I mean seriously. This buffoon will put his name on anything. And I've got a pile of dog crap he can have. I wonder if I'd get into trouble mailing it to him? High grade, Siberian Husky stuff, which might make him all warm and fuzzy about his handler, Putin.
Rebranding the 4th of July is beyond incredibly stupid. And you know what? He's going to get away with it because he's still a Useful Idiot in the grand scheme of Mitch McConnell, who seems to be single-handedly wrecking our democratic republic. Way to go, Mitch - everyone's gotta have a goal.
Tanks sit outside Washington DC's downtown area. Luckily, they're not going to rumble down the streets - seeing as they'd tear the asphalt to ribbons. Grandstands are being built. Somehow, there's gonna be the BabyTrump balloon. Wonder how that got there???And tickets are being offered - for a donation. Which will go into the grifter's pocket or that of his mendicant kids.
And... WE get to pay for this. Yeppers - right out of our tax money. Never have I wanted more to have a say in where those tax dollars go. And nobody is listening to the screams.
This isn't America. Or as my friend Alice (a very mild-mannered woman, to be sure) said, "What a dumb-f*&%." She doesn't use that language frequently. When she does, smart people hide under the furniture.
I'm resigned to no impeachment, though God alone knows that if a Democrat did one iota of the crap that's been perpetrated upon this country and its citizens? Oy, the streets of Washington would be aflame with documents and that person would be escorted out in shackles.
I know all I have is the ability to rant. So I will move on to other topics, since outrage is wearying and in this case, fruitless.
The Knitting...
Well, the secret project is coming along, though when the heat hit the 90s, I set it aside to work on socks. Much easier to deal with in the summer! This is, however, a sneak peek at the second half of the project. I'm liking how this is working out and honestly?
If I could muster the energy to do a sweater, I'd use this kind of "fade" technique.
There are a couple of techniques I'd like to start learning; one of the biggies is cables. And for that, I need to learn to read charts. Charts terrify me. I don't know why. But they do.
I'd rather just watch someone, but I know that for my own skill-building, that's not practical. A knitter needs to know this stuff.
I also need to work on lace knitting and learn how to read an Orenburg lace chart. Those things are wild.
But anyway, socks. I'm puttering along on The Green Travel Sock, and am about half-way down the foot. So after that, just cut the other one, stringing a lifeline first, and then re-knit the foot + toe.
And there's this little beauty -- my Shortie Socks. I will confess that they feel a tad-bit tight. I'm using Size 1 needles. This is my regular Opal yarn, which is my go-to workhorse yarn. The color is called "Model" - can't quite figure out why, but it doesn't matter. It's a very whimsical colorway, and I think if I'd done full-sized socks, they'd have been very striking.
However - I wanted "instant socks" and this is as close to that as I'll get, if I'm knitting them myself.
This is "my" pattern - in that it's out of my head. Let's face it: sock architecture is what it is. Heels and toes change, but every sock has the following:
- Cuff
- Leg
- Heel
- Foot
- Toe
Just a matter of which ones you want to do, and how you do them. Do you want a deep cuff? I like mine rolled at the top. Do you want a long leg or short? Short this time! Do you want a Fleegle heel, Strong heel, afterthought, Sweet Tomato, Fish Lips Kiss, flap and gusset? And I'm probably missing a few styles. This is my go-to, "Doris" heel, for the woman who taught it to me. A nice heel with a bit of knit stitch on each side to aid in picking up stitches for the gusset.
So my concession to the small needles (Size 1 is the smallest I've knitted with yet), I did my K2tog in "tbl" (through back loop) and it made this little "swoosh" of yarn along the side. It works for me.
When these are done, I'll write up exactly what I did. I do take notes.
I like this close-up because it shows the detail on the yarn's colorway. It's very cute; and it goes with just about everything I own.
That's what I like about Opal - there's a colorway that appeals to almost everyone. Their themes are usually adorable, and the yarn wears like iron.
I'll confess that it's a bit scratchy to knit with. Nowhere NEAR as bad as Zauberball (I can't see how people can knit socks with that); and once you wash it and wear it a few times, it softens up nicely.
I'm trying valiantly to knit from stash. So of course, my friend (the said Doris of the "Doris Heel") gives me a very belated Christmas present: a $50 gift certificate to my favorite LYS. Oy. Gonna save that for something special.
The Garden...
Well, we've had some wonky weather (what else is new?) and there's more coming this week. Which is nice, because it ought to keep the locals from going nuts with fireworks. That being said, we shall see how it all shakes out. The milkweed is still doing well; we've noticed Monarchs flittering around, and from what I'm told, that means they're scoping it out. I'm hoping for Monarchs and Swallowtails on the parsley and dill.
My veggies are almost done; those that are "summer veggies" that is. The Romaine is about finished. I need to re-plant the radishes and try again. The leeks are coming along, as are the carrots.
I'm disappointed in the Borage and the Butterfly Weed that I planted from seed. My friend took the rest of my Borage and it's going nuts in her yard. Mine? Pfffffffffth.
Here's a little video of the storm from Sunday. This was Storm #1. After that, we had Storm #2, which came out of nowhere. What's scary is that when this happened, the temps dropped about 25 degrees. That's "tornado" kind of stuff. So far, there have been a few warnings, but nothing really serious. We still have July and August to go, though.
We had lots of tree damage from this little performance. But luckily, the half-dead tree in our neighbor's yard stood firm. Luckily because if it lands anywhere, it'll be in my kitchen.
My Hair...
Yeah. My hair. So I'm getting it cut by a new stylist on Friday. (gulp!) I have a 15-minute consultation with her before she even gets me in a shampoo chair. For posterity, I took a number of shots as it is right now, because on Monday, it was behaving. Today it is not.
I've got pics of what I want, I think. I mean I think it's what I want. I do have pics... I'm strongly considering cutting it short again. I know this is "short" to a lot of people, but I'm talking a cross between a pixie and a bob - a little lift and length on top, and considerably shorter at the back.
My summer includes volunteering to clean up at the Old Joliet Prison and biking. Neither of those is conducive with longer hair - longer for me, I mean.
And because of the heart meds I take, it's a little thinner than I'd like. I think the length isn't helping there either.
I'll keep you posted. If you're wondering about the blue background, that's the wall in my yoga studio.
Random Picture...
Where there's life, there's hope... Last year, this was my shot of a Monarch on my Purple Coneflower. I'm hoping for a lot more of these guys. As I look at my garden, I'm a bit dismayed at the amount of weeding I have to do, when the weather calms down; but ultimately, I'm proud of the "native" aspect of it. I've got mostly native plants in there, and everything will come back on its own. It's almost maintenance free.
Now I just need to see butterflies and bees in regular appearance. That will make it just want I want.
