Woot! Done!

So the socks are done. They're blocking now. I'll take a picture when I have them on.

Woot! And I cast on the Lettuce Leaf scarf, but there's a glitch. There are supposed to be 8 repeats in a row, and I'm only getting 6. The math doesn't work. But I'll go on for an inch or two - at least by that time, I'll have an idea how it works out. Otherwise, I can frog it and do a Crystal Chandelier pattern that looks really lovely in a sock-weight yarn. 

Actually, I should just frog it and do the Crystal Chandelier. It's a solid light blue; that pattern would look better. A-frogging I go, I guess. 

The Crystal Chandelier pattern is from Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 5 - Lace Knitting. I really like these volumes. Nice clear patterns, good photos. I use them almost as much as I use the big pattern book I bought a zillion years ago!

Purple Coneflower

Caught a good pic of the coneflower. I planted them last year and they didn't do much. THIS year, they're gorgeous. The birds will love them, and I think they re-seed themselves. They're next to the birdbath. When Hubby gets home, I will have him put up the solar fountain device and we should be in good shape. Next to that, we have one of the new hummingbird feeders. But so far, I've only seen 2 of them. 

I also bought a new thistle feeder, a very long one with multicolor perches on it. The goldfinches, picky little stinkers, have taken their time figuring out if they like it. But a couple have come around. There should be more. Just have to be patient. 


And I'm still trying to process a Family Issue. Nothing to do with Hubby or kids. Just some stuff I have to think about. I haven't slept well in about 10 days; too many broken nights of sleep. My shoulders feel, in spite of yoga, like they're up around my ears. I'm feeling overwhelmed and like there's nobody to talk to. My sister and I have brainstormed and she's going to take the bulk of the work on this one. I can't. I'm not good in this kind of situation and she's the one who at this point has the expertise and the ear of the person who needs to stop the drama. 

Because of that, and Hubby taking a long-ish trip to MT, I have just gone to pffffffth with my eating. Stress eating to the max. I can't seem to help myself. Which is a problem. 

When I went on my bus trip, I was really good, considering. But on the other hand, there weren't a whole lot of healthy options. I added back 5 lbs. I haven't yet taken them off. I need to do that. I feel uncomfortable, particularly since the stress eating consists of eating a lot of SUGAR. 

I mean, I seriously ate chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream....A lot. Every day. Sometimes twice. Oy. 

During the last thunderstorm watch, we took down all the bird feeders. I couldn't reach the topmost one, so I put it on the porch. Where the chipmunks just tore into it. So I put it on a hook over the porch rail. And the birds found it!

Which is nice, but I have seed all over the porch. And I'd like to not have the critters there. Oh well. Could be worse. Could be rats. (shudder....)

So we're having an issue with Quinn. She's not happy with the fireworks. I mean SERIOUSLY not happy. I've taken a tip from a breeder friend of mine, Amy Peterson - check out her website here.  She has gorgeous dogs, and she takes great care in her planning and breeding. She's devoted to her dogs. 

I did call the vet, and they never called back. Not good. So anyway, Amy suggested 3 mg of Melatonin. She said it calms her phobic dogs without drugging them. We tried the Thundershirt, we tried a diffuser with a "dog-comforting pheromone" and we tried Composure - a kind of doggie chammomile. It's just gotten worse. She shakes. She gets freaky and runs around trying to find a place to hide.

The GOOD news is that it's nearly 6:30 p.m. on July 2, and NOBODY has set anything off that goes "boom." Fingers (and paws) crossed that it's a peaceful night.

Our garden has exploded. We haven't had to abide by the watering restrictions because it's been raining buckets. The lettuce is going crazy. My neighbors are starting to avoid me like I was the "insane zucchini person" that everyone knows. I'm a Lettuce Pusher... But I hate to have it go to waste, and we can only eat so much, right? I have to get the smoothie maker out again and start with the smoothie-detox thing. That'll kick the above-mentioned sugar addiction I've reactivated. 

Another dilemma we - or I - have is that I have this friend I've had since 2nd grade. For a long time, we were joined at the hip. We reconnected when I came back to IL. But through a series of events, it's basically gotten to the point where she only calls when SHE needs something, and when we get together - which is increasingly rare - it's all about her and her kids - and her raising her grandkid. Now, we only see each other pretty much once a year. But this week, I got an invitation to the grandkid's 3rd birthday. 

No offense to the grandkid. He's kind of cute. But there's no friendship there. I almost wish we could just up and move out to MT so that there was a natural end to some things. This friendship being one of them. 

This is the gal who said, when I offered to make the kid's cake, "Oh, I'll just get one from Ultra - it's the same thing." Thanks. I made your wedding cake. From scratch. So she's at least off the "cake list." Oh, but before this, I made her daughter's baby shower cake. From scratch. And took pictures of the shower. And gave the girl an album of the pictures. 

Anyway, I guess this is my year in life to learn to let go and let it roll. The stress isn't worth it. I have important things to work on. Not world-changing important, but important in my world. And at this point, my world is what I have to take care of. So we move on, push forward and look at what's ahead. 

Happy 4th of July!

We have no plans for the 4th of July other than keeping the dogs from having nervous breakdowns. We have our flag out and we have Great-Grandpa's bench out. I went to Menard's the other day and got some lovely (albeit cheap) solar lights that change colors. It's a very pretty look. I have them along the front bed, by the lilacs, by the Virgin Mary and in the Dog Memorial Rock Garden. Hey, for $4 a light, if they last 2 years, I'm happy. 

And for good measure, here's Miss Tippi in her 4th of July gear. Kid #2 was standing behind me with a PBJ sandwich. Mind you, Tippi hasn't missed a meal in a while. But she's still a mooch.

And yes, after she posed, she got a tiny bit of crust.

Have a wonderful, safe, and peaceful 4th of July!