On a Friday in Late August

 California is on fire, again.  Lightning storms started the fires this time.  I sit and worry as I read about friends losing their homes, fretting over their safety.  Quietly mourning my beloved redwoods, so many of them now just kindling and ash.

Even here, there is a smoke haze in the air that burns eyes and makes the light glaring, harsh.  Late in the day the sun is blood orange.  It gets dark earlier than it should.

My hair is green again.  Emerald at the roots, changing to something closer to moss or seaweed at the ends.  Despite the dramatic color shift, it is as comfortable as my usual copper shade, though even more conspicuous when we venture out, which continues to be almost not at all.

Mostly, I do housework and tend the garden.  I've also started collecting seeds from a few of the plants.  And I continue to knit.  Of course.

Scents and Another Felix

 Most of my make up has been untouched these last few months, didn't even put on mascara the last time we did the grocery shopping. Occasionally, I'll swipe on a bit of lipstick if the mood strikes.  I haven't hennaed my hair since...late March?  Early April?  The green dye I used on my roots has mostly washed out, leaving a rather pale, almost mossy tint to the grown out hair.  It looks, oddly suitable.

The one collection that has expanded, (aside from the Yarn Hoarde) is the fragrance collection.  Most of what I own is amber and/or rose scented.  They are my go to favorites.  But...wearing the same smell everyday is boring.  Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab to the rescue!  BPAL has been a consistent favorite of mine over the years, (I recently had to replace my Mme. Moriarty as I actually ran out).  While not the cheapest, a bottle lasts a good long while, the smells are unique, and it's a company I enjoy supporting when I can.

These are my personal favorites:

The other smell I have been wearing a lot was bought on a whim while putting in an Ulta order.

It's described as "driving through the mountains with the windows down."  I have to say, well done Pacifica! 

Having decided that I apparently need to smell like "outside" or "foresty", I snagged a bar of Shiso from Harry's soaps (Son is quite fond of the Redwood scent).

It is a nice soap that smells, well, like green herbs, doesn't make me itchy nor does it compete with my perfumes.  Definitely a win.

I continue to knit on my Sarah Connor hat.  Admittedly, I was a bit worried about doing dropped stitches, but it looks to be turning out well.

I cast on another Felix pullover out of some fisherman's wool I had in the Hoarde.

Not overly exciting or fancy, but I wear my other one almost constantly when it gets cold, as well as the cardigan version that I have also knit.

A pair of socks for Husband were also pulled out to be worked on.  The yarn is a discontinued Opal colorway.  The pattern is Time Traveler Socks.

He wears a US size 13 shoe and likes a tall leg so they fit in his boots.  They are not a quick to complete project, especially when you set them aside for two or three years.  Ooops.

Not too long ago I plunked an avocado pit into a small pot of dirt to see if I could get it to grow.  It was taking a good while, so I plopped in a few seeds from a store bought lemon into the pot figuring one of them might sprout eventually.

And now I have tiny lemon and avocado trees in my yarn room.

Neutral Headspace and a Pumpkin

 First, my backyard has hit threat level pumpkin, (a bit earlier than it should have, oddly appropriate, but I planted super early.  I'm hoping more blooms will set fruit now the worst of the heat seems to have passed.)

I've never grown pumpkins before.  Definitely a novel experience.

There are also lovely sweet peppers, (that likely won't be sweet as the plants got mixed in with hot peppers. Yay for cross-pollination.)

And it was actually hot enough, long enough for my Hatch chiles to set fruit!

One of the things I've started doing this season is seed collection.  Coriander off the cilantro plants that bolted.  Nasturtium, snapdragon and dianthus flower seeds.  Beans, peas, lettuce, chard, tomatoes and cucumbers.  Carefully dried and tucked away with the rest of the Seed Hoard, which is almost exclusively heirloom varieties.  I have proper Kitchen Garden goals.

As for maintaining a neutral headspace, which is all one can really hope for at this current point in time, the plants help.  They require pretty much daily tending.  Seed collection is time consuming and fussy.  I can, so I do not waste the opportunity to do so.  I am hoping it will enable me to spread more of the plant love later.

No, I am not optimistic that the current administration of uncompassionate, self-serving politicians will pull their heads out of their collective backside to maybe manage a functional bandage slapped on ever growing problems in the next month or less.

But that offers the opportunity for dramatic change for the better for the majority of the actual populace. 

Current practices (and whatever weirdness they potentially escalate into) are not sustainable.  That is what gives me hope.  Things have to change.  Things must change to improve things, for everyone.

Happy August?

Tonight there is cassoulet  ( I used chicken instead of duck, easier to come by around here and left in the slow cooker all day) for dinner.  Exceptionally yummy!  There is Irish Soda Bread to go with it, also quite tasty.

While the bread was baking, I went out and picked tomatoes.  They were absolutely delicious!

I finished my first Trescao sweater, four more to go.  Made out of Berocco Remix, they are simple, comfy tee shirt type items.

I also finished my OmgWtf2020 hat.

Next on the needles is my Sarah Connor hat:

The hats are decidedly thematic and have been quite enjoyable to make so far.

Knitting away, waiting to see what August will bring us, really hoping for more tomatoes.  Most likely steadily adding to the camping gear as we are able and continuing to avoid most humans.  

Just Add Dirt

We bought a melon from the store.  As I was scooping out the seeds, I found myself wondering, "Would these grow?"  So I saved a small handful, rinsed them, dried them and put 'em in a small jar.  But three of them...those three I walked straight out onto the back patio and stuck in a pot of dirt (where other seeds had refused to sprout) then finished putting together dinner.  Now, now I have two seedlings from those three seeds.  Not a bad germination rate

That rather large and lush green thing obscuring one of my the melon seedlings?  That's a potato.  It was at the bottom of the bag, going green and starting to sprout, so I plunked it in the dirt.  It's now a solid foot tall, getting larger daily.

We were preparing some sweet potatoes for dinner one night.  Daughter trimmed off ends (I'm not allowed near sweet potatoes with sharp implements anymore) that were just starting to show sprouts (the sweet potatoes were still fine for dinner).  So....I took the sprouting bits, grabbed a grow bag I had bought last winter, filled it with dirt and chucked in those sprouting ends.

Now, I am apparently growing sweet potatoes too.   Yes, I know they are too close together.  I hadn't really properly planned to grow any potatoes at all this season.

My cream of the crop squash (that I wasn't sure survived the squirrels) has at least one squash:

And one of the pumpkins survived the squirrel invasion as well!

Ummm, y'all?  I am running out of patio space.

Embracing my (not so inner) Ivy

It's been a few months since I last hennaed my hair. ( I have more, just haven't bothered) The ashy, and quite blonde still, colored roots a discordant contrast against my usual warm, bright, copper of choice.  Darling Daughter had been looking at some Manic Panic.  Her plan was just to dye the ends of her hair, just for something different.

I realized that for as long as I have been dyeing my hair (more than two decades), I had never done it anything except an expected shade.

So now my roots are bright green.

(Not a great shot, but people are still setting off random, large fireworks about 1am around here, nor do I enjoy the taking of the selfie.)  I did the underside too, so my braids are varigated and all those little hairs glow bright green in the sunlight.

I rather like it!

Finally, it is Summer!

Watering the garden before the heat of the day.  Listening to the hum of bees as they go from flower to flower.  The smell of the tomato vines in the air.

Less than a month ago, I was having to turn my heat back on, the temperatures had dropped so far.  I worried my poor plants would never bear fruit.  Now, I have had to prop up beans, peas, cucumbers, and tomatoes with 5-6 foot wood dowels and garden twine.

Only one actual cucumber has been produced.

It has since been used as a side for dinner one evening.  The consensus was that it was delicious.

I let a random onion go to flower.  It is the pompom I didn't realize my garden needed.

The bees adore it!

One of my salad pots may have accidentally started producing an Audrey 2:

It's not started singing, so I think we are safe...for now.

I haven't finished any sort of craft project in ages.  I did cast on a new one though.

An emPower People bandana in Malabrigo silky merino in Purple Mystery.  Wear some purple y'all.

Getting enthusiastic about sewing again

I was watching the latest The Fat Squirrel Speaks (episode 274),  where AmyBeth (of whom I am a huge fan) was discussing making "house pants".  These pants were wide-legged, with an elastic waistband and huge pockets.  One of the pairs was made from an old bed sheet!  I went and looked at the pattern, but they didn't have my size and I liked flow of AmyBeth's cropped versions better.  At first I went looking at 1930's lounging trousers, but realized they just weren't as full in the leg as I was imagining and were maybe a bit long (which wouldn't be hard to fix).  I still wanted something a bit more skirt-like.  Then I remembered a pattern I had purchased from Reconstructing History!  I could easily modify the 1910's Ladies Cycling Skirt to have pockets and a partial elastic waist!  Practical, supposed to be worn with boots, and  historybounding?  Fantastic!  I am also pretty sure I have the supplies to make one (or three).

While nobody in the house shares my enthusiasm, I may have been sketching out mods and making notes on the pattern over dinner, one can hope this feeling will carry on for a bit so I will not only be able to make my modified cycling skirts... but also finish all my sewing projects...from last summer.

I believe the correct title is "Plant Weirdo"

In case it hasn't been obvious, I have a bit of a thing for plants.  All. The. Plants.

When funds allow, I purchase all the varieties of favorite types of plants, like tomatoes, and any rare types, particularly of herbs, that I can get my green-stained, dirt covered hands on.

This year has been one of the first where I could buy interesting seeds and the dirt and containers to put them in, (for more than one type of plant).  Normally, it's tomatoes.  One variety, maybe two and then I am usually out of space and resources.  While I am sadly still restricted to containers, I may have planted more than a couple types of tomato.  I spend mornings and afternoons giddily bouncing between front and backyard; watering, picking, re-adjusting.  

I mean, I managed a blueberry!

And wee pumpkins!

There's also the squirrel planted snapdragons in the front:

Along with other wildflowers that while I don't know what they are, I enjoy very much!

There is also knitting.  Of the four projects I am currently working on, three are green:

Surprising to no one, the fourth one is black.  It's also garter stitch and not very exciting to look at quite yet.

All four of them can be worked on while I read.

Happy Juneteenth!

I had a conversation this week, (that may have gotten a little heated on my part), with someone who did not think Juneteenth should be a thing.  They were also not entirely okay with the Confederate statues being removed forcibly.

As I would prefer to celebrate Emancipation over traitors to the country.  Happy Juneteenth!

For those that do not know what it is or why it should be celebrated, (by everyone), you can read here, here or here.  Or just use your favorite search engine and look it up! :-)

90 Days

That is how long we have been doing the quarantine thing.  Every three weeks to a month, we go get groceries.  Our state is technically fully open for business, which really means most people think the whole pandemic thing is over and it's back to business as usual (almost no precautions taken).  There is no reason to believe this approach will have a good result.  We can stay home, so we do. (No one in the house has anything resembling a sleep schedule at this point. The only constant is dinner; served some time(eventually) between 6pm-8pm).

Happily, gardening continues, despite the weather insisting on punctuating summer weather with spring storms and temperatures.  (I actually had to turn on the heat this morning.)

The salad I continue to be able to harvest has been highly welcomed.

Nasturtium blossoms taste a bit like radishes.  Everyone enjoyed eating the blooms, which is good as there are lots more.

There are decent daily harvests of sugar snap peas and beans.

I'm working out of containers and apparently, accidentally did some chaos gardening.  (Which I didn't know was a thing till this morning).  It's really enjoyable!  At least if you don't mind not being sure what is where or even what is going to sprout.  I tried to start the season as a good, proper, organized gardener.  There are notebooks with types, planting dates, and success rates.  Seed trays were labelled and carefully transplanted.  Then...then the squirrels happened.  Seeds were flung everywhere.  Seedlings were hurriedly stuck back into, hopefully, the correct pots. Extra seeds were planted because it looked like the originals had been eaten.  So now there is salad growing...pretty much everywhere.  I have to hope that the sweet peppers and hot peppers were placed back in their proper pots, and there are twice as many pumpkin plants as I had planned.  Woohoo?

I've been taking a couple of classes from OSU's Professional and Continuing Education catalog.  I signed up for their Introduction to Urban Agriculture course this morning.  The others have been from their Master Gardener Short Course series. 

I re-cast Organized Chaos. (There seems to be a theme) The original, while pretty, met with a moth in just one crucial spot about two and a half years ago.  I only just had the heart to rip it out (the project had been sitting in the freezer for the last year and a half) and re-start it in a different yarn.

It has been super enjoyable to knit lace again!  Practical is wonderful, but not always as fun as a ridiculously huge, simple lace shawl.

Knitting on other things has been happening.  I just keep forgetting to take pictures.  Or I take pictures...and then forget to post them...or feel decidedly wrong about posting something that feels so very shallow during current events.

I have spent an embarrassing amount of time watching YouTube videos.  Good Life Permaculture.  Permaculture Magazine.  Bernadette Banner, (historical costuming).  And The Tarot Priest, one of the few readers I have found that really does seem to hit the mark (and I am really, really picky about that sort of thing).  I also watch an absurd number of people who do things with yarn, GG is wonderful, dunderknit is the swear-y one that even Husband enjoys, and the Knitters League is just fun, (if you're into yarn and things).

At some point, there will be proper summer weather allowing for more time outside, (or at least the backyard), till then I will keep my knitting inside and learn all I can to make the outside a better place to be.