Planning

I will be leaving on Sunday morning for my week long VDOE job in Richmond, and it occurred to me that I better start thinking about what knitting I'm taking. As the Wingspan is done, I think that I will take the cotton cardigan and the Citron, in the interest of something old and something new. I'm also going to take some of the novels for my English class, although apparently the trend is to devote 75% of the curriculum on non-fiction. Not sure how I feel about that just yet, but I'm sure I'll have an opinion soon enough.

 

Here is a photo of the unblocked Wingspan, using the Hipstamatic app.

 



And this is the long sidewalk that I edged and Steve cleaned up last night. I bet the grass was overgrown at least an inch on each side, so it was tough going. Stuff on my body hurts that I didn't know I had. Ideally we will keep up with the maintenance, but I won't bet the house on it.

I wanted to do the front sidewalk this morning, but I was just too beat. There's always tomorrow!

 

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What a Treat

I spent a delightful couple of hours hanging out with Deborah, aka Caffeine Girl, today. Since we're both teachers and knitters, we talked shop while working on our respective shawls. It was such a treat. Afterwards, I met my sweet husband for a lunch date, then ran a couple of errands, including having tea with my mom. I picked up ten bags of mulch, and after Steve left to go play tennis, I got to work in the yard.

 

I put down new edging, to keep the mulch from washing away, then started dumping the bags.

 

The edging on these two sections was put in last year, so I just added mulch.

 

It may not be perfect, but it sure looks a lot better. Next up, painting the porch, (check out Rudee's!) although it will have to wait, since I'll be out of town next week. Thank goodness, because I'm getting pretty tired!

 

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Summer in the City

I wish I was the kind of person who didn't need air conditioning, but it turns out I'm not. Therefore, I just spent $1500 to have the one in my car replaced. Yikes. Luckily, I'll be earning about half of that next week, so I'm grateful. Sort of.

I am glad that the weather has cooled off this week. Last week was so brutal, I actually think I was sick from it. At any rate, something made me feel awful Monday, and caused me to do a lot of napping and not much else. Luckily I felt much, much better yesterday, and spent some time in the yard, cutting grass, pruning some dead branches, and weeding the rose bed. I also did a heavy mulch on it, and started cleaning out the corner bed. The next thing on my list is porch painting, but I'm still unsure about the color. The siding on our house is yellow and the trim is white, so we're thinking aubergine, to add a little contrast. Thoughts?

I also want to do some sewing, especially after looking through the book, Improv Sewing. There are some great ideas, but the one I'm most drawn to is the baby quilt, especially since I'll be able to use my thrifted sheet collection to make it.

And I've been doing a lot of reading lately too, both in book and blog formats. I'm pulling books off of my shelf and either reading them, or posting them on BookMooch. Or reading and posting on BookMooch. Not sure if I can keep up with the trips to the post office once school starts, but it's working for now.

I did buy the book, Dinner: A Love Story, as I predicted, and I'm really enjoying it. It has motivated me to try doing something for dinner, even if it's only tuna salad (which is what I made for Steve's dinner tonight). There's no reason I can't come up with something, especially during the summer. That said, I met Melissa for dinner tonight at a restaurant we both like, and afterwards, we walked around for awhile, enjoying the cooler weather, the lovely flowers, and the time together. I feel so lucky anytime I spend time with my daughters, as I so enjoy their company.

 

Aren't these colors marvelous?

 

 

 

 

 

This tile is one of three decorating a wall post. Notice the nails cemented around it?

I love this gargoyle; it's one of a pair at someone's house along our walk.

And tomorrow, I'm meeting Deborah, of Caffeine Girl, for our third annual get together! Can't wait!

 

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Redwing

I am making progress on the Wingspan, now that I have my mistake frogged and everything is back on the needles. The pattern calls for eight sections, but I think this will end up being nine. No sense not using as much of the yarn as I can, and the first skein yielded almost five, I think. I definitely want to make another using worsted weight, but I think I'll complete a few of my unfinished projects first.

Although, I just saw this lovely project on PurlBee's site, so you never know.

My new obsession, which Steve is fervently hoping lasts awhile, are new-to-me food blogs, which should lead to actual meals around here. He has been reveling in the number of salads in the refrigerator this weekend. Ready to eat food makes him happy. This business of beans and rice in the pantry mean nothing to him. He wants ready to eat, especially with all the Wimbledon on this weekend. Really, who doesn't want that?

One of the blogs is called Dinner: A Love Story, and it offers quick and easy meal ideas, with a dollop of humor and family life. Plus, the authors have a new book out, which I'll probably buy soon. Another nice food blog is Sweet Almondine. And of course, Smitten Kitchen is always great. And Orangette, although her foods are usually a little beyond me somehow. Oh, and Eating From the Ground Up is such a nice one too. I'm sure I'm leaving some really great ones out, but these will give you a place to start, if you are so inclined.

 

Today is shaping up to be a perfect summer Sunday. I went to the beach this morning, and now I'm headed to my favorite coffee shop for an iced coffee, before heading to the movies, where I'm meeting Melissa and a friend of mine. I'm thinking I'll head back to the beach this afternoon to top it off. Have I mentioned how much I love summer? Hope you are staying cool.

 

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Hot Weather Food

Not having a working air conditioner in my car focuses the mind a bit. I had invited my parents over for dinner tonight and I told them it was going to be a variety of salads, because the air conditioner in our house struggles to keep it below 80 degrees when it is this hot, and I don't plan on using the oven until, say, September. To beat the heat, I was at the grocery this morning at 7:00 a.m., and I had everything done and in the refrigerator by 9:30 a.m. I went through my Everyday Food collection and made my list last night, so I was ready bright and early this morning. Which was good, because it was 85 degrees by 7:30 a.m. But I've been terrible at making meals lately, so I knew by inviting people over, I'd get motivated.

I made a pasta/tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, a chicken/artichoke salad, a tuna/apple salad, a corn/radish/chilies salad, and a TexMex 7-layer dip for a little something different. Oh, and fresh blueberries and strawberries with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I love "cooking" this way, and hopefully I will do a little better, at least for the next week or so, now that I've gotten started.

Corn and radish salad from July/August 2004 (pretty, but a little bland, needs something)

 

Pasta salad, inspired by rigatoni with tomatoes and mozzarella, from June 2004, heavily modified.

 

8 layer dip, June 2010 (this was as delicious as it was pretty)

The chicken salad was a bit bland, but the apple/tuna salad was excellent. I used a recipe from Allrecipes for it, and I'll definitely make it again.

 

Did I mention it was hot here?

 

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Drifting and a Project Roundup

I feel as if I'm drifting through the summer days. So today, I got up early and got some errands done before the heat got too bad.

I decided to tackle the UFO basket, but for some reason, nothing completed itself since the last time I checked it. As a matter of fact, I think a few things must have started themselves.

 

The big scarf, using Quince & Co.'s Puffin. Not loving it, but maybe should finish it anyway?

This is a cowl in UVA colors that has been in hibernation for quite some time.

The sweater I started using Classic Elite Pebbles yarn from a 40% sale. Lost momentum when I realized I had only brought the one ball with me on our trip to the Jersey Shore.

Baby sweater.

Baby sweater.

A cowl so old and kind of boring, that it's not even on my project page.

Good old Citron, still waiting. Even has a lifeline in it.

Another baby sweater.

Baby sweater.

Shawl I should rip out and start over. Or not.

OMG, another baby sweater!

The Stripe Study Shawl from last summer.

And to top it off, I just realized I messed up somewhere at the beginning of the 7th triangle of my Wingspan! Not looking forward to ripping back, so I'll wait until tomorrow, when my eyes are fresh and I have a little more patience than I do just now.

Oh, and did I mention that my car's AC just died today, when it was 100 degrees outside? Good times.

 

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Lucky

My parents lost another tree to lightning this past weekend, but they consider themselves blessed, as no damage was done to the house, shed, or fence. That makes two trees lost to lightning in the past four years, which must be above the average for a suburban house in Virginia.

 

Steve and I worked on our yard this weekend, despite the heat. I think we have gotten it back in control, for the most part. I've been getting things done inside the house too, although not as quickly as I'd like. But I'm taking time to enjoy myself too, so I need to be realistic about my expectations.

 

I don't think I accomplished a thing today though. For some reason I ended up taking two naps! Needless to say, I'm going to be up late tonight. Must be my tough schedule of watching The Forsyte Saga and knitting. Yeah, that's it.

 

 

 

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