Socks and Herbs

“Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.” Marcus Tullius Cicero

Most of my gardening...no, not true....all of my gardening anymore is done in pots. It is a great thing to see the plants doing so well this year with all the cool weather and rain that is flooding people in this state out. I have been picking the top whorl of leaves off this mint to dry for tea and to add this winter to brownies. Socks for Dad, made from Qutecowgirl's yarn. The toes and heels were dyed by me, first with lime Kool-Aid then in three baths of strong black tea.Socks for me!! Again from Qutecowgirl's yarn. You can't really tell from the photos, but the peachy colored yarn has minute purple places in it. My favorite socks so far, but I say that about every pair.I have found new sock yarn suppliers recently on Etsy. NeuroticKnitterz. And in finding them, I found an interesting site and group on Ravelry. Phat Fibers. I am still new to this group, but I have found if you purchase from one of their contributors, your name can go into a hat for the drawing of a neat box of stuff, go check it out. I am in twice because of this yarn purchase. The colors are outside of my normal range, but the yarn is fantastic. I have already wound one of them into a ball and can't wait to start something with it. I am open to suggestions from any of you currently working on something wonderful. These skeins contain 460 yards.My dear friend Penny gave me this small strawberry pot. My thyme is certainly happy in there this summer. I love it!!Yarn my parents gave me for Christmas. I know it will become a sweater but currently I am trying to decide which one. I have lost a little bit of weight, too, so am trying to decide on a size. I wind the balls by hand, good physical therapy!And my last picture today is of one of the two wire egg baskets I found at a garage sale. I have been stuffing them with all the ends and pieces and leftovers of all my sock knitting. I am currently looking for a good scrap yarn sock to use some of these up.

God Bless,
Lynn

Sunday Moments

Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.

Dave Barry

My neighbor does not own one, but he doesn't garden either. I had a tremendous day yesterday. My friend Penny and I went to the greenhouse in the town where she lives. Boy, did I find a haul. I thanked the owner and told the man how lucky I felt that he had Perpetuo Basil again.....He had it last year and hoping, hoping hoping, that is why I made the trip again this year. He told me he only sold a few plants last year (to me) and considered not growing any this year (I will need to buy more!). I came away with Perpetuo, Opal and Cinnmon Basils, as well as thymes and a pelargonium, chocolate and lemon mints and various sages. The ornamental grass that used to be in this front yard has found a new home in Penny's yard.

From there, we picked up her brother and lunched in Sioux City with her family. I have a little secret....I love to play poker. We stopped at a casino on the way home. As a rule, I do not gamble, my money comes too hard and there are always other more important things....like wonderful wools, to spend my money on. Well, I came away as the big winner. I played for a half hour and walked away a quarter richer!! Penny gifted me with the Space Needle charm she found at an estate sale we went to on Friday. I am originally from Washington State. She and I turned it into a row marker.

The leaf I harvested from my Mother's plant is now blooming, does anyone recognize it? I would sure love to know the name. Is it a Primrose?

Have a blessed week and thanks for stopping by.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
— Scott Adams

A minor harvest from a garden that will soon see a devastating frost. It is late in coming for us this year, always a blessing. I have lost my basil to a light frost this past week, but the rosemary is holding up beautifully. Cindy over at My Romantic Home had a great recipe for part of this pile of rosemary. I still have quite a bit more to harvest. Being in Zone 4, it will not over winter and I have quite a few plants in the house already.