Into the Garden

(Not my photo...mine were smaller, but no bug bites at least!)

Whew! It's almost summer, and I've been in the garden. This year, the garden at work seems to have fallen somewhat to me, so I've been out there planting and, just today, harvesting. Our baby bok choy is already matured...isn't THAT an oxymoron...mature babies. Hmmm...

So, anyway, I harvested the bok choy babes and cooked them up with some frozen stir-fry veggies for my lunch. All the residents in the house decided to go eat at the local restaurant and left me to whip up something for myself. I have to tell you - the fresh boy choy was far superior to the frozen veggies in both texture and taste. There's nothing better than fresh, I think. After a bite of fresh bok choy, I got a mouthful of frozen broccoli and green beans, and even though they were no longer frozen, steamy hot and seasoned well, there was the residual taste of FREEZER. Hmm...not so great. So now I'm spoiled. I doubt the guys in the house will have anything to say about the fresher taste...they prefer instant mashed potatoes over real ones...but they might enjoy the idea that their veggies are coming from their own garden.

Anyhoooo...I have my own garden plot at the ranch, which is a benefit for employees. I took over the failed strawberry patch and planted green beans, peas, two varieties of eggplant, and some lettuce varieties. Some other things, too, but I can't remember right off what they were. I planted some things that I love and can't wait to eat, and some other things that I also love, but have never grown for one reason or another. And some herbs...basil being my favorite, I planted an entire row of bush basil. I have some mizuna and mesclun to plant, and I started some cress that I can hardly wait to have in my summer salads. There is also a large pot into which I plan to transplant lettuce and cress and herbs for salad additions for the house I work in. I'm not sure if the taste will be too different for the residents...they tend to want the same things all the time. Change is hard for them. New flavors and colors in the food aren't met with the greatest of enthusiasm.

(also not my photo...mine is much smaller and just starting to come up in it's little cups!)

But there is it... my own gardening enthusiasm is overtaking me and sweeping me out into the garden every evening! I'm out there watering, weeding, and peeping into the little garden boxes, hoping to see little green cultivar tops popping through the soil.

I am not, however, putting aside my fiber. I will have pictures to show you after my spinning of aqua-colored mohair is a little more advanced on the spindle.

House and Garden Projects

My house is beginning to come together. I had some months of feeling depressed every time I walked in, but I think I'm making progress, at least in my attitude toward it. The upstairs bathroom is still not operative, but the living room now looks like a living room. The bedroom is almost finished and so is the kitchen. All I lack for the 3 rooms is baseboard trim. The bathroom - well, I can't hold the 2-piece pedestal sink together and bolt it to the wall all at the same time, so I need some help with that and I don't know how to install a toilet. But not much else is needed aside from those two key pieces. I need to sew up a couple of sets of curtains and find a couple of area rugs for the bedrooms.

One of my greatest pleasures is to spend time in my own home. It's my escape from the insanity of what's "out there." I have always made my home, wherever I was, my sanctuary. I was looking at a recent copy of "The Herb Quarterly", and it had an article about making an outdoor "room" with some blinds to create "walls", potted plants, maybe an indoor/outdoor carpet, and lawn furniture. I have the perfect space for that! I already have the lawn furniture in my dad's shed, so I'm halfway there. It's not that I don't like my neighbors - I do - but I like my privacy, too. This might be my summer project!

I want something like this, in my dreaming mind...I'll never have a pergola since I already have a nice roof over my patio, but I think I could dress it up a bit and make a nice space anyway.

In my backyard, I have the old bathtub from my bathroom renovation. It's languishing back there, waiting for me to paint it some pretty color instead of it's current chipped, ugly yellow. I think I could paint it lavender or green, and paint little flowers on the side, to make it look like a garden, even if the live garden fails. I plan to fill it with compost and soil, then plant herbs and flowers in it. I also need to replant one end of my clothes line. Argh. Leftovers from the renters. I also need to cut the tallish stump of the dead tree very short, and replant another tree somewhere. I want a shade tree out there. I wonder if I'll live long enough to see one actually provide shade. My roses are recovering nicely, and all summer they tried to spread.

Avocado Annie and a knit-along

Remember last year, when I started a couple of avocado trees in jelly jars? And remember how Celeste loved one of them to death? Well, the OTHER one has survived - survived Celeste love, survived living nearly a year in a tiny clay pot, AND survived being transplanted into a nice-sized pot. Here she is, Avocado Annie:

I spent my weekend doing some experimenting. I plied a lace weight yarn with itself, and loved the results! So, I did some more, and these are going to be my next knit-along socks. The first skeins I plied (I believe this is known as "cabling") were grass green and "Pasture Berries" colorways. I really like this combination. It makes a little more substantial yarn for socks, which I need because my choice of dpns is limited to size 3 and size 8. Nothing smaller, nothing larger, and nothing in between.

And the second pair of skeins that I plied were in the "Pasture Berries" colorway.

After I finish my first Odyssey Rock Ranch knit-along socks, and have figured out all the mistakes that I made along the way, then I'll use this one to make a "good" pair - hopefully no mistakes. Right now, after ripping and ripping out row after row, then re-knitting to rip again, my yarn is getting a little fuzzy-looking. My mantra these last couple of days has been, "I'm smarter than the string...I AM smarter than the string...", which brings me to a picture of my first sock in this knit-along (like my tanned leg? heh, just overlook the stocking...I'm just home for lunch and Had to see how my sock was coming along):

I'm not done with it, obviously, but am closing in on the foot! The clock pattern is messy, but my second try at this will be much better, I promise! I have been learning SO MUCH with this project, and having fun with it, too! So grab your needles and join me on the Great Wooly Works Knitalong!