Garden News....

Monkey Grass
Blossom

My oh my how my garden doth grow!    I have quite a few plants that I still need to take pictures of like the peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and head lettuce which is starting to seed out.  It sure has been a fun little garden this year.

Of course, it would not be Kentucky with out quite a bit of hot muggy weather.  The heat index has been well over 100 deg f. for several weeks now.  All I have to say about that is, 'Thank Goodness I don't live in Nashville anymore!'. I can only imagine how hot they have it!  I loved it in the winter, but summers there were brutal!  We did have a few nights where it cooled down enough we could sit on the deck at midnight and have a cuddle session with Miss Kitty, so it's not all bad!

I really need to get a few snap shots of the crazy sweet potatoes I planted by the tomatoes!  They are insane and I can't wait to eat them up this fall!!!  And I really need to remember in the mornings when I go to check on the tomatoes and peppers to bring my camera to snap a few shots of the Brandywines, Good Reds & Mystery tomatoes before I pick them;)

Basil has since been topped.

Hope we have cauliflower real soon!

Pretty in pink Dianthus

Young Grasshopper munching on my Monkey Grass.

Lettuce & Spinach about to go to head.

Miss Kitty enjoying my lap on an abnormally cool evening:)

close up of the Monkey Grass Blossoms

Did I mention I have a new truck!?!  How exciting is this!  The tundra was going on 11 years old and was in need of a few repairs.  My Dad surprised me with a 2007 Ford F150!  Do I have the best Dad in the world or what!?!

Garden 2011

I haven't had much time for posting due to shows and getting ready for shows between shows;) The next show you will find LunabudKnits is the Midwest Fiber and Folkart Festival outside of Chicago June 24-26.

I had a moment to take a few pictures of this years garden as Bill was finishing up his little project. He tells me stories of the 'lettuce box' they had as a child and how they would go out pull up the old door and pick some lettuce for dinner every day. The other day, he comes home with an old storm door someone was throwing away and wood. a few days later, he has his 'lettuce box'. I have to say that he did a very nice job on the construction of the box. Do I honestly think the lettuce will grow in a humid little glass box in the middle of summer? Let's just say, erm, how do I put this nicely..... I think I will sow more lettuce seeds in the fall. And, it should make for a great seed starter in late winter early spring;)

Bill finishing up his lettuce box

Lid open

Seeds

Lid closed

Miss Kitty supervises

Sweet Basil

Cematis

Cactus

Cactus

Delphinium

Delphinium Flower

lettuce seed I started a few weeks ago.

Miss Kitty follows where ever we go.

What are you growing?

Apparently around here, we are growing kitties.  Or at the very least we are trying to.  Miss Kitty has taken over all of the flower pots around the house as her personal cat nap stations.  I do have to admit she would make a pretty little flower if only she would just stay put!

Photo Phone

Whew, I'll have to say it has been pretty darn crazy the past few months. Bill has had two surgeries. The first in August to clear his nasal passage and the second in September to remove a pituitary turmor via his nasal passage. Bill is as good as new now, but we might have to go through the surgery again or localized radiation as the Dr. saw a few bits of tumor they missed following his MRI.

Sorry to say, I kind of just dropped blogging for a little while as it was hard to find the time to gather my thoughts. For quite some time now, I have promised myself to clean out the old photos on my phone. I thought my first post back might just have to be a collection of photos from my cell phone!  They are not the best quality pictures, but it sure i fun knowing I can snap a shot here and there;)

Applebutter

Monster Skein of Yarn at Knit Night

Granny

Eyeball Illusion with sushi plates

2009 Drive to the Kentucky Wool Fest

Little Kitty helping hold the totes stationary as I pack for a show.

Little Kitty hanging out w/ a new friend at the Vet's office.

Bill playing his new guitar before the second surgery.

The Kitties....

Just realized that I have not posted about the Kitty Cats as of late. Here they are in all their furry fineness.

Miss Kitty on the back deck.

Little Kitty supervising my knitting. He doesn't even remotely look like the cute little fur ball we picked up on the side of the road two years ago does he;) Or the little lost kitty he was last winter after being chased away by a dog.

Miss Kitty speaks.

Kitty Snack

Yes, our Little Kitty is not quite so little any more and definitely spoiled rotten to the bone. Bill always has a late night snack before going to bed and Little Kitty is always right there to beg for a scrap or two. And Bill has grown rather fond of Little Kitty, can not seem to resist the charm of our fat little furry friend when he comes begging.

Craft of Bust!!! - 2/23

Well, I have definitely been a busy gal over the past day and night. Yesterday I finished spinning a bobbin of Chris's alpaca, Canty, fleece.

I was ready to ply and wouldn't you know it I had all bobbins on the Louet Victoria with singles of some sort or another on them. The first bobbin was about 1/2 full with a merino, silk, camel, firestar, glitz batt I am taking my time with. The second had just a smidgen of a 'fine wool and mohair blend' I purchased online because the colors were so lovely in the picture. I don't really care much for it as the wool is rather a little on the coarse side and in person it definitely does not look like the picture. The third bobbin is of course full of the alpaca single.

What to do, what to do? Should I start on my taking-my-time-in-between-other-projects bobbin or bite the bullet and finish spinning the 'not so fine wool and mohair blend'. In the spirit of my goals with the Craft or Bust project, to finish UFO's, I opted to finish spinning the stuff I don't really care for at all. The end result was 128 yards of Plain-Jane yarn with muted hints of color here and there that is not so soft even after washing.

I stood up for just a second to stretch my legs after plying when Little Kitty who is not quite so little any more decided to take a go at the wheel or at least pretend like he was spinning. Silly kitty, doesn't he know that spinning is just for Momma?

Fun Package

There was a knock on my door yesterday morning. Standing there was the Postman with a package for lil' ol' me! I racked my brain and couldn't remember for the life of me what I had ordered.

I was quick with the knife cutting the tape to see what was inside. Only to find there was a second box in the first. Once open I remembered:) It was my new SHEEPY MUG from The Mud Fairy. She does all kinds of fun and funky animals on mugs and I am so very happy to have one of her beautiful mugs!

Next item of business .... the cat nuttery that adds constant enjoyment and amusement to our lives.

Last night when I returned from Knit Night I came home to a box of Yummy, Yummy sushi from Osaka in Mill Pond Center. Bill sweetie that he is was kind enough to keep his wife in mind when I went to grab a bite yesterday evening:)

As we were eating, there came a little pawing at my leg. Wouldn't you know it. Little Stinker was right there expecting his fair share of fish! We have created a Little 'piggy' Kitty by giving him treats here and there.

'Hey, I want some too!'

'Um, Dad, Mom wont share!' (Note Miss Kitty being very patient in the back ground)

'Oh, OK, see, I can be a good Kitty too, Meow, Meow!'

WOW....

Can't believe I missed my blog Holiday Wishes! I wish you all good health and a great year!

Now on to the news.........

Several new little developments......... Trust me, there's a whole bunch more. This is just a little tidbit to tempt your taste buds:)

NUMBER ONE

I finally unpacked the Louet S17 kit wheel, proceeded to give the base and uprights a fine base coat of antique gold which doesn't show up very well on my puter, the bobbins were painted in metallic multi-colors and the wheel itself.....? Well, I just couldn't be happier with how it turned out! See, the side showing I painted with an adorable little sheepy that is based on the original pastel by artist Marianna McDonald.

It originally was a green base with the multi colored polka-dots I do so well.....lol I just didn't like how the dots looked after I was done with them and brain stormed for inspiration when I spied my little card that someone had give me with a picture of the original pastel. I simply could not resist how cute the little guy looked, so plowed ahead and painted my little furry friend.

This little guy is just too darn cute! He always seems so very happy for me to 'Sit and Spin'!

The back side is pink with gold polka-dots. Was a very hard decision which side I wanted facing me:)

Why just the other night, I was needing a break from regular spinning and well I did have an 8 ounce bag of Finn combed top, which I didn't particularly care for and don't want to pawn off on anyone else due to it's coarseness. I started to spin it bulky using a long draw and before I knew what had hit, I had the FULL 8 ounces spun and on the bobbin. The last ounce went on a little tight and awkward, but I managed to cram it right on there.

My eyes grew a little, well, OK, a lot big. Now, my little pea-brain is all a buzz with ideas of what I can do next with this fun little wheel! This particular wheel is not for sale, but Louet has plenty more in stock. Just give me a shout if you would like me to order one of these fun and INEXPENSIVE kits for you. Or, you can find them in the shop:) Lunabudknits

NUMBER TWO......

Right before the Holidays Nicholasville Knit Night had it's annual Christmas Party at Bella Notte in Lexington, KY and I scored big time. We do a little 'Dirty Santa' gift exchange where you can open a new present or you can steal one that was already open. I couldn't believe my luck when I drew the very LAST number, steal, or gift. The wrapping and tissue papers were flying. Gifts were stolen here there and every where.

Finally, my turn came and I had my eye on 3 gifts. I did a quick mental eni-meeni-mihni-moe to eliminate one gift and flipped a coin between the Ottlite and a hand turned bowl by the husband of one of the knitters. I figured there was not a more diplomatic way to steal a gift than to flip a coin. The tension was building up and heads won me the beautiful hand made bowl turned from a Black Walnut tree collected at the Kentucky River Palisades. I absolutely adore it!

NUMBER THREE......

Ace is back to sleeping in his wild and wacky nap positions:)

My Boyfriends Back!

Shay-Nah! Shay-Nay! My Boyfriends BACK!!!!

I don't know why I did it, or what gave me the urge to go stand out on the back deck tonight. But I am thanking God that I did! See I heard a meow coming from the field behind our house. Well, I started calling for Little Kitty and saying 'Meow, Meow' which is our kitty speak for 'Where you at?'

I thought he might be coming from between the two neighbor's houses so I grabbed a flash light lickety split and ran for the front door! But, once I was between the two houses the meow was fainter. So I ran back in the house and through the basement. Kicking at Bill to wake up as I went. In to the back yard I went and I realized he had made it into the neighbor's back yard!

We meowed at each other through the fence until we came to a spot large enough for him to squeeze through. At which point I snatched my Little Kitty up and ran for the back door! That was an hour ago and outside of taking a little break to eat, Little Kitty has not left my lap:)

Little Kitty in my lap!

Little Kitty eating a smidgen of food. Don't want to over do it as he wasn't chewing the kibble and I don't want to hurt his little belly. Right now, I can feel every little bone in his body:(

This pic was taken right before Little Kitty had his mishap with a stray dog that chased him to lord knows where on 11/30/09 (yes, I know the date my little bud disappeared). As you can see, he has quite a bit of catching up to do. But, I'm sure we will get him there and soon!