, really.

I hope you are doing OK. Thank you for checking in on my blog from wherever you are (and from whatever year it is--hi!). Here's what we've been up to in our tiny corner of Vermont during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

There was a bit of spring-like weather last weekend so I got out and wrestled with some brambles and an old disused compost pile. It was satisfying.

Then, back to another week of working & schooling from home with my lovely children. We are still setting aside an hour each afternoon (except Fridays) to do a family "special" where I teach something or we do some kind of activity.

On Monday we got physical with a school PE workout followed by a yoga video. This session got an average rating of 3 stars, with one participant liking the workout better while the other preferred the yoga.

On Tuesday I did a session on healing wild plants of spring. We learned about nettle, dandelion, and coltsfoot--their healing properties, how to use them, and their Latin binomials.

Then we went on a "Weed walk" and found 2 of the 3 in our yard. (We'll need to go a bit farther afoot to find coltsfoot.)

Sweet little nettle patch

Perky dandelion

On Wednesday we had a sewing session. Both participants learned how to tie a rolling knot at the end of a needle & thread (something my mother taught me and I kept referring to as "a life skill"). They selected a project to make "Juggling Chooks" (which are small weighted stuffed chickens).

The resulting chooks are pretty cute.

Unfortunately sewing was frustrating for Student A, who gave the class 2 out of 5 stars. Student B loves birds though, so said it was 5/5 stars but one of the stars was specifically because we made a chicken, otherwise it would only be 4.

Thursday is baking day! We made chocolate chip cookies again, this time experimenting with melted butter instead of soft, creamed butter. Results: melted butter makes for a thinner, crunchier cookie. Delicious.

In other news, I've taken up knitting again because I decided I wanted a pair of fingerless gloves to wear while I hunch in the cold corner while WFH (working from home).

I've had this pattern for 20+ years, I just subtracted 6 rows from
each finger to modify the pattern to be "fingerless"

Glove 1 is done!

In the world of screens, I've been watching fashion runway videos on Youtube lately (also lots of HauteLeMode, where Luke Meagher critiques designers & looks in "the most fun, sassy, bitchy, analytical way"--I love him). I also watched The September Issue (which I've seen before), which is free-with-ads on Youtube. This is a documentary about creating the 2007 Biggest Vogue Issue Ever (at the time). Anna Wintour is inscrutable and fascinating, and I love Grace Coddington, the creative director who has buckets of personality.