Emerging after the usual weekend Blog Silence to check in. We walked. We watered the garden. (A lot!) We lazed about. We partied. And here we are again at another week. At least this one promises to be warmer and sunnier and much more like the summer we’ve been missing around here. However it’s still colder at night than I (and my plants) prefer although I guess I shouldn’t complain because at least it’s not too hot to sleep. I’m still using my little wooly blankie! In August! Absolutely unheard of. Even here in the Land of Perpetual Gloom.
The peas are just finishing up (late!) and I’ve just started harvesting the lemon cucumbers and filet beans. We’ve had a few teeny summer squashes and Juliet tomatoes. But everything is at least a month behind now. I’m worried that it will all come ripe just when we leave on our September holiday and Milady Daughter will get the benefits of whatever she can harvest while we’re gone. Oh well. Stuff happens. Next year will be a different story, as it always is. And it’s a nice perk for her since she’s kind enough to offer to check on the house for us while we’re away. With an hour’s drive from her house and a baby in tow that’s not as easy as it used to be when she worked close by.
We also celebrated the 7th Birthday of Grandbeastie #1 (aka Super-Princess) yesterday. My, does time fly or what? I brought my camera. And didn’t remove it from my pack. Doh. Since she’s learning how to read we gave her some small easy-reading books to practice with. But I think her favourite gift was a circus tent from her cousins. It fits a couple of kids inside and can be used indoors or out. Like me when I was little, she loves tents and often makes one out of furniture and blankets to crawl into with her toys. This is less creative in setting up but doesn’t collapse on her head! Great gift idea.
In crafty news, I’ve passed the heel turns on T-Man’s Segue Socks and am cruising down the feet. I haven’t had a chance to work on the Black Bamboo Cowl much though so it’s only in the middle of the second of the 8 repeats. I’m liking the results quite a lot so far anyway. The curves of feather-and-fan patterns are fascinating and an occasional cable is a bonus. It’s so dark and blob-shaped that I’ll probably not photograph it until it’s done. I’ve also been teasing that lovely black NZ Corriedale fleece for T’s sweater. I have nearly a large basketful so far but the bag o’wool (actually a pillowcase) doesn’t seem to have depleted much at all. I’m despairing that I’ll have the yarn spun by the time we leave on holiday. I need about 1200 yds of 2-ply worsted-weight which is not a lot of spinning as these things go but definitely a lot of wool to be carded. Might have to consider taking the spinning wheel since I’m not going to spin a man’s sweater worth of wool on a spindle. Klaus, the Louet S-90, does fold and has a carrying bag that I made for it but it’s pretty big to kick around the van for 3 weeks. His little sister, Tori, the Louet Victoria, is much easier to pack but she’s really too small for this job. However, we’ll see how far I can get before then. I have a month. I really want to have the spinning done so I can concentrate on the knitting as we travel.
So T-Man and I have a project for today when he gets home from work. We’re having the eaves and peaks painted on our house and they’re supposed to be coming on Wednesday to pressure wash. So we will be moving the flower pots and the water garden off the deck and out to the yard beforehand to save them from any accidental destruction. No matter how they promise to be careful, it’s much better to get them out of harm’s way ahead of time. The painters will have enough to occupy themselves with trying not to destroy our shrubs which can’t be moved. T and I have kept the bottom section of our house fairly well painted ourselves but the peaks are way too high up for us him to deal with anymore. And we’ve never done under the eaves properly – ever. Time to hire young energetic folks with good insurance to do the high-ladder work. Sometimes you have to realise what you are no longer able to do safely. It’s a fact of aging and one we’re just learning to deal with. Not that we’re old yet. We seem to be able to carry the huge ceramic water garden pot down the stairs ok. Mostly empty of course.
60 is the new 40, right?
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