Monday, May 25, 2009

counting the days

10 days til the IWannaKnit Retreat begins. We're still hoping that Elmer gets his vacation time and he can drive. If not, I have not one but two back up plans.
My oldest daughter and her family have gone to Disney World. It is my granddaughters' first time to go. Part of me wishes I was there. The rest says I'll have more fun at Retreat and we couldn't afford both. I hope they're having a grand time. While they are gone I'm feeding the animals and taking care of the garden. We've had rain ever since they left and I'm pretty tired of it. I can hear my grass growing and that means another allergy attack when it dries enough to cut it.
I'm still working on my Shapely Tee. I really need to get it sewn together before I leave for Retreat. I'm also still working on the Everlasting Blanket. Elmer asked me if I was half way yet. I just shook my head. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'm barely a quarter of the way. He asked how big I'm making it and when I told him it was to fit our bed he asked if I was going to do one for the camper too. Yikes, that's a lot of little squares.
My garden is growing. I had to pull the lettuce since it was beginning to bolt and had a not so nice bitter taste. I think we have about 50 tomato plants. We have cherry, grape, roma, and brandywine growing. They are in the regular garden, hanging in Topsy Turvys, hanging in regular hanging pots, and in buckets out by the garden. If they begin to produce like I think they will we will be donating some to our local food pantry and will still have more than enough for the family. (I might have to learn to can tomatoes.) I've already had to pick off Tomato Hornworms. Blasted things. I asked Elmer if he could use them for bait. He didn't take me up on that for some reason. I can't imagine why.
My compost is beginning to feel the heat of our summer. That's a good thing. I'll top dress the beds this autumn before planting any cool weather crops.
It's been a quiet Memorial Day here. I've spent some time thinking about our servicemen and women. I suppose it hits close to home for me because Elmer gave twenty years of his life to the Navy. I have a nephew who is a Marine and one who is Army and a friend of my son is also a Marine. I know they put their lives on the line every day of the year at a moments notice. Even if I don't believe we should be in a war (not posting my opinion on that) at any point in time those young men and women will have my support in any way I can give it. God bless each and every one of our servicemen and women.

Monday, May 18, 2009

How does your garden grow?

It's been a couple of busy weeks since I was here last. I've been gardening (there are tomatoes,bell and jalapeno peppers,cucumbers, zucchini, squash, onions, garlic, strawberries, and cantaloupe in my garden this year),

knitting,


sewing,



taking care of my grandson, and getting ready for the IWannaKnit Retreat (info at KnittingToday.com.
It's a busy time of year for me. I'm up to square 215 on my Everlasting Blanket, which is about 25% of the way complete. I didn't think I'd be this far this fast. It took two pictures to get it all. The orange tee is the Shapely Tee by Joan McGowan-Michael (Whiteliesdesigns) and is part of a knitalong that I'm doing on Ravelry. It just needs the sleeves put in and it will be finished, except that I think I'm going to add a little more garter stitch at the hem. Just something thats I think I'll like better.
I still don't have as many hats as I'd like to take to retreat with me, but I just think I'm goin g to be short this year. So much to do and so little time.
It's cool here in south MS today. It's in the upper 50s with a north wind blowing and since we've already been in the upper 80s this year this feels really cool. I might have to put my sweater back on. Now for some lunch and to check on the clothes on the line.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

And DSL is here

I finally took the plunge and we now have DSL at our house.  It's the slowest speed that was available, but still a lot faster than my dial-up was.  I'm keeping my aol because sometimes DH isn't in a place where he can get wifi at the hotel and he has to use a dial-up connection.  It's a pain for him, but much less than if he had to find somewhere that had wireless access.
Today is my first day with the new internet connection so it's going to take some getting used to.

In knitting news, I have swatched for a tee but haven't measured my swatch yet to see if I've got the gauge that I wanted to get.  I'll see shortly.  Other than that, there isn't much going on except for me waiting for IWannaKnit Retreat(check knittingtoday.com for information) to start in about 31 days.  It will be a long drive, but so worth it.
Off to check my swatch and see if I need to change my settings on the LK to get gauge.