Gardening When You Are Not a Gardener

I know I've written here before about our garden, and fixing it up, etc.  Of course, it's an ongoing process, but after finally getting into shape last summer, it's been a lot easier this summer to keep it looking nice, and we've even been spending time out there during the evenings on days when it hasn't been too hot and humid.

When we first moved in, the garden had all kinds of amazing plantings.  Over the years, between us not having a clue, the installation of a new roof where they just threw stuff into the garden from the roof, killing quite a few things, and street work, a lot of the smaller things have died off.  I *love* plants and flowers, but a) know nothing really about most of them, and b) have the love but not the dedication to grow elaborate gardens and keep them going.

Having said that, I do like to have *some* plants and flowers out there, and in the front planter on the one front of our house (we have two fronts, it's another story altogether).  In the front planter, it's not worth planting anything too nice, as the few times we've done that, we've found them dug up for someone else's garden, or in the case of some tulips, dug up for what we decided must have been a Mother's Day gift ... so the front planter generally has plants that are inexpensive and not terribly desirable to dig up.  This year, I planted rosemary and lavender right outside the door a few weeks go, and then today, added some impatiens and zinnias.

(The little plant to the right of the impatiens is a plant that is supposed to spread and flower, and I've completely forgotten the name ... )

 (Note: this vent is inactive, it's just in the way.)

I am pleased, even though there aren't many plants, and some will surely not make it.  Next spring, we want to try and add two rosebushes to replace the ones that were extremely old and spindly that we removed.

Inside the actual garden, which is enclosed next to the house, I tried some perennnials, in the hopes that maybe at least one would "take" and come back next year.  If they do not (and realistically, they may well not thrive), they were all on sale, so it's not like I've invested tons of money in flowers.  

I tried a butterfly bush (shown here after being watered, so it's looking droopier than it did when I planted it:

A coreopsis plant in another spot:

And finally, a dianthus plant (top in photo) along with the last of the zinnias in the grouping I bought:

So we'll see what happens.  For now, everything looks pretty, and happy, and maybe I'll be lucky this year and more will live than die.  I also have an azalea to plant, but I need The Tim to help dig the hole.  We had a lovely azalea when we moved in, but it was taken out when some plumbing had to be done, so hopefully that will do well once it's in the ground.

Of course this morning while I was doing all of this, I had a lot of help.

Jetsam snooper-vised from under a chair, where he could appear both regal and patterned.

While Jack was extremely busy with a bumblebee that was in the dirt and then later, between the bricks.  I think it was near the end of its bumblebee life, because it wasn't flying at all.  But it did keep him busy, which was fine with me!

The garden is a happy, enjoyable space now, and I'm glad I spent all of that time last year really working hard on it.  It's nice to have a private space in the middle of the city.  :-)

SoClose

Hello there!  I'm writing from Philadelphia, where this morning it is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, with a lovely breeze!  Talk about a nice morning - I'm trying to store it up.  I know you can't really do that, but I like to think you can, so that when on Friday, it's a bazillion degrees and equally humid, I can think of this temperature.  (Spoiler alert: Doesn't really work, but hope springs eternal.)

In any event, today I am joining with Kat and the others for Unraveled Wednesday.  Because I am SoClose, as you can see in the photo below.  SoClose!

This is the second of my Orange Tabby Socks, needing only the toe, which will be completed this evening.  It feels like this pair took so long, but I realized that was not their fault, so to speak.  If you recall, I had started a pair with a different pattern and different yarn at the end of May, and was going along when BAM! the yarn exploded and I tried in vain to untangle it to continue.  When my attempts failed, then I pulled this yarn out of my stash and started this pair of socks.  So they really haven't taken that long, from start to finish, it just seemed like it before I gave it any thought.

Riveting, right?

Moving right along, the book is the next one I'll be reading, probably starting in the next day or so, once I finish Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles, which I am finding really enjoyable.  But the book above was [finally] available for me and on hold at the library, so I picked it up before I forgot and it was moved along to the next person in the queue.

Also pictured is my patriotic $3.00 Target "cosmetic" bag, which is as I suspected, perfect as a sock project bag.  It was right on point when I started the previous pair around Memorial Day, and now it's also right in style as I'm finishing these socks right before the Fourth of July.  I think I will continue to use this bag for any sock projects through Labor Day.  Because I am nothing if not a good American ... ;-)

Finally, I leave you with two jokes that amused me.  They are lame, but they may at least make you smile.  There is a bar I walk past every day on my way to and from work (yes, I DO walk past - in the a.m., they are not open, and in the p.m., I'm just anxious to get home!), and it has a blackboard in the window with a joke or saying every day.  Here are my two faves from recently:

Q:  Why do girls travel in odd-numbered groups?
A:   Because they can't even.

A man visited the doctor, telling him that he broke his arm in two places.  The doctor told him to stop going to those two places.

[rim shot]

Tell your friends - I'm here all week, folks!

Furball Friday

Nearly every time Pip gets comfortable in this particular kitty bed,

Milo the Koodle decides that Pip would be even *more* comfortable if he was there too.

It seldom ends well.

Here's hoping your weekend is overstuffed with good things!

Keep cool!

Summer Unraveled

Well, it's officially summer.  Which means it's officially time for me to work hard on thinking of things to keep me from going into a deep depression.  And immediate heat and humidity do not make that an easy task.  I think I may be the only person in the world who suffers from reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder.

So, what do I have for today?  Well, I'm gonna join Kat and the others for Unraveled Wednesdays, for one thing.  Why not?  I have knitting and I have reading, so here goes.

The reading is a cozy mystery, because a) I was in the mood for something quick and not overly challenging, and b) I wanted to read something before I could pick up the book on hold for me at the library.  So I'm reading this, which is a new series to me:

(Photo from Goodreads, since I'm reading it on my Nook)

So far, it's really entertaining, and is even more well-written than I expected, so that is a plus.  And I may be able to even work it into one of my Book Bingo squares, which would be a nice bonus.  We'll see.

The knitting is something besides a sock this time.  Rest assured, I'm still working on my Orange Tabby Socks, but you've seen what they look like, so here's some variety for you this week.  It lives in this natural-history themed project bag, which has become one of my most favorites.

And as you have heard, I'm making a Sonora Shawl.  I'm calling mine Scattered Wishes, because the blue colorway is called Wish, and it's used only in a few places.   Here is what I have so far, mushed up and unblocked, but still fun to knit and pleasing to me.

I just finished the second color section, so it's growing pretty quickly.  I highly recommend this pattern.  I'm using stash yarn, which does not have the same loft as the recommended yarn, but I am still loving it - so much so, I can completely imagine making another one before too long!

Of course I was zooming along on it before it got really icky, weather-wise, so I'm not sure if things continue as they are if I'll feel like having something this size on my lap to knit ... so it may become a nice-day project, which is fine, since then it will feel like a treat!

How about you?  What are you knitting, reading, thinking, doing, eating, whatever?  Inquiring minds want to know.  :-)

Keep cool!

Well I Didn't Mean to Do That!

"That" being not write a post for a week.  But last week was a bit much, with A LOT of unexpected dental work, a long time to recover, then getting ready for company this coming weekend.

The lowlights:

I had gone for my 6-month checkup and cleaning at the dentist, which is usually no big deal,* but the dentist said a crown needed to be replaced.  So I went back and when she took the old crown off, it turned out I needed a root canal.  So I went back the next day for that.  During the root canal, part of the tool broke off in my tooth root(!).  The endodontist assured me that it would not cause any problems,** and finished up with the temporary crown.  Then today, I had to go for the tooth to be prepped for the permanent crown.  Oy.

*Even so, of all the medical-type things I ever have to do, or have done, going to the dentist and getting my blood pressure taken are the two things that freak me out the most.

**When I told this to The Tim, he said, "Isn't that how superheroes happen?"

The highlights:

On Friday, my sister Mary Ellen and brother-in-law Pat, along with my niece Amanda and her husband Pat came for Bloomsday weekend.  We had a great weekend with them, laughing, catching up, going out to dinner, and exploring Philadelphia.  Fortunately, Saturday - which was the only entire day they were here - was humid but not oppressively hot (like it's been since then), so our walking-around-tour was not messed up until the very end when we started home/back to their hotels, and there was a torrential shower.  Mary Ellen and Pat have visited a few times, but have never had much time to see a lot of the city, and Amanda and Pat are always up for anything.  So we walked over to see the new plaza and the building of city hall (everyone is a history and architecture fan), then to the Reading Terminal Market, where we all had a local beer, and the two guys bought locally-made spirits ("From Farm to Glass" was the name of the place, which I thought was great).  Then we wended our way to Jeweler's Row, Independence Hall Park, and our final destination, the National Constitution Center.  With three out of the four of the group being lawyers, we thought it was a good stop.  It was wonderful (we'd never been there yet, either), and they had a special exhibit about Prohibition which was both interesting and fun.  So we covered quite a bit of ground!

The knitting:

After everyone left on Sunday, I sat down and [finally] cast-on for the second of my Orange Tabby socks.  I'd finished the first one last week, and then became slightly obsessed with knitting on my Sonora Shawl.  But I want to get the pair finished, and decided casting-on would be the best way to actually get that accomplished ...

Of course, I have no pictures to show you, at least not at the moment, from this past week.  Instead, I hope you enjoy this picture from our trip to Acadia National Park and Forest last September.  Looking at it, I can remember not only how great that trip was, but also how the weather was neither hot nor humid.  Win-win for me.  :-)