Heddle

JWise Photo of the Day

Building a heddle on a Navajo loom to make a rug

This photo is of a heddle in the process of being made. A heddle, you ask? We are taking a Navajo weaving class again; practice makes perfect, don’t you know. Last week, we created our warp, which are the strings in the background that the yarn will be woven onto in order to create a Navajo rug. The heddle is the white yarn loopy thing attached to a branch of tamarisk (also known as salt cedar) that is used to pull forward every other string so weaving can occur. When the heddle is pulled forward, this is called a pull shed. When the heddle is not in use, and another branch of salt cedar is lowered, allowing the batten to squeeze between the warp rows to create a wider gap so the yarn can be layered into place for the weave to progress, this is called stick shed. Of course, there’s more to it than that, but I’m just posting a photo of my progress, not writing a lesson plan.

Salt River

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Along the Salt River in Mesa, Arizona

On the hunt for salt cedar which is also known as tamarisk, Caroline and I ventured out into the wilds of northeast Mesa, up Power road to the Salt River where we didn’t find any salt cedar. Sure, we would have headed straight over to Home Depot to buy us a rack full of the stuff, as if they’d have it. We needed young, straight, thin branches to be used with our looms for making Navajo rugs. We had found some ok specimens out on the Hassayampa near Tonopah some weeks ago, but they proved to be too thick and dried out to be good shuttles, although they were useful as shed sticks. Believe it or not, we had never been along this stretch of road. We continued north, passing Saguaro Lake before hitting highway 87, returning by way of Fountain Hills, and heading home before adding to our day of exploration by visiting some antique shops in old Glendale.

Barn Goddess

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Goat milk turning to curds and whey for making cheese

Downtown Phoenix at a local bakery/kitchen was where I joined the Barn Goddesses Celia and Pam, who gave me lessons in how to turn goat milk into cheese. I have made mozzarella before but have always wondered if I was missing something so I went to watch the pros. And it actually is that easy and doesn’t require a lot of stressing out. Pour milk into the pot, add citric acid or lemon juice, bring to 95 degrees, add rennet, slice, drain off whey, mix in spices and salt – cheese. In a short 2 hours, anyone can turn a gallon of milk into a pound of cheese. Ok, hard cheeses are a different story, that lesson will come at a future date.

Fresh Mint

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Dinner at Fresh Mint vegetarian restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona

I don’t review restaurants here on my blog but this new place in Scottsdale is worth mentioning due to the rarity of just such an eatery. Fresh Mint is a vegetarian restaurant that is no less than wonderful. I am not a vegetarian but my wife Caroline is, so finding a place that caters to her likes is quite the coup. Add to the equation that I love it too and we have a winning new restaurant we will return to often. On our first visit last week we tried the pepper steak and the green apple tofu curry – both were awesome. Yes, I did say steak, and yes I did say vegetarian; the steak is some kind of soy product. I don’t really want to know precisely what it is, suffice to say it was delicious. This evening we had the rainbow vegetable stirfry and the soy beef delight noodles. The banana fritters on tapioca as a dessert hit the spot. We love Fresh Mint, a big Thank You to the owners who up and left Maui to open this new outlet, bringing us a small taste of paradise.

Storm in the Distance

JWise Photo of the Day

Monsoon clouds on the horizon approaching Phoenix

It’s getting late in July and there hasn’t been much of a monsoon season yet. Late this afternoon, though, thunderheads appeared on the horizon. Try as I might I couldn’t capture one of the many lightning bolts that appeared at the base of the anvil. I spent the day freezing carrots, freezing squash, making granola, and an Indian dish called kadhai paneer that will find its way into the freezer. I also donated nearly a hundred of our books to the library in our continuing efforts to downsize. After spending the day on the domestic front a nice hard storm with a house rattling thunder and lightning show would have given some real excitement to the day.