Monday

Dear Mom,
It is nearly noon on Monday as I write this. I am puttering, still in my jammies (but wearing an apron!) and because I've crossed many things off my To Do list, I am rewarding myself with a fresh pot of tea and some blog catch up time. We had a busy weekend and sitting here in my quiet house feels good.

It is that time of year when keeping on top of the outside and inside work is overwhelming and feels impossible. We've had a string of wet, humid days and yesterday, even though I knew Olive would be tracking wet paw prints in, I could stand the condition of the kitchen floor no longer and mopped it. I think it took at least an hour to dry. I know it is cleaner that it was yesterday, but it looks like a floor that dried in puddles and prints.

The busy weekend really started on Friday. I taught my knitting class on Friday morning, got home in time to take Olive to an appointment for laser therapy on her elbows, then picked you and your garden tiller up on the way home (scaring Olive with the tiller handles hanging over the back seat). We dropped off the tiller, headed to The French Seam to take advantage of their Birthday Sale- I got fabric for another Factory Dress and buttons for a sweater- and then home to till up the garden.
Knowing that rain was coming, I did manage to get the vegetable garden planted on Friday evening. I was a sweat-soaked, limp rag when I finished. My glasses were sliding down my nose, sweat was dripping in my eyes and when I showered, my clothes peeled off in twisted clumps.
Carrying on with my 'Keep it Simple' approach, I only planted tomatoes and green beans this year. In March I planted potatoes in big containers and added cabbage on top, knowing the cabbages will be harvested before the potatoes are ready.

After all that I should have fallen asleep as soon as I sat down. I must have been running on an adrenaline burst or something because I stayed up very late. I finished a sweater and stayed up to watch the newest episode of Outlander as soon as it was available for viewing  On Demand at midnight.

Here is the sweater, freshly blocked and finally dry. Knitting with cotton is never my favorite thing, but this Rowan Handknit Cotton is agreeable. My hands are ready for wool, though. I've been contemplating shawl patterns that I can knit using my marigold dyed handspun.

This sweater is  a basic raglan cardigan. I made a sort of hybrid neckline- taking some of the stitches out, crew-neck style, right away, and then decreasing the rest in a gentle v-neck slope.

I picked up the button/neck band and mitered the corners, adding 2 stitches, every other row, to the outer corners and decreasing one stitch on the "inner" corners every 3rd row. It worked out as I'd hoped it would.

The stitch pattern is "Wildflower Knot Stitch" from one of the Barbara Walker Stitch Treasuries. I've used this in sweaters before. It is one of my favorites. Here are some close-ups of the buttons I purchased on Friday. Aren't they perfect?!

You can see, in that first photo, and in this next photo, that my flower garden is coming along. The peony, no longer blocked by the hot tub, is thriving. It should start blooming soon.

I've had to put some temporary wire fencing around the garden to keep Olive from running through and bringing mud in. The nasturtiums are sprouting in the planter beneath the bird feeder. It looks like I've just lost one english daisy- everything else looks healthy and my marigold and zinnia seeds have sprouted. I have had thousands of safflower seeds to weed. I wish the birds were just a little bit neater. I use safflower seeds in the feeder because the squirrels don't like it. Having that feeder right outside the kitchen window in enchanting and I was treated a week or two ago with this:

A pair of rose breasted grosbeaks were guests for a few days. I was hoping they would stay for the season (I'd already named them), but I think we were just a stop on their spring migration.

Okay. One more thing and then I really should get dressed! Writing this blog post was interrupted once when Olive accidentally-on-purpose opened the storm door and ran out to chase our neighborhood fox. I must not have had the door locked firmly. Luckily she did not run far and is not built for speed. I am sure I was a sight to see frantically chasing after her in my jammies and apron with leash in hand. Thankfully, she fell for my desperate shout of "car ride" and the view of her leash pin my hands and came running. I guess she is also proving that the laser therapy is working, because she did not come limping back after that effort.

I have more watercolors to show you, but I'll save that for another day.

Love,
Kim