Buddha's Herb Garden, More Fruit-Mint Tea, and the Farmer's Market

Buddha's Herb Garden

It's funny what happens when you're looking the other way. In the aftermath of the GRM and the depression that followed, I moved several of the herbs around the fountain where the wall of roses had been. Mostly I moved them there as a temporary measure. They had been taken out of the greenhouse before our trip to Philadelphia, but just set where they'd get sun and rain. I was delighted that they made it through the winter so well, but didn't give them much more thought. One thing led to another - more peppermint in the peppermint pot, for example, and all of the sudden I looked out the French doors opening onto the deck and noticed that I had an herb garden! The last entry is the white bowl of catnip. I have a running battle with the neighborhood cats. It didn't take them long to discover the catnip when it lived on the front walkway.  The rather dilapidated plant got thrown out in the GRM, so I bought a new plant when I got the globe basil.  Sadly, Ming discovered it sitting on the counter and just about tore it up before I could get it planted. I got a second catnip plant from PetsMart yesterday and got both plants into the bowl this morning between rain showers. Hopefully, putting it in the herb garden will keep it from the notice of cats strolling by!

While writing this blog post, I got so excited about making an official herb garden that I moved one of the rosemary plants, the globe basil and garlic chives to the garden. Almost all of the herbs are there now. An Italian parsley is sharing space with an olive tree, but they're too big to move here. So... here is the final (for now) Buddha's Herb Garden!

Buddha's Herb Garden, Take 2 (left side)

And here's the herb list:

• Spicy Globe Basil
• Catnip
• Lavender
• Patchouli
• Lemon Verbena
• Curry Plant
• Lemon Thyme
• Rosemary
• Ginger Mint
• Peppermint
• Garlic Chives

Fruit-Mint Tea Update

After writing my last post, I decided to try the tea with Lady Grey tea, a lighter version of Earl Grey and today was the day. I dashed out about noon to cut some peppermint - got totally soaked in the rain - and made up a batch with the Lady Grey, peppermint, lemon and lime. I also cut the sugar back to about 2/3 cup.  Okay, this is the best Fruit-Mint tea I've ever made. I'm going to try one batch with Earl Grey just to do it, but I think Lady Grey is the way to go. It reminds me of Earl's Grey Lemonade, but I think it's much better.

Farmer's Market

After over a month away, we got back to the Pearl Market on Saturday. Wow! The selection was amazing! We came home with eggplant, peppers, peaches, artichokes, onions, mushrooms, new potatoes, fresh garlic, green beans, and the prize of prizes... the first okra of the season!  Here's a sampler of what we came back with.

Farmer's Market produce

 And here's that okra!

First okra of the season

Guess who'll be making fried okra real quick??

Garden Updates, Fruit-Mint Iced Tea, and Finishing Sweaters

It's been a week and I think I'm pretty much over the worst of the Great Rose Massacre.  George sweetly bought me a second Katy Road (Carefree Beauty) in case the original one doesn't come back and a Perle d'Or to add to the collection of small sweetheart-type roses. Thus far, two of three miniature roses have leaf buds. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing leaf buds starting on the Graham Thomas yellow rose and the Maggie red rose. Still to go are the original Katy Road, Penelope (if what I think is her is really her), the Climbing American Beauty, and the Tuscan Sun.

On the up side, we added two bougainvillas to the front wall. The last ones never did all that well, and they didn't make it through the freeze. One of these is an Afterglow, which has become my favorite variety. It changes colors from a coral red to the standard bougainvilla magenta. Since we couldn't find a second Afterglow, the second bougainvilla is a Johnson - also pretty, but not quite as nice as the Afterglow, although in the photos, it's hard to tell the difference.

Afterglow Bougainvilla

+

Johnson Bougainvilla

My goal is to keep both going through the winter. Now that the greenhouse is an  option, I think it can be done. On the herb front, I replaced the garlic chives that met their demise in the GRM and added a spicy globe basil to the mix. The peppermint survived the GRM, but was looking kind of tired out. It would probably have come back on its own, but I added another plant to the pot. Peppermint is my favorite of all the mints and I like having it around for iced tea. My fave iced tea recipe goes something like this:

Fruit-Mint Iced Tea
2 quarts water
5 tsp or 5 teabags of black tea
1 cup sugar
1 lemon
1 lime
4 sprigs mint
Bring the water to a boil and while doing so, put the tea, sugar, and mint into a heat-proof bowl. Juice the lemon and lime into the bowl and put the rinds in as well. Mash everything together with the bottom of a heavy glass.  Pour the boiling water over the mixture and leave to steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea into a pitcher and chill. This is open to all kinds of variations. I normally use Taylor and Harrowgate's Scottish Breakfast Tea, but after trying the Earl of Sandwich's Earl's Grey Lemonade, I want to try it with Earl Grey or Lady Grey tea. I usually use whatever citrus fuit I have around. Probably ripe peaches could be substituted. I prefer peppermint, but will use whatever mint I have available. Anyway, it's very nice and refreshing on a hot day - and we're getting them now!

The Aran Cardigan

The Summer 2010 edition of Interweave Knits has a pattern for a gorgeous cardigan made of cotton-bamboo yarn.  I adore that cardigan. I want to make it. I almost ordered the yarn for it. And then I stopped... How about the gorgeous Aran Shirttail Cardigan I've had in the basket for years?  I'm finished with the body. I just need to do the sleeves. Why am I putting it off? I'm making it in Cascade's Ecological Wool yarn and either it was attacked by bugs, or had some other accident, but the reamining skeins have lots of breaks in them. The yarn spit-tricks back quite well, but I get tired of doing it all the time. I feel like I'm pasting the yarn back together. But let's face it, that's no excuse. So... I've finished both cuffs and am maybe a quarter of the way up both sleeves. (Working both sleeves at the same time helps ensure they're made the same.)

The Sleeves

(No, Ming didn't break the yarn!)

When I finally finish this sweater, I'll order the yarn for the new one!  I'm having a battle with my conscience about what kind of yarn to use anyway. The cotton-bamboo that's called for is really pretty, but there's another DK yarn in a color I prefer. But it might not hang right... Hmmm.... Or... I usually choose neutral colors for sweaters, and that soft rose is calling to me. Why not, this once, make a sweater in a soft rose? I have a beautiful shrug I hardly wear in a lovely rose shade. Why not a sweater??  But I might not like it... Is it better to play it safe and go with a neutral cream??  I think if the color is calling, maybe I'd better answer.  But for now, I'm going to finish the Aran cardigan!

'Tis The Last Rose of Summer...

Left blooming alone

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone.

-- Thomas Moore

Well, that might be a bit melodramatic, but the remaining climbing American Beauty rose threw out one bud after the Massacre, which bloomed yesterday. This variety isn't even a sport of the long-stemmed American Beauty red rose that so many people know, so the name tends to confuse people. This is a fantastic rose, however. It's an aggressive climber, tough as nails (with thorns that resemble them) and a bloom cycle at maturity that will cause traffic accidents.  It only blooms once a year, but it puts so much energy into that one flush that it puts repeat bloomers to shame. It's a healthy rose when it's not blooming and is perfectly capable of providing quite a bit of shade in an arbor.  That, of course, is what I was trying to accomplish.  This morning, I fed and re-trellised the remaining rose.  It's still coming over the the swing, doing its best to provide shade and doing a good job. So I got a photo of this remaining bloom. In my experience, it won't bloom again this year, but I could always be surprised.

Huge thanks to the staff at the Antique Rose Emporium for their wonderful sympathy and advice. I really didn't know what to do next - whether to "hoik" the roses (thank-you, Gertrude Jekyll), or to try and bring them back. The folks at the Emporium provided both psychological comfort and horticultural advice - feed 'em a little and pray a lot - they may well come back. The two roses I'm the most concerned about, Katy Road (Carefree Beauty) and the climbing American Beauty, are both strong roses and have a good chance of survival. So I fed 'em a little yesterday and am praying a lot.  We'll see.

Speaking of Gertrude Jekyll, I found a beautiful quote of hers:

In garden arrangement, as in all other kinds of decorative work, one has not only to acquire a knowledge of what to do, but also to gain some wisdom in perceiving what it is well to let alone.

-- Gertrude Jekyll

Felted Slippers

When the going gets tough, the tough knit... Slippers! I finished these for me and felted them. They're so thick, they're taking an age to dry, but they are so pretty! I started a set for George on Saturday. I'm getting the first one about done and will hopefully get 'em completed this week. It's awfully toasty now for felted slippers, but they'll be really nice come cold weather. 

At least it's pleasant now in the mornings to sit in the swing and watch the blue jays come for their peanuts.  They seem to have no fear of me as long as I just gently swing and don't move too much. They are the most incredible precision pilots! I do look forward to watching the young ones come with their parents a little later. The young ones won't do a fast approach and precision landing in the feeder. They'll land in the branches above the feeder and then drop down to it. I'm also looking forward to the young house finches coming to the smaller tube feeder. I've noticed that the male parent brings them. He'll feed them seeds at first and then teach them to get their own seeds from the feeder. I'm not sure why that's not Mom's job, but it isn't in that bird world.

Speaking of dinner, I'd probably better go start ours before too long.

Grieving for Things Lost

This has been an awfully difficult week. Of course, compared to many people, I have so much to be grateful for, and I am.  It's just that we've lost things and I feel like I need to grieve for them and then let go. Joseph got in an accident last Friday.  Thank God, he's okay and noone else was involved. He kept a worse accident from happening, and I'm proud of him for that.  However, the truck is totaled. It was 14 years old and gave 14 years of wonderful service. It was hard saying good-bye to it this afternoon.

And then the roses.  In fact, all my plants. My new neighbor who fancies herself a master gardener cut my roses down to the ground without even asking. Climbing American Beauty roses that took me four years to bring to their first year of blooming with the potential they have. Four years gone.  And worse, the roses may not live. This climate is far too hot to completely cut back roses now. It has to be done in February, if done at all, which climbing roses don't need. She cut off healthy growth.  I'm so angry and feel so violated.

Good-bye, beautiful rose! Right now, I just don't feel like even trying again. And yes, that's a statue of the Buddha beside the blue pot, which is a fountain in the summer. We were just about to start the fountains going again. Sigh. I'm trying to cling to the thought of the Buddha. I have so far to go!

Serious Nerd Mode, Booties, and the Celtic Braid socks

Bleh! I am so down! But I know it comes from going full-tilt at learning to code webapps for iPhones and the iPad. For a Windows girl, making the trasition is hard, but ultimately rewarding. I watched myself tackle it this time. First I tried coding a version of the corporate website in Dashcode, Apple's web development tool. It's awesome for designing the screen and for almost nothing else. I tried designing the screen in Dashcode, importing it into Visual Studio and coding it there.  Eventually, I might could have made it work, but it certainly didn't want to at first. I got on the internet, looking for help. Wow! If I Google something about .NET code problems, I get pages of answers. If I search for an Apple-related code problem, I get ads for DVD tutorials. I suppose the developer base just isn't out there. Finally, I ran across a book by a developer who 1) knows what he's doing and 2) has a good sense of humor about it. As of this afternoon, after a hard week of work, I have a viable iPhone/iPad website developed on the Mac... sort of. It was developed on the Mac, but the .Net code builds the page fragments which are volatile. It's probably a strange way to work, but it does work and works very well.  I, however, am not working all that well. I'm tired, drained, depressed, cranky and the whole bit. I think the term is "burned out."

When I'm going full-tilt like this, I don't balance anything well.  I don't take care of myself, the family, the house, nothing.  Everything tends to go to rack and ruin. I should probably work on that, although George is wonderful at picking up the slack. The up side is that I do learn and learn quickly so I have a viable skill pretty much at my fingertips. No, I don't learn quickly. I probably take as long as anybody else - I just do it all at once and get it over with!

But whether all this work will pay off is another matter. Is what I'm doing all that vital to the company? I don't know. Sometimes I think so. Sometimes not.  I guess we'll see.

Christine Bourquin's Stay-On Booties
I did manage to get a pair of booties knitted for some dear friends who are expecting their first. I adore this pattern. It was sent to Threads magazine in the late 80's by Christine Bourquin, 95-years-old at the time. She didn't want her pattern to die with her, so she freely shared it with the Threads community. I've made booties from it for years, but have always been afraid I'd lose the pattern.  I have two photocopies and the original cut from the magazine, but... I thought that I'd post it on Ravelry, just to be safe.  When I entered the project I thought, what the heck, I'd search for the pattern in their database.  Only a thousand other folks have made this pattern! Duh!  I guess I don't need to be afraid of losing it! I think Christine Bourquin is living on! I have made a few changes in the pattern.  I do a provisional cast-on and then pick up the provisional stitches when I'm picking up around the sole to knit in the round. I still knit these booties on 5 double-point needles.  One of these days, I'm going to try knitting them Magic Loop.  Today wasn't the day.

I'm not totally in love with the yarn as it snags too easily, but it is soft and pretty for little footies. In looking for more information about the booties, I ran across a blog where the knitter chose to make i-cord ties instead of the crocheted ties suggested in the pattern.  Much better!  Also, since the horizontal ribs on the foot hold the bootie on, the cuffs above the ties can be anything. I've seen them done in ribbing, but I didn't like it much. I think I'll try doing them in lace.  It should be pretty. Oooooo, or maybe cables and braid for Celtic babies! (Or maybe I'll just leave the pattern alone.)

Celtic Braid Socks
I'm making some progress on the Celtic Braid socks, but they're still boring.  The foot section is pretty much ribbing on the instep and plain on the sole. The fun doesn't start until after the heel.  Of course, the pattern was originally written cuff-down.  I'm knitting them toe-up so I'm having to re-engineer them a bit. I have great faith in them, though. I'll choose one of the arch expansions in Cat Bordhi's book, do the heel and then get to start the braid on the legs.

Maybe I'll spend some time this weekend warping the 4-harness loom. I'd like to get finished with it, so I can start the weaving. Handwoven has great articles on double-weave this month.  Oh no!  More projects!!

Too Many Projects!

I should realize by now that I tend to go into some kind of hyper-mode when I finish a major project, such as the Highland Games. I didn't go as much into hyper-mode after the St. Francis In The Wood Renaissance Faire because I knew I had the games to get ready for (not to mention a major systems conversion). However, since the Games, I've been going projecct-crazy.

I think it's because I can't decide what I want to do next. With so many memories from the last event, I churn out tons of new projects, or decide to revive shelved or forgotten projects. The ideas flood for a time, and I start, or work on, lots of projects. Some stay to completion (or live in a basket awaiting completion). Others get unraveled and go back into storage. So from the Games I have the following:

Weaving
The 4-harness loom is finally getting the lace shawl out of Aunt Lydia's Crochet Bamboo. This project is in the December (I think) 2009 edition of Handwoven. With the economy being so bad, they did a section of projects with inexpensive yarn. I would have completely overlooked the Crochet Bamboo, but it is gorgeous! I wove a couple of bookmarks on the rigid heddle loom (double heddles) with it and they turned out quite well. I have high hopes for the shawl.

The 8-harness loom is by-golly going to get the Peacock Shawl, from one of Handwoven's booklets. I have the kit in Bambu 12 and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I haven't started warping it yet as the warping rack is busy with the Crochet Bamboo.

Because warping is such a major deal, I tend to put off weaving projects. That has to change. I love weaving so much, but only remember when I'm actually at the loom. Sooner or later, it will become an obsession and I won't need to remember!

Oh! The 16" rigid heddle has a set of CotLin log cabin dishcloths on it. Since the 16" Harp is destined for the boat, so are the dishcloths. I'm not best pleased with how they're turning out. CotLin may not do well on a rigid heddle with the heddles doubled. I obviously need to work more on it.

Knitting
Oh my gosh!  Let's see... Projects Galore.

I started a set of kilt hose for George using the Knit Picks kit. He likes to wear his UtiliKilt, but it can be a bit cold. I want these socks to be done prior to the Central Texas Renaissance Faire. He probably won't wear his kilt then, but they should go well with his Ren pants. I'd imagine he'll need socks in November!

I also started a set of Philosopher's House socks for him after he almost immediately wore a hole in the sole of the socks I made him during the winter. At least I'm going to get a lesson in darning socks as I try to repair the original pair. They were made of a wool/acrylic blend, which I suspect, along with wearing them outside on rough concrete, may have had something to do with the hole.

Then I started a set of Celtic Braid socks for me. I spin and weave barefoot. This is partly because I want to feel the treadles better and partly because I don't want to grind dirt into the treadles. I have a set of hand-knit ankle socks dedicated to spinning and weaving, but they're a bit too modern for demonstrations. These socks aren't kilt hose, but they are very Celtic inspired. Right now, they're just at the toe expansion, so there aren't any photos. I'll add some later.

And while visiting my fave LYS, I saw some unspun Icelandic roving. Woot! I've been looking for it for years! I started Cheryl Oberle's Feather and Fan shawl, but casting on almost 400 stitches with unspun roving is a chore. I assume I'll be able to do it some time, but I switched to the Feather and Fan triangle shawl. I tried knitting double-stranded, but I think it looks better in single-strand. I do think casting on double stranded helps a bit. We'll see how this one goes. I love the Evilla PreYarn. It has all the lanolin left in the roving, so it has that wonderful lanolin smell. I know some people hate it, and some people are allergic to it. Thank Heaven I'm not allergic to it, because I love it!

And if that weren't enough (and it probably isn't everything), I started a Alberta Faroese shawl from Myrna Stahman's book. I've wanted one forever and decide to use a handspun single yarn I bought ages ago. I had started another shawl on our summer trip two or three years ago.  It because an abandoned project for some reason. Although I love Old Shale lace, this shawl pattern didn't do much for me. So I frogged it a few days ago and am now plunging into the mysteries of Faroese shaping. The Alberta shawl uses fir cone lace, which vies for being my favorite pattern. This yarn also has the lanolin left in. I bury my face in it while I'm knitting to smell that wonderful sheep/lanolin smell.

I think that's all the projects for now.  Okay, it probably isn't.  I haven't even started on the spinning projects! I wonder which ones will see completion and which will get boring and be abandoned. Only time will tell.

Highland Games and the Bluebonnet Tartan

I'm finishing the Bluebonnet tartan shawl I started to weave for the 2010 Highland Games. This has been an interesting journey for me. I decided last year that I wanted to weave a sash or shawl in the Bluebonnet tartan, and that I wanted to try weaving it in bamboo. Bamboo is kind of the new "wonder fiber." I have sheets and towels of it for both home and the boat, and it's been available for spinners and weavers for a while now. It's an interesting fiber - behaving much like silk in some ways.  Last year, I wove a shadow weave shawl from Bamboo 7 (15 EPI) which is gorgeous.  Okay, I haven't finished the fringe yet, but it IS a gorgeous shawl.  Last year, I wove a Hume tartan scarf in Scottish wool for the 2009 Highland Games. It turned out beautifully, but kind of scratchy and very warm for this climate.  I decided to go for Bamboo 12 (30 EPI) to see how it would work.  The short version is that the shawl worked beautifully, but what a journey!

Saturday at the Games was busy.  We had more people come by the booth that one day than came the entire weekend in 2009.  At least it felt that way. One of the questions I was commonly asked was where to buy Bluebonnet tartan items. It's a beautiful tartan and many people wanted to buy it. Handwoven items are too expensive for most people to buy and I only weave for love. So on Sunday morning, I went to ask one of the vendors at the Games if he sold the Bluebonnet tartan. Wrong! In my memory, I see this image of a man getting crazier by the moment, threatening me with all sorts of dire consequences simply because I was weaving a tartan. Yes, I researched the tartan before I warped the loom.  No, I could find nothing that indicated that I couldn't weave the tartan, especially for demonstration purposes. I should have been calm, but his craziness caused me to be unsettled for the rest of the day.  Hmm.... That's giving him too much power over me.

In spite of the insanity, the day progressed well enough. I had tension problems the entire weekend. The left side of the weaving was slacker than the rest of it, for no reason that I could see. When I started, the tension was very even. When I removed the shawl from the loom later, I discovered that I had not triple-knotted the warp onto the front lease stick on the left side - exactly the threads that slackened. Note to self: bamboo is slippery and has to be triple-knotted at least! However, the finished product didn't look bad, so I think I dodged the bullet on this one.

After the games and as a result of the "crazy man" I started on a quest to learn as much as I could about the Bluebonnet tartan. It's been an interesting journey of its own and I met some wonderful people along the way. I also have a new destination - the Tartan Museum in North Carolina. Who knows where my weaving journey will take me!

More later!  It's time to get going with Easter dinner.