So Far So Good

Good afternoon. The sky is overcast and the air is cool. Sunday I planted my garden. The basil and parsley settle into the herb garden while the birds make a meal of zinnia seeds. I remind myself they also need to eat. I use plastic forks and spoons around the herbs to keep the bunnies and squirrels at a distance. The technique isn't fool proof but it is non-toxic. I don't hide the silverware so it causes no bodily harm. I also have forks and spoons around lettuce seed in a container. The birds haven't bothered the cucumber seeds. The tomato plants are surrounded by cages and the drip hoses are in place. Just like that the growing season begins.

Sunday was a good day. Not only did I plant the garden, I finished knitting the gray sweater. I was almost sorry for the knitting to come to an end. The combination of the yarn/needles/pattern felt just right in my hands. The sweater is blocking and I look forward to posting a photo next week. I picked up this shawl. I tried one pattern and abandoned it as this variegated yarn looked better in garter than stockinette stitch. The more solid yarn is leftover from a gigantic skein of yarn I used several years ago. Never throw away leftover yarn.

I tried some other projects and settled on a Love and Hearts hat for Norah. Although I dearly love all the boys, it is fun to knit for a little girl. Typically I use two 24 inch circular needles to knit hats. Stitches stay on the needles and I don't have to switch to DPN's for the decreases. The tension in the rows with three colors was hard to manage on two circulars and looked sloppy. I unraveled the hat and started over. It's a young child size and I was just into the row of hearts so ripping it out didn't make me at all unhappy. 

I made some progress on this first sock. The way the mock cable twists is easy and fun and I love that the stripes mean one twist per stripe. I am easily entertained. 

Olive Again is coming right up in my library overdrive holds. I remembered enjoying Olive Kitteridge but not many details about Olive. So I'm rereading the novel to better enjoy Olive Again. I'm also pondering my summer reading list and ordered a few used books from Powells. Ordering from Powells is a throwback to the years I taught and created my own "used book order" from a summer reading list. 

As usual, I am linking with Kat and the Unravelers. Link on over for other knitting projects and reading suggestions.

We continue to shelter at home, venturing out only when necessary. We plan to watch the local stats for several weeks and then weigh the risk of exposure. I suspect the amount of risk will ebb and flow. So far so good.

Stay safe and well dear readers.