knitting by the calendar

I usually don't fret too much about a project. Most of my endeavors are open-ended. I start something and know it will get finished when I get around to it. These mittens don't have to be done until the snow flies, but they've been taking a fair amount of time.

It's hard to imagine cold weather when we're about to be hit with another round of heat here in the Midwest.

Soon enough it will be below zero and I'll wish I had the thumbs knitted on these.

she can grow carrots

I think any gardener would agree that the month of August brings highs and lows. The lows: the weeds have taken over, the tomato plants are toppling over, the corn only got knee high, the cilantro has gone to seed.

The highs: tomatoes are coming in at around ten pounds a day, the squash survived the squash borer (and is now clinging to the fence between our property and the next), the sunflowers are blooming and the carrots are finally ready to be pulled.

Each morning I step out in the back yard and at first I panic, but then I celebrate. A lot went (and is continuously going) wrong here. But so much is going right.

After last year I didn't think I could grow carrots. Last year's lot were small and puny, but some of this year's actually look respectable. (Like I wouldn't be scoffed at if I had a stand at the farmers' market respectable.)



But I won't be setting up a stand there any time soon. This garden is just for me and mine. A visit there yesterday afternoon provided most of the ingredients needed for a beef and barley stew. It came out fantastic and if you're looking to try it out here's a link.

late summer knitting

It's been awhile since I posted a blog about something I'm working on. These mittens are my current project and I have to say they are taking quite a bit of effort. The needles are tiny, I have to read a chart to knit the pattern and progress has been slow.

The results are stunning, so I guess I'll keep knitting.



At this point I'm just past the thumb and it feels like I'm at the home stretch . . . for this first mitten at least.

News from the kitchen: I've been making the same cabbage salad over and over. I just can't get enough of it. This past winter I was hooked on a chinese cabbage salad (with the toasted ramen noodles and the sesame seeds) this one is just as good, but with a fresh twist on the ingredients for summer.

It calls for green onions, cilantro, beets and sugar peas. Here's a link to the recipe.


It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon here. I'm going to go and work in the garden. There are tomato plants that need stabilizing, weeds to pull and flowers to pick.

Here's what's gracing our kitchen table at the moment.

flowers for a bride

These past two weeks I've been so busy I haven't had time to write about what's been going on around here. My cousin Ashley got married at the end of the July and everyone in the family pitched in a hand to help.

My sister and I did the flowers for the ceremony.



The special thing about this bouquet is the embroidered handkerchief that our grandma gave her. It's monogrammed with the letter "K", which corresponds with the bride's maiden name.




We also did up some corsages and boutonnieres for the event. The bride's colors were all shades of purple. We hit a lot of them with this flower selection.

What a beautiful, wonderful event.