Purling Oaks

Tuesday petals

What does a blogger do when she has nothing on Tuesday?  It is Tuesday, right?

Weekend happenings

I'm starting the Summer of Socks 2008 with an adventure.  My first top-up sock using Judy Becker's Magic Cast-on with the assistance of Cat Bordhi's YouTube video on the technique and the Knitty article by Judy Becker.  I'm also going to try short-row heels since all the cool knitters do them....besides, technique expansion is a good thing.  The yarn is loot from Joan that I won a little while ago at her blog:  Silky Sock from The Great Adirondack Yarn Company.  The toe was a little bit of challenge but I really like it.

It was a busy weekend full of chores, travel, gardening, and the bit of knitting I've told you about.  I drove up to Oshkosh on Saturday to have a good time with a mop and some bleach.  Yeah, the cottage basement had (at one point, not now) about 4 to 6 inches of water in it from the recent flooding.  Mom gave me a big hand to haul out the wet stuff to the curb for pick up and move things so the bleach would have a clear field.  I'll have to have the mechanicals looked at, but the structure is still fine.  Just a wet June, eh?  No wonder I have been having water dreams.  We drove to Leon's to have a chili dog and soda for lunch, which was fun since it is a drive-in.  No custard cone this time.

I had a fun surprise in the garden....one of my hollyhocks is blooming!  I purchased these plants at Felly's Greenhouse but the blooms indicate there is hope for the hollyhock seeds that Stacey is sending. *g*

These are actually pretty short hollyhocks but since they are in a raised bed they show up nicely.

Here is one of my favorite photos from the weekend.  Blue enjoying the catmint/catnip. I thought I had planted cat mint but the cats enjoy it so much it may be cat nip.  I'll have to pay attention when it flowers.  I love the goofy little face on this cat.

Honeysuckle Sunday

The oregano in my herb garden has just loved this weather.  It was waving around, hogging garden space from the rosemary and the chives and the greek oregano.  So, on Sunday, I hacked off about half the plant.   I harvested a big batch......a fills the sink kind of batch.  Since we are still drying things out in the house, I thought the front porch might be a more successful place to dry.  At least they will look "scenic" for a few days.... I have a dehydrator that I usually dry herbs in but this batch would have required ten of them.

Wisconsin isn't exactly the high desert of California, so it is quite likely that this outside drying of herbs thing may be an experiment gone wrong, but it kept me busy while waiting for our insurance adjuster to make his way to us through the flooded highway infrastructure that is Columbia County.  I found Sunday that I have developed a pacing habit and it isn't something I'm happy about.  I did knit but I kept dropping the yarn.  More yoga for me, I see.  That or see if I can find my cute red GoKnit pouch from Scout that hangs on my belt loop in the debris of my studio.

It was an educational visit.  The news from the adjuster is looking better than initially thought but it isn't final.  The relatively little bit of water and icky-stuff combination did a whole lot of damage to a finished basement.  Today, the clean up guys were here again to remove not-so-sanitary paneling (that, frankly, I won't miss too much), insulation, drywall, and woodwork.  They worked hard ---- until 8:30 pm (!) and they will be back tomorrow morning at 7 am (gasp!) for a few more hours of work.  The cats are confined to the bedroom due to all the drywall dust, nails, and debris that they would be bound to venture through if they were roaming the house.

The honeysuckle is getting a lot of blog time but I do love it.

I'm going to be approaching the 300 post milestone soon so watch for a contest announcement soon.

Roses, dinner, and a waiting blank slate

I had to dispense with my denial today.  Not too much was lost in the studio....thank goodness for plastic bins.  Boxes were packed and toted upstairs and the studio is essentially a blank slate this evening...well, once it dries out. 

The roses are starting to bloom...perhaps I'll find time to make some rose petal jelly. I wonder if these are the right kind of roses?  Maybe it doesn't matter?  They are certainly organic......since I've been ignoring them.

Tonight's dinner was easy to prepare.  We had broccoli rabe sauted with olive oil, garlic, white wine, and a bit of red pepper flakes.  Then we had pork chops marinated in Cardini's Caesar Dressing for about 45 minutes then dredged in panko bread crumbs.  The thick chops were baked at about 400 degrees in a shallow, foil-lined pan coated with just a little olive oil for 50 to 60 minutes.  I wasn't paying close attention but the instant thermometer read the right temp when I pulled them out of the oven.  DH made some rice and we enjoyed a simple meal.

I was a bit "frazzled" today as described by DH but I'm calming down.  Mother Nature is making herself known around here and she definitely has the upper hand.  DH and I believe we have had about fourteen inches of rain here at the house in the past week, with most falling this past weekend.  This estimate was based on the completely scientific *bucket* rain gauge.  There's not much left for me to do at home so I'm on the road to Nora's city tomorrow.  Forest Canopy is going to be my companion.

Progress in knitting and gardening

I made some measurable progress on Forest Canopy on Friday.  I believe I have about 21 more rows of the main body ahead of me.  My good luck stitch markers from Nora accompanied me to the big city, but I am finding that yarn-overs and markers are not the best combination for me.  Here's a better look at the shy little guys.  They are very difficult to get a good photo of. 

The fixation footies are a little farther along than
what you see in this photo.  I just started on the toe this morning.  This was taken Saturday morning before the rain started. 

My flights home from San Francisco were delayed Friday because of the storms in the Midwest but I made it home just before midnight with a good amount of knitting accomplished.  I enjoyed a few Saturday hours of warmth and sunshine in the garden before the storms moved in.   I like a good thunderstorm but this is just too much.  I think it rained and stormed for about 20 hours.  We are happy with a break from the rain right now but it looks like more storms are on the way.  As a reality check, a house up the road from us lost a roof, so we have a lot to be thankful about here.

Our power was out part of Saturday afternoon and all of Saturday evening with the house coming back to life about 2:30 AM.  This morning, my ISP was having difficulties delivering Internet connectivity but that problem was solved by early Sunday afternoon.  I also spent a little quality time with a wet vac but that is best forgotten.

My gardens are coming to life.  The beans are sprouting and we plan to have broccoli rabe from the garden for dinner if the electric company cooperates. 

A radish from the former micro-greens, now probably better called macro-greens, though just as tasty.  Does anyone have a good idea of what to do with chive blossoms? 

The wild phlox are glorious right now.  And, yes, the nettles are pretty happy with themselves, too.  The pretty and the painful.  Let's all be careful out there.

Forecast: Frost

Thankfully, I checked the weather forecast this afternoon and saw that frost is forecast for 1 am through 7 am Wednesday!  OH NO!  I'm also very thankful I'm home tonight and able to cover all the tender plants.  I probably should have covered them last night, too.  Some of them, like the German chamomile, looked pretty sad before getting tucked in for the night.

We had 80 degrees temperatures on Monday and early tomorrow morning it is going to be frosty.  I've been retreating in a book in my free time the past day or two.  The weather must be compounding my mood or whatever I'm feeling.  I'm sure the knitting zen will return along with my needles so I can start Icarus and catch up with the rest of the crew.

Think 40, not 32, not 30, but 40 or higher.  Thanks!  Now, where's that paperback?

Friday's flower feature

Grape Hyacinths!

This was certainly a good year for bulbs around the yard.  I think the cold and very wintery weather somehow encouraged the bulbs to have a better than normal display this spring.  Or the frost just heaved them closer to the soil surface....

Have a marvelous weekend everybody!  I'm looking forward to a meet-up with Nora at the Sow's Ear in Verona tomorrow.  On my way home I'll be searching for vegetable plants and compost for the garden.  I usually start tomatoes and annual herbs from seeds but was too darn stressed lazy to do it this year.  Wish me luck in finding some nice plants!   

Breaking Hibernation

I had not intended to wait so long to post this weekend but I got busy. The lengthening days with the extra minutes of daylight are having the desired effect of waking me from my hibernation*. After running errands, getting a massage, and general galavanting in Madison on Friday, Saturday found me in my studio---cleaning and straightening. I should say starting to clean because the winter (it wasn't me, it was WINTER) left that room a Mess. I cataloged more of my stash and entered it into Ravelry. I have several (ahem) sweaters' worth of stash....which are now neatly tucked away in little plastic bin/drawers that were on sale at Shopko on Friday. I still have a ways to go on that room today but I can see most of the floor now.

I took time out from finding the studio's floor to walk around outside. We have some crocus blooming on the south side of the house.

DH told me that one of our new crabapple trees is budding, which is excellent news. My garden boxes are beginning to thaw.

The soil is still rather wet and cold, so I won't be planting any seeds for a few weeks. Even with the wait, I find it heartening that the raised beds shed their cover of snow and will be warming up as they were designed to do.

I also started my Forest Canopy Shawl. I'm Knitting with Nora in a very relaxed, no rules KAL. If you are inclined, please join us! I'm using Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the most appropriate Woodlands colorway. I've knit up through row 12 of the set-up. I am enjoying the yarn and the pattern. Good pattern campaign suggestion, Stacey!

*Now if I only had come out of hibernation a few pounds lighter, like a real bear. *grin*

Soil and seeds soothe the snow, err, soul

In snow, a gardener's thoughts turn to gardening. This book has been filling me full of images of healthy soil and interesting vegetables and I can almost smell the garden soil on a sunny spring day while reading Eliot Coleman's prose. It is time for me to pull out my hoarded seed catalogs, decide what seeds to plant this year and hope I can keep my over-ordering to a minimum ---- fat chance of that happening. *g* Ordering seeds is a balm for a winter-weary soul. The sun was out today and everyone was smiling in Fond du Lac despite the 10 inches or so of snow that fell yesterday. I hope everyone in the SE part of Wisconsin made it through okay and didn't get snow blindness or shovel blisters from the record amount of snow.

Gardening, Contest, and a warm furry kitty

The weekend flew by and all the important and necessary tasks were accomplished. The camera batteries wimped out needed charging so no photos today. The bills were paid, the laundry was cleaned and put away or re-packed into the ever-ready suitcase. The cats were groomed and loved and given special treats. Blue-kitty spent several hours last night snoozing in the hollow of my neck and left shoulder. Nice & cozy. I hope he does that when we have the really cold weather. *g*

I spent time in the garden both Saturday and Sunday --- tearing out the frosted tomato and pepper plants, putting away the tomato cages, and digging the carrots. The carrots were a cool and generally successful experiment but I don't think I'll plant them again next year. DH is not really fond of carrots. I'll probably make a carrot cake for my birthday then share the rest of the carrots with my Mom. You know, one of the best things about carrot cake is the cream cheese frosting! Yum! I also did a bit of trimming and cleaning in the herb garden. If anyone needs/wants any lamb's ear next year just let me know. Mine spawned numerous little babies that I'll be transplanting or thinning next Spring. I think lamb's ear is an appropriate plant for a knitter or spinner! Don't you think so, too?

Contest! Low work contest! Since my birthday is this week (on Thursday), I'm having a contest. Well, really, no major effort will be required on your part -- outside of a comment (or two). I am going to send out a yarny prize to two randomly-selected persons who comment anytime today through Sunday night at 9 PM Central time. Fun, right! Low stress? Of course! *VBG*

Yes, I'm on the road again. (Willie Nelson, anyone?) I'm going to see if I can strike a balance between blogs and knitting. No, I'm not taking any bets.