Where's Waldo??? Or What Happened in a Blink...

Nothing rattles you more than something that happens in the blink of an eye. And I'm rattled. And perplexed. Flummoxed. Kerfuffled. Discombobulated. In a tizzy.

Missing Needle #5

Here's why. Notice what's missing??? That would be Needle Number 5. Crap. I've managed in the space of one eye blink to lose a needle. And I've looked everywhere. 

In my bag. In my handbag. On my desk. On the floor. In all my pockets. I laid it aside to pick up stitches with a crochet hook for the gusset of the sock. And from there? Who knows.

Gremlins. 

I can knit these on 4 needles. I just don't want to. (A) because these are BRAND NEW Karbonz. And (B) because I like using 5 needles. Just the way I learned. 

Magical!

Anyway, during the storms last night, I turned the heel. It's coming along and today was my day to get going on the gusset and perhaps the foot. This is for the Plain Vanilla KAL (knit-a-long) I'm doing. Have to have a pair of socks done by June 30. No pressure... And best yet, the yarn was already in The Stash. Gotta love that. Practically "free" socks (work with me here; knitters understand this philosophy).

It was nice last night, during all the hubbub of the storm to just watch the magic happen. I keep saying that, but you gotta wonder... Who was the first person to think of this way of making a sock heel happen? Whoever he or she was? Genius. 

I've been asked to teach my friend Roberta how to knit socks. I will do that on 5 needles, thanks!! 

Oh, I did switch to the "Doris Heel" - which is basically the slip-stitch heel, with K3 at each end. I didn't like the directions on the other one. Oh, and I didn't understand the directions on the gusset either, so I did something else. 

It'll be a nice sock. Even if it IS on only 4 needles. Grrrrrrr.

Garden...

Front Garden

So we got the garden in this weekend. About all of it, I think, just waiting on what may have survived the brutal winter.  The front is mostly flowers, but I have some basil, chives and dill that I'll let go to seed for the birds and bees. I have rosemary and more basil out in the back, so I'm covered. Also, lavender and some purple coneflower. The hyssop and borage will go into pots in the front.

And we've already seen our first hummingbird - just put those feeders up yesterday afternoon!

Monster Bleeding Heart

The Monster Bleeding Heart is back, and you can see in that first garden picture that our tiny little lilacs came through the freeze quite nicely. I'm still trying to convince Hubby that I want a compost bin and I want to take over that one side of the front yard for a flower garden...

I don't know if I have a full view of the Monster, but it's fully 20 years old if not more. It's taken over the northwest corner of the front sidewalk "garden" area, which is really crummy soil and mostly pea gravel. But for some reason, this thing is thriving. 

The lily of the valley are up, but I haven't seen the big hosta yet. I need to get in there and thin the lilies out again. 

Here's what the bleeding heart and lilac look like. I'm sad that the lilac only lasted one day in a vase. They're a fleeting flower - tells you that it's time to sit and enjoy, right?

Actually, gardening in and of itself tells you that you must have patience. And you have to see incremental success. And you work to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Lilacs and bleeding heart

It's like therapy, only in dirt. 

The sum total of what we have is as follows:  3 kinds of lettuce; 2 tomato plants; 2 kinds of cucumber (salad and pickling); carrots; radishes, scallions.

Herbs include: rosemary; basil, lemon thyme; parsley, garlic chives and dill.

Flowers include: marigolds; purple coneflower; lupine; flowering chives; hyssop; foxglove; borage; lavender. 

I think it'll be beautiful, fruitful and eclectic.

Just the way we like it.

Mother's Day...

Mother's Day

Was quiet, except that late after dinner, Mother Nature threw a phenomenal hissy fit. Hubby got me flowers. We don't "do" Mother's Day much. Just cards. Kid #1 called me early to wish me a happy day, and Kid #2 gave me a card that said, "You know it's all your fault."

You have to understand, we're also not a "sappy card" family. And I'm good with that!

I mean, they're not snotty or nasty... There's just a good dose of snark in them, with no mean intent or anything. We just like it that way. 

One year, I got my dad a "normal" (not sappy, but not snarky) birthday card, and he called me and asked me if I was mad at him... So that's just the way it is.

Random Picture...

The Girls

The gang. Left to right, Tippi, Raisa, Quinn. Tippi had gotten an end-of-the-year present from one of our therapy gigs, and they all saw the bag. So everyone got some.

This is "the rug." As in, "Get on the rug!" when they're getting treats or we want them out of the kitchen. 

Raisa is almost done with heat, which will make Tippi happy.

Tippi was very good last night with the storms, which normally terrify her. She was still scared, but she glued herself to my chair and was fine. 

Quinn is still Quinn - a lovable bundle of nervous energy. Each one adds a little something (besides tons of dog fur) to the family, and while it gets a little nuts navigating whirling big bundles of fur, it's still fun. 

And no, I haven't found the needle yet.

And yeah, I'm still annoyed. 

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!