Scarf, that is. The Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf from Purl Bee.

I took a short break from my embroidery work (finished two tea towels and just can’t decide on which pattern to start next) to finish up this scarf that I started some months back. I lost interest in finishing it for a while since I knew I would not be wearing this wool scarf in the spring or summer. Plus, I loved working the lace pattern but when it got to the second straight stockinette stitch I was quite frankly bored. Ho hum; knit this row/purl the next. Do I also need to mention I was not looking forward to

doing

learning the kitchener stitch to join it together?

Anyway, what jump-started me to finish was a knitting buddy who lives in New York. We haven’t seen each other for quite some time and she suggested lunch and a trip to the yarn shop in Cornwall, New York that is equal distance to each of us. The light bulb went off in my head that I should finish so I could have some help in grafting my two halves together into a whole. TODAY is the day!

I have watched several different teaching videos of the kitchener stitch and even practiced on scrap yarn about four times. Although I think I know how to do the stitch, I have not been completely happy with my results. It looks a little bumpy to me. After all that work on the scarf I certainly don’t want it ruined by my ineptitude! And with 61 stitches on each needle, that’s a lot of kitchener-ing around! So I am seeking professional help from both my knitting buddy and the yarn shop.

Wish me luck!

Edited to add:
I did not use the cashmere! Just a 100% wool.

Late day update: Well, I didn’t get the scarf grafted together just yet. The yarn shop was crazy busy and she didn’t have time. But, I did have her look at my scraps that I grafted together and we decided I was doing the stitch correctly but probably just had too much tension. So, back to practice again and this time I’ll try to leave it much looser!

I don’t know why I’m sitting here trying to blog today. I am kind of in a funk and not really sure why. I have no reason to be. I feel like summer is passing me by and soon it will be gone and I won’t have done any of the things I intended to do. I had a goal of keeping my flower beds weed free and it all started out so well. Then the rains came and so did the weeds. I battled them for a while but now I just looked at them this weekend and said go ahead, clog my flower bed, see if I care! I’ve given up. Plus, I think that in my zeal to weed early on I must have pulled out my coneflowers since not one do I have now. Bummer.

It is still not really summer here. More like an extended spring. The pool temperature I think has topped out at 78 degrees on a good day. Yesterday three-quarters of an inch of cool rain fell over much of the day and I’m sure the pool temp will fall by a few degrees too. It’s just sad. I do like the cool nights for pleasant sleeping but I really could use a little more heat. I think we may have broken 80 degrees once or twice. My day lilies did not bloom as vigorously as years past and we’ve not had the dragonflies we normally do. They usually love the lilies. Neither have I seen my little buddies the hummingbird moths, and only a few butterflies so far. We still have a few hanger-on fireflies, still looking for love (most likely in all the wrong places), winking high in the treetops. And the cicadas? I am really not sure they will make an appearance this year. I’m afraid it may be too cool for them. I associate the sound of cicadas with hot weather and it’s not looking good!

There are so many things to blog about that I have just let pass me by.

Like the day we had two trees removed from our front side yard. It was fascinating to watch how quickly and easily the tree removal crew took them down. And how their super-charged shredding machine chewed up huge branches and limbs into mulch in a matter of seconds. We kept the wood from the trunks of the trees and will season it for use in a year or so. One tree was a black birch and when they cut it the smell of root beer, or to be more exact—birch beer—permeated the air for hours afterwards. I can still press my nose to the pieces of wood and smell that wonderful odor.

Like the two tea towels I finished.

Like the rest of the photos from our trip to San Miguel.

Like the somewhat upscale dinner we gave for a few friends of ours on Saturday night.

Like the great walk we took through the old Jungle Habitat with the dogs on Sunday. (Jungle Habitat is a story within itself! Another abandoned New Jersey attraction.)

All likely topics to blog about, but yet, I didn’t. Or haven’t. I need to get on with it here!

Watch this space ...

Edited on Wednesday afternoon to add:
Okay, so I lied. But not on purpose.
I went out to take some photos around noon today and these three things were different than my post above.
It was steamy and very warm. My camera lens even fogged up!
I heard a cicada!
I found one coneflower blooming and several others about to!
So, there you have the latest.
I’m thrilled about all three things above.
Well…maybe not so much the foggy camera lens ...

Gray. Dark. Damp. Soggy. Dreary. Wet. Rainy.

All these words describe our current weather situation. It’s been this way for weeks. Maybe one day out of the week the sun will come out for a while just to prove it’s still there ... somewhere. I actually love rainy days, I really do, but this is bordering on ridiculous. It’s not warm. Temperatures are mostly in the 60’s with very high humidity, which on the east coast means downright damp. uck! The dogs lay around the house in a funk and so do I. Why bother cleaning when I can’t see the dirt? That’s my excuse anyway.

So far this month we’ve only had two days that our weather station didn’t register any rain. We’ve had over five inches of rain since the start of June. One inch of that came within 30 minutes during a thunderstorm on Monday. Just since midnight we’ve had over 1/2 inch. Enough already! Let summer begin! Sadly, when the calendar registers the start of summer on Sunday I don’t think the weather gods will take much note. We’re stuck in a rut.

And the pool? Please! Don’t let’s talk about it. All it’s good for right now is collecting water.

This much rain makes things grow. Or rot. Let’s look on the brighter side for now and take a look at some of the things that are managing to grow in this weather. Yesterday’s weather offered a clear window with a little bit of sun so I took my camera out to see what I could find before I mowed the grass.

These tiny, tiny purple flowers growing in the grass.

Clover against the white fence.

A silvery white moth hanging on a blade of grass.

An assortment of flowers.

And inevitably with this much moisture: mushrooms!

One left behind on top of a rock like a discarded, half-nibbled apple core.

An ugly one with a face. (Can you see the face? Kind of a like moaning ghost wearing a sombrero.)

A gelatinous cup with the sun shining through it.

More gelatinous style fungi. They have the texture of rubber.

A puffball. My book says these are edible, but any mushroom that goes poof! in a big ball of brown powder when you step on it after it dries I just can’t make myself eat.

I liked how the dew was still clinging to the stem of this one.

I do have a few tomatoes that have set but we need the sun!

Some of my flowers in pots around the pool that don’t have drainage are rotting away. Literally. I kid you not! I know I shouldn’t be complaining. At least I don’t need to water them by hand every day. Our well is certainly replenished. Everything is green. Oh wait ...  maybe it’s just mold.

I’ve been doing some of this:

more on the tea towels coming in another post ...

and this ...

an out of print book that I bought at a local church book sale.

I made this: (Blueberries and Cream Pie)

And Rick started some homemade limoncello to fortify us.

We’ll get through this damp patch, I know we will. Remind me later in the summer, will you, when I’m complaining about the hot & humid weather and having to run the air conditioning night and day? Today that seems like a pipe dream as I look out into the murky depths of the yard and watch the rain falling down.

Why is it that I could not pick up my embroidery without humming that song that Willie Nelson sang ...

South of the border down Mexico way
That’s where I fell in love when stars above came out to play
Now as I wander my thoughts ever stray
South of the border down Mexico way

Gee, maybe it was because this was the name of the pattern for them! The tea towels are finished! Here is the last one.

And as requested by a reader, all three tea towels together. I’m not sure which one is my favorite. Maybe the last one with the guitar.

My hands feel idle now. I certainly enjoyed doing them and now can’t wait to get started on some towels of my own, but that will have to wait until our return. I hope Rick’s mom likes them! I have a feeling she won’t use them, but if she just gets enjoyment out of looking at them hanging on a hook that will be enough for me.

On the Mexican vacation front ...
We talked to Rick’s mom last night as she wanted to see what we were thinking in regard to our trip to visit with all the swine flu hype. She told us that there are no reported cases in the entire state of Guanajuato in which San Miguel lies. We are not flying into Mexico City (thank goodness!) but into a smaller, closer airport. Schools are closed there but life is going on as usual with added care taken to sanitize hands. She told us to bring plenty of wipes since they are no longer to be found there.

We are armed with Tamiflu pills, immune boosters from the health food store, masks, hand sanitizing products and our own good health. In a way I feel like I’m in one of those science fiction end-of-the-world-style movies with my arsenal of “stay healthy” products.  I’m sure we’ll be fine. Please don’t worry about us!

Things may be a bit more quiet in San Miguel than normal but we have been assured both by Rick’s mom and his cousin that a good time is still to be had. So, we are going. I get very strange looks from people when I tell them we are headed off to Mexico. Incredulous looks. Are you sitting there reading this and shaking your head in agreement with all those people too?

I don’t think I’ll be blogging at all while down there. Our only internet access will be from Rick’s cousin’s house and we might go once or twice to check our email but not sure how much time I will have to post anything. I will try to at least post a photo with a quick update.

The kids here at home will be looked after by our dear friend Carolyn who is going to house-sit for us. I’m sure she’ll have them better trained in no time. Either that or they will train her just as they have trained us over the years to bend to their every whim. I feel great going on vacation knowing she is in charge.

eBay reading the San Miguel guidebook

Now I just have to decide which clothes to pack ...

I don’t have much to say lately. Sometimes I think I should just stop blogging. I mean, who reads this anyway? This blog was started three years ago when we first moved to New Jersey as a way of letting friends and family left behind know what was going on in our lives. I think that purpose pretty much failed since I know many of my friends just don’t read it. I can keep it for myself as an online diary but I could do that offline just as easily. I hate spammers leaving links to their websites embedded in comments. Just yesterday I had five; all of them total crap.

Rick is in Las Vegas this week at the trade show. I do miss him when he’s gone. A lot. Thanks goodness he doesn’t have to travel that much anymore. I opted not to join him this time as I preferred to go to Mexico instead and we couldn’t afford to do both. Plus, as much fun as Vegas is there is only just so much to see and do that you haven’t done before.

I always struggle with what to eat by myself. This time I thought I’d give some frozen dinners a try and ended up throwing the first one out last night (yuck) and the second one I tried wasn’t much better. I wonder how people can eat a steady diet of that junk?  Yet I always see people’s shopping carts piled high with just that. I think a grilled cheese sandwich would be much better and just about as easy.

I am so looking forward to our visit to San Miguel de Allende in less than two weeks and seeing my in-laws. It’s exciting to be able to see where they are going to live. When I tell people they are moving to Mexico some look at me blankly and ask me this question that I find hilarious: “What nationality are they?” Maybe it’s because Rick and I have lived as ex-pats in several “foreign” countries (Germany, The Netherlands and France) that I don’t find their move a bit odd. Who knows, in years to come we might find ourselves living in Mexico for the winter and the cabin for the summer.

We had our first thunderstorm of the year last night, and of course it was just as I was going to bed. At first I tried reading but with the light on I couldn’t really see the lightening so I turned it off and enjoyed the storm. By the way, does anyone have any idea why they call them thunderstorms and not lighteningstorms? The thunder was so close and so violent last night (not a word normally used to describe thunder but last night’s thunder can only be described in that way) that it literally rocked the house. It felt like an earthquake! My poor house trembled and shook at the concussive blasts. Wow. Mother Nature was sure having fun with us a couple of times.

I am proud to say that it was Bella’s first thunderstorm and she slept through it. Not really sure how she did because it was enough to wake the extremely dead. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced thunder like that. One strike must have hit on the ridge above my neighbor’s house because the lightening and thunder were pretty much simultaneous. So much so that it made me get up to look out the window to make sure their house hadn’t been blown apart by the blast. I kid you not!

Before the storm the peepers were giving a free concert. I sat in the sunroom with the TV off, door open to the night, reading my book. Their cheery trilling acts like a balm for me. I am always amazed at their froggy musical compositions. How do groups of them stop and start at the same time? Their harmony is spot on with one group carrying the main tune and other groups chiming in as needed.  Then all of sudden they all become quiet like someone turned off a switch.Do they have a frog choral conductor?

The peepers are only one of the things I love about living in New Jersey. (I mentioned above that it’s been three years since we moved here. Three years. Where does the time go?) Colorado was my home for many many years and I did love it but it was, well, kind of boring compared to living here. The seasons are so separate here and we have the fauna to remind us exactly what season it is. We have the peepers in spring. Next come the fireflies which arrive in early summer, June through mid-July. I wish the fireflies would stay longer because I find them so magical. When the fireflies leave it’s time for the cicadas to sing their loud scratchy songs from the trees. It’s the sound of summer.

I did finish my second “Down Mexico Way” dish towel and am onto my third. Here is the lovely señorita. Pollo anyone?

Okay, enough going on and on about not much of anything! On to the rest of the day!