Long Summer Days

Long summer days are perfect for a picnic. And if Mom's cooking something too messy for a picnic (teriyaki stir fry chicken, vegetables and noodles) then there is always pretend. In other news I have completed all the purchasing of books and materials for school. Over the next month I should be getting lots of books and materials in the mail.

This year Homestead Lutheran Academy will have the Artist in 4th grade and the Engineer in combined K4 and K5. Fourth grade is pretty straight forward. For my little one, it will be a year of experimentation. He is reading and does pretty well at printing with me sitting next to him (for confidence more than anything). But he is lacking on other areas -- dressing himself without cajoling or complaining, tying his shoes. I'm hoping a lot of this will even out over the next year. I really really really want to have them both studying the same historical time periods and branches of science in first and fifth grades for the 2007-2008 school year.

I still do not have the school room moved upstairs to its new location. I thought it was more important to get these orders in first. We'll see what other excuses I can come up with next week.

Squashed Fly Shortbread

My daughter has wanted to be a baker for years. She has stuck with the idea since she was about 6 or so -- just about the time she cooled to the idea of being a prophet.

Yesterday was the first time she made something completely by herself. The only thing I did was bring the flour, cornmeal and sugar down to the counter top. She did all her own measuring, pouring and oven operation. I see a new day dawning in my future -- where I don't have to bake much at all!

My aunt gave our little baker this book for Christmas one year.
This was today's recipe: Squashed Fly Shortbread. She floured her baking pan, then sifted and mixed very carefully. And after the shortbread baked and cooled she sugared it and served it as dessert after our dinner. Great job sweetheart!

Slow Progress Is Still Progress

Sweater update:
The sweater I'm knitting for the Quipper is coming along s l o w l y. The cotton yarn feels inflexible and so much harder on my fingers after working with the wool and alpaca for the previous sweater. I can feel fatigue in my fingers after an hour or so.

Last night I got the back of the sweater to 13 inches long. That means there are seven more inches, or about the length of my hand from finger tip to heel of palm, before I need to pay attention to designing the sleeve seam area. It is hard for me to believe that it may take me three more evenings devoted to knitting to make that progress.

At least my dear Quipper is happy with the colors and look of the sweater. I'm thinking I might make one of the sleeves next, instead of the front panel. I'm hoping that would break up the monotony a bit.

Here's what I hope the completed sweater will look like. After staring at this yarn for over a week it is getting a little easier to see the stitches, but it is still hard to count them. I'm relying on gauge and I'm also tallying each and every row as I complete it so the front will turn out the same length as the back!

First Harvest

Or at least the first harvest other than herbs. Tonight we had dinner salads made with garden lettuce. This is the first year I've tried growing lettuce. After years of losing zucchini to blossom end rot or rabbits and chipmunks I have given up on those. As it turns out the odd shape space I had to devote is better suited to the lettuce anyway. I read that lettuce can tolerate shade. But the lettuces I have in the spot with more sun are definitely taking off, and the rows beside my Florida room are looking healthy but very small. They are behind the mound of chives and some spindly dill plants at the top right of the photo. Last week I planted some more lettuce seeds in the bare spots in the rows so I'll have more late in the fall too. I did not have a whole lot ready to pick yet. I got up close so it looks larger in the photo than it is in the garden. But there were enough leaves ready to wash to make four salads when mixed with baby spinach from the store. Tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese were added later to make them extra yummy. More knitting is on my plate for later in the evening. No photos yet as the progress is slow. The photos would not yet show much change from last time. Maybe tomorrow...

The Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! I enjoyed the selection Martha chose to illustrate yesterday on Your Daily Art. But then, I usually enjoy her selections. And even if I don't like them for themselves, the commentary helps me understand or appreciate something about them.

The kids are dressed in their
patriotic outfits for a Fourth
party today, hosted by our
Evil Genius friends.







The navy/tan cotton sweater is underway. It has two and one half inches of K1P1 ribbing and then continues in stockinette. The yarn behaves so differently from what I am used to.These photos were taken before I began the bulk of my work on the project last night, so it is about another inch and a half longer now.

Barb, Here is what the 2006 Easter lilies look like in the ground(in back with yellowed leaves and in front with a brown crown). I hope you find yours in the spring! They do not like shade, it will stunt their growth and inhibit buds.


Long may our land be bright
With freedon's holy light
Protect us by Thy might
Great God our King!

Every Sunday is a little Easter

Every Sunday reminds us of the Easter Sunday. Yesterday morning my garden lilies offered a beautiful reminder. I'm excited that we were given two more mature plants after Easter of 2006. I put them in the ground right next to these so next year I'll have a bigger display. In addition there are eight or ten smaller lily plants that need a couple more years of growth to produce blooms. And for Nancy...some curly photos.
This little one has inherited my hair type. He could be a curly guy! Doesn't he look like he is planning some mischief!!!

Next Project!

This will be a sweater for my sweetheart. It is a 100% cotton navy and tan slub yarn, and it varies in thickness every eight to ten inches or so.

The Quipper wants a sweater a little longer than most he can find in the stores to help him comply with Ohio laws. My hope is that this will help him keep warm but not overheat when he wears it over a polo to work, to church, or out and about.

I've begun making swatches to see what size needles I need for this sweater. The yarn is very challenging to use at first, but that got easier as I went along. Counting rows and stitches is nearly impossible, no matter how bright a light I sat under. So I will need to write out row-by-row instructions for myself again.

There are new things for me to learn in this pattern too, once I get up to the shoulder area. I'm up to the challenge. More immediately, learning how to work with and count the yarn and stitches/rows while swatching. This will not come together as quickly as my gray alpaca sweater. I do hope it is done in time for him to wear it in the fall.