It’s here!
Blanche arrived safe and sound, and spins very nicely…too busy spinning to type more…
July 7, 2010
July 6, 2010
Garden pics
Zucchini plant:
Zucchini:
Eggplant:
Pepper:
Chard:
Tomatoes:
Beans:
Cucumbers:
July 5, 2010
We’re havin’ a heat wave, a tropical heat wave…
Our local stitch n bitch group met this morning – there are usually 2 or 3 members who meet on Monday mornings, but since it’s a holiday, there were about a half dozen of us, and the usual good time was had by all. I can’t believe that 1 week from today will be our THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I feel so lucky to have a group of knitters friends like these.
Oh, man – It. Is. Hot.
Temps are in the mid to high 90s, with humidity, while not as bad as NY usually gets, that makes you wilt as soon as you step outside.
We’ve got the ACs running, and put one in my sewing room/guest room for company this week. Now my sewing room is upstairs, in a finished attic area. The thermostat stopped recording the temperature up there when it hit 99 – I just checked, and it’s down to a cool and refreshing 89…I hope after a couple of hours more, it will approach temperatures more conducive to human habitation…
The combination of the heat and the antibiotics I’m taking is causing me to feel slightly dizzy & nauseous when I go outside, so I’m staying in for the most part. I did check on the garden today, and I found a teeny zucchini-woohoo! I’ll take some pics in the morning before it gets too hot-the green beans are getting big, and the squash plants are HUGE!
And this guy came to visit-makes me happy there’s a fence around the garden (sorry for the cell pic, but if I move to get the camera, he’ll be gone quick as a you-know-what)
July 3, 2010
Blanche is on the way!
I’ve talked about my spinning wheel, Rose, and I have to say I love this wheel. She spins like a dream, has a wide range of ratios (which determine how thick or thin a yarn ends up), and is easy to transport. I’ve only had one problem with it in the year-plus that I’ve owned it – the crank assembly separated from the back of the wheel last Sunday. It’s still usable, and an email to the dealer resulted in a brand new crank assembly being shipped from the manufacturer. Both Woollydesigns and Majacraft have excellent customer service, and I would (and have) recommended them both highly.
But, just as I have various spindles and knitting needles that all do the same thing, I’ve never thought that this would be my only wheel. When the opportunity came up back in May to purchase another wheel, I weighed the options and did the research as I did before buying the Rose, and decided on the Schacht Matchless.
There are a few differences – there are different ways of tensioning the Matchless, for example. Most people recommend trying a wheel before buying it, but I’d never tried (or seen) a Rose before buying it, and I love it, so I figured I’d just go ahead. Since I’m comfortable with a double-treadle, I decided to stick with that, but when I placed the order, I was told that there would be a looooong wait – the wheel wouldn’t ship until July, unless I wanted a single-treadle.
Well, July is here, and my wheel has shipped! It should be here Wednesday, which figures, because I took Tuesday & Wednesday off from work, and have a full day planned Wednesday – I probably won’t be home until late, so I’ll be lucky if I can get it assembled, never mind spinning.
July 1, 2010
Ugh
So, last Saturday morning, I found what I thought to be a spider bite on my leg – similar to a mosquito bite, but larger & very itchy. By Tuesday, the red mark was 3 times bigger than it had been on Saturday, and was beginning to take on the appearance of a bulls-eye.
I called to make an appointment with the doctor, and by this afternoon, it was confirmed to be Lyme Disease. I’ve started the antibiotics, and I don’t anticipate any long-term problems, but damn. A holiday weekend, 90 degrees forecast through next Tuesday, clear skies, low humidity, and no plans except to float in the pool, or stretch out in a lawn chair with a book, and I’m supposed to avoid the sun while taking this medication.
You know this will be the only spectacular weekend weather-wise for the rest of the summer, right?
June 28, 2010
Put the treadle to the metal…
Yesterday, Edie and I met at her house to try to get her spinning wheel up and running. A friend of hers loaned it to her, and before she invests in her own, she wanted to be sure that spinning on a wheel was what she wanted to do. She’s already an accomplished spindler, but a wheel is a big investment. She’s currently using an Ashford Scholar, and after fiddling with all the moving parts, we got it running! The drive wheel appears to be warped, as you can see it wobble as it turns, but it didn’t appear to affect Edie’s yarn-making mojo.
Earlier tonight, Edie, Carol and I met at Edie’s for the first (of many, I hope!) spinning meetings. Carol brought her new Matchless, Edie had her Scholar, and I brought Rose. I was amazed to see the amount of yarn Edie had spun up from the day before – the bobbin was almost full – woohoo! It was great …we chatted and treadled, and the time just flew!
June 27, 2010
Drive-by garden update…
No pictures today, but here’s what we’ve got: teeny green beans, tiny cucumbers, lots of small green tomatoes, flowers on all the squash, at least 1 pepper on every pepper plant, flowers have appeared on the eggplants, and lots of lettuce & swiss chard…
June 21, 2010
Big Salad
Wow-this is today’s salad made entirely from the garden-arugula, romaine, bib and other lettuce. Too bad the cukes & peppers aren’t ready yet!
June 13, 2010
A fungus among us…
Uh-oh…
There was a spot on the cucumber leaves when I took the picture the other day. A (as in single) spot.
Now? Many of the leaves have spots, so I went to my trusted local garden center & found out it’s a fungus.
I sprinkled the powder they recommended on the leaves (also good for the zucchini borers, which I’ve had problems with in the past).
Fingers crossed that the cukes will survive & thrive!
June 11, 2010
Garden update 3 weeks in…
Things are growing like gangbusters!
Beans:
Squash:
Blackberries:
Oooh – a ripe one hiding!
Peppers, eggplant, squash, cukes, beans, lettuce, chard:
Look! A pepper:
More blackberries:
Tomatoes:
Tomatoes, squash, lettuce:
Tomato:
Cukes:
