I've been busy lately.
Been doing a bit of gardening. My Bolivian sunflowers (thank you Dan) are in the ground and establishing nicely as are a boodle of other plants. This coming week I think we're going to build a square foot garden box or two. That should be fun. The Ponderous Lemon is getting ready to start having lemonade fruits soon. One of them is ALMOST yellow. These lemons look like grapefruit that are depressed (they are teardrop shaped) and one makes a 2 quart pitcher of tart lemonade. I adore this tree. Our meyers lemon is established and has one tiny little lemon on it. The Dancy tree is saggy with tangerines. We now have 3 pineapple plants in our yard. We didn't know it when we moved in, but we had a pineapple. So we ate the fruit off that one this year and put the top in the ground. Then, because we like pineapple, we put another top in the ground. PINEAPPLESS! I know, I know, it is going to take a couple (or three) years before we have fruits from those guys. Still. It is very cool, imho.
I've got one sock of a pair knitted and the other half done. I don't know why, but the heel turn for me is the halfway point. These are Bronnie's Yule socks and I'm working them up from a skein of "Its a good day to dye" old Hanks yarn that Sharon gave me at a S&B as she was stash bushing. I worked on Bronnie's shawl - which I hate. It is harder to knit on a project I hate. I spend every damned stitch going "I hate this project. Am I done YET?" The answer remains no, however I'm making progress. I'm making myself work 2 rows a day. I'm down to less than 20 rows now. Gettin' there is gettin' there. I'm also halfway done spinning Nick's Yule sock yarn. That dude has nice taste, I gotta say. Its a pretty merino/bamboo/nylon blend that is SOOO soft and the colors range from a silvery white to a deep almost royal blue violet. I didn't work on the sunbeam shawl this week. I've put that and a massive carding and spinning project on hold while I get Yule out of the way. The stupid knitting project (a stash busting 15 stitch blanket) is coming along swimmingly. I wasn't going to give the blankie away for Yule. I was just . . .knitting. Then one night I looked at it and thought "You look like Elaine". So, she's getting a blankie for the holidays - if I finish it by then. This is seeming likey, as I've been working on it every night and it is currently 3.5 x 3.5 ft. This one qualifies as "Bitty approved" as she has been sitting on it as I work since it got more than 2 feet square. She likes to sit with me while I listen to my talkie-books. She will actually paw and meow at the player if I don't have it on. I haven't figured out if she prefers my history books or my trashy supernatural romance books.
I've decided to start branching out. This coming week I'm going to try to figure out a building a target so that I can start practicing axe throwing. I've been wanting to get into some sort of weapons training with the SCA. I hate to admit this - Nick is right. I really REALLY shouldn't go in for the heavy weapons no matter how much the idea of learning how to fight with a glaive appeals. One good whack on the head and I could be blind forever. I don't feel up to rapier right now, so that leaves thrown weapons. I like axes. I could throw axes. So I'm going to. Gotta build a target first though, or Nick's gonna be REALLY cranky about the fence.
Speaking of SCA, I'm all but decided to put my persona in Bretagne (Brittany), probably before the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire (Mid 800s or so). I was thinking of India. I want a spinning wheel you see. Willing to settle for a small great wheel style, so that could get me going back to the earliest parts of the middle ages depending on region. So what is putting me into France and not India? Two things: Laziness and lack of ability. The laziness is easy. I'm more familiar with the history of France and most of Western Europe (hello, white-western european-centric education). The garb is simpler to make as well. Lack of ability is going back to garb. India's garb is NOT simple. It either involves a sari or more persian influenced wear. The construction isn't the problem. The embroidery is. I don't embroider anymore for the same reason I don't hand sew anymore. If I can see my stitches I know they are crap. As much as I like the idea of an embroidery machine, I am wanting a loom (or three) too much to spend that money there. Sooo, Viking influence French coast it is! I'm going for the fractious barbarian region of France that was settled by displaced Welshmen. I figure this way I can plausibly have a small wheel and a warp-weighted loom to make my fabric on, as well as a bit of silk and such from "trading". Yeah. that's it. Trading.
So, that is my world this past week. I'm off to make a fool of myself in LOTRO this week as I sing a song that I've been working on for weeks to commemorate our taking it to Saruman in Orthanc - or as my character would say "Sorryman in Orctank". Have a good week, and may your news be just as fascinatingly boring as mine.
Been doing a bit of gardening. My Bolivian sunflowers (thank you Dan) are in the ground and establishing nicely as are a boodle of other plants. This coming week I think we're going to build a square foot garden box or two. That should be fun. The Ponderous Lemon is getting ready to start having lemonade fruits soon. One of them is ALMOST yellow. These lemons look like grapefruit that are depressed (they are teardrop shaped) and one makes a 2 quart pitcher of tart lemonade. I adore this tree. Our meyers lemon is established and has one tiny little lemon on it. The Dancy tree is saggy with tangerines. We now have 3 pineapple plants in our yard. We didn't know it when we moved in, but we had a pineapple. So we ate the fruit off that one this year and put the top in the ground. Then, because we like pineapple, we put another top in the ground. PINEAPPLESS! I know, I know, it is going to take a couple (or three) years before we have fruits from those guys. Still. It is very cool, imho.
I've got one sock of a pair knitted and the other half done. I don't know why, but the heel turn for me is the halfway point. These are Bronnie's Yule socks and I'm working them up from a skein of "Its a good day to dye" old Hanks yarn that Sharon gave me at a S&B as she was stash bushing. I worked on Bronnie's shawl - which I hate. It is harder to knit on a project I hate. I spend every damned stitch going "I hate this project. Am I done YET?" The answer remains no, however I'm making progress. I'm making myself work 2 rows a day. I'm down to less than 20 rows now. Gettin' there is gettin' there. I'm also halfway done spinning Nick's Yule sock yarn. That dude has nice taste, I gotta say. Its a pretty merino/bamboo/nylon blend that is SOOO soft and the colors range from a silvery white to a deep almost royal blue violet. I didn't work on the sunbeam shawl this week. I've put that and a massive carding and spinning project on hold while I get Yule out of the way. The stupid knitting project (a stash busting 15 stitch blanket) is coming along swimmingly. I wasn't going to give the blankie away for Yule. I was just . . .knitting. Then one night I looked at it and thought "You look like Elaine". So, she's getting a blankie for the holidays - if I finish it by then. This is seeming likey, as I've been working on it every night and it is currently 3.5 x 3.5 ft. This one qualifies as "Bitty approved" as she has been sitting on it as I work since it got more than 2 feet square. She likes to sit with me while I listen to my talkie-books. She will actually paw and meow at the player if I don't have it on. I haven't figured out if she prefers my history books or my trashy supernatural romance books.
I've decided to start branching out. This coming week I'm going to try to figure out a building a target so that I can start practicing axe throwing. I've been wanting to get into some sort of weapons training with the SCA. I hate to admit this - Nick is right. I really REALLY shouldn't go in for the heavy weapons no matter how much the idea of learning how to fight with a glaive appeals. One good whack on the head and I could be blind forever. I don't feel up to rapier right now, so that leaves thrown weapons. I like axes. I could throw axes. So I'm going to. Gotta build a target first though, or Nick's gonna be REALLY cranky about the fence.
Speaking of SCA, I'm all but decided to put my persona in Bretagne (Brittany), probably before the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire (Mid 800s or so). I was thinking of India. I want a spinning wheel you see. Willing to settle for a small great wheel style, so that could get me going back to the earliest parts of the middle ages depending on region. So what is putting me into France and not India? Two things: Laziness and lack of ability. The laziness is easy. I'm more familiar with the history of France and most of Western Europe (hello, white-western european-centric education). The garb is simpler to make as well. Lack of ability is going back to garb. India's garb is NOT simple. It either involves a sari or more persian influenced wear. The construction isn't the problem. The embroidery is. I don't embroider anymore for the same reason I don't hand sew anymore. If I can see my stitches I know they are crap. As much as I like the idea of an embroidery machine, I am wanting a loom (or three) too much to spend that money there. Sooo, Viking influence French coast it is! I'm going for the fractious barbarian region of France that was settled by displaced Welshmen. I figure this way I can plausibly have a small wheel and a warp-weighted loom to make my fabric on, as well as a bit of silk and such from "trading". Yeah. that's it. Trading.
So, that is my world this past week. I'm off to make a fool of myself in LOTRO this week as I sing a song that I've been working on for weeks to commemorate our taking it to Saruman in Orthanc - or as my character would say "Sorryman in Orctank". Have a good week, and may your news be just as fascinatingly boring as mine.
