Hi everyone! As you can probably tell, it has been a (exactly, though incidentally) a month since i last uploaded (instead of the promised two weeks). The sad fact of the matter is that i haven't been feeling or acting solarpunk at all. i've been very busy with work and with finals-- over the past month i've also celebrated my birthday and began xmas shopping, neither of which was zero-waste or even very environmentally responsible (i wasn't out killing baby seals or, worse, buying gifts off amazon, but i got a lot of very nice new gifts and purchased a lot of brand-new gifts). but in the interests of not beating myself up and focusing on the progress i've been making, here's a list of things i've been thinking or working on!

• 1. the mending blitz continues! not to point fingers (zara, your days are numbered) but my partner's work apparel has basically been shredding apart at the seams; over the past week i've mended three pairs of pants (including a tricky crotch-of-pants mend that i'm pretty proud of) and i have several pairs of socks to fix as well. i've also gotten back into weaving; right now i'm working on a small woven pouch. while i have a hand loom waiting in the wings, i'm still using the very basic method of pins-in-cardboard to finish this project
• 2. i successfully managed to convince my partner to get a library card! not only am i excited for him i'm also pretty excited for another person to be using the library system! i try to be a library evangelist but he's the first person i've converted; hopefully there will be more in the future :3
• 3. while i wasn't very on top of xmas gifts this year, i would love to gift more handmade and sustainable gifts rather than just purchasing something from a store! here's a list of potential homemade gift ideas, ranked from least to most difficult (at least in my view)
• - vanilla extract (vanilla beans soaked in vodka)
• - brandied cherries (cherries soaked in brandy)
• - sundried tomatoes (bonus points: grow your own tomatoes!)
• - a string of dried chilis (bonus points: grow your own chiles)
• - caramels or other homemade candy
• - homemade cookies (i was thinking of macarons, because they're pretty impressive, but if i remember correctly kind of a pain in the neck to make)
• - homemade chili oil or other condiments (homemade ketchup? mustard? MUSHROOM KETCHUP???)
• - fancy salt (combine different seasonings with salt; this year i made a smoked seaweed salt which was fantastic; so good, i used it all myself (:'I) )
• - homemade pickles (don't be afraid to try different veggies! green beans, jalapenos and asparagus all make fantastic pickles)
• - make your own tea blend! (bonus: use foraged herbs but if you do so please be careful!)
• - handicrafts (crochet, knitting, weaving, sewing etc) next year i think it would be awesome if i could... weave something (maybe dish towels? idk)
• - advanced cooking projects like curing your own olives, curing your own charcuterie, making your own cheese, preserves etc.
• 4. i've been noodling around with some stuff like public transit and how to improve it in my area (#walkingpilled) and solarpunk clothing that integrates cultural dress (all i want is to be able to wear a mamianqun and a tshirt!!! but idek where to get one that isnt like terrible aliexpress quality) (also #actuallychinese)
• 5. okay this wasn't a very extensive entry but i hope you enjoyed! xoxo jess