Gardening!

Once again, hope springs ("Springs"...get it?) eternal, and we've planted a vegetable garden! It's not much yet, but hopefully we can keep the bunnies and bugs at bay (without excess chemicals) and remember to water things faithfully (for some reason, I tend to stop watering sometime around August).

In front, there are planters with salad-fixin's: lettuce...


and tomatoes...



and herbs...



In the back (the former owners' dog-pen), there's broccoli (a first for us):


and onions and garlic: (the big ones are left from last year)



and carrots: (again, the big ones came back from last year)



and green peppers (back row) and canteloupe (another first for us!)



I also planted some spinach, but didn't take a picture.

I'll try to take update pics about once a month - hopefully there'll be something to blog about! Last year the rabbits battled us for a while despite the dog!

Everybody's Doin' It..

Ok, ok, I yield to the peer-pressure of the "7-things meme". Sheesh! It's EVERYWHERE!

The scoop: List 7 random things about yourself and tag up to 7 other people to do the same.

Here goes...

#1 I skipped third grade. (and consequently don't know the state capitals or presidents very well)

#2 I finished college (undergrad) in 3 years so I graduated at age 20 - I had a BA but couldn't legally buy a beer. (note the word "legally")

#3 I do the Sunday crossword in pen. (when my husband and I were dating we would compete to see who had finished the daily crossword faster)

#4 I teach at the same elementary school I attended. (I was in the first-ever graduating class there too. AND my daughter attends there now as well.)

#5 I don't mind snakes, spiders, or most bugs....but CAN. NOT. STAND. Beetle-type bugs - they completely creep me out.

#6 I have ridden a horse bareback. (great fun!)

#7 I am a completely self-taught (thanks to books and the Internet) knitter due mostly to the fact that I am the only person in my entire family that has ever knit!
(I am finally learning new things from my knitting group and guild, however!)

Ok...I tag Jamie and BadAmy and anyone else who hasn't been tagged! (I think everyone else I know with a blog has already been tagged somewhere along the way!)

Mother's Day, Schmother's Day

While my flesh-and-blood offspring was GOOD to me (waffles - check, dishes done - check, laundry - check), the four-legged variety has been a little, um...less so lately. First off, proof positive that a 10 year-old DOES in fact do her own laundry:


Please ignore the perpetual clutter that is my kitchen. She even irons now - I am NOT making that up - she just up and asked me one day if she could iron!

The dogs, however, have decided they'd like to be archeologists - except they dig up nothing but dirt and can't seem to bring in any grant money to fund their digs. Ahem. I give you....exhibit A:

Yes, that is what passes for "yard" at our house - truly shameful. But the front looks green and everything - honest! We even have to mow it!

Here is the alleged perpetrator of the crime:


Looks downright proud of his work, doesn't he?

I also give you exhibit B: (or...Caught at the Scene of the Crime)


We expect our shed to collapse into a hole the size of a small moon crater any day now...sigh.

Anyone got any ideas for stopping the digging? I think the under-the-shed business is directly related to various small critters living there (rabbits and cats have been seen in the vicinity). The random ankle-twisting holes all over the yard? No clue.

What would the Dog Whisperer say?

Knitting!

Why, yes, I HAVE been knitting! I've been super-busy with the rest of my life, but have managed to work on a couple of projects. Neither is finished just yet, but progress has been made!

First up is a sock for N. She picked out the yarn - Opal's Flamingo colorway. I started knitting her a sock over a year ago and by the time it was finished, her foot had gotten too big for it! SO...I started over! (Her foot is now only 1/4 inch smaller than mine! yikes! She's 10!)



Next up is Branching Out - a free pattern from Knitty (www.knitty.com). It's a super-easy beginning lace pattern (some would argue it is only pseudo-lace as every other row is purled). I was able to figure it out by myself and will be teaching it in a class this summer at Yarn Haven (see sidebar for photos of Yarn Haven)! I'm knitting it in this:



Yup, Hand Maiden's Sea Silk in the Forest colorway. I picked it up at the Fiber Fest in BG last month and I haven't regretted it at all! (Which is saying something for a $30 skein of yarn! But it has over 400 yards, so ... yeah.) It's 70% Silk and 30% SeaCell which is 95% Tencel with 5% Sea Weed. It's soft and shiny and PHENOMENAL to knit with. Hunt some down if you can. Do a quick web search to see other's opionions and results!

Here is a better picture to show the shine - it's not quite this shiny in real life, but this is a little truer to life.


Lace always looks so darned scrunchy and aweful while you're knitting it:


It's about 3-4 feet long (pre-blocking). I still have a ton of the skein of Sea Silk left, so I will be knitting for a while longer. I tried to pull it out a bit to show the pattern, but remember - this is still pre-blocking. I promise to post some pics post-blocking eventually!