But that is really no excuse.
I've been doing the job of two people. Well, except for the 7 weeks when I had help. But he got a better offer and his last day was Good Friday. So I'm back to the job of two people.
When not at work, I've been enjoying Shell Cottage every possible moment. We try to go three weekends out of the month. I've done quite a bit of gardening and can't wait for high season so I can see everything going wild and blooming! I've discovered an absolutely huge..um...vine doesn't seem immense enough, but that's what we'll call it for now -- vine of wisteria growing through/over/in a spray of pine trees in the back yard.! My neighbor, DeeDee, says it is gorgeous in bloom.
One of the trees in the side yard is blooming! I don't know what kind of a tree it is, but it is beautiful!
The other tree in the side yard is the bottle tree. We are up to 12 bottles. Norbert gave me an early Fathers' Day present -- three unusual bottles, including red and yellow, which are unusual colors. You can just see the red bottle near the top of the pic above. DeeDee says the tree will bloom soon, as well, and that the blooms are white. If you have any weird bottles -- unusual colors, shapes, etc. -- send them to me! Nothing makes me quite as happy as adding another bottle to the tree.
We also have a shrub, above, blooming in the back yard. Again, I don't know what it is, but it is pretty.As for the front yard, all of the raggedy bushes have been pulled, the roots dug up, and 6 hedge roses planted in their place. It looks like six twigs have been stuck in the ground, but give it two or three years and they will be spectacular with blooms of pinkish red. (And in the fall, brilliant orange hips!) This past weekend Myfanwe and I put down landscape fabric around the roses and then a good, thick layer of mulch.
Knitting
I'm a little bitter about knitting, but trying to get past it.
I hated the Rose Leaf curtains (more than I can say) and ripped back almost to the beginning and decided to design my own using stitch patterns from books. It's only through one repeat and I already know I like it more.
More later. Please don't forget me!
I will not have the Cathedral Window Shawl finished in time for the State Fair. Early in the year I had scheduled to take a class at an LYS on knit-on lace edging, since it seems fairly difficult to learn from written instructions. But then, four days before the class, the LYS called, mortified, to say that the teacher's "scheduler" had inadvertently scheduled two events in two different states for the same day. The class was rescheduled, but -- such is my luck -- for a date I couldn't be there. So I'm going to have to put it on the back burner for a bit until I can find a teacher who can teach me.
I hated the Rose Leaf curtains (more than I can say) and ripped back almost to the beginning and decided to design my own using stitch patterns from books. It's only through one repeat and I already know I like it more.
More later. Please don't forget me!
6 comments:
Thrilled to see you are out there enjoying your new house! The shrub looks like it could be a mountain laurel, but I am not an expert by any means. I am not getting much knitting or spinning done right now, but the lamb cuteness-factor on the farm makes up for it :*)
Nina, I envy you! I love lambs! They are so squishy-cute and tasty! Do you raise any fiber lambs?
If I win the lottery I plan to give up Shell Cottage for a small rural place where I can keep chickens and a couple of sheep. And maybe plant an acre of roses, wildflowers and poppies so that I could have buckets of them in every room of the house.
Aidan, I'd be delighted to help you through your knitted-on lace edging queries, if you think it's possible.
Maybe if I set something up and take photos as I go?
Is there a tutorial on you tube? It's one of those things that when you actually see it you will ask, "Is that all there is to it?"
The little white flowering bush looks like a dogwood. So pleased you are enjoying the cottage. we missed you here!
Carry on with the curtain it will a lot more interesting as your own creation.
Love the bottle tree! It all looks so beautiful.
hello,
the pink flowering tree in the side yard is almost certainly a flowering crabapple. It should have wonderful red crabapples in august. They make a sensational jelly. Crabapples, btw, like regular apples, pears, cherries, hawthorns and plums, are all members of the gigantic rose botanical family. Your new rose bushes with their future hips are joining the clan.
i also think your flowering shrub might be another rose relative, but so far which one eludes me. The 5 petals & the leaves are signature. Have to wait & see what kind of fruit & seeds it produces.
Post a Comment