Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Walking the Dogs

I stuck my camera in my sweatshirt pocket this morning when I took the dogs for their walk. We are still in an unusual wet/cold cycle so there's not much color to see here yet. Our garden is struggling - hard since we already have a very short growing season.
It's just days away from June but it doesn't feel like it. We had more rain this afternoon. I wish I could show you wildflowers but what's overwhelming is the weeds. This is taken looking toward Mim's end of the valley.

And this is shot looking at the Sierras. Mim came over for a while this afternoon and brought her wheel. She spun some of her own Shetland that she had prepared and I spun more of the neppy silk. I am done plying with the brown Merino and am very short in yardage - gleep. I hadn't intended to include this photo of us coming back home since I had one already of the Sierras, but when I went to close down my computer, I found that I had accidentally set it as my wallpaper, and I decided it's not such a bad picture after all. Of course I'm going to reset my wallpaper back to grandchildren.

Somewhere in this day of laundry and sundry other things I managed to make a batch of soap. I have never been so close to completely out of soap that even we just have a few bars left. I don't like to make if I can't open the garage door to ventilate the lye, and it's been so cold this winter that I haven't been able to. It's not safe to mix a lye solution without adequate ventilation and even in my entire garage, if I can't open the door, I can feel it in my lungs. The house smells like soap tonight - so lovely.
On the knitting front, I'm still trying to finish the second raffle prize scarf for my niece's Walk for the Cure fund raiser. The other day I reached for my knitting and just seized up, and this has never happened before. I have knitted four scarves and two pair of socks in Falling Leaf lace and I just couldn't knit one more stitch. I had close to 16" completed and tore it out. I'm knitting this scarf from the Vogue Knitting Spring Summer 2010 issue. I see the picture looks purple. The scarf is pink.

4 comments:

Marion B. said...

Here, in the northern part of The Netherlands, we don't have enough rain! The farmers complain and so will we in time I guess. Vegetables, patatoes and corn will all become very expensive I'm afraid.
I do very much like the picture you had as wallpaper. Sort of romantic, that house in the centre of it.

Benita said...

You have the prettiest skies and clouds where you live.

Scott and I are using one of the bars of soap you sent to me and we love it! It smells so nice. Thank you!!!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your garden.

Anonymous said...

Your soap looks wonderful. I tried making soap abt. 35yrs ago, but didn't keep it up. Raining here again today and not warming up either.

Birdsong said...

I am ready for summer! My concern is the short growing season, too, and of course a few plants were lost to frost early Saturday morning, while you were shivering in your tents. I am happy to hear that the pink scarves are proceeding well! Thanks for the photos - it is really an amazing little valley where you live:)