Backyard after evening watering

Garden–The Beginning

For most of my adult life I’ve either lived in a condo or an apartment, with no balcony nor backyard. I’d yearned for one of these but never really wanted to deal with the maintenance of mowing and weeding or the cost of buying plants and so on. Last year (2012) moved into a house with a backyard and a garden.

At first I didn’t take much interest in the garden, I mean, I don’t really like vegetables and didn’t know much about gardening to really talk about the plants and such. However, when things like cucumbers and watermelons started to grow into real edible things I began to notice and became fascinated. I bought Gardening for Dummies and started to plan for 2013.

Last weekend we planted the garden! We have a salsa garden (hot peppers, tomatoes, garlic) and lettuces, cucumbers, pumpkins, radishes, shallots, carrots, brussel sprouts, peas, and bell peppers. There are also strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries but these were here before me.

Set did the majority of the planting, while I dealt with the window box flowers and did fertilizing of the newly planted garden.  Here are some action shots:

 

A week later most things are doing well. We lost one of three pumpkin plants and the cucumbers are struggling to adapt to their sunny spot, but the radishes sprouted last night and the peas are starting to send out tendrils!

 

It’s all far more exciting than I would have expected but there is a little nervousness that we’re just going to kill stuff because we don’t *really* know what we’re doing…we’ll see.

Dog

Plenty of people have done writings, drawings, and art of various kinds about the animals in their lives – dogs specifically. I haven’t paid much attention in my adult years to these things since I’ve been mostly with cats. However, now I am with dog. Big. Black. Flat-coat retriever dog. He is named Dempsey. He likes food.

He will eat anything – including lettuce and sticks. One time he ate about a dozen maple bacon biscuits in less than an hour. Another time he climbed up onto the dinner table to get at a higher spot in order to eat four sticks of butter (those came back up). Food must be kept at a safe distance.

After I had been living with this dog for a month or so, I became aware of the musings on dog companionship when a friend forwarded the link to The Oatmeal’s amazing and hilarious “My dog: the paradox.” Here are the first two panels:

I highly recommend you read the entire cartoon, particularly if you have dog experience – it rings true and elicits chuckles.

I also heard recently on one of my new favorite podcasts – Bad or Not Bad – that George W. Bush has become an artist and one of his favorite subjects is his dog. On the podcast, I think the verdict was “bad” on this topic because, well, it’s George W. Bush…but here’s what W’s dog looks like painted by W:

Though I have a canine around regularly as a subject, I have no artistic endeavors outside of knitting. And I’m not knitting a big doggie sweater (how embarrassing for Dempsey that would be) and I’m not knitting his likeness onto any article of yarn (mostly because that would be weird). What I have done is take photos of the sweet and needy beast. I have even arranged them in frames:

I have Instagrammed photos of the tennis ball-loving creature:

We have used Dempsey as a model for my ski helmet:

But mostly, I just enjoy having such a loveable though stinky-breathed being in my life – and I mean Dempsey.

grumpy cat

This is grumpy cat:

Some of you (probably many of you) have seen this gloomy feline on the interwebs. I personally can’t get enough of this pint-sized sourpuss. Of course, the denizens of the online realm have created lots of memes with grumpy cat. Here are just a few:

Now, with that, go and have a day.

Good will

Last month I was killing time at a thrift store on West Colfax. Perusing the offerings can often be contemplative. I mean, one starts to wonder where these orphaned items came from and who will possibly take them in? This particular visit happened to be around Easter, so the brick-a-brack shelves were rife with rabbits, eggs, and pastel items.

Someone must have let go of their entire collection of these odd little people, as you can see in the background – there were plenty to choose from.

I’m kind of kicking myself for not snapping up the cat/clock below…

My musings and wonderings about from whence these items came abruptly stopped when I reached the frames area. It seems that donators don’t feel the need to remove the real photos from the frames before shuffling them off to the good will. And these are definitely *not* the kind of photos that come with a frame when you buy it in a store.  Here are some examples:

Then, there are always the humorous finds at the thrift store…lost among the frames was this bit of art:

Thus concludes my photo journey of the good will on West Colfax.

Golden hats

This may be the last of the hats. I haven’t started anything new so perhaps I’m getting control of the knitting addiction. More yarn did arrive in the mail last week, so…who knows.

Anyway, I want to share two hats I knitted using a yellow, gold-ish yarn: Berroco Lustra in #3163/Bergamot color.

First: The Marigold Slouch

My version doesn’t look exactly like the one in the pattern’s photos, but the photos below are pre-blocking:

The back is pretty interesting looking:

The second knit with this same yarn is a Heart Vines Beret. You can kind of see how the cables form hearts in the photo below. I knit this using US 8 and US 9 circular (16”) needles as well as US 8 dpns. CO 80 st.

I’m not sure what the heck I’m going to do with all these hats, but they sure are fun to make!

“Fenced In”– more knitting hats…

This “fenced in” pattern hat didn’t turn out perfectly and was a little challenging, but I have done it:

The top is particularly cool – it looks a bit like a snowflake:

I knit this using less than 1 skein of Malabrigo worsted in Olive.

The instructions are linked above but I’ve written out the instructions from the chart and am including them below. The instructions are also adjusted for the gauge appropriate for the yarn noted above.

Fits adult 21” head

Needles: US 8 circular (16”) needles and US 8 dpns

Stitches:

CL (cable left) - place first stitch on cable needle and hold to front, purl 1, knit 1 from cable needle

CR (cable right) - place first stitch on cable needle and hold to back, knit 1, purl 1 from cable needle

CLk (cable left over knit) - place first stitch on cable needle and hold to front, knit 1, knit 1 from cable needle

CLp2tog (cable left over purl 2 together) - place first stitch on cable needle and hold to front, purl 2 together, knit 1 from cable needle

CO 80 st onto circular needles – join to knit in the round and pm.

Ribbing: 8 round of ribbing following the following A – B patterns

A = p1, k1, p1, k2, p1, k1, p1

B = p1, k1, p1, CLk, p1, k1, p1

R1-5: As row A

R6: As row B

R7: As row A

R8: As row B

 

Set up: 2 rounds as follows

R1: p1, k1, CR, CL, k1, p1

R2: p1, k2, p2, k2, p1

 

Hat: 18 rounds – 16 rounds following rows 1-16 below and another 2 rounds as rows 1-2

*Row 3: for the last 2 stitches in rnd: place the second to last stitch on a cn and hold in front, p1, slip marker, k1, k1 from cn – continue rnd as row 4,

*Row 6: after the last stitch in rnd: remove marker, k1, place marker, the next stitch is now the first stitch of chart row 7

R1: p1, CR, p2, CL, p1

R2: p1, k1, p4, k1, p1

R3: CR, p4, CL

R4: p6, CLk

R5: P6, k2

R6: P6, CLk

R7: CL, p4, CR

R8: P1, k1, p4, k1, p1

R9: p1, CL, p2, CR, p1

R10: p2, k1, p2, k1, p2

R11: P2, CL, CR, p2

R12: p3, CLk, p3

R13: p3, k2, p3

R14: p3, CLk, p3

R15: p2, CR, CL, p2

R16: p2, k1, p2, k1, p2

Cut yarn, leaving 6” tail. Thread through the remaining
9 stitches and pull tight. Weave in ends.

“Foliage” hat

Yes, more knitting. It’s still “knitting season” – meaning it’s still chilly outside and we even got some snow this weekend. Based on the depth of snow on the backyard table, we received about 8.5” of snow!

So, I’m still knitting and in a hat phase.

The pattern for the hat I finished last night is titled “Foliage” and the instructions are linked but I’m going to include the instructions for just one version in a more understandable order. Here is my finished product:

It’s important to note that this hat is knit from the top down.

Materials: Malabrigo worsted in Burgundy – less than 1 skein

Finished measurements: Circumference, unstretched: 17 inches but will stretch to comfortably fit up to 24 inches.

Stitches:

SKP: Slip 1 knitwise, knit next st, pass slipped st over. 1 st decreased.
SK2P: Slip 1 knitwise, k2tog, pass slipped st over. 2 sts decreased.

PATTERN

Using double-point needle, CO 4 sts, leaving a 6-inch tail. Work back and forth on 2 needles as follows:
Row 1 [WS]: P4.
Row 2 [RS]: [Kfb] 4 times. 8 sts.

Divide sts evenly between 4 needles (2 sts on each needle) and join to begin working in the round.
K 1 round, place a safety pin or split ring marker in the work to indicate the beginning of the round.

Work Rounds 1-19 below. 100 sts.

Round 1: [K1, yo, k1] 4 times. 12 sts.
Even numbered Rounds 2-18: K all sts.
Round 3: [K1, yo, k1, yo, k1] 4 times. 20 sts.
Round 5: [K1, yo, k3, yo, k1] 4 times. 28 sts.
Round 7: [K1, yo, k5, yo, k1] 4 times. 36 sts.
Round 9: [K1, yo, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, yo, k1] 4 times. 52 sts.
Round 11: [K1, yo, k3, yo, k1, SK2P, k1, yo, k3, yo, k1] 4 times. 60 sts.
Round 13: [K1, yo, k5, yo, SK2P, yo, k5, yo, k1] 4 times. 68 sts.
Round 15: [K1, yo, k1, yo, k2, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, SKP, k2, yo, k1, yo, k1] 4 times. 84 sts.
Round 17: [K1, (yo, k3, yo, k1, SK2P, k1) twice, yo, k3, yo, k1] 4 times. 92 sts.
Round 19: [K1, (yo, k5, yo, SK2P) twice, yo, k5, yo, k1] 4 times. 100 sts.

Hat Body
Work all sts onto larger circular needle as follows:
Next Round: [K to last st on needle, k this st together with first st of next needle] 4 times. The last st of the round will be worked together with the first st of the round. Place a st marker after this st to indicate beginning of round.
96 sts remain

Work Rounds 1-12 of Leaf Lace pattern 3 times

Leaf Lace (Worked over a multiple of 8 sts):
Round 1: [K2, SK2P, k2, yo, k1, yo] to end.
Even-numbered Rounds 2-12: K all sts.
Round 3: [K1, SK2P, k1, yo, k3, yo] to end.
Round 5: [SK2P, yo, k5, yo] to end.
Round 7: [Yo, k1, yo, k2, SK2P, k2] to end.
Round 9: [Yo, k3, yo, k1, SK2P, k1] to end.
Round 11: [Yo, k5, yo, SK2P] to end.
Repeat these 12 rounds for Leaf Lace Pattern.

Ribbed Brim
Next Round: Using smaller circular needle, [p1, k1] to end.
Repeat this round 7 times more
Loosely BO all sts in pattern.

FINISHING :Use tail at CO end to sew up small hole in top of hat. Weave in ends.

Block gently, or do not block at all.  The unblocked lace gives a more rustic texture, and the lace pattern will open up when the hat is worn.

People sell these things…

Recently, a “Harriet Carter” catalog arrived via the US mail for me. I have no idea why I am the recipient of such a catalog. It looked amusing so I spent some time perusing it and found loads of “as seen on TV” items that I have never seen. A few of these items had hilarious illustrations or were generally weird. I want to share.

First, the curtains. Who hasn’t wanted to block out the backyard or the world in general and replace it with a beach scene or a garden path…?? Well, now you can by purchasing these curtains that show a faux outdoor scene. Classy.

Speaking of classy, this “fanny” bank is just what every home needs. It actually makes a farting sound when you drop coins into it’s anus. As the witty catalog copy writers point out – it’s a “real gas.” This item is just the first of a few butt-centric things for sale.

Perhaps I’m not being very sympathetic or just don’t spend enough time on the toilet, but the toilet footrest caught me by surprise. Particularly the use of the illustration; could we not figure it out otherwise? However, I was thrilled to see that the copy writers did work the word “stool” into the item’s description.

I truly hope my range of motion doesn’t ever prevent me from wiping myself on my own. If it does, I’m relieved to know that there is an “ergonomically-designed bathroom aid” that can extend my TP reach. *AND* I can get two for $18.50!

After one has wiped, why not whip out the “portable, easy-to-use hand bidet”? How European…

Finally, as proof that Harriet Carter has its finger on the pulse of modern society, the catalog offers a cassette tape carrier! I don’t know about you, but most of my cassette tapes have long been sent to good will or have otherwise moved on. I don’t even keep CDs anymore now that I think about it.

Anyway, go ahead and check out the Harriet Carter website for more useful, mostly as-seen-on-TV items.

Quickie

Knitting hats is so satisfying. This is because, like coffee cup cozies, they knit up pretty quickly. I’ve made three hats in the last two weeks and am working on a fourth! Hats are perfect for when you have a small amount of yarn, say one or two balls of something that you bought because you loved it but weren’t sure what to do with it.

I will share these hats with you now.

Snappy Hat

As with just about everything in my life, I found this pattern online (see link above). It’s basically a cabled hat.

I knit it using a blue color (#04) of Studio Tricot Cedrone yarn – 100% merino wool – so soft and chunky.

Head Cosy

You’ll notice that this one is similar in that it’s cabled also, however this was knit with a slightly different pattern (see link above).

This one was knitted with Malabrigo Wool Clasica Naturals in color #705.

Both were knit on US 8 circular needles (16”).

This is the third hat:

It turned out a little bit larger than I planned…so Dempsey is modeling. I used it as a nap hat yesterday, meaning it is so large it goes over my eyes and, thus, blocks the light. I’m washing it right now to see if it will felt up and shrink. If so, you can look forward to seeing it more clearly in a future post. That’s a reason to live…