Remember the little produce bag I made for the apples. Well, I thought the ribbon yarn is not very stretchy - wrong, as you can see.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Farmer's Market
We made it there at 8 am today and it was getting hot already. We got chicken, eggs, potatoes, peppers, apples and peaches. The peaches are so good, what a difference between peaches picked when they are ripe and those you buy in the store. The eggs are from a different farm today, they come in different colors. Can't wait to try them.
Remember the little produce bag I made for the apples. Well, I thought the ribbon yarn is not very stretchy - wrong, as you can see.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Remember the little produce bag I made for the apples. Well, I thought the ribbon yarn is not very stretchy - wrong, as you can see.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Weekend
Our weekend included a trip to the farmer's market, a lot of trying to stay cool, fresh watermelon, homemade ginger ale, yummy food, re-watching a favorite TV series on tape and plenty of rest.
My weekend included a lot of un-knitting and re-knitting. Remember that yellow/orange/brown shawl I started last week? Well, when I got to the lace edging it turned out that somewhere along the line I must have made a mistake and so I ended up with a different number of stitches before and after the middle stitch. A visual search of where the mistake might have happened did not yield anything so I frogged it all and started over. Luckily the slightly fuzzy yarn was cooperative and did not snag too much. Now I am doing security counts every few rows just to be sure. ;)
My weekend included a lot of un-knitting and re-knitting. Remember that yellow/orange/brown shawl I started last week? Well, when I got to the lace edging it turned out that somewhere along the line I must have made a mistake and so I ended up with a different number of stitches before and after the middle stitch. A visual search of where the mistake might have happened did not yield anything so I frogged it all and started over. Luckily the slightly fuzzy yarn was cooperative and did not snag too much. Now I am doing security counts every few rows just to be sure. ;)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Produce Bag
I made this yesterday with ribbon yarn I received from a friend. Now my farmer's market apples can ride home in style. ;)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Knitting and Reading
Happy Wednesday, another week halfway over and it is going to be a scorcher today, yikes!
Whenever I finish a project I allow myself to start a new one. I was looking for something pretty, not too complicated and that would show off the color change in the yarn well. I found the Eliina Shawl. So far I am enjoying it very much. I never thought I would actually enjoy knitting with lace yarn but I do. This is my second project with Patons Lace and both times I bought the yarn because I liked the color. I am still reading "A Homemade Life" and I am not too thrilled with it, I know it is the result of the authors blogging and it does read more like a blog than a book, but I will finish it.
Hop on over to Ginny and get inspired to read and knit.
Whenever I finish a project I allow myself to start a new one. I was looking for something pretty, not too complicated and that would show off the color change in the yarn well. I found the Eliina Shawl. So far I am enjoying it very much. I never thought I would actually enjoy knitting with lace yarn but I do. This is my second project with Patons Lace and both times I bought the yarn because I liked the color. I am still reading "A Homemade Life" and I am not too thrilled with it, I know it is the result of the authors blogging and it does read more like a blog than a book, but I will finish it.
Hop on over to Ginny and get inspired to read and knit.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Sewing
I actually did some sewing today. I made 10 drawstring bags for the Pink Slipper Project as part of their Christmas in July Challenge. They will accompany the knitted washcloths and bath mitts I made.
Finished
I took advantage of the cooler temperatures on the weekend and finished a shawl. I used the pattern for The Bird's Nest Shawl by Cheryl Oberle but did only two pattern repeats. It is rectangular and pretty long. I enjoyed knitting the pattern. The yarn is Simply Soft in grey heather.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday
I am really enjoying our weekly trip to the farmer's market. Today we bought a nice piece of beef for Sunday dinner, a watermelon, lots of peaches (I see a peach cake in the near future), peppers, eggs and the first apples. I could not resist and ate one right there and then, they are delicious. And the peaches are perfect.
This is a little bit of a miracle. I am actually getting tomatoes off my ravaged plants. Maybe there will be homemade tomato sauce for my pizzas after all.
The weather is much cooler today but it is very humid. After the market we went to HobbyLobby. I had a very bad day yesterday and needed a little pick-me-up. I bought some yarn for a new project. We went home, dropped our goodies and then went to the Village Fair at Mendenhall Plantation. I was mainly interested in seeing the historic buildings. I love old houses, their layout usually makes so much more sense then that of modern ones. Right next to the kitchen is the spring house, combined with pantry and smoke house and a well, very convenient. The house was built in 1811 and belonged to a Quaker family.
Now I am off to the kitchen to work some magic.
This is a little bit of a miracle. I am actually getting tomatoes off my ravaged plants. Maybe there will be homemade tomato sauce for my pizzas after all.
The weather is much cooler today but it is very humid. After the market we went to HobbyLobby. I had a very bad day yesterday and needed a little pick-me-up. I bought some yarn for a new project. We went home, dropped our goodies and then went to the Village Fair at Mendenhall Plantation. I was mainly interested in seeing the historic buildings. I love old houses, their layout usually makes so much more sense then that of modern ones. Right next to the kitchen is the spring house, combined with pantry and smoke house and a well, very convenient. The house was built in 1811 and belonged to a Quaker family.
Now I am off to the kitchen to work some magic.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Knitting and Reading
Happy Wednesday everyone. Time for another yarn along with Ginny.
In between trying to stay cool and caring for the new additions to our family I am not getting too much knitting done. I have put all my larger projects on hold and I am knitting washcloths and bath mitts for the Pink Slipper Project, doing more stash busting. I am reading (or rather trying to read) "A Homemade Life".
In between trying to stay cool and caring for the new additions to our family I am not getting too much knitting done. I have put all my larger projects on hold and I am knitting washcloths and bath mitts for the Pink Slipper Project, doing more stash busting. I am reading (or rather trying to read) "A Homemade Life".
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
"S" is for Sucker
Have you noticed the big S on my back, on my forehead, painted all over my house and garden? Well, the cats have and they must be the ones that put them there. I can't help it I am just a sucker when it comes to cats.
We have known for about a week that one of the neighborhood cats was hiding kittens in our garden shed. So far, so good. We were going to wait until they are big enough for her to bring them out like MamaCat did a couple of years ago. BUT - the weather forecast for today calls for a heat index of 104, not good for little tiny baby cats. So we decided to get them in the morning and move the whole family into the basement. Our basement has a window and gets daylight.
Change of plan. Last night a raccoon came into the back yard and I was worried that the mama cat would try to tangle with it to defend the young ones. So we lured her into the basement with food and out we went with flashlights and basket to capture the kittens. Well, our garden shed is a bit creepy in broad daylight - we don't use it and after cleaning it out a bit we never went in there - but in the dark it is way creepier, only one thing to do, don't think about all the creepy crawlies and go in. We did. We found the little fur balls, I caught the feisty one, it fought like crazy, amazing how hard it can be to hold on to a handful of cat if it does not want to be held. Del got hold of the other one and we brought them in. I had set up a big box on its side for them to hide in and I popped them into the box. Then I got the mama cat to show her where they were because she tried to get out to get back to her babies. She saw them and then laid down protectively in front of the box.
I am just glad none of the neighbors called the cops on us, it must have looked strange, people with flashlights traipsing around the garden and disappearing into the shed and then run like hades back to the house.
I had a bad night. Too much adrenalin and way too hot, I did not sleep well. Brownie and MamaCat were very upset by all the late evening activity and I think they saw us bring in the kittens. Those two are very protective of their new home and I think we would have a hard time adding more cats to the family.
This morning I checked on them and they seem fine. Mama cat is purring and seems to have forgiven me. The basement is a bit damp at the moment but way cooler than the shed would be. I think the kittens are about 4 - 5 weeks old and I will try later in the week to see if they are ready to eat solid food. As to what I am going to do with them I don't know yet. Time will tell, we will cross that bridge when we reach it.
The funny thing is, that yesterday afternoon I had decided not to interfere and not always feel responsible to take care of the results of other people's irresponsible actions. But hey, what have those poor little fur balls done to deserve suffering in the heat? As I said - SUCKER!!
We have known for about a week that one of the neighborhood cats was hiding kittens in our garden shed. So far, so good. We were going to wait until they are big enough for her to bring them out like MamaCat did a couple of years ago. BUT - the weather forecast for today calls for a heat index of 104, not good for little tiny baby cats. So we decided to get them in the morning and move the whole family into the basement. Our basement has a window and gets daylight.
Change of plan. Last night a raccoon came into the back yard and I was worried that the mama cat would try to tangle with it to defend the young ones. So we lured her into the basement with food and out we went with flashlights and basket to capture the kittens. Well, our garden shed is a bit creepy in broad daylight - we don't use it and after cleaning it out a bit we never went in there - but in the dark it is way creepier, only one thing to do, don't think about all the creepy crawlies and go in. We did. We found the little fur balls, I caught the feisty one, it fought like crazy, amazing how hard it can be to hold on to a handful of cat if it does not want to be held. Del got hold of the other one and we brought them in. I had set up a big box on its side for them to hide in and I popped them into the box. Then I got the mama cat to show her where they were because she tried to get out to get back to her babies. She saw them and then laid down protectively in front of the box.
I am just glad none of the neighbors called the cops on us, it must have looked strange, people with flashlights traipsing around the garden and disappearing into the shed and then run like hades back to the house.
I had a bad night. Too much adrenalin and way too hot, I did not sleep well. Brownie and MamaCat were very upset by all the late evening activity and I think they saw us bring in the kittens. Those two are very protective of their new home and I think we would have a hard time adding more cats to the family.
This morning I checked on them and they seem fine. Mama cat is purring and seems to have forgiven me. The basement is a bit damp at the moment but way cooler than the shed would be. I think the kittens are about 4 - 5 weeks old and I will try later in the week to see if they are ready to eat solid food. As to what I am going to do with them I don't know yet. Time will tell, we will cross that bridge when we reach it.
The funny thing is, that yesterday afternoon I had decided not to interfere and not always feel responsible to take care of the results of other people's irresponsible actions. But hey, what have those poor little fur balls done to deserve suffering in the heat? As I said - SUCKER!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Weekend
The weekend was very hot and humid but at least no more thunderstorms. We managed to get our weekly shopping done between the first and the second one on Friday night. Here are the pleasures of the weekend:
Early morning garden work followed by a lovely and refreshing breakfast.
A trip to the library - the steamy romance novel in German just does not cut it for me so I am back to more educational reading. ;)
Finding enormous zucchinis in the garden, hidden between the beds.
Reading - started to read 'A Homemade Life'.
Knitting - I made a pledge to the Pink Slipper Project for their Christmas in July Challenge and I am knitting washcloths and bath mitts.
Baking - despite the heat I made zucchini bread.
Cooking - Zucchini fritters on Saturday and chicken wraps with peanut sauce on Sunday.
Now it is time to ease myself into the new week, laundry is waiting to be hung, beds to be changed and bathroom and cat boxes to be cleaned.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Early morning garden work followed by a lovely and refreshing breakfast.
A trip to the library - the steamy romance novel in German just does not cut it for me so I am back to more educational reading. ;)
Finding enormous zucchinis in the garden, hidden between the beds.
Reading - started to read 'A Homemade Life'.
Knitting - I made a pledge to the Pink Slipper Project for their Christmas in July Challenge and I am knitting washcloths and bath mitts.
Baking - despite the heat I made zucchini bread.
Cooking - Zucchini fritters on Saturday and chicken wraps with peanut sauce on Sunday.
Now it is time to ease myself into the new week, laundry is waiting to be hung, beds to be changed and bathroom and cat boxes to be cleaned.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Farmer's Market
It is getting really difficult to stick to my budget for the farmer's market. Everything is looking so good and so fresh and I want to buy it all. Here is what we did buy today: One watermelon, three ears of bi-color corn, a chicken breast (this time from a different farm, a bit more local), two peppers, three onions, a dozen eggs, a pint of blueberries and some whole-wheat couscous. The zucchini is actually from our garden, it just wanted to be in the picture. ;)
Today's lunch was zucchini fritters, corn on the cob and watermelon. Yum!
Shara - I can't answer to your comment. The dish you asked about is a ratatouille style veggie stew with beans, served with couscous.
Today's lunch was zucchini fritters, corn on the cob and watermelon. Yum!
Shara - I can't answer to your comment. The dish you asked about is a ratatouille style veggie stew with beans, served with couscous.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Around the Garden
Three thunderstorms in a row left my garden looking a little discouraged, I hope it will bounce back. I picked the last of the carrots today (note to self: plant more carrots next year!) and I also found another one of those zucchinis that hide until they are huge. Looks like more zucchini curry. The roma tomatoes are suffering from blossom end rot and the whole tomato patch looks a bit sad and yellow. Other people in the area have the same problem so I guess it is the weather. I always have a few tomatoes with that problem but this year all four roma plants are affected. I am already planning the fall garden and have ordered some seeds in addition to the ones I still have. Here are this morning's pictures.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
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