EveryThingEarin

It continues to be a very busy time at Chez Earin's. Hubby has been working like a mad man fixing decks, building shelves, getting up on the roof and sealing wood.

I have been busy too. There is garden produce to put up, things to clean out and lots of "stuff" to sort. Where does all this stuff come from and why is there so much of it? 

There has been a little knitting. Not a lot because there are so many house projects underway but at night I am managing to get a few rows knit before I tilt over on the couch from tiredness. I'm now up to the more interesting part on the back of Mork. I had a bit of a fright that I had screwed up the cabling but by carefully studying the FO's on Ravelry I can see it is correct for the smallest size. I worry a bit about the sizing too - it may be too small. The yarn (lovely spongy stuff - Mountain Colors River Twist) pulls in but stretches out to the right size. I know from blocking the two sleeves that the yarn does relax a bit. I knit a few inches going up one size but then it was HUGE. We will just have to see.

A few months ago I was gifted with an amazing skein of yarn from my friend Emmy who did a road trip up to Seattle and brought back some Nautilace from Cephalopod Yarns in the colorway, "Galapagos Grunt". It's silk and baby camel and To.Die.For. I've been searching through shawl/scarf patterns trying to find just the right one and finally settled on the amazing (and free!) Ginko. The stockinette section will showcase the loveliness of the yarn and the subtle color changes and the lace section will take it over the top. At least that the plan.

I bought some more Blue Sky Alpaca silk from Eat Sleep Knit. It will be part of the yarn used for the Abstract Leaves vest I hope to get made this winter. The first few times I bought yarn from ESK I won something from each of the Yarn Lottos. Not so this time. I was bummed. Darn!

GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

Sometimes when I pick a bowl of something or other out of the garden I am just blown away with how beautiful it all looks. Often the resulting photograph doesn't come near to capturing what my eyes see but this time it's close. One cucumber, figs, Sungold cherry tomatoes, a regular tomato, and a single blanket flower. I ate all of them but the flower.

The fig tree has been producing copious amounts of figs. Last year there were none so it's extra special to have figs to spare this summer. I miss them so when the season is over. I made up jam, which is excellent but there is nothing quite like a still warm fig fresh off the tree.

The pepper harvest continues to be astounding. I have made hot pepper olive oil and if and when my vinegar is finished I'll make up some hot pepper vinegar. The Arbols are drying and the rest are washed, dried, bagged, and put in the freezer "for later".

I have started harvesting my potatoes. I plan to grow a lot more next year; they have tasted so much better than anything I've bought from the market and they have been so easy to grow.

I have been very pleased with some of the plants I moved around this spring. The plants themselves seem to be happy too. I know this because they have grown tall and bloomed with great gusto.  Crepe Myrtle on the left (purple) and various cannas with a couple of blanketflowers peeking out. My garden seems to have boggy areas and some super dry areas. I am still looking for the "just right" section(s).

Karl Foerster (feather reed grasses on the left), Russian Sage and the late summer blooming Caryopteris.

More canna, a somewhat strangled geranium, a volunteer white flower whose name I have forgotten, and lots of unidentified ground cover. Ground cover that has taken over the actual path. I am torn, it obviously really, really, really wants to grow there but it's nice having the path. I would relocate the path but um, there really isn't a place to do that. 

A bumblebee enjoying a blanketflower. It's been nice seeing bees and bumblebees in decent numbers this year. Earlier this summer the hummingbird feeders were being swarmed by bees (the hummingbirds were not thrilled about this development). I wondered if someone had moved hives nearby but had no way of knowing. Things with the feeders have calmed down though yesterday there was a preying mantis hanging out hoping to snag a hummer. Sad but true, they can and will snag a hummer and kill it. We're not having any of that around here. Hubby gently removed it so that the hummingbirds could go back to feeding in peace (not that a feeder seems to be very peaceful with all the chasing off the male birds do to each other).

HOUSEHOLD NEWS