Ordinary May Days

Hello Gentle Readers. I write this morning with my worn gray alpaca shawl around my shoulders. A shawl is shelter. After ninety degree weather last week, glorious amounts of rain fell. Two hot steamy days gave way to cooler temperatures. Prior to the rain, our yard and garden beds were the end-of-July dry. More rain is forecast for the end of the week and I am not complaining. I love shawl weather. I plan to make a pot of soup for dinner.  

Last Saturday we put in the last of the garden. After all the rain, cucumber seeds may need to be replanted. Often one hill or the other doesn't germinate or the birds or squirrels get the seeds so replanting isn't unusual. I'm trying lemon verbena in one corner and also identified some volunteer bergamont coming up in the pollinator garden. Between gardening, medical maintenance appointments, and gathering with two different groups of friends, I knit only a few rows. 

Still, it is good to be among makers and readers, so today I link with Kat and the other Unravelers. I'm knitting on the shawl and last night added some rows to the vest. Thank you for your ideas about the vest. Soon I'm going to recheck the gauge. Although I've never knit a v-neck, I'm going to give it a try. The instructions in this pattern are quite clear and it is good for my brain to try something different.

I needed carry along knitting so I pulled out more odds and ends to knit another pair of shortie socks. I enjoy wearing them to walk and around the house on these cool days. I may have to add in some other color. Luckily leftover sock yarn seems to multiply in project bags. The mock cables in the cuff are fun to knit and a bit of ribbing on the sole is enough variety to make the foot go by quickly. 

I read The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary by Terry Tempest Williams. Currently Williams is a writer-in-residence at the Harvard Divinity School. While Williams' nonfiction works are among my favorites, this book of essays may not be for everyone. She writes with a clear-eyed, brutally honest view of the natural world. As she mourns extinction of species and changing climate, she celebrates moments of great beauty and joy. She writes eloquently about connections between and among plants, trees, animals, humans, rocks, water, and air. Her writing is at it's best when she describes the red rock desert of her native Utah. What is a Glorian you might ask? The title of this book is only the beginning of the answer. The question is best answered by reading the essays. Nothing I write will do justice to her ideas.

The The King Arthur Cookie Companion in the first photo is a Mother's Day gift from my daughter. It is going to be fun. Good cookies are my favorite dessert. Right now it's on the coffee table for browsing. My son sent me a sturdy padded collapsible gardening bench I can use for kneeling or sitting. I've used it several times and it works better than the old carpet square I have dragged around for years. Both of my children are very dear and they know me well. 

May rain water and grow peaceful ordinary days for you. Have a good week.