Kittenapalooza!

There's a new lady in my life:

Lucille Clementine, better known as Lucy
(Check out those EARS!)

She came home with me last night and has been hanging out in my room ever since. Currently she's enjoying a lengthy nap on my bed. She's here more or less because I decided I don't like driving on the freeway anymore. Unlike most drivers I know I've never really been scared of the freeway, not even when I was new to it, but a few weeks ago it occurred to me that I have a lot more fun when I take surface roads. The route from E's house to mine is particularly enjoyable, as little country roads take me past cows, horses, plenty of chickens, neighbors selling summer squash & sweet corn, and one particular house with a very tempting sign out front: "ADORABLE KITTENS FREE."

Mom & I had been talking about a kitten for a while. Our cat April is very very lonesome. We lost her brother Bam a year ago to a car and Bob, my sweet silly companion for 8 years or so, passed away back in May due to kidney failure. We all miss them both every day and April is no exception. This is the only time in her life she's been the the only cat and she doesn't seem to like it a bit (I don't blame her). Of course, she and Lucy are not exactly best friends yet. They've had two brief meetings, both of which featured a lot of hissing from April. They'll get to know each other better once Lucy's been to the vet, of course, and I have no doubt that April will come around, even if it takes some time.

For now Lucy & I are hanging out in my room. She's been remarkably well-behaved, using her little temporary litter box like a pro, chasing her tail a whole bunch, wrestling with her favorite "toy" (an old rag I had lying around), and licking my hands at every opportunity. Aww! I'll try to get some better pictures soon. Black cats aren't easy to photograph and the crappy camera I've been using since my good one broke only makes matters worse, but I think my friend M, a talented photographer, will be by tomorrow, so I'll see what I can get him to do. And naturally there will be video of the tail-chasing as soon as I can manage it!

Garden Photos.

My garden is doing beautifully so far this year! I actually have two gardens now, much to my delight: the same little patch of the backyard we've been using for three years now plus a new bed along the side of the house. (Once I have access to my own land you can bet none of it will be wasted on grass, but I'm very grateful to have any space at all to grow while living at home, not to mention my step-dad's expertise and help!) I've never quite gotten the hang of taking good garden photos but there's only one way to get any better at that, so here are some from this morning:


As you can see, the bell peppers are really coming in! We've never successfully grown them before and the plants barely seemed to grow early on, so I was nervous. Clearly I had nothing to worry about. We have three plants, each stunningly productive. I think a large part of it has to do with my three fantastic, heavenly-smelling lavender plants, which the bees have been loving as much as I do. The cucumbers by the lavender are flourishing, too, in contrast to last year's cucumbers which never seemed to get pollinated. Thanks bees!

We've got some sweet banana peppers, too!

It will be some time before the cabbage is ready, but isn't it pretty? I love the color it adds.

Sadly, strawberry season is well past. This photo is from June, during which we harvested tons of strawberries as beautiful, juicy, and delicious as these two. The strawberry plants are making a valiant effort to take over the entire garden as we speak. It's tempting to just let them but I am holding them back as best I can.

That's just a fraction of what we've got, so I'll aim for more/better photos soon!

Hi blog! I know it's been approximately 8,000 years since I last posted (or 7 months, whatev). School definitely took over my life during my last semester, leaving very little time for baking or knitting, let alone blogging about either. On the plus side I took four of the best and most challenging courses of my life, so I'm definitely not complaining, but I am thoroughly enjoying my summer break. A year from now I will have a degree in Anthropology and Women's & Gender Studies and probably be freaking out about what the hell to do next. I have a few ideas (my current favorite involving going on for a Master's in Library & Information Science) but we'll see what happens.

Currently I am working on my first pair of cuff-down socks and I absolutely love them! I'm nearing the toe on the first one and it's been a fun process. As much as I enjoyed toe-up socks and appreciate their yarn-saving potential, I have to say that turning the heel from the cuff down somehow seems to make more sense and I really like the look of this heel.

Pictures of those socks will come soon. For now I can show you one kinda crappy picture of one of the only projects I finished all semester, a neck-warmer for my gentleman-friend E:

Unfortunately taken right after I brilliantly dropped my camera on the pavement in Seattle and broke it.
The pattern for that was a free one, the Darkside Cowl, and I absolutely loved knitting it. The stitch not only looks cool but produces a very springy, thick fabric. It definitely keeps the neck warm and has gotten plenty of compliments -- next time you want to make an quick & easy gift, keep it in mind!

So, is anyone still reading this? Please feel free to say hi in the comments if you are! I wouldn't be surprised if lots of folks stopped checking this since I've been so negligent. I've also noticed that I'm not the only one to have gone on an unplanned hiatus; many of my favorite blogs seem to have been languishing for a while now. Still, I will do my best to update more often, at least for the rest of the summer and hopefully into the school year, too. Hope you're all well. ♥