How Tuesday - How to Have Fun

In our house, there are oh-so-many ways to have fun. Given that it is summer, and I am not currently working hard on homework for school, I am trying all kinds of ways to enjoy myself.

Lela the cat assures me that the best way to relax and have fun is by sitting on the couch, not moving, preferably sleeping, while she curls up on my lap and also sleeps. Until of course she gets hungry - then the best way to have fun is by feeding her. 

Norman the cat has suggested that I try running up the stairs as quickly as possible, fly into the second bedroom and run really fast up the cat tree. It's a great time according to him, but maybe try a few slow runs first...wouldn't want to fall off the top level - it is six feet up!

Both kitties think I should spend more time outside, with them, eating grass and chasing away the neighbor kitties (Smokey and Cassie, who both like to roll around in my garden, and poo in raised beds.)

Matt suggests MarioKart 8, and Super Mario Bros U on the Wii, after a nice long hike in the great outdoors. 

But I think I'll stick with my tried and true method...tucking in ends on the mittens I just finished today, while watching a British murder mystery. :)

 Now...just to choose which British murder mystery....

Norman Doesn't Understand Cameras

Sweet Norman is cute and sweet, but not that bright. He really doesn't understand cameras either....

Garden Update: Peppers Part One

So I've mentioned that I went a little overboard on the peppers this year. I was given more seeds than I could handle, and instead of trying only a few, I tried 21. 19 of the 21 varieties grew, with multiple plants for each variety. I tried to sell some plants, I tried to give some away, and in the end I kept more than 25 of them. The greenhouse is holding them surprisingly well, especially since we put up the new shelving units. We've only tried a few of the peppers so far: pepperoncini, pimiento de padron, early jalapeno, delicias, and chi chi meca. I'm really looking forward to trying the hot peppers too, but I am a little worried about how to use them :)

And of course, what you've all been waiting for...the pictures (part one anyway!):

Ancho Poblano

Biggie Chile Sahuaro

Chi Chi Meca

Chinese Five Color

Delicias

Early Jalapeno

Hot Paper Lantern

Pepperoncini

Pimiento de Padron

Summer Knitting, Had Me a Blast

Summer, for me, is a time for knitting. Ever since I went back to school nearly two years ago, I haven't been able to find the time to knit in the cooler months - the normal time to make hats, scarves, and mittens out of wool. Sure, I knit on breaks and when I just need an hour of sanity, but the big knitting - the new patterns, rewriting patterns, and learning new techniques of knitting just doesn't happen until the summer rolls around. My big problem with this is that I don't always write things down, and I don't always remember what I was working on last summer! About a week ago I came across a bag full of yarn, needles, and a half finished pair of mittens. They just needed thumbs. They are a pattern that is new to me, but one that Mom has been knitting for a while. In fact, she wrote the pattern out and has been selling them as kits. I believe I made these mittens last spring to test the pattern, and tossed them in a bag with disgust when I realized I didn't like the thumb. This summer, seeing them with new eyes, I saw how I could very easily fix the thumbs already in place, and hopefully make them better in the next cycle.

Last Year's Mittens

When Matt saw them finished he asked if there was a way to adapt the pattern into a hat, and a little naggling at the back of my mind told me that had been an idea last spring too. For now I'm content making a few more pairs of mittens before I write out the hat pattern. And maybe learning how to take better notes for future Kirsten ;)

New Pair in Progress