Felt Like Knitting

Farmers market goodies

There have been some farmers markets springing up around here lately.  Since my own garden isn't yet producing much and since Carole is really inspiring with her CSA posts, I decided to try out one of the markets.  It was a really fun experience that I hope to repeat soon!

            

Local honey, soap containing Dead Sea mud, peaches, zucchini (different from the variety I'm used to), arugula, cucumbers, squash, and beets.  It's all been delicious!  Here's what we tried first...

 +  

I don't remember ever making rolled biscuits before.  When I do occasionally make biscuits, they're always drop biscuits because I get lazy.  Making these biscuits really was a pretty easy process.  They were tasty, but I doubt I'd win any prizes for them! 

Yes, there has been knitting

                  

In my last post I mentioned that I had been knitting some dishcloths.  These are most of the cloths I've knit recently.  Some are already in use and weren't clean for the photo shoot.  All but the white ones will be gifts.  Details are on Ravelry.

Here is one of my favorites:

             

This is the Playful Plaid Clothand it's a lot of fun to knit.  The long slipped stitches you see were made by wrapping the needle twice.  When I knit it the next time, I'll probably wrap the needle three times because the cloth was kind of puckery before I blocked it.

Right now I'm knitting a round dishcloth, which I haven't done before.  It's a quick knit and I could have had it mostly done already, but I couldn't figure out where I was off and I reknitted a section at least three times.  There are some really pretty cloths on Ravelry.

Have lap, will sit

You know it's been a long time since you've posted when Typepad has changed the layout of the posting page!  I guess I've been in a bit of a blogging, knitting, emailing funk lately.  I've only been able to muster up enough knitting energy to knit dishcloths...lots of dishcloths.  Pictures of those to come...

Most of my energy lately has gone into adopting our dog.  I didn't realize how much of an emotional toll the process would take.  I have a greater appreciate for people who have been/are involved in the adoption process for children!  (I'm not saying that adopting a pet is anything like adopting a child.  But this experience has given me a glimpse into the waiting/hoping/disappointment/joy...)

And now, without further ado, I present Trump!

               

                                               "Go ahead, make my day."

Trump really is the sweetest boy, he's just tired in this picture.  :)  His favorite thing to do is to crawl up into my lap if I'm sitting.  I'm not kidding - I'm getting nothing done around here!  But that's okay.  He has some issues with fearfulness and if he feels comfortable on my lap, then I'm happy about it.  I was afraid he wouldn't come to any of us, but he's doing fine.

The only issue we're having is that he refuses to go to the bathroom.  He's not used to being on a leash, so we bought an exercise pen to put outside.  He walks around it inside once then lies down.  We got him on Saturday morning and he finally went (...on the dining room rug!!!  He's a quick one apparently, because we were watching him like a hawk.) sometime on Sunday afternoon.  And he hasn't gone since.  Do you have any tips? 

ETA:  I think we've made some progress.  It never dawned on me that Trump's harness could also be causing him some stress.  He wanted out of his crate tonight after he went to bed and he was roaming around without his harness - totally different dog.  I took him back out to his pen (with no harness) and he peed a river.  I should have left him out there longer because he decided to poop on the rug while we were playing with his toy.  Progress is good! 

Friday's Flowers - Lilies

                                    

Kim mentioned that she'll be starting Friday's Flowers again and it dawned on me that I've been very lax in my flower photography.  Today's flowers are lilies.  These particular lilies come with a little story.

Yesterday I was running errands and stopped in at Trader Joe's for granola bars.  They had just opened the doors and it didn't take me long to do my shopping, so I was the first customer.  The checkout clerk rang the bell and yelled "First customer of the day!"  Then they gave me flowers.  How cool was that?  I was surprised enough to have the bell clanging, but getting flowers was really special.

Here's a tip for you that my neighbor taught me...  Lily pollen stains fabric easily.  When the blooms open up, use a napkin to remove the anthers.  Then you can enjoy the flowers without worrying about your tablecloth or heirloom doily.

Nothing...and everything

It seems that lately I can't gather my thoughts enough to write a coherent post.  But "post on my blog" is on my list of things to do for today, so I need to put something together.  Maybe taking things in chunks will help...

Life

Life is busy right now and May seems to be the new December.  I seriously think December was less hectic.  Activities wind down for the school year, but they also go out with a bang.  The end of school brought the awards ceremony and now graduation.  The end of guitar lessons brought the recital.  And so on...  These are all good and enjoyable things, but they can make life feel rushed.

At the same time things are winding down, other things are gearing up.  The swim team season starts soon.  Vacation Bible School is right around the corner.  (That one is my own fault and warrants a separate post.)  And travel plans are being formulated.  Nothing feels settled and all I really want to do is sit down with my knitting or a good book.  But I'm involved with too many things and there's little time to rest.

This all came into focus for me yesterday while I was at the library.  Our local branch is being renovated and the power had accidentally been cut off.  As a result, it wasn't very crowded and I asked a librarian for some book recommendations.  It was so nice to take a few moments to talk about what she had read and enjoyed.  I soon realized that I had been missing that lately.  People are designed to be social and to interact with each other.  Lately, my interacting has been focused on what needs to be done.

Self

I recently had my eyes checked and was told to order progressive lenses.  I was a little surprised that my distance vision needed correction, too.  The optometrist did say that I could just get reading glasses again, but it's easier to adjust to progressive lenses when one is younger.  So, that's what I have.  There have been good days and bad days with them, but mostly bad.  They just don't seem right to me.  I think the frames are too big or at least not adjusted correctly, so I need to get that looked at.  Then I'll give them another week.  If I can't adjust to the lenses, I'll have to return them.  (Thank goodness for the 30 day trial period!)  Any tips on adjusting to progressive lenses?  [Note:  For some reason, when the picture is enlarged, it looks like I'm starting a unibrow.  I assure you that I don't look like this in real life.  I even sprinted to the mirror to be sure.  ETA:  I'm now obsessed and had to look again.  I had no idea my brows looked this bad.  I assure you that there will be some clean up tomorrow!]

Dog

We decided to get another Pug and applied to two rescue organizations.  We've been accepted by both and are in the process of finding a good fit for a Pug and for us.  We've met some dedicated volunteers and their dogs.  It's been fun playing with furry friends again.

Knitting

                                                    

I've been spending some time on Ravelry lately, mostly with one of the Pug groups and with a dishcloth group (Ravelry links).  Dishcloth knitting seems to fit in well with my attention span these days.

I'm still way behind on my blog reading.  The Bloglines list was close to being caught up after the robotics tournament, but now I'm back to 100+ posts to read.  I'm sorry I've been out of touch!

Asparagus

Michelle and Katie asked for pictures of an asparagus plant.  Here's what my plants look like now:

 

*Please excuse the weeds!

In the first picture, you see an asparagus spear just popping up from the ground.  This is what the plant first looks like in spring.  You have to wait until the third year before you can harvest a lot of asparagus.  The second picture shows what the asparagus spears look like when they are left to grow.  (Click the picture for a clearer view.)  The tips of the spears branch out and start to turn into leaves, as shown in the third picture.  In the summer, the plants are very pretty and grow red berries.

Catching up and Friday's Flowers

After being at the robotics World Festival last week, it's taking me a while to catch up.  I have a bazillion things to do, but I'm walking around in a fog like I have all the time in the world.  I missed doing a Wednesday night bullet post, so I'm going to do one now.

*  World Festival was such a blast!  The whole event was extremely well organized and ran like clockwork.  Everyone had a great time and we met so many friendly people from around the world.  E's team won a Judges' Award and they were very honored and excited to do so.  (The Judges' Award is defined as follows:  Many high quality teams don’t exactly fit the mold for an existing award, but are nonetheless deserving. Some teams have a story that profoundly sets them apart in a unique way. Sometimes, a given award is just too close to call. This award gives the judges the freedom to recognize the most remarkable teams for which a standard award does not exist.)

*  I keep reading a few blog posts every day, but I still have 70 entries to read.

*  Yesterday I put in some of my garden.  The ground is already dry and I hope this isn't an indication of how much rain we'll get this summer.  So far I've put in some tomatoes, peppers, and dill.  I also moved some asparagus and a gerbera daisy.  (A few years ago I planted a package of gerbera daisy seeds.  The plants have done well, but are kind of crowded.  So I moved this plant two years ago and it is doing great in the garden.  Now I just have to move the others to make them happy, too.)

                   

*  Our yard is filled with blooms!  The azaleas are loaded and my lilac looks the best it has ever looked.  (It didn't even bloom last year.)

*  Last night I made Gnocchi with Asparagus and Pancetta from the April 2008 Cooking Light magazine.  It was delicious and a definite "do over."  The hardest part of making this recipe was trying to figure out how to correctly pronounce gnocchi and pancetta.

*  There has been knitting.  But I think I'll show that to you later so I can get out in the garden.  Or maybe I'll make some reusable grocery bags.  Or perhaps I'll do some shopping.  Whatever I do, I think I'll take the day for me.  :)

You know you're getting older when...

Your daughter tries on (and likes) shoes that you would have worn in high school or college.  You decide not to tell her that you wore espadrilles, plaid clothing, and wedges back in the day.

She tries on these shoes during a shopping excursion with her friends.  My daughter is old enough to want to go shopping with her friends?  When did that happen?

You watch the Masters and realize, again, that the players whose names you recognize don't usually make it to the top anymore.  (Greg Norman is still my favorite.)  At least the winner isn't quite young enough to be my kid.  That would make me feel even older.

You go out to brunch on Sunday after church and the 20-something year old server calls you "young lady," presumably to get a better tip.  Hello?!  It even makes me feel older to be offended by his comment.

You read your blog post to your daughter, who then comments that you look like you're in your thirties.  She tells you later she was trying to comfort you.  She then denies that she was trying to comfort you and says she really doesn't think you look that old.

Really, though, I'm happy with my age (mid-40s).  Sometimes I just get a wake-up call that I'm not as young as I used to be.  Considering that I may only be half-way done with my earthly life, I should get used to this feeling!  :)

Spring Break

This is our spring break week, but we decided to stay home to prepare for the robotics competition.  We'll be going camping later this spring, seeing our families in Ohio this summer, and going to Disney in the fall.  But, it still feels like we should be somewhere since so many neighbors and friends are gone this week. 

Do you ever make big plans when you have a chunk of time?  And do you usually get through all your plans?  I've made a schedule for the week and I think I planned too many things.  I'm struggling just to catch up on the laundry, clean the guest room for my in-laws, make doctor's appointments, etc.  I guess there will be no basement cleaning this week!  What a shame...

There has been some knitting on Clapotis and the Chevron scarf.  And I've done a bit of sewing:

This wristlet is for me to use when I do the grocery shopping.  I'm tired of my purse hanging on me while I'm pushing the cart around.  Now I can use this wristlet and just include my wallet and coupons.  It's bigger than I should have made it, but it's not bad for a prototype.  I didn't realize until now that the pieced strip is somewhat askew.

The cards are for a friend's birthday.  I was following Craft Apple's tutorial but since I was sewing late at night, I couldn't get to my iron without waking up my husband.  So I pieced the fabric together then fused it the next day.  I like the way the cards look, but I'm not pleased with the seams.  They're too bulky and you can see the spots where they were pressed to the side.  I'd like to make a few more for my friend, so next I'll try the method in the tutorial.

Both of these projects have been made with supplies I had on hand.  Spending on my hobbies is out of control and I've committed to pare it down.  I've talked about this before, but I haven't done much about it until now.  There have recently been some thought-provoking posts at Knitty Gritty Thoughts which have furthered my desire to use what I have. 

Oops, I just realized that I said my next post would be about my wheel and spinning.  I guess that will have to wait until next time.  Maybe by then I'll have more handspun pictures for you.  Have a great rest of the week!

It's all random

For days, blogging ideas have been swirling through my head.  Since I haven't developed any of these into full posts, I'll share them as a Wednesday Night Bullet Post.

*  On Saturday, I got to meet Christy!  She was visiting her in-laws who live nearby and we met at Only Ewe And Cotton Too, which is where I took my spinning classes.  We behaved ourselves and didn't buy the whole store, even though we were tempted.  It was great to meet you, Christy!

*  That same day in the mail, there was a sweet card from KM.  Thank you for such a nice surprise, KM!

*  I went shopping the other day for a new shirt or two since the weather is getting warmer.  Could I find anything?  No!  A lot of the shirts were made of thin, slinky material that shows off curves I don't want to show off.  Other shirts had prints on them.  What I want is a plain cotton button-up shirt with short sleeves that cover at least 6 inches of my arm.

*  I ended up buying cool sunglasses instead.  That made me feel better.  (I took pictures to show you, but my makeup has partially worn off and that's not a good look for me.)  Just picture Bono and you'll have an idea of what my glasses look like.  Remember, I wanna be a rock star and these glasses could help me get there.  :)

*  Speaking of that, we played a new song at practice tonight.  It had a great bluesy feel to it and we ended the song with a blues riff.  I was able to come up with something on the fly and that doesn't always happen.  I think my lessons and additional practicing are paying off!

*  Wikipedia is a wonderful invention.

*  My Clapotis is coming along and I'm to the point where I'm dropping stitches.  Fun!

*  I uploaded pictures of my sock yarn to Ravelry the other day.  Then I found more yarn.

*  My wheel arrived and I have spun DK weight yarn on it.  The problem is that this yarn has no give to it.  You know how usually yarn is a bit springy when you pull it then loosen your grip?  And you know how rope isn't springy when you do that?  This yarn is more like rope.  Do you think this means I'm overspinning it in my efforts to get it thinner?

*  I'll tell you all about my wheel in a different post, but here's a picture for now.  It feels really great to have my own wheel!  I still can't believe it.

*  You can tell by the picture that spring has come to north Georgia.  But we still have warm days followed by cold days. 

*  Oh, I went back to the store yesterday to find a pair of jeans.  I only have two pairs of jeans that fit and now one pair is too big and one pair is ripping.  I was able to buy jeans in the next smallest size.  Yippee!

*  I'm still slowly but surely working on my movie list.  My library has lots of movies and I recently watched Citizen Kane and On the Waterfront.  Both were great movies!  I'm now watching Lawrence of Arabia.

This concludes the random bullets for tonight.  My next post will be all about my spinning wheel and what's coming off of it!