Summer Knitting Obsession

Queensland Pima Lino

More Pima Lino, in a different colorway

The Mackinac Tank, from the summer edition of Knit Scene

Layout, just started in the Pima Lino (pattern here)

Plain and Simple pullover, 2/3 done (pattern here)

Usually my knitting tapers off in the summer.  But as our summer road-tripping has increased, as well as my work related travel on long airline rides, I have had a need to knit. But I couldn't knit in wool!  Too hot for car rides!  So my "Plain and Simple Pullover" has been tabled until fall, and I knitted up a sexy-back tank from the summer edition of Knit Scene in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.  I think every woman over 30 should have a sexy-back tank of some sort.  In fact, I may knit another in a different pattern (with a lace panel in back).  This is my second Silky Wool project, and I have to say I love the yarn!  Light enough for summer, but warm enough for summer evenings in Idaho.  

The Pimo Lino though--I have to say I am in love. I bought two grab bags of "Lovely Linen" from The Yarn Underground, my LYS, and then immediately had to buy more skeins to get sweater, (or at least tank), quantities.  Well, extra skeins and a third grab bag.  Because that's how obsessed I was.  But it's knitting up quick!  If I hurry, I may be able to wear it on vacation this summer!

In other news, we did about seven loads of laundry today.  After a week with no washing machine, the laundry was starting to get restless.  

Summer Bounty

Last of the raspberries

Overripe currents

Bounty!

  

Love my August sunflowers!

OOC beanstalk

First of the hollyhock

We are decidedly more relaxed around here.  While we are not through major transitions, we are through major decisions.  And that brings its own form of peacefulness.  There's still a bit of anxiety in the air, as the summer has seemed too rushed.  For instance, this summer does not seem to be the summer I get out to pick huckleberries.  Or even pick the currents in the back yard.  But I am content in that the huckleberries and currents will be there next year, as will we.  So I can let that go for now, and just enjoy the bounty from my garden that I have been able to capitalize on this summer.  Like lettuce--for the first time ever we have been able to keep up with production.  And garlic scapes.  I discovered garlic scape pasta (recipe here) and have made three batches, to much success and acclaim.  I've also been knitting...a lot.  The most summer knitting ever.  Hopefully I will have pictures to share soon!

Oh, and we broke down and bought a new-to-us washing machine.  Because laundry is somewhat important in the grand scheme of things!

These Are the Days

Just some shots from around the house and garden this week.  The weather cooled down to be just about perfect this weekend.  We spent the afternoon hiking at Phillip's Farm Park, followed by ice cream and a ride in a horse drawn carriage at the McConnell Mansion Ice Cream Social downtown.  An old-fashioned Moscow Sunday afternoon.  

I said a while back that May and June are the most beautiful months on the Palouse.  July isn't bad either! 

My Love/Hate Relationship with Technology

This weekend I received my first smart phone.  I'm struggling to get used to the dual bonging of my tablet and phone registering a work-related email.  One of those bongs has got to go!  To make up for all this technology, we had a "no drive" day.  No need for the car!  The bikes can get us to the pool just fine, thank you, and isn't a day spent harvesting goodies from your garden about all you need for entertainment?  We think so! 

On the other hand, I am sort of falling in love with Instagram.  I know I'm a late comer to the ap; I usually am, but I'm having fun with yet another way to take pictures of my gardens!

Happy and Tired

The irony of summer...we wait and wait for it to get here and we fill our days so full of fun and adventure and trips and busyness that we exhaust ourselves.  What a fun filled Independence Day weekend we had!  Parades and bike races and friends and fireworks!  I was so tired last night, and just wanted drift off to sleep and forget that today would be Monday.  Sadly, it was not to be.  The sound of thunder woke up the little one and we all had a sleepless night. 

Even still, I treasured this weekend.  It is so, so achingly lovely on the Palouse right now.  The spring wheat looks like velvet and the winter wheat is fading to pure sunlight.  Hay is being baled and put up for the long, cold winter ahead.  We were so stressed in June, though we tried to hide it with all our trips, as we waited to see if my husband would have a job in the coming months.  Thankfully, he does, and we shall stay here a bit longer, it seems.

Oh Palouse, when I think it is time to leave you, you find a way to keep me here a bit longer.  How is it that you do this to me, year after year?  Every passing year, I love you more.  You don't have the hardwoods and the wetness of my childhood home, but you have the sweet scent of pine and grass.  You are the place I am raising my baby, his happy home.  My happy home! 

June Love

So happy.

Well, It's Good for the Estate...

Cool and rainy the last few days.  I love it.  As one of my friends says, "it's good for the estate."  She meant her garden, but she's a sociologist so I think it was also a commentary on American suburbia.  You never can tell with those sociologists.  

It is good for the estate, though.  My gardens are soaking it all in, and it postpones the dusty, dry season and prolongs the green, flowery season.  June rains.  We weeded the tiny flower bed around the choke-cherry tree in front, and the peonies rewarded us by blooming this year.  The rain popped them open.  

Last night I fell asleep listening to the rain through my open window.  If my husband would let me, I'd sleep with the windows wide open every night.  Sleeping with the windows open makes me feel closer to nature, just as I do when tent camping.  But then again, sun and birds at 4 am do not wake me up, even though I'm a very light sleeper.  Hubby is also a light sleeper, but sun and birds do wake him up (although, ironically & annoyingly, the sound of a baby crying does not always wake him up).

Window open or not, I'm glad for the rain.  I hope the rest of summer passes much slower than these first few sunny, fun-filled weeks!

These Long Days of Spring

The longest days of the year are really in spring, you know.   By the time the first day of summer is over, the days are already getting shorter.  These are the busy days, the flower-filled days, the can't we stay up just a bit longer days. We had a thundershower today, so rare on the Palouse, and this one even came with hail.  After watching it for twenty minutes, my husband and I both looked at each other and said, "I hope the plants are OK!"  They were, although the lettuce is looking a little rough.  Fortunately, my hubby doesn't like big chunks of lettuce leaf in his salad, so now it comes pre-chopped!  But rain makes the garden wet and grow-y, and I love walking in the garden after a storm.

Putting my son to bed, it seemed like nothing could be a better finale to the weekend than watching the last, soft light of the day fall across his cheek.  Love.

Gardens Now

The front bed is done!  And there was much rejoicing!   I'm loving all my gardens right now, as we work our way into June, the most beautiful month of the year on the Palouse.

Almost done...

Finally finished the rock garden around the lavender!

Gnome House!

Mon jardin potager!

Carrots, rhubarb, garlic, and lettuce!

Through the garden gate...

Kitty in the flowers!

Honeysuckle!

So many flowers!

Done, finally!!

 

Extreme Garden Makeover

The garden bed directly in front of the house on the east side was a disaster.  And I don't mean it in the epic, tragic, storybook version like the Titanic.  I mean in the mess and destruction, Hurricane Katrina since, minus death and injury.  We couldn't stand the site of it, and also kept thinking "it's going to take a ton of work to fix that sucker."

We were right.

Last weekend, we dug up (and not easily, I might add, since we'd had a very dry May up to that point) all the old stuff and hauled dirt and roots and plant bits to the dump.  This weekend, we had three tons (that right, tons) of topsoil delivered, which we moved into place with a walk-behind skid steer.  At $21 an hour, my husband reasoned it was cheaper than physical therapy.  We mixed in compost and raked and raked.  Then, we put in a border to prevent grass from growing back and laid a weed barrier.  We concluded the day at Fiddler's Ridge Garden and Nature Center (apparently they are old school and don't have website for me to link to).  My husband hates gardening and yard work, so the highlight of the day was watching him walk around and look at one plant after another, finally exclaiming, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is kind of fun!" 

I'm sorry but I don't have a good "before" picture.  I forgot to take one last week, and the garden has been so ugly that I hadn't taken a picture of it since 2008.  I looked.  

Sort of before, which is to say, after the really hard work was done.

After the new topsoil was in place.

Plants sitting out.

The stump still needs to be dug out.

On the way home from church today, we took the old Moscow-Pullman highway, which we love to do on fine mornings.  My son exclaimed "Mama it's so beautiful" when we stopped to take pictures.

My son too this picture of the sky!

And these of the wheat fields!