Catching up . . .

I've been bad. I need to stay current here and I have no excuse seeing as I am off for the summer! I've got some swap projects to do. I'm participating in a Puck This swap (hockey fans) and a Tea Towel Swap with two Ravelry groups. I received my package in the Puck This Swap:


Some gorgeous lampworked beads in Washington Capitals colors and some goodies from Wisconsin--coffee, popcorn, jam and chutney! Good stuff!

I also started the Botanica Medallion Cardigan. I really need to finish my Musica Gloves but I couldn't stand it! I have the medallion done:

I'm please with it. It measures about 15 inches in diameter and it is blocked. I've started the outer band:

I've actually done twice as much as the photo shows. I'm intrigued with the design. The designer chose stitch patterns with different gauges so that the band actually curves and will form a circle around the medallion.

Other stuff that's been going on--I need to do some sewing. I have to finish a skirt I'm working on and then I'm doing another. Here are the patterns I'm using:


I'll post photos of the finished skirts when I can model them with decent shoes!
I made a new wreath for the front door. We decorate our house with Patriotic bunting and we have our flag out. I thought I would do a seasonal wreath for the front door:


Tomorrow I get my foot checked! It seems to be healing well. I've cut way back on taking the Advil which is a good sign. I'm still wearing the velcro shoe thingie when I go out. I am painfully reminded that my foot isn't all together healed when I step on a tree root or some other irregular spot of ground! I will also steam up some fresh veggies tomorrow. A few weeks ago, I ate lunch at Bonaparte's and they served a salad which was a bed of Romaine with lightly steamed green beans, zucchini spears, carrots, and beets plus tomato wedges and pitted Kalamata olives. It was topped with a delicious lemon vinaigrette. Here is my version of it:

The recipe I used for the lemon vinaigrette can be found here. The only change I made was to add 2 tsp. of sugar instead of 1/2 tsp. and I didn't use pepper. It is really good stuff!

I've finally gotten all my planters done! I'll leave you with some photos of some of them:






Kitty Cam: Two couch potatoes--Harley and Mikey!

Take time to smell the flowers!

I love fresh flowers in the house! I particularly love it when I have flowers that last!

These sunflowers are into their second week! They don't look quite this nice anymore and I think I will replace them today. I like to buy different flowers each time I replace them for this spot in the house. I also have a variety of vases that I use depending on the flowers. For the dining room, I like to stick with Alstromeria lillies.

As you can see, Samantha loves these as well. I get 15 stems in a bunch and use 2 in each of the 5 vessels on this epergne. I use the remaining stems in a mini vase in the living room and in an antique bottle in the powder room. I get a big bang for my buck with these! This week I cut some lovely hydrangea blooms for these other vases. I simply love hydrangea. I am particularly fond of blue flowers. I cannot wait to see all the hydrangeas when I go to Rhode Island in a couple of weeks. They grow everywhere! There are hedges of them spilling all along the roadside and the sight of them takes my breath away! I even passed a hydrangea farm there!

I finished knitting the body of my Labyrinth last night so now I have to knit a swatch to experiment with some dye painting! I am using Procion MX dye this time so I have to experiment with different formulas to get the right match! While Labyrinth dries, I will start swatching for the Dayflower Camisole. I have this exact yarn in a lovely soft spring green in my stash and I've always loved this pattern.

Sewing--I've been procrastinating on my kitchen curtain. I didn't get it done yesterday. I did sew some darling project bags to replace the zip locs in my knitting tote. I would show photos, but I've made some for my secret pal so I have to keep them secret!

I am currently in the process of finding a pet sitter for the weekend that DH meets me in New England. Typically, I would get a dry food dispenser to go next to the water dispenser and the kitties would be fine. Mikey, however, needs insulin shots twice a day so he cannot be left for 3 days with no shots. Even Elvis is pretty trouble free! If I give him some fresh aquarium plants and feeder fish, he can go with without his turtle sticks. He just has to work to catch his dinner! Here's a pic of Elvis doing the "foot thing."

He basks and shakes his feet in the air to dry them off. When he was a baby, he would bask on his tummy and hold his feet in the air! It was very strange looking!

A bit of nostalgia
I came across this dress that I made in the early 90's to wear to a summer wedding. It is either a Vogue or Burda pattern--most likely Burda because that was pretty much what I used back them. This dress features a shaped, fitted bodice which is boned. It has wide gathered shoulder straps and two ruffle tiers for the skirt. There is a large layered bow stitched to one side of the back zipper that fastens to the other side with a large hook and eye. What I love particularly is the fabric this dress is made of. It is a silk/cotton blend with a jacquard type floral design. The color is a soft buttery yellow. I have never found this fabric since then. If I could, I would snatch it up! It is lightweight with the crisp, sticky feel and sheen of silk. The cotton seems to add softness so there isn't the crunchy feel that silk typically has. The bodice is lined with China Silk. I couldn't find a photo of me in the dress. I do remember that it hit in the middle or right above the knee. I couldn't fasten the top of the zipper because I can't make Racquel small enough!





Since I don't have an old photo of me, I will share this one for my niece who regularly reads this blog. She is pictured on the left, with her younger sister, now known as "Mrs. Beers" in the middle and Ems on the right. I had given my nieces the outfits, called Wibbies, for Christmas that year! Please check out her blog at the above link. It is quite entertaining and you may learn some interesting bar review facts!


Bushism of the day:
"The only way we can win is to leave before the job is done." --George W. Bush, Greeley, Colo., Nov. 4, 2006

Kitty Cam: Mikey and Samantha enjoy napping on the dining room table.

A light at the end of the tunnel.

Three weeks of school left. Count 'em, three! It's weird. Normally I'm totally burnt out by now. I'm not this year--at least not in terms of teaching the kids. I am for other reasons, however. This past week was busy as I had my spring concert and all that goes with that. Now for the next 3 weeks I will be grading, putting away stuff, cleaning my huge school closet etc. etc. June 13 won't come a day too soon.

I have begun getting ready for summer. My attention has turned to the outside. I went to Behnke Nursery and got annuals for some of my planters. So far, here are some of the goodies:



So far, I've done the two stand planters on the deck and the two concret urns in front. I also planted some basil, Italian parsley, curled parsley and cilantro in the herb pots. The flowers on the steps are for the pots in front and for the 4 hanging baskets I have on the deck. I still need to find coco mats. Everyone around here seems to be out of the size I need! I also got two gorgeous Fuschias!

I've decided that I'm going to spend some time this summer cleaning out my flower beds. I did survey my irises last week and cut some for the family room.

Some years ago, I planted a number of gorgeous rose bushes behind the irises. I've neglected them over the last few years. I need to get in there and prune them all to see what is still surviving. I couldn't resist this beauty when I was cutting the irises:



I took several photos in an attempt to capture the beauty and size of this rose. It is stunning! It measured about 6 inches across. It is the Peace rose.
I found photos online of some of the other rose varieties that I've planted. In order they are Double Delight, Brandy, French Lace and Blue Ribbon.




There are others, but these are my favorites. I used to come home all stressed and walk over to the roses and just gaze. It totally destressed me! There is a small pink rose bush that has a story with it, but I will save that for another time.

I've done very little knitting this week. I did receive the Handmaiden Double Sea for Labyrinth:


I am making the short sleeved version, but I am lengthening the sleeves to be elbow length.

I found 3 cute patterns on Ravelry. One is a baby sweater which is knit seamless.

I just purchased the pattern for the sweater. I may end up getting the one for the pants too. There is an adult tank by the same designer that I purchased as well:

The last pattern is called the Leaf T. It is a seamless top down and it can be found on Ravelry.

I'm thinking that I would like to do that one in a cotton or silk with 3/4 length sleeves. I also think it needs a little ribbing at the neck to keep it from rolling.

I went shopping with Ems to help her find a dress for my nephew's wedding. We ended up at Marshall's where she found a gorgeous teal blue silk sheath dress by Calvin Klein. It is really elegant. I found a cute little cotton dress. It is made out of creamy goldenrod colored cotton batiste and the bodice and hem are edged with hand crocheted trim. It is reminiscent of a 1950's dress.


I love 50's dresses and I have a few nice ones. I sold a bunch of mine on Ebay after I gained weight, but I did keep the premium ones! Hopefully I'll be able to get into them by the end of the summer!

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be winding down school and planning all my summer projects. The first thing I undertake every summer is to totally clean my house. Basically it is my spring cleaning a couple of months behind schedule.

That's it for now! Hopefully, I'll have knitting to show in my next post!

Bushism of the day:
"We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job. That's what I'm telling you." --George W. Bush, Gulfport, Miss., Sept. 20, 2005

Kitty Cam: Samantha checks out the new flowers on the dining room table.

The kitties are coming!

Tomorrow is the day we have a special guest here at Crazy's! Donna Druchunas is stopping by to talk about her new book. I thought I would present a few of the projects to a tough group of critics. Here are the completed projects:

All of them are spiked with premium organic catnip! Yes, even kitties like to party!

First we have the initial inspection:


Then, needless to say, Samantha chooses the pretty pink one:


Then Harley chased her away:


Greg went right for the mice!


Then Mike tried out the mice and settled on the blue one. In my last post you can see Mikey picking out the blue yarn!



The kitties give Donna's book a glowing review!

Other stuff: The daffodils have been replaced with tulips--and today really felt like spring!

Forty tulips! Next to daffodils, tulips are the second friendliest flower!

Nothing much else to talk about. I went to yoga this evening, so I'm feeling pretty chill!

Here's something that is totally NOT chill:
Bushism of the day:
"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 8, 2003

Kitty Cam: This whole post is a kitty cam!