Living like Larry

Not long ago I said to my husband that it felt like I was trying to "live like Larry," this summer.  For those who aren't familiar with this phrase, it's from Spongebob Squarepants. 

What I meant was that I felt like I was trying to do all the things and have a great summer, but also try to cram it into the few nice summer days we have had so far. 

Once again, the weather in my area is not ideal. It's cooler, very damp and muggy feeling, with the chance of it feeling more gross as the day goes on. 

And now here we are, the end of June. I feel like school just let out. Someone at work mentioned the Fourth of July being next week and I went "What?"  Yes, it's next week. 

So ... what has happened this week? Well, not as much as I would have liked, I'll tell you that. 

Well, I take that back.  Sort of. My husband and I decided to sell off a large portion of our older flock. It looks like we will have a lot of hens starting to lay this fall and there is no way I can care for *all them birds.* There are plenty of young roos that will be going into the freezer this fall, too. 

A lot of our girls went to a summer camp about an hour away.  It was a delight to see all those kids excited to see chickens. The campers all crowded around my son, asking him dozens of questions and then proclaimed he knew *everything* there is to know about chickens after one of the hens started singing an egg song and he knew what was going on. 

Some point soon I'll need to post a full update on the animals.  

I celebrated my birthday this week.  This year's kind of a big deal.  I spent a lot of the day reflecting on how great my life has been, and hoping to have at least 40 more years of great times. 

When I walked into my office, a little goodie basket was waiting for me.  The people at my work are pretty awesome. 

One of my coworkers sent me a gorgeous book and something yummy to drink while I peruse and enjoy the beautiful images. 

Here's a few photos of the inside images. Chickens, one of my favorite things. 

Chickens and sheep together.  Squee!

This was the first photo I saw when I opened the book up.  How can you not smile back at a smiling sheep?

My husband bought me a little something from Hobby Lobby. I told him I didn't need more yarn, but I really liked the two mugs they put out.  He picked one up and threw some yarn in anyways.  It doesn't count if it is dishcloth yarn, right? 

I may go and get the other mug from Hobby Lobby though.  In the meantime, I'll throughly enjoy using this one.  I love it, because it's so accurate. 

A few others gave me money, so I could spoil myself.  I used the money my son gave me to treat myself at Dunk'n Donuts.

I haven't don't much crafting this week. I did get some time on on my vanilla sock.  Then I had to fight with turning the heel.  For some reason I kept getting the stitch count wrong and the heel wasn't shaping up in the middle.  Third time was a charm, after I pulled out my Sock Innovation book, by Cookie A. 

Vanilla socks

Needles: U.S. 1 (2.5 mm)

Date started: Beats me. 

Yarn: Knitpicks Felici

Colorway: "Dark Prism"

I put a progress marker in last Wednesday.  I was really hoping I'd have this sock done by the end of the week.  Maybe this weekend? 

I have the itch to start something different, but I can't decide what I want to do.  Scarf, shawl, ? 

When I was going through and downloading patterns earlier this week I spotted a bunch that I had forgotten about. I also saw lots of gorgeous sweater patterns and all the MMario shawls. 

But ... I'm also thinking I should pull out the spinning wheel and crank out some handspun. Someone posted Tour de Fleece on FaceB*ok the other day, and I sort of felt ashamed that I haven't touched my wheel in ages.  My goal has been to spin enough fiber to make a sweater.  I'm still learning how to spin woolen (I think that's the right one) so my yarn is going to be pretty authentically handspun.  I've read in a lot of places about people spinning sweaters that were too heavy because they spun the yarn worsted. 

On the weaving front, I pulled the two tea towels off the loom!

They haven't been wet set yet, so they still look a little rough.  After the wet set I'll trim the fringe and the woven in ends. One towel is longer than the other.  I'm still figuring out the whole warp length thing.  I made this one longer than what my math told me.  My guess is that I'm pulling up more than I thought for tying the warp knots. Not sure what I'll do with the little shorty. Maybe use it as a table topper. 

In other random life news I've been walking the circuit again. A few days ago I went out and almost died.  Not literally, but it was rough.  The warmest day of the season and I could feel a bit of the humidity creeping in. 

When I was walking I spotted this feather on the side of the road.  I don't recognize what bird it came from.  It's interesting how the feather was poked into the dirt, rather than laying on top. 

I also took some time to stop and enjoy the daisies. 

So cheerful!

Yesterday, on the way to work, I spotted a few wild turkeys crossing the road.  I stopped the car and pulled out my phone so I could (hopefully) take a video.  I saw there were babies and I wanted to get a video of them. 

After my last post one of my friends asked if I was stopping the podcasting.  I said I'm taking a break this summer.  With how crazy the season as already shown it self to be I don't know when I'd find the time to sit and record.  Plus, I'm never alone. This also means I will have to get over my whole nervousness of being in front of a camera again. I felt like I was getting into a pretty good rhythm with it all, too.  Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback on the episodes I've done already. 

Works in Progress Wednesday

I haven't done a WIP Wednesday in forever. Since I'm trying to bring everything back to the blog, and share what my projects are, I figured today would be a good day to post a WIP Wednesday. 

Let's see .. currently on the needles is a vanilla sock.  Shocker, I know. 

Knit with Knit Picks Felici yarn, in the "Dark Prism" colorway.  I think.  I have both ball bands but do you think I can find them right now?  They are on my Chiagoo 24-inch circs., U.S. 1, 2.5 mm.

I have one sock complete.  I finished it last week, while on vacation.  I have been really bad about keeping a knitting journal this year, so I don't know when I cast the first one on. 

I'm about 5.5 inches into the cuff of the second sock.  I want to go about another 1.5", or so, before making the heel flap. 

I showed the first sock to my husband, told him the name of the colorway, and asked him if it reminded him of anything. He said no. I said "Really?  This reminds me of the Pink Floyd album cover. 

The other project I'm actively working on is a set of tea towels, made from Peaches and Creme cotton, in the "Ocean Stripes" colorway. I've been watching a lot of weaving videos over on Bluprint/formerly Craftsy. I think I mentioned this already ... 

Anywho, I have one towel done and I've just started the second one.  Hopefully, the finished size will be about 18" wide by 24" long. The first one went together really quickly.  

Since I'm working on tea towels, you know that means I finished the woven scarf I was working on. 

When I pulled this scarf off the loom I fell in love with it.  I LOVE the finished product.  I wish the yarn wasn't so ... hairy and sticky in the loom.  I'd love to have a wider and longer shawl made out of this yarn.  I'm thinking I may bite the bullet and make something down the road out of this yarn. 

I tried taking a photo of the scarf outside, hoping the sparkle would show.  Not so much.  I never would have thought all that sparkle wouldn't photograph well. 

Vacation shenanigans

Last week the whole family was on vacation.  It was my son's first week off of school, too.  

Monday I still had to work, but the rest of the week was full of good times. 

Well, there was some work, but that stuff was mostly taken care of on Monday and Tuesday.  The previous weekend a mostly-dead tree was cut down. Wood was split and stacked.

The weather cooperated and we spent most of the days out on the water. 

This is my favorite photo of the week. Both my boys, out fishing together. My husband decided our son was ready for a newer kayak, and it could be one just like ours (sit on top style). 

My son was excited to get a new kayak.

There isn't a whole lot to say, other than it was a really nice week, and I'm so grateful the weather stayed nice. 

This was the sky over one of the new-to-us lakes.  It was so breathtakingly pretty. 

At this particular lake we ran into an old-timer who has been fishing there since he was my son's age.  So, a good long time.  He filled us in on what was in the lake and wished us good luck. 

We did hit a few of our old haunts, too. 

The water is so high on the lakes this year.  All the spots I'd usually hit up, aren't there, or I've lost my landmarks. 

My husband, however, found a good spot. 

One day, we went to a lake and it was super windy on the other side. The side where my son had a really good fishing excursion.  I paddled my way over there and was pretty nervous I was going to flip over. 

Naturally, the video doesn't do it justice. 

We did get some sunburn.  I've learned my lesson, after getting the fronts of my legs fried a few years ago.  When the season is just starting out, wear pants or lots of sun screen when going out in the kayaks. 

Yesterday was back to work. I was mentally exhausted by the time I was done with the day. I was going to write this all up last night, but ... just too tired.  So, instead I went out for a walk.  It was a nice evening for it, too. More pretty clouds. More importantly, I was able to clear our the mental fog. 

School's out ... forever ... (Just for now)

Today was my son's last day of school for the year.  I feel like it took forever to get to this point.  We made it!

We celebrated the end of the year with a trip to the local Dairy Queen.  Then came back home and I let him what his "stories" on the tv. He was a happy boy. 

Guess what? It got warm in my area.  By "warm," I mean temps in the upper 80s. What a swing from last week, with its 40 degree days.

I spent some time out on my cedar swing this afternoon, listening to the wild birds and the ladies talk. 

 

The mosquitos have made themselves known to us.  They are such miserable little things. It's fun to see the chicks running after them and snatching them out of the air. 

Today was a good mail day for me.  Earlier this week I placed an order for a boat shuttle.  I contacted Paradise Fibers and said I was new to weaving and would like to get a boat shuttle, but I didn't know what to get, could they give me a recommendation. The gal suggested a Leclerc boat shuttle. 

What a difference using a boat shuttle makes. I'm getting close to the end of my project. 

Looking forward to summer

This year it feels as if winter is never ending, and summer will never arrive.  My neck of the woods gets teased with nice weather and sunshine.  Then it rains or gets colder again.  No more snow, thankfully. Though after my last writing we did have one last round of snow.  Bah! 

Now, we merely worry about overnight frosts.  The cherry tree we have had for a few years is blooming.  We've been watching the bees pay special attention to each and every blossom.  The tree is finally synced with the old crabby apple trees that are in the back yard. 

We picked up a few more cherry trees this year.  We paid a bit more for them and we already can see it was worth the extra investment. 

The garden has been put in.  A few weekends ago my husband tilled up the garden and I spent time over a few days planting tomatoes, jalapeños, broccoli, cauliflower and a few other things. We also *finally* put in the sprinklers we purchased a few years ago, and never took the time to put in. 

Isn't that a lovely sound? 

This is my son's last week of school for the year.  He's already on summer time, I swear.  I feel bad for the teachers. 

Meanwhile, I've been taking care of the baby chicks and the baby bunnies.  Oh yes, baby bunnies.  Would you believe me that we had two surprise litters born? It's true.

I know fully understand the saying "breeding like rabbits"  It's not that they "breed" all the time.  They just have babies all the time, and it doesn't take long. 

When I'm not playing with chicks or bunnies, I have been crafting a bit. 

Now here's the part that I've been sitting on for so long, and part of why I haven't written.  I'm sort of stuck. 

I have a bunch of completed FOs, but the ability to sit down and record a video has not been in the cards these last several months.  Now, with school out, I'm not sure when I'll have time to myself to record.  The thought of talking to a computer with someone in the next room makes me feel a bit silly, and knowing my son, he would be a bit of a dork about the whole thing. 

So ... what to do?  Keep on the break?  Try and pick up again next fall?  I dunno.  

Also, for the last several months, social media has left sort of a bad taste in my mouth. I've been gradually taking a step back from it all.  Facebook, for better or worse, I'm a bit tethered to because I  manage a few groups. So, if you follow me on any of the social media sites, and wonder why I've gone quiet, just blame social media at large. 

If I'm honest, I've actually given a lot of thought about ending the blog writing, but I like being able to look back and seeing what I was up to, so I won't be ending it.  Plus, I always hated when blog writers abruptly stopped writing and there was no explanation why. I'll just be less frequent, or I'll have less pictures, or maybe not put the link on as many of the social media sites. 

In the meantime, I've mostly working on a weaving project.  It's slow going, but I'm getting there. 

It is supposed to be a rectangular shawl, but I think I got my measurements wrong. It may wind up being an extra wide scarf.  That's okay. I'm using. I'm using Lion Brand Shawl in a Cake yarn, in the Wind Chimes colorway.  I'm loving the color.  It's shades of blue and soft whites, with a bit of sparkle in it.  Several people in one of the weaving groups I lurk in said they made lots of woven shawls with this yarn. So I thought I'd give it a try.  Yeah, no, I don't know that I'll do anymore weaving with this type of yarn. It's soft, but it's a bit hairy and it catches in the reed. 

I'm also working on a vanilla sock. (Shocking, I know!) I don't have any photos of it. 

I also have a Halloween-themed table topper started. I have to make it into a quilt sandwich and do some machine quilting on it. No photo of this either.  (Sorry)

Until next time, stay warm!