Posts for category ‘Gardening’

The next wine meet up at Mary Elizabeth and Dan H’s offered a new twist: a white wine that did not contain chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, or pinot grigio. Not wanting to bring a predictable Riesling, Gewurztraminer, or Viognier, I went back to Bridgetown Meats and Catering to ask Larry. He suggested an Argentinian wine with pear and apricot overtones. Unfortunately, though I can envision the label, I cannot remember the actual name of the wine. It is the blue-necked bottle in the photo. I remember the first few letters that make me think “Constantine” but I know I am incorrect.

Intrigued from Larry’s description, I set out again to whip up something in the kitchen to match the wine. In my head I was thinking of using cornmeal to make a wine biscuit that had more tooth than the typical ones I have tried. I was able to create a crispy biscuit that incorporated a light flavor of garlic, oregano, and basil. Paired with two types of scoopable Mediterranean salads, and I had another winning ensemble. Hopefully I will have that recipe written up for everybunny to try soon.

The home of the Mary Elizabeth and Dan had a stunning collection of signed prints of both Charlie and Eileen Harper. To complement the art was a lush garden chock full of various flowers and fauna. Dan took those of us interested in model railroading down to his basement to see his beloved work in progress: an HO layout. He had the back scenery finished, and was working on the foamboard base for his Homosote railbeds. It is a guesstimate, but in looking at his timeline and architectural drawings, he could have everything running in a year. I cannot wait to see it at the next stage of completion!

All of us soon took a break in our conversations, and walked out the back wooden gate onto the driveway to Charlie and Eileen Harper’s home. This mid-century modern contained various eras of their lives. Peaking inside the windows along with everyone else, I was pleased to see a spinning wheel and loom with WIPs on them, as if Eileen just took a break. I felt that fibery connection that crafters like myself know — a familyhood (remember, men knit and crochet too!).

Not to distract everybunny, but I could not help but walk around and photograph the various sections of the beautiful garden’s greenery. In fact all but one of the photos centers on the garden while I walked through it. Hope you enjoy them! =:8

I have been dwelling on what topics to discuss for months, and how to write out the thoughts that appear in my head. Sure I could report on the woolly gatherings and adventures, yet sometimes I want to write something from the heart. Recently a friend had forwarded a quote to me by Abraham-Hicks Publications. Intrigued, I immediately signed up for the daily quote which is e-mailed. The following quote is from Abraham during a workshop held in Spokane, WA on Wednesday, July 7th, 1999. Its words beautifully state what I have been feeling inside for quite some time:

“Inspiration comes forth from within. It’s what the light burning within you is about, as opposed to motivation, which is doing it because if you don’t do it, there will be negative repercussions. Motivation is making myself do something that I don’t really want to do. Inspiration is having the clear picture of what I am wanting — and letting Universal forces come into play to get the outcome.”

There have been incidents which affected my decisions of what I needed and wanted. I had been so stressed out, that in order to relieve the pain I bought close to a ton of yarn and various other things. I did not always want the items presented. Rather, I needed to purchase them because I felt like buying said objects would make me feel better. The need to purchase created a greed for certain items. Before long, my acquiring was out of control and a new stress came about on how I was going to store my “pretties” that I needed around myself to feel mentally better. I had no desire to maintain my home or myself. I ended up with half-done tasks, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes.

The news of my health results on February 5th this year kicked me in the pants. I made the decision that I did not want to be diabetic and that I was going to beat the disease. The want and desire not to be dependent on medication drove me to change my diet radically — no white sugar, white flour, or white pasta; no milk, butter, or eggs. I finally joined a gym, but am not working out like I should. However, by changing my diet, I dropped from that initial A1C of 11.9 to 8.0 and I am proud of that.

Then a light bulb switched in my head about the rest of my acquisitions and behavior. The questions “Do I really WANT all of this yarn? Do I really WANT all of these tools and books? Do I really WANT all of these clothes and shoes?” plugged at me. Finally the real questions, “Why am I holding on to these items? Why do I think I need them? Why can I not do the tasks I set myself to do?” I realized that I had to let go of the items that presented negative energy to my well-being.

I began by purging various items beginning with the 260 groups that I was part of in Ravelry. I asked myself if I was in those groups “just to have” or was I going to participate fully. After removing myself from over 100 groups (hey now, I am still working on that purge!), I looked into the yarn stash and I was stunned. I had never seriously considered how much yarn was in my possession. There was no way I could ever knit all of that delicious fibery goodness before I died. I started a set of destashes, and I felt incredible. In fact purging the yarn bought because I was unhappy was like a release of tension — the rubber band that was drawn tightly to the point of being broken is slowly coming back to its original relaxed shape.

Happy with these latest findings, I began wanting to work in my flower bed again. I also have bought yarn, but now the pretties are items that I truly want to use — not just because I am feeling sad and need a “fix” to feel better. I travel and see friends when I can, and no longer drone about being a lifeless homebody. The feeling of self-improvement continues to grow, and I want more of it! Here is hoping that by late November (my 40th birthday) that I get my wants and desires. =:8

Everyone has that one place to hide away from the world. For me, it used to be my back deck until the carpenter bees took up shelter in the railing. I used to love sitting back in one of our lounge chairs with a ball of yarn in one cup holder, a glass of an ice cold beverage in the other. In the winter, I completely snuggle in my comfy chair and prop my feet on the ottoman. As of late, I discovered what I call a magical place of nature. If I cannot get my hideaway in DelMarVa, at least I can run over here and hide with some friends!

I mentioned coming here in other posts, but never put together a series of photographs of this wonderful place. Finally, from the last visit with Carine, I snapped a few shots and can share them with everyone. Please enjoy them!

Now for some fun news: I am participating in Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo 2007!! I signed up to be both a square and player for Saturday the 20th. I cannot wait to play. =:8

Just a quick blurb to state a comment about a poorly created on-line flash game I first heard about on RealTechNews and confirmed on Yahoo. I refuse to link to the game itself, but if a search on VTech is done, one would find a video game that puts the player as the shooter in the massacre. The game writer states that he understands Cho because he himself was picked on. Ha. So was I, but I learned how to deal with it by making something of myself. I felt the best revenge was being successful, and gosh darn I am doing my utmost! I had mentally promised that I would not write a response because I know how hot I can get. I could easily put both feet into my mouth. That does not mean I will discourage anyone else from writing… All I can say is, “UGH. WHY???”

On a much-needed lighter note, I did play with the PetSmart bunnies tonight, but forgot my camera. Sampson, Lady Lightning, and Bethany can be found on the SBRR Adoptees page or on SBRR’s Petfinder page. I figured out that my allergies are kicked up when I sweep up spilled cat litter or when the cats are brought out to the potential play/bonding area and no sweeping was done afterwards. My sniffling and (lack of sneezing) tonight proves it. At least I could still breathe when I left tonight.

Sampson reminds me of my Julius in so many ways. Beside coloring, his sly and sneaky mannerisms combined with the “I am so cute” charisma make him a very adoptable guy. Lady Lightning is also another sweetie. The silly girl kept trying to check out the cats, who tried pouncing at her through their bars! Visions of having to explain why a bunny was split open plagued me the entire time she was out. As for shy Bethany, she will become a laid back bun who will open her heart when she gets a forever home. Cross your fingers for these rabbits. I wish I could take them ALL home. Hmmm… Would the divorce be worth it?

Finally, I have been tagged by Debbie, Mish and Sarah with a couple of Memes. Here is the first. The second (what have I knitted?) will be on a later post.

7 things that you may not know about me
• The towelwarmer in my bathroom is my equivalent as that first cup of coffee when I wake up. That appliance is my favorite gadget from all the wedding presents I received! After not using it while away on trips, when I get back to RI, that first morning shower feels decadent.
• Tostino’s Crispy surpreme pizzas are my favorite frozen pizza. No idea why. Richie actually figured the best way to bake them: 450F for 10 minutes. I use the convection setting for extra crunch.
• I wear colored contact lenses over my dark brown eyes. Back in 2001 when I had to get a new prescription, I jokingly asked Richie what he thought if I had colored lenses. His answer: “Get the purple ones. They would look so cool on you!” Since then, my eyes have been lavender, grey, green, turquoise, and for my wedding day — sapphire blue. I used to match my eyes to the outfit, but now I try to offset the colors (blue against black, lavender against green, grey again brown, etc.).
• To write a post can take me from two hours to a whole week. Besides the usual weekly track, I often have topics in my head that I want to discuss and throw out to ponder. If I include photos, I expect at least another two hours to trim, edit and upload the photos to my Flickr. I am amazed that I can write at all.
• Photography and surfing were my passions during senior year in high school. If I had the time and money, both would be fighting with knitting and my Mustang for attention. At the moment, knitting is the most portable and fitting with my current line of work timewise.
• I rarely drink cola and if I do, it is specifically C*ke. I prefer sweet tea, root beer, and Fresc*. The only time I crave C*ke is usually the day after I have had too much to drink. Reason is because back in VA Tech, I had an ACM poker night where I drank draft beer with root beer schnapps and later vodka with Mountain D*w. When I opened my fridge to calm my next day hangover, all I saw was a case of IBC and Dew. ‘Nuff said.
• I have a neat collection of model trains in the Z, N, HO, and O scales. Richie has mostly N and G scale items. One day we hope to take a part of our side yard and turn it into a nice garden railway.
  

Okay. Time for bed! =:8

“Hola” my friends. Offered to all is a gratuitous bunny photo of Zydeco spooning Jessica Bunny. Feels like it has been forever since I last wrote. Granted, I have been busying away on projects on both personal and work levels. I still have no reason to neglect everyone. While home, besides my parents and Ace’s family, I saw my other in-law’s — Lew’s family. We all met a couple of times for DN’s First Communion dinner at the China Star and for a Mother’s Day breakfeast (NOT a typo). For the breakfeast, Ace served bacon, sausages, mini wheat bagels, scrambled eggs, and her fabulous crepes with her fresh berry compote topped with beaten cream. Assuredly, the feast was completed with ample amounts of coffee, tea, and assorted juices. I think that is everything. Later Ma and Pop had us over for a turkey dinner fit for a Thanksgiving supper. I ingested so much food, running is being written into my spare time instead of knitting — after I finish my current WIPs, of course. How about I start off the photo session with a Saturday Sky from Mother’s Day weekend and a row of roses? Be sure to click on the Saturday Sky for my “Tie One On” FO. Details on that project will be written later.

A trip back home to Virginia Beach is never a trip without visits to the Oceanfront and Bobbie Reich’s always incredible LYS, Ewe Knit Kits. See what I bought? Are they not the most awesome find for me? Before I jumped on the plane, I wanted to see which LYS would have the Addi Lace needles. Sure enough, my favorite LYS had them, and I was able to snatch some from their hanging hooks! The Jaggerspun’s Zephyr in Apricot and Lorna’s Laces’ Shepherd Sock in Motherlode had been begging to be picked up. Obviously I obliged to their calls. Add my mother’s and sister’s goodies for me, I say I made out.

Though my plane rides to home and back to Rhode Island were far from ideal, the results were badly needed. The Virginia Tech Massacre had clouded my mind (one reason I have not been blogging), and I have been sorting myself out with lots of knitting and stash enhancements. Besides working at my job to help clean up my mental sense, I started on ignored UFOs and WIPs that I have been meaning to do. My Bloglines list is also getting tidied because my work projects will not allow the reading/commenting of over 300 blogs during lunchtime anymore. So far, the Bloglines list is down to 275; still need at least another 50 to remove before I have control again. I really dislike picking and choosing whose blogs that I read. At least I have my Hokie Hope squares (now up to 7) to distract me. I will be sending them off tomorrow to make sure they arrive on time by May 31st. Meanwhile, the “Knitting for Virginia Tech” blog is asking for hand-made items for the Fall 2007 school session. Hope to have something for them soon too.

There were a couple of things waiting for me when I came back to Rhode Island. I had asked Nana Sadie Rose to make me a custom Posy Sock Sack. She kindly obliged, and the results are spectacular. She also surprised me with a Virginia Tech checkbook she made. I am so happy that my DPN case from Barbara and the Posy Sock Sack match. In fact, I love the bag so much, I am using it as a purse. My Sockapalooza pal, not to be outdone in this swap, sent me an awesome SNB journal. Now I can chart off my Virginia Tech scarves easily and quickly.

This week, I dropped by Gina’s LYS in Wakefield, Knit One Purl Too. I found more J-Knits yarn, this time the Superwash Sock in two colorways. I scooped up Providence and one other which name I will not say because it is for my Secret Pal Spoilee’s last package. Along with the yarn, I could not resist these bunny needles. Adorable to a tee, I think.

My last bit is on a couple of swaps and WIPs trying to be come FOs. I have been getting a number of items lately in trade for what is in my stash. With the stash enhancement experiences WIPs are growing like weeds. I will explain them in more detail. The Fetchings are obvious, the stranded square is part of a secret project. =:8

Geesh, I must have some Freudian slippage going on. I had to correct myself and re-type the title from WEDDING to WEEDING about a number of umpteen times! Well, there are 2 weddings happening at the end of summer, so maybe that is it. Meanwhile…

Last night, I decided to move my knitting chair from against the wall. Voila!! The little red pouch with the beloved stitch markers is there under the chair the entire time. And my DH Rich had all the reasons in the world to do the ITYS, but instead, he just griped on why I never do what he suggests. Still, he’s so smart… After all, he married me, right? And now I keep the little pouch with me at all times in the knitting pouch in my purse. Yup, I am not going to lose these babies EVER AGAIN.



Now that “weeding” around my chair produced results by the found stitch markers, I decided at 6:30AM today to weed my large flower bed. Mind you, I normally sleep until 7:30AM (okay sometimes 8AM) since I started working from 9AM to 5PM-ish (usually 5:30PM-ish), so playing in the dirt this early in the morning with only 5 hours of sleep, well… Okay, I am a nut. I weeded out whatever dandelions I could find, some errant grasses, and put a litterpan of “bunny gold” (at least that is what a master gardener called my bunny stuff!) in a trench I made around my miniature lavender rose bush, and covered it with soil. The hardest task was yanking out a locust tree sapling that decided to grow between the rose bush and cedar. Uh, NOT! I don’t think so!! And that darned thing had a horizontal root about 5-feet west and 4-feet east. *Whoa.* With the thought on how tired I will be after the Paw Sox game tonight, I give you bunnies to entertain you with their attempts to nap… =:8

After having some warm days filled with sunshine, Rhode Island has become cold and chilly. We even had snow flurries in the northern section of the state this morning! Luckily where I live and work it was just rain and wind, but the air still had that “snow is around the corner” feel. I wish someone upstairs could please remember that April is supposed to have warmer weather. I am glad that at least some of my bulbs have flowered with more to come. Notice all the yellow daffodils? I think they are saluting Lolly from Project Spectrum. The weather is still ugly.



With all the greyness around me today, I had this urge to knit at work. Usually I do so during lunch, but today I only had baby Andrea’s sweater to seam. Looking for anything to distract me from having to sew up the WIP, I figured I better get something to eat. When I opened my food stash drawer (soup packets, boxes of tea, wrapped candy etc.), I realized that I had the perfect Project Spectrum office photo models along with my Vickie’s Vanilla lotion. Is this photo a sign I am going PS-Crazy? And can you tell that I like most things yellow and tangerine?

On another knitting note, I am slowly getting Simon’s Christening sweater together. I just need to knit the second sleeve and the two button plackets. I did take a few photos tonight, but the flash washed out EVERYTHING. Instead I leave you a process shot when I finished the hood and back. I am kind of dreading the sewing portion, but I know it has to get done. Plus I have the other bath set I need to finish for a special someone who is due to arrive…

While driving home, I returned my sister’s phone call. She had fantastic news about our girlfriend Anita. Anita’s due date for her greatly anticipated first-born child is the fifteenth, but Aidan Michael decided to pop out ten days early! Woo-hoo for mom and son! They are doing great, and I absolutely know that Michael, her husband, is on cloud nine. I am so happy for them. Now I can barely wait to go back home!! I do hope they also like Aidan’s bath set. The reason I have not shown any pictures of it is because Anita does visit this site, and I really want it to be a surprise. Sorry folks!

The weather was still heavy and grey when I came home after grocery shopping. All that was on my mind was making that test batch of chilli, getting dinner made, and blogging while watching some baseball. Okay, maybe I wanted to get some knitting done too, but since I crashed at 8PM last night and did not get out of bed until 6:30AM today, I really wanted to get some stuff done. Anyway, I received a very nice surprise in the mail from Joanne.

I met Joanne (BIG wave “Hello!”) and her daughter at the Boston KnitOut and Crochet this past Fall. I was sitting at the Bloggers table when they stopped by. Turns out that a pattern from a yarn label was not being that descriptive, and it WAS pretty confusing. Anyway I helped to decipher it, and after a nice chat, they went along their way. When the drawings were held for door prizes, she had won some yarn and had decided to send it to me along with some patterns. Did you notice the card? My guess is that Joanne photographed the flowers herself. Can you say Project Spectrum, Massachusetts style?

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all made it home safe this morning.

Last night we rang in the New Year at Jen and Chris’ home. They were hosting a potluck dinner with poker (for bragging rights, no money here). It was so nice to be out of the house and with other couples. It can get really boring when all we do is sit at home to watch television and play on the computers (one reason why I am crocheting and knitting so much). I miss being physically active and have decided I need to do something about my rounded self!

This past year has been a little (okay, more like A LOT) crazy, and I did not follow the goals I made last year. Now that my schedule seems set for certain periods, I figured I better get a handle on how to improve and/or remove my flaws and bad habits.

Before I get into such boring details, here are several of the items I received for Christmas:
Plymouth bamboo circular needle set (awesome to use!)
the entire set of The Chronicles of Narnia
Ghiradelli squares, giant Toblerone bars, and Lindt truffles
all sorts of Virginia Tech stuff
small project tote bag (thank you Ruth!)
bottle of Red Mountain Laurel from Chateau Morrissette
Knitting Pattern a Day calendar for 2006

As for the resolutions, like Laurie from Crazy Aunt Purl, I love making lists for myself.
The KALs I have finished at least one item in:
Clapotis
Cathy’s stole
MIL’s scarf
WIP – CTH Cabin Fever for me
WIP – 7 Settembre scarf for Harini
WIP – Malabrigo in Alpine Pearl
Fuzzy Feet
Lisa’s limeade pair
Daddy’s brown and red (for ankle, heel, and toe) pair
WIP – Gabby’s periwinkle and pink (for ankle, heel, and toe) pair
WIP – 2 pairs for Nick (royal blue) and Lilly (periwinkle)
Warm Hands
(I had lost count of the mittens and wrist-warmers at one point!)
Dora’s pink Gusto mittens with eyelash cuff
demonstration blue Gusto men’s mittens
MIL’s wine Baby mittens
Lisa’s lime acrylic mini-mittens bookmark
demonstration red/black Charleston wrist-warmers
Anita’s fushia Horstia M/S wrist-warmers
Sarah’s green Softwist Bulky and Dazzlelash wrist-warmers
Lisa’s green Hortstia M/S wrist-warmers
WIP – Rasha’s because I forgot how I did the left hand

This year, I am more specific with my goals:
01) Have a crocheted and a knitted FP a month (KALs!)
02) Eat out less often for lunch and dinner (especially weekdays)
03) Excercise for 30 minutes minimum at least 3 times a week
04) Read more books (Rich gave me the Narnia set for Christmas)
05) Watch less television (except for sports, news, and James Bond)
06) Deposit splurge money back into savings or the car (see #10)
07) Write a letter to everyone important in my life
08) Throw out items that are not being used (Can you say “packrats”?)
09) Work on my home and garden (I lost interest in the fall)
10) Finish rebuilding my Mustang (need money first!)

We will see whether I can pull all of these off… I may just post what I do to make sure they happen.
=:8

I have been hit with crankiness due to feeling restrained and frustrated in the office. I really hit the mark when a co-worker who is REALLY into printing out her code on full reams of paper (I KID you NOT) kept complaining on why the printer would not work. It was because the printer screen was flashing “NO TONER” over and over! Below is me on Wednesday when I snapped at 5PM, an hour AFTER I was supposed to start my vacation…

I signed up for over a week’s worth of time off, but had changed it to 2 days before the weekend, and 2 days after. Originally, I planned to go away back to Virginia Beach with Rich, but since we will be back down for Christmas, it seemed logical to splurge on one trip than penny-pinching on both.

So what do I plan to do with my time off? My list of things to do:
Catch up on my blog (Friday)
Get my finished projects web-page done (After I finish the other yarn projects)
Lisa’s birthday present (at least the weekend)
Celebrate Mom and Dad’s Reynolds’ birthdays with dinner (Saturday)
Bring my designed crocheted items to RA Yarns for display (Sunday)
Get car serviced and its oil changed (Sunday)
Helmetliner for Doctor Dan’s troop (Sunday)
Pete’s baby blanket — a re-do, I frogged the original one (Monday)
Pick up Nibbles’ ashes at Big River Veterinary (Tuesday)
Pick up my charm bracelet at Concannon Jeweler’s (Tuesday)
Cathy’s birthday present (will take non-stop work!)
2 baby ponchos/sweaters for Carrie’s twin sons (not sure)
Glen and Jeni’s baby blanket (not sure)
Revamp the yarn stash in my bedroom — aka my giant closet
Overhaul our bedroom and bathroom — flooring and paint
The typical house and gardening chores
…And whatever tidbits I remember that I need to do

Now, can you tell that I am an overachiever? I can blame my parents’ hardworking ethics of reaching for the stars.
Let us all hope I can complete at least 4 of these tasks!
=:8

Well, it has been over a month since my last post. I had several good reasons, though. I will even list them in chronological order for you.

June 4th weekend was full of weeding and determination to ensure the front yard looked perfect for the upcoming Gaspee Day parade. BTW, if you go to Rich’s site, you will see the pictures that he took. I also took a few snapshots, and will be posting them for all to check out. Anyway, I happened to get my first experience with poison ivy, and was quite miserable with the weeping blisters and horrible rash all over my left arm and partially on my right arm. By the time I visited my doctor on Wednesday the poison ivy became systemic and had spread throughout my body. My left arm was now red with cellulitis and the skin so swollen I could not touch my arm without wincing.