ahh, the intense heat wave finally broke overnight and temperatures have fallen into the high 80s here—a big improvement over the last few days, when soaring temperatures meant we couldn’t move without sweating through our clothes (we don’t have air conditioning).
of course it’s still necessary to work and all, so i’ve been doing most of my sleeping during the hottest part of the day and then working in the middle of the night—the best solution i can come up with. still for a few days there, i was overcome with drowsiness at the drop of a hat, just hours after waking up. the combination of heat and being off schedule is just too weird for me anymore . . .
i’m SO glad we got all that garden work done last weekend—i pulled a few weeds today and david has been watering, but other than that, no heavy yard work needs doing for the moment.
as you can see, our squash plants have bloomed, yay. in fact, they are covered with both male and female flowers; the bugs and bees are out doing their job to encourage fertilization—i love this photo where they are backing each other up on that, haha.
and already we have results—today i picked our first small summer squash, which i plan to stir fry with some peppers for a side dish with dinner. the peppers are actually a little small and underdone, but if we don’t pick them now, the plants won’t flower and produce more. the next batches should grow to maturity.
and i picked a big basket of beet greens to go with dinner as well—my personal favorite of all the greens; to me it has a more delicate flavor and is the closest to spinach, which i can’t seem to grow to save my life (i was hopeful about the spinach i had in the ground this year and it did well for a while, but then petered out before it really matured, boo).
despite the intense heat and continued dryness (no rain this week at all and none in sight for the next ten days or more), the garden is doing exceptionally well. it’s that time when the plants are all fruiting and i can’t get over how fast it happens, once the ball starts rolling.
for example, here’s a photo of the first eggplant that i took yesterday (i showed its flower last time i did a garden post).
and here’s a picture of it from today, more than twice the size. we’ll be stir-frying this puppy next time you hear about it.
the wonders of the vegetable garden never cease to amuse and amaze me—you’d think i’d get used it. you’d think i would stop hitting you over the head with it too, but i can’t help myself; it’s like a new love affair every summer, haha. ah well, i could be into worse pastimes . . .
there has been knitting—lots, actually. but i’m almost totally focused on finishing up a secret project this weekend, so i have very little to show you.
on the fourth of july, i took my sweet tea mitts to debby’s and work on mitt #2 during her annual picnic/party, while i visited with other guests (they are used to seeing me knit now). when i got there i had just finished the lace hem and when i left, i was nearly to the lace hem at the top. go me!
my intention this week was to finish it up so i could release the pattern on friday, but things went sideways with the heat and my strange schedule and i sorta forgot about them (i KNOW!).
so last night i pulled them out and finally finished the second one up. they are so soft and lovely in the ecobutterfly organic cotton lace yarn—i love them and i know i’ll wear them a lot. this morning i soaked them and they are drying now in my workroom.
this is a photo of them just out of the bath, when they are still very wet. i laid them flat to dry and pinned out the hem points just a bit for the initial drying stage.
i go up about once every hour to turn and shape them. i don’t want the points pulled out too severely, so i won’t pin them every time i reshape and turn.
i just wanted to pin them long enough that they wouldn’t bunch up and look rumpled; however, you could pin them out however you like.
they are drying very quickly; the unmercerized cotton does not hold moisture as readily, or become sodden with water the way a dense cotton yarn will. if we can get some photos later today, i might be able to release that pattern tomorrow. if not, then tuesday for sure.
and finally, we have a winner in the knopki giveaway . . . . liz in missouri, yay!
thank you everyone for taking the time to check out hattie’s new etsy shop and her “pretty pointless” knopki shawl pin and button solutions. and thank you to hattie for giving us a fun holiday diversion (i think you enjoyed it yes?)
18 thoughts on “broke and lovin’ it”
Your garden looks wonderful! Sadly, I didn’t get much squash this summer due to squash vine borers (again!) and my cucumbers are about done. But tonight we’ll be eating corn from the garden! Yay!
It never ceases to amaze me how things grow in the garden from one day to the next. It’s been raining here all day, so I envy your heat a tiny bit!! I love those mitts, I felt the cotton yarn when I was visiting Ros yesterday and cannot believe how soft it is. It might just be worth breaking my yarn diet for!!
Your garden looks great! I don’t have one this year, so am living vicariously through you – feel free to keep hitting us over the head 🙂
About the spinach, I had a problem with mine seeding early too when I had it in full sun areas in the heat. And I was living in Wales where we didn’t get as much sun and heat as you. You might find you have more luck if you plant it in the shade.
The gloves look good. Looking forward to seeing your secret project(s) though. You’re such a tease ;). At least FIFC starts next month so we get to start seeing some of your secrets revealed soon. Is it sad that I’ve started stockpiling yarn that I think I might need for the club? 🙂
Do you know about New Zealand spinach? It’s different from the usual kind, in that it has slightly fuzzy, small leaves which are eaten only cooked, not raw (as far as I know), spreads like crazy along the ground rather than growing upright, and is very heat tolerant. Our regular spinach bolts as soon as the weather gets warmer, but this stuff keeps producing all summer long. It is very delicious.
The tea mitts are lovely (and the flowers too).
I was so interested in, and startled by, the eggplant pictures as I’ve never had the opportunity to see any growing. I had no idea they appear from the flower the way they do. That was totally fascinating! Everything looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
The sweet tea mitts are so very wonderful! You create such loveliness.
Love those tea mitts, can’t wait to knit some with my leftover cotton!
I hope you never stop showing us your garden. I look forward to it almost as much as your knitting (so that’s really saying something about the knitting!).
Really enjoy seeing your garden! Ours has gone by the wayside. We just couldn’t keep up with it in the extreme heat. Planning a rock garden with possibly a bush or two for next year.
The mitt’s are beautiful. The blocking pictures are great. I always learn something new on your blog. This time it was the turning to prevent creases which will come in handy when I block my Plain Jahynes this week!
Sweet Tea is a perfect name for the mitts – so lovely! I can see those being very useful.
Love watching your garden grow!
I’m glad you are more comfortable. Your garden looks great (mine looks well a bit sad).
Thank You Thank You Thank You for the win of the lovely little Knopki! I’ve contacted Hattie and am looking forward to the little Antiqued Silver Lady. So much fun, and so generous of you both!
The mitts look lovely and my yarn should be arriving tomorrow – just in time to cast on. Yup – had to break down and just do it. I went for the light sage color.
I’m nodding my head with elizaduckie because I’ve never actually seen an eggplant plant. I had no idea that the flower and plant itself would also look so purple. Your garden is a wonder and it’s easy to see how much all the hard work you and David have put into it has payed off. So no – we are NOT tired of seeing it – EVER!
Thank you again Anne.
Can’t wait for you to release the pattern for the Sweet Tea Mitts. I’ve been itching to make them with my Wandering Thyme leftovers since you first posted about them!
Beet greens are my favorite too. So yummy.
And can’t hardly wait to see the release of the Sweet Tea Mitts. I really like these lightweight mitts you’ve done lately (these and the Plain Jhaynes). Very wearable.
Those sweet tea mitts are cute! And I love hearing about the things your garden does too!=)
101 today and hopefully upper 80’s by the end of the week.
Your garden photos really make me miss my garden. I didn’t have one this year because we couldn’t keep with the heat last year and this one appears to be the same. I’ll continue to enjoy your photos this summer.
I love EGGPLANT ! ! ! ! ! !
hugs
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