Sunday. An actual day of rest.

Although the point was argued, five-thirty a.m. saw us out of bed and feeding the poor, starving kitty.

It's been hot fairly steadily in NE Pennsylvania for the last two months. Not a lot of rain to go with all the humidity (this morning it's 95% humidity). Luckily Mother Nature favored us with enough rain yesterday to ease the burden of watering the garden.

Speaking of garden...

The blueberries are starting to ripen. Only enough for one pancake today, but many more will be ready soon. Hopefully, enough for homemade muffins!

We had our first zucchini fresh from the garden a few days ago. Sauteed slowly in butter. A little salt, pepper and fresh thyme for good measure. Par for the course, the squashes are taking over the raised beds. Serves me right for planting so much in one bed. Am going to use the rusty old fencing to trellis it over the potatoes.

The basil is starting to make that bushy mound as is their habit. Am pleased there is enough to make some nice pesto for Meatless Monday.

Both tomato plants have grown at least a foot taller in the last two weeks and are covered with blossoms. The yellow pear plant has several "babies" and the Cherokee purple has one little marble-sized tomato so far.

The mint is now over three feet high. Surprisingly, the chives at either end of the bed are still thriving. Will be chopping some of those chives to top a baked potato tonight. Thank God for toaster ovens!

There is an open blossom on one of the late-planted pumpkins and the other two plantings are full of buds. The non-mulched plant flowered first, but am leaving two mulched to see which type of planting produces best through the heat and drought of August. In the same planting bed, the late-planted cucumbers seem to be adjusting. Wire fencing was bent to an arc and placed over the cucumbers to give them something to climb. A trellis will be added as soon as dowels are purchased.

Yesterday we all did a bit much. Today we're taking it easy. Y'all enjoy your Sunday!

Sunday. A Typical Day of Rest.

The solstice has passed and the sun, heat and humidity seem relentless. This is the earliest in the season many of us have run our air conditioners. Everyone 'round about is praying for rain... and it's only June. Well, to be fair it's the end of June.

The heat and sun are great for the harvest. The gardens in these parts are growing like mad. Berries, apples and nuts are full of fruit. Two of the four trees in the yard have apples - the Gala and Fuji varieties. The branches of the blueberry bushes are so heavy with fruit they almost touch the ground.

Our radishes are finished until the weather cools a little. They bolted and unless we get a cool spell, the lettuce will bolt as well. Put three pumpkin plants in the ground along the back of the house. Hopefully the rabbits will refrain from eating them (fencing is on the supply list).

Last week the Great Valley Berry Patch opened some strawberry fields for picking. They are big, sweet berries. Perfect sliced over vanilla ice cream or on cereal. Will wait until later in the season to pick some for freezing and making jam.

The watermelons from the grocer are exceptional this year!

Speaking of gardens... I'm off to water the transplants, have a second cup of coffee, and take the dog for a walk. Not necessarily in that order. Perhaps I'll turn the TV on for a bit and watch that CBS Sunday Morning show.

Y'all have a great day!

Sunday. A Typical Day of Rest. Snowy 15 May 2016.

Snow on the Woodpile

Today we woke to light snowfall and cold wind. Quite a change from the 75 degrees reached on Wednesday.

Luckily, the earth has warmed up enough that the flakes quickly turn to water once they stop moving.

Still -- quite a change in temperature in only a few days. I wonder if rapidly fluctuating temperatures is because of Global Warming (it's real, folks) and if we still have enough time to change those repercussions. (That's as deep as my thinking is gonna get today. lol)

After getting the grocery shopping done by 9:30 a.m., I have decided to follow the rabbit and take a break from social media for the remainder of the day.

Y'all enjoy the day wherever you are.

Finally Friday. If At First You Don't Succeed...

As discussed in last Friday's post, backwards knitting took care of the error I had made. If you look close you'll see that there's another error with the pattern, so this week I'll be knitting backwards again to make it right or tearing it all the way back and trying again.

The pattern size chosen was 3 months, but this sweater is making up much, much larger. Based on current measurements this sweater is going turn out to be a size 2 or 3. HUGE in my little world of 3, 6, 9 and 12 month sizes.

For now this project has been put on hold while I decide whether to knit backwards or rip back all the way and start again. Perhaps I'll modify the pattern so it is the proper size.

Am doing my best to count my blessings - like my tape measure advises.

This weekend is the 50th Maple Festival celebration in my home town. Maple syrup and candy here I come!

Y'all have a great weekend. Remember to count your blessings!

Sunday. A typical day of rest.

We've had gray, rainy days since last Wednesday. Which is good because we need to raise the water table a bit. Most folks don't care too much for the rain and I can understand their viewpoint (I feel the same way about snow).

I usually enjoy the rain. Listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof has a rather calming effect. As children, sister and I would run outside in our cute little rubber raincoats and hats and our brightly patterned knee-high boots to splash in the driveway puddles.

Today Bandit and I were caught in a mild sprinkle on the way home from the morning constitutional. Pretty day anyway. As you can see, the apple trees have "budded out".

Today I'll be working on finding the knitting error I made about two rows back on the knitted baby sweater. Backward knitting, if you can imagine that.

Hope y'all can get out and enjoy your day.

Bless someone else today with a smile or kind word. You'll be glad you did!

Finally Friday. Knitting.

10 pattern rows completed

Y'all know my fondness for crocheting baby sweaters, hats and booties. They're generally quick, easy projects. Many of the patterns I use are available for free on Ravelry.com. I've purchased a few patterns from there and also from Etsy because they were just so dang cute!

Recently I purchased two separate crochet patterns for both a girl's sweater and a boy's cardigan. Absolutely adorable! But the instructions are too much like work, so I set them aside and went on another search. In my haste, I neglected to restrict the results to "crochet" and all these cute little sweaters magically showed up on the computer screen. Most of the ones I liked were knitted.

Found a really cute free pattern from Red Heart (the yarn folks). It's called "Star Bright Baby Cardigan". The pattern is very simple and relatively short. A good project for someone getting back into knitting after a lengthy absence.

Even though I've been knitting since grade school, I had to go to YouTube to watch "how to" knitting videos. Found some really good videos by "iknitwithcatfur". I refreshed my memory of how to knit and even learned how to cast on by knitting. Here's a link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fSWKZrcbTI

Where's the pattern?

I set to work making the Star Bright Baby Cardigan, but the pattern didn't look right about ten rows into the project. Back to youTube and re-learned the proper way to "yarn over". *sheesh* Started the project over using the correct weight of yarn to obtain gauge.

Confession time:
The first attempt at the sweater pattern was WAY off gauge because I "assumed" the baby yarn was a heavier weight. Yup - didn't read the label.

Although it's standard practice to knit a swatch and check gauge before you begin a project, I don't normally swatch. My gauge is usually spot-on and the few times it hasn't been correct the project has usually just begun and not much time has been lost.

I measured the stitch and row length about the same time the "pattern" problem became obvious. Because only ten rows were complete, the project was re-started using the correct weight of yarn.

With about ten rows completed, the pattern is looking much better (those "holes" are yarn-overs).

Knitting may be pretty, but crocheting is fast. I'm impatient to see the finished product! Will post photos of the finished sweater.

Y'all have a great weekend!

Thankful Tuesday.

Electric heating pads with auto-off features.

Artwork that simply needs a coat of varnish to be finished.

Dandelions bravely poking their faces above the newly mown grass.

Leaf buds on the apple trees.

Old television shows that take us back in time where life was lived at a slower pace.

Old movies with their painted backdrops. New movies with computer enhanced graphics.

Jango.com - internet music.

Watching construction equipment work.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Life is grand -- enjoy it!