Are You Lookin' At Me?

Our white squirrel has been back visiting more frequently again, and so the other day when he popped by, I went and grabbed my camera to see if I could get some better pictures. I guess we're getting used to each other, because he seemed okay with me getting close enough to snap a few shots.

After a several minutes of staring each other down, I have to admit that I was beginning to wonder who was watching whom?

The Woes of Minnesota Grilling

Over the weekend, I patiently waited for the skies to clear without much luck, so I decided that today was the day to get my butt going. No, not mine. (Although that would be required as well.) No, it's the pork butt that's been sitting in my refrigerator for the last couple of days just waiting to be turned into mouth watering pulled pork goodness. (And yes, I know it's not really the pig's rear end. I'm just going for the pun here.)

I trusted my local weatherman last night who prognosticated spotty rain for today and went ahead and mixed up the briney bath for piggy to soak in overnight, but when I woke up this morning and saw dark skies I had my doubts. As it turns out, those doubts were well founded. The butt is still on the Weber, but it's not as much fun spending the day tending the fires when it's drizzly and cool. I should be enjoying ice cold beer while I'm sitting in my lawn chair reading a book, not running in and out adding charcoal with one hand while I hang on to an umbrella with the other.

Another couple of hours ought to finish it off. I always figure that the meat is done when I smell as smoky as the grill does.

Since I've been tied down to tending the hearth all day, I have gotten plenty done at home--even went for homemade hamburger buns for the pork. Now that it's late afternoon, however, this self-imposed lock down is getting a little old. (Can't you tell? I am writing this.) The sun did break through long enough for me to get out and take a few more pictures in the garden.

Back to the Weber.

Nice to Have Cardigan

I don't know, but I think "Must Have" is a little over-the-top for a cardigan sweater. Now that I've finished it, I guess it's nice to have a new sweater, but trust me, I didn't really have to have another one. (You don't want to know.)

This Must Have pattern and yarn hung around for almost a year before I got around to getting it on the needles. I was initially attracted to the pattern because I kept reading people's complaints that it ran a little small in size. Perfect! I get so tired of having to adjust patterns to fit.

It did not disappoint. It fits perfectly. I must confess that I did do a little last minute jiggling with the stitch count at the top of the sleeve to make the sleeve a smidge wider. That's it though.

I would recommend this pattern to someone who would like to try their hand a cables for the first time except for one reservation. I consider myself a fairly accomplished cable-er, but I still had a heck of a time figuring out what I was supposed to be doing for the "Wrap 3" stitch described in the glossary. The directions given in parentheses for this stitch may have been better written as (K1, YO, K2tog tbl).

This pattern also puts you through the hellish exercise of trying to pick up a precise number of stitches around the entire front edge. Don't do that to yourself. You will learn to hate picking up stitches. Just go ahead and pick up three stitches for every four and then do a little math to get the ribbing and buttonholes to work out correctly. Much easier and considerably less frustrating.

Wouldn't you know it? I finished the knitting on this sweater the day before we were heading out of town for a few days, so I quickly had to find something new to cast on for the trip. I went from wool to cotton. If I finished a wool sweater just in time to put it away for cold weather, I should naturally finish my cotton one in time to put it away for next summer.

Peony Update

So pretty.

June in the Garden

June is certainly one of the best months in the garden for perennial blooms. As much as I love to garden and enjoy a wide range of different plants in the yard, I'm not one of those gardeners who looks for a challenge. I don't need to grow that oh-so-rare variety that needs to be coddled and cared for. Instead, I'm always on the lookout for the tried and true that will give me the most bang for my buck--and time. As I'm planting in my garden for the 19th year, I thought I'd make a note of some of my favorites.

One of the oldest plants in my garden has to be the False Indigo. Now this is my kind of plant. It's durable, long-lived, and is a reliable bloomer year after year. Never snub a plant that's virtually maintenance free and still gives such beautiful color in the flower bed. (The catmint behind it falls in that category as well, but it takes a little more effort to reign in its tendency to spread around the garden. Still, worth it.)

Another plant that is easy to grow, once it's established, is the Gas Plant or Dictamnus albus, if you aren't partial to its common name. Allegedly, this plant gives off enough of a volatile gas that on a warm, humid evening you can ignite it simply by holding a match near the bloom. I can't say that I've ever tried it, but it is a pungent plant. If you brush against it when you're weeding, it gives off a strong lemony scent.

Just like the False Indigo, this is also a plant that likes to go in the ground and be left alone, so find a spot where it can stay for the long haul.

That goes for one of my all-time favorites in the garden as well--the peonies. In just a few day's time, these plump buds are going to burst into the most fragrant, gorgeous blooms. I will always love the peonies that are from my Grandma's garden, but I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to seeing the first blossoms from the 'Sarah Bernhardt' variety that I planted in the row a couple of years ago.

The long, warm days keep me from making as much progress as I'd like on my knitting. Those last few inches on the sleeves of my Must Have Cardigan took longer than I thought that they might, but eventually I cast them off and had the pieces of my sweater blocking in the afternoon sun. During last night Twins' game, I finished off one-half of the sweater and tried it on the best I could to see if I should continue, and it looks like it's going to fit perfectly. I guess I'll have a new sweater waiting for me this fall.

Who in the Heck Has Time to be Bored?

One or two of my best days of the year are spent every spring visiting various garden centers to pick out the plants for my flower beds, vegetable garden, and planters. Armed with notes and clippings I've saved throughout the year, I search out several old reliables and hope to find a few new things to add to the mix.

This past week I took those two days, and I think I've got a good start to get going on some planting this weekend. I'm a complete sucker for purple, pink, and lime green, but this year I wanted to try some new combinations, too. Colors like "Merlot" and "Salmon" caught my eye. Sounds like a good dinner, but I'm talking vining geraniums and perky petunias. Now comes the really fun part---digging in the dirt.

In the evenings, once I get the dirt off my hands, and if I've had enough energy left over, I've been continuing work on my Must-Have Cardigan. I ended up knitting both sleeves at the same time for this sweater. Once I had gotten the increases completed for my size, the sleeve still looked a little narrow, so I went ahead and increased to the stitch count for the largest size. Sure enough, when I had the time to do a little investigating on Ravelry, it looks as though I wasn't the first one who had been concerned about a tight sleeve. No worries. It's a simple construction that is easy to adapt. I only have a couple inches to go before I cast off and can begin to put the sweater together.

Of course, there's nothing that motivates me to finish one project more than having some new ones waiting in the wings, and I've got some great ones to look forward to.

At this year's local Sheep & Wool Festival, not surprisingly, I found some beautiful wool. I picked up six skeins of a mohair/wool blend for a cabled pullover pattern I've had for some time, and then a couple of skeins of a kettle dyed wool that I just couldn't resist. There's about 700 yards on the two skeins, so maybe not enough for a vest, but a shawl/scarf might be pretty. (Could it be future travel knitting? We're going to be logging plenty of air miles this summer.)

I'm also excited about attempting the challenge of knitting from a new Japanese pattern book that I ordered a couple of weeks ago. First of all, you have to see how this book was delivered. My lovely new book was wrapped in brown paper, tied with some pastel ribbons, and came with a name plate. Even the bill was pretty! As someone who appreciates the effort of the presentation, I was impressed.

And and then I opened it up! Oooooo. So pretty. The book is entitled New Style of Heirloom Knitting and the designer is Toshiyuki Shimada. I'm crazy for the sweater on the cover, but I think I might try the Am Kamin cardigan at first to break into the whole translation thing. The charts are thorough and there seems to be plenty of help online.

So, what am I still sitting here for? Time's a wasting. Really, who in the heck has time to be bored?

Birthday Boy

It hardly seems possible, but twenty years ago today my son was born. Twenty years ago.

That's great and awful all at the same time. That's grawful, is what it is. It's great to see him growing up and becoming a man, and it's great to have the freedom of being the mother of a grown child. Yet it's really awful that twenty years flew by like the blink of an eye.

But most of all, this birthday reminds me of how blessed I am that God gave me such a terrific kid twenty years ago today.