Space weather report

Lots of solar activity, a group of sunspots will be visible for those with solar filters on their telescopes. Slightly less hazardous will be the full moon in 2 days 23 hours, but the big news is the asteroid near-miss report from NASA JPL in California.

Quite a big asteroid going past in our neighbourhood tomorrow, near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55. About 400 meters or 1,300 feet in diameter, or about the size of a medium sized stadium, and will be passing about 202,000 miles away. 0.85 lunar distances. Quite close.

You won't see it though. It's going to be raining in Rome, so, as Vicky pointed out, even if it were a giant flaming ball, we'd miss it. But it is a type-c asteroid, the c is for "carbonaceous" which means it's quite dark and you will need special long-exposure equipment to see it if the sky is clear where you are.

As for it's potential, err...impact:

"Astronomers estimate objects in the 50 meters range impact on the Earth about once every thousand years and produce explosions equal to 10 megatons of TNT (several times the Hiroshima bomb). We know one such impact occurred in Siberia on June 30, 1908, and flattened more than a thousand square kilometers of forest."

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Not the only one

who thinks old things are better than new things.

There's a whole internet world of starry-eyed nostalgists out there.

(I just made that word up. Good eh?)


Vicky and I have been having a good time watching Downton Abbey and she has been getting screen caps of some of the more luscious outfits. They're a bit fuzzy, but they give the general gist well enough.


From these, I'm doing some sketches and we'll see about working up some patterns.

I have simply come to the conclusion that there aren't any clothes in the shops that I want to buy (unless I happen to be in Florence, which I'm not most of the time) so the only solution is to make my own.

One of the many things I've been planning on doing "when it's all over" is start the creation of an entire wardrobe of exquisite and meticulously crafted hand made clothes. So, now's the time.



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Alloro

Some time ago, I had lunch in a nice little place across the Lungotevere from the Ponte Sisto, can't remember the name, but they make a lot of their own digestivos and I had one there that was green and fantastic: Alloro. It's a strong liqueur made from bay leaves, an ancient Roman thing.

Ever since I tried it, I've been determined to try making some, and this week it is slowly starting sink in that I'm probably more or less done with cancer (if the tests turn out the way we hope). So now is the time to start getting around to doing a bunch of the things I was planning to do "when it's all over".

So, tonight, I put up 2 litres of Alloro.

In theory, liqueur making is really simple. You buy incredibly strong grain alcohol, mix it with a bunch of water, sugar and various flora and let it sit for a long time. Strain, mix with sugar syrup, and bottle. Then you drink it. Mostly after dinner.

Amaro means bitter in Italian. It is a herbal infusion in alcohol and amari (plural of amaro) are still popular in Italy as digestives, or after-dinner drinks. There are many brands on the market. The bitter taste is imparted by wormwood, gentian root, quinine, centaury, bitter orange peel,rhubarb, hops, cascarilla, nettles. Aroma is provided by juniper, anise, coriander, hyssop, fennel, cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, rosemary, lavender, caraway, camomile, peppermint, tumeric, vanilla, lemon balm, sage, marjoram, oregano, angelica root, orris root, thyme, sweet calamus root.

The recipe I used for my Alloro is here.

* 2 cups (500ml) neutral spirit (40%bv)
* 2 cups water (500ml)
* 2 cups sugar
* 50 fresh bay laurel leaves
* 1 large cinnamon stick
* zest from a large lemon

Steep for 2 weeks. Filter. Add sugar syrup. Bottle and age.

In Italy, making your own liqueur is very popular, and in most grocery stores, they sell bottles of 95% alcohol that is meant specifically for making it. I feel today that I have taken my first step towards becoming more Italian.

It has to sit for at least two or three months, so, if you are around in January, you might get to see if it's working.



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It's that time of year again

Attention all Roman and 'Nellan friends: I am running low on jars and I'm in an autumnal jamming/preserving/pickling/chutneying kind of mood. All friends who provide me with two or more glass jars with reusable metal lids will receive one (1) jar of your choice of jam/preserves/pickles/chutney back. Lids must be undamaged and have one of those little pop-up things.



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Also...

Hair Update:


September 20th, going for the full Persis, polished cue-ball look. Those eyebrows are painted on and I've got about five eyelashes.


October 28th, natural eyebrows eyelashes returning and a bit of top-fuzz.


This morning, eyebrows shaped and eyelashes almost back to former length.


Chemo shrank the tumour; too bad it couldn't do anything about the nose.


(O's P. gold star to the first Picknicker to identify the Star Trek reference.)



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And now, back to what's really important

Clothes.

We just started watching Downton Abbey tonight, with episode one. All sorts of interesting characters and plot and whatnot, all very engaging, but of course, the thing I was going nuts over were the clothes. The 1912-1920 period is my all-time number-one top-favourite for women's clothes (for men, it's easily 1802-1820 ... can't resist a tall white collar, crisp cravat and black cutaway).

A few months ago, I splurged on a lovely bit of 60 inch wide robin's egg blue blouse weight linen and have been planning on using it to make a blouse along the lines pictured above. I saw Elizabeth McGovern wearing something like it in the 2007 ITV version of Room with a View.

This blouse was a very common pattern for the time. Variations include raglan sleeves, long shawl collars and a square neckline. Must have it.

Must also have this brown coat with the velvet revers

A Cry For Help

As you may imagine, LifeSite gets a lot of mail, not all of it friendly. (That's a joke, son.)

Today we had one that was forwarded to me and the rest of the staff that I think it would be a good idea to share.

From, let's call him Jeff, who posted this to our general editorial address:

You pro-life people are so naive - you think everyone wants life. Many of us
living in misery curse our parents for not aborting us. Open your eyes to
reality.

I say nothing but I do ask for my readers' kind indulgence to pray for him.

There are a lot of reasons the Culture of Death has proliferated, but in general, it is that the world is not kind. This is a problem about which we can do something every day.



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Going home tomorrow

Well, doctor came. Surgery was without complications. Now they have to do the histology, a cell-by-cell examination of the "margins" the bits they cut out around the tumour, to make sure there is no cancer there. If the answer is no, then that's it.

If yes,

...well...

We won't know for 20 days.

But I'm going home tomorrow morning either way.



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Still in hosp...

Still here. Went in for surgery at six and was out again by eight. If the bleeding has stopped they may let me go home either tonight or tomorrow morning. More or less just lay around all day, drawing and hanging out. Not too much pain, but of course started off on massive painkillers for chemo-induced neuropathy, so it's hard to tell. Still no sign of any surgeon to give me any news as to how it went. Spent the day recovering... and waiting...and drawing...and still waiting...and drawing some more...

Vicky has knitted me a whole hat and...

...yep...we're still waiting...

Ten to six...

...still waiting...



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Still alive

There was no room in the oncology ward where I've had everything else, so when we got here, they gave me a really nice posh single in the baby ward. Only one bed and a sofa for people to come hang out on. In the baby ward, they give you towels, a little pack of toiletries, and a mid-day snack if you want it. The food is better and they let people stay over night if they are wanted.

Bit ironic, really, that I'm in here and will be unlikely, particularly after this week, ever to be a mother.

So far, we're just waiting. Had a blood test, cardiogram and chest x-ray, and an examination by the doctor. It's two pm and no one has any idea when the surgery will happen. Expecting visits from the anesthesiologist (since yesterday) and the surgeon, the famous Professor Scambia.

Trying to stay calm, with middling success.



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